Dean moved his head towards the direction of the sound, hoping it was just the wind moving a window. His hopes were dashed in the next minute though as he heard a soft creaking sound of someone or something stepping on the wood floor.

He quickly ducked behind the island in the kitchen, hoping that whatever it was would move on.

Did the earthquake break down the door or something?

Dean strained his ears to see if he could pick up any other sounds. He put down his staff to side really quick and gripped his kitchen knife with both hands. Dean hoped not to fight but he might have no choice.

Creak, creak.

The sound was getting slowly closer and an odd scent hit Dean's nose. His smelling and hearing was stronger because of his eyesight being gone, and this time he almost wished he could turn off his sense of smell.

The smell wasn't terrible but it was just so unpleasant. Dean scrunched up his nose and gripped his knife a little harder. Whatever this thing was, it didn't seem like anything Dean knew.

Creak.

It was right at the doorway to the kitchen. It wouldn't be able to see Dean, but if it entered, Dean would have to scare it away.

Dean's heartbeat started accelerating and he felt a rush of fear and adrenaline. He pushed his hearing to the maximum as he listened for anything that would give him a clue.

A soft thud entered Dean's ears.

The thing was in the kitchen.

Dean took a deep breath and then stood up, yelling and banging his knife on the kitchen counter. It seemed to work for a second as Dean heard no noise.

Then SCREECH.

Dean wasn't completely sure but it sounded like the monster had jumped, screaming as it did.

It was definitely not any animal he knew.

Maybe the Expansion created more animals.

That thought flittered through his head before he was rammed into. It felt like a small child had just jumped into his arms, except this small child was scratching and screeching the entire time. Dean was forced to drop his knife as he frantically tried shoving the thing off.

Dean backpedaled as he kept trying to shove the things off, but the things was like a monkey. He was able to shove it off just as he heard another sound in his head.

Ding! Goblin (lvl. 1) has done 20 damage. Health at 100.

What?! This thing is a goblin. Ok-ok. That's not the point right now.

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Dean had dropped his knife and he had no idea where it was. He had no time to keep thinking as the thi- goblin ran at him.

The pitter-patter of the feet alerted Dean this time and he was more ready. When he thought the goblin was in range, Dean sent a kick out.

Thump.

Dean's foot got a solid hit in right in the center of the chest and felt the monster go back and heard it hit the dishwasher. The monster seemed almost dazed as Dean heard no noise after that.

Dean was confident his walking stick was somewhere in front of him, so he quickly bent down fumbled around for it. His right hand grasped it and he quickly stood up again, heart still pounding.

The goblin was acting smarter this time and Dean took some deep breaths. Dean heard no screeching but he could almost feel the things eyes boring into him. Dean had never been good at baseball but he grasped the bottom of the stick.

It was a tense few moments before the goblin charged again but Dean was ready this time. When he thought the monster was in range of the stick, Dean swung and missed.

The goblin had definitely stepped back, and that made Dean more afraid. Adrenaline was still pumping though and Dean quickly took a deep breath.

The goblin started moving back and forth now but Dean was ready. The moment he heard a rush of feet, he waited until it was a little closer this time and then he stepped forward and swung.

Thunk-

Dean got a good hit on it this time and the goblin went down. Dean kept swinging, over and over, even after he felt a warm splash of blood on him.

Ding! Goblin (lvl 1) has been slain.

Kill Count Increased

Level 1 (0/5) → Level 1 (1/5)

Dean was hunched over the goblin, breathing heavily. He dropped his staff and sat down, leaning his back on the dishwasher. He was exhausted but elated.

I need to be careful. This new world is not for the blind. I need to level up quickly and figure out this system.

Dean felt a sense of pride though and basked in it for a second. He stood up after that and went to find the knife he dropped. His walking stick would not be enough against other monsters or whatever else lied in the forest now.

Dean pulled up his status again.

Status:

Name: Dean Sykes

Affiliation: Earth-1

Level: 1 (1/5)

Health: 100/140

Mana: 100/100

Regen for Health: 4% per 4 min

Regeneration for Mana: 6% per 10 min

[Stats]

Strength: 3

Endurance: 3

Durability: 4

Mind: 6

Energy: 1

Dean focused more in his head on every aspect of the screen. His health was lower, but he did the calculations really quick and it would take around 40ish minutes before he was full health.

He would use that time to get more familiar with the system and to get ready for this new world he was in.

----------------------------------------------

At first, Dean was elated when he saw the Mana stat. After constantly trying to summon a fireball or any sign of mana though, Dean felt very discouraged. He had a lot of hope on Mana and that it would help him the most with his blindness.

Mana was supposed to be a mystical source, according to shows and movies, and there must be some way to use to in order to "see".

After his failure to use Mana, Dean had already memorized the other parts of his Status. It seemed he needed to kill 4 more goblins to level up, a daunting task though. Dean refused vehemently to not go into the forest to level up. As he was blind, Dean would be essentially serving himself up to every other creature in the forest.

Dean hobbled up to his room and changed into some more layers. More clothes might not be the best, but Dean had no other kind of armor to wear. He had the knife, his walking stick, and his carving knife in his pocket still.

He didn't know all this new world entailed but Dean had more hope to the future. He was anxious as well, but the possibilities that lied before him energized him.