Chapter 6 — The Beginner's Forest Jaden stood alone in the middle of the forest. The portal behind him had already disappeared, leaving no trace that it had ever existed. For a few seconds, he simply stood there with his sword in hand, staring at the trees ahead. They were far denser than the forest from the tutorial, with thick trunks stretching high above him and leaves blocking most of the sunlight. The air was strangely warm, and somewhere in the distance, he could hear birds. It almost looked peaceful. Almost. Jaden opened his status window. [FLOOR 1 — BEGINNER'S FOREST] [OBJECTIVE: REACH THE FLOOR EXIT.] [RULE: ONLY ONE PLAYER MAY ENTER.] He stared at the final line. “Yeah. I got it.” He looked around. Nobody was coming to save him. Nobody was going to fight beside him. Dazim wasn't here. Aira wasn't here. It was just him. Jaden sighed and adjusted his grip around the sword. “Guess I better figure this out.” He started walking. At first, nothing happened. The forest was quiet enough that Jaden could hear his own footsteps. Every few minutes, he would stop and look around, expecting something to jump out at him. Nothing did. After nearly half an hour of walking, Jaden began to wonder whether the first floor really was as easy as its name suggested. Then he noticed something. Footprints. Jaden crouched beside them. They were small. Bare feet. Three toes. He immediately recognized them. “Goblin.” His stomach tightened. The tutorial had already given him enough experience with goblins to know that they were not harmless just because they were called beginner monsters. Jaden looked at the tracks carefully. There were several of them, all moving in the same direction. He followed them for a short distance before stopping. Something felt strange. He stared at the footprints. Where were they going? Why were there so many? How recently had they passed? Jaden concentrated. For a moment, nothing happened. Then— [COMPREHENSION ACTIVATED.] Jaden froze. The familiar blue window appeared. [TRACK ANALYSIS] Species: Goblin Number: 3 Estimated Time Passed: 18–25 minutes Direction: Northwest Jaden blinked. “So that's how it works…” The window disappeared. He tried activating it again. Nothing. Jaden frowned. “Come on.” Nothing. He stared at the footprints again. This time, he wasn't simply looking at them. He was trying to understand them. The window appeared again. [TRACK ANALYSIS] Jaden's eyes widened. “Wait…” He closed his eyes. It activates when I'm trying to understand something. That had to be it. Maybe. He wasn't completely sure yet, but it was the first real clue he had about his ability. Jaden stood. Three goblins. He could probably handle one. Maybe. Two would be dangerous. Three? Absolutely not. He continued following the tracks, but he kept his distance. Eventually, he found them. Two goblins were sitting beside a fallen tree, arguing over something that looked like a piece of meat. The third was standing nearby, keeping watch. Jaden crouched behind a bush. His first instinct was to leave. His second was to fight. His third was the sensible one. Don't. He had already learned what happened when he underestimated goblins. Jaden slowly backed away. He needed information first. For the next several minutes, he watched them. The smallest goblin was constantly looking around. The second was much more aggressive, while the third seemed to be acting as a lookout. Jaden quietly opened Comprehension. [TARGET ANALYSIS] Goblin A Strength: 7 Agility: 5 Intelligence: 2 Luck: 3 Threat Level: Low Jaden looked at the second. Goblin B Strength: 8 Agility: 6 Intelligence: 2 Luck: 2 Threat Level: Low Then the third. Goblin C Strength: 9 Agility: 7 Intelligence: 4 Luck: 4 Threat Level: Moderate Jaden immediately focused on Goblin C. “Leader.” The information wasn't everything, but it was enough. Jaden slowly retreated. He needed a plan. He spent the next hour preparing. He found a narrow path between two trees and dug a shallow hole beneath some leaves. He tied a length of vine between two branches, creating a crude snare. It wasn't anything impressive, but it didn't need to be. He only needed an opening. Jaden hid several sharp sticks beneath loose leaves near the edge of the path, then moved away from the area. He looked at his work. “Hopefully this works.” He knew it wasn't a perfect trap. It didn't have to be. He just needed to make the fight slightly less impossible. Jaden returned to the goblins. He picked up a stone. Then threw it. Clack. The stone hit a tree. All three goblins turned. Jaden ran. The goblins immediately chased him. “Come on!” He sprinted toward the trap. The first goblin entered. The vine tightened around its leg. It fell. Jaden