“Kwekkk!!”

A shiver went down my spine as a familiar hissing came from somewhere in the dark beyond my home—a meter-wide hole between two adjacent walls. I scoot deeper into the hole, practically pressing myself against the rough walls of the handmade cave.

It’s been five days since I woke up here, in this dry and dark place.

Five days since, I died a human and became a monster. An imp—to be exact.

You know, creatures of mischief and all that! Yes, that imp.

Oh! how is that possible, you ask?

Well, why not? Anything is possible in this world. That’s what I learned the hard way a few days ago.

I was once a human by the name of Alex Ford. I lived in a small apartment with my pet dog in NY. Life was fulfilling and, to some extent, luxurious.

It ended abruptly, however, in a single afternoon.

After a hectic day in the office, I was relaxing on my couch with Coco when this happened. Our quiet movie afternoon was ruined by something strange. Something supernatural.

A burst of golden light illuminated my darkened room, forcing me to close my eyes on reflex. Following that, A feeling of weightlessness overcame my senses.

I heard Coco’s relentless barking, but I was too busy holding back the contents of my stomach. Subconsciously, I didn’t want to ruin my expensive sofa with half-digested nachos and Mexican salsa.

That thing cost me an arm and a leg.

My situation worsened with each passing second. Weightlessness transformed into vertigo. There seemed to be an invisible hand holding me in a vice grip as it dragged me through a mud pit. The mud only thickened with each passing second as the imaginary hand tried to suffocate me.

It was a rough experience but I endured. With my stubbornness and willpower, I braved the uncomfortable feeling ravaging my body.

I only hoped this feeling to pass quickly. There's a limit to how long I can hold back the vomit, after all.

It was not until a few more seconds that I’d feel better. My head was still spinning like how you’d feel after a ride on a merry-go-round. Dazedly I moved my hand, feeling around for Coco. I hoped she was alright and not suffering like me.

I was also worried about that strange light that illuminated out of nowhere. In that split second, in my head, various conspiracy theories surfaced. Is it a bomb? A flashbang! Is it a terrorist attack? Or the police has come to arrest me for some reason? This is NY, after all. Anything is possible.

But, it was not until I opened my eyes that I’d realize that whatever ideas my overimaginative brain could’ve conjured… they couldn’t be any further from the truth.

Not in a good way, either.

That day was officially the worst day of my life. No caps!

The noise got louder, sending a shiver down my spine. Eyes narrowed, I looked in the direction from where the sound was coming. Everything in my vision was painted blue. The stone walls, broken rocks on the cobblestone ground, things that looked like bear traps and skeletons—they all had a bluish aura.

The only thing that was not blue were two humanoid figures stumbling in my direction. They had glowing red bodies with green outlines.

Infrared vision. That's what it was.

It was one of the many gifts I possessed as an Imp. In a place where you couldn’t even see your own hands, an ability like this was practically a blessing.

My observation continued in silence.

After a few risky attempts in these few days, I learned a few things about my nasty neighbors. One of them was that they couldn’t see in the dark. Their continuous bumping against the wall while walking and the low hissing noises that'd follow further proved my observation.

As long as there were no obvious mistakes on my part, it’d be hard for them to find me. That’s how I was successfully avoiding them for these past few days, after all.

My eyes followed those two figures as they moved about. They knew I was hiding somewhere here, but they couldn’t find me.

Ding!!

[Infrared Vision gained a level] Level 2 upgrades:- Range increased from 5 meters to 10 meters. Can see through obstacles. More clear imagery.

I barely held myself back from gasping out loud. This blue window blinked in out of nowhere when my mind was elsewhere. My attention was entirely focused on the movements of those two monsters.

Before I could read the contents of the box, a sharp pain shot through my pupils. It’s how you’d feel when some sand gets into your eyes, but worse. Resisting the urge to let out a scream, I closed the lids shut and rubbed the corners with the back of my hand.

After a few seconds of discomfort, I opened them again as it got better. Following a brief blurring, my sight returned, but with some changes.

