With my eyes closed, and a smile on my lips, I slept content. Yet at that moment, I was drawn out of the realm of sleep by a sound, and when I opened my eyes, I was greeted by a blue screen:
"Beep. You have failed the mission: The Beginning of Something Great. Assessing punishment... punishment selected."
New mission assigned: Pray VS Predator
Kill 15 goblins, kill 3 sand crawlers.
Reward: Skill Predator – adds 15 points to stealth. It will also boost all attacks when ambushing enemies.
Reward: New skill Tracker – you will more easily be able to follow targets while staying unseen. You will also be able to follow tracks and signs of activity to their creator.
Mission assigned: Trophy Hunter
Collect the bodies of the monsters you kill.
Reward: Crafting system – you can craft items and armor from monster parts. Armor made from monster parts can come with effects that boost you in battle. Effects vary depending on what monster parts are used.
"Failing this mission will result in death. Teleporting to punishment zone in 3... 2... 1."
The next second, a familiar blue light covered me. Why couldn't this happen when I made my New Year's resolution? A small laugh escaped me at the thought, even as the system counted down until I would be teleported back to the punishment zone—that part of my punishment going without saying. So I did all I could do. I enjoyed the weight on my shoulder. I would fight to return to this, whatever it may be.
And so it happened. Darkness overtook me, and when I opened my eyes, I was resigned to the sight that greeted me—and felt some dread at the mountain of a tasks that stood before me. So I took out the bone dagger, still covered in dry blood, and gripped it like an old friend as I took in my surroundings. Not much had changed. It was still a jungle of boxes, contained within the ship where I had taken refuge the first time I was sent to this place.
I ducked behind a box when the sound of footsteps made itself heard. I looked over the box and saw two goblins. But what interested me was what the goblins wore—no longer the familiar rags, but crude armor. And the bone daggers had been replaced with spears.
This wasn't going to be easy, I thought. But that's when I heard the two's conversation.
"Yeah, yeah, they say dat da thing came outta nowhere, with skin as white as a dead goblin. And he was bigger than da boss, with claws covered in da blood of da goblin—and he just disappeared like dat."
Goblin guard two speaks up, "You don't think we'll see da Goblin Eater, right?"