The giant stone statue roared to life, its granite body grinding like mountains colliding. Its massive foot slammed down hard enough to shatter the floor like glass.
Kai rolled aside just in time.
CRASH!
Pebbles and dust blasted into the air.
His heart hammered so violently he thought it would burst.
But then
a ping.
[ALERT: Danger detected.]
[Temporary Stat Boost activating.]
[Strength +10 for 30 seconds.]
"What Stats can boost themselves.
He didn't have time to process.
The statue turned its blazing eyes toward him again.
Fighting With Nothing but Fear at First
Every instinct screamed at Kai to run.
He was weak.
Always had been.
Hunters like him didn't fight monsters alone they hid behind stronger teammates.
But something had changed.
He wasn't just a hopeless hunter anymore.
He was a Player.
He gripped a broken stone shard lying on the ground his only weapon and sprinted at the statue.
The monster raised its arm to swat him like a fly.
Kai slid underneath and jabbed the shard into a glowing crack in its ankle.
A tiny chip broke off.
Barely any damage
But enough for a ping.
[You dealt damage.]
[EXP 1]
A weak hit
but proof.
He could hurt it.
The statue kicked, and Kai was launched backward into a wall. Pain exploded through him, but the blue window kept pulsing.
[HP: 18/50]
[WARNING: Continue fighting.]
Rubble fell as the statue charged.
Kai forced himself up.
If he ran, he'd die.
If he hesitated, he'd die.
So, he didn't hesitate.
He sprinted straight toward the monster's face.
At the last second, he leapt grabbing onto one of its stone fingers, climbing upward like a desperate insect.
The statue flailed and smashed itself into the pillars to shake him off.
Kai climbed higher, breath ragged.
Then.
A glowing weak point pulsed in its forehead.
"Please work."
Kai raised his stone shard
and drove it straight in.
CRACK!
The statue froze.
A massive shattering boom echoed through the chamber as the giant collapsed into rubble.
Kai fell with it, landing hard but alive.
Silence.
Dust drifted like snow.
Then
DING!
[Quest Complete: SURVIVE THE TRIAL]
[Reward: 10 Levels]
The room flashed with blinding light.
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
…
Ten times.
Kai's entire body felt like fire and lightning were surging through his veins strength pouring into him, speed sharpening, vision focusing.
His stats popped up:
[Strength: 52]
[Agility: 48]
[Endurance: 50]
[Vitality: 47]
[Intelligence: 35]
"What I've never felt like this."
The weakest hunter in the world had stats higher than most C ranks now.
Then a final message appeared.
[New Skill Unlocked: SHADOW EXTRACTION (Lv. 1)]
Kai stared as dark mist coiled around his hand, forming a small flicker of shadow energy.
He didn't know it yet…
But this ability was the start of something far bigger than becoming "strong."
This was the beginning of a power no Hunteror monster
could rival.