Chapter 4: Three Days to Bleed
"Nobody teaches you how to survive the night, only what happens if you don't."
December 13th, 2045 – Eldora Outskirts
GOBLIN CAMP LUNAREST OUTSKIRTS
The sun bled gold and purple behind the jagged ridge, night crawling down over battered fields. Cold wind cut through the camp, the coming rain heavy in the air, mud sucking at every boot, every bare foot chewed raw by the churned earth. The goblin war camp squatted in rows of patched tents, smoke rising lazily from a single bonfire, weapons stacked against crates, blades dark with old blood.
Around the fire, the clan was gathering. Nobody still believed in the captain's "heroic" suicide raid. Every face belonged to someone who'd killed or would just to see another morning. Exhaustion braided with violence, hunger twisting every gesture. Sweat, old blood, woodsmoke, and sour goblin rations clung to the air.
A rat bolted beneath a shield, almost tripping over a snapped bowstring. Racks of battered axes and bent daggers waited along the camp's edge, rusted swords and broken shields stacked for burning. Near the main tent, a battered barrel shivered with every movement as Rin hovered over it, water flickering firelight across his thin, green fingers.
The cold bit into his skin, hide and piss seeping from the tents, every sound spitting, steel scraping, curses sharpened by night. It felt alive, gritty, like the world might bite back.
He leaned in, studying his new face in the warped water. Too sharp teeth, jaw flexing, everything too real. He rolled his shoulders, feeling out a body that fit wrong muscle, bone, sweat, chill crawling up his calves. Nothing rubbery, nothing safe. Just pain and weight.
"Damn. Even uglier than a buffet line after a Friday rush…" he muttered, voice rough, younger than it ought to be. Old gamer reflex talking out loud, like the world would ignore him.
"Why this, though? I know I had elf before the pod glitched… Just my luck. And if this is my expansion slot, no second chances… man, life really likes to shit on me."
Frustration burned, but Rin wasn't built to wallow. He managed and adapted constantly. No time for regret.
A brute near the fire, nose broken sideways, jaw set hard, twisted to eye Rin up.
[Gornak – NPC – Outlaw Lvl 3]
Beside him, a taller goblin, ear notched, red eyes glinting, mouth carved into a permanent sneer.
[Vesh – NPC – Outlaw Lvl 3]
Three more goblins froze over the spit, meat halfway to their mouths. Hush snapped the camp's chatter. Torches shuddered. Every gaze cut to Rin, suspicion and boredom boiling together.
A scrawny goblin with a lopsided grin, arms full of firewood, broke the silence with a nervous laugh. He pointed a stick at Rin, half-mocking, half-daring.
"Is that one going feral…?"
The word feral rolled through the camp. Every goblin knew: mindless, cursed, doomed. An insult, but more a threat.
Gornak's cackle split the tension, rough as a cracked bell.
"Maybe we should send him! Better him than us, right?" His teeth shone yellow, greedy in the firelight.
The crowd leaned in, curiosity sharpening jaws. An archer lowered his bow; a recruit spat in the mud. "He doesn't smell right anyway."
A ring formed Outlaws, Recruits, archers hanging back, tents looming as jagged walls, firelight pushing shadows back just enough for violence to breathe.
Rin's heart kicked, ice up his spine. He tensed, clocking every blue tag above the crowd. All NPCs.
He saw their breath, hunger in their eyes, every fidget, every twitch. Real penalties, he thought. Gotta play smarter than this.
But there was no backing down. He squared his shoulders, flashed a grin as biting as any blade.
"Maybe we should send you two jackasses. Looks like you got nothing better to do but deliver bad jokes, and you both smell like you've been digging in gob shit."
Laughter ripped through the firelight. A recruit slapped the arm of the goblin next to him. The little firewood goblin cackled, flipping sides instantly.
"Hahaha! They've been eating each other's gob shit!"
Boots stamped mud, goblins doubled over, someone coughed bread, crowd shuffling closer, hungry for a fight that wasn't theirs.
But Gornak and Vesh didn't laugh.
Gornak's lip curled; he stepped forward, chest broad as a door.
"Think you're funny, huh? Let's see if you're laughing when we take your ears." His fists balled, knuckles white.
Vesh slid his sword half out, steel scraping slowly. His voice dropped, a private, ugly sound.
"Nobody cares if a mouthy grunt vanishes. Maybe we'll get you right now."
The ring pressed tighter, mud churning, tents looming, fire catching on steel, and angry eyes, danger, thick as oil. The rules had changed.
Rin flexed his hands, pulse pounding. He wasn't here to get punked by trash mobs. Not now. Not ever.
He let a cold, reckless grin flash.
"Oh yeah? If you two slow bastards can catch me, let's see it."
He bolted, boots sliding, cutting left, adrenaline surging, weightless.
