I finished killing the last Goblin while letting out a small sigh.
Because of my incredible luck, after I finished killing the last Goblin of the group I had met in the forest, 6 more of them appeared, and I had to get rid of them as well. Well, at least I can be confident that at least this area of the forest is free of Goblins.
This would be useful in case I needed to set up a makeshift camp here. All the Goblins that I had killed disappeared in a kind of light particles. The strange thing was that they didn't leave any dropouts like the usual stories where adventures exchange for money.
Well, there's no need to be overthinking about irrelevant stuff. There's a more pressing matter that requires my attention.
I shifted my attention toward the strange virtual screen that appeared in front of me.
-Status-
[Name: Axel Walker]
[Age: 15 ]
[Rank: F class Human]
[Level: 2]
[Strength: 14]
[Agility: 17]
[Vitality: 14]
[Constitution: 13]
[Mana: 5]
[Spiritual power: 7]
Free stats : 10
[Unique Ability: Soul master]
"Is this some kind of game interface?"
The screen showed what I could only assume to be my stats, and what was even more strange was the fact that I understood what each stat represented as if I always knew that information.
"Okay…this is getting weird."
First, being transported into a different world, then fighting a bunch of goblins. Surely, a leveling game-like system isn't that weird, right?
Also, when I was dealing with the Goblins I noticed something different. Even if it wasn't much, I was sure of it.
I'm stronger than before.
Wanting to test whether this thing was the real deal, I allocated 3 points to strength and 5 to agility.
I felt a refreshing feeling flow through my body as if I had just taken a deep breath after holding it for far too long. My muscles felt slightly tighter, my balance sharper. It wasn't an overwhelming change, but it was noticeable enough to confirm that the system was real.
"Huh... so it works," I muttered, staring at the screen with a mix of fascination and disbelief.
The glowing interface faded slightly as if waiting for my next command. This whole situation was bizarre, but I couldn't deny the practicality of it. I don't know anything about this world and how dangerous it is, but If this "system" was offering me an edge in survival, I wasn't about to reject it.
"Which leaves the question… does everyone in this world have a system or is it only me?"
Well, the future I could think about that. Instead, there's an urgent matter I need to take care of.
" at least I'm not bleeding this time," I muttered, brushing dirt off my tunic. The last thing I needed was to deal with an infection in an unfamiliar world.
I threw the shattered knife away and walked a bit before stopping.
"So, can you come out whoever you are?" I said in a somewhat loud tone as I looked up into the trees.
I am not naive enough to think I found more than I needed "magically". I am sure the feeling that I am being watched is because of "them", whatever they are. If they helped me, at least they would not be enemies; that's what I hope; I want to resolve the situation of being in this unknown forest.
Just when I thought they wouldn't show up because it's been a few seconds, I heard a voice screaming far behind me.
***
As Axel turned around to see, he saw 3 people in medieval armour? running straight towards him. Two male and a female cursing at each other.
"Fu*cker!! WE COULD HAVE KILLED IT WHILE IT WAS STILL SLEEPING!! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO MESS IT UP." The girl with violet hair with a bow in her hand shouted.
"OH YEAH?? HOW SHOULD I KNOW THAT A FRICKING CLAMORYNE OF ALL THINGS WOULD BE NEAR IT? AND WHY EVEN THIS BEAST WAS IN A
LEVEL 3 ZONE???" the knight running behind her screamed.
"GUYS THE SPELL WILL BE READY IN 10 SECONDS!!!" The third guy holding a staff in one hand and his witch-like hat in another.
Axel couldn't move properly as his legs were still numb. A small amount of head pain still remains.
Three people running towards him in a cosplay dress looking fashion.
A dust cloud prevented him from viewing the threat that was about 200 meters away.
In that dense forest, the bushes were smashed, small to medium trees flung away, dirt gases riled up.
The earth underneath Axel trembled. Finally, when the dust cloud cleared a little, he was able to view the threat that was chasing them, a red giant.