Now my vision had become more pronounced. The most glaring change was the two red-colored moving images. I could now see their physical features.

Stubby legs, blad head, and pointy ears were their obvious traits. The color green outlined the facial features such as eyes, nose, and lips. It couldn’t match the clear vision under the light, but compared to crimson clusters from before, it was heavens apart.

They looked like goblins from the RPGs I’ve played when bored. Usually, they were the beginner mobs on most games. In this case, however, I was the beginner mob. My physical attributes, to put it nicely, were abysmal. Even adding them all together wouldn't be enough to get the number ten.

Twing!

“Kiii!!”

One of the goblins stepped on a bear trap lying half-hazard on the ground. Its horrendous screech pulled me out of my daze. Dry lips curved upwards as I watched the wretched being suffer. I was forced to hide in this dark hole for days because of these bastards. I was afraid I'd go insane at this rate.

The other goblin screeched as well before feeling the scene, abandoning its pal. It was a normal reaction. From my observation spanning these few days, I had taken note of their behavior. Backstabbing, cannibalism and deserting were common.

My vision range had increased to ten meters in the dark after the level up. Thanks to that, I could watch it run all the way to the end of the narrow passage before taking a sharp left and vanishing from my sight.

Maybe that’s where the nest of these cowardly monsters lay.

“Kiii!” Another skin-crawling screech pulled my attention back to the trapped goblin. It was struggling in vain against the metal jaws clamped around its twig-like leg. Two rows of razor-sharp teeth dug into its flesh… and, probably, through the bones as well.

“Kii!” “Kii”

Attracted by the sound, I crawled out of the hole and stared in the direction of the goblin. It was wrestling violently against the metal binds. From punching to biting, it was doing whatever it could for freedom.

But, there was a problem. I had two voices in my head, giving me two different suggestions on how to tackle the problem. For convenience sake, I was calling them the 'human' side and 'monster' side.

The 'monster' side whispered me to rush at the trapped victim and bite it to death. The other one -my 'human' side- however, was more rational. It simply told me to wait.

Angry hisses filled the silent corridor as the goblin continued its futile struggle. My heart lurched with satisfaction.

Anyway, what should I do? To which one should I listen?

Ding!

Warning!

You are about to enter “hunger” state.

...and the first voice was the lucky winner.

What can I say? Hunger state was not a pretty condition to have. Not only all my stats would be halved, but also, my self-awareness will degrade. In simpler terms, with every hour spent in Hunger, I’d gradually degress from having a human-level intellect to a beast of instincts.

The last time this happened, those goblins discovered my presence and chased me all the way to this dark place. I’d rather avoid entering that state. Besides, I was feeling hungry, anyway.

So I approached the goblin carefully.

Trapped, immobile, and in constant pain—this goblin must have seen better days in its life. The odds were all in my favor.

“Hnn!” “Hnnn”

Heavy breathing and grunts became clearer the closer I got. A putrid smell of rotten eggs nearly made me puke. The source of it was a lump of something that had an orange glow in my infrared vision. I pinched my nose close after realizing what it was. These goblins were way too filthy.

I gulped silently. To be honest, I was more than a little nervous. It’d be my first time confronting a monster. The one I did six days ago doesn’t count. That thing wasn’t a monster. It’d be more accurate to call it a demon. Its gory appearance had given me and was still giving me nightmares.

The goblin still hadn't discovered me. It couldn't.

Darkness was a natural habitat of an Imp. In those places, they’d be almost undetectable even to someone standing close. From body odor to breathing sounds, everything gets concealed to some degree.

On the other hand, a goblin’s only special trait was their poisonous body fluids. Usually, they’d spit on their target until it dies from poisoning. Or, lace their blood on darts before hurling them with a blowpipe.

Not gonna lie. It’s a nasty way to die.

I took a long breath as my potbelly protruded out even further. It put a lot of strain on my smaller legs.

It's time!

Narrowing my beady eyes, I put forward my right arm with my fingers half curled into a claw.

Let’s imagine knives. Shapeshift active!