Not cute sore. Not gym sore. Not "I should hydrate" sore.
More like my muscles had held a meeting overnight and voted unanimously to hate me.
The castle bed was still too soft. My brain wanted to pretend yesterday was a fever dream. Truck. White room. Goddess. Blue windows. Summoning circle. Goblin blood.
Then the blue window popped into my vision like it had been waiting for me to open my eyes.
[STATUS]
Name: Sato Kenta
Class: Hero
Level: 2
EXP: 3 / 120
HP: 180 / 180
MP: 90 / 90
STR: 9
AGI: 10
VIT: 9
INT: 11
WIL: 11
LUK: 8
Stat Points Available: 5
Skills:
- Courage (Passive)
- Hero’s Aura (Passive)
- Weapon Adaptation (Passive)
- Sword Basics (Lv. 1)
- Footwork (Lv. 1)
Cheat Skills:
- Auto-Translation
- Inventory
- Appraisal
- Growth Rate x5
- Mental Resistance
Okay. So it was not a dream.
The numbers were real. The soreness was real. The fact that I had an MP bar was extremely real and also extremely stupid.
I sat up, blinked hard, and the window stayed.
Then my stomach growled like it wanted to eat the bed.
I rubbed my face with both hands. My palms still smelled faintly like iron from yesterday. Goblin blood. My brain tried to replay the moment the goblin head rolled.
My brain also remembered the little surge of dopamine when the system chimed.
That part made me feel gross.
That part also made me feel alive.
I exhaled, then poked the air like an idiot.
"Stat points," I whispered.
The system responded instantly.
[STAT ALLOCATION]
Stat Points: 5
Confirm distribution?
It was like an RPG menu. Clean. Simple. No room for morality, only math.
I stared at STR, AGI, VIT.
I did not want to die to the second goblin because I built my character like a glass cannon at level two.
I also did not want to be the kind of hero who hits like a wet noodle and survives longer only to fail later.
My hands hovered.
Two into VIT. Two into AGI. One into STR.
Survive. Move. Hit.
I clicked confirm.
[CONFIRMED]
STR +1
AGI +2
VIT +2
STR: 10
AGI: 12
VIT: 11
Stat Points Remaining: 0
My chest warmed in that weird way it does when you solve a problem. Like I had done something right.
Dopamine. Again.
This system was going to turn me into an addict. I could feel it.
A knock hit the door. Hard. Professional.
"Hero. Wake."
Captain Roth's voice.
I flinched like I was back in school and someone had caught me sleeping.
"I'm awake," I croaked.
The door opened without waiting. Of course it did.
Captain Roth stepped in like the room belonged to him by default. Armor on even this early. His hair was tied back. His eyes were sharp and annoyed in the way only a morning person can be.
He looked me up and down.
"You are alive."
"Thanks," I said. "I was aiming for that."
He did not smile.
"Princess Selene requests your presence. Now."
My stomach dropped.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"You exist," Roth said. "That is enough to cause trouble. Stand. Dress. Follow."
He turned and left like the conversation was a closed door.
I scrambled out of bed, grabbed the tunic they had given me, and dressed fast. My fingers were clumsy. My brain was loud.
When I stepped into the hallway, I almost ran into a servant carrying linens. She bowed so hard it looked painful.
"My apologies, Hero!"
"I'm sorry," I said automatically, bowing back, because Japan had programmed that into my bones.
She froze, then bowed again, deeper, like now we were in a bow duel.
Roth's voice cut in from ahead.
"Walk."
I walked.
The castle corridors were quiet at this hour. Stone floors. Hanging banners. Guards stationed like statues. I kept noticing the church symbol everywhere, carved into pillars, stitched into tapestries, painted on ceilings.
A circle of stars around a central tear-shaped gem.
Elyria's symbol.
I told myself not to think about the white room. Not to think about the menu. Not to think about the one crossed-out line that had been weird enough to stick in my head like a splinter.
Not now.
Roth led me to a set of tall doors. Two guards opened them. Light spilled out.
Inside was a smaller chamber than the cathedral. A meeting room. A long table. Maps spread across it like the kingdom was being dissected.
