Minoru, concealed by the cool, insulating shield of his Magius Shroud (costing him 5 Magius per minute), crouched on the thick, sturdy branch. He had spent 2 minutes waiting, his mind running simulations of every possible attack angle.
Magius: 82 (Start) - 1 (Senses) - 10 (Shroud) = 71 / 100.
The wolf was now directly beneath him, moving with the deceptive silence of its Hunter's Stride. It circled the torn-up area where Minoru had disappeared into the thorns, its powerful nose sweeping the ground, searching for the phantom scent his Magius Suppression had erased.
This was the final moment of deception. Minoru drew a shaky breath and forced air through his goblin throat, focusing all his despair and fear into the sound.
"Wheee...p," he whispered, a high, pathetic, reedy cry, exactly like the one that had lured the wolf from the cave.
The result was explosive. The 750 Magius beast froze, its massive bulk tensing instantly. It didn't roar; it simply tracked the sound, its head snapping upward toward the tree with terrifying precision, its powerful neck muscles exposed.
Now!
Minoru concentrated his entire fighting reserve into the attack. He channeled 70 Magius into the heavy stone in his hand, a frantic, desperate surge of energy that made the stone glow with a brief, angry green light. The energy was compressed and held in place by his will, ready to be unleashed upon impact.
Magius: 71 - 70 = 1 / 100. (He left exactly 1 Magius, the minimum amount needed for a desperate, immediate activation of Magius Skin or Suppression if the strike failed).
He launched himself from the branch, dropping twenty feet onto the wolf's back. The force of his fall, coupled with the weight of the stone, was immense, but the wolf was too fast. Its Aura Perception had registered the brief, momentary flare of Magius used for the Feigned Whimper, and it had anticipated a high-angle attack.
Minoru's attack, intended for the spine at the base of the skull, landed on the powerful, sloping shoulder muscle.
K-CRACK!
The sound was sickening. The Magius-infused stone exploded in a sharp, localized blast of green energy and stone fragments, slamming into the wolf's thick hide. A grunt of pain, the first sign of distress, ripped from the wolf's throat, and its shoulder tissue was visibly pulverized and burned by the high-density impact.
But the wolf didn't fall. It bucked violently, an explosive contraction of muscle that launched Minoru off its back like a flea.
I underestimated the wolf! Minoru realized, tumbling through the air. The Alpha Class beast has innate defenses!
He hit the ground hard, the impact jolting his sealed wounds and sending a wave of agony through his chest. He immediately expended his last Magius.
[Adaptation: Magius Skin activated. Cost: 1 Magius.]
Magius: 0 / 100.
The dull, metallic rigidity of the Magius Skin shielded him from the immediate shock of the fall, but it did nothing to stop the wolf's counterattack. The beast, enraged and wounded, spun with impossible speed. Its head whipped around, its massive maw snapping toward Minoru's torso.
The Corrosive Fangs! Minoru scrambled backward, relying on the fractional speed boost the Magius Skin provided. The wolf's fangs missed his body by centimeters, but the sheer force of its closing jaw sent a shockwave that tore up the ground and slammed a chunk of frozen earth into his leg.
The wolf roared, shaking its massive head. The initial shock of the surprise attack was gone, replaced by pure, focused killing intent. Its red eyes, glowing faintly in the dark, were locked onto Minoru. The Magius Shroud was still running, but with 0 Magius, Minoru couldn't maintain the 5 Magius/minute cost.
[Skill Maintenance Failure: Magius Shroud deactivated.]
[Skill Maintenance Failure: Enhanced Senses deactivated.]
He was exposed. He was a small, green target with zero Magius and no active defensive skills, facing a wounded but still terrifying predator.
Minoru knew he could not outrun it. He had to inflict a crippling wound and then finish the job, or he would die a swift, agonizing death by corrosive poison.
The wolf leaped, closing the distance in a single, silent bound. Minoru met the attack, not with flight, but with a desperate feint. He ducked under the massive, sweeping front claw, which sheared the air inches above his head. He knew the wolf would follow up with a bite.
The huge, poisonous mouth came for his neck. Minoru twisted his body, rolling into the strike, sacrificing his already sealed right shoulder. The wolf's fangs raked across his shoulder and down his upper arm.
The Magius Skin held, absorbing the initial force, preventing the bone-crushing impact. But the Corrosive Fangs, designed to decay and destroy, still broke through the thin Magius reinforcement.
A searing, liquefying pain erupted from his shoulder. He felt the protective Magius crack and bleed away, leaving a gaping, burning wound that immediately began to smoke. The corrosive poison was working instantly, preventing any natural clotting and threatening to dissolve the joint.
Minoru bit back another scream, the adrenaline turning the pain into a cold, fierce focus. He had traded a massive wound for a perfect opportunity. As the wolf's snout passed over him, Minoru drove his clawed hand deep into the soft, unprotected tissue behind the wolf's left front leg joint—a desperate, blind attack aimed at a key artery.
