"Bet you can't catch me!"
The girl, maybe seven or eight, raced barefoot across the grass, her laughter bubbling up as she'd just discovered what trouble feels like.
Wet blades stuck to her ankles.
She didn't care.
She flew.
"Alright, but don't make it too easy!"
The boy chasing her looked maybe fifteen, all teeth and wild eyes.
He tore after her, both of them howling with laughter.
Sunlight bounced off the dew, and the whole field went strangely quiet for a second, bright and still around them.
[REMAINING TIME: 16 HOURS 30 MINUTES]
I definitely will come back.
Chen Guang ran flat-out.
His lungs felt like they were on fire.
His heart thudded so hard he half-expected the trees to start complaining.
Didn't matter.
He couldn't stop.
Behind him, goblins shrieked and howled, voices rattling the branches.
Chen Guang crashed through undergrowth, shoes shredding on rocks.
He was starving, thirsty, and everything hurt, but he ran anyway.
Pain screamed through his body, but stopping was never an option.
Weapon. I need a weapon. Anything.
He scanned the ground, desperate.
Goblins weren't that tough by themselves. It was the numbers that killed you.
Smash the head, and they go down.
He remembered that from his days hauling cargo.
One of them, a little faster than the rest, suddenly leapt at him, clamping onto his arm.
Its skin was cold and slimy, like grabbing a frog.
It lunged, jaws wide.
Panic scattered his thoughts.
He slammed his arm against a tree as hard as he could.
Something burst with a wet crack.
The goblin shrieked as its body slammed into the trunk.
Bark split.
Blood splattered across the tree.
Am I really this strong?
Blood and bits of goblin sprayed the bark, but Chen Guang didn't slow down. Not for a second.
There are too many.
He had to thin them out, pick them off.
He slowed just enough to think, a plan flickering to life.
Worth a shot.
He scooped up rocks and chucked them at the goblins.
They shrieked, threw up their arms, blood spraying as stones hit home.
That was his window.
Chen Guang sprinted toward a stand of trees, ripped off his jacket, and flung it onto a branch.
Then he dove into a bush ten meters away and pressed himself flat in the mud.
A familiar voice echoes through his memories.
"You're cheating! If you hide in that place, how am I supposed to find you?"
The little girl puffed out her cheeks, trying to look mad, but her brother just laughed.
"Sometimes the most dangerous place is the safest, little sister."
He pinched her cheek.
"Come on, let's go home. I'll get you candy."
She beamed, grabbed his hand, and started singing as they walked.
Wait for me, Ling.
Chen Guang's chest squeezed tight.
The monsters lost his trail, splitting up and searching in smaller packs.
Seven or eight goblins shuffled right past his bush, not even glancing down.
Stupid creatures.
He tossed a stone off into the trees.
Clack.
The sound echoed.
The goblins rushed toward it, leaving only two behind.
Here goes nothing.
Chen Guang hesitated for a split second.
Then he lunged.
His hands clamped around their skulls, slamming them together.
They were dead before they even knew it.
Blood sprayed.
Something wet hit the dirt.
[CURRENT PROGRESS: 3/10]
He snatched up the pale blue crystals that dropped, the system interface blinking in his vision.
He dragged the bodies off the path and into the bushes, then found a new hiding spot.
Blood and bits of flesh dripped from his fingers.
His stomach lurched, but he swallowed it down.
Get used to it. Don't fall apart.
Still a dozen more out there. How do I get them one by one?
He pressed himself even flatter, piling grass, leaves, mud over his body until he vanished.
His jacket, still hanging in the trees, drew a few goblins closer.
They're tracking scent. That's good enough for now.
There are still packs behind me. I need to finish this.
He frowned, mind racing through every possible move.
"Your Majesty!"
The voice burst into his head, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He blinked, uneasy, and noticed something tickling his arm.
Ants, small, black, and determined, marched across his hand.
"It's you? You followed me?"
He stared at the ants, surprised to see more than a few crawling over his skin.
"Your Majesty, we can track where they are."
The voice came again, clear and steady.
Maybe—
Chen Guang dropped his voice, almost whispering.
"Find every goblin group behind us. If any of them splits off, tell me right away."
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
The ants scattered, darting away.
He was left waiting, his nerves tight, hoping for a response.
Little by little, he pulled himself together.