Princess Selene stood at the head of the table with a cloak over her night dress, like she had woken up and immediately decided to carry a country on her shoulders.
She looked tired. Not sleepy tired. Exhausted tired.
When she saw me, her expression softened.
"Hero Kenta," she said, then corrected herself quickly, "Kenta. Thank you for coming so early."
"Captain Roth dragged me," I said.
Roth did not react.
Selene almost smiled. Almost.
Beside the princess stood Mina, the priestess. She bowed politely, hands folded.
And across the table was Lyra, the mage, leaning on her elbows like she had been born unimpressed.
Lyra glanced at me and snorted. "He looks like he got hit by a wagon."
"Truck," I muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Selene clasped her hands. "We have decided your first official mission."
Official.
The word made my spine tighten. Yesterday was a test. Today was the real thing. The one people would talk about. The one that would set expectations.
Roth tapped a point on the map.
"Supply road. Three hours east of the capital. A trading hamlet called Brookbend."
Lyra yawned. "Goblins again?"
Mina's eyes narrowed slightly. "Not only goblins."
Selene took a breath. "Two days ago, a merchant caravan vanished. Yesterday, a messenger returned with injuries and reported seeing goblins wearing scraps of Asterian uniforms."
My stomach chilled.
Goblins in uniforms meant goblins were stripping bodies.
Or prisoners.
Or worse.
Roth's voice was flat. "If the supply road collapses, the frontier will starve. If the frontier starves, the Demon King wins without marching."
Selene looked at me.
"This is not a grand battle, Hero. But it matters. People will die quietly if we do nothing."
My mouth was dry. I nodded anyway.
"What do you need me to do?"
Roth answered, like he was happy the conversation became simple.
"Investigate Brookbend. Recover survivors if any exist. Eliminate the goblin nest. Bring proof. Return by nightfall."
Lyra raised a hand lazily. "And try not to die. That would be inconvenient."
Mina frowned at her, then looked at me gently. "We will be with you."
Selene's gaze hardened, like she was forcing herself to be a ruler and not a scared girl.
"I am sending you as a symbol," she admitted. "The people need to see the Hero act. The nobles need to see the Hero succeed. The church needs to see the Hero obey."
That last part landed weird.
Not scary weird. Just... tight. Like she had said something she did not want to say.
Roth stepped forward. "Before departure, you will receive your Hero plate."
"My what?"
Lyra grinned. It was not friendly. It was amused in the way someone is amused watching a baby deer try to run.
"The thing that proves you are not just some random guy who wandered into the castle and started eating taxpayer food."
"Lyra," Selene scolded, but softly.
Lyra shrugged. "I support efficient truth."
Roth led us out again. Down another corridor. Into a smaller armory room where the air smelled like oil and leather.
A smith waited inside, thick arms, burnt hands, face like a cliff.
He bowed to Selene, then stared at me like I was a strange new type of tool.
"Hero," he rumbled. "Hold out your left arm."
I did.
He strapped a bronze plate onto my forearm, fitted tight. It had the star-circle symbol etched into it and a small slot for a crystal.
"It will record your level and identity," Roth said. "Guilds will recognize it. Soldiers will recognize it. So will enemies, if they are not blind."
"Comforting," I said.
The smith slid a small crystal into the plate. It lit faintly blue.
The blue window in my vision chimed at the same moment.
[ITEM ACQUIRED]
Hero Plate (Asteria Issue)
Rarity: Uncommon
Effect: Identity Verification, Level Display (Public), Quest Proof Storage
Bound: Yes
Bound.
Okay. So I could not sell it like some idiot protagonist trying to scam the system. Not that I planned to, but the fact that my brain immediately thought about it was not a great sign.
Roth handed me a short sword next. Not ceremonial. Real. Balanced. Sharp enough that my thumb tingled when I looked at it.
"Steel," he said. "Use it."
My hand closed around the grip.
The sword felt too real.
The blue window blinked.
[WEAPON EQUIPPED]
Short Sword (Common)
ATK: 12
Durability: 100 / 100
Lyra leaned in, eyes glittering. "Appraise it."
Right. My cheat skill.
I focused on the sword.
[APPRAISAL]
Short Sword (Common)
Crafted in Asteria, standard infantry pattern.
