“Ugh...” I groaned.

My head was throbbing like it was about to split. I opened my heavy eyelids and saw blood and flames that swallowed the world.

“What is this? What’s going on?”

Was this a nightmare? A dream? A scene from hell? The acrid smoke that filled my lungs and the heat were too real for it to be a dream.

Panic seized me as I looked around. All I could see was red, whether the sky, the earth, or everything in between. The world was filled with scarlet flames and puddles of blood.

The flames were so high that they even swallowed the largest tree in one go. The flames were so vast that they burned even the village next to the forest. Fortunately, the flames hadn’t reached me yet, but even that was a matter of time.

‘Ah… I know this scene.’

Clarity finally came to me. It was a familiar scene—the prologue of [Isekai Defense], which begins right before Raon loses his family and friends to monster attacks.

“Wow, what a shitty way to start.”

I remembered getting transmigrated into the game, but I didn’t expect to begin right at this moment. Couldn’t I start as a baby so that I could train my strength properly instead?

Of course, I knew it was impossible. However, I felt like I would explode from inside if I didn’t voice my anger like this.

“Damn it.”

I moved my body toward the burning village. The acrid smoke stung my eyes and throat as I picked through the carnage.

Villagers screamed, lost in terror, yet I saw more monsters closing in on them through the haze. I had to act. However, what use was a boy against such hordes?

‘Fortunately, since this is the prologue, the monsters that appeared are only at the level of goblins.’

But even goblins were too much for a person from the modern age who had never held a sword like me to handle. Even more so, if you consider that right now, I was nothing more than a boy around 10.

There was no need to kill the monsters. In the prologue, if you could survive for a few hours, help from outside would arrive. The problem was that if I just run away and wait, most of the villagers, including Raon’s mother, will die.

“I can’t help it. I’ll grab the monster’s attention and run,” I clenched my fists and raised my head.

‘Fortunately, Raon, your body is fit.’

Should I say as expected of the protagonist? I felt a sense of lightness and sharp instinct in my body. It was as if this body were meant for battle.

‘If my spec is this good, I can lure the monsters until help arrives.’

I nodded. The idea filled me with hope.

‘Now then, how do I use mana?’

I grabbed a stone as I walked. Then, following this body’s instinct, mana flowed from my body and enveloped the stone.

“Impressive.”

A mana user at 10 years old. And with this amount too.

‘My future is bright.’

Then, I remembered the final boss that would appear in the future and sighed.

‘My future is bleak. Damn.’

I walked through the clearing and arrived at the village’s entrance. Immediately, I was hit by the smell of burning flesh.

"M-Monsters!"

"Help!"

"Kyaaa!"

The villagers were screaming and running here and there. However, the goblins were waiting everywhere they went as if having predicted their actions.

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I took a deep breath and took a throwing stance. Normally, I would worry about friendly killing, but…

‘I wonder why? I’m confident that this stone will never miss its target.’

“Take this…!”

I shouted and threw the stone at a goblin who was about to hit a woman with a club. Then--

Splat!

The goblin’s head exploded, splattering remains flew, painting the ground with crimson.

“Ah…”

The woman looked at that scene with a pale face. Then she seemed to realize something important and said to me with a trembling voice.

“Thank you.”

I just nodded and moved on.

‘Sorry. I just hope it doesn’t lead to trauma.’

It was unfortunate, but I didn’t have the time to console every person suffering. If they had escaped death, it was only right for me to move on to the next one.

“Haa…!” I threw a stone with a shout.

Then a goblin’s head exploded.

“Oh… Oh!” said the man I saved.

I threw another stone and heard nother splat.

“I’m saved. I’m saved!”

Then another.

“Thank you..!”

And another.

“You saved me!”

I kept throwing stones until I climbed the roof of the tallest building.

‘How many more stones can I throw with mana?’

Six? Maybe seven if I’m pushing it. But there are too many goblins for me to kill.

So rather than killing them all, my priority should be to provoke their leader. I should provoke them so much that they ordered all goblins to chase after me and leave the villagers alone.

“Where is the bastard… Ah, found it.”

It was the only higher species among the goblins. Was it a hobgoblin? The only thing special about them was the ability to use mana.

Then again, that alone was fatal to these villagers who were not used to fighting.

“Haa…!” I threw a stone, but--

Clang! I heard a metallic sound this time.

‘To block an attack from a blind spot… Should I say, as expected of the leader?’

“Kururung…” He lowered the short sword shielding his head and looked up at me.

“Heh,” I gave him a middle finger and a mocking smile.

As expected of a gesture that transcends language. The gesture was enough to enrage a simple species with nothing much going on in their heads.

‘Look at that.’

Didn’t the hobgoblin’s green face become so red with just that? He shouted to the goblins and pointed at me.

Then, as if raising their morale, he raised his short sword to the sky and shouted. The goblin’s followed along before giving chase to me.

“Great.”

‘Now, let’s run to the dragon’s lair as fast as I can. After all, if I can’t kill them myself, then it’s enough to have someone else do them for me.’

***

"Huff… Huff…"

I dragged on my broken leg and huffed. Everything was going well until midway through the forest. But when the goblins started using ranged attacks like me, I couldn’t help but get hit once or twice.

Every step I took sent searing pain up my brain. However, I pushed on.

‘I must push on if I want to live.’

The goblins approached closer as my speed inevitably slowed down. I could hear rustling noises of them moving through the bushes and grasses. Just a little farther—I had to make it, or everything would be for naught.

“Ah…!”

The hobgoblin found me and threw his short sword at me out of anger. I managed to dodge somehow but lost my balance and slipped down a cliff.

I managed to protect my body with mana somehow. However, thanks to the fall, I couldn’t use my dominant arm anymore.

“Ouch… and I’m so close, too.”

It was there, just right beyond that tree. If I could lure the goblins into the large cave filled with mana, the dragon would surely notice the intruders and come out to take a look.

In the prologue, this dragon also cleaned up the goblins, so it’s not like I was going there for no reason. She was a dragon who loved humans above all else, so she would not ignore their suffering unless that human was evil.

“Move! I said move, damn it!”

My legs were screaming in pain. It was absurd when I compared my current situation with Raon Eva in the game.

‘Who is Raon Eva? Isn’t he a bastard who won’t die even if he gets killed?’

Due to his gift, Raon could heal severed limbs and organs as he pleased. He could even turn immortal, even if someone severed his head or destroyed him at the molecular level.

‘Unfortunately, that very gift hadn’t bloomed yet.’ I laughed bitterly at the unfairness.

“Where did I go wrong?”

No, that’s not the right question.

“What can I do now?”

I looked around the surroundings. A short sword that the hobgoblin had thrown at me before was there. It seemed to have fallen along with me down the cliff. Above, the goblins were climbing down as if determined to kill me.

‘Fine. If you want a fight to the death, that’s what you’ll get.’

I took the short sword and poured out my mana. Then, I put my back on the cliff so I only needed to worry about attacks coming from the front.

“Come at me, you bastard! I will show you how a cornered rat fights!”

It was the moment when the blood splattered and the clanging sounds of metal rang under the cliff.

***