The cavern shook as the Blood Iron Hobgoblin swung its greatsword in a massive vertical arc.

Glen vanished. The blue electricity of Lightning Movement carried him fifteen feet to the left just as the iron blade cleaved the stone floor where he had been standing. Dust and debris exploded outward but Glen did not pause. He pushed off his back foot channeling the crimson aura of Savage Strike into his right fist.

He darted forward closing the distance in a fraction of a second. He aimed directly for the exposed joint behind the monster’s armored knee.

"Savage Strike" Glen shouted.

His fist connected with the thick iron plating. A shockwave of red mana erupted from the point of impact. But instead of shattering the armor the kinetic force rebounded. A sickening crack echoed up Glen’s arm. Pain flared through his wrist and elbow forcing him to grit his teeth. The armor dented slightly but the monster did not even flinch.

Glen cursed under his breath and used Lightning Movement to retreat before the Hobgoblin could backhand him into the wall. He reappeared near the collapsed tunnel clutching his bruised arm.

His mind raced analyzing the data. The skills were perfect. Lightning Movement gave him A Rank speed. Savage Strike gave him C Rank offensive power. But his base physical stats were still F Rank. His body was too weak to output the necessary force. It was like putting a massive sports car engine into a fragile wooden frame. If he hit the monster again the recoil would shatter his bones.

The Hobgoblin turned its burning red eyes toward him. It realized the annoying human was fast but completely harmless. The monster let out a dark rumbling laugh that sounded like grinding stones. It raised its greatsword pointing the blood red tip directly at Glen.

"You think this is funny?" Glen whispered.

He wiped a streak of blood from his cheek. His muscles were already burning. Lightning Movement consumed a massive amount of mana and his F Rank reserves were almost completely empty. He had maybe two more dodges left before he was completely drained. Once his mana ran out the monster would crush him like an insect.

The Hobgoblin charged. For a creature of its massive size it moved with terrifying momentum. It raised its sword high preparing to unleash a wide sweeping attack that would cover the entire back half of the cavern. There would be no room to dodge.

As Glen braced himself for the end the pitch black system screen flickered to life in front of his eyes.

Compatible skills detected in Core.

Lightning Movement A Rank and Savage Strike C Rank.

Skill Merge available.

Warning. Extreme physical strain detected. Survival rate low.

Glen stared at the glowing crimson text. The system was offering him a way out but it came with a price. A low survival rate meant his body might literally tear itself apart from the inside out.

The Hobgoblin swung its massive blade. The crimson shockwave ripped through the air tearing up the stone floor as it barreled toward him.

Glen did not hesitate. He mentally accepted the prompt.

Warning. Skill Merging Initiated.

The pain was instantaneous and absolute. It felt like his bones were turning to glass and his blood was boiling into steam. His muscles tore and repaired themselves in micro seconds as the two conflicting mana types fought for dominance inside his body. The raw blue electricity of the A Rank skill clashed violently with the brutal crimson force of the C Rank skill. His spiritual Core felt like a dying star collapsing in on itself.

Most people would have screamed. Most people would have passed out from the sheer agony of rewriting their own soul.

Glen held on.

His lips pulled back into a wide dark smirk. The pain was real. The pain meant he was alive. The pain meant he was no longer the weak quiet kid from the slums. He was becoming something else entirely.

Skill Merge Successful.

New Skill Created: Thunder Phantom Step B Rank.

The blue lightning surrounding Glen’s body suddenly shifted turning a deep violent purple. The air around him distorted cracking with the pressure of compressed kinetic energy. The sheer density of the merged mana reinforced his fragile F Rank bones wrapping them in a protective layer of pure power.

The crimson shockwave from the Hobgoblin was only inches away from his face.

Glen stepped forward. He did not dodge to the side. He did not retreat. He vanished.

A single line of purple lightning tore through the cavern cutting straight through the center of the crimson shockwave. The air shattered with a deafening sonic boom. Glen moved so fast that the world around him seemed to freeze in place. He saw the jagged edges of the Hobgoblin’s iron armor. He saw the burning red embers of its eyes.

He passed directly through the massive body of the Blood Iron Hobgoblin.

Glen reappeared twenty feet behind the monster his back turned to it. His right arm was extended his hand coated in crackling purple energy that dripped with black monster blood. His breathing was heavy his muscles screaming in protest from the strain of the merged skill but he stood tall.

For a long moment there was only the sound of crackling electricity in the damp cavern. The Hobgoblin remained frozen in its swinging posture. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Then a glowing purple line appeared across the monster’s thick iron neck.

The massive iron plated head of the Blood Iron Hobgoblin slowly slid off its shoulders. It hit the stone floor with a heavy wet thud. A second later the massive headless body collapsed crashing to the ground in a fountain of dark blood.

Glen slowly lowered his arm. The purple lightning faded leaving the cavern in dim silence once again. He fell to one knee gasping for air. His entire body felt like it had been beaten with hammers but he was alive.

A cascade of system prompts flashed in the dark air before him.

Boss Defeated.

Experience Gained.

Level Up.

Level Up.

Level Up.

Level Up.

Level Up.

Glen watched as his level shot from one to six in a matter of seconds. He felt a warm soothing energy wash over his battered muscles repairing the micro tears and reinforcing his physical structure. His base stats were finally growing.

He stood up and walked over to the massive corpse of the Hobgoblin. He pulled his rusted combat knife from his belt and dug into the monster’s chest extracting a massive glowing crimson core. A C Rank boss core. It was worth enough money to pay his mother’s medical bills for the next five years.

He placed the core into his pocket. Then he walked over to the fallen A Rank Hunter. The man was gone. Glen looked down at the crushed silver armor and the twin short swords lying on the ground. He picked up the swords. They were perfectly balanced humming with residual mana.

"Thank you" Glen whispered to the fallen Hunter. "I will put these to good use."

He turned his attention to the collapsed tunnel. The massive boulders completely blocked the exit. A few minutes ago he would have been trapped here forever waiting to starve in the dark.

Glen raised his right hand. Sparks of purple lightning danced across his knuckles. He smiled that same dark cocky smirk.

"Thunder Phantom Step."

He vanished. The purple lightning slammed into the wall of boulders with the force of a military explosive. The rocks shattered into dust clearing a massive hole through the debris.

Glen walked through the smoke and dust stepping into the dark tunnel that led back to the surface. He had entered this dungeon as an F Rank porter a victim waiting to be crushed by the world.

He was leaving as a predator.