The atmosphere of the forest suddenly became different the moment King disappeared. Though she may not be able to see the barrier disappearing around her, she could sense something different in the air.

What was she supposed to do now? With King gone, the forest felt too quiet to the point where she could hear her own heartbeat thundered violently against her chest.

「 Trait in Effect: Calm Under Pressure 」

「 Stress resistance slightly increased. Fear and panic are suppressed. 」

The moment the trait activated, her racing heart gradually steadied. Her body was no longer tense, and her clouded mind was cleared of unnecessary fear. It would usually take a while for her to reach this level of calmness outside of the tower but now, she noticed the difference.

Although King may have said that the awakening was supposed to be granted after clearing the tutorial on this floor, she felt rather different. Her body seemed to have adjusted with the environment of the tower.

Misha scanned the area, there were no goblins in sight. That was good enough.

Now then, what should she do if she were to face one?

She picked a stone from the ground and decided to keep it in her pocket. Having something in her pocket even though it was just a useless rock brought her a strange sense of reassurance since she came empty-handed

The helmet she had, the cardboard she used to wrap her arms, and the comforter she used to wrap around her body vanished. Even the knife that she had strapped around her thigh was nowhere to be seen.

「 〔 SYSTEM NOTICE 〕

Time Remaining: 02:39:26 」

"Dammit..." She mumbled. How the hell was she supposed to find the goblins in a large area like this?

「 Trait in Effect: Analytical Thinking 」

「 Mental focus sharpened. 」

She heaved a sigh and decided to start walking. If she remained in one place, the chances of encountering the goblins would be low.

≈≈≈

As Misha continued to walk through the forest for a while, she made a turn around a tree’s trunk, and there she saw her first goblin.

With its back facing her, the creature sat beside a small campfire. It was short in stature and had a thin build. It was the typical gray goblin with pointed ears.

"Keh-heh-heh!" Its voice was raspy and nasal.

Beside the goblin, Misha noticed the blade on the ground.

She was lucky to find it alone but she knew better than to lower her guard. If it was guarding the area, then that could only mean that its companions were probably somewhere nearby.

Let’s plan things first...

She needed to be cautious. Before making a move, she needed to scout the surrounding area to check and confirm whether the goblin’s companions were nearby.

That was the plan in her head. But the moment she raised her foot, it was only then she noticed that her legs were trembling. She felt a lump in her throat, and her surroundings felt darker and heavier.

What if she encountered the goblin’s companions while she was scouting? What if she was caught?

The plan had sounded smart. It already did. Unfortunately, it sounded much simpler and easier to do only in her head. There were plenty of variables to consider, especially when she was all alone.

「 Trait in Effect: Calm Under Pressure 」

「 Stress resistance slightly increased. Fear and panic are suppressed. 」

Once again, thanks to her trait, her sight cleared up and her trembling stopped.

She eyed the goblin who didn’t notice her yet.

「 Trait in Effect: Analytical Thinking 」

「 Mental focus sharpened. 」

「 〔 SYSTEM NOTICE 〕

Time Remaining: 01:42:25 」

There was no time to scout the area. It would be faster if she could lure the remaining goblins out directly. Goblins were known to be dumb creatures so that should be advantageous for her, right?

Don’t tense up, Misha. You’ve dealt with worse... actually, no, you haven’t. But you can do this! Fuck the plan and wing it! Those five goblins are basically just like five ugly little brats! You can handle that, Misha!

After her mental pep talk, Misha kicked off the ground and dashed towards the goblin. She drove a powerful kick into the goblin’s head, sending the creature tumbling violently into the fire.

"SKREE!!!"

Before the goblin could recover, she grabbed the blade from the ground and stabbed it from behind. The creature’s face was already burning against the campfire as it screamed violently. Green blood splattered across her face while she continued driving the blade down again and again.

"Die you piece of shit... just die already...die... die..." she whispered frantically between her pants as she stabbed nonstop.

「 You have successfully killed a goblin!

EXP +3 」

"Gik-gik-gik!"

The blade she was holding paused in the air, her head snapped towards the sound, and there she saw two more goblins, their frog-like yellow eyes looking at her in shock at the scene before them.

"GRRAAK!!!"

The two goblins ran towards her with their daggers raised. One was faster than the other but the distance between them gave her enough room to rise to her feet and face them.

Don’t close your eyes, Misha...

「 Fear and panic suppressed. 」

「 Cognitive clarity maintained. 」

She sidestepped the last second, the dagger brushed her cheek, drawing a line of blood. Despite the close call, her eyes remained focused. Her gaze tracked the second goblin immediately.

The goblin rushed towards her.

Too predictable.

「 Trait in Effect: Steady Hands 」

Swoosh!

「 Projectile control refined. Impact probability increased. 」

Thk!

The dagger she threw struck the second goblin in the head, dropping dead instantly.

「 You have successfully killed a goblin!

EXP +3 」

"KRRAAH!!!"

When Misha turned to face the other goblin, a sharp pain shot through her arm as the creature slashed through the side of her arm.

"Ngh!" She winced sharply, and almost immediately, her other hand moved to cover her arm. She staggered slightly from the pain.

「 Elevated stress and fear levels detected. Emotional interference reduced. 」

The goblin charged once again, flashing the metal towards her throat.

A strong breeze swept past them, and for some reason, the blade aiming towards her throat suddenly felt slow. It wasn’t just the blade but her surroundings felt strangely different, as though time itself briefly dulled.

But there was no time to think about why.

Misha immediately took a step back and grabbed the goblin’s hands with both hands. She twisted the blade’s direction and stabbed it directly into the creature’s throat.

It only took a blink before the strange sensation disappeared and reality snapped back to normal.

The goblin stumbled backwards with wide eyes, blood spilling from its pierced throat, before it fell to the ground and life left the creature’s eyes.

「 You have killed a goblin!

EXP +3 」

「 〔LEVEL UP〕

Passive Trait: Analytical Thinking

(Lv. 1 –> Lv. 2)

Passive Trait: Calm Under Pressure

(Lv. 2 –> Lv. 3) 」

Pant... pant...

Misha collapsed onto the ground. Her legs felt a lot less interested in standing.

For a few seconds, she simply sat there and breathed. Her injured arm throbbed, and her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Yet when she looked at the notifications floating in front of her, a small smile appeared. "Two more to go..."

「 〔 SYSTEM NOTICE 〕

Time Remaining: 01:21:45 」