As darkness settled outside, David made his way back into the kitchen. He glanced at Abby, her long brown hair cascading over her shoulder, and the glasses that concealed her striking deep brown hazel eyes. Her appearance exuded a youthful womanhood, dressed in tattered jeans and a green and white striped hoodie that complemented her features.

"Are you done swearing at them and looking at me?" Abby queried, still visibly annoyed with David.

"Yeah, yeah~. Do you want something to eat?" he asked, rummaging through the fridge for ingredients. He gathered a bunch of frozen items and placed them on the kitchen counter. Grabbing a chopping board and a knife, he began preparing them for dinner.

"Sure hope you're a good cook, even though you're an idiot," Abby remarked as she casually walked over the corpse of the dead goblin, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Oh yeah, hold the goblin and say 'absorb'," she added, nonchalantly swinging her foot back and forth while facing him.

David complied, grasping the goblin's body. "Absorb," he said, and to his surprise, the goblin's corpse began to glow as its essence entered his body. Before he could finish his sentence, the goblin was completely absorbed, leaving David with a peculiar tingling sensation coursing through him.

"Jeez, David, are you a pervert or something?" Abby looked at him with slight disgust.

"Why don't you try?" David retorted, his face flushing red.

A yellow notification appeared before his eyes.

Karma Received: 15x Title Achieved: Nutcracker - Defeating opponents through the use of targeting sensitive areas. (Increases the likelihood of infertility by a small percentage)

Another panel materialized, displaying comments from divine beings.

Loki: I like the way you broke his nuts.

Sun Wukong: I agree, that's how a great fighter should battle!

Hermes: "With great balls comes great responsibility."

"Motherfucker. Are these cunts... gods!?" David exclaimed, taken aback by the screen. Glancing back, he noticed three replies:

Loki: No you.

Sun Wukong: No you.

Hermes: No you.

"Yeah, they're gods. They oversee mortals and choose champions," Abby chimed in, offering an explanation.

David sighed, checking his status:

Name: David Title: Nutcracker Class: To Be Determined Patron: N/A Pet: Kaja (Parrot) Karma: 15/50 Status: Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Stamina: 11 Intellect: 13 Spirit: 15

"Hey, Abby, what does Karma do?" David inquired.

"Karma strengthens you or can be used to purchase things at the Shop. But I advise against using it right now since you're too poor to make the most of it," Abby cautioned.

David sighed, resuming his cooking. He exchanged the damaged pan for a pot and started preparing a chicken noodle soup. Time passed, with Kaja playing with Abby while David served the soup in bowls.

Abby hesitated as she observed the food, then slowly took a sip. "By the gods, are you a cooking god or something? Why is this so delicious!?"

"It's because I have a secret ingredient passed down by my friend from Asia," David replied with a proud smile.

"What is it?" Abby asked, visibly curious.

David raised a plastic packet filled with white granules. "MSG!"

"I see," she said, slurping down the soup.

"Anyways, I'm going to watch some TV now. Put the dishes in the sink when you're done, okay?" David exited the kitchen, bringing his bowl of soup to the living room. He sat down, turning on the TV and enjoying his meal. While flicking through channels, he stumbled upon news about monsters appearing randomly in different countries. The screen displayed military personnel vowing to stop the attacks.

"Hey, Abby, will the monsters stop appearing? Or will more keep showing up?" David shouted.

"No, they won't stop. In fact, every seven days, more will appear. Sometimes they'll be stronger, sometimes more in number. As time goes on, the monsters will increase in both strength and quantity," Abby explained.

"I see." David continued watching TV and scrolling through the web, occasionally sipping his soup, immersing himself in leisure.

Hours passed, and Abby eventually nudged him. "Come on, we need to kill monsters!"

"Nooooooo, let me sleep. Look, Kaja is asleep too. Don't disturb Kaja," he pleaded, clinging to his bed. "I'll do it tomorrow. It's late, and I won't be able to spot the monsters or possibly even hit them."

"Fine, but we're going hunting tomorrow, okay?" Abby remarked before flopping on the sofa and instantly falling asleep.

Several more hours passed, and the sound of breaking glass startled the three who were sleeping. David woke up, his bloodshot eyes fatigued from lack of sleep. "Motherfucker." He grabbed the pan from his bedside table and, turning on the lights, made his way to the source of the noise. He discovered a lone goblin rummaging around the room.

Approaching the goblin, David muttered, "Did you know you ruined my beauty sleep?" With all his might, he swung the pan, striking the goblin squarely in the face. He continued to swing the pan, relentlessly pummeling the creature, unleashing his fiery wrath for having his sleep disrupted.

Growing tired of swinging, he flung the battered body of the goblin through the window. "And stay out! Or I'll chase you down and beat you with this cheap branded pan over and over again!"

Frightened, the goblin crawled up and sprinted away from David, terrified by the unusual weapon he had used.

Returning to his bedroom, David sighed, realizing the cost of repairing the broken window. He slowly drifted back to sleep, entering the realm of dreams.

Sun Wukong: This mortal sure is feisty. Loki: Surprised he didn't break nuts again. Hermes: Yeah, me too.

"SHUT UP!" David abruptly woke up once more, greeted by the bright light.

Sun Wukong: No you.

Loki: No you.

Hermes: No you.