The smell of rotting goblin flesh was something you never quite got used to.
"Hey, trash! Hurry up with that bag!"
Kai gritted his teeth, adjusting the heavy strap digging into his shoulder. He was an F-Rank Porter. In the hierarchy of the Awakened, he was cheaper than the equipment he carried.
"Coming, Sir," Kai muttered, dragging the oversized duffel bag over the uneven cave floor.
They were deep inside a D-Rank dungeon—a "Goblin Nest." The raiding party consisted of four C-Rank hunters, decked out in shimmering mana-steel armor. They were loud, arrogant, and careless. Kai hated them.
"Look at him struggle," the party leader, a broad-shouldered warrior named Vance, sneered. He kicked a dead goblin corpse toward Kai. "Maybe if you eat that, you'll grow some muscle."
The other hunters laughed.
Kai ignored them. His stomach was growling, actually. He hadn't eaten a proper meal in two days. Porters were paid upon completion of the raid, and Vance had a habit of docking pay for "slow performance."
Just get through this, Kai told himself. Get the money, buy medicine for mom, and survive.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them shuddered.
BOOM.
Dust rained from the ceiling. The air temperature plummeted.
"What was that?" the healer screamed.
Vance drew his sword, his face pale. "The mana density... it's spiking. This isn't a D-Rank dungeon anymore."
A Dungeon Break. The nightmare scenario. Sometimes, a dungeon would evolve mid-raid, jumping from D-Rank to B-Rank or higher instantly.
From the shadows of the cavern, a pair of eyes glowed. Not the sickly green of a goblin, but the burning crimson of a Hobgoblin Warlord. It stood eight feet tall, wielding a club made of bone.
"Run!" Vance screamed, turning on his heel. "Every man for himself!"
The hunters scrambled toward the exit, their expensive boots kicking up dust. Kai dropped the bag and tried to follow, but Vance shoved him hard.
"Out of my way, trash!"
Kai stumbled back, losing his footing on the loose gravel. He fell hard, the wind knocked out of him. By the time he looked up, the hunters were gone. The exit tunnel had collapsed behind them, triggered by the Warlord's roar.
Kai was alone.
The Hobgoblin Warlord stepped forward, raising its massive bone club. The pressure of its aura felt like gravity had doubled.
So this is it, Kai thought, squeezing his eyes shut. I die here. Hungry, broke, and alone.
The club swung down.
CRACK.
Pain exploded in his side, sending him flying into a pile of dead goblins. He gasped, coughing up blood. He couldn't move his legs. The Warlord laughed—a guttural, wet sound—and turned away, losing interest in the broken toy. It began to feast on the goblin corpses nearby.
Kai lay there, his vision blurring. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. But beneath the pain, there was something else.
A hunger.
A primal, burning hunger that clawed at his insides, louder than the pain. He looked at the severed arm of a goblin lying inches from his face. It was repulsive. It was rotting.
But to Kai, in his delirious state, it looked like... energy.
His hand moved on its own. He grabbed the green, muscled arm.
I don't want to die, he thought. I want to live. I want to... consume.
He took a bite.
It tasted like ash and sulfur, but as he swallowed, a mechanical chime rang clearly in his mind, drowning out the dungeon's noise.
[Ding!]
[Hidden Requirement Met.][Awakening Unique Talent: Gluttony (SSS-Rank).]
A translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes, glowing in the darkness.
[You have consumed the flesh of a monster.][Vitality +1][Strength +1][Passive Skill Acquired: Goblin Skin (F-Rank)]
The pain in his legs vanished. The bones knit themselves back together with a sickening crunch. Kai gasped, pushing himself up. He felt stronger. Lighter.
He looked at the Warlord, who was now staring at him in confusion.
Kai wiped the green blood from his mouth and smiled. A dark, predatory hunger filled his eyes.
"Hey, big guy," Kai whispered, his stomach roaring. "You look like the main course."
[Target Identified: Hobgoblin Warlord.][Estimated EXP: 5000][Would you like to feast?]