{Welcome to Beware the Horde}
Those words became etched into Hajime’s mind upon rebirth into a nameless world. How fickle life must’ve been to perish in a gas explosion at his apartment—moments before he could enjoy his favorite MMA program. If the landlord were here, they’d lose more than their molars.
In this nameless world was a field devoid of any creature to talk about. There was nothing but blades of grass that stretched into every horizon, plus the occasional boulder that stuck like a sore thumb. Silence was his only company at the moment.
image [https://i.imgur.com/wud9GOw.jpeg]
Hajime kicked a few rocks here and there, whistling a tune to pass the time, and still, nothing. That was until he decided to kick a rock into one of the unassuming boulders.
Just as he moved away into another spot, a faint voice beckoned, “Psst… over here.”
At long last, there were signs of intelligent life. It was another man, donning a wolf’s head like a winter cap. Hajime advanced cautiously, hoping the stranger would explain everything like a post-apocalyptic movie. The stranger gestured for him to sit beneath the boulder, quiet as a church mouse while offering a space.
“First time, huh?” whispered the stranger, appearing no older than his 25-year-old self except for his snow-white hair. His piercing silver eyes also didn’t help much.
“I don’t know. You tell me.” Hajime couldn’t care less about lowering his tone lest there was a fart in the wind.
“…quiet. They’re coming.”
He raised an eyebrow, his mind creating a few scenarios over what that meant. Perhaps he was reincarnated into a world of ravenous zombies or mindless orcs. But that didn’t explain how the stranger didn’t carry as much as a sword, dagger, or RPG. “Would it hurt to explain what’s going on?” he asked.
“Oh, I don’t have to. See for yourself.” The stranger pointed toward the field. It wasn’t long until a pale substance reminiscent of jelly emerged beneath the grass. In mere seconds, many more appeared at different locations.
image [https://i.imgur.com/htCto6v.jpeg]
Hajime chuckled, trying to comprehend the absurdity he had to face. “Slimes? That’s what you’re afraid of?”
“Now!” Failing to answer his question, the stranger charged at the first slime nearby.
He couldn’t believe it at the start, but a mere single one of these bastards took about five hits to die. Granted, if he had anything other than his fists like the stranger, maybe they could mow them down in seconds. A submachine gun would be nice.
The only attack the slimes did was what Hajime would describe as a “half-assed jump” as twelve more began pursuing him. No matter where he stood, they knew where to spring out of the ground next. If there was one thing he could be thankful for, it was his passion for martial arts. It didn’t matter what situation you were in. Versatility was key; he had to adapt no matter how “weak” they were.
“Are we gonna do this all day!?” he said, shining a pearly white grin as he prepared to deliver a roundhouse kick. One, two, and smack, it proved to be quite fun whenever they burst into a million pieces.
“Yes, just keep killing more until you get an upgrade.” The wolf-capped stranger had his own level of expertise against the gooey bastards. He grabbed one of them from behind and hurled them into the others. As Hajime put it, he went slime bowling.
Wow, I never thought of that. Hajime was eager to copy the ingenious move, only with his own spin. Instead of slime bowling, he went slime boxing, wearing two of them as surprisingly effective gloves. “I like your ideas, furry man!” he said in the middle of the battle.
“Thanks. The name’s Farkas, by the way.”
“Hajime. Nice to meet you. Now, tell me all about this so-called ‘upgrade’ you mentioned.”
“I told you, I don’t have to. We’re almost at our 50th kill.”
Indeed, they were, as he realized when his slime gloves reached their limit and perished like melted ice cream. Anyone well-versed in light novel stories would know anything about transparent screens appearing before the hero as they progressed through the game. His, however, was all too unique.
Choose an Upgrade
Way of the Sword
The deadly elegance of ancient combat
+50 ATK, -15 DEF, +18 SPD. Gain super skill [Slashing Fury], 3-second cooldown
Way of the Shield
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The immense fortitude of ancient defense
-40 ATK, +80 DEF, -45 SPD. Gain super skill [Human Iron], 8-second cooldown
Way of the Thunder
The overwhelming power of ancient godhood
+100 ATK, -100 DEF, +100 SPD. Gain super skill [Zeus Railgun], 6-second cooldown
Hajime had his heart racing faster than if he was in a marathon. To think being at merely level 1 in this world felt like he had already finished a quarter of a hero’s journey. By that moment, he fell in love with the word fun.
