The air inside the dungeon was cold and thick with the scent of earth and decay.
Jinwoo's footsteps echoed faintly against the stone as he moved deeper into the cavern. The faint glow of blue crystals pulsed along the walls, casting eerie shadows that seemed to breathe with the darkness.
He tightened his grip around his rusty dagger.
His heart thudded like a drum — part fear, part anticipation.
Then he heard it.
A low, guttural growl.
From behind the jagged rocks ahead, a pair of glowing eyes appeared. Then another. And another.
"Goblins…" Jinwoo muttered, recognizing the small, twisted creatures from his past raids. Except these ones were faster — and meaner.
The first one lunged with a shriek. Jinwoo barely dodged, its crude knife slicing past his arm. He countered instinctively, slashing across its chest. The creature fell, writhing before going still.
A rush of adrenaline filled him — followed by a mechanical voice.
> [You have defeated a monster.]
[+30 Experience Points.]
Jinwoo exhaled, trembling slightly. It works…
But there was no time to celebrate. More goblins poured out from the darkness — six, maybe seven of them, encircling him with hungry snarls.
"...Too many."
He moved.
A goblin swung — he ducked low, driving his dagger into its thigh, then kicked it away. Another slashed his shoulder — pain burned, but he gritted his teeth and spun, slicing its throat open.
Each movement was desperate, clumsy, but filled with raw instinct.
Blood spattered the cavern floor — mostly not his, though his arm stung where the blade had grazed him.
> [HP: 65/120]
He grunted. "Still fine."
The last goblin shrieked and charged. Jinwoo stepped aside, stabbing straight through its eye. It dropped instantly.
Breathing heavily, he staggered back against the wall, chest heaving.
His arms trembled from exhaustion, his body screaming in pain — but his eyes burned with life.
> [Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Level Up!]
[Level Up!]...
The words floated before his eyes in radiant blue light, and suddenly, the fatigue washed away, replaced by a rush of energy that made his heart race.
"...This feeling," he whispered, clenching his fists, "so this is what it means to grow stronger."
He pressed onward, deeper into the dungeon.
The tunnels twisted like a maze, filled with growls and the glimmer of movement. Hours passed — blood, sweat, and the sound of steel on bone.
When he finally reached the boss chamber, his body was bruised, his clothes torn, and his breath ragged.
Before him stood the dungeon's master — a massive goblin with black skin and a jagged iron club.
The creature roared, shaking the ground.
Jinwoo tightened his grip on the dagger. His entire body screamed to run — but he forced himself forward.
If he turned back now, all of this would be meaningless.
The club came crashing down. Jinwoo rolled, the wind of the strike cutting past him like a blade. He darted in, slashing the monster's leg — once, twice — before being sent flying by a backhand blow that rattled his bones.
> [HP: 28/180]
Blood dripped down his chin. His vision blurred.
But he pushed himself up again.
"Not… yet."
He roared and charged, ducking under the next swing. The dagger plunged into the boss's chest — once, twice, three times — until the creature let out a deafening shriek and collapsed with a crash that shook the ground.
Jinwoo fell to his knees, gasping for air.
He was bleeding, trembling, barely able to move — but he was alive.
> [Dungeon Cleared.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have obtained: Item – Steel-Fang Dagger.]
A weak laugh escaped his lips.
He looked at his reflection in a pool of monster blood — tired eyes, cracked lips, but an unmistakable spark burning within.
"...I did it."
For the first time, Sung Jinwoo had defeated a dungeon alone.
Not with luck. Not with help.
Through pain, grit, and sheer willpower.
As the dungeon gate began to shimmer and collapse behind him, Jinwoo stood tall.
That night, when he returned to the surface, the man who walked out was no longer a helpless E-rank hunter.
He was the start of something far greater — the shadow of a power that would soon shake the world.