WHAM—!
Stone exploded where Ren had just stood. Moss and tile shattered, debris stinging his arms as he dove, rolled, and sprinted behind a half-broken pillar.
His chest heaved. Legs burned. His vision blurred from the near-misses.
The goblin general didn't stop.
It moved like a freight train—muscles ripping through mossy plating, hammer dragging deep trenches across the floor. It didn't just swing.
It committed.
Every blow could kill.
And Ren?
Had nothing.
No sword. No spear. No system-dropped loot. Just a few cracked bones, a bleeding elbow, and a rage rising beneath his ribs that felt like it belonged to someone older and meaner.
"Give me something," he growled, scanning the room again.
The shattered fountain. Crumbled walls. Loose stones. Nothing useful. Not even a bone blade like the goblins.
The general roared again—high and shrieking, animal and wrong—and charged.
Ren bolted, vaulting across the wet floor, barely dodging a hammer arc that smashed an entire column into rubble.
[Endurance +1]
[Skill Point +1]
[Trait Instability Detected…]
He skidded behind the broken fountain base, panting. The hammer had left a crater in the middle of the chamber.
Wait.
The hammer.
The general swung with it in one hand—but the grip wasn't tight. It didn't hold it like a warrior.
It wielded it like a beast playing with a club.
"It doesn't value it," Ren whispered.
His eyes locked onto the weapon—bigger than him, heavy as hell, stained with old blood and chipped stone.
Dropped it once, when it smashed the fountain.
And now…
There it was.
Half-lodged in a cracked tile. Still humming faintly. Unclaimed.
[Weapon Identified: Crude Stonehammer (Feral)]
Requirements: Strength 5 | Trait Sync (Pending)
Ren had Strength 3.
Didn't matter.
"Fuck it."
The general saw him move. Roared again.
Ren ran straight toward it.
Feet slipping. Shoulders braced. Eyes locked on the handle jutting from the floor.
"Don't think. Move."
The goblin howled—hammer raised overhead.
But Ren was already sliding, grabbing the shaft with both hands, one knee down, teeth gritted—
And pulled.
It didn't budge.
The air trembled. A vibration in his bones. Like something ancient watching. Waiting.
[Override Engaged — Libido Surge]
[Temporary Threshold Break Achieved]
— Strength +2 (60 sec)
[New Trait Detected: Adaptive Dominance]
The hammer ripped free.
Ren rose.
And the goblin was already mid-swing.
He twisted with the weapon in both hands—
"RAAH—!"
And swung upward.
Hammer met hammer.
Stone shattered like thunder.
The General's blow was deflected wide—just enough. The impact hurled Ren backward into the wall, ribs cracking—but the goblin stumbled, weapon off-balance.
Ren landed on his side, wheezing—but laughing.
"Too heavy for me?" he coughed.
He grinned, lifting the hammer again. His arms shook, but he could wield it now.
"Let's fucking test it."
BOOM.
The floor shook as the Goblin General's massive foot landed, shattering the moss-covered tile.
Ren dove behind the broken fountain base, heart hammering.
"No weapon. No spells. No tricks…"
He swallowed hard, sweat stinging his eyes.
"Just me."
The general screamed—a sound like steel dragged across bone—and swung.
The stone slab Ren was hiding behind exploded, shards slicing past his cheek. He rolled, gasping, hands scraped, shoulder bruised.
The thing was massive—over six feet tall, thick-limbed, eyes burning red like molten ore.
It wasn't berserk. It was focused. Deadly. Trained to kill anything that moved.
And Ren?
Had nothing.
[Adrenal Surge I – Triggered]
[Strength +1 | Speed +1 for 60 sec]
He didn't run. He moved.
Low, fast, under the swing, like smoke through a crack. He slid past the general's leg and drove his knee into the back of its knee—right at the joint.
The goblin snarled, stumbling. Not broken—but it felt it.
[Skill: Combat Instinct I – Activated]
Ren dropped to a crouch, spun on his heel, and swept the goblin's damaged leg.
It fell to one knee.
Big mistake.
Ren grabbed a chunk of shattered stone, wrapped his fingers around it, and slammed it into the goblin's jaw. Once. Twice.
Bone cracked. Teeth flew.
It roared, headbutted him back. Ren flew, hit the ground on his spine—but rolled with it, came up fast.
[Dexterity +1]
[Trait Sync: +3%]
The goblin charged again, slower now. Limping.
But that hammer-blow swing still came like a freight train.
Ren ducked, slid past the strike, and this time—he went for the throat.
One hand gripped the goblin's lower jaw. The other pressed under the chin.
And he twisted.
The goblin shrieked—choked—flailed.
Ren didn't let go. He climbed its back, legs wrapping its waist, squeezing like a constrictor.
"You're stronger," he growled in its ear. "But I'm smarter."
With all his weight, he snapped its neck to the side.
CRRKKK—
The goblin twitched. Then went still.
And fell flat on the mossy floor, Ren riding it down like a collapsing beast.
Silence.
[MINIBOSS DEFEATED]
[Stat Gain – Strength +1 | Endurance +1 | Dexterity +1]
[Skill Point +2]
[Trait Evolution: 15% Synced]
[Core Note: Weaponless Kill – Noted. Observing.]
Ren rolled off the corpse and collapsed onto his back, chest heaving.
No weapons. No tricks.
Just bone, blood, and pressure.
And yet… the System still watched. Still wanted more.
He looked at his hands—scraped, bloodied, trembling with exhaustion.
But inside?
Calm.
The kill didn't shake him. It didn't haunt him.
It made him feel right.
Like this was what his body was meant to do.