Life of an Hunter

The village was quiet now, too quiet. Haruto stood at the edge of the starter area, his gaze sweeping across the desolate streets. This wasn’t the bustling hub of eager new players he remembered. It felt cold, abandoned. A sense of dread crept into his chest, tightening with every passing second.

He had checked his interface multiple times. Still Level 1. No logout button. His inventory was strange—he wasn’t entirely sure how it had happened, but among the standard starter gear, he had three very different items.

In his inventory sat:

A knife, barely better than a utility tool. Short, sharp, and lightweight.

A basic bow and quiver of arrows, clearly beginner-level, but functional for ranged attacks.

And strangest of all, a sniper rifle.(With seven bullets). The sleek, black weapon looked out of place in the medieval world of Ascension. There was no mistaking its power, though—when he examined the rifle closely, the tooltip indicated that the bullets it came with were lethal, even against enemies five levels above him.

The sniper confused him more than anything else. Ascension wasn’t the type of game where modern firearms existed, let alone in the hands of a Level 1 player. He had no idea how it had appeared in his inventory. Maybe it was a glitch, or maybe someone had given it to him—whoever was pulling the strings behind this new, deadly version of Ascension.

“This can’t be happening,” Haruto muttered under his breath, his voice barely above a whisper. Haruto’s head was pounding, his instincts screaming at him that something was very, very wrong.

He had seen his character reset before, sure—but not like this. Not with the message that echoed in his mind:

Survive. Or die for real.

A faint wind stirred the air, carrying with it the scent of burning wood. Somewhere, distant shouts echoed—other players, probably. Haruto wasn’t alone here, though it felt like he might as well be. He looked at the other avatars scattered around the village. They all shared the same confused expressions, as if they too were struggling to make sense of what was happening and anxious because of goblins.

A woman with short brown hair, wearing a simple tunic and carrying a dagger, stumbled toward him, her eyes wide with panic.

“Hey, you!” she called out, her voice shaking. “Do you know what’s going on?”

Haruto turned toward her, his brow furrowed. “I’m not sure,” he said, though his tone was calm, masking the turmoil churning inside him. “But something’s wrong. We can’t log out, right?”

She shook her head vigorously. “I’ve tried everything! I can’t access any of the normal menus, and my level’s been reset. I was Level 24 yesterday! What the hell is this?” Her voice cracked, fear taking over.

Haruto’s eyes softened, understanding her panic. This was new territory, even for him, and the weight of the unknown was starting to settle in. Still, panicking wouldn’t help.

“I’m Haruto,” he said, offering a quick introduction to try and keep things calm. “What’s your name?”

“Rei,” she said, her voice a little steadier now that she wasn’t alone. “I don’t get it. How are we stuck in here? This is supposed to be a game. People don’t get trapped in games.”

Haruto nodded, trying to piece things together. Ascension had been a game where he once thrived, but now... it was different. He looked around at the looming dark forest beyond the village and the ominous mountains in the distance. He could feel something sinister in the air, something that should not be usual logic of a VR world.

“We need to level up,” Haruto said after a moment, his voice filled with the cool, decisive tone of a seasoned player. “If this place works like it used to, then getting stronger is our best shot at figuring this out. If we stay here too long without gaining any experience, we’re sitting ducks.”

Rei nodded, still clearly rattled but willing to follow his lead. “But… the goblins. They’re stronger than they should be, right? I saw one earlier—it took down two players before I ran.”

Haruto’s stomach tightened. That explained the screams he’d heard earlier. Goblins, especially low-level ones, shouldn’t be much of a threat, but if the game’s difficulty had shifted…

“We’ll have to be smarter,” Haruto said, his mind shifting into strategy mode. “Let’s stick close to the village edge. Goblins are hunters—they won’t come in droves unless they find easy prey. We take them out one by one, level up, and move forward.”

He noticed Rei’s hands trembling slightly, though she nodded. She was new, unseasoned in how dangerous this could be. Haruto’s instincts from his old days kicked in—he needed to take control of the situation. If they wanted to survive, he would have to lead.

“Stick with me. Watch how they move, and be ready to react. If anything goes wrong, we fall back. Got it?”

Rei exhaled slowly. “Yeah, okay.”

The two ventured toward the outskirts of the village, where the forest loomed with shadows stretching like claws. Haruto kept his sword ready, eyes scanning the treeline for any movement. They hadn’t walked far before the familiar, guttural sound of goblin chatter reached his ears.

“There,” he whispered, pointing toward a small pack of goblins riding wolves, patrolling the area. There were only two of them, both mounted on snarling beasts. The wolves’ sharp teeth glistened in the fading light.

“Two goblins. Mounted. Stronger than normal,” he muttered, more to himself than Rei. “We’ll need to take out the wolves first.”

Rei’s eyes widened. “How are we supposed to do that? They’re… riding wolves.”

Haruto gave her a quick glance. “It’s all about timing. The wolves are faster, but they’re not as smart as their riders. We use that to our advantage.”

He crouched low, signaling Rei to follow. The goblins hadn’t noticed them yet, their attention focused on some other sound in the distance. This was their chance.

Haruto gripped his bow and drew an arrow, aiming at the nearest wolf. He had trained with a bow before in Ascension, though it had been years. His hands shook slightly from the tension of the string. He couldn’t afford to miss.

“On my signal, we rush,” Haruto whispered. “I’ll shoot the wolves from a distance. Focus on the goblins. If anything goes wrong, I have something stronger.”

Rei looked at him, confused but trusting. “Stronger?”

Haruto didn’t have time to explain the sniper rifle in his inventory. He wasn’t even sure how to use it effectively yet, but he knew it could be his ace if they needed it.

Haruto’s muscles tensed, calculating the distance, waiting for the perfect moment. Then, without warning, he loosed the arrow.

The projectile flew true, striking the nearest wolf in the side. The creature howled in pain, throwing its goblin rider off balance.

“Now!” Haruto shouted, drawing another arrow and firing at the second wolf. The arrow lodged into its leg, and the beast stumbled, snarling as its rider tried to regain control.

Rei rushed forward, her dagger flashing in the dim light. She hesitated only for a second before slashing at the first goblin, cutting deep into its arm. The goblin shrieked in pain, trying to defend itself, but Rei managed to land another blow.

Haruto, meanwhile, fired a third arrow at the second wolf, finishing it off. The creature crumpled to the ground, and its goblin rider fell with it. But as Haruto moved forward to help Rei, a third goblin emerged from the trees, riding a wolf much larger than the others.

Haruto’s heart skipped a beat. This one was stronger—too strong for a Level 1 player. Without thinking, he reached into his inventory and pulled out the sniper rifle. The weight of the gun was heavier than he expected, and the moment he gripped it, the familiar hum of power coursed through his hands.

The goblin charged toward him, its wolf snarling viciously. Haruto lined up the shot, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

The sound of the shot echoed through the forest, a sharp crack that split the air. The bullet struck the goblin square in the chest, and both rider and wolf collapsed instantly, dissolving into nothing.

Rei froze, staring in shock. “What… was that?”

Haruto lowered the sniper, his heart still pounding. “Something… someone gave me this,” he muttered, more to himself than to Rei. He felt the rifle vanish from his hands, returning to his inventory, but the weight of what just happened hung heavy in the air.

“I don’t know why, but this game has changed,” Haruto said, turning to Rei. “And if that sniper can take down enemies five levels above us... then there’s a lot more going on here than we realize.”

(End of the Chapter).