Minor enchantment residue: None.
"Cool," I said. "It is a sword."
Lyra rolled her eyes. "Try appraising me."
Absolutely not.
Mina coughed politely like she had also considered it and decided to pretend she had not.
Roth handed me a pouch.
"Basic supplies. Two healing draughts. Dried meat. Rope. Flint."
I took it and the weight disappeared the moment I willed it.
Inventory.
My vision flashed.
[INVENTORY OPENED]
Slots: 40
Weight Limit: Negligible
Stored:
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
- Supply Pouch
- Tunic
- Bread (2)
- Water Skin (1)
I closed it quickly because staring at a menu in real life felt like staring at my phone while crossing the street, which had worked out great for me last time.
Selene looked at the party.
"Roth will lead. Mina will support. Lyra will provide ranged magic. Kenta... you will be in the center. Do not separate."
I nodded.
My heart was already picking up speed. Not fear. Not only fear.
Excitement.
This was insane. This was stupid. This was going to get me killed.
This was also the first time since dying that I had a clear direction that was not "clock in, clock out, rot slowly."
Roth snapped his fingers once.
"We leave now."
We rode out of the capital through the east gate.
I had never been on a horse before in my life.
My horse knew this immediately and punished me by moving in a way that made my spine question reality.
Lyra rode like she had been born on a saddle. Mina sat with calm grace. Roth looked like a statue welded to his horse.
Selene did not come, which made sense, but her absence also made the mission feel more real. This was not a royal tour. This was work.
The road stretched through fields and low hills. Farmers paused to stare.
Some bowed. Some made the church sign. Some just stared like they were trying to decide if I was a miracle or a scam.
I kept my face neutral because I had no idea what a hero was supposed to look like.
Inside, I was screaming.
Half an hour out, the system chimed again.
[QUEST]
Road to Brookbend
Objective: Investigate disappearance
Objective: Eliminate goblin nest
Objective: Recover survivors if possible
Time Limit: 1 day
Reward: EXP, Reputation (Asteria), Equipment Chance
Failure: Supply route destabilization
Lyra glanced at me. "You see it too, right? The quest window."
"Yeah," I said.
"Try not to look like you are reading invisible text while people talk to you. It makes you look possessed."
"Helpful."
"I know."
Roth spoke without turning. "Explain system to me later. Focus now."
I blinked. "You cannot see it?"
"No."
Mina's voice was quiet. "The church teaches that the Hero receives guidance directly. We assumed it meant visions."
"It is more like... menus," I said.
Lyra snorted. "Divine menus. My favorite kind of holy."
Mina did not laugh, but her lips twitched.
Three hours later, we crested a hill.
Brookbend sat in a shallow valley beside a river. Or it used to.
Smoke rose in thin threads from half-burnt roofs. Fences were broken. A cart lay on its side. The place was too still.
My skin tightened.
Roth held up a fist.
We dismounted quietly, tying horses in the trees. Roth drew his sword.
Lyra's fingers sparked faintly with heat.
Mina whispered a prayer and her symbol glowed softly.
I gripped my short sword and tried not to breathe too loud.
We moved into the hamlet.
A dog lay dead in the road, ribs showing. Flies buzzed.
I swallowed hard.
Lyra's voice dropped. "Goblins did not do this cleanly."
Roth pointed at tracks in mud. Small feet. Many. Drag marks.
"Here."
We followed.
A barn door hung open. Inside, hay was scattered. Blood stains darkened the floor.
Then a sound.
A weak cough.
Mina moved first, quick and silent.
Behind a pile of broken crates, a man lay curled up, half-conscious, face gray, leg wrapped in filthy cloth.
Mina knelt, hands glowing.
"Sir. Can you hear me?"
The man blinked, eyes unfocused. His mouth moved.
Auto-Translation kicked in, but it was already their language. Still, I understood.
"Goblins... took them."
"Took who?" Roth demanded.
"Kids... my wife... the merchant people. They took them to the tower. Old watchtower. North ridge."
My stomach clenched.
Lyra hissed. "They are not just raiding. They are collecting."
Mina pressed light into the man's wound. The bleeding slowed. His breathing steadied.
My status window chimed quietly.
