The little demon stood before me, fidgeting and impatiently tapping a rusty dagger against his palm. Small, filthy, with horns and a tail, he looked like he had crawled straight out of a cheap horror movie. And yet — he was my first ally in this chaos. Right after the summoning, I felt my health and mana levels drop sharply: minus twenty mana points and ten health points.
"Great start," I thought grimly, coughing.
I quickly looked around. The school corridors, once filled with the sounds of footsteps and the lazy chatter of students, had now turned into a theater of bloody madness. Mangled desks were scattered everywhere, shattered windows let in gusts of cold wind, and the air reeked of blood and smoke. Amidst all this nightmare, I spotted my first real obstacle: a goblin.
He was revolting. Green skin covered with sores and filth, a crooked grin, protruding teeth, and a knife in a clawed hand that smelled of rust and death. He didn't notice me right away, giving me a chance to attack.
"Attack!" I barked at my demon.
He squealed shrilly and darted forward, his crooked legs flashing. The rusty dagger in his paw glinted dully as he drove it straight into the goblin's gut. The creature howled in pain, trying to fight back, but the demon was too quick. He struck several sharp blows, aiming for the neck and stomach, until finally, the goblin collapsed onto the floor with a dull groan.
A translucent message popped up right in front of my eyes:
You have defeated the Goblin!
Gained: 20 experience, 10 coins.
I smirked crookedly. First enemy — first victory.
But the joy didn't last long. From around the corner, a few more goblins appeared. Three of them, looking much more aggressive than the first. One was even dragging a bloody school bag behind him.
"Goddamn it..." I cursed and opened the skills menu.
A new option had appeared: the ability to summon up to two demons at once.
Without hesitation, I spent another twenty mana and ten health points. A second demon materialized before me — almost an exact copy of the first, except his horns were slightly longer.
"Go, work together!" I commanded.
My two demons, shrieking and waving their daggers, rushed into battle. They worked together surprisingly well: one distracted the enemy while the other struck from behind. While they kept the goblins busy, I stayed in the shadows, watching and preparing to intervene if something went wrong.
The first goblin quickly fell under a barrage of slashes. Another message popped up:
You have defeated the Goblin!
Gained: 20 experience, 10 coins.
And again, and again. The kills came one after another, and my experience and coins slowly but surely accumulated. It seemed everything was going according to plan — until one of the goblins, wounded and mad with pain, threw his knife.
The throw was precise, striking one of my demons right in the chest.
The demon let out an inhuman screech, collapsed to the floor, and dissolved into a cloud of black smoke.
"No!" I roared, clenching my fists.
It was the first blow to my army, and even though it was just a weak creature, I felt an unpleasant emptiness inside. One demon remained. But he seemed only to get angrier. Baring his teeth, he clamped onto the last goblin's throat and quickly finished him off.
Another victory notification popped up.
Turning around, I spotted another goblin, slowly crawling toward me. Nearby lay something that looked like a metal pipe. I rushed over, picked it up, and felt its heavy weight in my hand. But a weapon was a weapon.
Before rushing into battle, I remembered my second skill — Blood Absorption. I ran to the nearest goblin corpse and activated it.
From the monster's wounds, dark vapor rose and slowly flowed into my body.
Absorbed 100 units of blood.
Recovered 5 HP.
A small improvement, but in battle, every bit of health was worth its weight in gold. I felt the light pain in my body ease.
One by one, I used the skill on all the defeated goblins. For now, my method was barbaric, but judging by the surrounding scene, morality had vanished along with normal reality.
One goblin remained.
The one still crawling across the floor, looking around desperately for an escape. I approached him slowly. My clothes were soaked with blood, and I gripped the pipe so tightly my knuckles turned white. The demon watched me, ready to finish the enemy if I hesitated.
I stood over him. Our eyes met.
The goblin whimpered. He was pitiful. Miserable. Afraid. But I was no longer someone who would show mercy. This world had changed. And I had to change too.
"Sorry, buddy," I said hoarsely and brought the pipe down on his head with force.
Crunch. The creature twitched and fell still.
You have defeated the Goblin!
Gained: 20 experience, 10 coins.
I wiped my face with my sleeve and, breathing heavily, leaned on the pipe. My hands were shaking, but inside me a strange feeling was burning. At first, it was anxiety, then — determination.
"If I want to survive... if I want to win in this madness... I'll have to get stronger."
I gripped the pipe tighter and, looking at the dead monsters, whispered:
"If the world has changed... then I will change too."
And this was only the beginning.