A Trash Novel's Only Reader-Chapter 3: First Hunt
The bedroom door flew open and the first goblin lunged with its knife raised, so Shu swung the bat on pure panic and caught it in the head. The bat hit with a heavy thud, and the goblin dropped so fast Shu didn’t even process it.
’...Did I just kill it?’ he thought, staring at the body while his hands stayed weirdly steady. ’Why was that so easy?’
Another goblin shrieked and rushed in right after, stepping over its own dead. He flinched back a bit before he swung again, this time higher than he meant.
’The timing was off,’ he thought as he watched the goblin fall down at his feet, ’were goblins always this easy to kill?’
[Objective: Kill the Goblins (2/13).]
He was scared, but also confused, goblins may be weak, but they are still fast and very aggressive. ’Is it the bat?’ he thought, flexing his fingers around the grip. ’Or did the system do something to my body when it dragged me here?’
Two more goblins rushed together, louder than the first two, ’oh, could they be adapting?’ he thought as he planted his feet, then swung at the first one that tried to push through the doorway.
’Hmm, the more I kill, the lighter I feel,’ he gained his grip on the bat, holding it in a reverse position, like a baton.
’Could it be I am getting EXP?’ He weaved the goblin’s attack and swung at his head, this time the blow completely smashed it open, ’yeah, I am definitely growing stronger.’
[Objective: Kill the Goblins (4/13).]
"That’s four down," he said, looking at the system screen, then his attention turned to his bloody hands.
’I should be throwing up right now,’ he thought, staring at the bat. ’Why am I not?’
He swallowed and forced his eyes back to the door, thinking too hard about blood and bodies right now felt like a luxury he could not afford. ’Maybe the system numbed me, or I could just be in shock, but I can have a breakdown later.’
"Not dying comes first," he muttered, tightening his grip.
This time there were three that came rushing at him, they were fast and uncoordinated but from Shu’s perspective, ’they are slower than before, if it’s like this...’
He rushed forward, bashing the head of one, kicking the other away to give himself breathing room and then grabbing the second by the throat, slamming it to the ground. The last one tried to run but he threw his bat like a spear, piercing its back.
[Objective: Kill the Goblins (6/13).]
"This is easier than I thought, makes me feel a little stupid for being so scared," he said, picking up the bat and walking into the living room where more waited, "now then, time to hunt."
After that, he stopped counting swings and only watched the objective window, chasing every goblin through the apartment until none were left standing. He fought fast, messy, and direct, ending each clash with one to two blows, to conserve energy.
By the time the counter reached thirteen, blood covered his hands, shirt, and face enough to make him look like a maniac.
He stood in the middle of the room with the bat hanging at his side, breathing hard while his heartbeat pounded in his ears.
[Objective: Kill the Goblins (13/13).]
[Mission Complete.]
[Reward granted: Unique Skill - Domain.]
He stared at the screen for a few seconds, then laughed once and wiped his face with his sleeve.
’I actually lived through that,’ he thought, still breathing hard. ’Now show me what this Domain can do.’
Before he could think, a blue wave blasted out of his body and ripped through the room in a wide circle. It passed through the walls, spread across the whole building, then faded until it turned transparent.
[Domain (Lvl:1) has been deployed]
His knees gave out and he dropped onto the floor, still holding the bat while he tried to process what just happened, ’did I just claim the building? I feel a strange sensation all over me.’
The system screen exploded with messages and started rolling numbers so fast he almost missed half of them.
[Kill Record: Goblin x13]
[Base EXP: +1,300]
[First Hunt Bonus: +700 EXP]
[Credits: +2,600]
[Total EXP Gained: +2,000]
[Level Up! Lv.1 -> Lv.2]
[Level Up! Lv.2 -> Lv.3]
[Free Stat Points: +10]
The rush hit all at once and folded him forward, with his stomach turning so hard he thought he would throw up on the spot. Every pulse from the level-ups made his bones ache and his head pound harder.
[Skill Acquired: Slaughterer]
[Slaughterer Lv.1: Active command skill. Can be activated at will and boosts all stats +15% for 30 seconds.]
[Side Effect: Increases aggression, bloodlust, and risk-taking while active.]
[Passive skill confirmed: Unwavering Spirit]
[Unwavering Spirit Lv.1: Reduces fear and panic, improving focus under mental pressure.]
He pressed a hand to his face and stayed still until the nausea dropped from unbearable to manageable.
’So that is why I did not break down earlier,’ he thought, breathing through his teeth. ’Unwavering Spirit was carrying me the whole time.’
He sat there for another minute, then wiped his face again and forced himself to focus.
"Status," he said, and the system screen snapped open in front of him.
[Status:]
[Name: Shu]
[Rank: F-Rank (Low)]
[Level: 3] 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
[EXP: 0/600]
[Credits: 2,600]
[Free Stat Points: 10]
[Frame: 14]
[Core: 6]
[Circuit: 7]
[Authority: 1 (Domain-linked)]
[Skill Set:]
[ - Domain (Unique)]
[ - Slaughterer Lv.1 (Active)]
[ - Unwavering Spirit Lv.1 (Passive)]
He stared at the wall of terms for three seconds, then rubbed his forehead with two bloody fingers.
"What the hell are all these, Frame, Core, Circuit, Authority, why are there different things for power?" he asked, sounding half annoyed and half desperate.
The screen flickered once, then a new panel slid over the status page.
[Guide Response: Power Structure]
[Frame: Body performance and durability limit.]
[Core: Energy quantity and quality.]
[Circuit: Energy control, output speed, and efficiency.]
[Authority: Rule-level influence linked to territory, concepts, or reality.]
[Credits: Universal system currency.]
[Free Stat Points: Unassigned growth points from level-ups, used on Frame/Core/Circuit.]
His eyes snapped back to Authority and stayed there.
’Wait, hold on... authority at level one already?’ he thought, staring at the screen, feeling a little uneasy. ’That is not normal, this is straight up cheating.’
The Free Stat Points line kept pulsing, baiting him to click, but he kept his hand off it and exhaled.
’Yeah no, not doing random stat roulette,’ he thought, flexing his sore fingers around the bat. ’I need to gather more information first, which means,’ he turned his head towards the front door, ’I need to go out there... fuck.’
