"What the..."

I stopped in my tracks.

The cave had expanded into something massive. A huge underground space, easily the size of several football fields. But that wasn’t what made my blood run cold.

Scattered across the ground were hundreds of huts. Crude, horrifying shelters made entirely from human bones. Skulls formed doorways. Ribs and femurs were lashed together with what looked like dried sinew. Some still had bits of flesh clinging to them.

And from inside those huts came sounds I wished I could unhear. Wet crunching. Tearing. The unmistakable noise of something eating.

Then, movement.

A figure emerged slowly from one of the nearest huts.

A goblin.

It looked just like the ones I’d seen in manga back in my old world. Short and hunched, with grayish-green skin that seemed to sag in places. Its face was twisted and ugly, with a wide mouth full of sharp, uneven teeth. It wore scraps of filthy cloth barely covering its body.

But what it was holding made my stomach drop.

A human hand.

The goblin was gnawing on it. Actually chewing through the flesh, ripping off chunks with its teeth like it was the most natural thing in the world.

When it noticed us standing there, it froze for just a second. Its beady yellow eyes locked onto mine.

Then its mouth stretched into a wide, vicious grin.

It reached down to a small leather pouch hanging from its waist and pulled out a curved horn. Without hesitation, it raised the horn to its cracked lips and blew.

The sound that came out was deep and haunting, echoing off the cave walls and filling the entire space.

The moment the horn’s sound faded, goblins began flooding out from every hut.

Fuck.

I stood frozen, watching in complete disbelief as three, four, sometimes five goblins squeezed out from each shelter. They kept coming, one after another, stumbling over each other as they answered the call.

This couldn’t be right.

An F rank dungeon was supposed to cap at two hundred monsters. That was the standard. But looking at the sheer number pouring out in front of me, there had to be at least twice that many. Maybe even more.

How?

The longer I stared at the growing horde, the harder my heart started pounding. My hands felt clammy. My breathing turned shallow and uneven.

I was actually scared.

Wait. Why was I scared? Allen was standing right next to me. A Master rank hunter. These goblins were absolutely nothing to someone like him.

I turned to look at Allen, trying to ground myself. He stood perfectly still, his face completely calm as he observed the gathering army. Not a trace of concern anywhere in his expression.

Seeing that helped settle my nerves. A little.

Then the goblins started moving differently.

They weren’t just gathering anymore. They were parting, creating a clear path down the center of their ranks. All of them turned their attention toward one of the larger huts in the back.

Someone was coming.

I didn’t need to guess what this meant. I’d seen this scene play out a hundred times in the manga I used to read. This was their leader. The one in charge.

A few seconds later, a massive figure stepped out from the hut.

Oh god.

That thing was enormous.

Easily three times the size of a normal goblin, with thick, bulging muscles and dark green skin covered in scars. In one massive hand, it gripped a crude stone axe that looked heavy enough to flatten a person in one swing.

The other goblins weren’t unarmed either. As I scanned the crowd, I saw swords, spears, bows, axes. All primitive, but in those numbers, they didn’t need to be sophisticated.

I couldn’t look away from the massive goblin. It radiated authority. Power. Every smaller goblin in the cave seemed to instinctively lower their heads in its presence.

Then, without warning, a system screen flickered into view right in front of my face.

***

**Goblin King**

- **Height**: Approximately 9 feet tall

- **Weight**: Around 280 pounds

- **Strengths**: Hardened skin, high regeneration

- **Weaknesses**: Slow movement speed

- **Critical Body Parts**: Head, eyes, heart

- **Rank**: Common Rank Monster

***

Huh?

What was this? Monster information?

Goblin King. So I’d called it right.

Figured as much.

But honestly, the information itself wasn’t what caught my attention. What I wanted to know was how this screen had just appeared in front of me without me doing anything.

I directed the question at the system in my mind. ’System, did you pull this up?’

The answer came instantly.

[No, Host. You accessed the information chart yourself, though you did so unconsciously.]

’How? Please don’t tell me it happened just because I was staring at it.’

[That is precisely what occurred, Host.]

I paused, processing that. ’Wait, seriously? So if I stare at anyone or anything long enough, their stats will just show up like this?’ 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

[Correct, Host. Though there are two conditions you must be aware of.]

’Alright, what are they?’

