"Run, Run. It's a Dungeon break.'' Sid yelled, rushing past others. His actions igniting a wave of panic and terror. Soon, everyone started screaming the same words, their fear rising by the second. And the sounds of the beasts steadily grew, fueling their dread.
'Come on move, move, damn it.' But Sid quickly ran into a problem. The abandoned vehicles ahead had blocked the way, leaving only a narrow path. The surging crowd funneled into it, but as more people pressed forward, it became a blockade, allowing only a few to pass at a time.
The crowd quickly grew rowdy, pushing others, trampling over those who fell. It was chaos, and it was escalating.
Amidst the shouts of terror, Sid heard a faint cry. He lowered his head, searching for the source. His eyes landed on a small boy crouched against a car, clutching his head, body trembling, as some stomped dangerously close.
''The fuck...can't they at least see him?'' Sid grumbled. Unable to ignore the child, he reached out to him, grabbed him by the shirt and with a bit of strain, he hoisted him on his shoulders.
" You alright, kid?" Sid asked ,leaning back on the car.
But the boy only cried harder,
"Mommy...where are you?"
"Tch.. this might get annoying." Sid muttered, staring at the kid as he bawled his eyes out.
'Why does it feel like he's crying more now that I've found him.'
BOOOOM!
A sudden explosion shook them all, followed by a series of blasts, each one getting closer than the last. Sid's eyes widened in panic, his mind blank for a second. Fear gnawed at him, creeping deep with every passing moment.
As he stood frozen, a pair of hands grabbed the boy. The action successfully jolting him back to his senses. He glanced to his side, seeing a women hugging the kid.
" Excuse me.. " just as he was calling out to the woman, a loud CRASH interrupted him. The deafening sound made many turn their heads, and what greeted them were a group of seven-feet-tall monstrosities. Their muscular bodies gave off an imposing aura, covered only by the leather strapped around their groins. But what was truly terrifying were their weapons- crude wooden clubs drenched in blood, with a few having flesh glued to them. The blood and gore dribbled down, forming puddles on the ground.
" Orcs??" Sid whispered, with fear gripping his heart, he turned and bolted through the crowd. he didn't dare turn around.
BANG
THUD ...THUD..THUD
Not even five seconds had passed, yet Sid could already hear people falling. The sounds of bone and organs being smashed, blood spilling, the chill inducing screams of the unlucky, they served a grim motivation for Sid to run, to survive this disaster.
Sid pushed forth, pushing others down, not even sparing them a glance as he shoved them to their death. Sid quickly made distance from the murder machines.
'Guess I'll survive after all.' relief washed over him as escape was within reach, and so was his life.
But his relief quickly turned to terror as he stumbled upon someone's body and fell down. He felt sever pain all over his body as many ran over him.
But not giving up, Sid crawled up, his jaw clenched as the pain hit him mercilessly.
He slowly walked forward, almost falling again as he was pushed by the crowd. He did his best to increase his pace but alas, his ankle was sprained from being stomped on, and he couldn't bear the pain.
THUD..THUD
The sound of heavy footsteps entered his ears, Sid's body trembled, he pushed through the pain, and started running. Yet it was too late.
The sounds now we're clear and crisp, the crunching of bones, the shrieks of the dying.
'My parents' lives were gone to the beasts!! I DO NOT want to follow after them.'
Sid was terrified, and in pain. The reminder of his parents' death was like adding salt to his wounds. But he was determined to live, he didn't want to end up like them, dead. He had no grand purpose, no one he wanted to live for, just the sheer instinct of a living being to keep living on.
With a new resolve burning in his eyes, Sid was ready to push his body to the limit to ensure his safety. But sometimes will alone isn't enough; it needed to be backed up by the ability to act.
"They're right behind me!" Sid gasped, seeing the orcs' shadows loom closer.
An orc got dangerously close to Sid, as it brutally wacked everyone to death. Seeing Sid desperately running, the orc's eyes gleamed with cruelty.
"Arghh!!" letting out an arrogant grunt, it swept its bloody club toward Sid's head. Being so close, the blow hit him point-blank on the side of his head.
Sid only felt an initial sting. The next instant, his body went limp. The brute force behind the attack slung his body to the side, sending him crashing into a car.
'huh?... it hit me? .... ' Sid soon lost consciousness.
..
Sid's eyes flickered open, and he began surveying his surroundings. The first thing that caught his attention was a transparent blue panel.
[ Successfully entered pocket dimension ]
"What's this...?" he muttered in bewilderment. One moment he was almost dead and now here he was, seemingly unharmed.
"..and I'm not dead." Sid felt both relieved and confused at the same time.
Deciding to grasp where he was, Sid looked around. There were trees all around, along with the normal flora one would expect from a forest.
"Okay, so did I transmigrate?" That was the only explanation that came to Sid's mind at the moment. Though a bit unbelievable, his current circumstances seemed like proof enough to him.
"Haha...never thought those stories turn out to be true." He chuckled softly, recalling a few stories he used to read to pass time.
"The main character usually gained some kind of advantage, or basically a cheat." Thinking so, Sid checked his surroundings hoping to find some artifacts or anything out of the ordinary.
"Wait!.. isn't it right in front me?"
Sid had a contemplative look, as he inspected the panel. 'Usually this System is the cheat.'
With uncertainty, he focused on the panel, expecting information.
[ Beginner Mission: kill a Goblin]
"Huh? that's all ?" Sid muttered, a bit disappointed. He had been expecting a detailed status panel that showed his strength and the skills he had.
"Well at least I got a system with me.. kill a goblin huh. should be easy." since he wasn't an awakened, Sid didn't have much intel on the monsters. But the goblins being an easy target was common knowledge.
"It's not showing the rewards." Sid grumbled in annoyance.' guess its a surprise then.'
Sid walked aimlessly for a minute before halting, realizing his blunder.
"I should search for a human settlement. From there, I can gain information and plan things out."
With this plan in mind, Sid began climbing a nearby tree. But to his disappointment, all he could find were more trees and a small hill some distance ahead. Just as he was about to get down, a pale blue blink caught his eye. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was from the base of the hill. even though he was quite far, he could easily spot it.
While he was staring at the light, a sudden text popped up.
[ Beginner Mission: kill a goblin ]
"Ahh so that's where the goblins are!" with this realization, he got down from the tree and ventured towards the hill.
"..Am I going in the right direction?" After a thirty minutes of walking, Sid halted. He again climbed a tree. After confirming he was on the right path, he continued his journey.