The rat exploded forward with speed that shouldn't have been possible for something its size.
Hiroshi's Fighter Instinct screamed warnings a split second before the creature moved. His Dodge skill kicked in and he threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the massive body as it thundered past.
The rat's momentum carried it into the wall behind him. Stone cracked from the impact, and dust rained down from the ceiling. The creature shook its head and turned, milky eyes somehow tracking him despite being blind.
Smell, Hiroshi realized. It was hunting by scent.
The rat charged again, slower this time but more controlled. Hiroshi raised his sword and stepped into the attack, trying to replicate what Kenji had done in the E-rank dungeon. Get inside the creature's range, strike at vulnerable areas, use speed to compensate for size difference.
He aimed for the rat's face and thrust forward.
The blade connected with the creature's snout, cutting a shallow line across matted fur. The rat barely reacted. It swung its head sideways and Hiroshi had to abort his attack and dodge back to avoid being caught by those massive jaws.
The thing was too fast for its size.
Hiroshi circled left, looking for openings. The rat tracked him, head swiveling to follow his movement. It didn't charge again immediately. Instead it moved carefully, cutting off his angles of escape.
That wasn't normal for G-rank monsters.
Hiroshi's mind raced through everything he'd read about dungeon classifications. G-rank was supposed to be basic threats.
This rat was fighting like something much more dangerous.
The creature lunged without warning, jaws snapping. Hiroshi dodged right but wasn't fast enough. Teeth caught his shoulder, not a full bite but enough to tear through cloth and skin. He felt flesh rip and stumbled back, pain shooting down his arm.
Blood ran hot down his chest, soaking into his already damaged shirt.
The rat pressed the advantage. It came forward in a rush, claws scraping against stone. Hiroshi swung his sword in a wide arc to create distance, but the damaged blade caught on the rat's thick fur and didn't penetrate deeply.
The creature's paw swept out and caught him in the chest.
Hiroshi flew backward and hit the wall hard enough to drive the air from his lungs. He slid to the floor, gasping, sword still clutched in his hand. His vision swam and his chest felt like someone had hit it with a hammer.
The rat advanced slowly now, sensing weakness. It was in no hurry.
Hiroshi forced himself to stand, using the wall for support. Every breath sent knives of pain through his chest. His left arm was useless from the acid burns. His right shoulder bled freely from the bite. His ribs were broken.
He was losing. Badly.
The rat charged again. Hiroshi tried to dodge but his body wouldn't respond fast enough. The creature's head caught him in the side and sent him sprawling across the floor. His sword skittered away across the stone, out of reach.
He tried to crawl toward it but the rat was already there, massive paw coming down on his back and pinning him to the ground. The weight was immense, crushing. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.
The rat's head lowered toward his neck, jaws opening. He could smell its breath.
This was it. This was how he died. Alone in a dungeon that shouldn't have been this dangerous, killed by a monster that shouldn't exist at this rank.
But something in him refused to accept that.
Not like this. Not without fighting back.
Hiroshi reached into his pocket with his good hand and pulled out the rusted knife he'd taken from the corpse.
When the rat's jaws came down, he twisted his upper body as much as the weight allowed and drove the knife upward into the creature's mouth. The blade sank into soft tissue at the roof of the mouth, and hot blood poured over his hand.
The rat screamed and reared back, paw lifting from his back. Hiroshi rolled away, gasping for air, still clutching the bloody knife.
The creature shook its head violently, trying to dislodge the pain. Blood dripped from its mouth, spattering across the floor. The knife had done damage but not nearly enough. Not enough to kill or even seriously wound something this size.
Hiroshi tried to stand but his legs gave out. He collapsed to one knee, vision darkening at the edges. Blood loss. Exhaustion. Pain from multiple injuries all hitting at once.
The rat finished shaking its head and focused on him again. It moved forward, limping slightly now, more cautious now.