[SUPPORT ACTION RECORDED]
Survivor stabilized.
EXP +20
Dopamine. Again.
Even healing someone gave points.
This system did not care why you did things. It cared that things happened.
Roth stood. "Tower. Now."
The survivor grabbed Mina's sleeve weakly. "Please. My daughter. Please."
Mina squeezed his hand. "We will try."
Try. Not promise.
Because promises in this world were expensive.
We left him with water and a blanket, then moved north.
The ridge was thick with trees. The old watchtower rose above the canopy like a broken tooth.
As we approached, the stink hit us.
Rot. Smoke. Feces. Blood.
Goblins.
Roth crouched behind a boulder and signaled. Two goblins stood outside the tower entrance, arguing over a sack. One wore a torn blue cloak that looked like it used to belong to a soldier.
Lyra whispered, "Two sentries. Easy."
Mina looked at me. "Kenta, can you move quietly?"
I nodded, lying.
Roth's eyes flicked to me. "Do not rush. Do not get greedy."
I swallowed. "Okay."
We split.
Lyra raised two fingers, then pointed.
A small flame formed at the tip of her finger, no bigger than a candle, then shot forward like a bullet.
It hit the first goblin in the head.
The goblin shrieked, stumbled, and collapsed smoking.
The second goblin spun, mouth opening to scream.
Roth moved like death.
One step. One slash.
The goblin fell.
My status window chimed twice, almost instantly.
[PARTY KILL RECORDED]
Goblin slain. EXP +9
[PARTY KILL RECORDED]
Goblin slain. EXP +9
Then another chime layered on top, louder.
[LEVEL UP]
Level 3
Stat Points +5
My heart jumped.
That was fast.
Growth Rate x5 was doing work.
I did not have time to feel happy about it because Roth was already moving to the tower entrance.
"Inside," he whispered. "Stay close."
The tower interior was dark and cramped. Old stone stairs spiraled upward. The air was damp and hot from bodies.
We descended instead of going up. The tower had a lower level carved into the hill.
A crude wooden gate blocked the passage. Bone charms hung from it. Some were animal bones.
Some were not.
Mina's breath caught.
Lyra's voice went flat. "I hate this."
Roth lifted his sword and nodded once.
He kicked the gate.
It exploded inward.
Chaos.
Goblins inside shrieked and surged toward us, eight of them, then more behind, eyes shining in torchlight.
My body moved before my brain did.
Sword up. Footwork. Step.
I swung.
The blade met flesh. Warm resistance. A wet crunch.
The goblin screamed.
My status window popped like fireworks.
[KILL RECORDED]
Goblin slain. EXP +12
[SKILL EXP]
Sword Basics +6%
Another goblin lunged. I tried to pull back. Too slow.
Claws raked my forearm.
Pain flashed white.
My HP dropped.
[HP -18]
162 / 180
Mina's light hit me like warm water.
[HEALING RECEIVED]
HP +15
177 / 180
Lyra shouted something sharp and a wave of fire rolled over the goblins like a sheet, stopping just short of us.
Two goblins fell burning.
[PARTY KILL RECORDED]
Goblin slain. EXP +9
Goblin slain. EXP +9
Roth waded forward, shield up, sword stabbing with brutal efficiency. He did not waste movement. He did not hesitate. He looked like he had done this a hundred times and hated it every time.
I kept swinging, breathing hard, feet slipping on blood.
The system chimed again.
[LEVEL UP]
Level 4
Stat Points +5
My brain screamed, allocate points, get stronger, now, now, now.
I could not. A goblin tried to bite my leg.
I kicked it in the face and it went down.
Then something deeper in the tower roared.
Not a goblin shriek.
A deeper, heavier sound that made my ribs vibrate.
Lyra froze for half a second. "That is not a normal goblin."
Roth spat. "Hobgoblin. Or worse. Push through."
We moved down the passage, stepping over bodies.
A side chamber opened to the right.
Cages.
Crude iron bars. Humans inside. Three adults. Two kids. One of the kids was a girl with her hair matted with blood. Her eyes were huge. Silent.
Mina rushed to the cages.
Roth grabbed her shoulder. "Later. Clear threat first."
