The first rays of dawn broke through the cracks in the ruined hut.
Nguyen Arata blinked against the pale light. His body ached all over, and the shallow wounds from last night throbbed with dull pain. He tried to sit up, but the movement made his muscles scream in protest.
"…Still alive," he muttered. The words felt unreal. He half expected to wake back in his old world, in his small, messy apartment. But the ash on the floor—the remains of the monster—was undeniable proof.
The System had been silent since announcing the mission's completion.
Arata wiped his face with his sleeve. The black ichor from the ghoul had dried there, sticky and foul-smelling. His stomach churned, but he forced himself to stand. The shard of wood he had used as a weapon still lay by his side. He picked it up instinctively.
Outside, the world was… bleak.
The village stretched before him—if it could be called a village. Huts leaned precariously, walls patched with rotting boards. Smoke rose weakly from a few chimneys, though most homes looked abandoned. The dirt paths were uneven, riddled with claw marks and dried blood.
People were moving. Thin, weary figures, faces pale and eyes sunken. They glanced at him, then quickly looked away, their expressions guarded. Children clung to their mothers, silent and watchful.
Arata tightened his grip on the shard of wood. These people… they've lived in this nightmare long enough to get used to it.
A screen appeared in front of him, startling him.
[New Mission: Integrate into the village.] [Tasks: – Speak to the villagers. – Assist in daily survival (0/3). – Kill one low-tier beast (0/1).] [Reward: +3 Stat Points.]
"…So it wants me to play errand boy now?" Arata muttered. But the words reward: +3 Stat Points caught his attention. His fight last night had shown him how critical even the smallest advantage was.
He sighed. "Fine. I get it. Work, survive, grow. Rinse and repeat."
He approached a nearby villager—an older man chopping wood with shaking hands. The man noticed him, narrowed his eyes, and barked, "If you're standing around, boy, make yourself useful. Grab the logs."
Arata blinked, then knelt to gather the logs. The man didn't thank him, didn't smile—just kept working.
This place… no kindness, no warmth. Just survival.
When the task was done, the man shoved the firewood into a sack and left without another word.
[Sub-task complete. Survival Task (1/3).]
Arata exhaled slowly. "One down."
Throughout the day, he carried water from a broken well, repaired a hut's wall with rotting planks, and fetched herbs for a coughing child. Each small act was met with wary stares but no gratitude. Still, the System tallied them all.
[Sub-tasks complete. Survival Task (3/3).]
By dusk, only one remained.
[Final Sub-task: Kill one low-tier beast.]
Arata's stomach twisted. "Of course it wasn't going to let me off easy."
Night fell quickly in this world. The villagers retreated indoors, bolting their doors as if by instinct. Soon, only Arata was left standing on the dirt path, gripping his wooden shard.
The air grew heavy, the silence broken only by distant howls.
Then he saw it.
A creature crawled from the forest on all fours, its body hunched and covered in bony protrusions. Its tongue lolled from its mouth, dripping venom onto the ground. Its eyes glowed faintly in the dark.
The System chimed:
[Target Identified: Lesser Hunger Beast.] [Danger Level: Low.] [Failure to kill: Mission Failure → Host Termination.]
Arata's pulse quickened. He had barely survived last night's ghoul. Now he had to choose to fight.
The beast screeched and charged.
Arata raised the shard, forcing his breathing steady. His mind flickered with the new knowledge burned into him last night—the stances, the angles, the rhythm of a sword strike.
He slashed.
The shard cut across the beast's snout, spraying black blood. The creature roared, its claws swiping back. Arata twisted away, his movements sharper, more controlled than before. The Basic Sword Technique guided him, his body moving almost on its own.
He struck again, this time stabbing into its throat. The beast writhed, but Arata pushed forward, driving the weapon deeper.
With a final gurgling hiss, the creature collapsed.
[Sub-task Complete. Mission Accomplished.] [Reward: +3 Stat Points Acquired.]
Arata stumbled back, panting, sweat dripping down his face. His chest burned, but he was alive. Again.
The villagers peeked from behind shuttered windows, their eyes wide. They had seen him fight—and win.
Arata met their stares briefly, then turned away. His grip on the shard tightened.
He wasn't ready to admit it, but part of him had felt something in that fight. Not just fear. Not just desperation.
Power.
And he wanted more.