A large room appeared in front of me, about the size of a basketball court. Though, it would be a bad idea to play basketball here; it’s more of a cave than a room. Stones scattered on the floor. Stalactites lined along the ceiling, curved and connected to uneven stone walls, on which lanterns hang, wisping the room with dim light.

  The light cloaked on moving figures. Four short creatures wandering aimlessly. I recalled their description in the Monster’s Core book: Goblins. Green skin, short stature, and pointed ears. Familiar. I knew that, even without the help of the book. Four goblins. Each held different weapons. A shortsword, a club, a bow, and a dagger. No armor, only a loincloth covering their crotches. The smallest of echoes carried over to the group: the sound of my light footstep dragged over by the cave acoustics. Four pairs of eyes trained on me.

  I barely register a click behind me; not wasting a moment to think on it, I dash forward. Pure instinct, the air screams for blood, the upcoming clash imminent. Everything else’s fading, like entering a tunnel. Even the dread took a step back facing my ferocity. The vermin. Opposing me. Impudence! Legs extend, muscles tense. Heart thumped. I focused on only four things; goblins, one to four, the distance shrinking. Half a beat before they reacted.

  The bow wielder nocked an arrow. They’re slightly shorter than the others. As short as the knife goblin, but chubbier, its movements clumsy. My first victim. I sidestepped before it was even released, dodging nimbly. My next beat. Thump. In time with the arrowhead clattering on the stone behind me. Half the distance crossed.

  The rest of the goblins scramble forward, fierceness transfixing their faces into snarls of rage. A gleam in their eyes cry for blood. Wind rushes through my snout. Dirt and stones scatter with each step. The smell of rot permeates the air as I close in. These filthy greens must’ve never showered. My claws baring. eyes lock onto the closest goblin; a lanky green kid holding a sword. Flanked with their friends behind. Club goblin was the biggest, built like a compost barrel. Knife goblin, the smallest, but maybe the fastest. It was beneath a faraway stalactite when I entered, but was already nipping at the sword goblin’s heels. Closing in, I see their spittle flying, weapons readied with hunger. It soon shifted. Into bewilderment. And panic.

  As my claws descended.

  Blood splashed. Flesh torn. I backhanded the sword before it could pick up speed, trying to avoid the edge. It scraped off scales with merely a scratch. The goblin faltered, an opening.. My momentum carried me through, twisting and springing upward. I struck it square in the chest, my claws continuing upwards through its now sundered flesh. Doubt a single strike could possibly shred it more. The torn body flew a half-dozen meters with a violent splatter, whipping past its club-wielding friend. Sword clanked, body crumpled. Thump.

  Between two scales, an arrow sticks into the flesh beneath my shoulder, stopped by taut muscle. Unshaken, my legs keep moving, shifting, to avoid the dagger. The attack was fast but simple, straightforward. I read its lunge from the way its legs coiled. Its short arm won’t reach me. Club goblin’s a few paces behind, distracted by the broken body of its friend for a moment.

  That moment was enough. I blow past it and reach the archer, attempting to notch another arrow. I kick out, striking the arm. Crack. Its shriek echoes with the sound of its forearm shattering. Thump. Four heartbeats, that’s all it took to take care of the two. Two more to handle.

  Dagger goblin came in close. I tried kneeing it, but it was too swift, darting underneath. Its dagger bounced off my thigh, leaving the faintest of lines. My eyes caught the swing of a wooden shaft; I brought my arm up, hand flexing for impact. I expected a dull pain. Barely a tad. Thank you scales.

  Dagger goblin looped behind me, opportunistic, trying to find the right moment. I won’t let it, but I can’t ignore Club, swinging away. If I turn ar- turn my ass! I have a tail, I shouldn’t forget. With that thought, my tail snapped. An air-splitting whip cracked against the backstabber’s knees, toppling the goblin. Its dagger whistled through the air as it fell, missing me entirely... Its head and shoulder thudded against dirt and stone.

  My heel followed.

  CRACK. Shards of its skull flew. My feet painted the cavern floor crimson. I felt it all. The hardness of temporal bone, crushed. The soft and squishy brain, squashed. My sole smeared with gloop. My eyes though: fixed onto the stout goblin. It stared back, eyes wide. Sweat covered its disgusting body. Fear mixed with a putrid smell. It screamed and swung, I batted the club aside, throwing the creature off balance. My arms flashed forward; claws slashed its arms and chest. The goblin, frenzied, swung wildly. I blocked and dodged back, evading with ease. Desperation filled its movement. This pest seemed a little tougher than the rest; my claws didn’t sink as deep. But that’s all. So what if it can take more hits? It was slow. Slower than the remains of Dagger guy under me. Predictable. An animal. Just a punching bag. Grinning, I rained down on it. Claws, feet, and tail. Slashes, kicks, swipes. Blood and innards poured out like a broken sewage pipe, drenching me red. The bow goblin rushed in to help. Hitting me with the bow held in its only good hand. Ignored, the bow bounced off my scaled back. I backhanded the whelp, sending both the goblin and weapon rolling away. And continued my execution. It couldn’t even crawl as I stomped. And kicked and clawed and tore. Until it moved no more.

