Jhin bent down and picked up the longsword lying on the polished floor.
It felt heavy in his hand — solid and real in a way that sent a chill down his spine.
Where had it come from?
He stared at the blade, and just like before, translucent letters floated gently above it:
Attack: 12 Grade: F
For a moment, his mind whispered:
'Exodia...?'
But he immediately shook the thought away.
This was different.
This was beyond anything he could understand.
An item — something from inside a game — appearing right here in the real world?
No matter how he looked at it, it made no sense.
'Maybe I'm just hallucinating... too much gaming, too little sleep.'
He chuckled quietly to himself, trying to find comfort in that explanation.
Vrrrrrr...
A strange vibration snapped him out of it.
A low, grating noise — coming from the direction of the elevator.
Cautiously, Jhin turned to look... and stopped breathing for a second.
There, flickering faintly in the darkness, were two glowing red orbs.
Not fireflies.
Definitely not fireflies.
Screeetch...
A rancid stench hit his nose, sharp and unbearable.
And standing there — no taller than his waist — was a creature, panting heavily, a crude hammer clutched tightly in its clawed hands.
Before he could even react, new information floated to the front of his mind, as if someone whispered it straight into his thoughts:
— Hammer Goblin. Level 20.
Jhin felt his heart skip a beat.
'...Are you kidding me?'
He blinked hard, hoping the monster would disappear.
It didn't.
It snarled lowly, blood-red eyes gleaming.
It swung the hammer once — a lazy, testing motion.
BOOM!
The marble floor shattered under the impact.
Jhin instinctively staggered backward, eyes wide.
And then the goblin charged.
"Uwaaah!!"
He threw himself aside just in time, the hammer smashing the spot where he had just stood into rubble.
The goblin turned its twisted face toward him, breathing heavily through jagged teeth.
Jhin's legs twitched with the urge to run —
and for a moment, he thought about it.
But as if reading his mind, a message floated up:
[The tutorial is in progress. Movement is restricted.]
"W-what?!"
He whirled around, hoping, somehow, that there was another way — but there wasn't.
The goblin grinned.
Its eyes shone with hunger.
It wasn't just a monster from a screen.
This thing was real.
And it wanted to kill him.
Screeetch!
The goblin lunged again, hammer swinging with terrifying force.
BOOM!!
The wall behind him cracked and crumbled.
Jhin stumbled back, trembling.
His heart hammered wildly against his ribs.
'This is insane... this is actually insane!'
The goblin turned to face him once more, and Jhin's body locked up in fear.
He couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
The pressure was suffocating.
'I'm... I'm going to die!'
That one thought drowned everything else.
—Ding!
Suddenly, a soft chime echoed in the air:
[Your account synchronization is complete.] ['Service termination compensation' is being delivered.] [!] [The compensation exceeds the player's level by a large margin. Balance adjustments are required.] [Some functions will be restricted.]
And just like that —
The terror gripping his heart began to fade.
Like a heavy fog lifting after a storm.
Jhin blinked, his mind clearing as sharp focus returned.
He looked at the goblin again.
And saw it properly.
Small.
Pathetic.
Barely the size of a child.
A disgusting, snarling kid with a toy hammer.
In Exodia, a monster like this wouldn't have even made him blink.
He tightened his grip on the longsword.
'...It's just a Hammer Goblin.'
A lowly, basic creature you usually found crawling around in beginner dungeons.
He could beat it.
He had beaten hundreds before.
And now, even here —
even if this world had somehow flipped upside down —
he still wasn't powerless.
Slowly, steadily, his breathing calmed.
'If I don't fight... I'm dead.'
That simple, brutal logic was enough.
He gritted his teeth and squared his shoulders.
The goblin screeched again and barreled toward him.
But this time, Jhin didn't flinch.
He took a single step forward, narrowing the distance between them even more.
'My reach is longer.'
The goblin's hammer was heavy, but short.
Slow.
Predictable.
Jhin raised his sword, eyes cold and steady.
The goblin leapt up, swinging wide.
And in that perfect opening —
Jhin's sword flashed like a streak of silver lightning.
Shluk!
The blade stabbed deep into the goblin's chest.
The creature froze mid-air, red eyes wide in shock.
For a heartbeat, nothing moved.
And then —
Blood sprayed hot across Jhin's face.
The goblin's hammer fell with a dull thud.
Its small body slumped lifelessly to the ground.
He exhaled shakily, wiping his sleeve across his mouth.
"Is it over...?"
But no sooner had he asked than the air trembled again.
Grotesque screeches echoed down the hallway.
Jhin turned his head —
and saw more glowing red eyes emerging from the darkness.
From the elevator.
More Hammer Goblins.
At least five, maybe more.
He grimaced.
'Of course...'
He remembered the quest window.
This was a tutorial.
It was never going to be that easy.
Jhin tightened his grip on the sword.
He could feel his pulse racing.
But he also knew —
there was a way.
'Can I pull it off?'
The thought flickered in his mind.
And then he pushed the fear down.
Stepped forward.
The time for hesitation had passed.
He didn't have any grand plan.
No brilliant strategy.
All he needed —
was the courage to charge forward without looking back.