That night, I didn't go straight to sleep.
I just sat on my bed, staring at my glowing status screen like it had personally betrayed me.
Level 25.
Plenty of stat and skill points to spend.
Fireball was almost level 5.
Magic Shield was level 4 and supposedly tough enough to block a literal lightning bolt (maybe—no thanks to testing that).
"And I'd just unlocked something called Combat Awareness (Passive) Lv. 1 during today's rage-fueled brawl which basically made me feel like a budget Jedi."
On paper? I was killing it.
In reality? People were dying.
Two weeks ago, this had all felt like a dream, a power fantasy with stat points, loot drops, and the occasional goblin.
Now it felt like I was just leveling up while the world fell apart around me.
That family at the farm... I didn't even know their names. I never would. But that little boy I kept seeing him. Over and over. In every nightmare, in every blink.
I'd gotten there as fast as I could.
I knew that.
I wasn't Superman. I couldn't fly.
But still...
What if I'd been stronger? What if I'd trained harder? What if I hadn't been wasting time watching anime when I could've been grinding?
And that thought scared me most of all.
Because somewhere deep down, I was starting to care more about the numbers going up than the people I couldn't save.
Was this still just a game?
I wasn't sure anymore.
And the worst part?
I wasn't even sure I wanted to know the answer.
Then I heard familiar sound.
Ding!
Consolation Quest Activated: "Go Bash Some Goblins"
Because nothing says emotional healing like extreme violence.
Objective:
Clear the Goblin Den in the Greenwood Dungeon.
(Yes, the one with ten terrifyingly trap-filled levels.)
Reward:
XP, loots, and a Surprise Gift!
Emotional closure not guaranteed.
System Remark:
Feeling guilty? Why not take it out on some green-skinned creeps who totally deserve it! Therapeutic and calorie-burning!
I stared at the glowing screen.
Because of course the system's idea of comfort was more goblin hunting.
[Consolation Quest – Active]
Objective: Clear the goblin den in the Greenwood Dungeon (10 floors).
Bonus: Defeat the boss to lower goblin spawn rates in your realm.
Reward: Surprise gift! (No, it's not socks. Probably.)
Wow. A sympathy quest. Like the system was handing me a "Sorry for your trauma" coupon.
Still… it wasn't wrong.
Fewer goblins meant fewer attacks. Fewer families like the one I'd found. Maybe this was how I made it count.
I just geared up, stuffed my inventory with potions, foods and went.
This wasn't about XP. Not tonight.
Tonight, I wasn't grinding for stats.
I was hunting for peace.
Before I headed out, I stopped by a sports store and grabbed a new baseball bat. Best weapon a teenager can legally buy without raising eyebrows. Sure, LETI probably had cooler stuff, but explaining my whole 'secret RPG system and solo quest' thing? Yeah, that conversation was not happening. Maybe later. Probably never.
It wasn't like the skeleton dungeons that dropped on me in the middle of the night like cursed Uber Eats.
This one? I had to walk to.
The portal was tucked away in a patch of forest just outside of town—like some glowing mosquito bite on the map. When I got there, it shimmered faintly in the moonlight, a ripple of green light hovering between two trees.
[Appraisal]
Greenwood Goblin Den (10 Floors)
Time Flow: 10x Faster Inside
Wait...what?
I reread that line three times just to be sure.
If time ran ten times faster in there… that meant I could spend ten hours dungeon diving, and only one measly hour would pass in the real world.
I could grind like crazy and still be back in time for lunch.
Best. Dungeon. Ever.
Okay, maybe not emotionally. But logistically? Amazing.
took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.
Instant temperature drop. Instant regret.
The Greenwood Goblin Den looked like someone had merged a horror movie set with a nature documentary. Moss-covered trees twisted over a narrow dirt path, the air damp and buzzing with weird forest sounds. And, of course, the lovely ambient glow of bioluminescent mushrooms. Thanks, nature. Very aesthetic. Very murdery.
Floor 1.
I didn't have to wait long.
The moment my shoes crunched a twig, I heard the high-pitched shrieks. Four goblins scuttled out of the bushes like angry toddlers on a sugar crash.
