Chương 5: A stronger human

Crust breaks from my eyelids as I wake up on the cold, damp, and bumpy floor. It doesn't take long to remember the night I just had, and it takes all of my willpower not to order myself to forget it. The cramps and aches from sleeping quickly make themselves known. I stretch for longer than I've ever stretched and in more poses than I've ever thought of. In the end, I speak and order the aches and pains away. Right before it dulls, I realize that my arm is feeling much better than the day before.

Instead of feeling like it got hit by a team of baseball players, it only feels like someone fell on it and almost broke it. Vitality for the next level-up sounds like a good idea. With the pop of a neck and a shake of my body to limber up, I walk through the room with the first goblin and up to the cell door leading to the third room. Both goblins are sitting in the same position, doing the exact same thing, even though I left to sleep and eat for several hours.

It's eerie how one is poking sticks on the ground while the other watches silently. Is this how goblins normally act, or is the system altering them for the dungeon? I can't imagine that their robotic movements are natural. Still, it doesn't change what I have to do. Luckily, both are facing away from the door, so I should have another easy assassination on my hands. I don't think to take off my sneakers before grabbing and tightening the makeshift spikes to the front of my fist.

"Grip hard and don't let go, Kevin," I whisper to myself.

"Focus on the fight and stay aware, Kevin." Before the command washes away loose thoughts, I smirk at the fact that it feels like I'm applying buffs before a fight. Actually, that's exactly what I'm doing, isn't it? My mind focuses on the goblins like binoculars. With my free hand, I slowly grab the latch. Same as before, I move the door inch by inch, still surprised that it makes no noise. Feeling smooth as butter, I choose every step carefully, slowly approaching the backs of the unsuspecting goblins.

Assassinate the first, then jump the second. I walk up only a couple of steps behind the right goblin and ready my posture.

"Kevin, punch as hard as you can without hurting yourself, then kick the other goblin in the head," I say inaudibly. My body tenses and my heart rate picks up. In one motion, my arm pulls back and launches forward, slamming upwards into the base of its skull. Spikes puncture flesh as I send the goblin tumbling over itself with a small spray of blood. My mind doesn't process much before my eyes flick to the next goblin. I flow like water to the next movement, kicking forward.

My foot flies up like it attempts to strike a flying football. The ear softens and deflects the blow, sending my foot to the side and pushing the goblin out of the way of the full force of the impact. It's at this point that I realize that the ability to command myself doesn't make me a better fighter. Nor does it make me think of better decisions. At the end of the day, it's still me who's making those decisions. Just like it's me who's moving my body in accordance with my commands.

As I have this revelation, the stumbling goblin stands up and takes in the situation surprisingly quickly. We both see the first goblin spasming on the ground. It hisses like a snake, revealing teeth similar to a shark. My chest tightens in fear as I step back slightly. Like a moth to a flame, the goblin senses my hesitation and rushes forward. With my adrenaline pumping, I kick out with my heel. My foot is once again padded by the thing's giant nose as it pushes the goblin to the side.

Its nose cracks and bends to the side, and the goblin's gaze becomes furious as it pushes toward me again. I do the same. I throw a couple of punches with my better reach, but the goblin bobs and weaves like some kind of lightweight UFC champion. In a desperate move, I throw a feint with my unspiked hand, and the goblin dodges to the right. Taking advantage, I swing my right arm clumsily, and my fist comes down on the thing's face.

My punch lands awkwardly, but a spike on the edge of my fist strikes true and punctures through the goblin's eye. The goblin immediately falls backwards in pain and grabs its face while thrashing on the ground. It makes a sound that can only be interpreted as an old man with a throat full of mucus trying to shriek like a bat. I quickly sprint forward and lift my foot up. With my full weight, I bring my shoe down like a guillotine on the monster's ribcage.

The sound and feeling of dozens of bones snapping under my foot would not leave my mind for a very long time. With nervous excitement still ravaging my body, I watch morbidly as the goblin attempts and fails to breathe for several seconds. The center of its chest sits several inches deeper than the surrounding area. Placing my hands on my knees, I pant heavily. A chime sounds in my head, but I shunt it out, replaying the fight in my mind. It was a mistake to go for the second goblin's protected face.

I also really need to learn to use my commands in a fight better. I don't go too deep into it since it's my first fight. I'll get more comfortable after doing it a few times. My head raises to see the spasming goblin from the first strike. As I run over to it, my movements feel far smoother, and my mind feels different. I flip the goblin over and drag the collar spikes across its neck. The sight of blood spurting out makes me nauseous.

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"Kevin, let go of the collar," I say, massaging my hand. Before the blood starts pooling, I turn and walk over to a stick that the goblin was poking. As I pick it up, another chime sounds in my head. Ignoring it, I toss the stick up and snatch it out of the air, surprised by my movements and reactions. Did my stats go up? With a deep breath, I brace for the best part of the fight, other than staying alive.

"Alright system, let's see it." I wave to the air. [You have slain Goblin lv. 1] [Partial experience granted] [Partial experience granted] [Human(lv. 0) > (lv. 1)] [Control Tamed Being(lv. 1) > (lv. 2)] [You have slain Goblin lv. 1] [Partial experience granted] [Partial experience granted] Before continuing, I reflect on the fact that I can level up as a human.

In traditional video games, intelligent species would upgrade their classes at certain milestones, while monsters would do the same with their species and evolve. Given that I technically have two status pages, does that mean I can do both? I mean, when I upgrade my class, I'm sure to get some sort of specialized taming class with more powerful skills alongside it. But what the hell would I look like as an evolved human? Would I become some kind of beast-human hybrid?

