Chapter 4
Chapter 4 - First Battle, First Victory
Whatever was growling was getting closer.
Fast.
The snapping of branches and rustling leaves grew louder with each passing second, like something was charging straight toward them without any intention of slowing down.
“Is that a wolf?” Mei asked, narrowing her eyes. “Actually… it sounds like more than one.”
She raised her pistol and aimed toward the source of the noise. Beside her, Adam forced himself upright, using his staff to prop himself up.
When his Magic stat had increased, his mana reserves had refilled instantly. Unfortunately, the lingering fatigue from nearly draining himself to death hadn’t gone anywhere.
His body still felt like it was made of wet sand.
The underbrush suddenly exploded outward.
Three gray wolves burst into the clearing, their bodies low and tense as they pushed forward. Strapped to their backs were crude saddles, each carrying a small, ugly green figure.
Goblins.
A translucent system tag hovered above each rider’s head.
Goblin Wolf Rider - Lv. 4
Goblin Wolf Rider - Lv. 4
Goblin Wolf Rider Leader - Lv. 5
“What the…?” Adam muttered.
His grip tightened around his staff as his mind raced.
They were both level 1.
How were they supposed to fight enemies that were three to four levels higher than them?
Even with Mei’s absurd stats, the level gap alone would weaken her attacks while strengthening theirs. This wasn’t just a bad matchup. It felt outright unfair.
The wolves bared their teeth, low growls rumbling in their throats. On their backs, the goblins chattered in high-pitched voices, speaking in a language neither of them understood.
Mei didn’t hesitate.
She locked onto the leader and pulled the trigger.
A thunderous crack split the air as a streak of purple energy tore forward.
The goblin leader was launched clean off the wolf’s back. His body slammed into a tree with a sickening impact, blood spraying outward in a violent arc that splattered across the other riders.
He slid down the trunk slowly, leaving behind a thick, red smear.
Before the remaining goblins could even react, Mei fired again.
Two more explosive shots rang out in rapid succession. Two more streaks of purple light cut through the air.
Both goblins lost their heads instantly.
Their bodies slumped forward, lifeless, before tumbling off their mounts.
Silence fell just as quickly as the fight had begun.
The wolves stood frozen, trembling violently. Their instincts screamed at them to flee, and they didn’t hesitate to listen. With soft, fearful whimpers, they turned and bolted back into the forest, disappearing into the trees.
Combat Finished - Victory!
3 Goblins defeated. 3 Wolves fled.
A small amount of Experience Points awarded.
Adam blinked, still trying to catch up.
“...What just happened?”
The entire fight had ended before he could even process the beginning.
“Is this what you felt earlier?” Mei asked as she suddenly dropped to her knees. “Magic drain seriously sucks…”
Her voice was strained, her earlier sharp focus gone as exhaustion hit her all at once.
“Let me try something…”
Adam stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and focused, recalling the sensation from earlier.
He imagined his magic flowing outward this time, instead of inward. A steady stream, moving from his body into hers.
Mei’s pale complexion quickly returned to normal as the energy transferred. The tension in her body eased, and she let out a quiet breath before pushing herself back to her feet.
She flashed him a grin. “Thanks, babe. Luckily today’s a safe day. Otherwise, coming inside like that would’ve been dangerous.”
“What?” Adam frowned, completely lost for a second.
Then it clicked.
“Oh.”
He stared at her, stunned, but his brain refused to supply a proper response.
“Wait, what?!”
Mei just laughed and rolled her shoulder. “Looks like four shots like that is my limit. I should probably tone it down a bit. That was definitely overkill.”
She walked over to the goblin corpses.
Up close, the damage was even worse.
Two of the bodies were headless, their necks jagged and charred where the shots had passed through. The leader had a massive hole blown straight through his chest, large enough to see the bloody tree behind him.
The ground was soaked in blood.
On Earth, a scene like this would have been enough to make anyone vomit.
But things were different now.
After the Game appeared, every human, Player or not, had gained a degree of mental resilience.
Enough to look at something like this… And keep moving.
Adam used his staff to poke at the goblin corpses. Each time the tip made contact, a translucent system window popped up in front of him.
Loot Crude Sword (Common)?
Loot Crude Bow & Quiver of Crude Arrows (Common)?
Loot Well-Built Iron Sword (Uncommon)?
He skimmed through the options with a frown.
There wasn’t anything worth taking.
Even the Uncommon sword was useless to them. Adam was a mage, and Mei, despite being capable in both ranged and close combat, preferred daggers to complement her handgun.
Swords just didn’t fit either of them.
“Let’s follow the trail left by the wolves,” Mei said, already scanning the forest. “They should lead back to their base. Maybe we’ll even find a dungeon.”
Adam hesitated, glancing in the direction the wolves had fled.
“I’d rather not,” he admitted. “But… seeing your power, maybe this tutorial isn’t as impossible as it sounded.”
Mei grinned. “That’s what I’ve been saying. Come on, let this MC carry you. All aboard the Mei-bus, destination: goblin camp!”
She waved him forward and immediately started into the forest, following the trail without a second thought.
Adam sighed and followed after her.
