The man in the coat and hat ducked into a tailor’s shop a few streets over, picked out a full outfit without much hesitation, and disappeared into the washroom to change.
When he stepped back out, he looked like an entirely different person.
A neatly trimmed mustache. A posture pulled straight and confident. Clothing cut in the exact style worn by Warriors across Dragoland. Anyone glancing at him now would have seen nothing but another academy hopeful.
He made his way to Drago Academy at an unhurried pace, slipping in among a handful of Warriors already going about their duties near the entrance. A junior Warrior clapped a hand on his shoulder from behind, and he startled, badly enough that it showed.
"Hey. You’re new, aren’t you?"
He turned, voice carrying the faintest tremor. "...Yes, sir."
"Which land are you from?"
"Croco Land."
The junior Warrior muttered something under his breath *good pay over there, I hear* then extended a hand. "Inosi Inogo."
"Masura Moco," the man replied, taking it.
Inosi led him through the grounds, pointing out buildings, training yards, and mess halls in quick succession and then, rounding a corner, they nearly walked straight into Yamin Sir.
Yamin paused, eyes narrowing slightly as they landed on the newcomer.
*...That face. I know that face from somewhere.*
But his arms were already full of files, and whatever thought had started forming didn’t have time to finish before he nodded briefly and continued on his way.
Once the tour wrapped up, Inosi clapped Masura on the shoulder again. "Alright. First assignment library duty. Cleaning."
Masura offered a small, obedient nod and got to work.
The librarian introduced himself without looking up from his desk, stroking his mustache with obvious self-satisfaction. "Kosai Cheo," he said, and then, unprompted, launched into a proud little speech about his bloodline’s famed sharpness of observation *we notice things other people simply walk past*, he said more than once.
Masura said nothing, simply moving between the shelves with a rag and a look of complete disinterest, dusting here, straightening there, occasionally pausing to peer into gaps between the stacks as though searching for something specific.
Then, quite suddenly, his eyes caught on something.
A slow, crooked smile spread across his face.
Across the city, Hasib finally let himself back into his room, a small covered bowl balanced carefully in one hand. He set it down with more care than he gave almost anything else he owned, washed up, and dropped onto his bed without bothering to straighten the sheets first.
The moment his eyes closed, the familiar screen unfolded in the dark.
[SYSTEM: SHALL WE BEGIN TODAY’S TASK?]
[LEVEL 2]
[TASK 1 — Stretching + Lifting]
[TASK 2 — Sensing & Counter-Flexibility]
[TASK 3 — Inventory domain ]
The threads found him immediately, pulling his shirt off and hauling his limbs into the familiar, punishing stretch—same as always, twisting and bending him past anything comfortable.
He’d just started to adjust to it when two more threads snapped taut from somewhere off to the side, yanking his arms forward. A jagged, spinning blade-disc materialized directly ahead of him, whirring in place, waiting.
His stomach dropped.
*Oh, NO. Where did THAT come from—*
He hauled back against the pull with everything he had, managing to twist free only for two more threads to catch his legs instead, dragging him bodily across the ground toward a second disc waiting there too. His eyes went wide as he scrambled, kicking, fighting for any purchase at all.
By the time it finally let him go, several shallow cuts marked his arms and shoulders, but Hasib barely had time to notice them before the wounds began closing on their own, the healing factor doing quiet work beneath his skin even as he caught his breath.
"Screw this system," he muttered.
[GREEN BOX]
He cracked it open to find, of all things, a cup of lemon juice and a small vegetable roll.
He stared at it. "...Why doesn’t my armor even work in here?"
[TASK 2 — STARTING]
Five figures rose out of the ground around him at once—metallic, armored, humanoid, each one glowing a different color. Red. Yellow. Blue. Green. White. And as if that weren’t enough, sharpened spikes had already begun falling from above, forcing him to keep moving even as he tried to size up what he was facing.
He tried to block the red one head-on, bracing his stance—and was thrown backward instead, skidding several feet across the dirt.
