Chapter 9 – Moral Dilemma
Chapter 9
Moral Dilemma
Date: Unknown (Fifteenth day of the Journey)
On his fifteenth day, marked by the lines in his calendar, Hyoren unrolled his map and studied the leather surface.
South. West. East. All filled in with territories. But the northern section remained blank.
"I already explored south, west, and east without semblance of landmarks."
He traced his finger across the leather. The familiar paths he had walked. The areas he had mapped.
"I'm not ready yet to embark on a long journey. But time to explore north a bit. To downstream."
He gathered his gear. Spear. Knife. Pouch. Stones. Each item secured in its place. Familiar now. Comfortable.
He left the cave and headed north. Following the river's flow.
The terrain changed gradually. The ironwood trees grew denser here. Their trunks pressed closer together. The undergrowth thickened. Ferns and bushes creating a wall of green. The sound of the waterfall faded behind him. Replaced by the gentler rush of the river running downstream.
He walked for hours. Carving arrows into trees as he went. The marks became a trail. A path he could follow back. His eyes scanned the forest constantly. Watching for movement. Listening for sounds.
And then he found something.
He crouched behind a thick trunk. His breath caught in his throat.
"Is that really it?"
It was hunched over a bush. Its back to him. Small—no taller than a human child. Sickly green skin stretched over a gaunt frame. An ugly head. Ears that jutted out at angles. Only a loin-cloth covering its body.
His mind processed the information. Connecting it to every fantasy novel he had ever read. Every game he had ever played.
"I understand instantly. The cliché of fantasy setting."
It was alone. Completely absorbed in eating a carcass. Tearing flesh from bone with jagged teeth.
"Goblin. That is definitely goblin. And he's eating the rabbit too?"
It was humanoid. A twisted mockery of a human form. But the thought of killing it was different from killing a beast or plants. This creature had two arms. Two legs. A face.
"Goblin is humanoid. What if the goblin possesses sentience like humans? What if the goblin in this world is just another race of the human?"
A flicker of hesitation appeared in his mind.
"There is fantasy which depicts all humanoid as intelligent creatures similar to humans."
He should have lunged. Driven his spear through its back while it was distracted. Ended it quickly. But that split second of pause was all it took.
“I should not be haste and killing it like others. I need to make sure the goblin in this world is like the usual fantasy goblin. Monster.”
The goblin's pointed ears twitched.
Its head snapped around. Black eyes locking onto him. No intelligence in those eyes. No recognition. Only hunger. Only rage.
A snarl ripped from its throat. It snatched up a crude club from the ground. Leaving its meal behind. It charged with surprising speed.
No flicker of intelligence in its snarl. No hesitation in its attack.
"Damn. I need to not hesitate! That is goblin. Monster!"
Hyoren's frozen mind caught up with the sudden violence. The club whistled through the air. Aimed right for his head.
The goblin moved faster than he'd expected. Much faster than a rabbit or squirrel. Its club raised. It closed the distance in seconds.
He moved—a reflexive dodge to the side. His body threw itself out of the way. Sending him sprawling into the undergrowth. The club smashed into the tree where he'd been standing. Bark and splinters exploded outward. Showering the forest floor.
"Damn it is so fast. And unlike monsters I encountered before, goblin uses weapons! I can't be careless here."
The goblin recovered from its powerful swing with terrifying speed. It didn't hesitate. Didn't reconsider. It just charged again. Club raised high.
He sidestepped the swinging club. As the goblin lunged past, he pivoted on his heel. Creating distance.
He reached for the sharpened flint he had started carrying after getting the throwing skill.
"How about this!"
He hurled the flint at the goblin's leg. The stone flew true. The skill guiding his aim. The sharp tip punched into the goblin's knee.
The creature howled. Its leg buckled. It fell to the ground. Clutching its wounded knee.
"You're ready to kill me, so I need to be ready to kill you."
He didn't hesitate anymore.
He drove the point down. Aiming for its heart. The horned-rabbit spear pierced its hide. Sliding through muscle and bone until it burst from its back.
The goblin's body went rigid. A final gasp escaped its lips. Then it went limp.
