episode_0002

“Keyaek! Stop right there! The enemy who killed my father, sister, and brother!”

I’m going crazy.

Running through a treacherous forest, not knowing if there’s an end or not, has been going on for about five minutes now.

In the blink of an eye, my poor stamina hit rock bottom, and the rough sound of panting started to escape me.

Can’t we resolve this through dialogue?

Or maybe agree to a draw and each go our separate ways?

“That’s not me!”

“Don’t deceive me! Kekek!”

It’s probably impossible.

So, in order to explain why I’m shamefully fleeing from a goblin much smaller than myself…

I need to go back five minutes.

“Ah… I’m starting to understand the situation…”

The view of the office disappears, replaced by a damp, dim forest stretching in all directions.

And from the front, a goblin, so familiar to the point of suspicion, is running towards me with tears streaming down its face.

Most likely, everyone at our company, except me, would be panicking at this point.

But when I get home after work, eat while watching web novels, shower while listening to web novels via TTS, turn off the lights and lie down, straining my eyes until the last moment reading web novels, I can easily accept this absurd situation without any difficulty.

I’ve transmigrated.

Into the new game our company was developing before it went downhill.

While one might question the shady developer presumed to be the mastermind behind it all, or find my attire with loud full-body armor peculiar, I decide to focus instead on the goblin charging at me with a club.

Its movements are incredibly slow.

It seems my initial stats far surpass the goblin, appearing almost like slow motion.

[Welcome to Yggdrasil Online.]

[Username: Yu Jin]

[Age: 21 years old]

[User information confirmed.]

At that moment, a translucent window filled my vision.

Yggdrasil Online.

Indeed, it’s our game.

What are these sudden words??? Is this a dream??? I decide not to engage in unproductive babbling and instead make sure to remember what these words convey, regardless of the reason.

[Upon clearing the game and meeting the escape conditions, the game will immediately end, and you will return to reality.]

[Escape Condition 1: Achieve a romance rate of over 95% with all heroines.]

[Escape Condition 2: Defeat the final boss ‘Draken’.]

[If the escape conditions are not met upon clearing the game, you will return to the starting point.]

I can return.

Thankfully, I haven’t fallen into the hands of some wicked person who threw me into the game world without any explanation.

Moreover, there’s no need to risk my life to clear it.

If I fail to meet Escape Condition 1 while romancing the heroines, I can just start over.

With no risks involved, it’s a safe and familiar game for me to exploit its advantages.

Perhaps life here might be better than my boring and uncertain future back in the real world.

[Initial attributes are randomly assigned, and the status window is automatically called up.]

[You can call up the status window at any time.]

Ha.

They’re not even hiding the status window, what a friendly system for transmigrators.

The future looks bright.

I’m even afraid I might clear it in one go.

What if I end up wanting to stay here longer?

[Initial Attribute: Guardian Knight]

[Stats increase when protecting someone. If inactive, a penalty of 5 is deducted from basic stats.]

[Basic stats are calculated based on actual physical condition.]

[Stats]

[Strength: 9 (-5) *Guardian Knight penalty in effect]

[Health: 7 (-5) *Guardian Knight penalty in effect]

[Mana: 12 (-5) *Guardian Knight penalty in effect]

“Huh?”

This is unfamiliar.

Where in this forest can I find someone to protect?

So, without the help of initial attributes, or rather, facing obstacles with penalties, I have to confront goblins.

Initially taken aback as if seeing a possession for the first time, I quickly suppressed my excitement.

No need to be afraid.

Since it’s a game possession that teaches escape methods, guides initial attributes, and is so kind that it doesn’t even follow the pattern of monsters appearing behind you from the start.

The goblin that has been chasing me for a while now has finally come within ten steps of me.

Although my initial stats have all halved, judging by the slow movements of the goblin, it seems like its stats are around 1.

Furthermore, I have a sword strapped to my left waist.

“There’s no choice. At least let’s end this without suffering.”

Even if it’s a tutorial, it’s too easy.

Given my destined existence to become an unparalleled knight, the gap between me and a lowly goblin is inevitable.

The situation is clear; since it attacked me first, I have no choice but to retaliate.

Mortal, blame your own feeble strength.

[End of guidance.]

[Time deceleration effect disappears.]

“Huh?”

Time deceleration…?

Startled, I reached for the sword at my waist.

“Keek! Human! Die quietly! Keek!”

“Hey hey, hey hey!!!”

The goblin rapidly closed the distance.

Though I had resolved not to panic just moments ago, I was already on the verge of panicking.

Nevertheless, standing firm, once I draw my sword, dealing with a goblin wielding a club will be easy…

Clang!

“Ke, Keek! Your face almost got sliced!”

“Oh…”

A clear voice echoed.

Why is the sword that should have been in my right hand lying over there?

Utilizing my bizarre imagination cultivated through web novels and games, I quickly began to assess the situation.

Firstly, 1. My basic stats are so trash that I can’t even properly grip a sword. I might even lose in stats against the goblin.

Secondly, 2. Thanks to the boss wanting a ‘realistic’ game, the goblins in this world are intelligent enough to parry a sword with a club.

