I strode out of the shelter, armed with only a katana and my own wits. I took a single step, then halted. I scanned the landscape around me. Unable to see very much due to the lack of lighting, I sighed and began my long search for a path that led out of the park.

Locating one not too far away, I walked to its start and began to traverse it. Silence hung in the air, noticeably absent were the sounds of the small animals that previously inhabited this forest. The artificial stillness was broken only by shrill shouts created by those who had fallen prey to the dangerous monsters that now inhabited our planet. The opaque darkness had me jumping at any sound, regardless of origin.

In only ten or fifteen minutes, I heard a scream that sounded close enough that I could help the person making it. I dropped into a crouch and moved to the underbrush along the side of the pathway. Straining my ears, I heard a barely audible snapping of bones and flesh. I had to fight every instinct in my body screaming at me to run away.

I crept closer still. Spying movement, I dropped into an even lower crouch. Peering through the shrubbery, I saw several small, green, and quite frankly ugly Goblins devouring a body. ‘It’s too late for them,’ I reason to myself, finding an excuse to leave. Just as I began to turn around, I chanced upon a pair of fearful eyes on the other side of the clearing. I glared at the bush, momentarily upset that I now felt an obligation to help this person. Sighing internally, I readied myself to jump the goblins. After I steadied my nerves once more, I gripped my sheath, and ran out of the underbrush, screaming incoherently. The goblins looked startled, probably not expecting an attacker when everyone else they had seen merely fled from them. Quickly, they began panicking and grabbed their rusty metal swords, but I was already upon them.

I ripped my katana from its scabbard and forced the cool metal through the neck of the first goblin. He dropped to the ground, loudly gurgling blood. A glance around the area showed that there were only 4 goblins left alive. I ran at one, while the annoying bastards finally began to react. The one furthest away grabbed his rusty sword and was trying to run me through, the one to my left just cowered in fear from what I assumed was my blade. The one on the right...where did he go?

I dropped to the ground, a tingle on the back of my neck warning me of the oncoming danger. The metallic scent of fresh blood assaulting my nose. Swish, a dull brown blade jabbed right where my head previously was. I aimed my feet where I estimated its head to be and kicked like a horse. A sickening crunch sounded right as a thump told me that the goblin had been at least knocked out.

"You, in the bushes! Help me!" I yelled, taking my katana and parrying the oncoming short sword.

Suddenly, an idea struck me. Roaring in defiance, I sheared the rusty blade with my far sharper weapon. Their flimsy swords were so rusty that they could not hold up against my weapon. The goblin wielding that short sword gaped in abject horror, before turning tail and running.

The other goblin left standing looked between the runner and the two dead ones at my feet. Coming to a wiser decision than I would have expected from a goblin, he chased after the other one.

I sighed in relief. I turned to where I saw the eyes and took a step towards the bush before a sickening crunch sounded, followed by a disgusting warmth enveloping my foot. I pretended to not have noticed and continued on my way to the hidden person.

“Come on out, I promise I won’t hurt you,” I assured them as I sheathed my blade and raised my hands.

A young man crawled out of the foliage, his head lowered, and pleaded, “Don’t kill me! I’m just passing by!”

I just stared at him, confused, before sighing, “I’m not going to kill you. Do you know where those goblins came from?”

“No, I just found them surrounding the body and hid.”

“Alright,” I turned and began to walk away towards where the goblins escaped.

“...Wait! How did you do that? Where did you get the sword? Don’t leave me!”

I faced him, “Listen. I’m on a mission. I must save this world from its destruction, and I work best alone. Leave me be, or I'll have to end you like I did those goblins-” I waved my hand towards the still bodies, “-and I don’t want to have to resort to that.”

After the initial wave of monsters hit, supplies became increasingly scarce. Naturally, with limited resources, fighting was the most common way to get more, but there were also people who attached themselves to the strong in order to exploit and trick them. I had my fair share of those, and losing one of those leeches wouldn’t be too much of a loss

He shrunk back, the fear evident in his eyes.

“Wha-What did I do? I just want you to help-”

“No. You have your answer. Leave.” I coldly stared at him, unmoved.

Taking that as intended, he quickly scurried off into the darkness.

I can handle this on my own. I am a [Hero] after all.

Wanting to see the progress made from killing the monsters, I checked my notifications.

Job [Hero] level increased! (1 -> 2) +1 unassigned attribute point for your first time in combat! +1 Cunning for your first murder of another sapient being!

I forgot how much the System favored those who killed. There were no other paths to power under the System except murder. I supposed it didn’t count the times in the previous timeline where I killed monsters either. I quickly assigned the attribute point to endurance.

I sprinted out of the clearing and tailed the two goblins back to where I hoped would be the portal that brought them here. They were jumpy, and on more than one occasion I had to dodge just out of sight in order to not be caught, but eventually, they turned off the dirt path in favor of a game trail.

I shortened the distance between us. They seemed to be speaking. I couldn’t understand their words. I had to keep exceptionally close due to the absence of light, and couldn’t make a sound, otherwise they’d hear it and I’d have to murder again. I could smell their unwashed clothes and dirt-covered skin. They spoke for a few more minutes before the conversation lapsed into silence.

After around thirty minutes, a clearing appeared not too far ahead of us. The goblins pointed to it excitedly and rushed forward. I had to hastily dash after them to not lose sight of them, but somehow I managed to keep up. Once we entered the clearing, I noticed a large number of goblins scurrying about, carrying torches, boxes, and food. More noticeable, however, was the large portal directly in the center of the clearing.

The portal could only be described as beautiful. It was in a massive marble archway that was threaded with golden streaks a hair’s breadth wide and had about thirty or so stairs leading up to it made of some sort of black material, reminding me of obsidian. The portal itself was built how I would imagine a wormhole would look, with what appeared to be a long hallway towards a small pane of light deep inside. However, I also knew the portal was entirely flat, and that was just a trick of the eye. The ‘hallway’ appeared to be a dark grey color, while the pane was the entrance to their den, what we would consider a dungeon.

However, the guards outside worried me. The goblins had begun constructing a forward base in our world, and there was no chance I could take them all without a plan. I backed into the treeline, memorizing the pathway that led to this clearing. For added insurance, I made a small mark against each of the trees with my sword, making sure that I would be able to find my way back here later.

The sun was beginning to rise when I arrived back at my base, and I was too exhausted to try to conceive a plan. I had spent the whole night fighting, and I needed to sleep.

A small benefit I forgot to mention about the [Base Core] is that it keeps out invaders until the entire base fell to them. They had to destroy the entire base before they could enter

I collapsed onto the bed, resolving to come up with a plan when I woke up. For now, sweet dreams awaited me.