As Hyoren withdrew his spear. Something caught his eye. A glint of light. A small object jutting from the wound. Pushed out when he'd pulled his weapon free.
He picked it up. A tiny translucent orb sat in his palm. Glowing faintly from within.
"What is this? It jutted out when I pulled my spear."
The surface was smooth. Like polished glass. And it was glowing. A soft pulse of light from deep inside.
"Is this... Really? This is definitely a magic stone!"
A goblin. A magic stone. It was so cliché. So ridiculously on-the-nose. He couldn't help it.
"Is this really a fucking magic stone?"
A laugh escaped his throat.
"Hahahahahahah... Why is this world so full of fantasy tropes?"
He had been thrown into another world. Gained levels and skills like a video game character. And now he looted magic stones from monsters. It was all so absurd. So cliché. It was hilarious.
"Goddamnit. If this was a novel I would already mock it for its lack of originality!"
The moral dilemma he'd felt moments ago seemed almost laughable now. The hesitation. The worry about killing an intelligent creature. All of it pointless. The goblin was a monster. Nothing more.
"This fantasy world truly works with game-like rules. But unlike protagonists in video games who can be revived endlessly... I'm a normal human. Albeit one who can level up and get skills. But I can't be careless. I will be killed otherwise."
He stared at the magic stone in his palm.
"But wait. Goblin dropped magic stones. But the others did not."
He thought about the rabbits. The squirrels. The vines. The fish. None of them had produced magic stones. Just meat and hide and materials.
"What's the difference? Is it because goblins are stronger? So... higher leveled?"
He had been so focused on the physical stone that he almost missed it. The sensation that had settled into him the moment the goblin died. He closed his eyes. Focusing inward on the essence—experience points he had absorbed.
"As expected. It's definitely because of the level. The goblin gave me like... three experience points. So I can say the goblin is level 3... So only creatures level 3 and more give magic stones?"
He thought about the implications. The possibilities.
"Wait. If goblins give more experience, that means leveling up would be less daunting task. I need to find more goblins. To prove my theory."
It didn't take long.
He found another one. This one attempting to sharpen a stick with a jagged rock. Crouched over its work. Oblivious.
Hyoren didn't hesitate.
The goblin looked up. Its eyes wide with surprise. But it was too slow. The horn tip of his spear found its heart. Killing it instantly.
He absorbed the experience points.
"That was another three experience worth. And another magic stone. This confirms the theory."
Hyoren stood over the second goblin's body.
"This changes everything. The grind would be easier. I will target goblins now. Those goblins will fasten my level up. And the magic stones? I don't know the purpose yet, but I will keep it for now. In fantasy tropes, it will be useful for many applications."
Hyoren pushed deeper north.
He found ten more goblins. He killed them without hesitation anymore. It was just another monster kill. Like rabbit. Like squirrel. Like vines.
By the time the suns were high in the sky, he had already killed multiple goblins and a few rabbits.
"I got a lot of experience from this exploration. I will make north my main area of grinding."
He decided to end the hunt. His bags were full with magic stones. And he carried two rabbit carcasses on his shoulder.
Once inside the safety of his cave, he unrolled his leather map and his kill logs.
He unrolled his leather map first. He drew the boundaries. Marked the goblin territory. Noted the terrain features.
"North side. Mostly goblin and few horned rabbits. No squirrels or vines. No usable resources either."
He moved to his kill logs next.
"Ten goblins killed. That is thirty points. And thirteen rabbits. Total forty-three experience points in a single day."
He stared at the numbers. The math was simple.
"My goal is ninety-six experience points. With today's haul, I need fifty-three more to level up. I thought it was daunting, but with goblins, it will be faster."
Hyoren grinned.
The grind was still there. But with goblins giving him triple the amount of experience compared to other monsters, it would be easier.
***
Next day, on Hyoren’s Sixteenth day. He stood over the body of another goblin. Blood pooled beneath the creature's twisted form, its crude club lying uselessly beside it. He withdrew his spear, wiping the horn tip on the goblin's loin-cloth.
And then he felt it. The sensation was familiar now. Knowledge etched into his mind.
“This is it. Spear Mastery skill. Now I understand better how to use spear.”
