Chapter 3
Notice: After these messages, the only System assistance until System unlock will be the status page.
Note: The System will unlock at the age of adulthood of the current world.
Notice: To prevent the host from dying prematurely, head upstream for better chances of survival.
System messages have been locked.
Thinking over the message that appeared in front of me, I determined I was transmigrated or something similar, like the novels I like to read. Taking this in stride because I already accepted the craziness around me a while ago, I went straight into planning and taking stock of the information that I have.
First, I'm alone in a forest with no idea where I am relative to any settlements or areas of shelter, although the System has given me some information to follow to solve this issue, and it seems pretty logical since a settlement is usually placed near a water source.
Then second, the issue of resources. Looking over myself, all I had was a black t-shirt that was only a little worse quality than what I'm used to, which surprised me. When I realized that, I chastised myself—I was making too many assumptions about the level of the world due to the novels I read. I need to be more careful, and I cannot take anything for granted.
Anyway, I also had a pair of dark gray jeans-like pants, just more flexible. Besides that, I have nothing else. For food and water, the river and plants around me were options, but I do not know anything about foraging, and everything around me was a fantastic shade of colors, so I could not even use the logic of "the prettier, the deadlier."
And I do not know if the water is safe—even though it's clear and moving, not stagnating—it's better safe than sorry. So I decided to wait and only drink and eat as a last resort.
As for hunting, it was not happening. First, no tools, and then I have no idea how to hunt, not to mention my childlike physique—which brings up my status:
Strength – 3
Dexterity – 4
Control – 3
Intelligence – 5
Vitality – 4
All these are pretty self-explanatory except Control, which only makes some sense if I assume it is a magical world—then it would most likely relate to some kind of magic control. Though I will need more information before confirming anything, the rest, I would say, seem pretty normal to myself when I was around ten, so it's mostly the average, give or take, of a ten-year-old.
Finally, possible information and clues. Based on the message, the System should unlock at the age of 18, but it could be younger—like in Spartan times, the age of adulthood was 16—or if this world is more peaceful, it can be older.
Then there is this Falna thing, which sounds very familiar, but I can't place it. Based on the way the System was using it, it seems like an object or tool to measure growth. And then I'm Human-ish, which I really did not know how to deal with, so I put that aside and decided to start moving upstream in hopes of finding some kind of refuge.
Fudge! Fudge! Fudge!
I yelled in my mind as I was sprinting as fast as my legs could take me, doing my best to weave in and out of the trees and plant life.
Around an hour earlier, I had just started off on my way up the river, taking in the environment and the wildlife. Besides the abundance of plant life, there was a lot of animal movement—well, only in the sky. I saw normal-looking birds as big or bigger than eagles, while seeing birds that were even smaller than hummingbirds zip around in quick but organized groups or pairs. Every so often, I saw a bird twice or more the size of the others with unique shimmers to their feathers. I saw off in the distance an eagle-like bird that was nearly the size of a human.
But in contrast, the farther I walked, the more scarce animal life became. There was an occasional squirrel or rabbit, but not any deer or wild hogs, which made me wary. My only thought was: what is keeping the bigger animals away or keeping their population low?
About another 20 minutes went by until I saw the first glimpse of what the animals were hiding from. I was walking near the riverbank when I heard the snap of a twig in the forest. Slowly creeping behind a nearby tree, I looked around it and saw that about 30 meters away was a small, green-skinned creature about half my size hitting a tree with a makeshift club, seemingly out of frustration.
I briefly thought that it was having trouble finding some suitable animal to hunt and guessed that this was why I hadn't seen too many animals. But soon, I became concerned when thinking that I'm its next best option for lunch.
Thinking about this, I quickly came up with a plan. I would slowly make my way back to the river and move upstream while walking in the water to eliminate my tracks and scent trails. But the plan soon came crashing down. As soon as I took a step back, I knew I fell right into the most cliché of clichés.
SNAP
I stepped on a twig. I felt a spike of adrenaline flowed throughout my body. Quickly looking back at the goblin—or what I think is a goblin—luckily, it did not seem to hear the snap of the twig. Turning around to carry out my plan, I locked eyes with another two goblins across the river. One of them had a club like the one in the forest, but the other had a wooden stick shaped into a spear. We stood there for a few seconds, just looking at each other, until the goblin with the spear let out an ear-piercing screech that somehow sounded like a mix between an animal's roar and the squealing of a pig.
I instantly took off running into the forest—not straight toward the goblin there, but enough so I could try to lose them in the trees.
I ran for around five minutes, but the goblins crossed the river fast and seemed to have more stamina than I did. Feeling my body becoming tired, I looked for a solution to try to get them off my trail. Running for another 30 seconds, I was losing hope, and the two goblins with clubs were about to catch me—until I saw it. Just a few meters ahead and to the right, I saw a massive tree root jutting out and then back into the ground. But right behind it, there was a sapling—or what counted as a sapling for these massive trees—it was about the size of a small normal tree, but there were a few branches about chest level.
Without thinking much, I changed direction, jumped on the root, and launched myself at the nearest branch. Using the force of the jump, I pulled back the branch, and as soon as I felt my feet hit the ground, I rolled to the side, letting go of the branch. A second later, I heard a loud thunk, and looking back, I saw the two club-wielding goblins falling backward and smacking their heads against the hard wood of the root. If that did not knock them unconscious, it definitely gave them a concussion.
Getting up to my feet, I just started to move when a sharp and searing pain lanced through the back of my calf. I fell due to the sudden wave of agony but quickly turned around. I saw the spear-wielding goblin thrust his spear straight toward my face. Without even thinking, I dug my fingers into the ground and pulled myself closer to the goblin, allowing the spear to pass just over my head. Then, launching off my legs and ignoring the pain, I made contact with the spear shaft using my shoulder, snapping it in two.
But the goblin jumped on me, using its sharp nails to scratch me. I fought to find the pointy end of the spear, and somehow, while rolling around and trying to keep the vicious little green creature from clawing my eyes out, I flipped it in my hand and thrust it right toward the creature's neck. It pierced the skin but didn't go far in. Still, it made the goblin back up while clutching at its neck, which I took advantage of to get up off the ground and into a fighting stance facing it.
But suddenly, an arrow shaft sprouted from the creature's chest—straight through its heart—killing it instantly.
Turning around, I saw a man who looked to be in his high twenties or low thirties walking out of the trees. I heard him ask if I was alright. I was about to say something, but then my adrenaline stopped flowing, and all my fatigue rushed in. then I saw the world fade to black.