The first blood

During the journey, we took down seven more slimes. We had completed the mission and gained another level. I was slowly getting used to combat, and the increase in my stats made it much easier. The improvement in strength, speed, and agility was noticeable; my body was stronger than before. "Offensive Boost" had gained experience, so I assumed it would level up with more use. Moving a bit further and as the number of trees and bushes increased in the area, we encountered the first goblin.

"Be careful, master. Goblins usually appear in groups, and if it's alone, it could be a trap."

"Then I'll attack. I don't want to lose the element of surprise. If there are more, you alone should be able to handle them. But I want you to help me only when my life is in danger, nothing more."

The moment has come; I need to test what I know. Unlike the slimes, goblins likely have less defense but more attack power. If I face it on my own, I can gauge how well I can fare against humanoid creatures, although I don't know how intelligent it might be. I want to test my strength.

"Are you sure? It could be dangerous."

"Trust me.

I smiled at Nozomi before beginning to climb a tree. I'll attack from above; my aim is to cut its throat before it can react. The goblin was equipped with a leather loincloth and a short wooden club. It wasn't well-equipped, but I won't let my guard down because of that. I want to try something. Although in this world, everything has a fixed amount of hit points, how will attacking vital points influence the outcome? If I cut the goblin's throat, will it die almost instantly? I suppose it's what's known as a critical hit in video games, but this isn't a game; it's real life.

Climbing the tree was easier than it seemed. With my increased agility, it was child's play. I positioned myself; the goblin was distracted, looking around, and I was right above it, about two meters above. I drew my dagger and lunged at it. The goblin only realized what was happening when I was already on top of it. But before I could cut its throat, it managed to say something in a strange language that I understood as "Help!" but it couldn't shout anything else. I sliced its throat from side to side; its slimy green blood dripped onto my hands. When I stood up from the ground and saw my hands, perhaps due to the strong smell or maybe because it's the first time I've killed a bleeding creature with these hands, I felt nauseated, almost to the point of vomiting. But I had to hold it in. More goblins emerged from the bushes, six in total. None of them were well-equipped; all had wooden clubs.

"Master!" Nozomi shouted at me, but no, she shouldn't come.

"Don't come! I only need you to appear when I'm in dire straits."

Even though there are six of them, my weapon is sharper, and I managed to kill the first one with a single blow. If I continue attacking vital points, I can win this fight!

The goblins charged at me simultaneously. Their movements were clumsy and slow, lacking coordination. I dodged the first goblin's strike to the right and stabbed it in the neck. However, this was bad; another goblin tried to hit me. I managed to dodge, but the dagger got stuck in the other goblin's body, which fell to the ground, motionless. It was dead. I want to retrieve the dagger, but several goblins were blocking my way. I grabbed the first goblin's club to have a weapon for defense and lunged at one of them. They were packed closely together; this was bad, but I wanted to pierce through them. Being faster than them, I hit one on the head with the club; it broke, but it had served its purpose. The goblin fell to the ground unconscious. Another goblin hit me in the back, but it didn't hurt much; my armor absorbed most of the blow. A relief. I kicked it in the stomach, causing it to fall backward. The other goblins tried to attack me, and I narrowly evaded them and managed to retrieve my dagger. Only four goblins remained standing; they observed me cautiously. I pointed the knife at them and shouted.

"Come on, come at me if you have the balls!" I've always wanted to say something like this.

This provoked the goblins, who started running toward me, looking furious. I charged at them as well, thrusting my left fist into the face of one of them, sending it several meters backward. I dodged the strikes from two of the goblins, and I didn't let the third attack; I pushed its right arm with my left and quickly cut its throat. I took its club and used it to defend against another Goblin's attack. I stabbed it in the back of the neck, leaving only two. They looked at each other and began to flee; that's not good. However, they were running in the direction of Nozomi, making things easier.

"Nozomi, kill them!"

When both goblins stepped on a bush, dozens of red spikes pierced through their bodies; it was a gruesome sight to see, leaving the goblins looking like pincushions. Nozomi emerged from the bushes and shook herself to clean the blood on her.

"I'm still surprised, I didn't know that blood spike could be used like that."

"You have to be creative with magic."

My experiences with video games, anime, and manga have taught me to think creatively. There's no doubt that I'd like to learn magic in this world, but I'm sure it won't be an easy task. I approached the goblin that was still unconscious; a trickle of blood was running down its forehead, forming a puddle of blood around it. I didn't feel like ending its life.

"Nozomi, finish it off, "Offensive Boost."

"Alright, master."

With a blood-infused strike, the goblin died, and the mission completion notification appeared. I sat down to rest, feeling nauseated, but I resisted the urge to vomit. This is just the beginning; if I'm like this with just goblins, what will happen when I have to kill bandits? Maybe the thrill of the moment helped me get through this battle, but in the future, the enemies might be more skilled.

