Chapter 4: The System Awakens

Kazuki stared at the floating blue screen, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing. The goblin boss's club remained frozen in the air, so close he could see the individual rust flakes on the metal spikes. The creature's face was locked in a snarl of pure rage, but it didn't move. Nothing moved.

It was as if someone had pressed pause on reality itself.

[INITIATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOL]
[HOST DETECTED IN CRITICAL CONDITION]
[HP: 12/100]
[ADMINISTERING EMERGENCY HEAL]

A warm sensation flooded through Kazuki's body. The pain in his arm vanished instantly, and he felt energy returning to his exhausted muscles. He looked down at his forearm and watched in amazement as the deep claw marks closed up, the torn flesh knitting itself back together until there wasn't even a scar.

"What the hell is going on?" Kazuki whispered.

The blue screen flickered and changed, new text appearing.

[SYSTEM EXPLANATION: You have been selected as a Player, one chosen to utilize the System's power. The System will grant you abilities beyond normal Hunters through completion of quests, battles, and personal growth.]

[CURRENT STATUS: Time has been frozen for tutorial purposes. This is a one-time courtesy. Do not expect reality manipulation in future encounters.]

Kazuki's hand trembled as he reached out to touch the screen. His fingers passed right through it, but somehow he could feel it a faint tingle of energy against his skin.

"Is this real?" he asked the empty air. "Am I hallucinating? Did the goblin already kill me and this is some kind of dying dream?"

[NEGATIVE. You are alive. This is real. Please focus, Player Kazuki. Time will resume in 60 seconds. You must prepare for combat.]

A countdown timer appeared in the corner of the screen: 59... 58... 57...

"Prepare for combat?" Kazuki looked at the frozen goblins surrounding him. "How am I supposed to fight twenty of them? I can barely handle three!"

[ACCESS YOUR STATUS WINDOW. Think or say 'STATUS' to view your current attributes and abilities.]

Kazuki swallowed hard. This was insane. Completely insane. But what choice did he have? When time unfroze, that club was going to cave in his skull. If this System thing was real, it might be his only chance to survive.

"Status," he said.

The screen changed instantly, displaying information that made Kazuki's eyes widen.

[PLAYER: KAZUKI HAYATO]
[LEVEL: 1]
[CLASS: NONE]
[TITLE: THE WEAKEST HUNTER]
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
STRENGTH: 8
AGILITY: 10
VITALITY: 7
INTELLIGENCE: 12
SENSE: 11
[SKILLS: NONE]
[ABILITIES: NONE]

[NOTE: Your stats are pathetically low for a Level 1 Player. We have much work to do.]

"Even the System is insulting me," Kazuki muttered. But looking at the numbers, he understood why. His stats were terrible. No wonder he had been the weakest Hunter. While other Hunters awakened with innate abilities and skills, Kazuki had literally nothing.

The timer ticked down: 45... 44... 43...
[EMERGENCY QUEST GENERATED]
[QUEST: SURVIVE THE GOBLIN HORDE]
[OBJECTIVE: Defeat the Goblin Boss and survive]
[REWARDS: Level Up x3, New Skill, 500 EXP]
[FAILURE: DEATH]
[NOTE: This quest difficulty is currently beyond your capabilities. However, you will receive a one-time beginner's bonus.]
[BEGINNER'S BONUS ACTIVATED]
[TEMPORARY STAT BOOST: +20 to all physical stats for 10 minutes]
[SKILL GRANTED (TEMPORARY): DAGGER MASTERY (BASIC)]
[SKILL GRANTED (TEMPORARY): CRITICAL STRIKE]

Kazuki felt the change immediately. Power flooded through his body like electricity, making his muscles tingle and his senses sharpen. He pushed himself to his feet effortlessly, his previous exhaustion completely gone. The world seemed clearer, brighter. He could see individual scratches on the goblins' weapons, hear the faint drip of water somewhere deep in the dungeon.

His hand reached out and grabbed his dagger from where it had fallen. The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, knowledge flooded his mind. Proper grip. Stance. How to thrust, slash, parry. It was as if he had trained with daggers for years instead of just flailing around desperately.

The timer continued its countdown: 15... 14... 13...

"Okay," Kazuki breathed, settling into a fighting stance that felt natural for the first time in his life. "Okay. I can do this. I can actually do this."

[WARNING: The temporary boost will end exactly 10 minutes after time resumes. Use your time wisely. Defeat the boss before the boost expires, or you will die.]

"No pressure," Kazuki said with a nervous laugh.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
[TIME RESUMING. GOOD LUCK, PLAYER.]

The world snapped back into motion. The goblin boss's club continued its downward arc toward Kazuki's skull but this time, Kazuki moved. His body responded with a speed he had never experienced before, rolling to the side as the massive weapon crashed into the stone floor where his head had been a split second ago.

