Did I...?
He couldn't believe it. He had killed it.
The goblin lay motionless on the ground, its leathery skin smeared with dirt and blood. Elias stared at the lifeless form, his hand still trembling, the makeshift weapon—the rock—slipping from his grip and thudding softly on the forest floor.
The HUD pinged again, its emotionless tone jarring against the gravity of what had just happened.
Congratulations! Goblin Scout defeated.
+10 XP
Health: 62/80
You are still bleeding. Health decreasing by 1 per second.
Elias barely registered the words. His eyes remained fixed on the goblin, his heart pounding in his chest, but now, for a different reason. The reality of what he had done hit him like a wave crashing down—he had killed something.
His breathing hitched, and before he could stop it, tears welled up in his eyes. He was still bleeding, his health ticking away, but none of that seemed to matter in the moment. The only thing he could think about was the goblin lying in front of him—its twisted, angry face now frozen in death.
He hadn't wanted this. He hadn't asked to be here, to be part of this world, to fight for his life. But now... now he had blood on his hands. His hands shook uncontrollably as the tears spilled over, mixing with the blood that still oozed from his wounded palm.
"I—" His voice cracked. "I didn't want to—"
A sob escaped him, and before he knew it, he was crying—really crying—his shoulders shaking as he struggled to process what had just happened. The pain in his hand, the exhaustion, the fear—it all overwhelmed him at once. He curled in on himself, knees pulled close, as he let the tears come.
He had never killed anything before. Not even an insect if he could help it. And now... he had killed this goblin, this living, breathing creature, with his own hands. The memory of the struggle—of beating the goblin with the rock—played on a loop in his head, making him feel sick.
"I didn't want to," he whispered to himself, barely audible between sobs. "I didn't want to do this."
But he had. He had been forced to, and that made it even worse. It wasn't some noble fight for survival—it was ugly and desperate and filled with fear.
The goblin lay dead, and he was the one who had ended its life.
He wiped his eyes with the back of his trembling hand, smearing blood and tears across his face, his chest still heaving from the sobs. The HUD pinged again—another cold reminder that his health was still draining.
Health: 59/80.
You are still bleeding.
He knew he had to stop the bleeding, but right now, he felt too broken, too lost. His breath shuddered as he tried to pull himself together. The goblin was dead, but his emotions were still a mess, his hands slick with blood and tears.
For the first time since arriving in Aetheron, Elias didn't just feel fear. He felt alone.
Elias wiped his eyes with the back of his bloodied hand, his breath still shaky from crying. His mind was a mess—tangled with fear, guilt, and exhaustion—but the relentless ping of the HUD kept pulling him back to the present.
Health: 57/80.
You are still bleeding.
He needed to do something about the bleeding. Numbly, his eyes fell on the goblin's dagger, lying in the dirt where he had flung it earlier. He hesitated for only a moment, then reached out, grabbing the crude blade with a trembling hand. The handle felt slick with blood, and the sight of it made his stomach turn, but he forced himself to focus.
Carefully, Elias used the dagger to slice a piece off his long sleeve. The fabric tore roughly, but it would have to do. He winced as he wrapped the torn cloth around his injured hand, tying it tight to stem the bleeding. The makeshift bandage was crude, but it worked well enough to stop the immediate flow of blood.
Just as he finished, the HUD pinged again—twice this time.
New Skill Unlocked: Improvised Crafting (Level 1)
Congratulations! You've mastered the ancient art of making do with what you've got. Next up: making a spear out of a toothpick.
New Skill Unlocked: Blunt Weapons (Level 1)
Turns out smashing things with a rock counts as a skill! Just remember: it's not fancy, but it gets the job done.
Elias barely glanced at the notifications, his vision still blurry from the tears. He waved them away with a flick of his hand, not even bothering to read the details. He couldn't bring himself to care about skills or achievements right now. He felt... numb.
The goblin was dead. His hand throbbed from the cut, and the makeshift bandage would hold for now. But the heaviness in his chest, the weight of what he'd done—that wasn't going away anytime soon.
He stared at the ground, the dried leaves rustling softly in the breeze. The world around him felt distant, like it wasn't even real. His head still buzzed with the overwhelming emotions from the fight, but all he could do was sit there, trying to catch his breath, trying to make sense of the storm of thoughts swirling in his mind.
Health: 55/80. Bleeding stopped.
The HUD's cold message barely registered. Elias just sat there, staring at the bloodstained ground, the dagger still clutched weakly in his hand. His mind felt heavy and fogged, the aftermath of the fight sinking deeper into his bones. The silence that followed was suffocating, filled only with the soft rustling of the leaves and his own ragged breathing.
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He looked down at the goblin's lifeless body, its leathery skin stained with blood, dirt clinging to the sharp ridges of its features. The thing had attacked him, tried to kill him, but now... now it was just dead.
I killed it.
His chest tightened again, the raw emotion rising once more, but he forced it down. Sitting here and staring at the corpse wasn't helping. He couldn't just leave it like this—sprawled out in the open. He wasn't sure if it was guilt or something else, but the thought of leaving the goblin unburied felt... wrong.
With a heavy sigh, Elias pulled himself to his feet, his muscles aching from the struggle. The dagger still felt heavy in his hand, but he gripped it tighter. He would use it for one more thing.
He knelt down and began digging. The dirt was soft enough, but the task felt like it stretched on for hours. His hands, already bloodied, became caked with soil as he scooped away, one handful at a time. The makeshift bandage around his palm grew filthy as he worked, but he didn't care. All that mattered was getting this done.