[STATUS: PASSIVE SKILL ACTIVATED: NIMBLE FEET]
Legs loosened, steps blurred. He ducked between tents, nearly crashing into a spear rack. The Outlaws thundered after, jaws set, curses flying. The crowd hooted, scrambling for a view.
A big Outlaw in back barked, "Get his ass, Vesh!"
Another shouted, "Five silver says he gets his teeth kicked in!"
Breath and heart, mud and sweat, every beat thundered in Rin's ears as he juked past crates, boots skidding, lungs burning.
Can't get killed here, not with what's on the line. No first-death resets. Not for the Bash. If I get locked out, I lose my shot. Lose everything.
He risked a glance at his UI, pulled up his skills on the run.
[Goblin Gas – Ready | Cooldown: 18s | Duration: 4s]
A twist in his gut like a cramp, but different. Not magic, not mana, more like muscle memory. A goblin's birthright. Was this just what goblins do?
Just gas. Ridiculous. But meme builds get clowned right up until they win.
He baited them close, faked a stumble, and squeezed, let it rip, still running.
"BRRRRRR!"
A ripple in the air, heat, shame, something foul shooting down.
[GOBLIN GAS ACTIVATED]
Expels toxic cloud (12ft), Poison Tick Damage, Crit: Severe Nausea/Vomit Debuff (combines with fire for extra effect)
[Targets: Gornak, Vesh – CRITICAL]
A fat, green, rotten-egg cloud blasted out behind him, catching both Outlaws in a rolling fog that clung to their legs and faces. The gas curled around them, burning their eyes and throats.
Gornak gagged, Vesh flailed, both coughing so hard they staggered. Boots slipped in the mud as the poison worked. Someone in the crowd pinched their nose, while others cackled.
"Okay, maybe not magic, but damn, it works," Rin chuckled as he made one final lunch to close the distance between them.
[Goblin Gas: 4…3…]
The Outlaws, dazed, staggered through the cloud.
"You think you're funny?! I'm gonna gut you!"
But Gornak barely finished before Vesh, still hacking, tried to hurl a fireball, a flickering, dirty blue and red. Gornak spat, "Don't do thaaaa!" The fire sparked the gas, a sharp pop, then.
WHUMP!!
GOBLIN FLARE ACTIVATED]
"BOOM!"
[COMBO!] Goblin Flare + Goblin Gas = CRITICAL EXPLOSION
A green flame erupted, the blast knocking both Outlaws flat, their pixels flaking as their bodies glitched and dissolved. One tumbled into a tent, the canvas collapsing, then both burst into clouds of green data smoke.
[STATUS: Gornak, Vesh – DEFEATED | Dissolved]
The crowd froze. Then chaos.
"Damn… I didn't know those combined…" Rin gasped, awe and adrenaline fighting for space. "Guess those goblins weren't the brightest, but they taught me something." He almost laughed, shaking.
[LEVEL UP!]
[SYSTEM: STATUS]
Name: Rin Kaiseki
Level: 3
Race: Goblin
Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Hybrid
Stats
CHA: 3 (Normal)
VIT: 4 (Normal)
WIS: 4 (Normal)
LUCK: 13 (Normal)
STR: 5 (Normal)
AGI: 12 (Normal)
INT: 8 (Normal)
Overall Rating:Goblin Recruit
He flexed his green fingers, feeling the points tick up as adrenaline still spiked, his chest tight, his breath sharp, sweat chilling his scalp.
"Not bad. Not what I planned, but not bad. They really blew themselves up…" He snorted, checked his UI, and saw that two skills had merged; the combo was confirmed. Gotta test that again later.
The camp's noise thundered back, voices echoing as burnt hair and bile filled the air.
From the tent's shadow, Wyx Thrash stepped out tall for a goblin, wild white hair tied with copper rings, blue leather hugging a frame built for war. Red eyes cut through the crowd; she moved like a command, boots barely making a sound, every step parting the ring. Some goblins shrank, others straightened up.
[Wyx Thrash – Level 25, Hobgoblin]
"Fools..." Wyx smirked in the direction in her voice low and smooth, threaded with something dangerous.
She smirked, her voice low and dangerous. She looked Rin over cold, not unkind, weighing him.
"Name?"
No hiding her curiosity, but challenge set in her mouth.
Rin hesitated her golden tag heavy as a blade. First NPC that felt real, wouldn't wait for a prompt.
"Kaiseki," he said. Name dry, but gaze steady.
Her lips curled not quite a smile, more a twitch of reluctant respect.
"Quick on your feet… you've got some explaining to do later."
She leaned in, voice dropping low for only him.
"You make trouble, you answer to me or my father."
She spun away, snapping at the Outlaws.
"Drag the piss-ant troublemaker to the cage. Started a fight, got men killed."
The little goblin who started it all shrieked, cursing as Outlaws yanked him off his feet.
