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Chapter 2: James
🕑 Added 2025-01-04 02:46:08 +0000 UTC“James, your performance has been below expectation this month and thus, we chose to end our partnership with you. We will not prolong our contract. This has been a heavy decision for us. However, we need to prioritize our company’s future. Starting tomorrow, you no longer need to come to work.” His boss, whose name James didn’t bother to remember, said to him, While his words were polite, the fact that his eyes went to the papers in his hands speaks a lot about his sincerity.
That’s how James got fired from his work. The world does not need average employees. With automation, everyone was expected to surpass others in a battle for survival. There is no such thing as work life balance. Everyone must be committed.
“I am fired?” James asked for confirmation.
James kinda expected that this would happen eventually. Working in a startup company was a very demanding job and he had no ambition to step on others. Nevertheless, the news was still shocking to him. That’s how the modern day worked, employees were no longer valued. When an employee was deemed inefficient, they were fired without hesitation. The ruthless company cared not for their employees' future. He was not the only one. To stimulate growth, every year, the company will let go 1 or 2 of their worst workers and James was the one they picked this year.
“Yes.” He nodded.
He didn’t remember how he got out of that conversation, all that he could remember was that he sat on a bench, staring at the sky in a nearby park. Now that he was fired, he had to go job hunting again. It was a nightmare for him. The uncertainty and the ghosting the job companies did nowadays was beyond cruel. Often, they would not reply to him at all. Often, an AI would reject his letters.
“What did I do wrong?” He muttered to the sky. He thought he would be more anguished, more angry. He thought He would lash out at them violently, but he didn’t. In the end, he just went to a nearby park, staring at the sky like a loser, pondering whether what he had done was worth it. His work for the past five years was in vain. James realized that he was merely a cog in a machine. Something that could be replaced at any moment. He has no worth before this company’s eyes. Rage burned at his heart. However, he was merely a powerless, mediocre office employee. He had no power. All he could do was to endure until the day he died. His rage simmered silently in his heart.
[Earth's Maturity condition fulfilled. System installation in 200 hours. Earth’s trial has begun. Advance warning. Do you wish to enter the system's introduction trial?]
“Eh, what's happening?” James wondered whether he had gone crazy for he saw a blue screen popped before his very eyes.
[Response to the query. The world has been considered mature and thus will now undergo a trial. Dungeons will spawn and beasts of mana will spawn. However earth's life forms are not used to mana and systems. System has provided you with a chance. To experience the trial firsthand. To all sentient lifeforms, do you want to enter a trial dungeon?]
“What is a trial dungeon?” When James looked around him, people were having the same confused expression as him. James then asked further questions to the being before him.
[Entering a trial dungeon means being transported into dungeons before the trial of the world on earth created by the system commenced. There, hosts are expected to survive and clear the dungeon. Only then will the host be deemed worthy to survive. Do you wish to enter?]
“Really, good. I wanted to get away from here as fast as possible.” He answered. He didn’t know why he said that. He just wanted to go far away, away from earth. He felt like he didn’t belong here.
[Yes. Before that, we need to inform you that System trial may pose a risk to the user's life, do you still wish to accept?]
“yes. I have nothing here. If I died there, that's better. I am already over 30. There won’t be any jobs for me here.” James answered firmly.
[Query complete. Transfer in progress. You will be transferred to trial dungeon #1204. May you survive the trial, survivor. Work hard and progress.]
At that moment, light enveloped him and he was transported to a cave-like dungeon. He was transported in a room with a short axe and five goblins. When they locked eyes, the goblins squeaked and rushed at him. Feeling danger for the first time, James yelled and grabbed the weapon that was given to him. A short axe that was often used by firemen. He didn’t know why the system gave him that weapon, but he will use it.
That was the life of James before he fought with these goblins. A few hours later, he woke up startled. He was lucky that there was no goblin to ambush him.
He soon stood up and continued exploring the cave. The cave was monotonous. The sparkles and light of the moss on the wall was enchanting and beautiful at first sight but it soon grew dull. On the winding pathway, he found a goblin. This time, he was alone and merely had a knife with him. He put down the spear and prepared an axe. He wanted to ambush it.
“Easy prey.” Nevertheless, ambushing another was not as easy as it sounded. This was not a video game. His footsteps were as loud as an elephant in this rocky cave. The goblins noticed him and squeaked. It then changed at him.
James had good adaptability. The same opponent won’t work on him twice. He dispatched it with a swing of his axe. Its head drew a beautiful arc and bounced on the cave wall, awarding him with a coin. He didn’t know what the coin in his status screen was for. However, seeing the number go up filled him with a sense of achievement.
A howl was soon heard and an emaciated wolf came with another goblin. That goblin earlier was not merely squeaking. It was calling its friend.
James observed the wolf. The wolf looked weak as it floundered when it ran. Its eye was out of focus and saliva poured out from its teeth. Even though it looked weak, He was worried. The fang was sharp.
