Understanding the gravity of the situation, I sprinted towards my shelter, praying I wouldn’t run into another group of goblins. More than anything, I hoped that despite my worst fears, my camp was still undiscovered and my belongings remained safe.

  Fuck.

  I knew things were going too well. I knew that at any moment, everything could go to hell. Because why not? Why would anything ever be easy for me? That’s just my luck. If it were any different, I wouldn’t have woken up in this wilderness. Instead, I’d be lounging in a comfy armchair, slowly sipping coffee in my cozy apartment. But since that wasn’t my fate, I could only expect things to go south.

  And they did.

  The moment I let myself enjoy the surrounding nature and slightly lowered my guard, I was instantly punished for it. The harsh hand of fate reminded me who really held the cards here and who was desperately struggling to survive.

  Damn.

  Now, I had to gather my things as fast as possible and leave this place, following the river beyond goblin territory to set up a new camp. And I needed to do it quickly and quietly enough not to attract a pack of furious, bloodthirsty goblins. Otherwise, my fate would be sealed.

  Lost in these cheerful thoughts, I almost ran straight into a lone goblin emerging from behind a massive old tree. Just great. At this rate, I wouldn't even make it to my camp. I needed to slow down and be more cautious. But right now, there was still the matter of my green friend to handle. Luckily, he was alone and just as surprised as I was. Though that didn’t last long — we both quickly realized the situation, and the goblin lunged at me in a wild, desperate attack.

  Maybe it was because he only had a wooden club and hoped to catch me off guard, or maybe such reckless behavior was typical for his kind? Either way, it didn’t matter. His clumsy attack ended with me sidestepping it and swiftly sweeping his legs out from under him with my new spear. He hit the ground hard with a thud, and I decided to end this encounter for good by driving tip of my spear into his chest. He managed to grab the wooden pole, glaring at me with pure hatred, before his body went limp signaling the end of his earthly troubles.

  I yanked the bloodied spear from his corpse and, without looking back, pushed forward, driven by a deep desire to save what little I still had. Though this time, I paid much more attention to the forest around me.

  Breathless, I finally reached my camp.

  Or rather, what was left of it. Branches were scattered all around, and a group of goblins was clearly bickering over who would take more of my stuff. A quick glance was all I needed to realize I wouldn’t win this fight. There were simply too many of them. I counted seven visible goblins, and who knew how many more were lurking nearby, ready to rush in at the first sounds of battle.

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  With sadness, bitterness, and maybe even despair at the thought that all my efforts had been for nothing, I aimed and hurled my spear at the goblin gleefully clutching my backpack.

  His joy didn’t last long as my throw was spot-on, knocking him clean off his feet. His blood-curdling scream was music to my ears. The bastard deserved it. Stealing my stuff in broad daylight? Completely unacceptable! And the fact that I had stolen it too? A minor, irrelevant detail. After all, I had taken it from dead people and they didn’t need it anymore.

  So, obviously, I held the moral high ground here. But, as life often goes, that didn’t matter. In the end, strength was the only thing that counted and right now, the goblins had the upper hand.

  Resigned to my fate, I run.

  It was my only option. Maybe if I had mastered mana manipulation or had a mana core, things would be different. But what was the point of thinking about what could’ve been? I needed to get out of here before the goblins snapped out of their shock and launched into a frenzied chase. Every step away from them was worth its weight in gold. And though I was in no shape for a marathon after all the running and fighting, I suspected goblins weren’t exactly natural sprinters. If I could just put enough distance between us, I might lose them.

  So, with a horde of goblins on my tail, I headed toward the source of the stream. Why? Because panicking and running blindly would’ve been the worst idea. The stream wasn’t just a water source — it was a guide. In a forest, it’s easy to get lost and wander for days without finding familiar ground. Sure, you could try moving in a straight line, ignoring obstacles, but that’s far from practical. Eventually, you’d have to go around something, losing your direction. So the better option was to simply follow a stream.

  As I started leaving my pursuers behind and a flicker of hope grew in my heart that I might make it out alive, goblin cries echoed from the bushes on both sides. My escape was turning into a desperate, last-ditch effort to save my own skin. All I could do was push forward, no matter the cost, clinging to the fragile hope of a man staring into the abyss.

  And that hope died the moment I emerged from the forest into a clearing at the entrance of a cave — the very cave where the life-giving stream originated. Unfortunately, this place also turned out to be a goblin camp. There were no palisades or guard towers, but primitive huts were scattered everywhere.

  The camp ahead of me and the tightening noose of the goblin chase behind left me with only one choice.

  The cave.

  With lungs burning and muscles screaming in protest, I dashed through the camp before any goblin could react. The air inside the cave was cool and damp — a small mercy for my exhausted body and burning lungs.

  But the cave wasn’t deep. In its farthest chamber, I stood on wet rock, staring at the fork in the river’s flow. The small stream I had followed, branched off here, while most of the water disappeared beneath the rocks.

  An underground river.

  This was it.

  I smiled at the thought. So this was going to be my final resting place. My last stand. Strangely enough, I was at peace with it — I only hoped I could take down as many of those little green bastards as possible.

  I was just turning to face my executioners when a flying rock smashed into my temple. I lost my balance, slipped on the slick stone, and tumbled into the river’s current. The icy water pulled me under the rocks, and despite my frantic struggle against the powerful flow, I felt myself fading.

  One last thought echoed in my mind, along with the desperate urge for air.

  What a shitty death.

  Those green fuckers didn’t even let me die properly.