The sun was rising over the forest, piercing through the thick canopy and painting the stream below with golden flecks of light. A thin mist still clung to the surface, giving the world a mysterious, almost watchful feeling — as if the forest itself had eyes.
Kano stood at the water's edge, his bare feet sinking into the damp soil and scattered pebbles. In his hands, he clutched a crudely carved wooden staff, now damp and slightly slippery from the morning moisture.
His face was slick with sweat, his breathing heavy and ragged. Every muscle in his body hummed with the exhaustion left by yesterday's training, but there was no room for retreat. Ahead of him, a few slimes — semi-transparent, gelatinous creatures — wobbled lazily on the grassy shore, their faint bubbling sounds almost mocking his clumsy attempts to master the basics of combat.
"Well, slave, ready for another day of exquisite torture?"
A booming laugh rolled across the glade.
Kano lifted his head slowly. Perched atop a massive boulder above the stream sat Elgot, legs crossed, a bottle of wine in one hand, lazily adjusting his hat with the other. His eyes gleamed with wicked amusement, and the smirk on his lips was so infuriatingly smug that Kano had to fight the urge to stage a very unfortunate "accident" right then and there.
"You almost died from exhaustion yesterday. Excellent!" Elgot announced, chuckling. "Which means today we'll add a bit of brainwork to the mix."
Kano clenched his jaw in silence. A thousand furious inner monologues raced through his mind — all of them ending with the same conclusion: this mage was a sadist who took pure joy in watching others suffer. Still, it was safer not to say a word. Who knew what madness this drunkard might unleash if provoked?
Squaring his stance, Kano prepared for another brutal round. Deep down, a small part of him wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the grass, bury his head in his arms, and play dead. Maybe — just maybe — the mage would grant him five minutes of mercy.
"Listen up, you witless mortal," Elgot drawled, stretching lazily as if he'd just woken up. "You're not just supposed to swing that stick around like some drunk blacksmith. You have to feel your strike. Understand? How do you throw a snowball in winter?"
Kano blinked, caught off guard by the question.
"I just throw it... without thinking," he answered, wiping sweat from his brow with a sleeve.
"Exactly!" Elgot cried theatrically. "That's how magic works! You don't sit there calculating energy formulas — you do it. Instinct and focus. Understand completely what you're doing, but don't overthink it."
Taking a long pull from his wine bottle, Elgot added, almost as an afterthought:
"So, starting now, you'll train with your new 'friends.' Go on. Smash the slimes. But this time, put something more into it."
Kano sighed heavily. Something more? Like what — his hatred for his so-called teacher?
The thought came so quickly he barely noticed it. And surprisingly — it helped.
He swung the stick with all his suppressed fury, imagining Elgot's smug face instead of the wobbling creature. The blow landed hard — the slime exploded into a wet spray of gelatinous chunks.
But the others weren't going to sit idly by. They began bouncing erratically, sensing danger. One darted into a bush, another circled to flank him.
"Oh, now that was an actual strike," Elgot purred, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me, thinking of anyone in particular?"
Kano shot him a look from under his brow — the answer was obvious.
"Good, good," Elgot grinned, hiding his amusement behind another drink. "You're finally moving in the right direction. Now, things are about to get interesting..."
The slimes surged forward again, and Kano was forced to move. He lunged, ducked, weaving around tangled roots, trying not to trip. One slime lunged — Kano spun, smashing it with a satisfying crack. Another nearly brushed his leg — he sprang aside, gripping the staff with both hands and delivering a crushing blow.
"Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" Elgot cheered, laughing. "Run, strike, fight! Feel your enemy! Or at least feel how they splatter when you hit them!"
But Kano barely heard him anymore. He was fully absorbed, caught in the rhythm of battle.
He swung, chased, adapted, each move sharper than the last. His back ached, his arms trembled — but he didn't stop.
Hours passed.
Elgot pushed him mercilessly, shifting tempos, forcing him to change tactics, testing the limits of his endurance. He conjured magical attacks — tiny water spheres exploded midair, sparks of flame danced along the stream, gusts of wind whipped at Kano's hair.
And through it all, Kano grew stronger.
His strikes gained confidence, his footwork flowed with a newfound grace. In his mind's eye, he was no longer the clumsy boy who had arrived here days ago. No — he was a warrior now. Unstoppable. Invincible.
