Ji-hoon collapsed onto the dirt, chest heaving. His shins were bleeding, his legs shaking so violently he could barely keep them straight. The tree bark was torn, dented, and stained red from the thousand kicks he had hammered into it.
Every muscle in his legs screamed. His vision swam. He wanted nothing more than to lie there and sleep for a week.
Then the window appeared.
[Quest Complete.][Skill Evolution: Kick → Impact Kick.][Penalty Status: Active.]
Ji-hoon's head snapped up. His voice came out hoarse, almost broken."What? I did the quest, though…? I finished it!"
But the glowing text didn't fade.
The ground beneath him suddenly dissolved into light. His exhausted body was swallowed whole, weightless for a moment before slamming back into existence.
When his vision cleared, he wasn't in the hospital courtyard anymore.
He was in a cavern.
The jagged stone walls flickered with torchlight. A suffocating stench of rot and blood filled the air. Ahead of him stood a massive stone door carved with twisted goblin faces. As Ji-hoon stared, the door groaned open with a deafening rumble.
A monster stepped through.
It was taller than two men stacked together, its green skin mottled and rough like cracked stone. Jagged teeth lined its wide maw, and a crude crown of bone sat crookedly on its head. In its gnarled hands, it dragged an iron mace that looked heavy enough to crush stone.
A new window appeared.
[Penalty Trial Initiated.][Class E Dungeon – Boss Room.][Opponent: Goblin King.][Failure: Death.]
Ji-hoon staggered back a step, blood pounding in his ears. "A boss…? You've got to be kidding me."
But then, another window blinked into view.
[Penalty Adjustment: User Stamina Restored.]
Ji-hoon gasped as strength flooded back into his body. The pain was still there, his shins still bleeding, but his muscles no longer trembled. His body thrummed with power, like a coiled spring.
The Goblin King roared, the sound echoing like thunder in the cavern, and charged.
Ji-hoon's body moved before he could think. Instinct.
He dropped to the ground, the monster's mace whistling over his head before smashing into stone. Shards exploded, dust raining down.
Ji-hoon's palms slapped the ground. His legs coiled tight.
"IMPACT KICK!"
He pushed off with his arms, twisting midair. His foot shot out in a vicious arc, slamming into the Goblin King's stomach.
BOOM!
The force was like a cannon shot. The monster was lifted off its feet and hurled backward, smashing into the cavern wall with an earth-shaking crash. Rocks cracked. Dust filled the air.
Ji-hoon landed in a crouch, chest heaving, his leg still vibrating from the sheer recoil of the strike.
He stared at his foot in disbelief. "…That… was me?"
But the fight wasn't over.
The Goblin King stirred. Its body twitched violently, its muscles bulging grotesquely. Bones cracked and stretched as it grew taller, broader, stronger. The crude bone crown snapped and clattered to the floor as its red eyes flared like embers.
Phase two.
[Goblin King has entered Berserk Mode.][All stats increased.]
Ji-hoon wiped blood from his lip, crouched lower, and narrowed his eyes.
"Kicking a tree almost killed me," he muttered under his breath. Then his grin sharpened. "But let's see how far this kick can really go."
The Goblin King bellowed, and the cavern shook as the fight began anew.