BOOM!
The reinforced steel door at the top of the stairwell didn't just open; it exploded.
Twisted metal shards rained down the concrete steps. Through the dust, a massive silhouette emerged.
It stood nearly seven feet tall, its green skin rippling with unnatural muscle. It wore crude iron armor plates bolted directly into its flesh. In its hand, it dragged a spiked club stained with fresh human blood.
[Monster: Goblin Champion (Unique Elite)][Level: 10][Status: Enraged]
Kael stood five steps below the landing, the rusty pipe wrench in one hand and the crude dagger in the other.
He wasn't afraid. He was calculating.
Level 10. Strength is at least 25. One hit from that club will turn my ribcage into powder.
In a normal RPG, a Level 1 player fighting a Level 10 boss was suicide. The stat gap was insurmountable.
But this wasn't a game. It was reality. And in reality, a dagger in the eye killed a giant just as dead as it killed a rat.
"ROAAR!"
The Champion roared, spraying saliva. It spotted Kael—the tiny human who smelled like the death of its kin.
It raised the club and charged.
The staircase was narrow. This was Kael's advantage. The Champion was too big to swing its weapon freely without hitting the walls.
3... 2... 1...
As the massive club came crashing down in a vertical arc, Kael didn't back away. He lunged forward.
BOOM!
The club smashed into the concrete step where Kael had been standing a split second ago, pulverizing the stone.
Kael slid under the Champion's guard, the concrete scraping his knees. He was now directly inside the monster's personal space.
"Too slow," Kael whispered.
He drove the [Crude Goblin Dagger] upward with every ounce of his enhanced strength.
SQUELCH.
The blade sank deep into the Champion's unarmored armpit—a classic weak point.
"GRAAAH!"
The monster howled, thrashing wildly. It tried to grab Kael, but Kael was already moving. He abandoned the dagger, leaving it stuck in the wound to maximize the bleeding, and rolled down the stairs to create distance.
The Champion stumbled, black blood spurting from its shoulder. Its health bar flickered.
[HP: 85%]
It wasn't enough. Kael frowned. The durability of the F-Rank dagger was too low; it likely snapped inside the muscle.
The Champion ripped the handle out, roared, and charged again. This time, it ignored the walls, smashing through the railing to get to Kael.
Kael gripped the pipe wrench. No more tricks. Brute force time.
Wait. No. He had the System.
He had [Predation]. He didn't just have to fight; he had to feed.
As the Champion swung a clumsy backhand, Kael ducked. The wind pressure ruffled his hair.
He saw it. The monster's knee was buckled slightly from the awkward angle on the stairs.
Kael kicked. With 10 Strength and 12 Agility, his kick was like a sledgehammer.
CRACK!
The Champion's knee hyperextended with a sickening pop. The giant toppled forward, gravity doing the rest. It fell face-first down the concrete stairs, tumbling past Kael.
It landed in a heap at the bottom of the landing, dazed.
Kael didn't wait for it to stand up.
He leaped from the middle of the stairs, raising the heavy iron wrench high above his head like an executioner.
Gravity + Strength + Malice.
"Eat this."
CRUNCH!
The wrench connected with the back of the Champion's skull.
The monster twitched.
CRUNCH!CRUNCH!CRUNCH!
Kael didn't stop until the system notification flashed blue.
[You have slain the Goblin Champion (Lvl 10)!][Achievement Unlocked: 'Giant Killer' (Defeated an enemy 10 levels higher).][Experience limit broken!][Level Up!][Level Up!][Level Up!]
Kael stood up, chest heaving. He was covered in dark gore.
Then, the Feast began.
Unlike the small wisps from the regular goblins, a torrent of thick, dark purple energy exploded from the Champion's corpse. It looked like oil underwater. It swirled around Kael, forming a vortex before slamming into his chest.
Kael threw his head back, his eyes glowing a faint violet.
[Predation Activated.][Critical Absorption!][You have devoured a Unique Essence.]
[Strength +3.0][Vitality +2.5][Agility +1.0]
And then, the jackpot.
[Skill Extraction Successful!][You have acquired the Active Skill: 'Heavy Strike' (Rank E).][Skill Description: Channels mana to deliver a blow with 200% force. Chance to stun.]
Kael checked his status.
Name: Kael
Level: 4
Strength: 13.5
Agility: 13.5
Vitality: 12.5
Skill: [Heavy Strike]
He flexed his hand. He felt incredible. In five minutes, he had surpassed the physical limits of an Olympic athlete.
He knelt by the corpse. Something was glittering in the mess of the skull.
He reached in and pulled out a ring.
[Item: Ring of the brute (Rank E)][Effect: Strength +2]
Kael slipped the blood-slicked ring onto his finger. Strength is now 15.5.
"Three times stronger than a normal man," Kael muttered. "And the tutorial hasn't even finished the first hour."
He walked back up the stairs, stepping over the wreckage of the door.
He emerged into the main hallway of the Science Building.
The scene was hell.
Bodies were strewn across the linoleum floor. Students were screaming, running in circles as a pack of five goblins chased them down near the vending machines.
A jock—the quarterback who had pushed Kael earlier—was backed into a corner, holding a broken chair leg, weeping as a goblin raised a spear.
"Please! Help!" the jock screamed.
The goblin cackled, thrusting the spear.
SWISH.
A heavy pipe wrench flew through the air, spinning like a shuriken. It smashed into the goblin's head, sending it flying across the hallway into a wall. Instant death.
The hallway went silent.
The jock looked up, trembling. The other goblins turned around, hissing.
They saw a figure standing in the shadows of the stairwell exit. A figure drenched in purple blood, radiating a killing intent so thick it made the air cold.
Kael stepped into the light, cracking his neck.
"Hey," Kael said, his voice flat and bored. "You guys are interrupting my grind."
[System Alert: The 'Predator' has entered the hunting grounds.]