The knowledge sat in his mind, clear and accessible. How to hold the spear properly for maximum reach. How to pivot his weight for stronger thrusts. How to parry incoming attacks and counter in the same motion. How to maintain engagement distance—keeping the enemy at the end of his reach while staying outside theirs.
It was subtle, but the difference was there. His body knew things it hadn't known before. The spear felt like an extension of his arm rather than a tool in his hand.
"As expected. Weapon skills are gained through use. Training like stone throwing might speed up the process, but..."
He thought about the hours he'd spent throwing stones. Twenty-four hours of mindless repetition. He didn't have that kind of time to spare on every skill.
"I don't have much time. I'll focus on leveling up first. Skills will come naturally. I only did that stone throw as experiment. To know the baseline. The skill is useful, but I won’t repeat it anymore. Not until I reach safety of civilization."
The next two days passed in a flash.
Day seventeen. He scoured the northern territory, hunting goblins. His new Spear Mastery made the fights easier—cleaner thrusts, better positioning, fewer close calls.
Day eighteen. He pushed deeper into goblin territory. The creatures seemed endless, lurking behind trees and under bushes. He killed them methodically. Efficiently.
Rabbits crossed his path occasionally. He killed them without breaking stride, leaving the carcasses for slimes. His focus was on the goblins.
On the evening of the third day, he cornered another goblin near a small stream. The creature spotted him and charged with its usual mindless aggression. He sidestepped. Thrust. The spear pierced the goblin's throat.
And the warmth spread on all his body. The threshold had been reached. Ninety-six.
"Level four. I did it."
He bent his knees and jumped. Higher than before.
"The goblins truly fastened the process. Triple the experience. Days instead of weeks."
He gathered his things. The magic stones went into his pouch. His spear stayed in his hand. He turned toward his cave, following his carved arrows through the forest.
***
The next morning. Another mark in his calendar—day nineteen. Hyoren woke up still excited after the level up. But the dawn of next level essence threshold start weighing on him.
“I’m level 4 now. Next level, I need… one hundred and ninety two essence.”
The number was staggering. He was a grinder. And a grinder wouldn't be discouraged by this mountain essence requirement, they will scale it.
“This is a daunting task if it only with horned rabbit. But with goblin. The grind would be manageable.”
But as he sat there, planning for his next level up a strange sensation made him pause.
“What is this... I can feel it. Warmth. In my chest. Its like the energy in the air, but I feel it, more condensed in my body. And in my chest. And this felt familiar.”
It was a faint, foreign feeling, a subtle warmth in the center of his chest, just above his heart. He focused on it.
“Magic stones! This feeling is similar to goblin stones they always drop! This is definitely my magic core. My level up to level 4 seems to make my core condensed to be palpable by myself. And this is, definitely, the source of... Magic.”
He thought about the stories he'd read. The games he'd played. Mages and wizards and sorcerers, channeling energy from within. The magic core. The mana pool.
He'd assumed he couldn't use magic. But maybe he'd been wrong. He sat cross-legged on the stone floor. Closed his eyes. Shut out the world.
“I need to feel it. Its very small. But the position matched the position of magic stone I always harvest from the goblin. Can I move this energy? The magic?”
He drew upon every piece of fantasy knowledge he had ever consumed, every description of a mage's first steps, every tutorial on mana or magic manipulation in a game.
He tried to push the energy. It didn't budge.
He tried to guide it, to will it toward his arms.Nothing.
“This is hard, the energy didn’t move at all.”
But he didn't give up. He focused harder. Poured his will into the effort. Time passed. And then—after what felt like hours of pure stubbornness—he felt it. A shift. Tiny. Almost imperceptible.
"I did it! It actually moved!"
The energy had acknowledged his will.
"I can move it. It won't budge unless I concentrate completely. And I can only stir it a little. But stirring is a good first step."
He thought about his skill acquisition. Twenty-four hours of repeated action. Could magic work the same way?
"I need to focus. Meditate. In novels and games, protagonists need to meditate to move magic through their body. I need to do the same."
He pushed again. The energy shifted slightly.
"What will happen if I continue doing this? I'll find out soon. Is it a Magic Skill? Or Magic Manipulation?"