"Master, you look very pale" Nozomi sounded concerned.

"It's just that this is the first time I've killed a bleeding creature with my own hands. I'll need to get used to it."

"Shall we take a short break?"

"No, it's not necessary." I stood up and stretched my arms. "Let's continue looking for the flowers and the rats; I don't want it to get too late."

"As you wish, master, but I think you should rest a bit longer."

I don't think I've ever had someone care so much about me.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Let's keep moving."

We continued to move; there were more trees around, but not enough to be called a forest. However, the number of bushes kept increasing. Nozomi went into them, searching for rat burrows, while I kept an eye out for magical flowers. All I could find were some bushes with wild berries; they were round, small, and a pale pink color. Nozomi informed me that they weren't poisonous, so I picked some and put them in my mouth; they were very sweet. It's the first time I've tasted such a sweet fruit. I might get addicted to them; they make a good snack. When I build a house in this world, it'll definitely have a garden with many of these bushes. I'm quite certain of that.

"Master, look!" -Nozomi was happily jumping near a bush. "A magical flower!"

I approached where my companion was, and behind the bush, there was a beautiful light blue flower. There were other flowers of different kinds around it, but none as beautiful as that one. Additionally, the faint blue glow was visible even during the daytime, making the small flower even more special.

"Well done, Nozomi."

I stroked her head, and she responded with a beautiful smile.

"Thank you!" Nozomi let out a giggle; it seems she enjoys being praised a lot.

I kneeled close to the flower; I felt bad about plucking it, but it's for the sake of my future finances. As I reached out to cut its stem, a strange sound, like the cry of an animal, startled me. This sound translated to "Stay away from my treasure" in an angry tone.

"Master, watch out!"

From nearby bushes, a huge furry animal lunged at me quickly; I barely managed to dodge by leaping to the right. The animal was looking at me menacingly, showing its teeth. It was a giant rat, or at least that's what it seemed to be, a rodent larger than a boar, with a long and thin tail and sharp teeth. Its dark gray fur was bristling, making it appear even bigger.

"It seems we're in luck, Nozomi. Our first giant rat."

"Shall I help in the battle?"

"Only if I find myself in trouble."

Although it's a rat... well, the neck is usually the weak point of all living creatures. I have nothing to lose by trying. Nevertheless, rats are faster than goblins and probably stronger too; I can't fight carelessly. The rat opened its mouth menacingly and lunged at me again. It seemed to ignore Nozomi, which was interesting, but it's not the time to dwell on that. The rat's attacks were basic; it tried to bite me or scratch me with its sharp claws. The dangerous part was its speed, which was too high, but mine was higher, allowing me to evade all its attacks. Still, I couldn't find a moment to counterattack, and that was bad; I can't keep dodging forever, my vitality has a limit, but so does its, although I'm not going to make this battle too easy.

I dodged one of its bites and lunged at the animal, drew my dagger, and aimed for its neck. However, the rat hit my hand with its tail, like a whip. Although the leather glove absorbed most of the blow, it still hurt, much more than the goblin's hit, but it's bearable. The rat didn't stop after that strike; it tried to scratch my face, but I blocked it with my left arm, though it managed to bite my arm, and that really hurt. I felt its sharp fangs piercing my skin, gritting my teeth to endure the pain. I held the knife tightly and tried to stab it in the neck, but it deflected my hand with one of its claws. Its strength was quite high, superior to mine, which was a problem, but I won't give up. While the rat was clamping its jaws, I kicked it in the stomach, making it recoil, although it nearly tore my arm off in the process. I managed to free myself from its sharp teeth; the leather armor had a red stain, and drops of blood were falling to the ground. My arm hurt a lot, but I have to endure.

"Master!" Nozomi sounded concerned. "Let me help you!"

"Not yet; I'm fine. It was just a scratch."

My pride won't let me ask for help right now; I'm faster than the animal, even if it's much stronger than me, I still have chances of winning.

The rat lunged again; I prepared my dagger and waited. It attacked with its paw; I used my injured arm to block it and stabbed the knife into the top of its paw. The animal let out a cry of pain and backed away from me; I retrieved the dagger in time. 

"Now, we're even." I'm more excited than I should be; I've found a love for combat that I didn't have before.

The rat responded to my comment with a loud growl, which translated to "I need help." This is bad.

"Master! " Nozomi came towards me, looking nervous. The special ability of giant rats is to call others of their kind that are nearby. This time, I can't just stand here.

"Yes, having just one is already causing me trouble; having a handful more is going to be a pain in the ass."

In a matter of seconds, a dozen rats had surrounded us. They came in different colors: gray, black, and white. Are you sure these creatures are F-rank? I don't think newcomers can win against so many.

"Master," Nozomi stared at the enemies intently. "Do we finish them all?"

"Don't leave a single one standing."