Green Goblin (Lv 15) ×4 ( five groups )
Status: Eager to murder you.
I sighed, cracked my neck, and summoned a fireball.
"Alright, boys. Who wants to be XP?"
Ten minutes and twenty goblins later, the floor was cleared. I'd barely broken a sweat. Honestly, I was more tired of the smell than the fighting.
Loot Gained:
– Healing Potion ×2
– Stamina Potion ×3
– Mana Potion ×1
– Goblin Teeth ×6 (seriously, why do they collect these?)
– 140 Ancient Coins
– 24 Soul Shards
– $300 cash (somehow)
Also, Fireball and Magic Shield hit Level 5. Boom.
Onward.
---
Floor 2.
More goblins. Because of course.
This time there were six up front, and they brought pointy sticks. Two archers hung back while the others charged like green bowling balls with rage issues.
Goblin Archer (Lv 15) ×2
Goblin (Lv 16) ×4
Status: Slightly smarter than average.
I dodged the first arrow, tanked the second with Magic Shield, and lobbed a fireball right down the middle.
Boom. Screams. XP.
The archers tried to run. Key word: tried.
There were over 30 goblins on this floor, split into squads. They just kept coming.
Loot:
– Arrows (meh)
– Goblin Bow (extra meh)
– 35 Soul Shards
– $400, ancient coins
– Various potions
– One disturbingly realistic goblin finger puppet. (I don't wanna talk about it.)
---
Floor 3.
Things escalated.
Now we had Goblin Mages. Great. Goblins with fireballs. What could possibly go wrong?
Goblin Mage (Lv 19) ×2
Goblin Archer (Lv 17) ×2
Goblin (Lv 19) ×12
The moment they saw me, one of the mages screeched something in goblin-ese and hurled a mini fireball at my face. I barely blocked it with Magic Shield, then yeeted my own fireball right back like we were playing dodgeball with the sun.
By the time the smoke cleared, the only thing left standing was me... and one arrow embedded in my boot.
Note to self: Buy better boots.
The floor had over 50 goblins, most moving in aggressive squads.
Loot Gained:
– Goblin Mage Staff ×2 (Cracked, +1 spell power)
– 50 Soul Shards
– 300 Ancient Coins
– $550
– Various potions and alchemy ingredients
– Ancient Goblin Rune (???)
---
Floor 4.
The goblins were expecting me this time.
Barricades, traps, and a horn-blowing lookout. Cute. Almost clever.
I dropped in from the side, baseball bat out, and played whack-a-goblin before they even knew what hit them. A couple mages tried to slow me down. I used Mana Arrow for the first time—low damage, but the stun was decent.
New Skill: Mana Arrow Lv 2
Loot:
– Healing Potion
– Goblin Goggles (fashionable and possibly cursed?)
– 97 Soul Shards
– 500 Ancient Coins
– $860
– More potions and alchemy junk
---
Floor 5.
Halfway down.
More traps. More goblins. And these ones actually coordinated. Mages laid down cover fire while archers boxed me in between trees.
I used Combat Awareness to dodge through spells and arrows like I'd unlocked Ultra Instinct. Probably looked cool. Probably smelled like roasted goblin.
This floor had over 70 enemies in total.
By the end, I was breathing hard, a little singed, and missing part of my sleeve. But alive.
Loot Gained:
– Skill book : Minor Heal
– Magic Gloves (+3 Mana Regen/ min)
– Little Power Ring (+3 STR)
– One half-eaten sandwich (why?)
– 180 Soul Shards
– 900 Ancient Coins
– $550
– More potions and mystery herbs
Skill Levels:
– Fireball Lv 6
– Magic Shield Lv 6
– Mana Arrow Lv 3
I leaned against a tree, chugged a stamina potion, and muttered,
"Five floors down. Five to go."
I decided to rest for a while before heading to Floor 6.
Because something told me... the warm-up was officially over.
Floor 6.
No breather this time.
The moment I stepped off the stairs, goblin horns blared—actual, honest-to-chaos horns—echoing through the trees like a swarm of kazoo-wielding banshees.
They were ready.
Ambush.
