As Rain walked beside Roxy, others followed behind them. About ten people remained. Among them were the three men who had helped fight the goblins earlier.

  Eventually, Roxy told the group about the bodies they had seen. The reactions were the same as hers had been—shock first, then fear, followed by a quiet, heavy realization. More than anything, they wondered if they would end up the same way.

  While they walked, everyone checked their status screens. Rain did as well.

  Nothing had changed.

  His stats were exactly the same. Of course they were. The real reason he checked was for the timer.

  Time Remaining: 2 hours, 56 minutes.

  Several people reacted in disbelief. The time felt like it was slipping away far too fast. But Rain knew better. Time wasn't moving faster than it had back on Earth. It only felt that way because now, every second mattered. Knowing death waited at the end of the countdown made the minutes feel shorter.

  As the anxiety grew, the group made a decision.

  They would split up.

  Groups of three would cover more ground and find goblins faster. Staying together would only slow them down.

  Rain, Roxy, and one of the men from earlier—Light—were grouped together. The remaining people divided themselves as evenly as possible and headed off in different directions.

  Rain's group followed the same path they had already been walking. A faint trail of footprints stretched ahead, likely left by the people who had fled earlier.

  "If people ran this way," Roxy said quietly, "then goblins probably followed."

  Light nodded in agreement.

  They hadn't gone far when Light suddenly shouted, excitement clear in his voice.

  "Oh, let's go!"

  Rain and Roxy both turned toward him.

  "I leveled up!" Light said, grinning. "I didn't even notice at first."

  Leveled up?

  Rain immediately checked his screen again.

  Still nothing.

  Level: 1.

  Unchanged.

  Rain frowned. "Wait. How many goblins have you killed?"

  Light scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "Uh… one."

  One?

  "But hey," Light added quickly, smiling again. "If one kill gives a whole level, leveling must be easy."

  Roxy's expression dimmed slightly. She hadn't leveled up either.

  "What did you get for leveling?" Rain asked.

  "A stat point," Light said. "I can put it anywhere." He looked at Rain. "What do you think I should choose?"

  Rain thought for a moment.

  Strength mattered. So did agility. Endurance could mean the difference between life and death. No stat felt unimportant.

  "What's your highest stat?" Rain asked.

  "Strength," Light answered without hesitation.

  That made sense. His weapon was a large battle axe—far heavier than Rain's battered iron sword.

  "How high is it?" Rain asked.

  "Six."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Rain nodded. "Then put it into strength."

  Light hesitated, then agreed. The moment he confirmed it, his eyes widened.

  "Whoa…" He flexed his arms. "It's just one point, but I feel stronger. Lighter. Like my body refreshed itself."

  He started jumping in place, laughing.

  Rain and Roxy exchanged looks.

  Jealousy.

  But for different reasons.

  Rain noticed Roxy's expression first. She was a mage. Early on, mages struggled. Spells took time, and their damage wasn't reliable yet. It made sense that she hadn't leveled.

  Rain's frustration ran deeper.

  It didn't make sense.

  Light had killed one goblin and leveled up instantly.

  Rain had killed two.

  One of them had been far stronger than the others.

  Yet he was still level one.

  Was it based on how the goblin died? No—that didn't add up. He'd seen Light's kill. It had been clumsy, against a weaker goblin.

  Then why?

  Is it a glitch?

  Or does the tower just hate me?

  They continued walking in a mostly straight line, following the tracks.

  Then, suddenly, the footprints veered sharply off the road and disappeared deep into the forest.

  Up until now, they had stayed on a dirt path. The ground had been easy to follow. But entering the forest changed everything. Thick trees blocked their view, roots jutted from the soil, and branches crowded the narrow trail.

  They stopped and talked it over.

  Time was running out, and none of them could afford to be picky. Wherever the tracks led, that was where they had to go.

  They pushed forward.

  They slipped between trees, stepped over roots, and brushed past branches that scraped against their arms and clothes. Occasionally, a twig poked into their skin, sharp enough to sting but not enough to stop them.

  They followed the trail for nearly twenty minutes.

