After gearing up, the new weight of the AK-47 slung across her chest, Layla snuck a peak outside the shed. The sun had dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in fiery oranges and purples, but true darkness was still some time away. Even in the fading light, the place was crawling with guards. From the glimpses she caught, the sounds of their guttural grunts, and the flickering torchlights, she estimated they numbered in about a hundred. Escape would be difficult.
It would be completely dark soon, and she needed something to see in that encroaching gloom if she had any chance of escaping a small army. Layla mentally called up the system store. Immediately, all sorts of flashlights popped up: Tactical Handheld LED Flashlight (bright, 1000 lumens), Weapon-Mounted Flashlight (integrated, compact), Headlamp (hands-free). But what truly caught her eye was a pair of goggles that could see body heat. They glowed with promise on the screen, a Thermal Imaging Goggles (Military Grade). The cost was a whopping 300 Isekai Coins. It was a huge chunk of her remaining balance, but the thought of seeing through the darkness, of being invisible to her enemies while they glowed like targets, was too tempting.
"Buy Thermal Imaging Goggles," she thought, and then, "Equip."
[Ping: Isekai Coin spent: 300. Item acquired: Thermal Imaging Goggles (Military Grade). Item equipped: Thermal Imaging Goggles (Military Grade).]
The world transformed. The dim light of dusk vanished, replaced by an eerie, monochrome landscape where heat was color. The goblins, previously indistinct shapes, now blazed with fiery intensity against the cooler backdrop of the camp. Their body heat painted them in stark, glowing outlines, making them impossible to miss. She could see every muscle, every shift of their crude weapons. Layla felt a surge of gratitude that she hadn't gone outside before. She wouldn't have taken a few steps before she would have been spotted and overwhelmed.
Toying with the Thermal Imaging Goggles wasted some precious moments, adjusting the focus, marveling at the clarity. Soon, complete darkness settled over the camp, the last vestiges of twilight fading away. She was in her element now, a silent hunter.
"System," she whispered, her voice surprisingly steady, "suggest tools for silent engagement."
[Ping: Recommendation: Stealth offensive. Item: Silencers (Pistol/Rifle). Cost: 20 Isekai Coins each. Recommendation: Area denial/disorientation. Item: M84 Stun Grenade (Flashbang). Cost: 40 Isekai Coins. Item: M67 Fragmentation Grenade (Frag Grenade). Cost: 60 Isekai Coins. Accept?]
This was exactly what she needed. "Buy one silencer for Glock. One for AK. Two Flashbangs. Two Frag Grenades. Equip all."
[Ping: Isekai Coins spent: 200. Items acquired and equipped.]
[Current Isekai Coin Balance: 365.]
A new weight settled onto her Glock and the barrel of her AK-47 – the silencers, sleek and dark. Two grenades hung from her vest, feeling deceptively light.
Through the goggles, she noticed two goblins, their bright heat signatures moving purposefully, walking towards her shed. They were coming to check on their "meat." Layla moved deeper into the shed's shadows, blending into the cold background, becoming invisible to the naked eye.
The goblins pushed open the shed door, their torches casting flickering light that meant nothing to Layla's goggles. They stepped inside, expecting to see a bound, helpless human. Instead, their torches illuminated the shadowy form of a woman in sleek, dark combat armor, her face partially obscured by tactical goggles, an assault rifle slung across her back, and a pistol held steadily in her hand. She looked like a ghost, a silent, deadly figure of vengeance.
Two muffled thumps broke the silence, the sounds barely louder than a heavy cough. Bullets, silenced and precise, struck both goblins squarely in the chest. Their torches clattered to the ground, the flames quickly catching the dry hay and timber. Layla noticed the fire spreading, soon it would be an inferno.
She walked out, the Thermal Imaging Goggles firmly in place, the world outside a vibrant landscape of green and yellow heat. The closest goblins, oblivious, continued their chatter around the bonfire. Layla didn't hesitate. She began to move, a silent reaper in the night, her Glock delivering soft, muffled bangs, each shot a silent end. Goblins guarding the perimeter, goblins cooking over the fire, goblins sharing crude jokes – they all collapsed, their heat signatures fading to cold blue.
The shed, now fully ablaze, cast a fiery orange glow that pierced even the thermal vision of the goggles. The intense light and the rising smoke soon drew the attention of the wider goblin population. Goblins, alerted by the unusual blaze, moved to investigate. They quickly found the still-warm bodies of their comrades, dead with similar wounds found on the animal corpse the found during the day. The alarm, a series of frantic, high-pitched screeches, was soon rung.
