The next morning, Jinwoo woke up with a mission.
Get stronger.
It sounded simple when he said it in his head. But as he stared at his status screen, the reality of his situation hit him like a punch to the gut.
[NAME: PARK JINWOO]
[LEVEL: 1]
[EXPERIENCE: 10/100]
[STRENGTH: 5 (BELOW AVERAGE)]
[AGILITY: 4 (POOR)]
[INTELLIGENCE: 6 (AVERAGE)]
[ENDURANCE: 5 (BELOW AVERAGE)]
[LUCK: 3 (TERRIBLE)]
Level one. The absolute bottom. He had killed exactly one goblin—by accident—and gained ten measly experience points. At this rate, he would need to kill nine more goblins just to reach level two.
This is going to take forever,he thought miserably.
He got dressed and went downstairs. The common room was mostly empty—just a few early risers eating breakfast and nursing cups of something that smelled like coffee but probably wasn't.
His companions were already there, huddled around a table, talking in low voices.
"Morning," Jinwoo said, sitting down.
"You look terrible," Sergeant Lee observed cheerfully.
"Thanks. I feel terrible."
"Good! That means you're ready to train!"
Jinwoo blinked. "Train?"
Yoon Sora slid a piece of paper across the table. It was a quest notice, torn from one of the boards at the guild.
[QUEST: GOBLIN SUBJUGATION]
[LOCATION: EASTERN FOREST]
[OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE 20 FOREST GOBLINS]
[REWARD: 50 GOLD, 200 EXPERIENCE (SPLIT AMONG PARTY)]
[DIFFICULTY: F-RANK]
"F-rank," Yoon Sora explained. "The lowest difficulty. Perfect for beginners like us."
"Like me, you mean," Jinwoo muttered.
"Like all of us. We've been in this world less than a week. None of us really know what we're doing." She tapped the paper. "This is how we learn. We take easy quests, gain experience, level up, and gradually take on harder challenges."
It made sense. Jinwoo couldn't argue with the logic.
But there was one problem.
"I can't fight," he said. "I have no weapons. No abilities. No combat skills. I'll just get in the way."
"Then we'll teach you," Kim Taewoo said. His stone arms rested on the table like two gray boulders. "Everyone starts somewhere."
"But—"
"No buts." Officer Hwang Minji cut him off. "You saved our lives at the temple. The least we can do is help you survive."
Jinwoo wanted to protest. He wanted to explain that he hadn't really saved them, that it was all just luck and confusion. But the looks on their faces told him they wouldn't listen.
They actually want to help me, he realized. Why?
He didn't understand. But he wasn't going to refuse.
"Okay," he said quietly. "Teach me."
They spent the morning preparing.
First, weapons.
The guild had a basic armory where registered members could borrow equipment. Yoon Sora picked up a short sword—"For emergencies," she said, though her real power was her truth-seeing ability. Kim Taewoo didn't need weapons; his fists were weapons. Sergeant Lee and Officer Hwang Minji were already set with their fire and light abilities.
Park Eunji chose a pair of daggers. "For when I'm invisible," she explained. "Quick strikes, then disappear."
And Jinwoo...
Jinwoo stood in front of the weapon rack, overwhelmed.
Swords. Spears. Axes. Maces. Bows. Crossbows. Staffs. Things with chains and spikes and curves that he couldn't even name. He had never held a weapon in his life. He didn't know where to start.
"Try this," the armory keeper said, handing him a wooden club. "Simple. Hard to mess up. Just swing it at whatever's trying to kill you."
Jinwoo took the club. It was heavier than he expected.
"What if I miss?"
"Then swing again. And again. And again, until you hit something or die." The keeper shrugged. "That's combat."
That's terrifying, Jinwoo thought. But he kept the club.
The Eastern Forest was about an hour's walk from Haven's Rest.
It was different from the forest where Jinwoo had killed his first goblin. Brighter, for one thing. The trees were spaced further apart, letting sunlight filter through the canopy. The ground was covered with flowers and soft grass instead of moss and dead leaves.
It also had a lot of goblins.
[ALERT: MULTIPLE CREATURES DETECTED]
[SPECIES: FOREST GOBLIN (x3)]
[THREAT LEVEL: LOW]
[DISTANCE: 30 METERS]
"Three of them," Yoon Sora said, reading her own screen. "Sergeant Lee, you take the lead. Kim Taewoo, support. Minji, cover fire. Eunji, flank if you can. Jinwoo..."
She paused.
"Stay behind us and try not to die."
"Got it," Jinwoo said weakly.
They moved forward, spreading out into formation. Jinwoo clutched his wooden club with both hands, his palms slick with sweat.
