Heavy moments passed before Ren dragged himself off the dirt.
He panted hard. The foul air burned his lungs. He stared at the mangled goblin corpse, then down at his hands. Coated in black blood.
It was just an F-Rank monster, but it almost killed him without breaking a sweat. If that tiny rat hadn't thrown itself in the way, his guts would be painting the soil right now.
He wiped the blood off his face and turned to the dead tree. The rat lay there. Its small body was crushed. Its chest barely moved.
He looked at the dim green core in his palm, then at the blue screen still hovering in the air.
I can fuse this core with the rat... Fine. Let's try it.
He walked over. He crouched slowly and placed the glowing core next to the broken body. Pity tugged at him for the thing that saved his life.
"Fuse," he rasped.
Ding!
[Fuse Summon 'Sewer Rat' (Rank F) with 'Goblin Core' (Rank F)?] [Requirements: None.]
"Yes!"
Ding!
The rat and the core melted together in a swirl of gray and green light. Mana threads twisted. Flesh and bone snapped and reformed with a muffled crunch. It was magical and completely gross at the same time.
Then, the light died. The rat and the core vanished. Like they were never there.
Ren looked around, tense. Blue windows popped up one after another.
[Congratulations! Fusion successful.] [Summon 'Sewer Goblin' is ready.] [Daily Fusion Limits Remaining: 2/3]
Ren swiped the windows away.
"Summon: Sewer Goblin."
Ding!
[Summon successful.]
A hybrid thing crawled out of the shadows. It stood on two legs like a goblin, covered in dark green skin. But its face was stretched out. It had rat ears and a long, bald tail that whipped the dirt nervously.
A new screen floated above it.
[Name: Sewer Goblin] [Rank: E] [Level: 2] [Skills: Night Vision, Super Smell, Foul Odor] [Evolution Potential: None]
Ren stared at his new summon's stats. Rank E and Level 2! That meant this freak of nature was physically stronger than him.
[Alert: Thanks to the 'Cosmic Furnace', you can extract one skill from your fused summon. Please choose.]
Ren broke down his options with cold logic. Super Smell would just distract him in this rotting place. Foul Odor? Tactically useless.
But the forest was getting darker. And darkness here meant death.
"I choose Night Vision."
[Passive Skill acquired: Night Vision.]
Ren's eyes flashed with a cold chill. Suddenly, the thick shadows of the forest cleared up. He could see the trees and rocks in sharp, gray detail. Like someone just ripped a blindfold off his face.
He checked the summon's panel again. He stopped at the 'Evolution Potential: None' line.
"Does this mean I can level up and evolve my summons later if I meet the right conditions?" he whispered to himself.
"Yes, you can do that."
That sweet female voice rang inside his head again. It was warm. Terribly real. Like she was standing right behind his shoulder.
Heat crept into Ren's cheeks. He wasn't used to this kind of presence. Or attention. But he quickly shook his head. He bit his lip and forced his focus back, pushing away any useless feelings.
No time to space out. Nineteen goblins left.
He tightened his grip on the jagged, blood-dripping rock. He looked at the Sewer Goblin. It stared back, waiting for orders.
"Let's move."
They pushed deeper into the woods. Thanks to Night Vision, Ren side-stepped natural traps like they were nothing.
It didn't take long.
Rustle!
A wild goblin launched itself from the top of a dead tree. It aimed straight for Ren's neck.
But Ren didn't flinch this time. He saw it perfectly before it even jumped.
"Kill it," Ren ordered. Cold and flat.
Before the wild goblin even hit the dirt, the Sewer Goblin lunged like a shadow. The hybrid was faster. Meaner.
The two monsters crashed hard. The Sewer Goblin used its long tail like a whip, wrapping it around the wild goblin's neck to choke it. At the same time, it dug its sharp hybrid claws right into its enemy's chest.
The wild goblin screamed. It thrashed, trying to fight back. But the gap in their ranks was just too wide.
Crunch!
The Sewer Goblin ripped the wild one's throat out with a single, vicious bite. Black blood sprayed everywhere. The wild goblin flopped down, dead.
[Exterminated: Goblin (Rank F)] [Gained 10 Exp.]
Ren walked up calmly. He crouched next to the corpse and dug out the glowing green core.
He wiped the blood off it. A cold smile crept onto his face. His eyes glinted in the dark.
Every core meant another fusion. A stronger summon. A new skill. This wasn't just a survival game anymore. It was about hunting.
He looked up, staring deep into the black forest. It didn't look like a death trap anymore. It looked like a slaughterhouse meant for his growth... at least for now.