The three of them finally spotted Axel standing in front of them, about 100 meters away. Their eyes widened in shock as to how a kid like himself got this deep inside this forest.
"HEY BOYYYY!!! RUN AWAY!! THERE'S A MINOTAUR CHASING US." The girl warned him.
But they were a second late. As soon as he saw the creature, Axel knew it was a minotaur.
A colossal creature, roughly 3 times his size, wielding a double-sided axe, red skin and bull-like head.
A mythical creature was running towards him, and it felt unreal. A mixture of emotions surged through him.
Should he be happy that he escaped the clutches of his father? Or should he worry that he might never return to his world again?
Or maybe he should worry about more pressing matters in front of him. Like a charging minotaur.
He made a step forward, he slowly gained control over his legs. He felt the numbness fading away.
It took him long enough that those three adventurers were already near him.
"Damn Kid!!! Hey Kaimet!!! CARRY THE KID!!" The female archer shouted.
They were about 20 meters away from him.
"NO WAY!! WE WILL BE DEAD BY THEN, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE SPEED OF A FRICKING MINOTAUR??!!" The knight named Kaimet shouted back.
The minotaur is only 50 meters away. While they ran 80 meters, it ran 150, all the while smashing whatever was in its path.
Isn't the only option to fight? Why are they running? Do they have something up their sleeve?
Axel didn't ask these questions, for that he already had a guess. The existence of magic, he may witness that right now. But still he couldn't believe his hypotheses.
For the last time, he comically pinched his own cheeks. "...Ouch...".
"CLAIRE!!! I AM CASTING THE [QUICK STRIDE]." The mage shouted.
"RAY!!! CASTE IT ON THE CHILD TOO!!"
"I CAN ONLY CAST IT ON THREE PEOPLE!!! DAMN IT KAIMET, CARRY HIM!!!"
"OK OK JUST CAST THE DAMN SPELL RAY."
They were having their own feudal, while
Ayanokouji fully regained control over his body.
The first thing he did was stretch a little to relax his muscles.
He already formulated 3 different plans to survive this. But none of them included running away right now. Why? Because it was impossible.
The minotaur ran at a speed of around 36 miles per hour. He felt like it wasn't even at its full speed as there were many obstacles in its path.
Also the path they were running to was much more clearer and obstacle free.
They... No he will surely die. They might still have some kind of Trump card to escape, excluding that quickstride or whatever that guy mentioned.
Furthermore, he felt much safer fighting a
mindless creature than joining some shady looking intelligent humans. Evil might be the correct choice of word here.
Axel didn't believe that this 'Kaimet' was going to help him, he was clearly having an evil idea in his mind, and his face showed it all.
Suddenly a golden hue enveloped them. And their speed increased 3 fold. Axel witnessed this in astonishment. So that was a 'spell', he thought. Magic. Magic really exists in this world.
Finally, all the doubts in his mind vanished. He really is in another world. How else can you explain this bizarre situation?
The trio were right in front of him.
The girl named Claire jolted across him at
inhumane speed, followed by Ray.
"COME KID I WILL GRAB YOU." Kaimet shouted, stretching his hands.
The guy named Kaimet tried to grab me, but I dodged him instantly. From the look of his eyes, he was clearly going to use me as bait.
I had an option now, I could try to trip him, but without knowing the limits of their strength, I could very well fail, losing my precious time.
Or I could simply focus on the threat in front of me. Seeing the raging minotaur, I chose the latter.
I can use this environment to my advantage. I can certainly use that axe to my advantage. Its size, its shape, its speed, its rage. I have to take advantage of everything.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" The Archer shouted.
"CLAIRE DON'T STOP, THE KID IS DONE!!" As soon as Ray said that, the minotaur stomped right at where Axel was.
Well he wasn't there, he already charged towards the creature and slid in between its legs.
The dust cloud smoked the surroundings, making the adventurer party think that Axel had died.
But fortunately, this gave them enough time to escape. Having never faced a minotaur before, fear overtook them.
Even the so-called morally good Claire didn't look back to see if the boy was alive. No, rather, they had other reasons to not save him.