Arthur stood amidst the decaying remains of the Shadow Arachnid, the foul stench of monster blood clinging to his torn clothes. He had just gone from an F-Rank weakling—a mere pack mule—to a C-Rank warrior in the blink of an eye. The sheer volume of power coursing through his veins was intoxicating.
"System," Arthur muttered, his voice sounding deeper, more resonant. "Show me my stats."
Instantly, a glowing blue screen materialized in his field of vision.
[Host: Arthur]
[Level: 35 (C-Rank)]
[Class: None (Hidden Classes Available at Level 50)]
[Strength: 150 (Average C-Rank: 100)]
[Agility: 165 (Average C-Rank: 100)]
[Stamina: 140 (Average C-Rank: 100)]
[Intelligence: 120 (Average C-Rank: 100)]
[Passive Skill: 100x Multiplier (Active)]
[Active Skills: None]
Arthur's eyes widened. "My stats... they aren't just at the C-Rank level. They completely crush the average C-Rank standards!"
He clenched his fist, feeling the air compress around his fingers. If he met Zane right now, he wouldn't even need a weapon to snap the arrogant fire mage's neck.
But Arthur wasn't foolish. Zane and Elara had a massive head start. They were heading deeper into the Shadow Caverns to find the 'Shadow Vault'—a legendary hidden room rumored to contain an ancient artifact. That was the only reason a C-Rank like Zane had bothered to enter a low-level dungeon and hire a cheap F-Rank porter like Arthur as bait.
"They think I'm dead," Arthur sneered, picking up the heavy steel shortsword. "They think they can just take the treasure and live happily ever after. Let's see how happy they are when a ghost comes knocking."
He began to move. The difference was night and day. Before, navigating the rocky terrain of the caverns left him breathless and exhausted. Now, he practically glided over the uneven floor. His heightened agility allowed him to leap across wide chasms with a single bound, and his enhanced vision pierced through the gloom, picking up the faintest traces of footprints and disturbed dust.
He was tracking them.
As he ventured deeper, the atmosphere changed. The damp cold was replaced by a suffocating, oppressive aura. The walls of the cavern shifted from rough stone to smooth, black obsidian that seemed to absorb all light.
Suddenly, Arthur stopped. His enhanced hearing picked up a faint, rhythmic sound.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
It sounded like hundreds of skeletal feet marching in unison.
Arthur ducked behind a massive obsidian pillar, peeking around the edge. In the vast chamber ahead, a chilling sight awaited him. A small army of Skeleton Warriors, their bones glowing with an eerie green light, blocked the path. In the center of the formation stood a Skeleton Captain, heavily armored and wielding a massive rusted battleaxe.
"D-Rank monsters," Arthur analyzed, his mind working at lightning speed. "Normally, a C-Rank warrior would avoid fighting a horde like this. It's suicide to get surrounded."
He looked down at his shortsword and then at the glowing blue system screen. A predatory grin stretched across his face. "But I'm not a normal warrior. And I need more EXP."
Arthur didn't sneak around. He stepped out from behind the pillar, the steel shortsword catching the dim green light.
The Skeleton Captain turned its skull toward him, its eye sockets flaring with hostile magic. It raised its battleaxe, and the entire skeleton army turned, raising their rusted swords and spears.
SKREEEEE! The Captain screeched a command.
The horde charged.
Arthur took a deep breath. He didn't have any flashy magic skills like Zane. He only had raw, overwhelming physical stats.
He kicked the ground, the obsidian floor cracking under his explosive power. He shot forward like a bullet, blurring past the frontline of skeletons. Before they could even swing their weapons, Arthur was among them.
SLASH!
His sword cut through three skeletons in a single, devastating arc. The sheer force of his Strength stat turned the bones to dust.
[Ding! Host has killed a D-Rank Skeleton Warrior.]
[Base EXP: 100]
[100x Multiplier Activated: 10,000 EXP gained!]
[Ding! Host has killed a D-Rank Skeleton Warrior.]
[10,000 EXP gained!]
[Ding! Host has killed a D-Rank Skeleton Warrior.]
[10,000 EXP gained!]
The system notifications rained down like a beautiful melody. Arthur laughed out loud, a sound that would have terrified his former teammates. He was a whirlwind of destruction. He didn't block; he only dodged and attacked. His agility was so high that the skeletons seemed to be moving in slow motion.
He shattered ribcages with powerful kicks, decapitated skulls with precise strikes, and used the sheer momentum of his body to crash through their formations.
Within five minutes, the massive chamber was littered with glowing bone dust. Only the Skeleton Captain remained.
The Captain roared, bringing its massive battleaxe down in a devastating overhead swing aimed right at Arthur's head.
Arthur didn't dodge. He raised his shortsword, meeting the giant axe head-on.
CLANG!
The impact sent a shockwave through the cavern, rattling the obsidian walls. The Skeleton Captain pushed with all its dark magic, but Arthur's arm didn't even tremble. The difference in raw stats was too vast.
"Too slow," Arthur whispered.
He twisted his wrist, deflecting the heavy axe to the side. With his other hand, he formed a fist and punched straight through the Skeleton Captain's rusted breastplate, shattering its glowing core.
The monster froze, the green light in its eyes dying out before it crumbled into a pile of useless metal and bone.
[Ding! Host has killed a Peak D-Rank Skeleton Captain.]
[Base EXP: 1,500]
[Base Loot: Captain's Rusty Axe x1, Skeleton Core x1, 500 Silver Coins]
[100x Multiplier Activated!]
[Experience gained: 150,000 EXP!]
[Loot gained: Captain's Rusty Axe x100, Skeleton Core x100, 50,000 Silver Coins!]
[Ding! Host has leveled up to Level 36!]
[Ding! Host has leveled up to Level 37!]
[Ding! Host has leveled up to Level 38!]
Arthur took a deep breath, feeling the fresh surge of power solidify his C-Rank status. He opened his spatial inventory. It was overflowing with materials, weapons, and a small fortune in silver coins.
"The 100x multiplier works on boss loot too," Arthur realized, his eyes gleaming. "This system is completely broken."
He stepped over the remains of the Captain and walked toward the far end of the chamber. There, embedded in the black obsidian wall, were massive, heavy stone doors covered in ancient, glowing runes.
The Shadow Vault.
And standing right in front of those doors, looking exhausted and battered, were two familiar figures.
Zane was panting heavily, his fire magic reduced to a mere flicker. Elara was healing a deep gash on his arm, her face pale with fear and mana depletion. They had clearly struggled to bypass the traps and smaller monsters to reach this point.
They hadn't noticed Arthur yet.
Arthur stood in the shadows, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. He could just walk out and kill them right now. It would be easy. Too easy.
'No,' Arthur thought, a cold, calculating light entering his eyes. 'Death is too good for them. I want to see the hope drain from their eyes. I want to take everything they worked for, right in front of them.'
He watched as Zane finally managed to decipher the runes on the stone doors. With a heavy groan, the massive doors slowly began to open, revealing a blinding, golden light from within.
"We did it, Elara!" Zane laughed, his greed evident. "The artifact is ours! We'll be rich! We'll reach B-Rank!"
Elara smiled, her fear momentarily forgotten. "It was worth sacrificing that useless F-Rank trash."
Arthur stepped out of the shadows, his voice echoing through the chamber, dripping with murderous intent.
"I wouldn't celebrate just yet."
Zane and Elara froze. They slowly turned around, their eyes widening in absolute horror as they saw the blood-soaked, terrifyingly powerful figure standing behind them. The 'useless F-Rank trash' had returned from the dead.