The Boss Room was a cavernous amphitheater, illuminated by pools of bubbling magma. The heat was suffocating.
In the center stood a crude stone altar. Standing atop it was a creature that looked nothing like the mindless goblins outside. It wore robes made of human skin and held a staff topped with a glowing red crystal.
[Boss: Goblin Shaman] [Rank: E+] [Type: Magic / Ranged] [Status: Fully Alert]
Lin crouched behind a stalagmite 50 meters away. His thermal vision showed the Shaman burning white-hot with mana. "Mages are glass cannons, just like me," Lin analyzed. "High damage, low defense. First one to hit confirms the kill."
The Shaman raised its staff. It didn't chant. It just pointed at Lin's hiding spot. A ball of fire the size of a beach ball materialized instantly.
WHOOSH.
"Move!"
Lin sprinted to the left just as the fireball smashed into the stalagmite. BOOM! Rock shards and molten stone sprayed everywhere. The explosion radius was five meters.
"Area of Effect," Lin gritted his teeth. "I can't dodge that at close range."
He was closing the distance. 40 meters. The Shaman sneered, swinging the staff again. A second fireball formed, faster this time. Aimed right at Lin's path.
There was no cover.
"Clone 1. Intercept."
A shadow burst from Lin's feet, leaping directly into the path of the fireball.
BANG!
The clone took the explosion chest-on. It didn't just break; it evaporated. The shockwave knocked Lin sideways, singing his eyebrows, but he took zero damage. The clone had absorbed 100% of the impact.
[Clone Destroyed.] [2 Clones Remaining.]
30 meters. The Shaman looked annoyed. It slammed the staff onto the altar. A ring of fire erupted from the ground, expanding outward like a shockwave. [Skill: Fire Nova].
"Jump!"
Lin commanded Clone 2. The second clone sprinted ahead and threw itself onto the expanding ring of fire, using its body as a bridge. It burned to ash in a split second, but it disrupted the wave just enough for Lin to leap over the gap.
[Clone Destroyed.] [1 Clone Remaining.]
10 meters. Lin was now inside the kill zone. The Shaman panicked. It abandoned its staff and clawed at the air, trying to cast a hasty shield. A blue mana barrier began to form around its body.
"Too slow," Lin roared.
He summoned the final clone. "Hold him!"
Clone 3 materialized right on top of the altar. It didn't attack. It wrapped its arms and legs around the Shaman in a suicidal bear hug, pinning the creature's arms to its sides. The Mana Shield formed over the clone and the Shaman, trapping them both inside.
The Shaman screeched, trying to burn the clone off with contact magic. Smoke rose from the clone's back, but it held on. It felt no pain. It had no fear. It was just a clamp.
Lin vaulted onto the altar. He stood face to face with the struggling Shaman. The barrier was between them, but the Shaman was immobilized.
"Checkmate."
Lin reversed his grip on the Hobgoblin's Fang. He didn't stab the barrier. He recalled the clone.
[Shadow Clone: Disperse.]
POOF. The clone holding the Shaman turned into smoke and vanished inside the barrier. Suddenly, there was a gap. The Shaman stumbled, off balance, its human shield gone. The barrier flickered for a microsecond as it readjusted.
Lin thrust the bone dagger through the flickering gap.
SHUK.
Straight into the throat. The Shaman's eyes bulged. The red crystal on its staff dimmed. The Mana Shield shattered like glass.
Lin didn't stop. He twisted the blade and ripped it sideways. A fountain of blood hissed as it hit the hot altar stones.
[Ding!] [Dungeon Boss Defeated.] [Calculation in progress...] [Experience: +1,000] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Current Rank: E (Mid)]
Lin collapsed on the altar, gasping for air. His skin was red from the heat, and his hair was singed. He had zero clones left. Zero mana. Zero stamina.
But he was alive.
[Dungeon Clear Rewards:] [1. Boss Core (E-Rank) x1] [2. Skill Scroll: Fireball (Active)] [3. Cash: 5,000 Credits (System Converted)]
Lin grabbed the glowing red orb (the Core) and the scroll. "Core value: 50,000 Credits. Scroll value: 5,000. Cash: 5,000." Total haul: ~60,000 Credits.
He had done it. He had the surgery fee for the first stage. Or at least, enough to keep the hospital quiet for a month.
[System Warning: Dungeon Instance closing in 5 minutes. Portal Reopening.]
Lin stood up, his legs shaking. He looked at the exit portal swirling in the distance.
Inside here, he was a king. But outside... Captain Marco and the Iron Fist Guild were waiting. He had entered as a rat. He was leaving as a tiger. But a tiger surrounded by hunters.
"Time to put on a mask," Lin whispered.
He ripped a piece of the Shaman's skin-robe (a grisly trophy) and wrapped it around his face, fashioning a crude, terrifying mask. Then he summoned his full strength—three fresh clones, fully restored by the Level Up.
He marched toward the exit.
（"Enjoying the massacre? Drop a Power Stone to feed the Clone Army!"）