He channeled every ounce of his adrenaline-fueled will into the strike, ignoring the fact that his claws were dulled. He was aiming to tear, to damage the mobility.
The wolf howled, not a roar of aggression, but a sharp, surprised yelp of pain. It immediately backed away, shaking its leg violently, surprised by the goblin's suicidal counterattack.
It's injured! Minoru pushed himself up, his right arm dangling uselessly, his sealed flank wounds protesting with renewed agony. He needed a finisher. He scanned the ground frantically, searching for the remnants of the Magius-infused stone, but it was nowhere to be found.
The wolf, however, recovered quickly. It noticed the debilitating effect of its Corrosive Fangs on Minoru's shoulder and smiled, a terrifying display of its long, green-slick teeth. It began to circle, its tail twitching, moving slowly to draw out the final kill.
I have to use the environment, Minoru thought, stumbling backward toward the nearest massive, ancient tree trunk. I have no Magius, only my life.
He feigned a collapse at the base of the tree, inviting the wolf to deliver the final, crushing blow. The wolf took the bait, leaping toward him, aiming its jaws for the exposed neck.
At the very last second, Minoru shoved his legs against the tree trunk and launched himself sideways. The wolf's massive body, driven by the force of its Hunter's Stride, slammed full-force into the tree trunk instead of Minoru.
The tree shuddered, bark exploding outwards. The wolf was stunned, momentarily dazed by the violent misdirection.
This was his final, fractional opening. Minoru scrambled onto the wolf's shoulder, using his working left arm. He found the raw, pulverized wound left by his initial Magius-infused stone strike. The corrosive poison from the wolf's own fangs was causing micro-decay in the wound site, making the tissue weak and prone to tearing.
With a primal scream that was more pure noise than goblin whimper, Minoru drove the jagged, sharp bone fragment from his own already-broken wrist a piece of his sealed injury—deep into the ruined muscle tissue. He twisted his body, driving the force of his entire core into the makeshift weapon, aiming for the deep arterial cluster beneath the shoulder.
The effect was devastating. The wolf convulsed, a final, ragged roar dying in its throat. Its massive legs buckled, and it crashed to the ground with a shuddering thump that shook the entire clearing. The red glow in its eyes flickered and died.
Silence. Absolute, terrifying silence.
Minoru slid off the beast's flank, landing in a heap of green, blood-soaked exhaustion. He lay there, gasping, waiting for movement. There was none.
He forced his trembling left hand to reach out, casting Appraisal on the motionless form.
Name: Fangjaw Wolf (Alpha Class)
Status: Deceased.
Magius: 0 / 750.
Core: Intact (High saturation).
Minoru had won. He had defeated a beast seven times his maximum power. He had survived the impossible.
He immediately forced himself to crawl onto the cooling flank of the predator, ignoring the blinding pain in his corrosive-poisoned shoulder. His priority was the prize.
Consumption. I need the Magoi.
He found the soft tissue near the jaw and began to tear, instinctively consuming the Magoi-rich flesh and blood of his foe, pulling the latent power into his own zeroed-out system. The consumption was crude, desperate, and incredibly painful, but the raw Magoi flooded his system.
A deep, visceral change began. The moment the high-density Magius of the wolf's core began to assimilate into Minoru's system, the hidden evolutionary mechanism initiated.
[Magius: 1 / 100... 15 / 100... 50 / 100...]
[Evolution Requirement Fulfilled: Threat Elimination - Defeat three Magic Beasts \ge 500 Magius (Wolf Class Rank Factor: x3 Bonus applied). STATUS: COMPLETE!]
The final piece of the lethal puzzle was solved. The Magius counter continued to climb rapidly from the consumption.
Evolution Requirements: Goblino to Hobgoblin (Stage I)
| Requirement | Status |
| :--- | :--- |
| Magius Capacity | 100 | (Current: 100 Max) |
| Magius Pool | \ge 95 | (Current: 98 ) |
| Magoi Saturation | Achieve 1000 units of Magoi absorption | (Current: 390 units) |
| Threat Elimination | COMPLETE! |
| Unique Factor | COMPLETE! (Prismatic Egg Bonded) |
Minoru's system was now overwhelmed, his internal Magius reaching capacity while the Magoi Saturation requirement was climbing rapidly due to the raw consumption. The convergence of all factors—Magius Pool, Threat Elimination, and Unique Factor—tripped the final trigger.
[Evolution Criteria Met. Preparing for Race Evolution: Goblino to Hobgoblin (Stage I).]
A powerful, agonizing fire consumed Minoru's body. The pain of the corrosive wound and the old sealed injuries was amplified a thousandfold as his very bones began to reshape themselves. His consciousness faded, collapsing into the darkness, but his last, fleeting thought was of triumphant vindication: It finally pays to be a monster.