A pulse of light enveloped Ryu Nakamura, and when it faded, he stood alone in a vast jungle—lush, humid, and alive. Birds chirped high in the canopies, and the scent of moss and damp earth filled his nostrils. He crouched, touching the soil. It crumbled realistically between his fingers.
"This... this feels real," he whispered.
He touched a nearby tree, ran his fingers over the veins of a leaf, inhaled the scent of the wind.
"Inherent Trait Detected."
A chill crept up his spine. Then, information surged into his mind—raw, intuitive, like a memory awakening.
Trait: Combine and Evolve Description: Ability to merge items or concepts of similar nature to produce a higher-tier version.
Ryu blinked. 'So I can... fuse things?' It sounded simple. But simple could be powerful.
Another prompt appeared.
"Choose your starting weapons."
A holographic menu unfolded before him. After browsing for a while, he selected a simple but sturdy sword and a standard gun:
Sword: Steel-forged, balanced grip.
Gun: 23 rounds, accurate up to 25 meters.
"Selection confirmed. Personal Game Mode enabled. Would you like to broadcast this game?"
Ryu hesitated. Broadcasting would mean exposure—strengths, weaknesses, everything out in the open.
'Better to keep this to myself. I need every advantage I can get.'
"Broadcast declined. Game Start."
Ryu immediately moved, climbing the nearest tree with practiced agility. From the treetop, he scanned the jungle. Shadows moved below—small green creatures, humanoid in shape. Goblins.
'Time to test this gun.'
He took aim, steadying his breath, recalling his training from military enlistment. The crosshair locked onto a goblin's eye.
Fire.
The creature dropped with a shriek.
"First Kill."
Adrenaline surged. He found more goblins—isolated, easy prey—and eliminated them swiftly. One shot. Another. Twenty three bullets were gone. Eighteen goblins died.
But they noticed.
A rain of blow darts shot toward him.
'Time to move!' Ryu leapt from the tree, rolling as he hit the ground, narrowly avoiding several poisoned darts. He sprinted through the underbrush, heart pounding.
He spotted the corpses of fallen goblins. Loot them.
From their bodies, he took three blow darts and a small dagger.
Suddenly, his instincts screamed—danger.
He jumped.
The bush behind him exploded as a hulking green brute—twice the size of the goblins—slammed down with a fist.
'Hobgoblin.'
Ryu drew his sword. The brute snarled, but the goblins were closing in.
'No good. Too many.'
He turned to flee—a dart grazed his cheek. Pain flared.
"Dammit! This thing really hurts..."
He ran, breath ragged. Behind him, goblins and the hobgoblin charged.
Think! Trait!
He pulled out the three blow darts. Willing his trait to activate, he focused.
"Combination successful. Evolved form: Primitive Crossbow."
The new weapon gleamed, bolts preloaded.
He ducked behind a tree and opened fire. Bolts thudded into goblins—some fell, one struck the hobgoblin's eye.
'Still not dead? Tough bastard.'
He retreated again, conserving energy.
After some time had passed and Ryu had killed some stray goblin he rested for a while.
Later, he spotted the hobgoblin wandering alone.
'Now or never.'
Ryu crept behind and slashed the creature's thigh. It roared.
The fight began—sword against brute strength. The hobgoblin's fists slammed down with bone-crushing power, but Ryu dodged, parried, struck back.
Pain split his side from a glancing hit.
'If I let him scream again, they'll find me.'
Fueled by desperation, Ryu jammed his sword into the hobgoblin's ribs and twisted.
The beast collapsed.
But goblins were closing in again.
'No more fighting. Escape!' He dashed through the jungle, remembering the river.
He dove into the current, dodging darts mid-air. Cold water engulfed him.
He emerged near a crude village built from logs and bones. 'Goblins live here...'
Sneaking through, he found a storehouse. Inside: jars of oil.
'This will work.'
Quietly, methodically, he doused the settlement in oil.
"Warning: Mass enemy presence detected."
Flames erupted. Screams echoed. Goblins ran in chaos.
He waited, blade ready, striking down any who escaped.
Exhausted, he slumped beneath a scorched archway. Then—footsteps. The stragglers.
One by one, he finished them off.
But peace did not last.
From the shadows of the jungle, five goblins returned—scouts who had been away when the fire consumed their home. At the sight of their burning settlement, they let out piercing screams of anguish.
Ryu's eyes fluttered open at the sound. His body screamed in protest, but the cries reached deep into his soul. He knew what was coming.
'No... not yet... I can't move...'
"Warning: Health Critical. Physical stamina at 9%."
He grit his teeth and pressed his palms into the charred ground. His arms shook.
'Get up, dammit... you're not done yet.'
He forced one knee under him. His breath came in ragged gasps. Blood trickled down his side where the hobgoblin had grazed him.
'You wanted this... you chose this... stand!'
With a roar of sheer willpower, he rose to his feet.
The goblins spotted him and went into a frenzy. Seeing the human standing in front of their devastated home sent them into blind fury.
They charged.
Ryu reached into his belt, grabbing the small dagger he had picked up earlier. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it.
Then another.
And another.
Five daggers, each looted from fallen enemies, flew through the air. Three hit their mark—burying into the torsos and necks of three goblins mid-charge.
They dropped, twitching.
The last two reached him.
One lunged with a crude blade, and Ryu barely deflected it, stumbling back. The other slashed at his waist, slicing a shallow gash across his side. Pain flared.
"Grrraaaghh—!"
He swung his sword with desperate strength. The first goblin parried, but Ryu drove forward and smashed the pommel into its face. It staggered.
With a final yell, he drove the blade through its chest.
Then—burning pain.
The last goblin had stabbed him in the back.
He screamed.
His vision blurred. But somewhere deep inside, a fire roared to life.
'No. Not like this.'
Ryu dropped his sword, spun with a snarl, and grabbed the goblin by the throat.
"YOU. DON'T. WIN."
With monstrous force, he slammed it into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
A sickening crack.
He picked up his sword, blood running down his back, and ended it.
"Warning: Health at 2%. Immediate recovery required."
He fell forward, barely catching himself. His chest heaved.
'They almost got me... he thought. If I can't push through Tier 0 like this, how am I supposed to survive higher levels?'
But somewhere, deep beneath the exhaustion and pain, he felt pride.
He'd stood up.
He'd won.
Even at his lowest, he had not backed down.
One day... I will conquer this system. And I'll do it standing.
Darkness closed around his vision.
"Auto-Recovery Sequence Engaging. Please remain still..."
He passed out to the soft hum of healing nanites.
The fire still burned behind him.
So did his will.
"Congratulations. Game Cleared. All enemies eliminated."
'One game down... many more to go.'