Afternoon sunlight sifted through the trees, painting everything gold while the cool wind from the peaks beyond the Great Forest turned the scene into something resembling a fairytale.
I sat cross-legged on the grass just before what I can only describe as a threshold, with a box of pizza on my lap, a slice in one hand, and a book in the other.
The book's cover read Monster Basics in faded brown letters.
Probably the least reassuring title I'd ever seen.
Right in front of me, the forest looked like someone had split it in half.
Behind me, the leaves were bright green, the bark a soft brown, the grass catching the sunlight.
But ahead… everything darkened.
Not because of shade or trees blocking the light.
The colors themselves were darker.
The bark looked burnt, the leaves a deep forest green, even the grass too was shades darker.
I could even feel the ambient mana in the air becoming thicker.
And it wasn't even some slow gradient. It was a line.
Like the world had been painted over, and I was sitting on the edge.
According to the system's map, the darker side was labeled Monster Territory.
I took another bite of pizza, chewing slowly. "Real reassuring, that name…"
Mom had taught me a lot about magic beasts when I was younger.
But monsters? That was new territory.
And after being excommunicated from the village, I'd lost access to the shack they called a library, so this book I got from the shop for 10 Credits, was my only lifeline.
Hence, Monster Basics.
And damn, this thing was nightmare fuel disguised as education.
Page after page, it listed horrors that made me feel like a preschooler with a stick trying to fight a tank.
I even found entries for goblins and slimes. You know, the classic beginner fodder.
You know the ones, right? The usual "punching bag for XP" fantasy stuff.
Except here, they were anything but.
{
Goblins: Tier 1 (Early Stage). Extremely aggressive. No sense of self-preservation.
Capable of regenerating lost limbs within hours.
All are born male. Reproduction: forced. Any female of any species capable of birthing will suffice.
Gestation period: two weeks. Offspring per cycle: minimum five. Adulthood: three weeks.
Travel in packs exceeding two hundred. Encounter one, expect at least one hundred ninety-nine more.
Carries Deadly diseases.
}
I blinked at the page, pizza slice halfway to my mouth.
"Okay… what the actual hell?"
The text wasn't exaggerating either.
There were drawings.
Detailed ones.
I let out a low whistle and leaned back against a tree. "And here I was, thinking goblins were just green punching bags. Thank the gods I didn't find any."
Had I met even one, I'd be dead. Simple as that.
Then I flipped the page.
And somehow, it got worse.
{
Slimes: Tier 1 (Mid-Stage) Impervious to most physical damage. Has a core that moves constantly inside the body.
Can only be harmed by attacks with immense impact force and magic or a decisive strike to the core.
Capable of altering shape and stretching to entrap targets.
Primary tactic: suffocation via full-body envelopment. Target is digested within minutes.
Absorbs any and every organic matter to increase size and power.
Once sufficient mass is reached, it reproduces asexually, creating a perfect clone carrying the parent's memories and combat data.
}
I stared at that book for a full minute.
"Okay…" I said finally. "What. The. Fu-"
Yeah. WTF summed it up nicely.
Out of sheer curiosity, I flipped back to the index and started scanning for Wyverns.
[Kobolds… Minotaurs… Fire Hounds… Giant Mantis… Orcs… Fire Gals, whatever those are…].
Until… "Ah, there."
Wyverns.
I turned to the page, wiping a bit of grease off my fingers before the words came into focus.
{
Wyverns: Thirty-meter-long lesser dragons.
Operate more on instinct than intelligence.
Born as Tier 4 monsters; reach Tier 5 by adulthood. Exceptional individuals may evolve to Tier 6.
Can be domesticated if raised from birth; imprinting occurs during the juvenile phase.
Possess long necks and no forelimbs; flight is achieved through wing manipulation and tail-based stabilization.
Capable of exhaling fire at temperatures exceeding 7,000°C (1,000° C hotter than the surface of the sun.)
Flight velocity: 0 to speed of sound (Mach 1) in under two seconds. Poor at abrupt evasive maneuvers when at maximum speed.
Scales, horns, claws, and teeth resilient to all attacks below Tier 6.
Sensory capabilities include eagle-class vision, canine-class olfaction, and acute auditory sensitivity.
}
While I…
Didn't even notice when that pizza slice slipped from my fingers.
My eyes skimmed over the lines again. And again. And again.
But the words didn't change.
I blinked once. Then again.
My mouth hung open for a bite that never came.
When my brain finally rebooted, I felt the blood drain from my face.
"That's what I'm supposed to kill!?"
I stared at the page, hoping the text would suddenly correct itself, that maybe I'd misread and it actually said 'a really big flying lizard.'
But no such luck.
Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I popped open the quest window again.
{
Optional Quest
Target: Wyvern (Fire)
Predicted Tier: 5, Mid-Stage
Time left for completion: 33:47:28
Reward:
5000 Credits
Time Dilation - Aion Field (Legendary)
Time is slowed to a crawl with respect to the user's perception and cognition.
Effective range: 10-meter radius at minimum function.
}
I shut the window slowly, staring into the dark half of the forest.
Then, with a tone of genuine concern, I asked once more, "System… are you stupid?"