After being scolded by the impatient professor, Kaito and Catherina were quickly guided to stand in front of their individual warp gates.
The shimmering, swirling energy of the portals pulsed ominously before them.
Kaito looked at Catherina, his gaze unusually serious.
"Be careful in there, Catherina," he said, his voice quiet amidst the clamor of the departing students.
Catherina was surprised by the genuine concern in his tone.
"You're the one here who needs to be careful," she retorted, a faint blush on her cheeks.
Kaito just smiled, a confident, reassuring grin.
"Let's meet each other again."
Without another word, he turned and jumped headfirst into the swirling vortex of his warp gate, disappearing in a flash of light.
Catherina stared at the spot where he'd vanished, a small huff escaping her lips.
"Didn't even wait for me to reply," she mumbled, a mix of annoyance and something else she couldn't quite place flickering in her eyes.
---
After jumping into the warp gate, Kaito felt his body twist and pull, a strange tingle spreading through him as the teleporting magic worked.
When he opened his eyes, the world had changed.
He found himself on a wide, sandy beach.
The air was warm, salty, and a gentle breeze rustled unseen leaves.
He looked around quickly, the area was empty, no other students in sight.
His immediate thought was to head for the forest to meet Catherina.
He took a few steps inland, but then a chorus of harsh, chittering yips and snarls echoed from the treeline.
A group of Goblin Scavengers emerged, their eyes beady and hostile.
There were ten of them, five wielding crude stone knives, three with sling and stones ready, and two carrying rough spears.
"Wow, really?" Kaito thought, a sigh escaping him.
"I thought my Luck stat would give me an easier run, but what is this? And goblins?"
"Very generic, but classic first monster enemies, I guess."
He decided to back away a little, heading closer to the water's edge to give himself space and plan how to either run or defeat them.
Just as his feet touched the wet sand, he heard a sudden, deep gurgling growl from behind him.
His instincts flared, screaming danger, and he instinctively jumped to the left.
A monstrous shape burst from the waves, lunging with terrifying speed.
Kaito narrowly dodged a massive, finned head.
"What the hell?!" he thought, his eyes wide.
"Why are you guys here too?"
Two more Coastal Stalkers, sharks, but with strong, muscular limbs, walked out of the sand, standing on two powerful legs.
Their arms ended in clawed hands, and each gripped a menacing trident.
Their gills flared, letting out wet, guttural hisses.
Kaito let out a long, exasperated sigh.
"I thought backing towards the sea would help me not get surrounded," he muttered, shaking his head.
"But now I've got three more to deal with."
He was trapped between the snarling goblins and the trident-wielding shark-men.
Just as Kaito registered being surrounded, a translucent blue screen shimmered into existence before him, his system popping out with an immediate update:
Monsters Defeated:
•Goblin Scavenger x0 | 1 = 5 Exp
•Coastal Stalker x0 | 1 = 8 Exp
•...
Kaito blinked, surprised to see the system pop-up appear so suddenly.
He quickly read the details, then let out a resigned sigh.
"I guess I have no choice now but to kill you all," he muttered, a tight smile spreading across his face.
His eyes glinted with a newfound resolve.
"So, don't give me a hard time and just die, you ugly monsters."
Kaito made his decision. The goblins were the easier target.
He sprinted towards them, his hand instinctively going for one of his swords.
"In the game, if it's a two-handed weapon, you have to use both at the same time," he thought, recalling the mechanics from his past life.
"But in here..."
With a silent, almost imperceptible shink, Kaito used Silent Draw with just one sword.
He lashed out with a swift, horizontal strike.
The goblins directly in his path, surprisingly agile, instinctively yelped and jumped to the side, scattering and creating an unexpected opening right down the middle of their formation.
Kaito's eyes widened slightly in surprise that they'd dodged, but a dangerous smile spread across his face.
"You idiots," he muttered, "thank you for the opening!"
Without breaking stride, he pulled his second sword with another quiet shink, now holding one in each hand.
A group of angry goblin snarls erupted as he launched himself into a powerful leap towards the nearby tree where the Goblin Slingers were perched, bows drawn.