The goblins noticed them.
Three pairs of yellow eyes turned in their direction. Three mouths opened, revealing jagged teeth. Three clubs rose into the air.
"GRAAAH!"
They charged.
Sergeant Lee stepped forward, fire blooming in his palms. "Let me show you how it's done!"
He threw a fireball. It hit the lead goblin square in the chest, sending it flying backward in a blaze of orange flames. The creature screamed—a horrible, high-pitched sound—and collapsed, burning.
[FOREST GOBLIN DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 10 (SPLIT 6 WAYS)]
Only 10 experience? Jinwoo thought. And split six ways? That's less than 2 points each
The second goblin reached Kim Taewoo. It swung its club with all its might—and the club shattered against his stone arm. Kim Taewoo didn't even flinch. He grabbed the goblin by the throat, lifted it into the air, and slammed it into the ground.
[FOREST GOBLIN DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 10 (SPLIT 6 WAYS)]
The third goblin saw what had happened to its companions. It tried to run.
Officer Hwang Minji raised her light-bow. Drew back the string. Released.
An arrow of pure white light streaked across the clearing and struck the goblin in the back. It fell face-first into the flowers and didn't get up.
[FOREST GOBLIN DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 10 (SPLIT 6 WAYS)]
The whole fight had taken less than thirty seconds.
Jinwoo hadn't moved at all.
"Well," Sergeant Lee said, dusting off his hands. "That was easy."
"Too easy," Yoon Sora agreed. "We need harder targets if we want meaningful experience gains."
"There's supposed to be a goblin nest deeper in the forest," Park Eunji said. "More goblins, plus a chief. Higher experience rewards."
"Then let's find it."
They started walking again. Jinwoo followed, still clutching his unused club, feeling more useless than ever.
I didn't do anything,he thought. I just stood there like an idiot.
Kim Taewoo fell back to walk beside him.
"First real fight?" the big man asked.
"First fight where I wasn't running for my life," Jinwoo admitted. "The goblin I killed before... that was an accident. I fell on it."
Kim Taewoo laughed. It was a deep, rumbling sound. "Fell on it? That's one way to fight."
"It's the only way I know."
"Then we'll teach you other ways." Kim Taewoo clapped him on the shoulder—gently, though it still almost knocked Jinwoo over. "Nobody starts as a warrior. I was a construction worker before all this. The closest thing I had to combat experience was bar fights."
"And now you're crushing goblins with your bare hands."
"And now I'm crushing goblins with my bare hands," Kim Taewoo agreed. "Because I practiced. Because I learned. Because I refused to die." He looked at Jinwoo seriously. "You can do the same. It just takes time."
Jinwoo wanted to believe him.
He really did.
They found the goblin nest an hour later.
It was a cave, hidden behind a waterfall at the base of a small cliff. Goblin tracks covered the ground around it. The smell of rotting meat drifted from the entrance.
[ALERT: GOBLIN NEST DETECTED]
[ESTIMATED POPULATION: 15-20 GOBLINS]
[WARNING: GOBLIN CHIEF PRESENT]
[THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE]
"Moderate," Sergeant Lee said, cracking his knuckles. "Still pretty easy."
"Don't get overconfident," Yoon Sora warned. "The chief might be stronger than we expect."
"I can handle it."
"We'll see."
They entered the cave.
The first group of goblins attacked almost immediately.
Five of them, swarming out of the darkness with clubs and crude spears. Sergeant Lee burned two. Kim Taewoo crushed one. Officer Hwang Minji shot another. Yoon Sora, surprisingly, took down the fifth with a quick slash of her short sword.
"Didn't know you could fight," Sergeant Lee said, impressed.
"I took fencing lessons as a child," Yoon Sora replied. "Never thought they'd be useful."
They moved deeper.
More goblins came. Six this time. Then eight. The cave seemed endless, twisting and turning through the rock, lit only by glowing mushrooms on the walls.
Jinwoo stayed at the back, watching, learning. He noticed how Sergeant Lee controlled his flames, keeping them hot but focused. He noticed how Kim Taewoo positioned himself to absorb attacks. He noticed how Officer Hwang Minji always aimed for weak points—eyes, throats, joints.
I can learn this,he told himself. I can become useful.
But he still hadn't fought anything.
They found the chief's chamber at the heart of the nest.
It was a large cavern, lit by torches mounted on the walls. Goblin bones and human bones were scattered across the floor. And in the center, sitting on a throne made of skulls, was the Goblin Chief.
It was bigger than the other goblins. Much bigger. Almost two meters tall, with thick muscles and scars covering its green skin. It wore actual armor—leather and metal plates, probably stolen from dead adventurers. And it carried an axe that looked sharp enough to cut through stone.
