Zane adjusted his grip on the cricket bat, shifting his weight as the goblins surrounded them. His padded gear felt heavy, but it was at least some protection. Beside him, Tarni gritted his teeth, hands tightening around the long handle of his wood axe. The weapon felt awkward in his grip—too heavy, too slow—but it was all he had.
The five goblins cackled, their yellow eyes gleaming. Two held spears, ready to jab from a safe distance. Two had jagged, rusty knives, and the last, clearly the leader, had a small shield and a better-forged sword.
One of the knife-wielding goblins lunged at Tarni, its filthy blade flashing toward his ribs. He barely managed to twist aside, bringing his axe up in an awkward swing. The goblin dodged the blade, but Tarni let the weapon’s weight pull him into a spin, slamming the axe handle into the goblin’s face. It screeched and staggered back.
Meanwhile, Zane reacted fast, stepping into the goblin’s reach and cracking his bat against its knee. The goblin collapsed with a wail, and a second later, Zane brought the bat down hard on its head.
One of the spear goblins stabbed at Tarni. He swung his axe reflexively, but the attack was too slow, and the goblin yanked its spear back just in time. Frustration flared in Tarni’s chest—he needed to be smarter with this weapon, not just swing wildly.
As the goblin stepped in for another thrust, Tarni changed tactics. Instead of aiming for the body, he swung the axe downward, smashing the heavy blade onto the spear shaft. Snap! The brittle wood shattered, leaving the goblin holding a useless stick.
Zane, meanwhile, had just dodged a swipe from the goblin leader’s sword. He backed up, using his bat defensively. “Could use a hand here!” he called.
Tarni turned toward the leader, gripping his axe near the base to give himself more reach. As the goblin leader slashed at Zane again, Tarni lunged, using the flat of the axe blade like a shield to deflect the sword. The impact jarred his arms, but it created just enough of an opening for Zane to sweep the goblin’s legs out from under it.
The leader fell hard, and before it could react, Tarni brought the axe down in a decisive, overhead chop. The blade bit into its chest, not a clean hit but enough to finish it.
The remaining goblins, seeing their leader fall, hesitated—then turned and bolted into the trees.
Zane exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “That was messy.”
Tarni let the axe rest against his shoulder, panting. “Tell me about it.”
DING!
With a start, Tarni jumped so hard he dropped his axe. His vision was suddenly filled with glowing blue text.
“Shit, mate, you weren’t lying about the blue text thing either,” he muttered, waving a hand through it, as if trying to swat it away.
Zane kept his eyes on their surroundings, watching for any goblins that might have doubled back. “So… what’s it say?” he asked.
Tarni didn’t answer right away. Then, out of nowhere, he doubled over, hands on his knees, laughing.
Zane frowned. Was his mate losing it?
Finally, Tarni managed to gasp out three words between chuckles: “Wisdom of two.”
Zane couldn't help it—he barked out a laugh too, though he kept his focus on the bush.
After a moment, he pulled himself together and, in his best ‘I’m in charge/Dad’ voice, said, “Alright, enough giggling. Tell me exactly what it says.”
Tarni squinted at the glowing text and read aloud:
Congratulations Tarni Walker
New Title
Well, you were almost first
You are the SECOND to kill a Dungeon Defender on planet EARTH.
You will receive +1 bonus XP (Experience Point)for all stats at each level up until level 8.
System initialised for
Tarni Walker
Current Stats:
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 9
Constitution: 4
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 2
Charisma: 7
Preexisting SKILL found!
SKILL will be adapted to the System.
New System Skill:
Medium Poison Resistance
Zane rubbed his chin. “Alright, I get why you’ve got a nine in Dexterity—that’s from all your drumming. But a nine in Intelligence…? The system must be broken.”
“Ha,” Tarni shot back. “Told you I was smart.” Then, with noticeably less enthusiasm, he added, “That’s why I need beer—it helps my brain slow down.”
Zane knew Tarni always claimed beer helped with his depression, though he figured it was just an excuse to drink more. Either way, now wasn’t the time for his mate to slip into a funk.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“So, you have a skill?” Zane asked, steering the conversation elsewhere. “How the hell did you already have a preexisting skill?”
Tarni blinked. “Mate, I have no idea.” He pondered for a moment. “Hmm. Medium Poison Resistance… Well, I guess that’s a good thing. Nobody likes being poisoned.”
“But why?” Zane asked, frowning.
Tarni thought on it, then slowly asked, “Does this mean we’re going to need poison resistance? Are the goblins’ weapons poisoned?”
Zane muttered a curse under his breath. “Shit. I didn’t even think of that.”
Tarni grinned, a little extra pep in his step. “Well, you found the proof you were looking for. I say it’s time to head back, crack a beer, and figure all this out somewhere without the bugs.”
As Zane took one last look around, the goblin bodies suddenly began to dissolve into the ground. Both he and Tarni jumped back in alarm.
“SHIT! Was not expecting that,” Tarni exclaimed, taking slow breaths to steady himself. “Guess that explains why there were no bodies back near the road.”
Zane squinted at the ground where one of the goblins had fallen. “What’s that red thing? Over where the one with the sword and shield was?”
Tarni, being closer, took a cautious step forward and picked it up. He turned it over in his hands. “It’s a little red bottle, like a test tube with red liquid inside. Corked at the top,” he said, giving it a gentle shake.
“That’s it? Nothing else?” Zane asked. “Here, mate—give us a look.”