"Hah!" he cried, smashing another slime into a rain of slime and goo. "You see that, Elgot?! I'm getting stronger! Soon, I won't even need weapons or armor! I'll crush monsters with my bare hands!"
Elgot, lounging lazily, inspected his fingernails with a smirk. In his mind, a different plan was taking shape.
Let him boast, he thought. They always do. All bodies are the same. Confidence makes them reckless. The real test is coming... when the enemy has eyes. When the enemy looks back at you.
"You think you've learned something?" Elgot said at last, rolling his neck slowly.
"Fine. It's time for your real test."
Kano straightened, chest out, eyes blazing.
"I'm ready! Bring it on!"
Elgot's eyes narrowed with something between amusement and cruelty.
"Tomorrow night," he said softly, "we hunt. Slimes are just toys. You need something real... something alive. We'll find goblins."
Kano blinked, caught off guard.
"Goblins? That's it?" he laughed, throwing a few exaggerated punches in the air. "Please. After this training? They're nothing. I'm not the weakling I used to be!"
Elgot grinned broadly, but there was no humor in his eyes. He stepped closer, leaning in until Kano could smell the sharp scent of wine soaking his cloak.
"Yes, boy," he murmured, his voice silky and ominous, "you're not the weakling you were before. But you still haven't tasted real fear. Tomorrow, you'll find out what it means to face an enemy who thinks — one who watches, who waits, who chooses the perfect moment to strike."
For a moment, Kano froze. A cold knot twisted deep inside him — but he shoved it away. Goblins? Wild beasts, nothing more... right?
"We'll see," he said with forced bravado, flashing a confident smile. "I'll show you I'm a true adventurer!"
Elgot only snorted.
"Oh, boy... Tomorrow, we'll see who you really are."
The forest stretched before them like a dark wall. Towering trees loomed overhead, their shadows heavy with secrets. The air reeked of damp earth, rotting leaves — and something else, something faint but unsettling. Kano felt his heart pick up its pace. He was ready. Or so he believed.
"Alright, you fool," Elgot muttered, stopping before a thick bramble. "Goblins usually hole up in caves or burrow underground. But before the hunt, they set traps and post scouts. We find the trail — then we follow it."
Kano, trying to mask his nerves, gave a cocky grin.
"No problem! I'll wipe out ten of them! Maybe more!" he declared, gripping the battered wooden sword he'd trained with.
Elgot raised an eyebrow skeptically and sighed.
"If you die," he muttered, "I'll drink a toast in your honor."
He flicked his fingers, stirring a breeze that scattered leaves at their feet, and strode into the forest.
The deeper they went, the darker it grew. The forest seemed to swallow sound itself — no birds, no animals, only the whisper of branches and shifting shadows.
"There," Elgot said quietly, pointing ahead.
Kano squinted. At first, he saw nothing. Then — a nearly invisible net of thin vines, barely hidden under a layer of leaves. His hands went cold. The first trap.
"If you step on that," Elgot said, smiling darkly, "you'll be hanging upside down like a pig at a feast. And goblins don't leave much time for prayers."
Kano swallowed hard.
"What do I do?"
"Listen. Don't step anywhere suspicious. Don't touch anything unnatural. Keep your weapon ready. Goblins aren't slimes — they think. They trick. And if there are many..."
He left the rest unsaid.
"They're really that dangerous?" Kano asked, feeling his bravado crack.
"Extremely," Elgot said flatly. "And if we find them — you'll have to fight for your life."
Kano inhaled deeply, forcing his trembling hands into fists.
"I'm ready."
Elgot snorted and moved on.
Minutes passed. Then — a sign: a fallen tree, scattered animal bones picked clean. The air was thick with the stench of rot. Kano gagged.
"Goblins are close," Elgot whispered. "Get ready. And for the love of the gods, don't be stupid."
A faint rustle came from the bushes. Shadows shifted.
Figures emerged — first one, then two, three...
Ten pairs of narrow yellow eyes gleamed in the semi-darkness.
Goblins.
Shorter than Kano, but broader in the shoulders, with strong arms gripping crude daggers, maces, and spears.
"Well, well," Elgot muttered, calmly resting a hand on his staff. "Still think you can take ten of them, slave?"
Kano's palms slicked with sweat. He gripped the guild-issued sword harder, forcing himself not to freeze.
