Yesterday, I should have died. Instead, I woke up here, facing down a skeleton that shouldn't exist outside of a game.

  I questioned the state of my sanity more than ever, but "I am still alive." I said, looking at my hands, bruised by cold and the fight.

  Out of fear for a new encounter, I ditched sleeping and sat at a windless place that saw outside the cave and watched as heavy snowing stopped and the sun slowly rose above the giant trees.

  The sky was a mix of pink, blue, and yellow.

  "Beautiful," I thought.

  It wasn't my first time watching the scenery, but I never felt I could afford to sit and enjoy it properly.

  "How long?" I murmured. "How long it took for me to enjoy nature once again." I sighed. "Ten, maybe fifteen years?"

  My father was always busy with his job. My mother died at childbirth, so she was equally absent from my life, albeit not to her fault.

  When I wasn't at school, I was with my only other living close relative, my grandfather.

  "That geezer," a small smile frowned on my face.

  My grandfather owned a forest, where he resided for the rest of his life after retirement.

  He cut his firewood, repaired his own house, and grew/hunted his food. Other than buying new bullets, alcohol, or medical supplies, he had cut all connections with the outside world.

  I spent most of my childhood next to such a man and learned to live as if the apocalypse had happened.

  Warm memories filled my mind, and I let them take over me for a while.

  When I determined I wasted enough time, I got up, took a deep breath, and cracked my back.

  "Alright, let's find something to eat." I grabbed the mace and my pocket knife with me.

  It was winter, so my expectations in foraging were low, but I still hoped I could find some scraps.

  The ground worked against me as I broke the thin layer of ice with shatter, and my boots sank into the mud with my steps.

  But I didn't stop and kept marching into the forest. "If I can find a burrow, at least a berry bush, it would be nice." I thought as I scanned my surroundings.

  I knew I would survive. At worst, I could eat moss and make myself tea from the needless of the tree leaves.

  I had the will, but my skills showed themselves to be lacking.

  "Not surprising. I can't find food in such weather, but this," I said as I kneeled beside a tree.

  A small cluster of mushrooms grew on its bark. They looked like oyster mushrooms, but I wasn't sure.

  I reached for it with my pocket knife and carved out some of it. "No funny colors," I said as I inspected the white flesh.

  [Brown feather mushroom: Edible]

  The blue window from before appeared in front of me.

  Surprised, I quickly backed, but no matter how many steps I took, the window followed me, keeping the same distance.

  When the shock passed, I stopped and moved my hands toward it. It was intangible. My fingers moved through, momentarily disturbing it.

  "What are you?" I asked.

  [I am a guidance kit designed to aid you in your survival.] A new screen appeared.

  I searched for somewhere dry and sat down on a rock.

  "This makes no sense," I said, pressing to my temple with both hands.

  First, I cheat death, then find myself here, and if not enough, I get attacked by a skeleton, and now this.

  "But at least you are a friend, right?"

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  [My goal is to aid your survival.] Yet another screen.

  "I will take that as a yes." I raised the mushroom piece I was holding. "So, I can eat this?"

  [Brown feather mushroom: Edible.]

  I smirked and moved to the rest of the cluster and gathered it.

  "If you can't make sense of the situation, you just have to accept it as is." One of the men under my command always said when people started discussing why we were fighting.

  He also always added this after it too. "We don't have the luxury of thinking about the big picture when our small piece can cost our lives."

  I once assumed he was the wisest among us, capable of coping with the situation perfectly.

  "But he was the biggest fool, died for nothing as the countless others," I murmured as I finished gathering mushrooms.

  My odds of survival had increased. "But I can't go back just this much after all that walking."

  Once again, I marched into the forest, marking my path to trees.

  Soon after, I heard lots of loud noises. Loud steps, cracking the twigs and ice on the floor, and sounds that resembled apes.

  I quickly hid my present behind a tree. My back pressed to the soft, wet moss clumps as I scanned the area.

  Soon, I spotted the source, a small group of primate-like creatures with cyan skins.

  "Three of them, if more is not hiding."

