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Chapter 1: Five Idiots and a Squirrel (01) [Year 2083 : Frenzy Forest - World Tree] - Future The forest was filled with Goblins. Dozens of the ugly bastards. Some lurked behind dead trees, trunks twisted like broken spines Others dangled from black branches, their yellow eyes peeking through like rot in the dark. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 A few didn’t bother hiding at all... they stood in the open, grinning, claws click-clicking against thick roots that split the ground into jagged veins. The ground itself was broken, hard to move on, like the forest wanted to trip you and feed you to them. They had the five surrounded. Goblins on every side, waiting for the sun to sink. Some growled. Some screeched. All of them carried blades. And the five? They weren’t panicking. They just did their own damn thing. One of them stared straight at the goblins. "So... when the fuck are you starting?" he asked, dead serious. Another leaned back and grinned. "Whoever gets the least kills is buying dinner." The others didn’t even hesitate—just nodded. "Okiee." "Now we’re talkin." "Kaaay." One of them sat cross-legged with a notebook, scribbling and mumbling to herself. "So if they charge... I’ll do this... but if they do that... then I’ll— wait, no... unless they flank... hmm." Another one just stared at the goblins, eyes wide. "Please don’t attack," she whispered. Then she bowed. "...Pathetic," a voice cut in. It was a girl leaning on a root, arms folded. But she wasn’t looking at the goblins—she was looking at You. "Don’t buy it." "Yeah, she does this every fight." "Begs the monsters not to kill us." "Cute, right? Then she pulls that bowstring once— —and the world fucking ends." "After that?" "She’s out cold," "Every." "Single." "Time." She flicked her eyes toward the page, grin wide. "Go ahead, write it down, Author. I’ll roast her again next Chapter if you let me." Growls echoed through the forest. They gripped their blades tight. When the light faded. They rushed in. A goblin leapt first. He dodged. Quick. Smooth. Seo Min Jae — the Link’s Tank. Can’t tank for shit, but dodges like a cockroach. Fast, slippery, impossible to pin down... yet give him a paper cut and he’ll act like he’s dying. Short sword in hand, useless shield just dangling like a prop. His real weapon? That reckless mouth—mocking, spitting insults, and pissing off enemies so hard they’d chase him off a cliff if he dared them to. He let out a laugh. "Catch me if you can, you fungus-faced freaks!" The goblins screamed back, wild and loud. More of them charged. Min met them head-on. He shoved one goblin’s head aside, leapt over another, spun through the air and slipped past the rest. Not a scratch on him. Yet. "I’m over here! ...No, here! ...Wait—psych! Missed again, suckers! HAHAHAHA!" Min backflipped off a tall rock. His sword slipped free on the landing, clattering against stone before sliding into the dirt. "Oh... Fuck. My sword." He locked eyes with a goblin. "Yooo, you—yeah, you." He pointed straight at it. The goblin froze, confused. Then pointed at itself. "Uh-huh. You. Be a bro... throw it here." The goblin blinked. Shrugged. Picked up the sword... and lobbed it right back at him. Then— The goblin screeched. Min winced, covering one ear. "Geez. Anger issues much?" The rest charged. Min’s eyes went wide. "Whoa—!" Back to dodging. He spun. Flipped. Struck a pose like he was on stage. Taunting. Laughing. "Too slow! You’re all so slo—OUCH!" Crack. He stepped on a sharp twig. A tiny one. Min froze. Stared down at the stick lodged beneath his sandal. "AAHHH—shit! FUCK! This cursed twig!" He dropped to his knees, clutching his foot like he’d been shot. "Rieee... I’ve been wounded!" Ahrie Von Creed — the Link’s Healer. A so-called healer who spends more time stabbing things than saving lives. With a Rapier in his hand, he charges first and thinks... maybe never. A battle maniac through and through, yet somehow always knows exactly when to strike or when to run like hell. His version of "support" is killing enemies faster than they can hurt his team. And if they do get hurt? He’ll glare at them like it’s their fault, mutter "you should’ve dodged better," then crack his knuckles and punch-heal them back to life. Right now, he was across the field, kicking a goblin into a tree. He wiped blood off his rapier and glanced over. "You’re a tank... Tank it, Min." "I dodged twenty goblins... Twenty!... Ohh whyy... why’d it have to be you, Mr. Pointy Twig?..." "Ohh my feet..." min clutched his foot like it’d been severed. "Why do we even wear sandals in combat?! "Good questions," Ahrie muttered, cracking his knuckles as he walked over. "Let me fix it," he said, grinning way too wide. "No, wait—" Min replied. A dull thrum filled the air. Ahrie’s fist began to glow. [Skill Activated : P.A.I.N. – Physical Aid Initiated by Neutralization] Ahrie punched Min in the face. H-a-r-d. The crack echoed through the forest. Min flew. His eyes bulged. The goblins