[First, this ability does not belong to you. It is one of my functions, which I am allowing you to access. Second, there is a usage limit. You may only activate this feature twice per day.]

My brief excitement deflated immediately.

’Twice? That’s it? Can’t you raise the limit? Even a little?’

[I am unable to do so, Host. As I stated, this is not a skill registered to you. The restriction cannot be changed.]

Damn it.

Of course. Just when I thought I’d stumbled onto something genuinely useful, it came with heavy limitations.

I exhaled slowly, trying to let go of the frustration. "Yeah. Okay. I understand."

After sitting with the disappointment for a moment, I pushed it aside and turned my attention back to the information screen floating in front of me.

Alright. Focus.

His weaknesses were his heart, eyes, and head. Pretty standard vital points. Nothing surprising there.

I should probably pass this information along to Allen so he could handle things more efficiently.

But just as I opened my mouth to speak, Allen’s calm voice interrupted me.

"Young master, it’s done."

I froze.

Wait. Done? What did he mean, done?

I quickly swiped the information screen away and looked forward toward the goblin army.

The moment my eyes registered what I was seeing, I felt my breath catch in my throat.

What... the hell?

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. My brain struggled to make sense of the scene in front of me.

The massive underground cavern that had been crawling with hundreds of goblins just seconds ago was now completely silent. Bodies were scattered everywhere, sprawled across the ground in unnatural angles.

But they weren’t dead.

That was the part that made my stomach turn.

Every single goblin had their limbs severed. Arms and legs cleanly cut away, lying a few feet from their bodies. The cuts looked almost surgical, like they’d been done with impossible precision and speed.

They were still breathing. Chests rising and falling weakly. Eyes wide with terror and pain.

The ground was drenched in green blood. It pooled around them, thick and glistening under the dim glow of the cave’s strange rocks.

The goblins were moving. Or trying to. Dragging themselves forward with whatever stumps they had left, their mouths open in silent screams. They clawed at the dirt, desperate, frantic.

They were trying to escape.

But from what?

No. Not what.

From who.

The realization slammed into me all at once.

I turned sharply to my left, my eyes locking onto Allen.

He was looking back at me with that same calm, unreadable expression he always wore.

But something felt wrong. Different. Not like the disappointment from earlier or the quiet concern he sometimes showed. This was something else entirely.

I couldn’t name it, but every fiber of my being was suddenly screaming at me to move. To step back. To get away from him.

My heart was pounding now, hard and insistent.

What was happening to me?

Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? Why did it feel like my chest was tightening, refusing to let air in?

I dropped my gaze to the ground, trying to steady myself, but my vision started swimming. Everything felt distant, blurred at the edges.

"Allen, can you..." I managed to get out, barely.

I forced my head back up.

And froze.

Allen was right there. Standing just inches away from me now.

When did he move?

"Allen..." I tried again, but the word came out weak, strangled.

Then I felt it.

Something cold. Sharp. Pressing lightly against the side of my neck.

I didn’t need to look down to know what it was. I could feel the weight of it. The deadly stillness of the blade resting against my skin.

A sword.

Allen’s sword.

My mind went blank for a second. I couldn’t process it. Couldn’t understand why this was happening.

Slowly, I lifted my eyes to meet his.

He was staring down at me. Directly into my eyes. His expression had changed completely. The calm professionalism was gone, replaced by something cold. Dangerous. A look I’d never seen on his face before.

My throat tightened.

Had I done something? Said something wrong?

I tried to speak, my voice barely above a whisper. "Allen, what..."

He didn’t let me finish.

His voice came out low and steady, but there was an edge to it that made my blood run cold.

"Who are you?"

What?

I struggled to force the words out, each syllable feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds. "I... Allen... it’s me... Michael..."

My voice was barely a whisper. His presence was crushing me. The air around him felt thick and suffocating, like standing too close to something deadly. His aura radiated darkness, violence, certainty.

Then the pressure on my neck increased.

The blade pressed deeper. Not cutting yet, but the message was clear.

Allen spoke again, his tone quieter now but somehow even more terrifying. "I’ll ask you one last time. Who are you?"

Shit.

He knew. Somehow, he’d figured it out.

But how could this happen?

I did everything perfectly...

Or so I thought... Did he see through me because of that?