The loading dock doors buckled inward with a violent crash, shearing the padlocks off their mountings in a spray of sparks.
"Here they come!" Toby shouted from behind the kitchen prep counter, gripping his steel wrench with both hands.
"Hold the choke point!"
Ten adult Gobdogs surged through the loading bay, their jagged spines bristling as venomous drool splattered across the floor tiles.
The First Player stepped into the narrow kitchen entrance alone, planting his feet firmly on the bloodstained linoleum.
"Stand behind me and keep your makeshift spears ready," the dark-haired youth commanded, unhooking a chemical flash grenade.
"Close your eyes right now!"
"Pull the cord and throw it!" Toby yelled, ducking behind the counter.
He pulled the friction cord on the reagent canister and hurled the glass jar directly into the center of the charging pack.
The magnesium charge detonated with a blinding white flare that illuminated every corner of the kitchen in searing brilliance.
"Aaargh—!"
A chorus of shrieked yelps echoed from the pack as the intense thermal flash scorched their retinas and disoriented their senses.
The blinded hounds stumbled in frantic circles, snapping their jaws wildly at empty air and crashing into storage racks.
"Strike now while they can't see!" the First Player bellowed, surging forward with his Corrosive Acid Spear leveled.
He drove the acid-coated tip straight through the nearest hound's throat, twisting the shaft to ensure maximum chemical contact.
The green paste hissed violently, dissolving the monster's windpipe into frothing slurry before the beast could utter a sound.
[ Hostile Slayed: Adult Gobdog (Rank F+) | Experience Value: +20 EXP ]
[ Subzone Quest Update: 1x Hostile Cleared | Remaining Signatures: 53 ]
"That is one down... nine left!" he shouted, spinning the spear to deflect a blind claw swipe from the second beast.
He grabbed the edge of a massive stainless prep table, heaving the hundred-pound slab onto two scrambled predators with raw power.
The stainless table pinned their hind legs against the floorboards, trapping both creatures in a helpless and frantic struggle.
"Toby, finish the one on the left!" the youth barked, pointing with his left elbow.
"Die, you freak!" the young mechanic screamed, bringing his solid wrench down onto the trapped beast's skull with all his might.
Bone cracked beneath the blow, and the creature went limp in a pool of dark ichor across the linoleum.
"You killed one!" a student shouted in amazement from the service counter.
"They can be beaten!"
"Aim for the necks and keep thrusting!" the First Player instructed as three brave students charged with knife-tipped brooms.
"Push together!" the students shouted in unison.
They drove their makeshift spears into the flanks of the third trapped hound, piercing its hide repeatedly until it stopped moving.
Meanwhile, three disoriented hounds scrambled toward the main dining area, attempting to flank the defensive line with rapid bounds.
"Not on my watch!"
The dark-haired youth sprinted across the prep line, leaping onto the stainless countertop with fifteen points of Agility.
"Get away from those tables, mutts!"
He kicked a bubbling stockpot of boiling broth off the gas range, showering the three charging beasts in scalding liquid.
"Hssssk—!"
The scorching broth melted the flesh on their snouts, sending the beasts tumbling across the floor in agonizing convulsions.
The First Player dropped from the counter like a hawk, driving his corrosive spear through the chest of the fourth hound.
The bubbling acid dissolved its internal organs in seconds, leaving the creature completely lifeless on the kitchen floor tiles.
[ Hostile Slayed: Adult Gobdog (Rank F+) | Experience Value: +20 EXP ]
[ Subzone Quest Update: 1x Hostile Cleared | Remaining Signatures: 51 ]
He ripped the spear free and spun on his heel, thrusting the blade into the exposed ear canal of the fifth predator.
The bubbling acid dissolved its brainstem instantly, dropping the creature in mid-snarl as dark smoke rose from its ears.
[ Hostile Slayed: Adult Gobdog (Rank F+) | Experience Value: +20 EXP ]
[ Subzone Quest Update: 1x Hostile Cleared | Remaining Signatures: 50 ]
"Two more left in the loading bay!" Toby called out, wiping sweat and blood from his forehead.
"Watch out, they are backing up toward the exit!"
The remaining two adult hounds recovered their vision, backing warily toward the shattered loading bay doors with bared teeth.
"Don't let them escape to alert the rest of the pack!" the First Player ordered, dashing forward with explosive speed.
He closed the distance in two swift strides, feinting a high thrust to draw the first hound's defensive snap.
As the beast lunged at his spear, he released the shaft with his right hand, drawing his service pistol with blinding speed.
"Taste some lead, ugly!"
He pressed the barrel against the creature's temple and pulled the mechanical trigger in one clean and decisive motion.
The gunshot cracked through the loading bay, blowing the monster's skull apart in a spray of grey bone fragments.