Then one goblin let out a savage howl and charged.
Kano's legs refused to move.
The goblin raced straight at him, dagger raised high. Everything slowed. His heart pounded in his ears. His body instinctively fell into a defensive stance, sword raised—but something else moved first.
A flash of lightning tore through the air.
The goblin convulsed mid-stride and dropped, smoking.
Elgot chuckled, staff still crackling.
"You didn't even flinch, you idiot!" he roared. "Come on! Fight like you want to live!"
Kano gasped, stumbling sideways just as another goblin lunged. A stone dagger whooshed past, missing his neck by inches.
They were faster than the slimes. Smarter. One feinted left, another circled right, a third poised to strike from behind.
Kano's mind raced.
This isn't training. This is real.
"Hit them properly, you moron!" Elgot bellowed, blasting another goblin with a bolt of lightning that left a blackened corpse behind.
Kano barely blocked a second goblin's dagger, feeling the jolt of impact rattle up his arms. The goblin was faster, stronger than he'd expected.
This is bad. This is seriously bad!
"If you keep shaking like that, they'll eat you alive!" Elgot snarled, swatting another goblin aside with a burst of magic.
The goblins laughed — harsh, grating sounds like hyenas feasting.
One, larger than the others, hefted a crude axe and swung at Kano's head.
Kano froze.
He wouldn't be able to dodge in time.
But instinct yanked his body down.
He dropped flat, rolling to the side.
The axe whooshed through empty air where his skull had been a second earlier.
No time to think.
Another goblin darted at him from the left — Kano whipped up his sword without thinking. Steel met stone with a harsh clang. But this time, Kano didn't just block. His body reacted on its own, sliding the blade forward.
The goblin howled as the sword tore into its forearm, dark blood splattering the leaves.
"Oh, now we're getting somewhere!" Elgot hollered. "Show them you're not just meat!"
The wounded goblin staggered back, replaced immediately by another. This one leaped, aiming a strike from above.
Kano raised his blade horizontally — the goblin's weapon slammed into it. Then, with a savage kick, the goblin drove a boot into Kano's chest.
The breath blasted from Kano's lungs.
He staggered, the world tilting crazily.
The goblin loomed above, axe raised for the kill.
Is this it?
"Move, you fool!" Elgot's roar ripped through the chaos.
Kano threw himself sideways just in time.
The goblin's axe buried itself in the ground.
Gasping, Kano scrambled up and swung blindly. His sword bit deep into the goblin's torso. The creature dropped like a broken doll.
He stared, panting, stunned at what he had just done.
No time to celebrate.
The surviving goblins changed tactics.
They didn't charge — they spread out, forming a rough half-circle around him and Elgot.
One raised a crude horn and blew.
The deep, resonant blast tore through the forest.
From the shadows, more eyes gleamed.
More goblins emerged — from the trees, from the bushes, from above.
It was a trap.
The horn's eerie cry hung in the air, vibrating with a terrible promise. From the depths of the forest, from every shadow, new silhouettes slipped into view — hundreds of yellow eyes glittering with savage hunger.
Kano tightened his grip on the sword.
His palms were soaked with sweat; his breath came in gasps.
"This… is bad, isn't it?" he muttered.
Elgot didn't answer.
The mage's fingers tightened around his staff, his usual mocking gaze replaced with cold, razor-sharp focus.
"Well, fool..." Elgot muttered. "Looks like things are about to get interesting."
The goblins didn't rush.
They were predators now — testing, waiting for weakness.
The first attack came like lightning.
An arrow hissed through the air, aimed squarely at Elgot's back.
Without even looking, Elgot flicked his hand. Lightning exploded around him, incinerating the arrow midflight.
"Really? Arrows? You think I'm that stupid?" he sneered, his voice maddeningly calm.
But the goblins didn't stop.
Two charged forward — one wielding a curved blade, the other a bloody spear.
Kano braced — but they didn't even glance at him.
They charged straight for Elgot.
At the last second, the mage sidestepped, raising his staff. Lightning screamed toward them — but these goblins were quick. One dodged aside, the other lunged forward.
Elgot, sensing danger, tried to retreat — but his foot caught a gnarled root.
He stumbled backward.
And at that very moment, something flashed from the side.
A goblin archer, who had been waiting for his chance, loosed another arrow.
Elgot reflexively twisted, barely dodging the shot — but he didn't see the other threat.
