Lord Of Ashes

"Huh? Is it really this safe?" John whispered to himself as he crouched near the stairway entrance. The corridor before him was eerily quiet, with no monsters in sight. It was unnervingly calm, making John doubt his surroundings. Still, he prepared for a possible ambush, crouching low and remaining hidden.

Minutes ticked by, and while waiting, John's mind wandered to thoughts about the World of Ashes. He was abruptly brought back to reality when the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from downstairs. Someone—or something—was approaching fast.

Within moments, a small figure darted up the stairs: a goblin. It stood barely a meter tall, its green skin shining faintly under the corridor lights. The creature wore a tattered black robe and carried a bulging cloth bag over its shoulder. Without hesitation, John leapt into action.

Springing from his hiding spot, John grabbed the cloth bag and yanked the goblin to the ground. The creature let out a startled yelp, but before it could react further, John swung the knife rack he had been holding, aiming straight for its head.

The first strike landed with a sickening thud. The goblin's body spasmed violently, blood oozing from the back of its skull. Its limbs twitched uncontrollably as scarlet eyes bulged in terror. John hesitated briefly but decided to strike again. His second blow flattened the goblin's head, caving it in further. Finally, with a third swing, the creature's skull shattered entirely, splattering greenish brain matter and blood across the walls and floor.

The fight—or rather, the ambush—was over in seconds. John breathed heavily as he surveyed the scene. The goblin merchant lay lifeless, its body crumpled in a grotesque heap.

A notification popped into John's mind:

[Successfully killed Level 1, Three-Star Monster: "Wandering Goblin Merchant (Elite ×1)"]

 [Soul Points gained: +30]

"So, you get Soul Points for killing monsters," John muttered, examining the message. "Makes sense. If this is like a game, these points must be for leveling up." The strange nature of the system didn't bother him too much; after all, it felt natural in this bizarre, game-like world.

Curious, John opened the system interface to check his Soul Point balance. Sure enough, his previous total of "0" had been updated to "30."

Having secured the points, John turned his attention back to the goblin. "It was carrying something interesting," he recalled. Examining the goblin's belongings, he found two items of note: the cloth bag and the black robe. The robe, now soaked with the goblin's green blood, reeked of rot. John wrinkled his nose in disgust and decided to leave it behind.

As for the cloth bag, it seemed to hold something more promising. He slung it over his shoulder and made his way back to his room. Once inside, he changed out of his bloodied clothes. Goblin blood, it turned out, smelled far worse than human blood—like rotten eggs. The odor clung stubbornly to his skin, making him gag.

After freshening up, John sat cross-legged on his bed, ready to reflect on his first monster kill. "Not bad for a first attempt," he mused. However, he couldn't ignore the flaws in his execution. "That knife rack wasn't ideal. It worked, but a hammer would've been better. One hit with a hammer, and I could've crushed its head instantly."

He also realized that he'd overdone it. The goblin had been as good as dead after the first blow. Its twitching limbs had been the telltale sign, but John had hesitated, unsure if the kill was secure. His hesitation had led to unnecessary strikes, covering himself in gore.

"Next time," John resolved, "I'll trust the kill notification. No need to waste energy—or get splattered with blood—if the system says the monster's dead."

With his lesson learned, John turned his attention to the goblin's cloth bag. He dumped its contents onto the floor. Most of the items were junk: scraps of fabric, broken tools, and other useless trinkets. Two objects, however, caught his eye. The first was a broken knife, its blade chipped and snapped in two. The second was a small wooden box with an intricate design carved on its surface.

John ignored the knife and picked up the box. It had a simple yet mysterious charm. "This has to be something good," he thought, turning it over in his hands. Just as he prepared to open it, a system prompt appeared:

[Do you wish to open the "Goblin's Prank Box"?]

"Yes," John replied without hesitation.

As soon as he confirmed, the world around him seemed to freeze. A new text box appeared before his eyes, offering five options:

[Please select the contents of the "Goblin's Prank Box."]

 [Option 1: ?]

 [Option 2: ?]

 [Option 3: ?]

 [Option 4: ?]

 [Option 5: ?]

John's face lit up with excitement. "So, treasure chests exist in this world? That's amazing!" His experience with games had taught him one thing: treasure chests meant random rewards, and random rewards could be manipulated.

He grinned as he thought about his special ability. Ever since he'd awakened, his knack for "multiple-choice optimization" had been unbeatable. It allowed him to assess outcomes for various options and pick the best one every time. In games, this meant he always pulled the rarest items from gacha systems or unlocked the best rewards from treasure chests.

John reminisced about his gaming days. Back then, he'd caused quite a stir by exploiting this ability. He remembered clearing out entire gacha card pools, upgrading all SSR-tier cards to max level using duplicates. The gaming company eventually flagged his account for "data irregularities," suspecting he was using hacks. His appeals—where he explained that this was an "Awakened ability"—had fallen on deaf ears.

"Too bad they didn't believe me," John chuckled. "But this isn't some online game. This is real life—or something like it. Here, my ability isn't cheating. It's fair use!"

Turning his focus back to the options, John prepared to activate his power. He would ensure that whatever lay inside the Goblin's Prank Box, he'd walk away with the best possible prize.

With that thought, John smiled, ready to see what treasures the World of Ashes had in store for him.