[ Hostile Slayed: Adult Gobdog (Rank F+) | Experience Value: +20 EXP ]
[ Subzone Quest Update: 1x Hostile Cleared | Remaining Signatures: 49 ]
[ Ammunition Remaining: 3/8 Rounds ]
The final hound turned to flee through the loading dock, scrambling over the buckled door in a desperate panic.
"You aren't going anywhere!"
The First Player caught up from behind, driving his corrosive spear deep into its lower spine with sixteen points of Strength.
The blade severed the spinal column, and the acid dissolved its internal organs as the beast collapsed onto the pavement outside.
[ Hostile Slayed: Adult Gobdog (Rank F+) | Experience Value: +20 EXP ]
[ Subzone Quest Update: 1x Hostile Cleared | Remaining Signatures: 48 ]
[ Total Experience Reached: 200/200 ]
[ Congratulations! You have achieved Level 3! ]
[ Stat Points Awarded: 5 Free Attribute Points ]
[ New Active Skill Unlocked: Fatal Strike (Rank F)! ]
A radiant wave of golden energy washed over his body, instantly cleansing his stamina reserves and filling his mana pool.
[ Skill Acquired: Fatal Strike (Rank F) | Cost: 15 Mana | Delivers an ultra-precise burst targeting identified weak seams for 250% critical damage. ]
"Fatal Strike... a high-precision critical execution skill," the First Player whispered with immense excitement.
"That will multiply my burst damage significantly against armored commanders."
"Let's see the new status numbers."
The First Player summoned his glowing status interface to distribute the five newly earned attribute points with calm precision.
[ Current Status: Nox | Level: 3 (EXP: 0/300) ]
[ Strength: 16 | Agility: 15 | Endurance: 13 | Perception: 11 ]
[ Unallocated Attribute Points Available: 5 ]
"Let's distribute these points to reinforce frontline endurance and raw offensive power," he decided.
He allocated two points into Strength, two points into Endurance, and one point into Agility to create a balanced build.
[ Allocation Confirmed: Strength +2 | Endurance +2 | Agility +1 ]
[ Updated Attributes: Strength: 18 | Agility: 16 | Endurance: 15 | Perception: 11 ]
[ Vitality Reserve: 180/180 HP | Stamina Reserve: 180/180 SP | Mana Reserve: 120/120 MP ]
His muscles tightened with dense physical power, his lung capacity expanding as his endurance soared to new heights.
"Eighteen points of Strength and sixteen points of Agility," he murmured, admiring the sheer physical density of his frame.
The surviving students stepped into the kitchen, staring in absolute awe at the mountain of dissolved monster corpses.
"He wiped out an entire pack of ten adult beasts in three minutes!" a boy gasped in utter reverence.
"And we helped kill two of them!" Toby shouted, holding his bloodstained wrench high in the air.
"We actually fought and survived!"
"Look at all these glowing crystals!" another girl cried out, pointing at the monster cores.
The First Player turned toward the walk-in freezer at the back of the kitchen, his eyes narrowing with icy contempt.
"Now it is time to deal with the cowards who locked you out," the First Player said, stepping toward the freezer.
"Open that door right now!"
He raised his right leg, channeling eighteen points of raw Strength, and delivered a devastating front kick to the freezer door.
The reinforced steel latch sheared clean off with a thunderous explosive crash, sending the insulated freezer door flying wide open into the pantry.
Inside, the former student council president and his three cronies were huddled behind boxes of frozen chicken patties, shivering in terror.
"Please don't shoot us!" the former president screamed, covering his face with trembling arms.
"We were only protecting the food supply!"
The First Player reached into the freezer, grabbed the boy by his silk necktie, and dragged him out onto the bloody kitchen floor.
"You locked sixty people outside to be eaten alive while you hid behind frozen poultry," the First Player said with disgust.
"I was following emergency protocol!" the boy wailed, his voice cracking as students surrounded the freezer entrance.
"Your emergency protocol is officially terminated," the dark-haired youth replied, tossing him into the center of the crowd.
The sixty students glared down at their former leader with open hostility, spitting on the floor beside his polished shoes.
"You are no longer our president," Toby declared, stepping to the front of the crowd with his wrench.
"From now on, we only follow someone who fights for us."
"Throw him in the trash!" another student shouted angrily.
"Gather all the beast cores from these corpses," the First Player commanded, turning his back on the disgraced politician.
"Forty-eight monsters remain in the East Wing... and the real hunt has only just begun."
"Where are you heading next?" Toby asked, wiping monster blood from his wrench.
"To the ROTC supply armory in the North Wing to secure ballistic armor and ammunition," the First Player answered with a grin.
"Keep this kitchen fortified while I am gone," he added, turning toward the northern corridor.