Ch 3 - Life and Death Struggle

"Ugh…"

My head is throbbing.

"What is this? What's going on?"

I opened my eyes and was greeted with terrible scenery.

It was red. Be it the sky, the earth, or everything in between. The world was filled with a scarlet flame and a puddle of blood.

It was a flame so high that even the largest tree was swallowed in one go. It was a flame so wide that even the village next to the forest was burned. Of course, the fire hadn't reached me yet, but even that was a matter of time.

It was a familiar scene. It was the prologue, just right before Raon lost his family and friends to monster attacks.

"Wow, what a shitty way to start."

I remembered getting transmigrated into the game, but even I didn't expect that I would begin right at this moment. Couldn't I start as a baby so that I can train my strength properly instead?

Of course, it was impossible—I know that—but I felt like I would explode from inside if I didn't voice out my anger like this.

"Damn it."

I moved my body toward the burning village. Since this is the prologue, the monsters that appeared are only at the level of goblins. But even goblins were too much for a person from the modern age who had never held a sword like me.

Even more, if you consider that right now, I'm nothing more than a boy around 10 years of age.

Fortunately, there was no need to kill the monsters. In the prologue, if you can just survive for a few minutes, help from outside will arrive. The problem is that if I just run away and wait, most of the villagers, including Raon's mother, will die.

"It can't be helped."

Let's grab the monster's attention and run.

"Fortunately, Raon, your body is fit."

Should I say as expected of the protagonist? I can even feel a sense of lightness and sharp instinct in my body as if it were meant to be used for battle. If it's like this, I could probably lure the monsters until help arrives.

"Now then, how do I use mana?"

I grabbed a stone as I walked. Then, following this body's instinct, mana flowed from my body and enveloped the pebble.

"Impressive."

A mana user at 10 years old. And with this amount too.

‘My future is bright.’

Then, I remembered the final boss that would appear in the future and sighed.

‘My future is bleak. Damn.’

I walked through the clearing and arrived at the burning village.

"M-Monsters!"

"Help!"

"Kyaaa!"

The villagers were screaming and running here and there, but everywhere they went, the goblins were waiting, as if having predicted their actions.

"Suu…"

I took a deep breath and took a throwing stance. Normally, I would worry about the friendly kill, but…

I wonder why? I'm confident that this stone will never miss its target.

"Haa…!"

I shouted and threw the stone at a goblin who was about to hit a woman with a club. Then--

Splat!

The goblin's head explodes, splattering remains flew and painted the ground with red.

"Ah…"

The woman looked at that scene with a pale face. Then she seemed to realize something important and said to me with a trembling voice.

"Thank you."

I just nodded and moved on.

'I'm sorry. I just hope it doesn't lead to trauma.'

It's unfortunate, but I don't have the time to console every person suffering. If they had died, then it was only right to move on to the next one.

"Haa…!"

Another splat.

"Oh… Oh!"

Then another.

"I'm saved! I'm saved…!"

Then another.

"Thank you...!"

I kept throwing stones as I climbed the roof of the tallest building.

'How many more stones can I throw?'

Six? Maybe seven if I'm pushing it.

But there are too many goblins for me to kill. So rather than killing them all, my priority should be to provoke their leader so much that he ordered all goblins to chase after me.

"Where is he… Ah, found it."

It was the only higher species among the goblins.

Was it a hobgoblin? The only thing special about them is the ability to use mana.

Then again, that alone is fatal to these villagers who are not used to fighting.

"Haa…!"

Clang!

A metallic sound.

To block an attack from a blind spot… Should I say, as expected of the leader?

"Kururung…"

He lowered the short sword shielding his head and looked up at me.

"Heh."

I gave him a middle finger and a mocking smile.

As expected of a gesture that transcends language, it was enough to enrage a simple species with nothing much going on in their heads.

I mean, look. Didn't the hobgoblin's green face become so red with just that? He shouted to the goblins and pointed at me. Then, as if raising their morale, he raised his short sword to the sky and shouted. The goblin's followed along before giving chase to me.

"Great."

Now, let's run to the dragon's lair as fast as I can. After all, if I can't kill them myself, then it's enough to have someone else do them for me.




***




"Huff… Huff… Damn it…"

I dragged on my broken leg and huffed. Everything was going well until midway through the forest. But when the goblins started using ranged attacks like me, even I couldn't help but get hit once or twice.

Worse, I slipped down a cliff as I tried to dodge the short sword the hobgoblin threw out of anger. Thanks to that, I can't use my dominant arm anymore.

"And I'm so close, too."

It was there, just right beyond that tree. If I could lure them into the large cave filled with magic, the dragon would surely notice the intruders and come out to take a look.

In the prologue, this dragon also cleaned up the goblins, so it's not like I'm going there for no reason. She's a dragon who loves humans above all else, so unless that human is evil, she would definitely not turn a blind eye to their suffering.

"Move… I said move, damn it…!"

My legs were screaming in pain. It was absurd when I compared my current situation with Raon Eva in the game.

Who is Raon Eva? Isn't he a bastard who won't die even if he gets killed? At the very least, he was someone who could heal severed limbs and organs as he pleased due to his gift. If the gift's target is himself, he could even turn immortal as severed head and molecular destruction were healable with time.

'Unfortunately, that very gift hadn't blossomed at this point in time.'

I can only laugh bitterly at the unfairness.

Where did I go wrong?

No, that's not the right question.

What can I do now?

I look around the surroundings.

A short sword that the hobgoblin had thrown at me before seemed to have fallen along with me down the cliff.

Above, the goblins were climbing down as if determined to kill me.

Fine. If you want a fight to the death, that's what you'll get.

I took the short sword and poured out my mana. Then, I put my back on the cliff so I only need to worry about attacks coming from the front.

"Come at me, you bastard…!"

I will show you how a cornered rat fights!

It was the moment when blood splattered, and the clanging sounds of metal rang under the cliff.

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Chapter end