I’d love to say I slept like a just man, but no, visions of possible nighttime visitors and the anxiety they brought denied me a good rest.

I felt like a wreck of a man.

The final straw, of course, was the lack of coffee.

That divine nectar of the gods.

A kingdom for coffee.

Suffice it to say, I wasn’t in the best mood. Woe to anyone who will cross my path, or rather my axe.

After a brief breakfast—yes, its dubious quality still left much to be desired, albeit slightly less so, I was struck by a dreadful thought.

Was I getting used to this? Or worse...

...was I slowly losing the tastes and memories of my previous life?

Because that’s how I had started to think of my past and everything I had left behind on Earth. I wasn’t naive enough to believe returning would be easy, if it was even possible, something I was beginning to doubt.

Especially since the body I now inhabited was decidedly different from my previous one. Not that I felt any particular discomfort, but I had noticed I was stronger, faster, and more resilient.

Yeah.

This was definitely not the body of someone who spent significant time in front of a computer screen and enjoyed indulging in fast food meals.

My thoughts were interrupted by an unpleasant realization.

I was running out of water.

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Damn.

I needed to find a stream and replenish my supplies.

With that goal in mind, I set out to find the life-sustaining liquid. It took a few hours, but I succeeded.

I was minding my own business, filling the last water flask, when I was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps.

Whoever or whatever it was, they weren’t trying to hide. Maybe they didn’t know I was here, or maybe they didn’t care. Either way, I looked up and, and to my surprise, locked eyes with an equally surprised goblin.

There was no mistaking it. It was a goblin.

Half-naked, clad only in rags, wielding a small hand axe.

Any further observations were cut short by his roar.

Though he was about two heads shorter than me and far less muscular, he didn’t hesitate. He charged at me with the fury of a politician whose shady dealings with the criminal underworld had just been exposed.

His shorter stature and consequently, his limited reach gave me an advantage.

I parried his strike, simultaneously deflecting his axe to the side and maintaining a striking distance. I countered with a slash aimed at his neck. The goblin instinctively leaned back, but I anticipated the move, and it didn’t save him from the slash that tore through his throat.

Blood gushed out.

The goblin grabbed at its neck as if the motion could halt the fountain of blood or change his fate. He stood there for a moment, seemingly in disbelief at what had just happened. Then his legs buckled, and he collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.

I waited until his eyes dimmed before cautiously approaching.

Despite the danger and the speed of our fight, I felt fantastic.

More than fantastic.

That psychopathic grin returned to my face. It didn’t matter that the food was awful, and that I hadn’t slept well, or even that I lacked coffee.

The blood didn’t bother me, nor did the stench of death.

In that moment, I was happy.

Truly happy.

Damn. Am I still normal? Was I always like this, or is this world turning me into something else? My thoughts were interrupted by sudden movement a few meters away.

I looked in that direction to see another goblin fleeing, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Well, fuck.

He was sure to call for reinforcements, and that could get ugly. Just because I killed one goblin didn’t mean I could handle an entire group.

I bolted after him, hoping I could catch him in time.

I didn’t.