Or would I just become a better version of a human? This makes me think of the classes other people chose. I didn't get a chance to read all the classes when the system first arrived, but surely there had to be some non-fighting classes like blacksmith or farmer, right? Would a non-fighting profession get a dungeon similar to mine? Unlikely. There's no way the world could be filled with people who have to fight to survive and grow stronger. Right? Shaking my head, I return to reading the last couple of messages.

[You have earned a reward for clearing a room] [Accept(1) / Bank / Consolidate] I assume the number one next to accept is how many times I've consolidated my reward. Without thinking, I tap the magnetic screen and consolidate again. Finally, my breath calms to a reasonable rhythm. Thanks to specifying my words, I was able to prevent damage to my arm and still do acceptable damage to the first goblin.

Even though I butchered the second fight against an enemy that was about a third of my weight, I wasn't too downtrodden. After all, I'm alive and uninjured. But what was with that boost I got during the fight? The most likely candidate is my race leveling up, but given that I didn't choose it, there's no way to know what stats it gives on level up, or even if it gives stats at all.

"Status." [Vitality: 9] [Strength: 8 > 9] [Agility: 11 > 14] [Endurance: 7] [Fortitude: 9] [Intelligence: 12] [Wisdom: 11] [Perception: 14 > 15] My brow raises. Three agility and a point of perception? Not bad. Not bad at all. Looks like the point of strength I added before is also there. In no time at all, agility had rocketed up to become my second-highest stat. And I can feel it. I toss the stick up, then snatch it out of the air.

A smile slowly forms on my face as I do several movements, from simple running and jumping to spinning in circles and dancing. I laugh out as I move, enjoying my new level of mind-body connection.

"Once again, magic is awesome," I say, huffing. After lying down, I open my status again and flip to the taming menu, selecting my name. [Tamed Being Slot 1] [Name: Kevin Shoeman] [Species: Human lv. 1] [Bond level: 100%] [Vitality: 9] [Strength: 9] [Agility: 14] [Endurance: 7] [Fortitude: 9] [Intelligence: 12] [Wisdom: 11] [Perception: 15] [Tamed Being Skills: none] Other than the stats I just checked, nothing changed. Curious about my stat increase, I tap on both species and human.

[Species: A being's species indicates physical makeup, affinities, racial bias, and future evolution paths] Not a lot to learn from that. [Human: Humans are by far the most widespread species in the universe and contain many subtle variations.] [Racial Bias: none] Oooh! Information about the universe! Exciting! Still no clue what racial bias is, though. I tap the last thing I think might give me a little more information. [Tamed Being Skills: Tamed beings do not apply stats or select skills manually. Instead, they are assigned and given automatically via the following criteria: Instinct, past experiences, species, and inner desire.] Huh? Does that mean my stat gain as a human will change on every level up? Not sure I'm into something unpredictable like that, but at least I won't have to worry about min-maxing too hard. Sadly, this also makes it impossible to predict when or where new skills will show up. Regardless, even if I have reduced experience gain, I have an upgradable class and species to go with it.

Most likely, a benefit no one else on earth has. Feeling inspired, I stand up with a jump and walk to the unopened cell door. Looking through, I see exactly what I expect. Three goblins. My stomach drops as I see two of them facing the door I'm standing in front of. I make plans to fight, but my fear fades when I don't see them react. Curiously, I wave my hand at them. Nothing.

"Is their eyesight that bad?" I mutter questioningly. I put both my hands in the air and wave them over my head wildly. Still nothing. The goblins only sit there lifelessly, staring at a pile of sticks on the ground, one of them loosely poking them with another stick. Feeling confident, I try my theory.

"Hey! You little freaks of nature!" I yell. As expected, not one of them even flinches. Perhaps the cell door acts as some sort of barrier that they can't see or hear through? Wait, can they even walk through it? Something this exploitable couldn't possibly be left undiscovered. One more time, I grab the bars of the cell door and shake it on its hinges, rattling and causing the shriek of metal on metal. Still, the goblins don't react. Testing once more, I open the clasp and slowly open the door.

After a few inches, the eyes of two goblins facing the door flick to me. Through my confidence, my nerves grow as the goblins stand up with malice in their eyes. The third one gets up in confusion before seeing me and adopting the same expression as the others. I quickly close and latch the door, but the goblins still move towards me, looking into my eyes while picking up speed. My heart rate picks up, and I step back, waiting and watching. The goblins group up like a cluster of kids seeing a piñata break open.

One goblin sticks its arms through, trying to reach me, while the other two try to shake the door off its hinges. A spear would be amazing right now. It's easy to imagine walking through every room, aggravating the monsters, then poking them all to death through the bars. The goblin with its arms through finally stops trying to reach me, who is clearly out of its range. It looks around and sees the clasp holding the door closed. I tense. I'm about to have my first actual fight.

I wrap the makeshift collar around my hand again.

"Kevin, focus and grip the leather tight," I say, not caring if the goblins hear me or not. The goblin grabs the clasp through the bars, pulling it and slapping mindlessly. They seem to have some level of intelligence, but are still as dumb as rocks. Shaking and slapping finally reach a peak, the latch falling out of the hole keeping the door closed. The door sways in place instead of shaking.

All the goblins realize instantly, stop their idiotic movements, and throw the door open to prowl into the room like a trio of wolves. My heart hammers, and I command my only tamed being.