— — —
“Mei, you said this would be easy! A cakewalk!” Adam shouted over his shoulder as he ran.
“Yeah, I did,” Mei replied casually as she caught up from behind, effortlessly overtaking him.
Behind her came a chorus of growls and high-pitched goblin shrieks.
Adam risked a glance back.
Instant regret.
Dozens of goblins poured through the forest in pursuit. At least three dozen, maybe more, accompanied by a dozen wolves carrying goblin riders. It looked less like a chase and more like a full-blown war party.
Arrows and stones whizzed past him, some close enough that he could feel the air sting against his skin.
What he truly regretted wasn’t looking back.
It was following Mei into the forest in the first place, lured in by her strength, her confidence, and her promises of an easy life farming weak mobs.
“I swear, if I survive this, I’m coming for your ass!”
Mei turned, jogging backward, completely unbothered. A teasing smile spread across her face. “Oh? My ass? What exactly are you planning to do to it?”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Too late,” she said, giggling as she suddenly sped up.
In the next moment, she vanished into the trees.
“Hey! Wait up!”
Adam pushed himself harder, panic fueling his legs as the sounds of pursuit grew louder behind him.
— — —
“Haa… haa… haa…”
Adam crouched among a dense cluster of trees, gasping for air. His lungs burned, and his legs felt like they were about to give out at any moment.
He had been running for what felt like forever. In reality, it had probably only been several minutes, but it was enough to nearly kill him.
For now, he had finally lost them.
Or at least, he hoped he had.
“Want some?”
Mei’s voice came from nearby.
Adam looked up.
She was already there, sitting casually against a tree as if nothing had happened. She munched on a ration bar while sipping from a clear plastic bottle, looking completely at ease.
Crumbs clung to the corner of her mouth.
Without a word, Adam snatched the food and water from her hands and devoured them. He nearly choked in his haste but didn’t slow down until both were gone.
Once he caught his breath, he shot her a glare.
“What?” Mei tilted her head, feigning innocence.
Adam pointed at her. “I’ve decided what I’m going to do to your ass. I’m going to spank it raw. So hand it over.”
“Oooh, kinky,” she laughed, turning around and sticking her hips out slightly. “Go ahead. Do your worst.”
Adam’s eye twitched.
She was clearly joking, but his irritation was very real.
Seeing his expression, Mei straightened and turned back around, her playful demeanor softening.
“Okay, okay. Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t have enough magic to fight them head-on, so I was planning to ambush them after splitting them up. You just… kept running.”
Adam stared at her for a moment, then let out a long breath.
The anger drained out of him, replaced by pure exhaustion.
He dropped to the ground, too tired to argue any further.
At least he was still alive.
Mei slipped her arms around him from behind, hugging him tightly.
“I’m really sorry,” she said, her voice softening into a pout. “So don’t be mad, okay?”
Adam let out a quiet breath.
He wasn’t really that angry.
If she had truly abandoned him, that would’ve been a different story. But he knew her. He had known her long enough to trust her judgment, even when it looked reckless.
If she ran, it meant she believed he could make it out on his own.
And, annoyingly enough, she had been right.
He sighed and gave a small nod.
“Yay!”
Mei leaned in and kissed his cheek, leaving behind a faint lipstick mark.
Adam thought that would be the end of it, but she didn’t let go. Instead, she tightened her hold, resting comfortably against his back like she had no intention of moving anytime soon.
“This is really fun, isn’t it?” she said.
He blinked. “How is this fun…?”
“How isn’t it?” she shot back immediately. “We’ve got superpowers and can run around and shoot things to our heart’s content.”
“You can shoot things,” Adam muttered. “I’m stuck with this damn tree branch.”
Mei glanced at his staff and nodded seriously. “It’s a nice tree branch.”
He gave her a look.
“Long and thick,” she added, clearly pleased with herself.
Adam rolled his eyes.
It was a terrible joke, and unfortunately, very on-brand for her.
She had always been like that. It was something she picked up during her childhood.
Mei had grown up in a karate dojo run by her father, a former Japanese special forces soldier. The training was intense enough to drive most people away, especially the girls who tried to join. That left her surrounded almost entirely by male students.
None of them could beat her.
So, naturally, she forced them to become her friends.
And somewhere along the way, she picked up their crude sense of humor. The kind that young boys had and never really grew out of.
Adam let out another breath, some of the tension finally leaving his shoulders.
“What should we do now?” he asked.
The question hung in the air as both of them thought back to what they had seen.
Deep in the forest, they had discovered a goblin base.
Not a camp.
A base.
Hundreds of goblins moved through it. The group that had chased them earlier wasn’t even worth mentioning in comparison. Just a scouting party at best.
Adam couldn’t see any way they could take something like that head-on.
Probably not even with a plan.
Mei finally loosened her grip and stepped away, her expression turning more thoughtful.
“Let’s explore a bit more,” she said. “Get a feel for the area. And we should find somewhere safe to stay for the night.”
Adam nodded slowly. “That… actually sounds reasonable.”
He glanced at her, suspicion creeping into his voice. “Surprisingly.”
“Hey!” Mei puffed up, clearly offended. “I can plan too!”