Ren walked out of the hospital, ignoring the shouts of the nurses. Every step he took felt heavy, as if his very cells were hollow. The [Penalty] timer was ticking in his peripheral vision.
[Time Remaining: 02:14:55] [Status: Starving. Your existence is destabilizing.]
He needed Mana Crystals. Fast. But as an E-Rank hunter with no money, buying them was impossible. There was only one option: a low-level gate.
He found one in a quiet alleyway near the outskirts of Seoul—a Rank-E Gate that the Association had marked for "Public Practice." Usually, weak hunters came here to earn a few hundred won. To Ren, it was a buffet.
As he stepped through the shimmering blue veil of the gate, the environment shifted. He was inside a damp, dark cavern. The smell of rotten meat and wet fur filled the air.
Grrr...
A pack of Goblins, green-skinned and wielding rusted daggers, emerged from the shadows. To any other E-Rank, three Goblins were a threat. To Ren, they looked like glowing batteries.
[Gaze of the Abyss Activated.]
Ren's vision shifted. He didn't see the Goblins' ugly faces; he saw the faint blue swirls of mana inside their hearts.
"I'm sorry," Ren whispered, though his voice lacked any real emotion. "But I'm hungry."
The lead Goblin leaped, its rusty blade aimed at Ren's throat. Ren didn't dodge. He simply reached out and grabbed the Goblin's face.
[Skill: 'Void Devour' has been triggered.]
The Goblin didn't even have time to scream. The moment Ren's palm touched its skin, a black vortex erupted from his hand. The Goblin's body shriveled instantly, its skin turning to grey ash as the mana was sucked directly out of its soul.
[Mana Essence Consumed: 1/10] [Stability Increased by 2%]
The other Goblins froze. They were monsters, but they felt a primal fear they had never experienced before. Even a Boss monster kills to eat or protect; this human was killing to erase.
Ren moved. He wasn't using martial arts or flashy magic. He was simply a walking shadow. Every time he touched a Goblin—a shoulder, an arm, a leg—that part of the monster disappeared into the Void.
Within minutes, the cavern floor was covered in grey dust. No bodies, no blood.
[Mana Essence Consumed: 10/10] [Daily Quest Completed!] [Reward: Level Up!] [Current Level: 2]
[Hidden Reward: You have gained the Passive Skill: 'Mana Nullification (Low-Tier).'] (Description: Magical attacks below a certain threshold will vanish upon contact with your skin.)
Ren felt his body stabilize. The hollow ache in his chest was gone, replaced by a cold, numbing strength. He looked at his hands; they were no longer trembling.
But then, the System flickered red.
[Alert: Your presence has been detected by the 'Administrator'.] [Difficulty Adjustment: The Gate Boss has been 'Mutated' to eliminate the Glitch.]
The cave began to shake. From the back of the dungeon, a massive Hobgoblin emerged. But it wasn't a normal Rank-E Boss. Its skin was turning black, and its eyes were leaking the same blue 'Player' energy that Ren had seen in the Double Dungeon.
The Architect was trying to fix the error. And Ren was the error.
Ren gripped his cheap bronze dagger, but then he let it drop. It was useless. He raised his bare hands, the black smoke swirling around his fingers.
"You want to delete me?" Ren's voice echoed in the dark, cold and defiant. "Try it."