The goblin leader, a large, dark-green brute, was quickly on site. He saw the fire, the nature of the wounds on the dead bodies, and the fact that the "prey" was missing. He roared, hr instantly knew who the culprit was. He immediately started to follow the faint trail of blood and bodies with a detachment of his best men.
Meanwhile, Layla had gone loose on the goblin population, her Glock silently reaping lives. A feeling started budding in her chest, blossoming outward. A familiar feeling, yet twisted, amplified. It was the heady rush of power, the intoxicating joy of control.
An arrow suddenly flew towards her back, thudding harmlessly against her armor. Surprised. They could find her that easily? Through her goggles, she saw a large, glowing heat signature, undoubtedly the leader, charging towards her with a group of shield-wielding goblins. They had formed a wedge, their shields out, moving with a coordinated aggression. She was going to be boxed in.
In a momentary panic, Layla reached for a grenade, thinking it was a frag. Instead, her fingers closed around the M84. She pulled the pin and tossed it towards them. A split second later, a blinding flash of light and a deafening BANG! exploded from the flashbang. The goblins screamed, clutching their eyes, utterly disoriented and blind. The flash almost blinded Layla through her goggles too, but she blinked through it, her enhanced vision recovering faster.
Seizing the opportunity, Layla slung the Glock, ripped the AK-47 from her shoulder, and sprayed her bullets towards the blinded, thrashing group unconditionally. The AK-47 roared, rounds ripping through flesh and crude shields. Most of the goblins died instantly, their heat signatures winking out. Layla emptied the entire magazine in a wild, furious spray.
The goblin leader, partially recovering, saw an opening. He threw caution to the wind and rushed towards her, his crude sword a blur. Layla instinctively raised the AK-47 to block. The goblin leader's sword, sharp and heavy, cut into the assault rifle, grinding against the metal, and with a powerful heave, he twisted the gun away, sending it clattering to the ground.
In a single, fluid motion, Layla drew her Glock, still in its holster, and fired it directly at the goblin leader's leg. The bullet tore through his thigh, and he screamed, falling to one knee. Before he could recover, Layla pulled the pistol out of the holster, aimed it at his head, and pulled the trigger. The feeling in her chest grew, a dark, exhilarating tide.
Like a grim reaper, Layla rushed towards the remainder of the goblins, her Glock finding targets with chilling precision. They were scattered, panicked, trying to regroup like ancient armies. This only made them more susceptible to the grenades she now considered. No, no more grenades, she remembered. Her gun ran out of bullets, the click of an empty magazine sounding like a death knell. Her grenades and flashbangs were finished. She never learned how to reload or change the magazine. But no matter, there were no goblins left in sight.
However, she hadn't seen the goblin mage. Layla equipped the Thermal Imaging Goggles again, sweeping the camp. She saw a small group, a few distinct heat signatures, running away, far from the carnage. One of them was larger, glowing with a more complex signature – the mage. She could leave them. She could escape and do nothing. But the feeling in her chest, the dark, growing satisfaction, would not let her. She ran, her body fueled by a savage energy, and soon caught up with them.
A goblin soldier slashed at her. Her armor did its job, the crude blade skittering off her chest plate. Layla disarmed the goblin, snatched his sword, and buried it into his guts. She started trading blow for blow with the remaining goblins, a terrifying dance of death. Unfortunately for the goblins, they didn't have high-functioning tactical armor.
The mage saw his guards being cut down one by one, his eyes wide with terror. He tried to cast a spell, his hands glowing faintly, but the sheer fear of Layla's relentless assault was making him lose focus. Soon, she was done with his last guards. Layla started walking towards the mage, slowly, eerily, deliberately. The mage looked at her face, through the goggles, and was struck by what he saw. He saw her grinning at him, her eyes red, wide with a terrifying exhilaration. She was enjoying the slaughter.
Not even Layla knew what her gaze truly was, what warped reflection it held. All she knew was that the feeling in her heart had grown beyond bounds, a monstrous joy blossoming in her chest.
[Ping: Irregularity detected in Host Mentality. Warning: Extreme Emotional State. Suggestion: Recalibrate psychological parameters.]
Layla didn't seem to care. She was enjoying her newfound power, the utter control she felt. She kicked the shivering mage hard in the chest. He fell, a wheezing grunt escaping him. Layla climbed onto his chest, straddling him, and with a horrifying, guttural laugh that echoed in the silent, bloody clearing, she dug her fingers into the goblin mage's eyes, violently tearing them out, killing him painfully.
[Ping: Host Mentality Irregularity increasing. Warning: Hostile tendencies escalating. Suggestion: Engage calming protocols. . . ]
The system prompts kept flaring, a futile, monotonous warning, as Layla laughed, the sound chilling and utterly unhinged