Mina's face tightened like she wanted to argue, but she nodded once, hard.
Lyra stared at the cages, jaw clenched.
The girl met my eyes through the bars.
I felt something cold and heavy settle in my stomach.
No dopamine for this.
Only anger.
We pushed deeper.
The passage opened into a wider chamber that looked like the tower's old storage room. Now it was a nest.
Scraps of cloth. Piles of stolen goods. Bones. Torches stuck into cracks.
And in the center stood the biggest goblin I had ever seen.
Tall, thick, shoulders like a brute. Skin darker. Face scarred. Its eyes were smarter, meaner.
It wore a broken helmet and a piece of breastplate like a trophy.
In one hand, a spiked club. In the other, a severed arm.
It dropped the arm casually when it saw us.
Then it grinned.
Roth's voice went low. "Hobgoblin leader."
Lyra whispered, "Of course there is a leader. Of course."
Mina raised her symbol, light gathering.
The hobgoblin leader roared and the smaller goblins behind it shrieked like they were being whipped by sound.
My vision flashed.
[STATUS EFFECT]
Fear (Minor)
Resisted.
Mental Resistance.
It was not flashy. It did not feel heroic. It felt like a cold hand gripping the back of my neck and holding me steady.
My legs stopped trying to run.
Roth charged.
The hobgoblin swung its club like a log.
Roth blocked with his shield. The impact echoed. Roth slid back two steps, boots scraping.
Lyra fired a bolt of flame. The hobgoblin turned its head and the flame splashed across its shoulder, leaving a black burn.
It did not fall.
It laughed.
Then it moved fast.
Too fast for its size.
It slammed the club down toward Lyra.
Lyra dodged, barely, hair singeing.
Mina shouted and a barrier of light flashed in front of Lyra, catching the back swing.
The barrier cracked like glass.
Mina gasped, face paling.
Roth shouted, "Kenta. Now. Flank."
My body moved.
Footwork. Left. Right. The chamber stank. The floor was slick.
I came in from the side, raised my sword, and slashed at the hobgoblin's thigh.
The blade bit.
The hobgoblin snarled and backhanded me.
I flew.
I hit a pile of stolen sacks and rolled, breath knocked out of me.
My HP dropped hard.
[HP -46]
131 / 180
Mina's light hit me again, smaller this time, like she was rationing herself.
[HEALING RECEIVED]
HP +20
151 / 180
Lyra screamed in frustration and unleashed a stronger blast of fire, a cone that forced the hobgoblin back.
Roth seized the opening and drove his sword into the hobgoblin's side.
Black blood sprayed.
The hobgoblin roared, grabbed Roth's shield, and yanked.
Roth stumbled forward.
The hobgoblin raised its club to crush him.
My brain went white.
Hero's Aura flared without asking permission.
It felt like heat in my chest, like a hand grabbing all of us and pulling.
The blue window flashed.
[HERO’S AURA]
Condition met: Protect Allies
Effect: Party Resolve increased
Effect: Damage resistance (Minor)
Duration: 10 seconds
Ten seconds.
My body sprinted before my fear could speak.
I threw myself between Roth and the club.
I did not block it with strength. I angled my blade and my body and prayed physics still existed in fantasy worlds.
The club slammed into my sword.
Pain burst up my arms.
My durability bar screamed.
[WEAPON DURABILITY -12]
88 / 100
My HP dropped.
[HP -28]
123 / 180
But the club deflected enough.
Roth twisted, recovered, and slammed his shield into the hobgoblin's face.
Lyra's fire bolt hit its eye.
It screamed, staggered.
Mina shouted a word like a command and a spike of light slammed into the hobgoblin's chest, not killing it, but pinning it for a heartbeat.
One heartbeat was enough.
I stepped in close, hands shaking, and drove my sword up under its breastplate where the armor did not cover.
The blade sank deep.
The hobgoblin froze.
Then it collapsed like the strings were cut.
The chamber went quiet except for our breathing.
Then the system exploded in my vision like it had been holding its breath.
[BOSS DEFEATED]
Hobgoblin Leader slain.