Lastly, 3. I am screwed.

It took just one second to assess the situation.

Fast.

And my legs were fast too.

“Keek! Stop right there! The enemy who killed father, mother, and siblings!”

“That wasn’t me!”

“Don’t deceive us! Keek!”

Well…

That’s how it turned out.

It’s frustrating and embarrassing to feel unjustly accused.

The system was quite friendly, but it was just bad luck.

I mean, to get a trait that only incurs penalties without any benefits from initial attributes is unexpected.

I saw earlier that my base luck stat was 4, so could it be that I’m experiencing the effects of a -5 penalty…?

Not good.

This is very ominous.

Historically, low luck stats were used to build up the protagonist’s unfortunate events.

It’s a setting specialized in tormenting the protagonist for the author’s convenience.

When I eventually find a way to increase my stats, I’ll have to focus on luck first.

Because readers don’t want a story where the protagonist struggles and suffers until a tiny minority finds it amusing, while the majority silently leaves.

One fortunate thing is that except for my attire, I’ve completely transitioned into this body as it was.

Or rather, it’s more accurate to say it’s a ‘transition’ than a possession.

There’s no need to feel dizzy adapting to someone else’s body due to the past reckless behavior of the body’s original owner.

That’s truly a stroke of luck.

“I guess it’s time to see who comes out on top!”

My stamina kicks in.

I feel like I’m already exhausted to the point of collapse, but seeing that the goblin still doesn’t seem to know how to get tired, it became a well-established fact that my stats are inferior to that guy.

Historically, human strength has been in endurance, namely stamina.

No matter how strong, fast, or thick-skinned a large animal might be, if humans were driven to exhaustion and collapse, chased until they dropped their weapons, it was game over.

If I didn’t want to end up in that situation with the goblin, I had to make a stand before completely depleting my stamina.

Even though I searched all over my body, nothing suitable as a weapon could be found besides the sword I equipped earlier.

Although I wore armor all over my body, it wasn’t a sturdy full plate armor, and facing a club rather than a sword, expecting a significant increase in protection was difficult.

If I stood still like this, I would become the sacrificial lamb at the beginning of a novel where an enraged goblin finally avenges his family and advances towards success.

“Ack!”

“Kekeke! Human, weak! Stupid!”

Thunk.

Perhaps due to my lack of stamina.

I tripped over a tree root that I had easily cleared before, falling because my legs got entangled.

The fallen position was not favorable, making it impossible to get up immediately.

The goblin who caught up in an instant jumped high, adding gravity to my weak strength, attempting to strike me with the club.

At this rate, I would die.

Of course, if things continued this way.

“Can’t even run in a straight line! Always veering off course and easily caught up! Kekek!”

“······.”

Without landmarks for direction, people cannot walk in a straight line.

I vaguely remembered reading somewhere that people tend to walk leaning to one side, either left or right.

However, despite having plenty of landmarks in this forest, I ended up circling back to the starting point for over five minutes.

Why?

To retrieve my weapon.

“Sorry. I can’t overpower you while exhausted and on the verge of collapse.”

“Kieek?”

Swish.

With a sharp sound cutting through the air, a red line appeared on the goblin’s neck.

Being airborne, there was no way to dodge, making aiming easy.

Short distance, large target, wide blade.

A critical hit regardless of where it lands.

Thud, the club fell right next to my face, and the goblin’s body, missing the club, tumbled on the ground.

“Keek! Kieek! Kieeeek!”

Watching the goblin writhe in agony, spilling blood from its neck, a sense of pity arose.

Although I didn’t kill its family, I could somewhat understand the creature driven by rage.

Due to my weak strength, I gripped the sword with trembling hands and struck down.

The goblin with its severed neck collapsed, lying motionless without further convulsions.

There was no flashy effect of light emanating from the body disappearing.

It seemed like I entered a version before the update.

[Achievement Unlocked]

[First Monster Hunt Success!]

Was it a monster hunt?

Or perhaps just murder.

Since I killed a sentient being with intelligence comparable to humans, it might as well be considered murder.

During this moment of contemplation and frozen stillness.

[As a reward for achieving the milestone, you receive ‘Choice Stat Boost Potion’ x1.]

[Choice Stat Boost Potion (Quantity: 1)]

[Permanently increases a desired stat by 10.]

“Ugh! Glug, glug, glug······! Cough, cough! Ugh!”

[Luck stat increases by 10.]

Enough with the philosophical gibberish; I quickly gulped down the potion.

The most absurd aspect of a Luck stat of -1 is that if a boss monster suddenly appears behind me right now, I have to die without a second thought.

No time to hesitate.

Hastily drinking, even though I heard a clinking sound, I pushed the potion down my throat, not caring whether it went into my lungs or not.

Who cares about murder and all that?

That guy is a hero in contributing to the recovery of my Luck stat.

Perhaps he, too, sheds tears of joy in the afterlife, finding solace in helping me.

From now on, I shall name him Blin to honor his noble sacrifice and never forget.

It’s decided.

Today marks Blin’s memorial day every year.