In a narrow, crumbling corridor, the violent scrape of clashing blows merged with the faint hum of conjured winds—heralding the final moments of a brutal, blood-soaked struggle. Alex stood barely upright, bracing himself on trembling legs, his breath deep and ragged. Bruises and cuts covered his body, and blood dripped steadily from his left hand, the wound draining his strength little by little—made worse by the heavy toll his limited mana reserves had paid throughout this long and punishing battle.
"What stubborn trash… don't you ever get tired of taking hits, you damn mutant?" Alex muttered through clenched teeth, trying to squeeze a shred of resolve into his exhausted frame.
Yet deep within the chaos of the fight, there was a small comfort. His ability, the "Armored Octopus," was quietly absorbing the mana lingering in the surrounding air—like a silent pump feeding lost magical energy back into his body. He raced against time, converting the recovered mana to heal his shallow wounds and reinforce his battered physique. He had no luxury to ponder the finer details of mana manipulation; his opponent was relentless, granting him not a single second of reflection.
Before him stood the evolved goblin. Its once-strong grey body had turned pale under the weight of its injuries. Its severed arm continued to spill dark blue blood, and chunks of torn flesh leaked steadily. Every movement it made had slowed; every block was paired with an internal groan Alex could almost hear. Exhaustion and blood loss chained the creature down, robbing it of the speed and power that had given it the advantage before.
Alex fought with cold precision, caution sharpened to its highest edge. He knew well: a cornered, wounded monster was the most dangerous kind. The goblin repeatedly sent razor-thin blades of mana-infused wind, trying to slice apart Alex's tentacles or land another crippling blow. Meanwhile, Alex attacked from a safe distance, watching every twitch, every shift in posture. Each time he sensed the goblin prepare a counterattack, he withdrew decisively—using his body like a mobile shield, relying on his tentacles for both offense and defense.
Gradually, the goblin's movements slowed to a crawl—too slow to stop any decisive strike. Alex steadied himself, gathering the last of his strength to deliver the finishing blow… to finally end this exhausting nightmare.
But in that critical instant—before Alex could thrust—an explosive sound ripped through the corridor. Not a collision… but the sharp shatter of a window at the far end. Immediately after, the thunderous crumble of stone.
Neither Alex nor the goblin had time to react.
A massive creature burst straight through the stone wall of the adjacent room, emerging in the middle of the corridor where the two combatants stood. Shock flashed across both their faces as they stared at the newcomer.
The creature resembled an armored wasp, nearly a meter long, hovering with unsettling steadiness. A thick shell of glossy chitin wrapped its body—a sleek, lethal-looking insectoid armor. Its yellow form was marked with glowing black patterns across its frame, and its thin, transparent wings shimmered faintly with every rapid flutter.
Alex had no chance to think.
Electricity began gathering visibly around the creature's body, the air vibrating with a high-pitched buzz like a thousand wires scraping together.
"What in hell… seriously? A giant wasp? Is today the festival of freak monsters?" Alex whispered in disbelief.
Before he could finish the sentence, two blinding bolts of lightning shot out—one at Alex, the other at the evolved goblin. Too fast for thought. Too fast for movement.
The bolt struck Alex square in the chest. Sparks exploded outward, but the invisible octopus armor held—absorbing the direct impact. Even so, he was hurled back two meters, his body jolting violently as stray electricity wormed into his muscles. Pins and needles stabbed through his nerves, and the stinging scent of ozone burned in his lungs.
"Aaagh! Damn shock! Good armor, but—God, that hurts!" Alex groaned, fighting to command his trembling limbs.
The other bolt struck the already-injured goblin. It had no chance. The lightning slammed into its chest, sending it flying ten meters before smashing into the opposite wall, falling limply to the floor with a heavy thud. The smell of scorched flesh filled the air.
Alex had no time to check whether the goblin lived. With a sharp motion, he activated his tentacles. Three shot toward the wasp while the remaining five formed a defensive barrier.
The tentacles flew like silent spears, two striking the wasp directly. But instead of piercing flesh, sparks flared violently—the thick chitin armor absorbing the impact. The hit sent the wasp tumbling four meters before crashing onto the ground, but it did little more than enrage it.
"A damn armored bug?! Is everything in this world made of steel?!" Alex spat, already irritated by the goblin's iron-like hide—and now this flying tank.
As soon as the wasp hit the floor, electricity flared around it again. Alex had no intention of waiting for another lightning barrage—or becoming tonight's roasted entrée. With a burst of strength, he launched himself sideways using his tentacles, diving through a side room's doorway.
A split second after he cleared the threshold, three bolts tore through the spot he had just been standing in, scorching deep burn marks into the wall.
"That attack—too dangerous. Barely dodged it! What the hell is going on?! First goblins, now lightning bugs?!" Alex growled, frustration building.
The wasp—apparently deciding Alex was the primary threat—burst through the other doorway into the room, buzzing violently.
In a flash, as it crossed the room, Alex sent two tentacles from his eight. The strike was perfectly timed. The wasp, mid-flight, couldn't react. Both tentacles slammed into it with far greater force than before due to the close distance, hurling it backward through the doorway it came from—and then through the opposite wall entirely. Stone exploded apart as the creature crashed into the next room and hit the floor hard.
Alex didn't allow it a moment to recover.
He hurled himself forward like a missile, propelled by his tentacles. Four tentacles folded across his chest, forming a thick frontal shield; the other four wrapped around his right arm, reinforcing it.
The wasp had no time to summon another charge.
With a single, devastating punch, Alex struck its head mid-rise. The blow crushed the armored skull instantly, sending the corpse hurtling through the shattered window behind it. The body tumbled dozens of meters before plummeting from the fourth floor.
He didn't stay to confirm the kill.
Instead, Alex turned back into the corridor and approached the fallen goblin. One tentacle snatched the dropped spear off the floor, placing it firmly in his hand. Alex stepped toward the creature.
"This is your end, monster. This world keeps throwing freaks at me from every corner. You fought well… but your death is overdue," he murmured coldly, eyes blazing.
The goblin's chest was blackened and cracked from the lightning strike, the stench of burnt flesh thick in the air. Without hesitation or mercy, Alex drove the spear straight into its skull. The evolved goblin died instantly. Alex felt no satisfaction—only anger at this world's parade of nightmarish creatures.
As he withdrew the spear, a powerful surge of mana flooded through his body—a tidal wave of energy coursing through every vein, overflowing as though his very limbs couldn't contain it.
A rush of relief washed over him. His wounds closed rapidly, his strength returning almost instantly—as though the mana had rebuilt him from the inside out.
"What… is this feeling? Mana… overflowing? But why now?" Alex whispered, a mix of wonder and unease stirring within him. "This didn't happen with the normal goblins… is it because of the type? Was this one… some kind of evolution for me too?"
Only one word echoed in his mind: evolution.
It had to be because this goblin was different—an advanced form, unlike the others. But Alex didn't have the time to ponder the discovery. He needed to leave this cursed place before another monster showed up firing lasers or reciting poetry.
Rage was the only fuel he had left in this strange and merciless new world.