“In the face of such threats, both native and foreign to Earth, Humanity was placed in a dire situation. It is, afterall, universally agreed that Humanity’s climb to the apex of power, its position as ‘king of the jungle’, was provided by technological advances. The System’s arrival however nullified all forms of technology beyond the 1st Industrial Revolution. The foundation upon which Humanity built their civilization collapsed the instant the System arrived. But the System is Balance. In the absence of technology, the System’s Blessing gave Earth and her inhabitants something far more powerful. Access to the Essence of the Universe in the form of Mana and Stamina. Access to the true means of power in the Universe, through Skills. Access to true development, with Achievements. The System’s was....is....Darwin’s Law given flesh and form.”

Ruha the Wise, Master Seer of Eden, “History of Eden”

The creatures, diminutive beings of fury, raced across the street. Their stumpy legs powered along faster than Jax thought possible. Their smiles, crazed and feral, spoke only of evil. Thus, it was with a panic, that Jax reacted.

Bellowing out a curse, Jax stumbled back from the door. Hands, wet with sweat, gripped the bronze door handle. Survival instincts kicked in, and he slammed the door shut. Instead of closing and locking though, the door bounced off his boot. The boot that jutted out just enough to block the door from shutting.

“Nononononono! Cmon! Cmon you piece of-”

Words, heated and desperate, stumbled out of his mouth. Then, any semblance of calm was shattered. A weight slammed against the old oaken door. Then a second. Then fantasy became reality. Small, crimson dyed, green hands and arms that were marred with scars and burned in tribal tattoos clawed at Jax.

Panicked and driven by fear, Jax shouted and cursed. Throwing himself forward, he drilled his shoulder in the door as he dug deep. One human versus two goblins. The struggle for dominance battled back and forth. Each side driven by the mania of survival. The struggle, seconds that stretched to eternity, leveraged on the smallest margin. It was like a rock battling against a wave. A futile struggle of attrition. Then the paradigm shifted.

A crude knife jutted out from the door. Steel, painted red, stabbed at Jax. The first attack missed. The second did not. Steel cut deep into Jax’s forearm. Carving muscle and skin anew. Pain, greater than any he’s experienced in his life, damn near fried his brain. Spasming backwards, Jax staunched the flow of blood with his free hand. His breathing came in panicked gasps. His eyes, dazed and scared, watched as the front door was flung open. Revealed in the doorway, stood the two freaks of nature.

Maniac grins and bloodshot eyes greeted him. Serrated teeth and sharpened claws. Pale green skin, marred by scars, and painted in crimson blood. They were unholy creations. Made terrifying by their hysterical laughter that erupted from their mouths. Feral and guttural, high pitched squeaks echoed out as the two Goblin Scouts turned their overly large eyes toward each other, before erupting in a small tribal dance of celebration.

Holy shit. They’re...they’re intelligent?

The realization of his thoughts hit Jax like a punch to the gut. Fear turned to terror. No longer caring about the burning wound on his forearm, he grasped the KABAR defensively. The action halted the small dance of the Goblin Scouts. The Goblins, seeing the movement, shrieked and cackled in glee as they pointed mockingly at Jax. Then, their games were over as they exploded in movement.

It was all Jax to could to raise the KABAR. Then, the wind was knocked out of him and he was on the ground. In a fury of movement, the two Goblins scrambled atop him. Grimy, small hands seeking purchase on his clothes.

“Get. The. Fuck. Off!”

A scream billowed out from Jax as terror ignited with adrenaline. Hands turned to fists as he desperately fought off the Goblin Scout that had perched itself on his chest. Strike for strike, the two brawled as each sent their bony hands toward the others face. Each striking with fist while keeping the other’s knife at bay. Then the second Goblin Scout struck. Boiling pain lanced across his leg as the second Goblin Scout’s claw raked across his shin and calf.

A haunting scream escaped Jax’s mouth as tears pooled in his eyes. A sob, choked and dying in his throat, was all he could conjure. Then the Goblin Scout struck again, digging teeth into his upper shin. The scream that followed was cruel and hoarse.

Then, in the corner of his tear muddled eyes, a blur of tan and black fur darted forward. Duke! It was all he could think before the weight on his lower body was gone. All that remained was the first Goblin Scout. The Goblin Scout, who finally freed himself from Jax’s entanglement, and drove his crude steel knife into Jax’s shoulder. The steel bit deep, drawing blood but missing bone. Pain flared for the third time. But with the pain, came something primal from Jaxson.

Terror and adrenaline acted like kerosene. The pain became the spark to ignite it all. Rage. Pure and unchained, it burned like ancient power in his veins. Ripping free one hand and placing it against the Goblin’s own head, Jax pulled the Goblin Scout toward him. Sinking the knife in deeper as his mouth screamed a silent roar of hellish fury. Then power surged.

“Mana Bolt!”

He activated his Skill. The surge of energy coursed through him. Arriving at his palm that pressed itself against the Goblin Scout’s head. The maniacal grin on Jax’s face shook uncontrollably as frenzied eyes sought ruin in the creature before him. Then a spark of pale blue light erupted from Jax’s hand and into the head of the Goblin Scout.