EXP +350
Level Up! Level 6
Stat Points +10
Title Earned: Nestbreaker (I)
Loot Acquired: Cracked Silver Ring (Uncommon)
Loot Acquired: Iron Keyring (Quest Item)
Level 6.
My knees almost buckled.
Six. In one morning.
Growth Rate x5 was not a joke. It was a cheat code stapled to my soul.
Lyra stared at the hobgoblin body, then at me. Her voice was shaky with adrenaline and anger.
"Okay. That was actually heroic. Do not get used to hearing me say that."
Roth exhaled hard, then nodded once, sharp. "Good."
Mina swayed slightly. I reached out automatically.
"Are you okay?"
She forced a smile. "I am. Just... tired."
Her eyes flicked to the cages down the corridor.
"Now," she whispered. "Please."
We moved back fast.
Roth took the keys from my hand. He unlocked the cages. The bars screeched open.
The adults stumbled out, weak. The girl did not move at first.
Mina knelt in front of her, voice soft.
"You are safe now."
The girl's eyes trembled. Then she lunged forward and clung to Mina like she was drowning.
Mina held her tightly.
Lyra looked away, jaw clenched so hard it looked like it hurt.
Roth collected proof the way a soldier does, grim and practical. Goblin ears. The hobgoblin helmet. The stolen uniforms.
I stood there breathing, sword heavy in my hand, arms still buzzing from impact.
My status window still glowed.
Level 6.
Stat points.
Loot.
A ring.
My brain wanted to open the menu right now and roll in the rewards like a dog in snow.
Then I looked at the cages. The blood. The bones.
And the dopamine felt wrong again.
Not because leveling was bad.
Because leveling in a place like this meant someone was paying the price for my growth.
I forced myself to focus.
Appraisal.
I held the cracked silver ring and focused.
[APPRAISAL]
Cracked Silver Ring (Uncommon)
Effect: +1 VIT
Condition: Damaged, repairable
Value: Low to moderate
Plus one VIT. Nice.
I slid it onto my finger.
[ITEM EQUIPPED]
Cracked Silver Ring (Uncommon)
VIT +1
The system chimed like it approved of accessorizing after murder.
Lyra stared at my hand. "Seriously. Loot goblin."
"I did not choose this life," I muttered.
Roth snorted once. It might have been a laugh. It might have been indigestion.
We escorted the survivors out of the tower. Mina supported the weakest. Roth carried one kid like it weighed nothing. Lyra kept watch, fire flickering in her palm like a warning.
Outside, the daylight felt too normal.
Birds chirped.
The river flowed.
Like the tower had not been a hole in the world.
We got the survivors onto horses carefully. I gave the girl my cloak because she was shivering and I did not know what else to do with my hands.
She looked up at me with huge eyes.
"H... Hero?" she whispered.
The word made my chest tighten.
"Yeah," I said, voice rough. "Yeah. I guess."
On the ride back, my status window sat at the edge of my vision like a hungry little pet.
Stat points. Ten points.
I did not allocate them yet.
Not because I was noble.
Because my hands would not stop shaking.
When the capital walls came into view, the sun was already lowering. We had done it in one day like the quest demanded.
The gates opened.
Guards saw the survivors and shouted for help. People gathered. Whispers spread.
"The Hero returned."
"He brought them back."
"Look, that is him."
I wanted to disappear.
Instead, I sat up straighter because Roth was beside me like a wall and Mina was holding the girl and Lyra looked like she would set anyone on fire who got too close.
We rode through the gate and the city swallowed us in noise.
And somewhere above all of it, in the back of my skull, one tiny dumb thought surfaced again, light as a bubble.
That menu in the white place.
That crossed-out line.
Not a conspiracy. Not a revelation.
Just a lingering, irritating curiosity.
"Huh," I whispered to myself.
"Weird."
The system chimed one more time as if it heard me and decided to ignore it.
[QUEST COMPLETE]
Road to Brookbend: Cleared
Survivors rescued: 5
Goblin nest eliminated: Yes
Proof delivered: Pending
Reward pending audience with Princess Selene.
Roth looked at me.
"Do not waste this momentum," he said. "People are watching."
My throat tightened.
"Okay," I said.
My hands finally stopped shaking.
Not because I was brave.
Because I was already moving.
And the system loved people who moved.