  No people.

  No goblins.

  Then—

  "Ahhh!"

  A scream tore through the forest. A woman's voice, sharp and terrified.

  Seconds later, another scream followed. This one deeper. Male.

  Rain, Roxy, and Light all looked at each other, their expressions identical.

  Fear.

  They didn't need to speak.

  All three of them broke into a run, sprinting straight toward the sound.

  As they moved closer, more screams echoed through the trees. Not all of them were human. Some sounded twisted and familiar—like the goblin Rain had killed earlier.

  Then they saw it.

  A castle.

  No—smaller than that. But still massive.

  Tall wooden walls stood tightly packed together, forming a crude fortress. There was no roof, leaving the inside exposed. From their position—at least seventy yards away—Rain could see clearly enough.

  Inside were goblins.

  Dozens of them.

  At least fifty.

  Likely every remaining goblin on the floor.

  Outside the wooden structure lay several human bodies. Blood stained the ground beneath them.

  Another scream rang out from inside.

  A woman.

  Roxy and Light moved instantly, their bodies reacting before their minds could catch up.

  Rain grabbed both of them.

  "Wait," he said firmly.

  "What?" Roxy snapped, panic clear in her voice.

  "People are in danger!" Light said, trying to pull free.

  "There are at least fifty goblins in there," Rain said. "Without the others, we can't rescue anyone. We'll die."

  They didn't listen.

  Both of them knocked his hands away and ran out of the forest toward the wooden goblin fortress.

  Are they idiots?

  What's the point of being a hero if you die for nothing?

  Why would they rush in when they know they can't win? Do they have a plan… or are they just reckless?

  Why…

  Rain couldn't wrap his head around it. Why would someone willingly throw their life away just to save strangers?

  He stopped, breath hitching, and thought harder.

  Wait… what am I thinking?

  Helping people was the right thing to do. It always had been. Even if it meant risking your life. Even if it meant dying.

  Rain pressed both hands to his head.

  Something was wrong.

  What the hell is happening to me?

  His thoughts were spiraling, slipping into places they had never gone before. Was this because of the vampirism? It felt like something inside him was loosening, pulling away pieces he didn't realize he was losing.

  He had felt it earlier—standing over the dead bodies, breathing in the scent of blood.

  And now this.

  Did he really not care that someone was in danger?

  Why should he care? He didn't know them.

  The thought made his stomach twist.

  Rain slapped himself hard across the face.

  "No," he muttered. "Get it together."

  Roxy and Light were running toward death, whether they realized it or not.

  "I need to help them."

  He let out a quiet breath.

  Then he ran after them.

  "Wait—guys!" Rain yelled as he chased after them.

  They were already close to the goblin fortress when they finally stopped, roughly twenty yards from the wooden walls.

  "Are you guys crazy?" Rain said, breathing hard. "Charging in through the entrance without a plan is suicide."

  Roxy and Light looked at each other. This time, neither argued. Realizing he was right, they stayed silent.

  "We need a quick plan," Rain said.

  They crept closer to the massive fortress and stopped at the front gate. Rain carefully leaned forward and peeked inside—and immediately froze.

  There were goblins everywhere.

  Inside the fortress stood dozens of crude goblin huts, small structures made of wood with roofs layered in dirt and leaves. Several goblins were positioned on top of them, acting as lookouts.

  Rain tried to look deeper.

  His stomach twisted.

  "Guys…" he said quietly.

  Roxy and Light leaned in beside him. The moment they saw it, their expressions changed completely.

  There were at least eight women locked inside separate metal cages. Some were bruised, some shaking, but none of them were dead.

  Nearby, men were hung and nailed to wooden planks. At least fifteen of them. Some were already lifeless, their heads slumped forward. Others were still alive, screaming in pain.

  The women were untouched for a reason.

  It made sense—and that realization disgusted Rain.

  He had heard stories like this before, but he had never truly believed them. Goblins were usually dumb creatures, but in certain ways, they were cruelly intelligent.

  When they captured humans, they killed the men.

  They kept the women.

  Food and reproduction.

  That was the nature of goblins.