A goblin, wielding a sharpened stick, seized his chance. He lunged forward, gripping the mage's staff with both hands.
Kano heard a strange, soft sound — like wood slipping from desperate fingers.
The staff was gone.
"What the"— Elgot spun around, but the goblin had already leapt back, clutching his stolen prize.
And then Kano saw something he never expected.
The mage — usually cool, cynical, and almost lazy — erupted into a storm of pure rage.
Elgot's eyes lit up, crackling with electricity, so bright they seemed to glow.
"COME BACK HERE, YOU MISERABLE RAT!" he thundered, his voice shaking the very air.
The goblin only laughed and darted into the underbrush, vanishing among the trees with the mage's most precious weapon.
And then — chaos exploded.
Elgot, thinking of nothing but his staff, charged after the thief, blasting bolts of wild lightning that split tree trunks and set the undergrowth ablaze. His fury was almost physical, a living force.
"KANO, STAY ALIVE!"— He shouted, the last words fading into the darkness.
Kano stood frozen amid the battlefield, barely registering the mage's command.
Around him, goblins still remained — and they were eager to seize their moment.
He was alone.
And then he understood.
Elgot was gone.
He had left him.
Kano stood alone against a tightening ring of goblins, their cruel smiles gleaming in the dark.
He planted his feet wide, raising his sword in a trembling grip, breathing hard enough to drown out all other sounds. His heart hammered, drowning the world in its deafening beat.
The goblins closed in, savoring every step.
There was no rush in their movements — they were confident. The hunt was over. The feast was about to begin.
"Oh no... no no no," Kano whispered, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a shaking hand. His body ached, his muscles burned, and a single thought spiraled in his mind:
I'm not ready!
A goblin lunged forward with a dagger.
Kano tried to react, but he was too slow.
The blade flashed past his face — instinct alone saved him.
But not completely.
The dagger tore through his sleeve, carving a burning gash into his shoulder.
Pain exploded in his senses. Kano cried out, stumbling back — a fatal mistake.
Another goblin struck from the left, swinging a crude club like a hammer aimed straight at his ribs.
There was no time to turn.
The blow hit home.
Everything blurred. The world spun.
Kano's body slammed into a tree, sending a fresh wave of agony through his spine.
The air fled his lungs in a hoarse cough.
He clawed desperately for breath — every inhalation a lance of pain.
The goblins growled, closing in.
No... no, I can't die here!
His mind screamed in protest, but fear locked his body in place.
He looked up — all around him, only enemies.
Elgot was gone, distant flashes of magic barely visible through the haze of panic.
Another goblin archer raised his bow.
This is it... I'm going to die.
The string snapped.
The world blurred.
Pain, sharp and stabbing.
An arrow sank into his leg.
Kano screamed, collapsing to the ground.
His fingers clawed helplessly at the dirt as blood soaked his trousers.
The goblins howled with laughter, circling him like wolves savoring a crippled deer.
One even jeered something in its guttural tongue, making the others cackle louder.
Kano gritted his teeth around the sword's hilt, his knuckles white.
Move... damn it, MOVE!
But his body refused.
"Someone... help..." he gasped, the words barely a whisper.
The goblins closed in for the kill.
The archer raised his bow again.
Kano squeezed his eyes shut.
And then— something burst from the shadows.
Fast.
Massive.
Relentless.
The nearest goblin didn't even have time to scream — its neck snapped like a twig under a crushing blow.
Screams.
Panic.
Kano opened his eyes and saw it.
Wolfish eyes gleaming in the dark.
A massive body, scarred and battle-hardened, moving with terrifying grace.
Claws flashed in the moonlight, rending through flesh like paper.
Lurk.
The beastkin warrior he had glimpsed once at the guild was here — and he was a whirlwind of slaughter.
Goblin after goblin fell before him, ripped apart without mercy.
One tried to flee — Lurk caught it by the skull and crushed it in a single brutal squeeze.
Kano watched, stunned, half-convinced he was dreaming.
Or dead.
Lurk, after finishing the last goblin, turned his glowing eyes to Kano.
Without a word, he knelt, snapped the arrow off, and yanked it free with a swift, clean motion.
Kano screamed — and the world went black.
The last thing he felt was strong arms lifting him effortlessly from the ground.
Memory, gratitude, and darkness...