Rhein was born into a poor family.
Because of their poverty, he spent his childhood going from full one meal to hungry the next. He often had to do household chores and simple farm work on an empty stomach.
Despite this, he still had a happiness all his own.
His loving parents, and the new life that came into the family after him—his younger sister, Philie.
Philie was two years younger than him. Since their parents were always swamped with work, taking care of his little sister became part of his life from the time he was five or six.
He would wake her up every day, teach her how to talk, and watch over her while doing chores, making sure she didn't break the family's precious pots and jars. He would coax her into eating the hard-to-swallow rice bran porridge and help her by breaking the equally hard-to-swallow black bread into tiny pieces...
While telling bedtime stories each night, he would often imagine himself becoming a powerful Adventurer or a valiant Knight, someone who could bring home soft, sweet white bread and a creamy soup with slices of meat every day.
He told Philie these fantastic tales of adventure, telling her their lives wouldn't always be so destitute. As long as they held on to hope and never stopped trying, one day they too could live like the wealthy lords, with full bellies and warm clothes.
But all these hopes for a brighter future were slowly worn away as he grew older, until they were finally and utterly crushed on an afternoon just a few days ago.
He remembered the despair of that day with perfect clarity. He had gone out to buy black bread as usual, but what greeted his return was not his parents' strained smiles or his sister's expectant gaze. Instead, he found a shattered wooden door, overturned furniture, and an empty house...
Fresh bloodstains marred the floor, and it was as if his vision had been dyed red along with them. He grabbed the family's only axe—a hopelessly dull one—and gave chase for several kilometers, but he never managed to find a trace of those damn Goblins.
And now, his sister, Philie, had finally appeared before his eyes again.
Tattered clothes, a body covered in scars, and an ankle that had been brutally snapped...
Her gaze was vacant and hazy, fixed on the ground. The slight rise and fall of her chest was the only indication that she was still breathing, however faintly.
Rhein looked again at the pile of scattered white bones on the ground. In that instant, something felt like it surged from the pit of his stomach into his chest before finally erupting and consuming his entire mind.
Without a shred of hesitation, he let out a furious roar, abandoned the opponent before him, and charged toward the burly figure that stood nearly half a meter taller than him.
Larry quickly snapped back to his senses, kicked away the Goblin in front of him, and his mind raced.
'Flee or fight?'
In that instant, a thousand thoughts flashed through his mind, leaving him paralyzed with indecision.
The next moment, a flash of light from a blade cut through the air. The Goblin that had charged forward once more was beheaded in a single strike, and Lin Mo's voice rang out.
"Larry, Leo, go help Rhein! I'll take care of these Goblins!"
'That big one is obviously tough. There's no way we can take it down quickly. If we have to fight it while fending off sneak attacks from the other Goblins, our chances of winning are practically zero.'
'The best plan is to have them hold off the Mutated Goblin while I clean up the remaining ones as fast as possible.'
'And as for that last part, I'm the only one here who can do it.'
Larry gave him a long, hard look, and then a surprising calm washed over him. "Alright, we'll do it your way... 'Mutated Goblin' sounds scary, but it's only about a head and a half taller than us. Maybe it's not as tough as it looks. If we all go at it, we might just be able to take it down!"
"That's right! At the end of the day, it's still just a Goblin. It's the same race as those Fragile, cowardly little green-skins!"
Leo, who was standing nearby, met his gaze and quickly chimed in, looking fired up and ready to go.
"Charge!"
Larry roared, as if to bolster his own courage, and charged toward the Mutated Goblin alongside Leo.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo intercepted the Goblins the other two had been fighting—three Ordinary Goblins.
Including the one Rhein had abandoned, there were a total of four Goblins left on the field.
'I have to take them out as fast as possible!'
The situation was critical, yet Lin Mo miraculously grew even calmer. He fixed his gaze on his opponent, sidestepped lightly to dodge the Goblin's attack, then grabbed its wrist in a reverse grip and twisted sharply.
His Strength wasn't particularly high, but he still had an advantage over a Goblin. The creature shrieked in pain as its weapon clattered to the ground. Lin Mo then flung it forcefully, sending it crashing into the other two Goblins.
In the next instant, Lin Mo darted forward. With a flash of his sword, he beheaded the heavily wounded Goblin that Rhein had abandoned.
The three Goblins struggled back to their feet. Seemingly emboldened by the presence of the Mutated Goblin, they didn't retreat, instead charging at Lin Mo once again.
Lin Mo watched them with an icy gaze, holding his sword in both hands. He steadied his breathing and focused his mind.
In that moment, he thought he saw a line, one that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Lin Mo's legs tensed as he exploded forward, pushing his 6 points of Agility to their absolute limit. The Sword in his hand moved like an extension of his own arm, following that invisible line in a horizontal slash!
SWOOSH—!
With a clean whistle through the air, the rusty Sword struck the first Goblin's neck at incredible speed. There was a brief moment of resistance, and then a hideous green head went flying into the air.
The blade's momentum barely slowed. It continued its wide, perfect arc, creating a brilliant spray of blood.
For a moment, the scene seemed to play out in slow motion before him, as droplets of crimson sprayed toward the sky before scattering down...
"Skill Comprehension: [Slashing]! Strength +1!"
[Slashing] Level 1 (3/10)
Just as this line of small text appeared before his eyes, the heads of the three Goblins thudded to the ground.
'A new Skill!'
A look of joy flashed in Lin Mo's eyes. For an Ordinary Adventurer, comprehending a Skill meant surpassing the vast majority of their peers and gaining a reliable means of survival. This alone was a massive, pleasant surprise.
But for Lin Mo, it meant even more.
A new Skill meant more potential Skills through evolution, and it also meant new attribute points!
The huge boost to his Combat Power from just two points of Agility had already made Lin Mo keenly aware of how powerful attribute points were.
It was no exaggeration to say that those two points of Agility alone had increased his Combat Power by more than half!
Without them, his out-of-shape body would have performed at a level similar to the malnourished Rhein, at best.
But now wasn't the time to celebrate and relax.
Lin Mo took a deep breath to steady himself, then turned to look at the other side of the clearing.
'That Mutated Goblin looks tough, but there are three of them. They should at least have a fighting chance, right?'
In the next instant, the slight smile that had been forming on Lin Mo's lips vanished completely.
"Holy shit!"