turned around. The second goblin was already coming. He raised his sword. The goblin swung its crude weapon. Jaden blocked. The impact shook his arm. “Too strong!” He stepped backward and swung. His sword struck the goblin's shoulder. The creature staggered. Jaden attacked again. The goblin blocked. Their weapons collided. Jaden's arms hurt. But this time, he didn't panic. He had fought before. He watched the goblin's movements. Its attacks were wild. Aggressive. Predictable. Jaden waited. The goblin swung from the left. Jaden ducked. He stepped forward and slashed. The goblin stumbled. Jaden struck again. It fell. He stood there breathing heavily. One down. He barely had time to celebrate before the second goblin attacked. Jaden raised his sword. The creature was faster than the first. It swung. Jaden blocked. The impact forced him backward. He nearly fell. The goblin charged. Jaden stepped aside. He slashed. Missed. The goblin turned. Another attack. Jaden blocked. His wrist hurt. He stepped back. The goblin attacked again. Jaden ducked. He struck its leg. The goblin stumbled. Jaden took the opportunity. He attacked twice. The goblin fell. Jaden stood over it, breathing heavily. Two. He had defeated two goblins. Not easily. Not elegantly. But he had done it. Then he heard something behind him. A branch snapped. Jaden froze. He slowly turned. Goblin C was standing at the end of the path. The leader. Jaden's confidence disappeared. The goblin stared at the bodies of the other two. Then at Jaden. It understood. Jaden raised his sword. The goblin charged. Jaden blocked. The force nearly knocked him off his feet. “Gah!” The goblin attacked again. Jaden dodged. He swung. The goblin blocked. Jaden stepped back. His arms were already exhausted from the previous fight. The goblin wasn't. It attacked again. Jaden blocked. Again. Again. His grip weakened. He couldn't win this fight. Not directly. Jaden suddenly remembered something. The trap. He backed away toward it. The goblin followed. Jaden's heart hammered. “Come on…” He needed it to step onto the right spot. One step. Two. The goblin lunged. Jaden moved aside. The goblin's foot landed exactly where Jaden wanted. The vine tightened. The goblin stumbled. Jaden immediately kicked the loose pile of leaves beneath it. The creature fell into the shallow pit. Jaden didn't hesitate. He grabbed a heavy branch and pushed it against the goblin, keeping it trapped. The goblin struggled. Jaden's arms trembled. “Stay down!” The creature nearly broke free. Jaden pushed harder. Then he remembered the second part of his trap. The sharp sticks. He kicked them into the pit. The goblin stopped moving. Jaden froze. He waited. Nothing. The System appeared. [GOBLIN DEFEATED.] [EXPERIENCE ACQUIRED.] Jaden slowly sat down. He stared at the pit. He had done it. He hadn't beaten the third goblin in a straight fight. He had outsmarted it. Jaden opened his status. [LEVEL UP!] [LEVEL: 2] [STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 2] Jaden stared. “Two points…” He looked at his stats. Strength: 5 Agility: 7 Intelligence: 14 Luck: 8 He thought about increasing Strength. Then Agility. But he remembered the fight. His problem wasn't simply that he was weak. It was that he couldn't understand what his enemies were going to do until it was almost too late. His ability depended on understanding. So he put both points into Intelligence. [INTELLIGENCE +2] [INTELLIGENCE: 16] Jaden nodded. “Alright.” He stood. His legs were still shaking. The forest remained silent. Jaden opened his inventory. A small item had appeared. [GOBLIN'S EYE] Type: Accessory Description: A crude charm made from a goblin's eye. Effect: Slightly improves perception when detecting nearby creatures. Jaden stared at it. “That is disgusting.” He hesitated. Then equipped it. A strange sensation passed through his body. Nothing dramatic. No explosion of power. Just a slight sharpening of his senses. The forest suddenly seemed a little clearer. He could hear the wind moving through the leaves. The distant sounds of birds. Even something moving somewhere far away. Jaden looked around. “Okay…” He opened the floor information again. [FLOOR 1 — BEGINNER'S FOREST] [OBJECTIVE: REACH THE FLOOR EXIT.] The exit was still somewhere ahead. He hadn't even reached the halfway point. Jaden looked at the bodies of the defeated goblins. Then at his sword. Then toward the endless forest. He had won his first real battle. But he hadn't conquered anything. The forest was still enormous. And somewhere inside it were probably creatures much stronger than goblins. Jaden tightened his grip around his sword. “Alright.” He took another step forward. “One step at a time.”