He forced his breathing to slow.
Damp air filled his lungs, thick with the smell of wet earth.
It rushed up his nose, grounding him.
This smell. I know it.
It calmed him a bit. He narrowed his eyes, taking in everything around him.
"Your Majesty, we found a group of four away from the others."
A voice rang out in his mind.
"Where?"
He drew in another breath, answering back.
"We're not sure, Your Majesty. But you can follow the scent."
The voice replied, a bit shaky.
Follow the scent? How am I supposed to do that?
There was no way an ant could give him decent directions.
Maybe I can use that. What was it? Pheromone...
The memory of swallowing three hundred ants flashed through his mind.
He shuddered.
Definitely not something he wanted to remember.
[ACTIVATE: MONARCH PHEROMONE]
The system notification popped up right in front of him.
The system actually responded?
He didn't have time to be surprised.
Something shifted inside him.
A strange pressure pulsed behind his eyes.
A long golden trail appeared across the ground, glowing faintly.
Looks like something straight out of a video game.
He crawled out from his hiding place, checked the area, then followed the trail.
He kept at it for about five minutes.
Then the trail just vanished.
Voices drifted from up ahead.
He ducked into a bush, peering out.
Five goblins stood there, bickering in some language he didn't know. They were practically fighting each other.
Infighting, huh? Here's my shot.
This time, he didn't hesitate.
He grabbed the two biggest stones nearby.
The goblins kept yelling, totally distracted.
Two of them were going at it when three solid thumps echoed through the clearing.
Blood splashed across their faces.
They wiped it away, confused, smelling iron, finally glancing around.
Another crack echoed.
Blood burst from their skulls before the pain even hit.
Eyes rolled back.
It was over in an instant.
Chen Guang tossed the bloody stones aside and bent down, picking up a pale blue crystal that glimmered on the ground.
[CURRENT PROGRESS: 4/10]
My head's pounding, only four so far.
He slipped the crystal into his pocket, exhaled, and tried to shake it off.
"Your Majesty, there's another group, three this time."
Another voice sliced through his thoughts.
He fired up Monarch Pheromone and headed in the direction they pointed.
Those goblins didn't last any longer than the others.
Just a stone or a single charge was enough.
Some of them even exploded—he'd used every ounce of strength.
No luck, no crystal this time.
He scanned the area, sighing again.
"Your… Majesty…"
A voice, this one trembling and scared, broke in.
"What is it?"
He picked up on the fear right away, and it made his skin crawl.
"Your Majesty… there's one… we… we can't… get close…"
The voice broke up, fading like a dying signal.
Fear crackled through, making Chen Guang's legs shake and his chest tighten, like he'd been punched.
"Get out of there. Now. Go find other groups."
He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, teeth clenched as he forced the words out.
Only one thing could scare them like that.
Chen Guang gasped for breath, sweat dripping down his face.
He tried to calm himself, but then something else hit him.
"Mimi… almost forgot her."
He rasped, trying to keep his mind from racing into dark places.
*****
[CURRENT PROGRESS: 8/10]
"I've completely lost track of time. Seriously, it feels like I've been wandering around for ages."
Chen Guang shoved the crystal into his pocket, grumbling under his breath.
[REMAINING TIME: 13 HOURS 20 MINUTES]
"More than three hours gone, and still no end in sight."
He trudged through the forest, exhaustion written all over his face.
The ground around him was a mess—goblin bodies everywhere, each one with a neat hole in its head.
Blood soaked the dirt, turning the earth into dark, sticky patches.
Gross.
He stared at his hands, blood clinging to his skin and settling thick between his fingers.
The sharp, metallic smell nearly made him gag.
"Find me water."
He shot the order out to his ants, scattered far and wide.
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Their voices answered in his mind, and they scattered even faster.
In no time, he got a response.
He followed the trail.
More goblins blocked his way, but by now it was nothing, he took them out without missing a beat.
Suddenly, the roar of water drowned out every other sound.
He stepped out to see a waterfall, about three meters high, water pounding down and spraying mist everywhere.
"Finally, water."
He rushed over and gulped huge mouthfuls.
The cold washed away some of the ache in his bones.
Alive again.
He stripped off his clothes and stepped under the falls, scrubbing at his skin until the blood was gone.
Seriously, who bathes in a Portal?
He couldn't help but laugh at himself.
