Yuji's gaze flicked nervously from one goat to the next. They were all eyeing him now, their movements slow but deliberate as they took small, menacing steps forward. The tension in the air was suffocating. From the back of the herd, a smaller goat snickered and turned to the leader. "What's the delay? Why are we wasting time talking?" it sneered with cruel amusement. "Why don't we just take care of this outsider already?"
"Yeah," another goat grunted, "that old man is always stingy. We need this reward. The faster we finish this, the sooner we can get the reward. I can't wait to become stronger."
Yuji swallowed hard, feeling the weight of their words. This wasn't just about him being a goat anymore—it was something bigger. They wanted him gone, and someone had put a reward on his head to ensure it happened. But why? Why would anyone go to such lengths to get rid of him?
He wracked his brain, trying to remember anyone he might have offended, but there was no one. Since waking up in this bizarre goat body, the herd had been the only creatures he'd encountered. That left only one possibility: the previous owner of this body—the original goat—must have been the one who offended the old man. Unfortunately, Yuji had no memory of that goat's life or actions.
Watching the tension rise among the herd, Yuji took a deep breath. The situation was escalating fast, and he realized he had no choice but to act carefully. This might be his last chance to turn things around.
'Damn it, Yuji,' he thought to himself, 'you've got only one option now: act crazy. Make them think you're possessed.' He mulled over the idea for a few seconds before deciding to execute it. If they feared and hated this outsider thing so much, then he'd give them exactly what they were afraid of.
But before Yuji could even open his mouth to speak, the situation shifted dramatically. The leader goat snapped and charged at him without warning, its sharp horns aimed directly at his side. Yuji tried to jump out of the way, but his body couldn't react quickly enough in this unfamiliar form. The leader's horns slammed into his ribs with brutal force, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Ugh!" Yuji groaned as pain tore through him like fire. He lay there dazed and gasping for air, barely able to comprehend what had just happened.
The yearlings froze for a moment, looking at each other in surprise as if they couldn't believe what they'd just witnessed. "What just happened? How can an outsider be so weak? Aren't they supposed to be strong?" one of them muttered in disbelief.
"Hahaha! Look at this! We were worried for nothing," another yearling laughed maniacally, his voice tinged with both relief and mockery.
Even the leader goat wore an expression of disbelief as it stared down at Yuji's pitiful figure sprawled on the ground. Its eyes narrowed in confusion as it muttered aloud, "Isn't an outsider supposed to be strong? Isn't that why I brought so many goats with me? But... why is he so weak?"
The herd murmured among themselves, their earlier hostility giving way to confusion and ridicule. But Yuji didn't react—not to their words, their laughter, or their stares. He didn't try to defend himself or stand up and run away. It wasn't because of the pain or humiliation; it was because something far more overwhelming had captured his attention.
Floating in front of him was a notification—a glowing message that held answers far more important than anything happening around him.
[The anomaly has been removed successfully.]
[Synchronize started]-1-10%
[Synchronize completed]
[Congratulations, you have unlocked the system]
[ Welcome to the reality with boundless possibilities. Here, anything and everything is possible. Hunters can become prey, and prey can become hunters in an instant. Here, danger lurks with every step in the darkness, while light is only a facade. It takes just a moment for friends to turn into foes and foes to become friends. So stay sharp and become strong. To help you survive in this unpredictable world. Your friendly 'system' is here to guide you through it.]
"A world where everything is possible! A world with boundless possibilities?" Yuji muttered to himself, his voice trembling with excitement. If he had known that all it took to unlock this system was getting his head slammed, he would have done it ages ago—no hesitation.
But now, he had it. He finally had it. A cheat that would help him survive in this strange new world. Unable to contain himself, Yuji burst into laughter, his inner thoughts spilling out uncontrollably. "Finally! Finally! Hahahahaha! All the MILFs will be mine! Every single MILF in this world—mine! Huahahahahaha!"
His triumphant laughter echoed in the air, but it didn't last long. Reality hit him like a bucket of cold water. His excitement faded as he remembered one glaring problem: he wasn't human anymore. He was a goat. A goat. The dream of MILFs—so tantalizingly close—had become a distant fantasy now.
To make matters worse, everything about this situation felt eerily familiar. It was unfolding exactly like the plot of a novel he had stumbled upon years ago in his father's treasury—a story where the protagonist gained a system, received an overpowered newbie gift pack, and crushed all opposition with ease. Except in Yuji's case, the protagonist wasn't a goat.
[DING]
At that precise moment, a sound broke the silence around him, resonating in his ears like a faint chime. It was neither piercingly high nor low, but rather a neutral tone that blended seamlessly into the background noise. The kind of sound that would likely go unnoticed unless one was attuned to it. Almost immediately after the echo faded, a notification materialized before him
[Warning: Hostility Detected.]
All notifications were temporarily suspended to allow the user to focus on the conflict at hand. Any rewards, enhancements, or system updates would be queued and delivered once the system determined that the user was no longer in immediate danger.
Note: The user could bypass this restriction if they deemed it unnecessary.
Yuji barely had time to process the notification before chaos erupted. One of the yearlings charged at him with sharp horns aimed directly at his side. He reacted instinctively, throwing his weight sideways in an attempt to dodge, but he wasn't fast enough. The horns scraped against his ribs, and a sharp flare of pain shot through his body.
"Argh!" he grunted, stumbling back as the pain clouded his thoughts. Before he could regain his footing, another goat rammed into him with brutal force. Its headbutt sent him flying backward, and he crashed hard onto the ground. His vision blurred from the impact, and the world spun violently around him as his heart pounded in his chest.
"They're trying to kill me," Yuji thought as panic surged through him. "This isn't just bullying—they want me dead." The realization hit him like a hammer, and fear clawed at his mind. But fear wasn't enough to stop him. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to focus through the haze of pain. "I won't go down like this. I just unlocked my system. If they want me dead, I'll take at least one of them down with me."