Morning came without answers.

  The city felt heavier than it had the night before. Fewer people spoke. Fewer still laughed. Some still waited near the respawn crystals, stubbornly clinging to routine, but most had drifted away. Fear did not spread loudly. It settled.

  Sora did not wait.

  He checked his inventory one last time.

  Potions. Few. Enough to survive a mistake. His sword was repaired, boots holding up well. Armor unchanged. Familiar.

  There was one quest left.

  A simple one, on paper.

  Hunt ten goblins. Collect five pieces of leather. Deliver them to the next town.

  The reward was listed plainly.

  Common Enchanting Stone. EXP.

  He hesitated over that.

  Enchanting stones were risky. Everyone knew that already. Low success rates. If enhancement failed three times, the weapon was gone. Same with armor. No recovery. No rollback.

  So far, he had only seen common stones. He had only heard rumors about better ones.

  Still, it was something.

  One last check.

  Then he left.

  The forest was quiet.

  Not empty, but still not enough to really grind. Small encounters here and there. A goblin watching from behind a tree. Another scavenging near a fallen log. Sora handled them carefully. He took damage, but it never became dangerous. Vertical Slash landed cleaner now. Quick Strike closed distance when it mattered.

  He was no longer completely useless.

  Not safe. But not helpless.

  By the time he reached a clearing, he was close to leveling again. Almost level three.

  Almost.

  He sat down and checked his supplies.

  Potions were nearly gone.

  He did not know how far the next town was.

  What MMORPG doesn't include a minimap.

  For the first time since leaving, he considered turning back.

  Then he heard a scream.

  It cut through the forest sharply, unmistakably human.

  Sora froze.

  He thought about leaving. About how unclear everything still was. About how no one knew for certain what happened when HP reached zero.

  Then the thought followed immediately after.

  What if it really was permanent.

  He stood.

  If he walked away now, and the scream stopped, he would have to accept what that meant.

  He moved.

  Ahead, three goblins circled a figure near a fallen tree. Manageable. Dangerous, but manageable.

  Sora committed.

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  Quick Strike.

  The first goblin went down before it could react. He turned, expecting the second to fall just as easily.

  It didn't.

  The goblin parried.

  That surprised him enough for the third to land a blow. Pain flared across his back. His HP dropped into yellow.

  Real pain.

  He blocked the next strike barely in time.

  Then a dagger flashed past his shoulder.

  The goblin stiffened as steel buried itself in its back.

  Sora finished the remaining enemy without hesitation.

  Silence returned.

  He turned.

  The stranger lowered her blade slowly.

  White hair. Long. Tied together at the back. Green eyes.

  You saved me," Sora said.

  She nodded once. "You too."

  There was a brief pause.

  "My name's Sora."

  "Abigail."

  They moved together after that without discussing it.

  The quest wasn't finished yet. Two or three goblins remained. Together, the forest felt less hostile. It was also more efficient. The first enemy died without realizing it was being hunted. The second raised its weapon and fell with a dagger in its throat. The third lasted longer, but not long enough.

  Quest requirements complete.

  They continued.

  Or thought they would.

  Hesitation.

  Something stepped into the clearing.

  It looked like a goblin.

  But not like the others.

  Larger. Stronger. Faster.

  Sora barely had time to react before he was thrown backward. His body hit a tree hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs. HP dropped instantly into orange.

  Abigail moved.

  She struck cleanly, but the blow barely slowed it.

  They regrouped. The pressure was immediate. Relentless.

  Sora used Quick Strike. Barely any damage.

  He dodged and switched places with Abigail.

  She moved in and executed a dagger technique paired with rapid footwork. Two skills at once.

  Critical hit.

  The goblin staggered.

  Then charged.

  They blocked together.

  It wasn't enough.

  Thud.

  Everything went black.

  When Sora opened his eyes, his vision was red. His chest wouldn't expand properly.

  The impact crushed the air from his lungs. His chest wouldn't expand. His HP hovered in critical, vision smeared red at the edges.

  Abigail lay beside him.

  Not moving.

  Her chest rose, barely. One arm was twisted at an angle that made something in Sora's stomach tighten. Her HP bar was worse than his. A thin sliver. Almost nothing.

  "No," he said, the word leaving him hoarse. "Get up."

  She didn't.

  The goblin stepped closer.

  Sora's thoughts scattered.

  He couldn't calculate distance. Couldn't think about timing or positioning. Potions, skills or systems none of it mattered in that moment. There was only the certainty that if he didn't move now, he would die.

  And so would she.

  His hands shook as he forced himself upright.

  Every movement hurt. Not sharply. Not cleanly. It felt wrong, like his body was lagging behind his intent.

  The goblin raised its weapon.

  Sora screamed.

  Not in fear. Not in pain.

  In refusal.

  He pushed everything forward. Ignored the strain tearing through his chest. Ignored the way his vision tunneled. He focused on the strike so completely that nothing else existed.

  The skill activated.

  But this time, it burned.

  Something drained out of him all at once, leaving a hollow, nauseating pull behind his eyes. The blade hit harder than it ever had before. The impact reverberated through his arms, through his teeth, through his spine.

  The goblin reeled.

  Still standing.

  Sora's legs gave out. He barely caught himself, vision swimming, body screaming that it had nothing left.

  He knew it.

  One more hit would end him.

  And the goblin wasn't finished.

  I guess this is it.

  A shadow moved.

  Abigail vanished from beside him and reappeared behind the goblin in a flash of motion too fast to follow. Her dagger plunged forward with absolute precision.

  The goblin collapsed.

  Thud.

  Silence.

  Sora dropped where he stood, hands pressed into the dirt, lungs finally dragging air back in painful gasps. The pressure lifted all at once, leaving only exhaustion behind.

  He didn't move for several seconds.

  Neither did she.

  The goblin's body lingered for a moment, then vanished.

  Level Up.

  Item Drop.

  A dagger lay on the ground between them.

  Sora picked it up and offered it to her.

  She shook her head. "I can't take that."

  "And I can't use a dagger well."

  "...We survive longer if you take it." He added.

  She hesitated. Then nodded.

  When their HP stabilized, she spoke quietly. "Do you think we would've died. You know. If it hit zero."

  "Possibly," Sora said.

  "I'm not testing it."

  "Same." She agreed.

  As Sora scrolled through his interface, he froze.

  The sensation from before. The drain.

  There it was.

  A mana bar beneath his HP.

  He opened his skill window.

  Vertical Slash and Quick Strike now displayed costs.

  They were stronger.

  Awakened.

  "So that's what it was," he said.

  Abigail frowned. "I have it too."

  "You didn't before?"

  "No, maybe by leveling up." She asked.

  Sora shook his head. "I leveled after. The change happened during the fight."

  "When we almost... died." He added.

  They didn't reach a conclusion.

  But they had changed.

  Hours later, the second town came into view.

  The atmosphere was different. Focused. People moved with intent. Less waiting. Less panic.

  They turned in the quest.

  It was late afternoon when they parted ways.

  Sora took a quick look at his friendlist.

  It wasn't empty anymore.

  He didn't ask why Abigail had left her group. He didn't want to know. He already expected the answer.