[ALERT: BOSS CREATURE DETECTED]
[SPECIES: GOBLIN CHIEF]
[THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE-HIGH]
[WARNING: THIS CREATURE IS SIGNIFICANTLY STRONGER THAN STANDARD GOBLINS]
The chief stood when it saw them.
"HUMANS," it growled. Its voice was deeper than a normal goblin's, more intelligent. "MORE HUMANS COME TO DIE."
"We're not the ones who'll be dying today," Sergeant Lee said confidently.
He threw a fireball.
The chief dodged.
It dodged, Jinwoo thought with horror. The other goblins couldn't dodge. Why can this one—
The chief moved. Fast. Faster than anything that big should be able to move. It crossed the chamber in three steps and swung its axe at Sergeant Lee.
Kim Taewoo stepped in the way, his stone arms raised to block.
The axe hit his arms and actually pushed him back. Cracks appeared in the stone.
"Shit!" Kim Taewoo grunted. "This thing's strong!"
Officer Hwang Minji fired arrow after arrow, but the chief was moving too fast, dodging and weaving through the light. Park Eunji tried to flank it, turning invisible, but the chief seemed to sense her somehow—it spun and backhanded her across the room before she could strike.
Yoon Sora grabbed Jinwoo and pulled him behind a rock formation.
"Stay here," she ordered. "This fight is too dangerous for you."
"But—"
"STAY HERE!"
She ran back into the fight, her short sword drawn.
Jinwoo crouched behind the rocks, watching helplessly as his companions fought for their lives.
It wasn't going well.
Sergeant Lee was getting tired, his flames growing weaker. Kim Taewoo's stone arms were cracking further with every blocked attack. Officer Hwang Minji was running low on arrows. Park Eunji was unconscious. Yoon Sora was bleeding from a cut on her arm.
The chief was still standing.
It was injured—burns on its chest, cuts on its arms and legs—but it was still standing. Still fighting. Still winning.
"WEAK!" the chief roared. "HUMANS ARE WEAK! YOU WILL ALL KNEEL BEFORE ME! YOU WILL ALL—"
It stopped.
Its yellow eyes locked onto Jinwoo, hiding behind the rocks.
"YOU," it growled. "THE SMALL ONE. THE HIDING ONE. YOU WILL KNEEL FIRST."
It started walking toward him.
Jinwoo's legs locked up with fear. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. The chief was coming closer, its axe raised, its teeth bared in a savage grin.
*I'm going to die,* he thought. *I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to—*
"KNEEL!" the chief commanded.
And something snapped inside Jinwoo.
Not broke. Snapped. Like a rubber band pulled too tight. Energy flooded through him—strange, unfamiliar, powerful. His legs, which had been frozen with fear, suddenly felt strong. His body, which had been trembling, suddenly felt solid.
He stood up.
The chief faltered.
"I said KNEEL!"
"I can't," Jinwoo said. His voice was steady. He didn't know why. "I literally cannot kneel. It's my rule."
The chief's eyes widened.
For one moment, it hesitated.
And in that moment, Sergeant Lee hit it with every ounce of fire he had left.
The flames engulfed the chief completely. It screamed—a horrible, dying scream—and collapsed to the ground, burning.
**[GOBLIN CHIEF DEFEATED]**
**[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 500 (SPLIT 6 WAYS)]**
**[BONUS: FINAL BLOW EXPERIENCE +50]**
Silence fell over the chamber.
Then Sergeant Lee collapsed, exhausted.
They limped back to Haven's Rest as the sun was setting.
Park Eunji had woken up with a headache but no serious injuries. Kim Taewoo's stone arms were slowly healing. Yoon Sora's cut had been bandaged. Everyone was tired, sore, and covered in goblin blood.
But they were alive.
And Jinwoo had leveled up.
[CONGRATULATIONS!]
[YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 2!]
[STATS INCREASED:]
[STRENGTH: 5 → 6]
[AGILITY: 4 → 5]
[ALL OTHER STATS: +1]
It wasn't much. But it was progress.
"You did good today," Yoon Sora said quietly as they walked through the village gates.
"I didn't do anything," Jinwoo replied. "You guys did all the fighting."
"You distracted the chief. That hesitation gave Sergeant Lee time to finish it off." She looked at him. "Your rule works. Even on monsters. They expect you to kneel, and when you don't... they don't know how to react."
Jinwoo thought about it.
A distraction, he thought. I'm a living distraction.
It wasn't exactly heroic. But it was something.
Baby steps,he told himself. Baby steps.
[END OF CHAPTER 4]