Chapter 2: The System

"System?"

I blurted out, my voice a mix of shock and excitement.

That word sounded like something straight out of a fantasy web series—like those overpowered cheats the main character always gets.

And now... I had one?

"Nice."

I had played more video games than I could count. If this worked anything like an RPG, then I was in familiar territory. Leveling up, grinding, gaining new skills—I could handle that.

This wouldn’t be hard.

Hell, it might even be fun.

But just as I was starting to get excited, reality hit me like a cold splash of water.

This wasn’t just a game.

This was real, and if I wasn’t careful, I could die.

And I didn’t want to die another pathetic death.

More notifications popped up in front of me, glowing blue text stacking one after another.

[The system is here to aid you in getting stronger.]

[Hunt down monsters to gain the necessary EXP needed to level up.]

[Quests will be assigned occasionally. Complete them, or face the consequences.]

[Use voice commands to give the system instructions.]

I stared at the glowing messages in front of me, my mind racing to process everything.

Okay...

Hunting? That actually didn’t sound so bad. In fact, I could get behind that.

Taking down monsters, leveling up, and getting stronger—it was just like grinding in a video game. And if I played this smart, maybe I could even enjoy it.

But compulsory quests?

Yeah, that part definitely didn’t sit right with me.

What if the system told me to fight some overpowered monster way above my level? Or worse... what if it ordered me to do something messed up? Something I didn’t want to do?

What then?

Would I have a choice? Or was I just some pawn in whatever twisted game this was?

I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling a little less excited about my so-called "cheat."

Where was my free will in all of this?

Then again, did I even have the right to complain?

I wasn’t human anymore.

I wasn’t some noble hero chosen by fate. I was a goblin—the kind of monster that gets hunted down in every fantasy story.

A goblin asking for free will?

Yeah, that sounded like some DreamWorks nonsense.

I let out a long sigh, rubbing my temples.

There was no point in overthinking it now.

I needed to focus on surviving.

I was standing in the middle of a forest.

And in fantasy worlds, forests were never safe, so I decided to walk.

As I ventured through the forest, I remembered what the system said about voice commands and decided to summon my stat window.

Wait, do I have a status window? I should right?

"Status."

I said out loud, and the glowing panel in front of me flickered, shifting instantly.

New blue boxes materialized before my eyes, neatly stacked with fresh information.

Name: Sylas Stone

Level: 1

Class: Unknown

HP: 75/75

[Stats]

Physical: 5

Mental: 5

Social: 0

Stat Point: 3

[Skills]

Innate: [Evolution Devourer]

Passive: [Camouflage] [Nightvision] [Iron Gut] [Regeneration]

Active: None

As I read the details on the screen, a few things caught my eye, but nothing was more surprising than the text in front of my innate skill.

Sure, having three passive skills was great and all, but this?

This had to be my cheat.

My gaze locked onto the words glowing on the panel.

[Evolution Devourer]

A name that sounded both badass and ominous.

"System, what is that?" I asked, my voice laced with curiosity.

A sharp chime echoed in my head in response, and the text on the screen changed.

Ding!

Skill: Evolution Devourer

Type: Passive

Description: A grotesque evolutionary ability that allows the user to grow stronger by consuming the brains of defeated beings. Every brain devoured permanently strengthens the user, granting stat points while preserving fragments of the target’s knowledge and abilities. Repeatedly consuming brains from creatures that possess the same skill gradually deepens the user’s understanding, increasing that skill’s proficiency and unlocking its full potential.

Effects:

Stat Growth: Every brain consumed grants permanent stat points based on the target’s strength and rank.

Skill Acquisition: Has a chance to permanently acquire one or more skills possessed by the consumed target.

Skill Proficiency: Consuming multiple brains from creatures with the same skill increases that skill’s proficiency, making it stronger, more efficient, and eventually unlocking advanced effects.

Evolutionary Growth: Higher-ranked brains provide greater rewards, rarer skills, and larger stat gains.

Instinctive Assimilation: Knowledge and combat instincts tied to acquired skills are naturally integrated, allowing the user to wield them without extensive training.

"Oh..."

I breathed out, my voice barely above a whisper. My eyes widened as the words on the glowing blue screen burned into my mind.

The ability to gain stat points from eating other creatures? To absorb their strengths and make them my own?

That was not just useful; it was a game changer.

But the condition to trigger it, though.

Eating brains.

What am I, a zombie? Of all the conditions you could set Cosmic Two, eating brains was what you thought was best for me? Seriously?

I sighed.

Whatever. There was nothing I could do about it now. I’d just have to eat some brains when the time came.

The thought of it made me want to hurl. But I focused on the positive and confidence surged through me, washing away the uncertainty that had been lingering in the back of my mind.

Sure, this wasn’t a video game, but with a skill like this? I had a real shot at rising above the weak, growing stronger, and becoming something more than just another random goblin doomed to be hunted down.

As long as I didn’t run into something too powerful too soon.

Because that would be...

THUD!

...Unlucky.

A heavy impact sent a faint tremor through the ground, like the earth itself had been struck by something massive.

Slowly, I turned around.

And there it was.

A towering ogre, its hulking frame casting a monstrous shadow over me.

Its reddish-gray skin, thick and scarred, looked like it had taken countless battles to make it that rough.

Its muscles bulged with raw, terrifying power, each movement sending ripples through its massive arms.

In one hand, it gripped a spiked mace—and when I say spiked, I mean ridiculously spiked.

The thing was practically a medieval wrecking ball—all jagged spikes and brutal weight—and judging by the dried blood and bits of bone stuck to its surface, it had already crushed plenty of unlucky souls before me.

In its other hand? A dead boar, limp and lifeless, slung over its massive shoulder like it weighed less than a sack of flour.

Then, as if the situation wasn’t bad enough, a glowing red message popped up in front of me.

[Ogre – Level 5]

"So aggressive, it once headbutted a tree just because the wind moved it."

I gulped, my legs shaking.

Level five?

I had just started this world as a level one goblin, and I was already up against this? What kind of garbage-tier luck did I have?

The first creature I ran into just happened to be something that could turn me into a bloody smear on the ground?

The ogre’s burning red eyes locked onto mine, and my stomach twisted into knots.

"Oh, uh, hey, buddy," I started, forcing a nervous grin. "No need for violence. We’re both just trying to survive here, right? So how about this? I go left. You go right. Easy, yeah?"

The ogre tilted its head as if actually considering my words. Then...

THUD!

The dead boar hit the ground, and the ogre began to walk aggressively towards me.

I almost cried.

No. Oh no.