*How is it THAT strong—*
The yellow one appeared directly in front of him a heartbeat later, faster than his eyes could track. "What the—that’s insanely fast!" He barely managed to twist out of the way in time.
The blue one drew a katana, closing in with measured, deliberate steps. The white one hurled a pair of spinning cutter discs at him—he dodged the first pass, only for them to curve back around from behind and catch him across the back. His armor took the brunt of it, but the impact still staggered him forward.
Each of them fought completely differently, and the battle dragged on, brutal and relentless, Hasib barely keeping ahead of any single one of them.
It was the green one he finally understood he had to prioritize—every time he landed a solid hit on any of the others, the green construct quietly patched the damage right back up, undoing whatever ground he’d gained; a losing fight for as long as it stayed active. A falling spike from above finally caught it at the right moment, cracking its casing wide open.
With the healing gone, Hasib ripped the katana free from the blue construct’s grip mid-strike. Then, with the yellow one bearing down on him again, he stopped trying to track it with his eyes—the sensing drills from earlier still fresh in his body—and instead watched for the small shift that came right before each burst of speed. He caught it half a second before it moved, and drove the stolen blade clean through.
One by one, the rest followed, until all five lay motionless on the ground around him.
[TASK 2 COMPLETE]
Hasib barely had time to catch his breath before the ground beneath him split open, a shimmering portal of shifting light unfurling from the crack.
[INVENTORY DOMAIN: 2ND PHASE–. GOBLIN KINGDOM ]
A frost-bitten landscape gripped the area, dominated by gnarled, leaf-bare trees with brittle branches that cracked under the freezing air. Hasib pulled his hands tightly into his sleeves, his teeth chattering as the bitter chill bit into his skin.
"This fucking system always shoves me into trouble," he muttered through gritted teeth.
Through the heavy, curtain-like snowfall, a weathered wooden cabin emerged in the distance. Suddenly, a muffled plea shattered the howling wind.
"Help! Please, someone help!" followed by desperate cries and muffled struggling.
Hasib didn’t hesitate. Bracing against the blinding storm, he dashed toward the structure. He pressed his ear flat against the frozen wooden wall to gauge the situation. Cruel, guttural laughter echoed from within, alongside a woman’s desperate cries and the gagged noises of a man struggling to speak.
[[SYSTEM PROMPT: SUPPRESS INJUSTICE AND UPHOLD THE TRUTH.]
[SYSTEM ALERT: SAVE THE BOY AND THE GIRL.]
Drawing his jet-black sword, Hasib slammed his boot into the door, sending it flying inward.
Inside stood four hideous creatures with long, pale-green ears adorned with brass rings. A gray-skinned girl was trapped in the corner, desperately trying to protect herself as the creatures surrounded her. Her clothes were torn and dusty, and fear was written clearly across her face. Nearby, a gray-skinned boy sat bound tightly to a wooden chair, struggling helplessly against his restraints.
One of the creatures slowly turned toward Hasib, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as a raspy laugh escaped him. His yellow eyes narrowed, and his wicked grin widened.
"Hey, Gutu... is this some kind of pathetic Goblin, or a completely different species?" the creature sneered.
The others turned toward the doorway.
"Doesn’t matter who he is," another growled. "Looks like we’ve got another rat to slaughter."
Hasib tightened his grip around the black sword.
These bastards...
For the first time since entering the Goblin Kingdom, the cold didn’t bother him anymore.
Gutu disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Hasib’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Too fast!
Before he could even raise his sword, a fist slammed into his stomach. The impact sent him flying backward, and his body crashed into the wooden wall hard enough to crack the boards behind him.
Hasib dropped to one knee, struggling to catch his breath. Compared to Gutu, even the Yellow Metal Soldier from his previous training seemed slow.
He gritted his teeth and used his sword to pull himself back to his feet.
[SYSTEM: YOUR ARMOR HAS BEEN REPAIRED.]
[ARMOR COOLDOWN: 2 HOURS]
Hasib glanced at the notification before looking back at Gutu.
He tightened his grip around the sword.
"Alright. If you’re going this far against innocent people, then I guess I’ll have to use this chance to prove myself too."