After storing everything in my inventory, I pressed forward—deeper into the heart of the dungeon.
The tunnel walls pulsed faintly with mana, casting a reddish glow that danced across the stone. The air grew hotter with every step, thick with the scent of sulfur and ash.
Eventually, the path split.
A fork in the cave.
Both corridors radiated danger.
But the right path… it was worse.
Much worse.
Even without monsters in sight, I could feel it — a suffocating pressure crawling along my skin like unseen fingers. My instincts screamed at me.
This must be the effect of my increased Sense.
At 20 points, it wasn't just sharper vision or better reflexes.
It was intuition.
Like a sixth sense for danger. A whisper from the dungeon itself.
The right path… led to the boss. I was sure of it.
I turned to the left path. The pressure there was lighter, though still present. That meant more monsters — and more EXP.
Perfect.
"Let's keep grinding."
Just as I thought.
This path was crawling with goblins.
Dozens of them.
Estimated Count: 40
That's at least five times more than the group I fought earlier. Their green-skinned bodies milled around a crude camp — jagged rocks serving as makeshift walls, and scraps of meat roasting over magical fire pits. They laughed, fought among themselves, and sharpened rusted weapons without discipline.
But numbers aside... they're still goblins.
Low intelligence. Weak defense. Predictable attack patterns.
And I've gotten stronger.
I felt it with every breath. My muscles were tighter, faster. My perception had widened. The edges of their mana signatures flickered clearly thanks to my heightened Sense stat. Their movements were sluggish to my eyes now, like watching elementary schoolers swing sticks.
Still...
Even if I could one-shot each of them with precise hits, if I got swarmed, it would be over. I may have learned martial arts and improved physically, but I was still just a kid. A single lucky blow could end me if I got careless.
Retreating is safe... but I didn't come here to stay safe.
"If I keep backing down from hard battles," I whispered to myself, "I won't grow. Not in this world."
I took a deep breath.
Now's the time to test everything I've learned.
Not just power.
Strategy.
40 goblins.
Too many for a direct clash—even with my new stats.
I crouched behind a jagged rock, surveying the scattered group of goblins in the cavern ahead. Their shrill screeches echoed as they bickered and stumbled around their filthy nest.
My fingers hovered over my skill interface.
[Skill – Stealth: Active]
[MP: 3050/4000]
"Hmm... I should be able to keep this up long enough," I muttered under my breath. "Even with this mana pool, if I kill enough of them, I'll level up mid-fight. That should restore both HP and MP."
Then I glanced at the pair of crudely forged goblin daggers in my inventory—the same ones I'd looted earlier.
A grin tugged at my lips.
[Weapon Equipped – Twin Goblin Daggers]
[Weapon Type: Dagger | Enchanted (Minor) | Durability: 70%]
[Attack Bonus: +7]
[Note: Magical weapon – ignores minor physical resistances]
"Honestly... I've always wondered what fighting with blades would feel like."
Of course, using these meant losing 50% of my attack bonus from the Muay Thai skill, but I wasn't planning on brute-forcing this anyway. Not when I had a trick up my sleeve.
[Skill – Stealth (Remain undetected unless taking damage): Active]
[Skill – Sprint (Temporarily increases movement speed): Active]
With a deep breath, I activated my stealth and crept into the nest.
Time to hunt.
At first, it felt unnatural—my hands were used to punching, elbowing, and grappling. These daggers didn't feel like extensions of my body.
But then I realized something.
I don't need to swing them like a swordsman. I just need to adapt.
So I did.
Instead of slashing the way a trained assassin might, I simply punched at the goblins—my fists guiding the blades. When I aimed beside their throats, the edge slashed clean through. When I adjusted the angle of my palm and struck forward, the dagger pierced like a spear. I imagined each movement as a Muay Thai technique—just with a little tweak.
Strangely enough, my Muay Thai passive bonus kicked in.
[Muay Thai Form Adaptation – Partial Compatibility Achieved]
[Attack Power Penalty Reduced to 20%]
"Hah. Guess imagination really is a skill," I chuckled under my breath.
The goblins screamed in confusion as their brethren dropped like flies.
They never saw me coming.
With quick footwork, I dashed between them, stabbing and slashing. Head. Chest. Throat. I flowed like a ghost through their ranks—one stab, one kill. A flash of green blood here, a gurgling death cry there.
One after another, they fell.
[Goblin Slain: +EXP]
[Goblin Slain: +EXP]
[Level Up! Level 4 → Level 5]
[Level Up! Level 5 → Level 6]
[Level Up! Level 6 → Level 7]
[Level Up! Level 7 → Level 8]
[Level Up! Level 8 → Level 9]
[HP/MP Restored]
[+10 Stat Points Gained]
By the time my stealth wore off, the cavern was quiet.
Only corpses remained.
I stood in the center of the blood-soaked battlefield, my daggers dripping green slime, chest rising and falling with steady breaths.
"No sweat..." I said, spinning one of the daggers idly. "Guess I'm finally starting to get used to this world."
His Stealth skill was like a cheat code for his current level.
It made killing monsters far easier than it should've been. If the enemies couldn't see or sense him, then they couldn't fight back. And if they couldn't fight back… they died. Simple as that.
He could kill them without facing much resistance, slipping between their ranks like a shadow of death. But there was one problem—mana.
The Stealth skill consumed too much MP at its current level. It was too expensive to use for long, especially with his current mana pool. Zephyr knew that raising the skill's level and boosting his Intelligence stat would help reduce the mana cost. For now, though, he had relied on level-ups to recover his MP mid-battle—but that trick wouldn't work forever.
Eventually, he'd face an enemy he couldn't beat in time.
After the fight with the 40 goblins, Zephyr took a moment to assess himself. Even at level 1… was I already stronger than an E-Rank hunter? The thought lingered in his mind as he remembered how easily he crushed goblin skulls with a single attack.
E-Rank hunters were usually considered the weakest of the Awakened, barely strong enough to deal with a goblin one-on-one. And yet, even without using weapons at the start, he was dominating these monsters.
"I think my base stats must've already surpassed the average E-Rank," he muttered to himself as he checked his system window. "This must be the effect of my unique awakening."
He wasn't wrong. Most E-Ranks couldn't dream of soloing a dungeon this early, let alone clearing rooms of goblins like he just had. His physical strength alone was terrifying—and that was before factoring in the 50% bonus from his Muay Thai skill.
"At this rate," he whispered with a smirk, "I'll surpass D-Rank in no time."
His magic power at level 1 had been nothing special, but his body had been strong enough to carry him. And now, with levels piling on and his combat instincts sharpening, Zephyr was starting to see the truth: He wasn't just lucky—he was built different.
And thanks to that, he now had the confidence to clear this entire E-Rank dungeon alone.
His stats, skills, and experience were aligning to form something dangerous.
Him.