Axel POV:
As I opened my eyes I found myself in a forest in the middle of nowhere.
The sound of birds singing reached my ears along with the familiar scent of nature.
My mind went blank for a few seconds, thinking how and why.
This was certainly an unusual occurrence, and analyzing everything, I quickly came to the only logical conclusion I could think of after using all the knowledge stored in my brain.
Somehow, I was transported into the world of the fantasy book I had just opened in my room. Of course, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of it being a different world, but this is completely unlikely, given the fact that it all happened when I opened the book, which apparently was the trigger for this to occur.
Well... I also cannot rule out the fact that my father has given me some very crazy drug, and I am hallucinating; maybe this was the new test. No, that's impossible, I'm sure I didn't drink or eat anything very strange... probably.
I was still in a hospital gown, which is certainly something quite eye catching in such a world if, indeed, it is the world of that book. But couldn't I at least be teleported to some kind of city? Why send me to a forest in the middle of nowhere?
For some strange reason, I could feel something different about me. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I could feel some kind of different force appearing in me, something totally confusing and strange.
Wait a minute.
Closing and opening my hands, I stared at them absentmindedly.
"How…"
Somehow, my injuries miraculously recovered, with no sign of any discomfort. I didn't understand the logic behind this, but this was no time for me to worry about that. First, I had to find a way out of this forest I found myself in the middle of nowhere.
Thinking for a while, I remembered something that might help me in case I found a town nearby. I quickly reached into my shorts under the gown and pulled out my phone. I turned on my phone to look at its battery, praying that it was at least reasonable.
"69%..." I muttered.
Strange coincidence.
I turned off my cell phone and stowed it back in my pocket. I can't afford to waste its battery on useless things. Even if this cell phone didn't do much good in this place, it could still be useful in some way. If I can find a way to charge it, that would be even better, although that is unlikely.
Well, in the worst case, I can just trick some collector or seller and sell the phone. It would discharge eventually, so it would be technically useless. Maybe the parts would be useful in some way, but I strongly doubted it.
"Well, let's go," I sighed.
The first step was to get out of this forest. The ideal step would be for me to find some river or some kind of road and follow it to the end of it. If I'm unlucky, I won't find anything today.
While walking, I tried to call upon the ability I chose in that strange space, but I had no luck in activating it. I quickly hear a strange kind of sound. The sound of the birds has completely disappeared. This sound would certainly frighten most people, but for me, it could be some kind of hint to make sure about the place I find myself.
Following the source of the noise, I hid myself among the trees while looking for the source of the strange sounds.
Standing not far away, about 20 meters away, were some green humanoids... monsters?
Even though I didn't watch many shows, I knew what it was; after all, I had read a story that focused on their extermination. Goblins. Usually known as weak monsters in fantasy books. Well, at least in the story of the book I read before I ended up in this place.
That fantasy book I read some time ago showed how deadly Goblins could be, especially with women.
Goblin Slayer was the name of the book if I am not mistaken.
This only served to further contribute to my hypothesis that I had been transported into the world of the book I opened since there's no such monster on Earth, and it certainly wasn't funny.
Now that I think about it, I don't think it was a coincidence that that particular book fell off the desk and I picked it up right away. And then it sent me here. That surely was someone's doing...
Well, I can think about that another time, now let's deal with this situation.
I have to be totally careful with their sharp claws; if it ends up hitting me, it will surely be fatal whether it hits a bad area or not. I had an idea and started looking for a rock to test this idea. The Goblins were together; there were about 8 of them; I couldn't take the chance and go at them all like an idiot; this is certainly one of the ways that the extras in the books I read die.
They are all idiots.
Looking for a rock turned out to be more challenging than I thought, this area of the forest was strangely clean. I also can't help feeling that I'm being watched somewhere around here, I'd better raise my guard just in case.
Suddenly I hear some faint sounds behind me. Looking back I see about three rocks and a small knife on the ground.
I narrowed my eyes and started to stare at the treetops...
Walking over to the spot, I picked up the knife with my left hand and kept it in my shorts pocket for now. The stones were of medium size, it would be enough. Before going back to the place with the Goblins, I took one last look at the treetops...
I snuck into the trees and spotted the Goblins. They were all still here, which was very welcome. I took the first stone and threw it with considerable force at a bush on the right side. The noise quickly caught the Goblins' attention, and two ran to the noise. Before the others could follow, I threw the second stone at the opposite side, making those behind turn and go the other way. About 3 Goblins came running, and again, before the rest could go I threw the last stone forward with more force than the other two stones I threw earlier.
The two Goblins who were further ahead ran to the noise. It was as I thought, their intelligence is extremely low in this world if I compared it to the Goblins in the other story I read. I quickly came out of hiding and ran to the Goblin who was distracted by the noise I caused and had fallen further behind the group.
At totally unexpected speeds, even for me, I got close to the distracted Goblin and pulled the knife from my pocket. The Goblin, as if on pure instinct, turned towards me; however, it was too late. All the Goblin saw when he turned around was the sharp point of the knife that pierced his head without hesitation.
I pulled the knife back and stepped away with a little jump to get away from the splatter of blood that came from the dead Goblin. This was the only clothing I had; I couldn't afford to get blood on it when I had no means to wash it. I also had to be careful with my cell phone.
[Congratulations for killing level 3 Goblin]
A sudden monotone voice spoke in my mind which caused me to freeze for a moment before low growls snapped me back.
"Grrr."
"Grrrww!"
Three Goblins that I had tricked before appeared before me and wasted no time running towards me. I braced myself as I made sure that their sharp claws did not hit me. As they approached me, I surprised them with a circular kick to the top of their heads, one managed to escape while the first Goblin took my kick, causing the Goblin next to him to take it as well, causing them both to collapse and hit a large tree about 15 meters away.
The Goblin that had escaped was facing me with his claws raised. I quickly ducked when I felt something behind me, it turned out to be a Goblin that had jumped up with its claws pointed at my chest. Wasting no time, I forced my empty hand to the ground with great momentum as I lifted my leg to kick the Goblin still in the air, causing it to be hurled away.
However, it didn't end there, I dodged to the side quickly when the claws of another Goblin that had returned were launched at the place where I had been before. I quickly sent my knife into the Goblin's head as I did the same process of stepping back to get rid of the blood splashing on my clothes, and it was at this very moment that the Goblin who was in front of me before tried to attack, but I quickly kicked him in the face, pushing him away in the process.
Another Goblin had arrived by the time the other Goblins I had kicked had recovered, although they looked badly hurt. I noticed the last two Goblins running over as well. I couldn't let them surround me, it was a small risk I didn't want to take.
I quickly started running towards the two Goblins further away. Seeing me running towards them, the Goblins quickly prepared to attack me. I ran towards the Goblin on the right, who tried to attack me with his sharp claws, but with a flick of my hand, I escaped being pierced by his claws, at which point I pierced one of his eyes while using his body to propel me forward and do a 360-degree spin to kick the next Goblin a short distance away.
I made sure to kill the Goblin, whose eye I pierced while I was still in the air, and let the momentum throw me away a little before I fell completely to the ground without injury. I wasted no time and went over to the Goblin I had hit with the kick and pierced him cleanly in the head with my knife before turning away from him and preparing myself for the last Goblins that were coming at me.
As the Goblins ran at me I braced myself and couldn't help but mutter.
"This is not exactly the dream life I was looking for..."
The Goblins came up to me.
Clenching the knife, I prepared myself.