He didn't know why he was doing it. Maybe it was the guilt gnawing at him for killing the goblin. Maybe it was because he felt like a stranger in this world, and burying the goblin was the only way to make some peace with what had happened. Was this an attempt to hold onto his humanity, to remind himself he wasn't a monster in this brutal place? The act of burying the goblin didn't make the pain disappear, but maybe it would at least give him a little distance from what he had done.
After what felt like forever, he had managed to dig a shallow grave, the earth piled up beside the hole. He glanced down at the goblin again, his throat tight. It looked smaller now. Less threatening. Just... dead.
Elias reached for the goblin's body, grimacing as his hands found the cold, leathery skin. It was still heavy, even in death. He dragged it over to the hole and lowered it as gently as he could manage. The goblin's limbs folded awkwardly as it slumped into the dirt, and Elias swallowed hard, forcing down another wave of emotion.
He didn't know what to say—if there was anything to say at all. So instead, he silently started pushing the dirt back over the body, covering it slowly, deliberately, until the goblin was buried beneath the earth.
When the task was done, Elias sat back, wiping his filthy hands on his pants, his body drained and his mind blank. He stared at the freshly dug mound of dirt, feeling an odd sense of finality.
But it didn't make him feel better. It didn't erase what had happened.
I killed it... but I buried it, he thought numbly, as if trying to make sense of the whole thing.
The air felt colder now, the weight of the day pressing down on him again. He wasn't sure what came next. He wasn't sure of anything. All he knew was that he had survived this—somehow—and the goblin was gone, buried beneath the earth.
He just hoped he wouldn't have to do this again anytime soon.
Elias stood there, staring at the mound of dirt where he had buried the goblin. His heart still ached with the weight of what had happened, but at least now the creature was at rest. He took a shaky breath, wiping his hands on his pants, though the feeling of blood and dirt clung to his skin no matter how much he tried to scrub it away.
Just as he was about to turn away, the HUD pinged once more, but this time the message was different from the usual notifications.
Prompt: Make an Offering to Goddess Hecate?
In death, power can still be drawn. Your goddess smiles upon those who honor her with such gifts.
Yes | No
Elias froze, staring at the words. The screen floated before him, asking—no, inviting—him to turn the burial into something else. An offering. Something for Hecate.
His chest tightened. He had killed this goblin in a desperate, messy struggle, and now he was being asked to make it an offering? As if it was something to be proud of? He felt a sharp pang of guilt stab at him again. No, this wasn't right.
He reached out, his hand hovering over the options. The idea of making this some kind of offering to Hecate didn't sit well with him. This wasn't a victory, and it sure as hell wasn't something he wanted to honor.
Hecate had said he was her chosen. But if this is what that meant—killing creatures and offering them up like trophies—maybe he wasn't cut out for it. Still, her promise hung in the air, just as heavy as the task she had given him: power, strength, the ability to save his mother. Could he turn away from that, even if it meant accepting this brutal world?
He hit No without hesitation.
The screen vanished, leaving him alone with the quiet grave in front of him. He took another deep breath, trying to push the thought from his mind. He had enough to deal with already. The last thing he wanted was to pretend this was anything more than what it was.
The goblin was gone. And he wasn't proud of what he'd done.
Without looking back, Elias turned away and started walking, the weight of the day still pressing heavily on his shoulders. The forest around him felt quieter now, but not peaceful—just empty. The adrenaline that had carried him through the fight and burial was wearing off, and all that was left was exhaustion.
He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. His body still ached from the struggle, and the cut on his hand throbbed dully beneath the makeshift bandage. It wasn't just physical exhaustion, though. His mind felt frayed, stretched thin from everything that had happened in such a short time.
He needed to regroup. He wasn't sure what he had gained from all this—if anything. He'd survived, but at what cost?
With another sigh, he brought up his HUD, its familiar screen flickering in front of him.
Name: Elias
Class: No Class
Level: 1
Health: 55/80
Mana: 60/60
Stamina: 35/40
XP to next level: 10/100
His health had dropped from the fight, and while the bleeding had stopped, he wasn't at full strength. He could feel the weariness in his muscles, the ache in his bones, but at least he wasn't in immediate danger.
He scrolled down, checking the skills he had unlocked so far.
Skills:
Identify (Level 1)
Because guessing what's going to kill you isn't fun for anyone.
Sneaking (Level 1)
Congratulations! You've unlocked the ancient art of trying not to be noticed. A classic survival skill—unless you're bad at it.
Improvised Crafting (Level 1)
Congrats, you've mastered the ancient art of making do with what you've got. Next up: making a spear out of a toothpick.
Blunt Weapons (Level 1)
Turns out smashing things with a rock counts as a skill! Just remember: it's not fancy, but it gets the job done.
Elias stared at the list. His skills were still pretty basic—mostly just the result of him fumbling through the day and trying not to die. The descriptions, while vaguely humorous, didn't do much to cheer him up. If anything, they were a reminder that he still had a long way to go before he could call himself even remotely competent in this world.
He scrolled through his stats again, noting that his XP was still at a meager 10/100—just enough to show progress, but nowhere near enough to level up. His stamina had taken a hit too, leaving him feeling drained.
Well, at least I'm not dead, he thought grimly. That's something.
He closed the HUD with a flick of his hand, the screen vanishing as he trudged forward, still unsure of what came next but knowing he couldn't stop here. He had to keep moving.