The prospect was daunting. Hours of sitting. Doing nothing but focusing on a tiny energy in his chest. Boring. Tedious. Maddening.
“But the potential… Magic… I've loved magic since I read those stories as a child. And to use magic myself..."
He continued meditating. The hours stretched on. The suns moved across the sky. His stomach growled. His legs went numb after an hour of meditating.
"Give me a break! I've been meditating for hours. I can't continue doing this all day. I'll go crazy."
He felt at the energy in his chest again. He could move it a little more now, but the progress was negligible. Tiny. Barely noticeable.
"Twenty-four hours of doing nothing but meditating would be an impossible task. I'll go insane before I finish it."
He needed a plan. A schedule.
"I'll hunt in the morning. Foraging on mushroom and melopple. Then sharpen my Spear skill. Get more experience from goblins."
He looked at the cave around him. The shelves of supplies. The leather maps and logs.
"Then afternoon, I'll come back to the cave and spend the rest of the day meditating."
Hunt in the morning. Meditate in the afternoon. Sleep at night. Repeat.
"Magic might take longer than skills to develop. But I'll get there."
He gathered his gear and left the cave, his new schedule set. The path forward was clear.
***
Hyoren’s days were lost in grinding. Mornings dedicated to hunting—goblins, rabbits, anything that crossed his path. Afternoons and evenings spent in meditation, focusing on the tiny energy in his chest.
The routine was monotonous. Exhausting. But he pushed through, driven by the memory of that first stirring. The knowledge that magic was possible.
After the third day, something changed.
He sat cross-legged on the cave floor, eyes closed, focusing on the energy in his chest. He pushed at it, commanded it, willed it to move. His eyes snapped open.
"Now I can move the energy freely. It's like a dam burst. I can control the magic. Send it from my chest to my entire body."
He closed his eyes again and focused. He pictured the energy flowing down his right arm. It responded. He pictured it spreading through his torso. It obeyed.
"I don't know the real name yet. But for now, I'll call it Magic Manipulation. The fundamental skill to control the energy in my body. The energy that powers living creatures."
He stood, testing his new ability.
"I can move the magic to any body part. Or envelope my whole body. I feel my jump increased when I focus magic on my legs."
He focused on his hands, letting the warmth coat his skin. He punched the stone wall of the cave—lightly at first, then harder. His knuckles should have ached. They didn't.
"A protective layer of magic. This is definitely defensive."
The possibilities raced through his mind. Enhanced strength. Enhanced speed. Protection. Offense. But his excitement was short-lived.
The energy in his chest began to fade. Not the comfortable settling of magic returning to its source—something else. A hollow ache bloomed above his heart.
"It hurts! My head!"
The world tilted. His vision blurred. His legs gave out. He collapsed to the stone floor, his consciousness slipping away like sand through his fingers.
Darkness.
He woke to the sound of his own breathing. His eyes blinked open. The cave ceiling swam above him. His head still ached. His chest still felt hollow. He lay there for a moment, staring at the stone.
"Magic depletion. Yes. I completely forgot something like that existed."
He'd read about it countless times in novels. Mages exhausting their mana. Wizards collapsing after overusing their power. The consequences of pushing beyond one's limits.
"I'm still Level 4. My magic reserve is definitely low. I can't use it for a long time."
He thought back to his experimentation. How long had he been playing with the magic? Fifteen minutes? Twenty?
"From the sensation before… I think I can last about fifteen minutes enhancing my body before the headache hits."
He stood on unsteady legs.
"Ten minutes. I'll limit my magic use to ten minutes. That way I'll still have reserve for emergencies."
He walked to the cave entrance, letting the fresh air clear his head. The hollow ache in his chest was already fading.
"My magic seems to be recovering. I'm glad. I don't need to do anything special to refill it. It recharges passively."
He sat down heavily, processing the information.
"This game-like world. My magic reserve and recharge time must increase by level. Just like everything else."
The realization settled over him.
"This made it important to keep leveling up. To get stronger."
The headache and collapse had been a painful lesson. He was still a weakling. His magic was limited. His body was fragile. To change that, he needed to grind.