actually cheered. He staggered back up, foot healed... jaw definitely not. With a wince, he popped it back in place. Then glared at Ahrie, rubbing his face. "Shibaaaal..." he muttered, sulking. "Deal with it, tough guy," Ahrie said, not even looking back. He laughed... low, deep, unsetting and turned toward the goblins watching from the shadows. "You guys seem hurt too... aren’t you?" The goblins shook their heads so fast their ears flopped. Ahrie’s hand lit up again. He took one slow step. Then another. The goblins screamed and bolted. "Hehehehe..." His laugh echoed as he hunted them down. Meanwhile... On the far side of the battlefield, Zhang Lianhua — the Link’s calculative mage. Cold, calculative, and terrifyingly precise... if she ever finishes casting her damn skill. Every fight turns into a puzzle in her head, a plan layered over another plan. But to her teammates? It usually looks like she’s just standing there, doing yoga, while everyone else bleeds. She stood in complete stillness. Eyes shut. Hands raised in a perfect arc. Shards of light floated around her like broken glass, slowly linking themselves to the goblins one by one. "Plan A... just two more seconds... two more sec—" Something squealed. Then— thump. Then— bonk. A tiny rock bounced off her forehead. Her eyes twitched. The skill collapsed. Gone. Completely canceled. She stood there in dead silence. Then snapped, screaming the name as loudly as she could. "ROCKY!" A squirrel launched itself out of the tree, landing on her head— Then started spinning. Like a damn beyblade. "Gun chuqu!" Lianhua shouted. Rocky swung right up in her face. Made that face. The annoying one. Mocking her. Her eyes twitched. Her teeth clenched. "I swear... I will roast you over an open flame and use your tail as a toilet brush!" "Hey! He’s sensitive about his tail!" Kokoro Hanabira — the Link’s summoner. If you ask her teammates, she’s a lunatic who talks to herself. If you ask Kokoro, she’s talking to you. Yes, you, reading this. Don’t look away. Playful, reckless, and utterly unpredictable, she’s the type to stroll up to a monster twice her size and ask if it wants to join her squad... right before her team has to dive in and drag her back alive. Her summons? Ninety percent useless. The other ten percent? Accidentally catastrophic. In the middle of the chaos, she sat cross-legged, calmly sipping her tea like this battlefield was her living room. "Besides—look.." Rocky launched another pebble. It bounced off a goblin’s armor— Then off to another goblins sword— Spun into a tree— Then straight into a goblin’s eye. The blinded goblin screamed, tripped over some vines, rolled across the dirt and landed right at Koko’s feet. She gently set her tea down, calmly picked up her knife, and finished the job. Koko grinned at the fourth wall. "Totally intentional. Every bit of that was planned. Hehehe~" She grabbed her tea and sipped it again. "Rocky’s way is way more useful than you think," she said, blinking at the camera. "And Author—if you kill him off, I swear I’ll rewrite my skills into necromancy and drag him back myself." She paused. Tilted her head toward the Readers. "Oh—hi. Want some tea? Here, I’ll make you one." Lianhua blinked. Looked around. Then at Koko. "...Who are you talking to?" Rocky turned to the camera. And dabbed. Silence. Lianhua lowered her arms slowly. "...Plan A failed. Initiating Plan B." Koko leaned in. "What’s Plan B?" Shards glimmered around Lianhua’s fingers. Her smile twisted sharply. "I’m using my shards... on Rocky." Back on the other end— Sylphae Vell’trana — Link’s walking disaster of an archer is hiding behind a tree. Far in the background, Koko leapt into view, waving a scrap of paper like it was a banner. "New to the Link," the note read. "We don’t know much about her–besides being soft-hearted, jittery, and prone to panicking." Sylphae peeked out from behind a tree, nervously clutching her bow. Koko winked at the camera. "If you want to find out more... keep reading. Hehe~" Sylphae trembled as she pulled back her bowstring. "You can do this... you can do this... just breathe... aim... breathe.. Aim—" A nearby goblin coughed. She panicked. "AAAAHHH!" Her fingers slipped. The arrow fired... In the completely wrong direction. A second later— The forest behind them erupted into a thunderous explosion. Trees fell. Nearby creatures screamed. A mountain in the distance cracked. Everyone froze. Ahrie blinked. "Uh?" Sylphae looked at them and smiled weakly. "Did I hit... it?" She fainted. Min stared at the smoking hole in the horizon. "...Yeah. You hit something. Ahrie whistled. "Well, at least she didn’t aim at us this time." Some of the surviving goblins turned and ran—fueled by pure terror. Rocky sat on a fallen goblin’s head, arms crossed. He flipped off the retreating goblins with a tiny squirrel-sized middle finger. The party of five plus one squirrel stood among the wreckage of what had once been a goblin stronghold. Silence. Chaos. Victory. Ahrie stood in the center, laughing. "Best Link Ever."