Goblins dropped from trees, burst out of bushes, even launched themselves from a hollow log like nature's worst jack-in-the-boxes. It was like fighting inside a haunted piñata.
Enemy Count:
– Goblin Assassin (Lv 24) ×4
– Goblin Archer (Lv 21) ×6
– Goblin Mage (Lv 23) ×3
– Regular Goblins (Lv 20) ×20+
I didn't hesitate.
Fireball left. Mana Arrow right. Bat dead ahead.
The assassins went for my blind spots, Combat Awareness lit them up like a warning overlay. I ducked, rolled, and uppercut one into a tree hard enough to shake leaves loose.
The mages tried to chant something unpleasant. Too slow.
BOOM.
A fireball shut them up permanently.
Arrows clinked against my shield. I dashed forward, weaving through trees and spells like my feet had a cheat code. The bat spun in my hands like it had its own vendetta.
Ten minutes later, it was over.
Smoke. Blood. Silence.
I stood alone, boots smoking, health bar flashing yellow.
Loot Gained:
– Cloak of the Wild (+5 Evasion, smells faintly like regret and moss)
– Shadow Dagger (+10% crit from behind)
– 220 Soul Shards
– 1,200 Ancient Coins
– $640
– Healing Potion ×2, Mana Potion ×3
– Goblin Horn (usable? Probably cursed.)
Skill Updates:
– Fireball: Lv 7
– Magic Shield: Lv 6.5
– Mana Arrow: Lv 4
I took a breath, equipped the Cloak of the Wild, and tugged the hood over my head.
"Alright, Floor 7. Let's dance."
---
Floor 7.
Something was off.
No goblin horns. No shrieking ambush. Just… silence.
The kind that makes the hairs on your neck whisper, "You messed up."
The terrain had changed—no more mossy forest. Just wide, foggy wetlands with ankle-deep water and stone platforms scattered like someone lost a game of nature-themed hopscotch. Visibility? Garbage-tier. Danger level? Probably "Yes."
I stepped onto the first stone.
The fog moved.
Enemy Presence Detected:
– Goblin Assassin (Lv 25) ×6
– Goblin Illusionist (Lv 24) ×2
– Goblin Archer Elite (Lv 23) ×4
– Shadow Goblin (Lv 23) ×???
Oh good. Shadow goblins. Because normal ones weren't annoying enough.
Then chaos. Real chaos.
Illusions flickered. Shadows lunged. I swung at one—poof, fake. Got stabbed in the side for my trouble. Shield flared. I fired a Mana Arrow and—finally—hit something that screamed.
Combat Awareness buzzed in my skull like angry bees. I shut out the fog, the noise, the pain—and focused.
That's when he showed up.
The Shadowcaller. The mini boss
Tall (for a goblin), armored in what looked like goth ribs, wielding a black staff pulsing with wrongness. He barked something in Goblinese, and the shadows attacked.
I went full feral. Fireball. Dodge. Shield. Swing. Repeat.
I was dodging arrows, blocking illusions, hurling magic, punching things I hoped were real. One assassin nearly gutted me—I dropped him with a point-blank Fireball. Another tried a backstab—I spun and bat-clubbed him into the swamp.
The Shadowcaller started a chant. I didn't let him finish.
I tackled him mid-spell and slammed him into the stone so hard the fog flinched.
Then...silence.
I stood alone in the mist, panting. My HP bar was blinking red. MP and SP basically gone. One more fight and I'd be toast.
Level Up!
Level 26
Stat Points Gained: +5
Skill Points Gained: +5
New Skill Acquired:
Shadow Sense (Passive) Lv 1 – Detects hidden or invisible enemies within 15 meters.
Loot Gained:
– Staff of Dusk (+5 Shadow Magic, Rare)
– Cloak of Night: Nightstalker Set (+10 Stealth; collect all 3 for bonus)
– 320 Soul Shards
– 1,600 Ancient Coins
– $800
– Shadow Crystal ×12 (Note: glows ominously. Don't lick.)
I collapsed onto the nearest stone platform, fog curling around me like the end of a brutal stage play.
"Note to self," I muttered. "If the dungeon ever goes quiet? Run."