Obviously, he had to pick the last option. There was no point in worrying about piss-poor defense when you could blitz through an army of monsters from land and sky. He couldn’t be any happier about becoming a human bug zapper.
“Woohoo! Yeah, baby! That’s what I’m talking about!” Speeding across the field, Hajime cackled like a birthday kid on Christmas. With a single punch and kick, he tore through numerous slimes moments before they began to number in the thousands. And when those numbers dwindled, they became tens of thousands—so much more, yet so much fun.
Luckily, after another 50th kill, a second screen appeared.
Choose an Upgrade Polished Blade Inflicts bleed status of 10% of current damage Dryad Armor Heals 20% of health after 30 kills Tesla Aura Damages all enemies within 50 square tiles
“You can choose either of them!” Farkas interjected, killing a dozen slimes in a single swing. “Mix and match whatever fits your style!”
Hajime knew all too well about versatility, as he had shown before gaining the might of nature in its cruelest form. His favorite Russian MMA star would’ve had more to say about it. But something popped into his mind, all in the name of fun. Nah, I want more lightning.
And so, there it was, a new play style that didn’t require much mental effort. Besides dodging some enemies that got too close, anything twenty feet away from him became charred to a crisp. Still, the gooey bastards were relentless. Some even began leaping above his head when he least expected it.
The slimes did everything to try and kill him in one or two hits. The thought of what might happen if he died a second time was indeed quite terrifying. But rest assured, fun was on his side. His grin had yet to fade, and his laughter had yet to cease. Every horizon in the field was now flooded with the sea of millions ready to end his life.
By then, every screen displayed the same upgrade options, only even better than the last. [Way of the Thunder] evolved into dealing 5000 damage with one finger poke, while [Tesla Aura] could now rain lightning bolts as far as a football field.
“Hey, Farkas, wanna see me run across the world seven times a second? Wanna see me do it again?” Hajime was thankful he didn’t swallow bugs throughout his literal blink-on-an-eye demonstration. He expected a convoluted cheat skill as a reborn hero, not a Golden Age comic superpower, which was more fitting for the word fun anyway.
“Yeah, sort of,” Farkas replied, clearing the dirt and debris off his leather jacket. “A bit too fast for my senses, but good on you, dude. It’ll help you against the next wave. We better get ready.”
“Next wave, you say? How lovely! These boys are just getting started,” he cracked his knuckles while walking past him, still shining the same grin. Before long, another screen appeared in front of them.
Boss Battle image [https://i.imgur.com/3MdgD0y.jpeg] Queen Gelatina of the Endless Hunger HP 80,000,000 ATK 10,000 DEF 3,000 SPD 15
Finally, with an actual challenge to satisfy his fists, it was only a matter of time before something in the field could withstand a lightning jab. Then again, watching the towering behemoth move at two miles an hour gave him a sense of “respect” for her. And by that, he meant standing still while her subjects failed to close the gap between him and his domain of instant electrocution.
“Oh, no, woe is me!” Hajime taunted with a shrug. “Please don’t summon more of your minions. Think of the funeral bills!”
Farkas cried, “Dude, what the hell are you doing!? Run away!”
“Huh? What did you—”
Some would say the reborn hero was so drunk on his godlike strength that he had forgotten even a cat scratch would decimate his entire build. In this case, Queen Gelatina’s [Constellation Beam] erased every semblance of his being in less than a microsecond. How fickle his second life must’ve been to lose his favorite Hawaiian shirt again.
Farkas sighed, eyes closed as he pulled his sword from the matriarch’s disintegrating head. “Man, why do these guys never learn?”
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Far behind the scenes, several watchful gazes had observed the battle in a bird’s eye view. Some turned in disgust, while others in disappointment.
“Curses! He’s just like the others. Too young and too stupid.”
“Perhaps he is, but he has one thing going for him that they lacked: eternal madness. He’s perfect.”
“But Your Majesty, if this continues, we’ll lose another hero forever against… You-Know-What.”
“And I’m willing to sacrifice an infinite amount of them in the future. Assign Farkas and Paulie as his teammates. This young master must know the right path to face the horde.”
“…as you wish.”