The moment Leon stepped inside, the door behind him closed. The aura around him changed. It was damp, filled with dread and a bit suffocating.

"This is the first layer. The monsters or beasts, whatever they are, should be the weakest."

Each gate had different layers. Based on how deep a layer was, the strength of monsters or beasts varied.

What Leon guessed turned out to be right. He heard footsteps. Figures started to emerge from the darkness. Green body, short height, enlarged tongue dripping with saliva. Goblins. Each had either a wooden club or a short dagger in their hands.

"Grrk!"

"Grrrrrk!"

Their growls echoed.

Leon brought out the two knives. Sweat rolled down his forehead. He had been excited about this. But now that he was standing in front of it, a fear spread in his heart. After all, leveling up might have felt like a game, but if he died, he wouldn’t have a second chance. After all, there was no option to revive or start from the beginning.

Before he could steady himself, one of the goblins already lunged forward.

Leon’s grip tightened around those knives. "It’s now or never."

The goblin attacked first, its club cutting through the air.

Leon blocked the attack with one of his knives. The moment the club and the knife met, Leon realized how naive he had been. The knife flew away from his grasp as the club continued to press forward.

"Shit."

And then...

Thud! It struck his shoulder hard.

Leon staggered back and clutched his shoulder in pain. Before he could regain his balance, all the goblins joined the fray.

Whoosh!

One dagger cut through the air, aiming for Leon’s neck. Leon somehow ducked at the last moment and dodged it.

But two goblins jumped and grabbed both his legs. Leon tried to free himself but fell on his buttocks hard.

Then came a club. Merciless and precise. It slammed on his face.

"Blarrghhh!" Blood sprayed from Leon’s mouth like a fountain.

"No. No. No. This is not what I was planning. I should have been able to take care of them with ease." He mumbled.

But the goblins weren’t here to listen to his sad story.

"Grrrrrk" One came from the back. And then....

Schlk!

A dagger pierced Leon’s back.

"Arrrrgggghhhhhhhh!" A painful cry rang out.

Two more goblins jumped, ready to pounce on Leon and stab him with their weapons.

Leon gritted his teeth and rolled to the side forcefully. The two goblins holding his legs collapsed.

"No. I am gonna die like this. I need something better." An urgency surged within him. And then his eyes fell on a goblin that was rushing toward him.

He grabbed the charging goblin’s wrist with his right hand, spun on his heel, and then threw his elbow back.

Thud! His elbow struck the goblin’s head. Leon didn’t waste time. He yanked the club it was holding. The moment it was freed from the goblin’s grasp, he raised it high. And then....

Bam!

The club came downward with every ounce of force Leon had. The club head struck the goblin’s head.

Blood splattered. The goblin didn’t move anymore.

Leon wiped the sweat on his forehead and turned back. "One down. It’s your turn. You think you can defeat me? Well, then think again."

This time, Leon took the initiative. He remembered one thing an army general had said on a talk show.

"Offence is the best defense."

At first, his moves looked clumsier. But his attacks were doing the work. One goblin was charging toward him with a dagger. Leon swung the club hard. The club hit the goblin’s head and then....

Splatter!

Another two goblins charged toward him. It was as if they didn’t know fear. They didn’t even flinch when other goblins died.

Leon raised his leg and threw a kick. It stopped one goblin. The other met the club Leon brought down on him mercilessly.

Splatter!

The more he fought, the more his confidence grew. His attacks became less clumsy.

The fear that had been gripping his heart earlier slowly began to fade.

10 goblins had emerged. Now, only three of them remained. Leon’s breathing was uneven. His clothes.... Tattered and dusty...

But... There was something contradictory to his condition. A smile. A satisfied yet lustful smile hung on his face. He could fight like a knight now. He was satisfied. But without him even realizing it, his heart was craving for more. More monsters. More strength.

Leon sprang into action. And within one minute, the last three goblins also fell.

Leon stood there amidst the corpses. His hands hung tired. And the club... Blood dripped down from it.

The panel shimmered before him.

[Congratulations, Host. You have cleared the 1st layer of the mission gate. Head toward the next layer.]

The corpses started to fade, each leaving behind a monster core.

Leon collected all the cores. His lips curved up into a smile. Without hesitation, he threw those cores one after another in his mouth like candies.

[You have absorbed Qi

Qi: 2000/80,000]

[You have absorbed Qi

Qi: 4000/80,000]

...

....

[You have absorbed Qi

Qi: 20,000/80,000]

"Only 2000 qi per goblin? Damn it. I thought something like swallowing that centipede monster core would happen. Breaking through multiple levels in one go. Is it because the goblins are weaker?"

[Affirmative, Host.]

Leon sighed. His eyes drifted toward the hole in the distance — the passage to the next layer.

"Let’s see how much qi I can collect in the next layer."

He walked toward the hole and jumped. Unlike falling uncontrollably outside, his fall here was smooth.

He may not have been a knight or a hunter, but he knew about the gates. A strange gravity acts between the layers. Each layer is 50 metres apart. Jumping from one layer to another should have hurt badly. But it never did. Not even once.

Leon’s foot touched the ground. The air around him shifted once more. This time, even more suffocating and dreadful. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Before Leon could even look around, hungry growls echoed.