In a far more secluded corner of the ruined city:
A group of red goblins was feasting on the raw flesh of another monster from this floor.
"Gngh, dId yOu hEaR thAt?"
"It'S a SiGnAl..."
"FrEsH fLeSh WoHoh!"
One of the goblins, excited at the thought of fresh meat, began hopping around, but—
'Swoosh!'
'Kssh!'
His head was violently torn from his body, which collapsed immediately. Blood splattered onto the lifeless monster's flesh and the other red goblins.
"GriaaRH!!"
"GRAAH!!"
Heavy footsteps echoed from the distance, approaching the trembling red goblins who were now paralyzed with fear.
"So, a nEw hUmAn has eNterEd oUr lanDs?"
A deep, menacing voice grew closer. The red goblins had already hidden behind rocks to stay out of the beast's line of sight.
The silhouette became more distinct as it stepped further out of the darkness.
"This oNe... I wOn't let hIm escApe... grrh..."
Taking another step forward, a red goblin—far larger than the others—emerged.
Standing nearly two and a half meters tall, it had one deep blue eye, while the other had lost its color due to a scarred gash.
Its physique bore the characteristics of both a goblin and a human—lean yet defined muscles hinted at a formidable warrior.
This was the [Great Red Goblin].
___
'SWOOSH'
[You have killed a gray wolf.]
[You obtained...]
Ignoring the rest of the message, I pulled my sword out of the wolf's flesh and opened the golden window to check my stats.
[Level: 4]
[Race: Human]
[Titles: None]
[Character Description: A simple student—]
[ Stats:
STR: Rank-F ★☆☆☆☆
INT: Rank-F ★★☆☆☆
END: Rank-F ★★★★☆
AGI: Rank-F ★★★☆☆
CHA: Rank-F ★☆☆☆☆ ]
'Great, I allocated the necessary points into the right stats.'
I thought to myself, resting my chin on my hand as I examined the window in front of me.
'I would allocate the necessary points in STR after having put everything in END and AGI (let's ignore the CHA in the meantime; it is really useless for the moment)'
'Since endurance is about to reach the maximum number of points, I wonder if I'll automatically rank up from F to F+, or if I'll have to do something to trigger it?'
Good question. But for now, I needed to keep exploring the area to find [The Nameless Tree].It was getting late, after all.
Checking the time on my phone, my mouth tightened.
<22:31*>
'Oh, shit. I'm supposed to be back at the academy before midnight. If I don't hurry, Eve is going to kill me...'
I quickly shoved my phone into my back pocket and resumed my pace.
.
.
'Thinking about it, I've only been here for a few days, but I already feel like I'm getting used to this place.'
So much had happened in such a short time—
My sudden arrival in this novel.
Getting to SERA.
Meeting the two protagonists and the main cast.
And that was only in two days.
This was just the beginning of my troubles. Soon, there would be even more unbelievable events that could completely overwhelm me.
And to top it all off...
I reopened the golden window and scrolled down to find my active quests.
[Unique Quest: Complete your three years at SERA and become the strongest Ranker to save the world from the Outer Gods.
Rewards: You will return to the real world.
Deadline: None.
Difficulty: Cannot be measured.
Failure: Death of Player Kim Sugil and the total annihilation of the world.]
'The Outer Gods...'
I still knew nothing about them. They had never been mentioned in the novel.
Was this one of Mr. Justice's tricks? A central plot point he had hidden until the end of the story...?
For now, the best thing I could do was ignore this message. Answers would come as I progressed.
After about ten minutes of jumping from debris to debris in the dimly lit ruins—illuminated only by a crimson sky and a pale moon—I suddenly bumped into something hard.
"Ow!"
'Damn it, I really need to watch where I'm going—'
But what caught my attention was the intense glow coming from whatever I had hit.
Lifting my head to see the source of the light—
.
.
"Ho—Holy crap, I'm not dreaming...!"
'I finally found the bastard!!'
In front of me was not a rock.
It was a tree.
A tree with glowing red petals that shimmered in the darkness. Hanging from its branches were radiant red fruits that pulsed with a faint light.
This was it.
[The Nameless Tree.]
And the [Total Fruits] I had spent nearly five hours searching for.
___
In the shadows, unseen by Kim Sugil, a figure stood watching.
A creature that bore the features of both a goblin and a human.
Accompanied by others, it whispered in a low, guttural voice—
"FoUnD YoU..."
[Quest: Reach Level 5 during the entrance exam
Rewards: New card abilities of 1 or 2 stars, gain points in STR and END.
Failure to complete the quest within the time limit will result in penalties for the next 10 days. Quest difficulty: RANK F.]