“It didn’t have rabies, was it?” He muttered. This is another world, It has its own rules. There wouldn’t be such things as disease unless it was approved by the system. However, James was still worried. no matter how you look at that dog, it was clear that it was rabid.
James pulled back to take out the spear that he swiped from the goblin corpse he killed before. His axe was securely hung on his belt together with a sword that was also swiped from the goblins. He then took a stance, waiting for the rabid wolf to make the first move. He was an amateur. His only references to using weapons were from games and movies.
The wolf howled again. The goblins squeaked like rats as they tried to surround him. Unlike before, where he took them by surprise, this time, both of them are ready. They displayed some sort of coordination. Nevertheless it was futile, they are in a cave. No matter how they spaced themselves apart, They couldn’t surround him.
Using a spear was much easier than using an axe due to longer reach. When the rabid wolf lunged, James countered it. The spear penetrated the dog, killing it. However, the spear also snapped. At that moment, the goblin beside it dashed with its knife.
James jumped, trying to dodge the nasty green monster that attacked him. There was not enough time to pick the axe on his belt. When the goblin gave chase, James hit the monster with the best falcon punch he could muster. The goblin also managed to get a slash in with its filthy knife. Once he got enough distance, he pulled out the axe and smashed the fuckers head off.
He sat down and took a deep breath. Adrenaline really took a toll on him. His heart was beating like crazy. Even with this short fight, he was already short of breath and needed to rest. Thankfully, this is a beginner dungeon, aimed for survivors to get accustomed to monsters and systems. He was fortunate just now as he only received a light scratch. If that goblin went for a stab instead of a swing, the result would be different.
After another hour of rest, he continued in the dark and dimly lit cave. The cave showed change: the walls were now made with bricks instead of natural stone and the path he could take branched into two. When he went to the left, there was a treasure chest a short distance away.
James was elated. This world mimicked a game with an obvious treasure chest laid in the open. He was about to open it but hesitated when he heard sounds coming from the chest. He suddenly remembered that in games, some treasure chests were bugged. This is a real world, it won’t be a laughing matter if there were some kind of deadly trap inside. However, the allure of treasure chests couldn’t be underestimated. There might be something he desperately needed inside, like health potion or magic scrolls. And thus, he tried to open it from a bit further away using a sword. If there was an arrow, it shouldn’t hit him. If it was a poison gas, he could just run. Little did he know that another surprise was waiting for him.
“AAH!!!” He immediately jumped back as a snake came out from the chest and chased him. Using the sword, he made a wild swing at the snake. It was a lucky hit as the sword Cleanly decapitated it.
“I found dinner!” His stomach has been rumblin for a while now. If the system was to be believed, it should be safe to eat the snake in front of him.
When he checked the treasure box, he found Leather armor and a backpack inside. It was perfect. With this armor, goblin’s knives would bring him trouble no more.
After equipping the armor, he smiled. He no longer looked like his former selves. He now looked like a bonafide fantasy character.
[Do you wish to modify your body? y/n]
[Available body part:
-lesser Wolf fang : STR +5 (mouth slot)
-Snake fang : STR +3 (mouth slot)
-lesser Wolf tail : (extra slot)
- lesser wolf ear : (negative trait:deafness)(ear slot)]
James inspected what parts could be scavenged from my kill today. The snake was not poisonous. The goblin was worthless and the system no longer recommended its body part unless he asked for it.
He chose Wolf fang. He hesitated, but after another deep breath, he chose it. He had to evolve. He needed to survive. He had abandoned his humanity that day.
“Why did I hesitate? I am not particularly handsome…” James chuckled. A self mocking laugh to calm himself before tapping the confirmation button. The wolf corpse disappeared and the change was immediate.
“Urghh!” James groaned as a snout, mimicking that of a wolf, grew from his mouth. He didn’t have a mirror, but he could feel that his mouth was not human. He still had human eyes and a human head. The wolf mouth looked like a badly done CGI to his face.
“AAHH!!! Ahahahah!” He howled. And then, he laughed. He finally changed. His life was no longer monotonous. This skill proved it.
Those that couldn’t change, those that couldn’t adapt won’t survive whether it was the old world or new world. Even in the old days, big companies could still fall when they refused to change. The need to change is eternal. It was the law of the world and James had the perfect skill for that. His chimera skill was exactly what he needed. With this skill, he now could adapt no matter what changed in his world. That was his new belief.
[You have leveled up to Level 4! Coins Received: 10
[Name: James
Age : 35
Sex: male
Levels : 5
Coins : 120
Stats:
STR : 40 (up 5)
Dex : 33 (up 1)
Magic : 0
Mana : 0
Skills:
Beginner Axe mastery level 1 (new)
Unique Skill:
Chimera:
Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)
Lesser Mana core (Fire spell, Magic+10, Mana +50)(Extra slot 1)
Lesser Wolf fang (Str+5)(mouth slot)
]
