The morning sun barely pierced the heavy fog masking the monolithic stone archway on the outskirts of Astralis. This was the entrance to the Tier-1 Goblin Cave dungeon. Hundreds of first-year students stood gathered in groups, weapon straps tightening and armor clicking as nervous murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Academy instructors lined the periter, keeping a watchful eye on the teenagers.
"Rember!" Headmaster Orion's voice thundered from a raised platform, effortlessly cutting through the chatter. "This is a managed dungeon, but it is not a playground. The Goblins here are real. Their blades are real. Stick to your designated teams, protect your vanguards, and secure your dungeon cores. Survival is your only passing grade."
Kai stood entirely alone at the edge of the assembly. Because of his F-Rank status, no group had invited him. The academy rules stated that independent entries were permitted, but highly discouraged. To the rest of the students, Kai was a dead man walking.
"Look at him, standing there all by himself," a voice sneered from a nearby cluster.
Kai turned slightly to see Leo Vance leaning against a boulder, surrounded by a five-man vanguard team packed with B-Rank and C-Rank defenders. Leo’s chest armor was pristine, and his eyes glinted with cold malice as he t Kai's gaze. He didn't say anything more, but he ran a finger slowly across his throat, mouthing a silent promise: You're dead.
Kai looked right through him, his eyes faintly pulsing violet as he scanned Leo’s state.
[Na: Leo Vance]
> Talent: Fla Burst (A-Rank)
> HP: 150/150
> MP: 45/45
> Strength: 14
> Agility: 12
> Endurance: 13
> Weakness: Right flank during casting.
Still hasn't fixed his stance, Kai thought, shifting his gaze toward the swirling blue vortex within the stone archway. Good.
"The gates are active! Enter in your assigned sequences!" an instructor roared.
Team after team began stepping through the shimring portal, vanishing into the spatial rift. When Kai’s na was called near the very end, he didn't hesitate. He gripped the hilt of his Abyssal Steel Shortsword beneath his cloak and stepped straight into the vortex.
A brief sensation of weightlessness washed over him, followed instantly by the damp, tallic stench of decay.
Kai opened his eyes. He was inside a sprawling, subterranean cavern. Jagged stalactites hung from the ceiling, dripping slick moisture onto the uneven stone floor. The only illumination ca from patches of bioluminescent moss clinging to the walls.
A raspy, guttural cackle echoed from the shadows ahead.
Kai instantly drew his obsidian-black shortsword. Thanks to his passive talent, his vision pierced the darkness perfectly, locking onto a small, green-skinned creature crouching behind a boulder twenty feet away. It clutched a rusted iron dagger, its yellow eyes burning with primitive hunger.
[Entity: Forest Goblin]
> Rank: F-Rank (Level 2)
> HP: 60/60
> MP: 0/0
> Strength: 8
> Agility: 12
> Endurance: 6
> Weakness: Throat.
The goblin hissed, springing forward with surprising speed, its rusted dagger aid right for Kai's thigh.
To an ordinary, unequipped F-Rank student, a Level 2 Goblin's 12 Agility would make it an elusive, terrifying threat. But to Kai, who possessed 11 base Agility and an effective Strength of 15 thanks to his evolved blade, the creature's path was completely predictable.
Kai didn't retreat. He waited until the goblin was exactly three feet away, lunging inside its strike just as he had done with Leo.
With a fluid, upward slash, the Abyssal Steel Shortsword cleaved through the air. The refined black alloy bit into the creature's green flesh with terrifying ease.
SLASH.
The blade sliced cleanly through the goblin's throat, severing its windpipe instantly. The creature didn't even have ti to scream. It stumbled forward, its montum carrying it limply to the floor as a pool of dark blood expanded across the stone.
[System Notice]
> Gained 20 EXP.
Kai breathed out, watching the green corpse go completely still. He approached the dead monster and extended his left hand over its chest.
*System,* he commanded internally. *Extract.*
A localized swell of violet light seeped into the cavern floor as a small, glowing gray orb tore itself free from the goblin's chest cavity and sank into Kai's palm.
[System Notice]
> Extraction successful.
> Acquired 2 Evolution Points (EP).
> Total EP: 3
A grin broke across Kai's face in the dark. The other students were fighting for points, prestige, and grades. But to him, this entire dungeon was a buffet.
He looked deeper into the winding, dark tunnels where dozens of glowing yellow eyes were beginning to blink open in the distance. The hunt had officially begun.
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