"Lady Wyx, it wasn't me! He said it!"
Wyx flicked her hand. The guards dragged him off.
Then, camp tension snapped, like a dropped hammer.
The war tent's flap snapped open. Sevish Thrash strode out, broad-shouldered, golden tag burning like a threat. The whole camp stilled. Wyx, for once, straightened up swagger gone, respect taut as a bowstring. Even the meanest Outlaws fell silent.
[Sevish Thrash – Level 80, Goblin Chieftain]
He didn't smile. He didn't need to. The entire camp felt the pressure, an aura so heavy it made the fire shrink. His gaze swept the ring, counting bodies, measuring every face.
"Hey, father…" Wyx said quietly, stepping behind him, hands at her sides, head tipped just enough for deference. Her earlier bravado melted to a steady readiness, eyes never leaving her father's face.
She glanced at Rin once more, and her lips barely moved, a whisper only he could see. Rin gave a tiny nod in return. The tension in the camp was raw, honest.
Sevish spoke his voice hard enough to split bone. "What's the commotion? Why do I have two dead soldiers? I'm preparing for a raid, and I come out to this?"
He rolled his neck, old scars shifting. The crowd shrank, some archers bowing their heads, the Outlaws standing straighter, nobody wanting his attention.
He locked eyes with Rin, the weight of command pressing down. "You. Explain."
Rin met his gaze, steady as he could, throat dry.
"They started it. Picked a fight, got what they earned. I'm not here to make trouble, but I won't let anyone disrespect me." Rin stood tall, meeting Sevish eye-to-eye, feeling the aura roll off the chieftain not afraid, just determined to earn respect. Like my old man said: respect's not given.
Sevish stared him down for a century-long moment cold, not unkind, just weighing. He scanned the burnt marks in the mud, wrecked tent, Wyx standing alert, Outlaws shifting.
"More losses. More idiots gone. But the new one's got iron. Reminds me of myself dumb enough to fight, smart enough to survive. Maybe that's what we need…" He rubbed the scar above his eye, gaze lingering on Rin.
"Respect is earned, not given, young one." He let it hang, final. "Are you willing to accept the consequences for taking two of my men? Prove you're an ally, or face me as a foe."
His aura dropped the weight of a boss fight, the world holding its breath.
Wyx tensed. Outlaws stepped back. Nobody knew if violence or an execution was coming.
Rin's heart hammered. "What do you want me to do to prove it?"
Sevish nodded no hesitation.
"We're bleeding. We need a way into Lunarest. Bring me a map. Show me you're worth something."
Rin gritted his teeth, mind racing. "Can I have time to think about it?" He needed to get home, but walking from a world-quest was suicide. He needed every edge.
Sevish's voice went cold steel.
"Three days. You stay in the war tent, under watch. Give me your answer, or you're an enemy. Wyx he's yours."
Wyx nodded, businesslike. "We'll speak soon," she said, meeting Rin's eyes with a challenge and a ghost-smirk.
The crowd muttered, a few sneered, most just glad the spotlight shifted. Two Outlaws, arms thick as fenceposts, grabbed Rin. Their hands were rough, grip unforgiving bruises already blooming as the ground rocked, mud sucking every step.
Rain started to tap a new rhythm on the canvas as they hauled him to the tent. Each drop sounded louder, firelight flickering behind, camp shouts fading into haze.
Inside, shadows closed in. The Outlaws shoved him onto a thin, patched mat, ducked out without a word. The flap fell, sealing out the fire's warmth, leaving him with wet hide, oil, and sweat.
His breath came short, pulse racing in his ears. He pressed his hands to his eyes forcing focus. The world wouldn't let up. Not here.
A gold flash flared in his UI, sharp and urgent.
[WORLD QUEST TRIGGERED – CALL OF THE BONES]
Objective: Scout Lunarest for the Goblin Chief.
– Infiltrate the city.
– Retrieve the Gate Map for the tribe.
– Find the secrets of the Goblin Sorcerer Ghiv.
Restriction: Only goblin players may accept.
Reward: Legendary (Unknown).
Warning: If the quest is not completed, the world event resets.
[ACCEPT] / [DECLINE]
He stared at the quest window, hands trembling in his lap. Every thought spinning Chiyo, the twins, the bills, the Bash, the ugly truth: one screwup could lock him out for days, ruin everything.
You get three days, Kaiseki. Figure it out, or die here.
Rain grew steadier, drumming on the tent above, drops sliding in uneven rivers. Outside, goblin voices rumbled, boots shifting in mud, someone dragging a crate. Even in a game, every sound felt weighted, real.
Rin let himself sink into the mat, spine pressed to the earth
END OF CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5: Lanterns in the Dark
"Three days. Bones to gather, debts to dodge, names to protect. Only one shot, little one, don't waste it."