"Silent Draw!" he called out mid-air.
With fluid, practiced motions, his two swords met in the middle, forming a deadly X-shape.
A sickening thwack and wet splat followed.
The middle goblin archer was instantly sliced into four gruesome pieces by the crossing blades.
Simultaneously, the two Goblin Slingers on either side, caught by the outer edges of Kaito's sweeping blades, were expertly cut into three pieces each.
Their bodies fell with heavy thuds to the sand below, the distinct sound of severed limbs hitting the ground chilling the air.
Kaito exhaled slowly, his gaze falling upon the lifeless bodies of the goblin slingers.
"It's my first time killing someone or something in this world," he thought, a strange feeling settling in his gut.
"It does feel different." He shook his head slightly.
In the game, you wouldn't feel a thing when slicing people."
"I mean, even chopping meat like pork and chicken doesn't compare."
A grim question formed in his mind.
"How could the game not mention this?"
"Are the students in this school maniacs too? Or just trained to kill from birth?"
He sighed, pushing the unsettling thoughts aside for now.
He looked over his shoulder, back towards the beach.
The remaining goblins were now busy fighting the Coastal Stalkers, the very shark-men Kaito had skillfully maneuvered into colliding each other when he jumped for the slingers.
Kaito's eyes flickered between the clashing monsters.
"I'm surprised to see that no goblin has died yet," he thought, a flicker of genuine surprise on his face.
"I expected to lose some experience by using this plan, but these seven goblins are actually holding out against three sharks."
Deciding not to waste any more time, Kaito focused.
He used his Aura skill, feeling his presence fade, making him almost invisible to the fighting creatures.
He moved quickly, circling around the chaotic brawl, getting behind the Coastal Stalkers.
Once in position, he activated his next skill.
"Will of Steel," Kaito muttered, a faint, shimmering glow covering his two swords as the magic enhanced their edge.
He lunged forward, launching into his next move.
"Viper's Strike" His two swords flashed a number of precise, deadly slashes targeting their vital points.
A series of wet thuds and gurgling screams erupted from the shark-men.
Kaito swiftly cut down all three Coastal Stalkers.
They fell, thrashing weakly for a moment before going still on the sand.
As the bodies of the Coastal Stalkers collapsed onto the sand with wet thuds, the remaining goblins, the Goblin Scavengers with knives and Goblin Spearmen, shrieked in shock at how quickly their enemies had fallen.
Their surprise quickly turned to anger.
The two Goblin Spearmen immediately roared and hurled their spears at Kaito with all their strength.
Kaito reacted instantly, dropping into a defensive crouch.
"Iron Guard Stance!" he called out, his swords coming up in a tight, protective X-shape.
The spears clanged loudly against his blades, deflecting harmlessly into the sand.
At the same moment, the knife-wielding Goblin Scavengers lunged forward, trying to pounce on him.
The Goblin Spearmen quickly moved to retrieve their thrown weapons. Kaito, however, was already in motion.
He jumped back, dodging the initial knife attacks, giving himself some space.
The knife-wielding goblins, relentless, leapt into the air a second time, trying to close the distance.
Kaito, already prepared, launched into his attack while they were still airborne.
"Viper's Strike!" he announced.
He thrust his swords forward with blinding speed, impaling each of the knife-wielding goblins mid-jump.
They fell instantly, killed with a single hit before they even hit the ground.
The remaining Goblin Spearmen, now desperate, charged forward, their spears held ready.
Kaito smoothly sheathed both his swords.
As their tips aimed for him, he began to activate Silent Draw.
The goblins instinctively felt the impending attack and used their spears to try and block, holding them up as a shield.
But Kaito's skill was too fast and too strong.
His swords, moving with impossible speed, went through their spear blocks like soft butter.
A series of sickening squelches and clangs filled the air as the blades cut through wood and flesh.
In moments, all the remaining goblins lay dead on the sand.
The system popped out again, its translucent blue screen reappearing before Kaito.
Monsters Defeated:
•Goblin Scavenger x10 | 1 = 5 Exp
•Coastal Stalker x3 | 1 = 8 Exp
•???
•...