Hiroshi looked around desperately for anything he could use. His sword was ten feet away, might as well be a mile. The dungeon core pulsed behind the rat, unreachable. Nothing else in the room except bones and debris.
His system. Could he use something from his system?
He pulled up his status mentally, hands shaking.
Name: Hiroshi
Level: 9
[STR: 12, AGI: 17, VIT: 20, INT: 17, WIS: 12, CHA: 8]
Skills:
- Adaptive Evolution ( Unique )
- Undead Stride.
- Dodge (Level 1)
- Fighter Instinct (Level 1)
- Sword Mastery (Level 1)
Wait.
There was something else. Something he'd almost forgotten about. His unique ability, the one that let him copy skills from defeated enemies. But that wasn't the only part of it.
Adaptive Evolution has another function. A modifier. Something about temporary stat enhancement.
The problem was, it activated at random. He had no idea how to trigger it. But he was out of options.
The rat charged.
Hiroshi reached for the ability the same way he reached for his skills, pulling at something inside himself that he'd never consciously accessed before.
Heat exploded through his body.
His muscles burned like they were on fire. His broken ribs shifted and ground against each other, sending waves of agony through his chest. His acid-burned arm throbbed. His bleeding shoulder felt like it was being torn open again.
But he could move.
He threw himself sideways as the rat's jaws snapped closed where his head had been. The movement was faster than before, more controlled. His body responded the way it should have, the way it hadn't been able to moments ago.
Hiroshi scrambled toward his sword. The rat turned to follow but he was already there, fingers closing around the grip. He spun and brought the damaged blade up just as the creature lunged.
The sword caught the rat across the face, cutting deep into its scarred snout. The creature recoiled, blood streaming, and Hiroshi didn't give it time to recover. He pressed forward, ignoring the pain in his chest, and thrust the blade toward the rat's throat.
The creature twisted at the last second and the sword scraped along its shoulder instead, opening a long gash but missing the vital area.
The rat's paw swept out in retaliation. Even with enhanced speed, Hiroshi barely dodged. The claws passed inches from his face.
He could feel the enhancement–his strength increasing with every second. It burned through him, consuming energy he didn't have. It wouldn't last long. Maybe a minute. Maybe less, in his current condition.
He needed to end this now.
Hiroshi feinted high, drawing the rat's attention upward, then dropped low and drove the sword toward its front leg. The blade punched through muscle and scraped against bone. The rat's leg buckled and it stumbled, off-balance.
There. An opening.
Hiroshi reversed his grip and drove the sword upward toward the creature's exposed throat. The blade sank in deep, cutting through matted fur and flesh, finding the artery beneath.
Blood erupted in a hot spray that covered him completely.
The rat thrashed, massive body convulsing. Its paw caught Hiroshi in the ribs and sent him flying backward. He hit the ground hard and slid, the sword torn from his grip and still embedded in the creature's throat.
The rat took three stumbling steps forward, blood pouring from the wound. It tried to reach Hiroshi one more time, jaws snapping weakly. Then its legs gave out and it collapsed, massive body hitting the floor with a thunderous impact.
It twitched once. Twice. Then went still.
Hiroshi lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, gasping for air. The enhancement faded and the pain returned with doubled intensity. His entire body felt like it was made of broken glass. Every breath was agony. His vision kept going dark at the edges, then clearing, then darkening again.
He'd won. Somehow. Against an enemy that should have killed him easily.
But the victory felt hollow. He couldn't move. Could barely breathe. Blood pooled beneath him from multiple wounds. His ribs were definitely broken, possibly puncturing a lung from that last hit.
He was going to die here anyway. Just slower than before.
The dungeon core pulsed in the center of the room, its light reflecting off the pools of blood.
So close. He'd gotten so close.
Hiroshi closed his eyes, exhaustion pulling him down into darkness.
Maybe this was how it ended. Maybe he'd pushed too far, too fast, and this was the price.