  Their bodies were covered in patches of fur-like hair, with primitive leather clothing protecting the rest.

  None of them had any hair but had jewels made of bones and teeth from animals decorating their long, sharp ears.

  They walked closely with flimsy-looking weapons, one spear, and one machete, each made from scraps. But the third one had a hatchet that looked good quality.

  "What the hell are these things?" I asked my guide, whispering to hide my voice.

  [Goblins: Humanoid creatures of some intelligence, capable of building colonies and weapons. Stays in groups, hunts, and pillages for materials.]

  "So there are probably even more of them." I wanted to get out of the area, but I couldn't resist this opportunity to gain intel over my potential enemies.

  "Damn me," I thought as I followed the goblins.

  They looked carefree, getting easily distracted by nearly everything.

  But goblins knew their way and reached a small stream, unfrozen despite the cold.

  They gathered around it, searching it, perhaps for food or something else. I didn't know back then and still don't now.

  "Perhaps I can find something to eat here when they leave."

  I tucked myself between two trees and a bush.

  Goblins wandered around the stream, searching the ground until a roar loud enough to make birds flock away even from a distance stopped them.

  Goblins dropped their weapons and looked towards the source. Their bodies trembled as a gigantic creature that resembled them in everything except its size and mass revealed itself.

  It was as tall as me, with a body wider and semi-muscular arms, and it dragged a big wooden club with it, leaving a mark on the ground as it moved.

  He had even ticker fur, but he wore nothing to protect the rest of his body, and his manhood was open.

  [Hobgoblin: When a goblin child gets more than usual, their body adapts to the changes and develops into a larger body.] The screen appeared before I called it.

  "Is it their leader or something?"

  I waited for answers from the screen, but none came. "So it has limitations."

  The hobgoblin approached the terrified goblins and began rumbling, wildly swinging his club in the air.

  "Is he scolding them?"

  After enduring the nagging, one of the goblins snapped and shouted back at their bully.

  He showed its teeth, and saliva scattered around as he screamed and trampled the ground.

  The hobgoblin smacked the goblin with his free hand, sending the small creature flying away.

  But he didn't stop with it. He moved closer to the goblin, struggling to stand up, and kicked it down before trampling it.

  Other goblins watched it unfold quietly, smirking and showing a sadistic enjoyment.

  After completely breaking his victim, the hobgoblin turned around and left. He made a loud grumble and pointed toward the two other goblins.

  They hastily picked up their weapons and left the area, following the hobgoblin.

  I stood hidden a bit more before leaving my hiding position.

  "They left the hatchet." I moved towards the precious tool and grabbed it.

  "Hugh..." A weak, quiet noise echoed.

  "So you are still alive." I approached the beaten goblin. His situation was dire. Blood and bruises covered his body, broken bones stuck out from his limbs, and his head caved in, but he still held to life.

  "Let me end your pain." I grabbed my mace and smashed the goblin's head with all my might, scattering its skull and brain and painting the snow-white ground red and yellow.

  [Goblin killed. More information about the species gained.]

  The blue screen appeared.

  "Show it to me then."

  [Goblins: Despite being strong for their sizes, their strength is no match for other intelligent species, but they cover what they lack in strength through numbers. In breeding seasons, a moderately sized goblin colony can raise its size from thousand to thirty to thirty-five thousand. The majority of them die during the raids against other species. If a colony were to finish raid season with minimal casualties and enough supplies, goblins could threaten even the largest cities on their next raid season.]

  I looked at the dead goblin. "Such species occupy this forest." I strengthened my grip on my mace. "I need to be extra careful."

  These creatures carried tools and were brutal even to their species. I had to be ready against them.

  Leaving the dead goblin, I searched the stream, hoping for a bite, until I found a small pond with a fish inside. It wasn't big, but it was better than nothing.

  I closed the exit to the pond with rocks, broke the thin layer of ice covering its top with my mace, and grabbed the fish after some challenge.

  It looked like a trout. "Hopefully, you taste good," I murmured as I walked to my shelter.