“Mana Bolt!” Then the second one knocked the Goblin away from Jax.

“Mana Bolt!” Then the third penetrated the Goblin.

“Mana Bolt!” Then the fourth brought the Goblin to its knees in convulsions.

“DIE! DIE! DIE!” the scream tore itself from his throat. Hands, shaking and painted in red and green blood, latched onto the KABAR. Scrambling forward, Jax lunged at the Goblin Scout who still remained alive. Small, bony hands batted away at Jax’s KABAR. It’s effort was futile. Unknown strength and primal savagery powered Jax’s arms as he drove the KABAR in and out of the Goblin’s body. By the fifth strike, the Goblin Scout finally stopped breathing. As it died, the painful throbbing in Jax’s own body died. In its place, an ungodly amount of euphoric energy replaced any other sensation. Like ecstasy, the feeling hummed beneath his skin. It was power. It was life. Then, it was gone and Jax’s smile was dashed in the wake of its abrupt exit.

On all fours, Jax heaved desperately for air. Struggling to find control. All he found though, was the corpse of the green creature before him. Mauled and butchered and broken. Any semblance of intelligence it once shown, now as dead as its lifeless eyes. One look was all it took for the lingering ecstasy in his veins to turn frigid and the remnants of food in his stomach to empty itself on the floor. Heave after heave racked his body as yearned to end it. End the misery. End this god-forsaken dream and wake up and return to real life.

Only, as he crawled away from the creature, a small whimper came from his left. For a moment, his heart froze. Then, a damp tongue licked his bloody cheek, and the fear was replaced by relief. Ignoring the pain from his shoulder, Jax wiped from the tears in his eyes to find Duke before him. His once immaculate coat covered in ichor and gore. His friendly and loving smile, dripping with green blood. Behind Duke, lay a still struggling Goblin Scout. Green blood, pooling out from its ripped throat. Its eyes, hatred and pain, fixated on Jax.

It remained tracked on him. Even as he stood and struggled forward in a limp. Hunched and in pain, Jax walked toward the creature with Duke trailing behind him. Then he paused. His bloody and violent hands stilled as he eyed the creature before him. Taking in its every detail. The chipped tusks that hung outside its lips. The pale green skin, leathery and tough, that was engraved with tribal tattoos. The lean muscles that contracted as the creature struggled to free itself. The black eyes of oblivion that contained a hint of intelligence. He saw it all. Then, with numbed thought, he raised his hand one final time.

“Mana Bolt. Mana Bolt! MANA BOLT!”

The words of power needed to activate the Skill ripped free from Jax’s throat in a growing roar. In three flashes of light, the creature was put out of its suffering. What remained, was a surge of euphoric energy that seemed to ignite Jax’s brain in ecstasy. As if rejuvenated, the energy lit up a smile on his face as if it was christmas morning. It was the same as before, if less powerful. It was a flood of power that acted like six espresso shots to a beleaguered mind. Then, just like last time, it died.

However unlike last time, as soon as he was done, two notifications appeared in his mind. Pounding in his head as they demanded attention. With deadened thought, he looked inward. What he saw, were two messages from The System.

Congratulations! You have unlocked the Achievement [Killer]! You have slain your first enemy! You have earned: +1 Attribute Point

Congratulations! You have unlocked the Achievement [Survivor]! You stand among the first generation in a newly Assimilated Zone to overcome and kill a monster. Without guidance or help, you have taken the first step toward Ascendance. You have earned: +1 Attribute Point.

The first time he read them, it was mechanical. By the second and third time, realization of what the messages meant finally appeared in his mind.

I...I killed them. I killed them and was rewarded. Even the energy, the ecstasy, was a reward. A dose of addiction to make me want to kill. To attack. Holy.... Shit.... This, this can’t be reality? It’s just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream. That’s all it is. It isn’t real. Just a dream.

Back and forth his mind worked. Over and over again, he repeated the same message. It’s just a dream. But how could it be? The pain, the ecstasy, the smell, the touch, the Skill that he attained. None of this could be real. It’s just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a-

“Noo! Help! Help me! Someone! Dear God someone ple-”

A plea, desperate and shrill, came from outside the ruined doorway entrance. The scream, from a woman, shattered any delusional thoughts from Jax’s fragile mind. Before his mind can process the situation, he is already up. Unsteady and wounded, he limped to the doorway. KABAR in hand and close to chest, he poked his head outside. What he saw, ended any such illusion of safety.

At the end of the cul-de-sac where he lived, patrolled three Goblin Scouts. Two by two, the creatures bounded away. In a pack, they moved, two of the Scouts scanning the area with vicious smiles. As for the other Goblins, in the arms of one pair, laid a unmoving man in his mid 70s. Red blood obscured his face as it poured from a head wound. In the arms of the second pair though, struggled an equally aged woman. Face battered black and blue, she clawed at the air while screaming for help. Yet none came. Her only answer was a swift punch from a Goblin Scout that knocked her unconscious. And it was then, that the truth struck Jax.

This was no dream.

This was no game.