  Tossing what’s left of the goblin away, completely unrecognizable, unmoving. Blood pooled underneath the pile. Fear and rage contorted the bow goblin’s expression. Shaking, holding an arrow, surrounded by its scattered quiver, I glanced at the last one remaining, and took a step towards it. No rush. A lingering scent of metal hung in the air. I couldn’t taste their ferocity anymore, and the pounding of my heart dimmed, but the rumbling of dread rose. I forced it down the gut. I watched the goblin with the look of an office worker wrapping up his chore. It ran at me. Eyes bloodshot, arm extended, tiny fist gripping the shaft with every ounce of its meagre strength. A casual kick sent it flying. The sound of its collar breaking mixed with the skidding of its flesh on stone.

  “Hey. Can you speak?” I half-yelled. Wincing a little, as I pulled the arrow out of my shoulder. The expression was half from the pain, and half from what I said; still surprised hearing my own voice. I don’t know if communication is going to be possible after what I have done to them, but I’d like to try. It’s only response was an odd shriek as it struggled, and failed to pick itself up, eyes filled with what I could only guess was anger and confusion. I sighed and took a few steps closer. “Can. You. Understand. Me” The goblin gibbered, incomprehensible, sent spittle flying. It scrabbled to grab a rock and threw it my way. The rock bounced off my scaled chest harmlessly.

  “Fucking great.” I cursed with annoyance. It can’t understand me. I’m not even sure it could even talk at all. Should have expected this. A monster understanding language? I felt dumb for even considering it. At least I tried. I grabbed the goblin’s head in one hand as it searched for another stone, my other crushing its neck. The goblin clawed at my scaled arm, its despaired wail gave way to choked cries of agony as I bend, and bend and bend. A loud snap, like breaking a twig. The body dropped to the ground. Motionless.

  The cave became quiet. Only the sound of my breathing. And the fucking dread curling like parasites. I took a deep breath. Out. And another. I wasn’t tired, even after all the slaughtering. It’s just… disappointing. Wait. Disappointing? Why? Sure, I couldn’t get rid of my deadness. But I won, barely hurt.

  That’s the reason. It ended easily.

  Something was wr… Right. Those goblins didn’t put up much of a challenge. If this was a game, this’d be the tutorial. An appetizer for a player to adapt to before the main course. Reviewing the fight, I inspected each corpse. My performance was subpar, at best. Yes, I did win without any meaningful injury. however. I could have won with no injury. I judged the goblins predictable. But I, too, was predictable. Overwhelming them with brute force. Attack, evade, attack. No trick, no strategy. If I’d been fighting something stronger, something smarter, something that could actually threaten me. It could turn out different. Ugly.

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  I didn’t need anything more. This time. Maybe that was another reason I felt disappointed. Against those weaklings, wit and technique was unnecessary. This was just my first fight. There’d be plenty more to sharpen my skills, against bigger foes. And, I was looking forward to it.

  Standing in the middle of carnage, I looked past it. Past the stalactites, to another door. With the obstacle taken care of, I moved to step over their remains, to approach the exit Wait, actually- Faint noises interrupted me: suction. I glanced down at the source; the carcasses strewn about. Something was happening. They started to. Swirl? I’m not even sure. The corpses bent and bent and bent into a spiral. All of them at once. There wasn’t any crunching, just a faint swoosh of wind. Each corpse collapsed into itself, shrinking and folding, until nothing was left. Except for a small shard. A Core.

  I could tell at first glance. The fragments were identical to what I’d seen in the book. Only two of the bodies left one behind; the last two I’d killed. All that remained was a large pool of blood, scattered bits of flesh, and two Cores. The swirl only sucked their bodies, oh, and weapons. I noticed one of the whirlpools had sucked in the sword, even though it’d been thrown across the cave. I wonder what would happen if the corpses were thoroughly pulverized. Would anything be sucked in? Not that I wanted to do it. Not worth the effort.

