[ Time until next wave: 0h 1m 15s ]

The sun slowly descended below the horizon. Only its top half was still above the invisible line separating day from night.

Tanuki sat before the purple obelisk. The grass around him bathed in the orange light of the sun. It would've been the perfect sunset, were it not for the battle about to commence in less than a minute…

[ Time until next wave: 0h 0m 59s ]

Tanuki's eyes were fixed on the road. He listened to the quiet ticking of the clock and counted down.

"I want to change myself."

A determined frown sat on his face as he repeated the same thought over and over again. His shadow stretched over the entire field as the sun set and a single star appeared in the sky.

It was getting dark.

[ Time until next wave 0h 0m 3s ]

[… 2s ]

[… 1s ]

[… 0s ]

Tanuki stood up and clenched his fists. The darkness around him slowly morphed into a thick fog. The other side of the road was completely out of vision and he couldn't hear anyone there, until…

[ Wave Ongoing! ]

[ Active effects: –– ]

[ Enemies left: Goblin (1/1) ]

Footsteps. He could hear small footsteps from the other side of the road.

"It sounds like he's barefoot, does that mean he has no weapons?"

The footsteps became quicker and louder.

"It's charging at me!"

Tanuki jumped off the road just in time to evade the sharp stick aimed at his throat.

Fwoosh!

Tanuki quickly recollected himself and faced the enemy. It was a small green monster, just he had imagined.

"Shit! What do I do now? He has a weapon!"

The goblin raised its spear again, then…

"(sniff)… (sniff)…"

The small red eyes narrowed on the little creature, until they were almost closed. It raised its large nose higher into the air and sniffed even louder.

Tanuki quickly covered his mouth.

"Is it not seeing me?"

The distance between them was almost three meters. Tanuki could see the outlines of the monster, but it was almost completely blind.

"It's using my smell to track me. That's why he could attack me before, the wind was blowing in his direction. Not anymore though…"

The goblin jerked his head down, then growled aggressively.

"(Grooowl)!"

Suddenly, it burst into a frenzied charge, but not towards Tanuki. The monster continued down the road, straight towards the purple obelisk.

"What is it doing?" Tanuki asked, before something appeared in the corner of his vision.

[ Warning! ]

[ CP: 9/10 ]

The message shined with bright flashes of red light, much like the one text he had seen before. Tanuki was confused by what it meant, until he heard something loud hit the Gaia Core.

Thunk!

[ Warning! ]

[ CP: 8/10 ]

Tanuki's eyes widened.

"That's the Gaia Core's health!"

The goblin didn't run away to search for him. It couldn't find any targets to attack, so it continued down the path towards his goal, which seemed to be the Gaia Core.

"Geehehe!" The goblin laughed mischievously while it banged its head against the obelisk.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

[ Warning! ]

[ CP: 5/10 ]

The obelisk reached half of its maximum health. Cracks formed on the purple crystal, growing deeper with every attack.

The goblin held his grip tightly around the obelisk and he bent his head back for another attack, when suddenly…

"Oraaa!" Tanuki let out a battle cry and kicked the monster in the face.

Bang!

The goblin flung meters away. Tanuki almost fell from the force of his kick but managed to stay afoot. He didn't waste any time and adjusted his glasses to observe the enemy.

"What the…"

[ Goblin ]

[ HP: 4/5 ]

Its name and a scale indicating its health appeared above the enemy.

"I only did that much damage?!" Tanuki yelled, thunderstruck.

The goblin quickly got back on its feet. It growled again, much angrier than last time, and pointed the end of its sharp stick towards Tanuki.

"S-Shit!" Tanuki recoiled.

Suddenly, the monster burst into another charge. This time Tanuki wasn't fast enough to evade the attack.

"Gahh!" His breath escaped as the sharp spear stabbed into his left shoulder.

The goblin acted rapidly. It immediately pulled the spear out of the wound, so the Tanuki couldn't break it, then attacked his chest area.

This time Tanuki was fast enough to defend himself, but at the cost of the spear stabbing his arm.

"Kuehh!" A painful noise escaped his throat as he jumped further away from the goblin.

Tanuki raised both arms to defend himself from another attack.

Nothing happened.

He was confused for a second before the goblin's ugly cackle pierced his ear.

The monster lowered its weapon and sadistically laughed.

"You… What are you laughing at?" Tanuki clenched his fists.

Throughout his entire life, he never had any of his bones broken, nor did he ever have to go to a hospital. He has always been a very careful person. That was because he feared getting hurt or experiencing pain.

Now, thanks to the gaping wound in his left shoulder and the smaller stab on his lower arm, this fear became real. Every heartbeat sent a piercing agony throughout his left half and he could feel blood dripping down his arm.

However, his eyes didn't show any sign of pain. Nor did they show signs of fear, as it morphed into a much stronger emotion.

Pure, blind rage.

"How dare you!" Tanuki charged the goblin.

The monster was caught off-guard by the attack and quickly raised its spear, only to have its other end grabbed by Tanuki.

"Keh?" The goblin looked up at the boy.

Just as it did, it met the other hand of Tanuki, clenched into a fist, traveling at lightspeed towards its face.

Craaack!

Tanuki could hear the bones shatter in its nose as he completely flattened the monster's face.

The goblin let go of the spear to cover its broken face, which Tanuki used to quickly take away its weapon. He quickly turned it to point towards the goblin and stabbed it deep inside its exposed stomach.

The goblin cried out in pain, but Tanuki quickly filled its mouth with his foot.

"Die… you… fucking… bastard!"

With each word came twice the amount of stabs.

He was reckless, stabbing the monster wherever he could. Its stomach, hands, face… nothing was spared. Nor did Tanuki intend to spare anything.

"How do you like that, huh? Is this funny to you? Are you having fun?" He shouted before stabbing the goblin one last time.

With the last stab aimed at its head, the spear broke. It wasn't strong enough to pierce the monster's skull, nor was there any reason it should've been able to.

The goblin's body was already cold.

Tanuki stepped away from the monster. Its mangled corpse was an unrecognizable pool of flesh and blood.

The first beams of sunrise brought light into the field. They helped Tanuki look at his hands, dirty from his and the monster's blood.

What felt like only a few seconds was an entire night. He was so blinded by rage, he didn't realize how much time has passed.

[ Wave Cleared ]

[ Beginners' Trial (1/3): Completed ]

[ Rewards available: 1 Expansion Points; Beginners' Box No. 1. ]

Tanuki slowly looked at the message floating before him.

"H-Huh?" He muttered, horrified of his actions.

.

.

.

[ Time until next wave: 11h 59m 59s ]