"Your Majesty, we've found a group of five."
The ants' message snapped him back to reality.
"Got it."
He rinsed off one last time, threw his clothes back on, and set out.
Five more goblins went down.
Another crystal.
He sighed, pocketed it, and rolled his shoulder.
Something felt different.
He flexed his fingers, then punched a tree.
His fist left a deep dent, bark splintering, the trunk shuddering with the impact.
Stronger, for sure.
He clenched his fist, feeling the energy surging through him.
"Your Majesty, the area's clear. There's only one left at the forest's edge."
The voices echoed again.
So it comes down to this.
His jaw tensed.
Chen Guang took a deep breath, fingers brushing over the battered bracelet on his wrist, rubbing it like it was the most precious thing in the world.
Ling… I'm coming back.
Every muscle in his body coiled tight.
Fear flickered in his eyes, but only for a second.
Determination took over.
[SUB-MISSION ACTIVATED: DEFEAT THE BOSS]
[REWARD: ???]
[NOTICE: MANDATORY MISSION. MUST BE COMPLETED TO CLOSE THE PORTAL]
No way around it. I have to fight.
He snapped off a thick branch, sharpened it, and sprinted toward the edge of the woods.
His hand clenched so hard his knuckles went white, and he muttered a silent prayer.
[TIME REMAINING: 12 HOURS 30 MINUTES]
The moment he stepped out of the trees, sunlight stabbed at his eyes.
He squinted and scanned the clearing for the Goblin King—the final hurdle.
"Mimi, please be okay."
He looked around, nerves pounding.
"Your Majesty, over here!"
The ants called out, and he dashed over.
He stopped dead.
Mimi lay on the ground, peaceful, like she was just sleeping.
But next to her, the Goblin King sprawled in a pool of blood.
Its head rested on its belly, eyes frozen in terror.
The stone crown hadn't even cracked.
No sign it put up a fight.
"Who could have done this?"
His brow furrowed.
The cut was perfect, almost ritualistic.
Every nerve in his body buzzed.
Then his eyes landed on a pale blue stone nearby.
[CURRENT PROGRESS: 10/10]
[MISSION COMPLETED]
[REWARD UNLOCKED: SKILL INTERFACE]
[TIME REMAINING: 12 HOURS 10 MINUTES]
[MISSION COMPLETED BEFORE DEADLINE]
[BONUS REWARD: 100,000,000 CREDITS]
His pocket buzzed. He pulled out his phone and squinted at the screen in the sunlight.
[+100,000,000 CREDITS. Sender: Unknown. Balance: 100,000,050 CREDITS]
Ling, I did it.
He stared at the numbers for a while, tears slipping down his face while he managed a shaky smile.
Something red caught his eye.
He bent down and picked up a stone—scarlet, shining like fire.
"A C-rank crystal? This thing is worth five hundred million credits!!!"
A chill ran down his spine. Every nerve in his body screamed with excitement.
He held it like it was made of glass, staring at it in awe, as if worshipping a god.
Then he slowly tucked it away, hands trembling.
With this money… Ling, you have hope now.
[SUB-MISSION: DEFEAT THE BOSS STILL ACTIVE]
The notification popped up out of nowhere, killing whatever hope he'd just managed to grab.
That wasn't it.
Old memories came crashing in, and for a second, he couldn't move or even breathe.
The ants, what they ran into before, wasn't that the same thing?
He stared at the Goblin King's corpse.
Suddenly, cold seeped into his bones.
Sweat soaked his skin, and his whole body went numb.
Some kind of crushing weight pinned him down, like an invisible hand just slammed him to the ground.
Blood filled his mouth.
Something cracked inside his chest, pain crashing over him so hard he couldn't breathe.
What's happening? Why can't I move?
He tried to scream, but his throat locked up.
The sky, bright a moment ago, turned dark without warning.
Then it stepped out from the trees—a monster shaped almost like a human, its whole body covered in the color of fresh blood.
Skull beads rattled around its neck, cold and sharp.
Draped over its shoulders, a cloak stitched together from goblin skin.
It was chewing on half a goblin's head, the rest dangling from its fist.
Blood smeared its mouth as it stared right at him.
EMPEROR GOBLIN?!!
The creature took a single step forward.
The ground cracked beneath its foot.
"This time… I'm dead..."