[Welcome. The 'Cosmic Furnace' has been successfully initialized.]
The goblin's filthy claws hovered an inch from gouging out Ren's eyeball. But they didn't move. Time stopped completely.
Drops of spit hung in the air like shattered glass. The dust kicked up from the monster's leap hung frozen.
Everything was dead silent. Everything except Ren's heart hammering against his ribs, and the bright blue holographic screen floating in his face.
Ren blinked slowly. He dragged harsh, ragged breaths into his lungs. He focused on the text flashing across the screen.
[Name: Ren] [Class: Summoner (Rank F)] [Level: 1 (Exp: 0/100)] [Trait: Cosmic Furnace] [Skills: None] [Summons: 0] [Daily Summons Available: 3/3]
Information flooded his brain. But his eyes locked onto one thing. 'Cosmic Furnace'. It was the name that sweet voice just whispered.
Ren reached out a shaking finger and tapped the blue text. The screen expanded instantly. The details made him choke on his own breath.
[Cosmic Furnace: Exceptional Trait (Hidden).
Allows you to fuse summons with monster cores to create stronger, hybrid beasts.
Grants the ability to extract one skill from a fused summon for personal use.
Allows direct consumption of monster cores to permanently increase physical stats. Note: Fusion success rates are randomized and depend on material compatibility.]
Ren's eyes went wide. Huh! Was this real?
A trait that completely broke the world's rules! Summoners were always chained to their beasts' strength. They were physically weak.
But this? It let him power up his monsters, rip away their skills, and even boost his own stats. It literally defied the heavens.
But the high didn't last. The frozen goblin staring him down was a brutal reality check. A god-tier trait meant absolutely nothing if he got his throat ripped out right now.
Ren caught the last line on his screen. [Daily Summons Available: 3/3].
That was his only lifeline.
"Summon," he rasped.
Swoosh! A tiny magic circle flashed beneath his feet. It fizzled out instantly into a puff of gray smoke.
[Failed. Compatibility level poor.]
Ren bit his bottom lip until he tasted iron. "Summon!"
Swoosh!
[Failed. Compatibility level poor.] [Remaining Summons: 1/3]
Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. One try. If it failed, time would resume. Those claws would shred his windpipe.
He squeezed his eyes shut. Please... just give me something!
"Summon!"
Swoosh! A dim light flickered. This time, it stuck. A small, slimy mass dropped onto the frozen dirt with a wet thud.
[Summon Successful!] [Congratulations, you obtained: Sewer Rat (Rank F)]
Ren snapped his eyes open. He looked down.
A filthy black rat, no bigger than his palm, sat trembling in the dirt. Its bald tail curled up in sheer terror.
Ren stared at the rat. The rat stared back.
Ren let out a bitter sigh. It carried the weight of every failure in his life.
"I actually feel bad for you. Looks like you're just a snack for this bastard. We're dying together."
But giving up wasn't an option. Ren broke the situation down. Time was still frozen. The goblin was mid-leap. Those bulging red eyes were the most obvious weak points.
'Hey, rat,' Ren commanded through his mind. 'The second the world moves, jump at its left eye. Dig your claws and teeth in. Don't let go, no matter what.'
Ren took a half-step back, shifting his weight. He dragged in a deep breath.
"Resume."
Boom! Time slammed back into place like a physical blow. Air rushed in. The sounds of the forest exploded in his ears.
The goblin finished its leap, but its claws just swiped empty air where Ren stood a second ago. Right at that exact moment, the sewer rat launched itself.
Squeeeeak!
The tiny rat jumped with desperate bravery. It landed right on the goblin's ugly face. It sank its tiny claws straight into the crimson eyeball and bit down with everything it had.
"Gyaaaaargh!"
The goblin unleashed a horrifying screech. It thrashed wildly. It stumbled backward, slapping its own face with its green hands to rip the rat off.
The beast grabbed the rat and squeezed with brutal force. It threw the tiny creature away. The rat smashed into a dead tree with a sickening crunch of tiny bones.
[Alert! Summon 'Sewer Rat' is in critical condition!]
It was a cruel sacrifice. But it bought Ren the single second he needed.
He didn't hesitate. He snatched a sharp, fist-sized rock off the dirt.
He charged forward with all his might. The goblin was still reeling, grabbing its ruined eye while black blood poured between its fingers.
Ren closed the distance. Carrying all his rage, his despair, and his raw need to survive... he slammed the jagged rock straight into the goblin's exposed throat.
Crunch!
The stone ripped right through the soft flesh. Rotten blood sprayed out, washing over Ren's face and hands.
The goblin choked on its own blood. It gurgled, fighting for air. Its one good eye rolled into the back of its head. The ugly body collapsed onto the dirt, completely lifeless.
Ren stood there, panting heavily. His chest pumped like a blacksmith's bellows.
A familiar chime rang in his mind.
[Exterminated: Goblin (Rank F)] [Gained 10 Exp.]
A solid, glowing object rolled out of the goblin's corpse. It bumped right against Ren's shoe. A small, round stone pulsing with a dim green light.
[Item Found: Goblin Core (Rank F)] [Alert: You can fuse this core with the injured summon 'Sewer Rat'. Do you wish to activate the Cosmic Furnace?]