  Two Cores total. But there was something more. Right in the middle of the cave. Dirt formed up from the ground, like an anthill. I watched it collapse with a dull thud leaving a small pedestal of marble, maybe. No, I don’t think that’s marble. The color was too pure, too flat, to be marble

  I gathered both fragments and slowly approached the podium. Empty. A podium that holds nothing. What’s the point? I stopped and moved around, not getting any closer yet, eyes running all over it. It’s the same from every angle. With my eyesight, I should have noticed anything, anything at all that was even slightly different. Hmm. I have to get closer. Maybe it requires touch to activate. There must be a reason this thing erupted out of a dirt mound. Approaching, the flat-top surface was about the height of my knee. I leaned down, a foot away, to inspect its smooth surface. Something stirred. Not on the pedestal. But in my head.

  Select your option

  Not a sound, it wasn’t even words at all.. I can’t describe it. The best I could say is, a feeling. An intent. It wants me to choose. And the options themselves were clear in my mind. Three options. Rewards, finally, that’s how games work. Images began to form as I smirked.

  A necklace. Beautifully crafted. Intricate. A thin, silver chain attached to an egg-shaped sapphire.

  A rubber wristband. White and plain. There was a strange sense of familiarity. I’ve seen similar, I’m sure of it.

  And an orb. Ancient. Aberrant purple veins webbed its surface. The size of my palm.

  With the images came purpose. Usage. These imprints in my mind were a guide to help me move forward. To understand how things work. And I got to choose its shape from the provided choices. I had no idea how it’d work, how things like these would ‘guide’ me. I guess, any of them will do. The orb wasn’t really practical though. So, I picked what piqued my curiosity.

  Lights flashed the moment I made my decision. And something else. A fleeting feeling. Gone before I could catch a hint. Maybe. Maybe it was just my imagination. Did I really feel anything at all? . Putting it out of my mind, I focused on what now lay in front of me, set on the pedestal: The rubber wristband. Purer than snow, a brilliant white. Simple, thin, smooth in my hand as I reached for it. Maybe only a centimetre wide and sized just a bit too large for me. I curled a finger around the strip and pulled. Stretchy, but solid, like trying to stretch iron. Rubbery iron. Rubbery iron? What does that even mean? How does that work? Sliding it around my right hand, my claws scraped its side as I pulled it on. Inspecting it closely I couldn’t see a scratch. Still, perfectly smooth, and just loose enough to be comfortable.

  As the wristband settled, I felt something. Another intention though not so clear. Like a tendril reaching for me. Asking permission. But, for what? Access, a connection? I paused, staring at the odd band around my wrist. Nothing’s happened. Yet. What’ll happen if I give it my consent? What if it’s cursed? Here, in the first room? A tutorial. Unlikely. The sentience was probably just my guide. I earned this. It’s mine. I accept. At that thought, the band shrunk around my wrist, fitting snugly. And then came the pain. Sharp, intense, an eruption of agony shot through.

  “Aa! What the fuck?!” I hooked a claw around the strap. Before I could pull it back, the pain receded as quick as it came, and a screen apparated. Right there. A dark, translucent screen; pure white lettering in the same language as before appeared across its surface as fast as I could read. Like it was reading me instead.

  That’s a lot to take in, but helpful. The pain? Already forgiven. I wasn’t certain about something. A moment within the river of words. Glancing back at the phrase ‘the Supreme-Order and the Administrators’, I tried to recall the feeling that overcame me when I first read it: an incredible vastness impossible to comprehend or describe. Beyond anything I could imagine. A deep reverberation. Whatever it was had to be important. My curiosity burned for answers, answers that would have to wait. I must remember every single word on that screen. Reading it over and over until I was satisfied, the screen faded without a thought or command.

  Although the Introduction referred to this thing as a ‘Status Interconnected Display’ or ‘Inspector’, I’d rather just call it a wristband. Easier that way. Staring at it, I thought. ‘Display my status’. And the screen popped up. Just a thought, not even the precise command listed. White text blinked out, all at once this time.

  That’s it? I was hoping it’d know my name at minimum. The least it could do after stabbing me. I massaged my wrist again where the pain had pierced through. A Common grade wristband really can’t do much. I read the few lines it had again. It was just as I’d thought; this Room was a test. To get a wristband. Initiation, huh. M size, Medium? So, there might be an S, L, or XL Room. Or even more. “Available Doors” was obvious enough. The first Room was a Lobby. That would make the next one a Puzzle Room. Puzzle huh. I like puzzles.

  The screen faded with a simple thought. I gently rubbed the wristband with a claw. It wasn’t much, but what it had was still useful. Knowing the nature of the next Room meant I could prepare myself. Getting caught off guard could end really badly, I’ve only got myself to rely on after all. Well, I guess wristband too. It’d be a lot easier to stay vigilant with a warning. With that taken care of, I looked to my other hand: Two Cores, faintly glowing, resting in my palm.