Chunks of rock exploded from the impact. The other goblins shrieked and charged forward, their weapons raised. Twenty against one. Impossible odds.

But Kazuki wasn't the same person he had been ten seconds ago.

He sprang forward, his dagger flashing in the torchlight. The blade found the throat of the nearest goblin before the creature even realized he had moved. Black blood sprayed, and the goblin dissolved into smoke. A magic stone clattered to the ground.

[GOBLIN DEFEATED: +5 EXP]

Two more goblins attacked from the sides. Kazuki's enhanced senses tracked both attacks simultaneously. He parried one with his dagger and kicked the other in the chest, sending it flying backward into its companions. His blade followed through, cutting deep into the first goblin's torso.

[GOBLIN DEFEATED: +5 EXP]
[CRITICAL STRIKE ACTIVATED]

His next attack hit a goblin in the eye, the blade sinking deep. The creature died instantly.

[GOBLIN DEFEATED: +5 EXP]

It was like a dance. Every movement flowed into the next with perfect efficiency. Kazuki's body moved on instinct, the temporary Dagger Mastery skill guiding his actions. He ducked under a club swing, slashed upward across a goblin's chest, spun and stabbed backward into another's neck without even looking.

The goblins fell one after another. Five dead. Ten. Fifteen.

"This is incredible!" Kazuki laughed, the sound slightly manic. For five years, he had been helpless. For five years, he had been weak. But now, with the System's power flowing through him, he finally understood what it felt like to be strong.

A notification appeared in the corner of his vision.

[WARNING: 3 MINUTES REMAINING ON TEMPORARY BOOST]

The reminder sobered him instantly. Right. This wasn't permanent. He needed to finish this quickly.

The goblin boss roared, finally having enough of watching its underlings die. It charged forward, its massive club sweeping in a horizontal arc that would have taken out multiple goblins if they hadn't scattered. The weapon whistled through the air with terrifying force.

Kazuki jumped, the enhanced agility allowing him to leap higher than should have been possible. The club passed beneath his feet. He landed on the weapon's shaft and ran up it like a ramp, his dagger aimed at the boss's throat.

The boss was faster than it looked. Its free hand came up and swatted Kazuki out of the air like a fly. He crashed into the cavern wall hard enough to crack the stone, the impact driving the air from his lungs.
[HP: 72/100]

[WARNING: 2 MINUTES REMAINING]

Pain exploded through Kazuki's back, but the boosted vitality kept him from being knocked unconscious. He pushed himself off the wall just in time to avoid another club strike. The weapon smashed into the stone where he had been, leaving a crater.

The remaining five regular goblins circled around, trying to flank him while their boss attacked from the front. Kazuki's mind raced. He couldn't win a direct fight against the boss, not with only two minutes left. He needed a strategy.

His enhanced sense picked up a detail he had missed before one of the torches on the wall was directly above a pile of old, rotting wooden crates. And standing right next to those crates was the goblin boss.

Kazuki grinned. "Let's see how you like this."

He sprinted toward the nearest goblin, feinting left before going right. His dagger flashed, and another enemy died. Then he grabbed one of the remaining torches from the wall and hurled it at the pile of crates.

The rotting wood caught fire instantly, flames spreading with unexpected speed. The goblin boss roared in anger and tried to stomp out the fire, but that moment of distraction was all Kazuki needed.

He launched himself forward, using a dead goblin's body as a springboard to gain height. His dagger, now glowing with the Critical Strike skill, plunged down toward the boss's skull.

The blade sank deep between the boss's eyes. The creature staggered, black blood pouring from the wound. But it wasn't dead yet. It swung its club in a desperate final attack.

Kazuki twisted in mid-air, but he wasn't fast enough. The club caught him in the ribs, and he heard something crack. He flew backward, hitting the ground and rolling until he slammed into the far wall.
[HP: 23/100]
[CRITICAL CONDITION]

Everything hurt. Kazuki coughed, tasting blood. Through blurry vision, he watched the goblin boss stumble. The creature pulled the dagger from its skull, black blood gushing from the wound. It took one step toward Kazuki. Then another.

Then it collapsed face-first onto the ground and dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind a glowing red magic stone the size of Kazuki's fist.

[GOBLIN BOSS DEFEATED: +100 EXP]
[QUEST COMPLETE: SURVIVE THE GOBLIN HORDE]

[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]

The blue screens multiplied in front of Kazuki's eyes, but he could barely focus on them. The temporary boost faded, and suddenly every injury came crashing back with double intensity. His cracked ribs screamed with agony. His vision swam.

[WARNING: CRITICAL HP. EMERGENCY HEAL RECHARGING: 23 HOURS, 59 MINUTES]

"Of course," Kazuki wheezed. "One emergency heal per day. Should have read the fine print."

He tried to stand but collapsed immediately. His body had hit its limit. The adrenaline that had kept him going was gone, replaced by overwhelming exhaustion and pain.

[End of Chapter 4]