The Hobgoblin Warlord roared, a sound that shook dust from the cavern ceiling. It was insulted. A mere human—a broken, F-rank insect—dared to look at it with hunger?
The monster swung its bone club with enough force to shatter concrete.
Whoosh.
Kai didn't block. He didn't cower. He stepped forward.
To his own surprise, the world seemed to move in slow motion. The massive club, which had looked like a blur of death just moments ago, now had a trajectory he could see clearly.
I can see it, Kai realized. My eyes… no, my instincts.
He ducked under the swing, the wind of the weapon ruffling his hair.
[Passive Skill Activated: Survival Instincts (Temporary from Adrenaline)]
Kai lunged. He didn't have a sword. He didn't have a dagger. He only had the primal urge consuming his mind. He slammed his body into the Warlord's massive chest, wrapping his arms around its thick, leathery neck.
The Warlord stumbled back, confused. It grabbed Kai's shirt, trying to rip him off, but Kai was like a tick.
"Time to eat," Kai hissed.
He buried his teeth into the Warlord's trapezius muscle.
His teeth, which should have shattered against the monster's iron-hard skin, felt like they were piercing soft butter. A surge of hot, spicy energy flooded Kai's mouth. It didn't taste like blood; it tasted like high-voltage electricity.
[CRUNCH.]
The Warlord shrieked—a high-pitched sound of genuine terror.
[You have consumed High-Grade Monster Flesh.][Strength +2][Agility +1][Mana +1]
The rush was intoxicating. The pain from his previous injuries was a distant memory. Every swallow made him faster, stronger, sharper.
The Warlord slammed its back against the cave wall, trying to crush Kai.
Bam!
Kai grunted, spitting out a chunk of flesh. "Is that all you've got?"
He didn't let go. He clawed at the Warlord's eyes, his fingers feeling harder, more like talons than human nails. The [Goblin Skin] passive skill he had absorbed earlier was hardening his own epidermis, turning it rough and grey.
The Warlord dropped its club, clutching at its bleeding neck. It tried to run. The apex predator of the dungeon was fleeing from a Porter.
"Oh no, you don't," Kai growled. "I'm not full yet!"
He swept the monster's legs—a move he had seen hunters do a thousand times but never had the strength to replicate. The Warlord crashed to the ground. Kai was on top of it instantly, his fist raining down blows.
Punch. Bite. Swallow.
Punch. Bite. Swallow.
It was brutal. It was messy. It was necessary.
Minutes later, the cavern was silent.
Kai sat on the chest of the defeated boss, breathing heavily. His clothes were in tatters, soaked in violet blood. The Warlord lay still, its body looking deflated, much of its essence drained.
[Target Eliminated: Hobgoblin Warlord (C-Rank Boss)][Experience Gained: 5000][Level Up!][Level Up!][Level Up!]
A golden light bathed Kai's body. The feeling was better than any drug. He felt his muscles knitting together, becoming denser. He felt his bones thickening.
[System Notice: New Skill Extracted from Target.][Skill Acquired: Heavy Strike (Active) - Channel mana into your next attack to deal 200% damage.]
Kai wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He stood up, looking at his hands. They were trembling, not from fear, but from excitement.
"Status," he commanded.
A blue holographic panel shimmered into existence.
[Name: Kai][Race: Human (Variant)][Level: 4][Class: None][Talent: Gluttony (SSS)]
[Stats]
Strength: 18 (Normal Adult Male: 10)
Agility: 14
Vitality: 20
Intelligence: 11
Mana: 8
[Skills]
Gluttony (Passive/Active): Devour organic matter to plunder stats and skills.
Goblin Skin (Passive): Minor resistance to physical damage.
Heavy Strike (Active): 200% Damage hit.
"Eighteen Strength," Kai whispered. "That's... that's nearly E-Rank Hunter level."
In twenty minutes, he had bridged a gap that took others years of training and expensive elixirs to cross. And he had done it by eating garbage.
He looked down at the Warlord's corpse. Something glittered in the creature's chest cavity. Kai reached in and pulled out a fist-sized crystal pulsating with red light.
[Monster Core (C-Rank)]Market Value: $50,000.
Fifty thousand dollars. That was enough to pay for his mother's hospital bills for three months. Tears pricked Kai's eyes, but he blinked them away. Now wasn't the time to cry.
He pocketed the core and looked toward the tunnel where Vance and the others had fled.
The collapse hadn't completely sealed the exit; there was a small gap near the ceiling, just big enough for a person to squeeze through.
Kai clenched his fists.
Vance had left him to die. Vance had kicked him into the path of the monster.
"They think I'm dead," Kai said to the empty cave. A cold smile touched his lips. "Let's go give them a ghost story."
Outside the Dungeon Gate.
The emergency sirens were blaring. The Dungeon Management Bureau (DMB) had set up a perimeter.
Vance stood by an ambulance, wrapped in a shock blanket, holding a cup of hot coffee. He was putting on a performance for the DMB officers.
"It was tragic," Vance said, his voice shaking with fake emotion. "The Dungeon Break happened so fast. I tried to grab the Porter... Kai, I think his name was? But he panicked. He ran straight into the Warlord."
The DMB officer scribbled in a notebook. "So, the Porter is confirmed casualty?"
"Oh, absolutely," Vance sighed, shaking his head. "Torn to shreds. I barely made it out with my team. We are the victims here."
The other hunters in Vance's party nodded along, though they wouldn't meet the officer's eyes.
"A shame," the officer said. "F-Ranks shouldn't be in dungeons anyway. We'll mark him as MIA/Deceased."
"Wait," a paramedic shouted, pointing at the dungeon gate. "Movement!"
Vance froze. "What? No, that's impossible. The Warlord is in there!"
From the swirling blue vortex of the dungeon gate, a figure emerged.
He was covered in dried blood. His clothes were shredded rags. He dragged a heavy duffel bag behind him—the very same bag he had been ordered to carry.
The crowd went silent.
Vance dropped his coffee. The cup shattered on the pavement.
Kai stepped into the sunlight. He looked different. He stood taller. His jaw was sharper. And his eyes... his eyes scanned the crowd until they locked onto Vance.
Kai smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Vance," Kai called out, his voice calm but carrying a terrifying weight. "You forgot your bag."
He tossed the duffel bag. It landed at Vance's feet with a heavy thud.
"And," Kai added, tapping his chest, "you forgot to check if I was actually dead."