Tarni tossed the little red bottle at Zane, who barely managed to catch it—his cricket gloves making it awkward. In the process, he had to drop his cricket bat, nearly fumbling the vial in the dirt.
With a sharp glare at Tarni, Zane muttered, “Yeah, I can definitely see why you’ve only got a two in Wisdom, you knucklehead. I could’ve dropped this!”
Tarni just smirked. “But you didn’t.”
Shaking his head, Zane carefully set the small bottle on the ground. He pulled off his gloves, then picked it back up with his bare hands.
Ding!
A glowing blue notification appeared in his vision:
Minor Healing Potion
(This will only work for those initiated into the system.)
Zane exhaled slowly, turning the vial in his fingers. “Well… this just got a whole lot weirder.”
“What? . . . What’s weirder?” Tarni asked, brow furrowed.
Zane turned the vial in his fingers, watching the red liquid swirl inside. “This thing… it’s a Minor Healing Potion.”
Tarni blinked. Then, with complete deadpan seriousness, he said, “We’re in a bloody video game.”
Zane sighed. “Mate, I don’t know what we’re in. But this? This just confirmed we’re in something.”
“it’s Shit mate, were in deep shit” Tarni replied with a large grin.
As they started to head back towards the car. Zane glanced at the unwieldy Axe that Tarni was carrying “I think we need to get you… something… lighter?”
Tarni shook his head. “I will stick with it until we get back I think I can learn to use it better.”
Zane smirked. “Just try not to get yourself killed first.”
About half way back to the Ute just when the two were starting to relax. The goblins came out of nowhere.
Zane barely had time to register the rustling in the underbrush before a jagged blade slashed toward his face. He yelped, jerking back, the edge missing by a hair. His heart pounded as he swung his cricket bat instinctively, catching the goblin in the ribs with a solid thwack! The creature screeched, stumbling to the side.
Tarni, meanwhile, roared as he brought the wood axe down in a brutal arc. The first goblin in his path didn’t even have time to react before the blade buried itself deep in its shoulder. The creature gurgled, green blood spraying as Tarni ripped the axe free. “Holy shit, that worked!”
“No time to celebrate!” Zane shouted, ducking as another goblin lunged at him with a rusted spear. He twisted, swinging low, and slammed his bat into its kneecap. The goblin shrieked, toppling over.
More of them were coming—seven in total, snarling and yipping in their guttural language.
“Seven? Really?” Tarni growled, swinging his axe again. “How the fuck is this fair?”
Zane didn’t answer—he was too busy trying not to die.
Within three minutes of the ambush, all the goblins lay dead.
The two men stood there, minor wounds scattered across their bodies, their breaths coming in gasps. Despite their exhaustion, their weapons remained raised, ready for another attack. But as they realised no more enemies were coming, they nearly collapsed from fatigue.
Ding!
ZANE RIDER
Level up!
Extra XP applied for Title
First Blood.
level 2.
Current Stats
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 7
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 9
Charisma: 9
Where would you like to allocate your 3 XP?
Zane turned to Tarni, about to ask for advice on how to spend his points, when Tarni suddenly burst out, “I levelled up!”
Zane hesitated for a moment, then, deciding it would make Tarni happier to go first, he grinned. “Nice! We both levelled up. So, tell me, what does yours say?”
“Hang on… gimme a sec… Okay, I’m ready to share.” Tarni took a deep breath before reading aloud.
Tarni Walker
Level up!
Extra xp applied for Title
Well, you were almost first
Current Stats:
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 3
Charisma: 8
Where would you like to allocate your 3 XP?
“That’s all it says. I feel… more bettera,” Tarni finished.
Zane smirked. “Yeah, I feel stronger too. Also… I don’t think bettera is a real word.”
Tarni put his hands on his hips, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Look, mate. We just killed goblins. And now some strange system is making us stronger, faster, and, honestly, I feel better in every way that counts. I think my choice of vocabulary is the realest thing going on right now.”
Zane snorted, shaking his head. “Alright, fine. Bettera it is.”
After describing his system message to Tarni. He turned his attention back to the glowing blue interface in front of him. Three stat points to spend. That was an actual decision now. Did he go all in on strength? Constitution, so he didn’t bleed out again? Dexterity, since dodging had kept him alive more than once already?
“What do you reckon?” Zane asked, glancing at Tarni.
Tarni scratched his head. “Well, you got hit a lot more than me. Maybe some more dex? Or constitution? You looked like you were gonna keel over when we finished.”
Zane nodded. That made sense. “Yeah. Alright, I’ll put one in dex and two in con.”
As soon as he mentally confirmed the allocation, a rush of warmth flooded his body. It wasn’t dramatic, but he felt… sturdier. More balanced.
Tarni was still staring at his own interface, lips moving as he debated where to put his points.
“Mate, just hurry up,” Zane said, nudging him. “If more goblins show up, you’ll want that boost.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Tarni muttered, rubbing his chin. “Wisdom will rise with my Title hmm, Alright… two in Constitution, one in strength.”
The moment he finalized the choice, he shivered, then stretched, testing his limbs. “Oh yeah. That’s the stuff.”
Zane smirked. “You feel bettera?”
Tarni grinned. “Much bettera.”
The two of them chuckled, but as the adrenaline began to fade, reality started creeping back in.
They had just fought for their lives. And won.
They weren’t just imagining things—this System was real. And that meant the goblins were real too.
After a quick look for any dropped items like the health potion and not finding any, Zane exhaled sharply. “Alright. Let’s get the hell out of here before round three shows up.”
Tarni hefted his axe with a nod. “Best idea you’ve had all day.”
