Part 1: David vs. Goliath
Ren's scream echoed in the cavern as he leaped from the boulder. He was a small green blur of desperation, raising the Crude Bone Club high above his head.
The Giant Sludge Toad was still thrashing, smoke curling from its nostrils, its massive, sticky tongue lolling out of its mouth like a dead snake.
"Die!" Ren shrieked.
WHAM!
The club connected with the center of the Toad's skull, right between its bulbous eyes.
The impact jarred Ren's arms all the way to his shoulders. It felt like hitting a tire with a baseball bat. The Toad's skin was thick, rubbery, and covered in slime. The blow didn't crack the skull; it just bounced off.
[Damage Dealt: 4 (Blunt)]
[Enemy HP: 85%]
"Are you kidding me?!" Ren gasped, landing awkwardly on the creature's broad, slippery back. "I put my back into that!"
The Level gap was too wide. His Strength stat of 3 was nothing compared to the natural armor of a Level 8 Rank E+ monster.
The Toad, jolted by the hit, snapped out of its stunned state. It let out a gurgling roar of rage. It couldn't see straight, and its insides were burning from the explosion, but it knew something was on its back.
It bucked.
Ren lost his footing instantly. He slid off the slime-covered back and crashed onto the jagged stones near the water's edge.
Crunch.
[HP: 7/9]
"Ow..." Ren groaned, rolling over.
Above him, the Toad turned. One of its eyes was bloodshot and swollen shut from the internal pressure of the blast, but the other yellow eye locked onto him. It raised a massive, webbed foot to crush him into paste.
Part 2: The Soft Spot
Ren's gamer brain processed the situation in milliseconds.
Attack: Stomp.
Speed: Slow (due to injury).
Dodge window: 0.5 seconds.
Ren didn't stand up. He rolled.
BOOM!
The Toad's foot smashed the ground where Ren's head had been a moment ago, sending rock shards flying. One shard sliced Ren's cheek.
[HP: 6/9]
Ren scrambled backward on all fours, splashing into the shallow edge of the pool. The Toad loomed over him, preparing to vomit its Poison Spit.
"I can't bludgeon it," Ren realized, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "My STR is too low. I need piercing damage. I need a critical hit."
He dropped the heavy bone club. It was useless here.
He reached for the Rainbow Pocket Knife. It was small, cheap, and ridiculous, but it had a point.
The Toad hacked, its throat bulging.
"Not this time!"
Ren didn't run away. He ran forward.
He dove between the Toad's front legs. It was a suicidal maneuver. The stench of the creature was overpowering—rotten fish and sewage.
As the Toad fired its poison spit at the spot where Ren used to be, Ren stood up underneath the monster.
He looked up. The underbelly.
Unlike the thick, warty back, the stomach skin was pale, stretched thin, and pulsing.
"Open surgery!" Ren yelled.
He gripped the knife with both hands and thrust it upward with every ounce of strength his Level 3 body possessed.
Part 3: Visceral Victory
Squelch.
The blade sank in to the hilt.
The Toad stiffened. It let out a high-pitched whistle of agony.
Ren didn't stop. He grabbed the handle and dragged the blade backward, slicing through the soft belly meat like a zipper.
Purple blood and vile-smelling internal fluids poured out, drenching Ren instantly. It burned his skin, stinging like acid.
[Warning: Corrosive Fluid Detected.]
[HP: 5/9... 4/9...]
"I don't care!" Ren roared, twisting the knife.
The Toad collapsed. Its legs gave out, and the massive body came crashing down.
Ren scrambled out from underneath just in time to avoid being crushed by the falling carcass. He slid across the wet floor, covered in purple gore, panting heavily.
The Toad twitched once. Twice.
Then, it went still.
[Ding!]
[Ding!]
[Ding!]
The sound of the system notifications was like a choir of angels.
[You have defeated a Giant Sludge Toad (Rank E+).]
[Boss Kill Bonus: Experience Multiplier x2.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Ren: Level 3 $\rightarrow$ Level 6]
[Attributes Updated]
Strength: 3 $\rightarrow$ 6
Agility: 5 $\rightarrow$ 8
Intelligence: 25 $\rightarrow$ 28
Mana: 12 $\rightarrow$ 18
HP: 20/20 (Healed)
Ren lay on his back, staring at the glowing worms on the ceiling. The burning sensation on his skin faded as the level-up healed him.
"I won," he whispered, a hysterical laugh bubbling up in his throat. "I actually won."
Part 4: The Feast of Ascendance
Ren sat up and looked at the mountain of meat before him.
The hunger hit him like a physical blow. It was the [Gluttony] trait of the Goblin race. After a hard fight, the body demanded fuel to process the Experience Points.
And this wasn't just any meat. This was a Rank E+ monster.
"If I eat this..." Ren swallowed hard. "I will definitely evolve."
He stood up, walking toward the carcass. He felt a strange disconnect. The human part of him was disgusted, but the monster part of him was salivating. The purple meat looked... powerful.
"I need to be strong," Ren told himself. "If I stay a Runt, I'll die in the next fight. I need to be able to use my Collection."
He knelt by the Toad. He cut a piece of the thigh meat.
He took a bite.
It was rubbery and tasted of ozone, but as it hit his stomach, it exploded into energy.
[System Notification]
[Consuming High-Rank Biomass...]
[Genetic Code Extracted: Poison Resistance (Minor)]
[Genetic Code Extracted: Amphibious Lungs]
[Evolution Threshold Reached.]
Ren ate faster. He ate until his stomach felt like it would burst. He stripped the Toad of its rarest parts—the poison sac, the tongue, the eyes—and consumed them or stored them.
As the last bite went down, his body began to heat up. It started in his chest, a burning fever that spread to his limbs.
[Evolution Available]
[Please Select Evolution Path:]
A menu appeared in his vision, shimmering in gold.
1. Hobgoblin (Soldier Type)
Description: The standard evolution. Large, muscular, high strength and vitality. Good for frontline combat.
2. Goblin Scout (Assassin Type)
Description: Lean, fast, and stealthy. High agility. excels in ambush tactics and critical hits.
3. Goblin Shaman (Mage Type)
Description: Physically weak, but high intelligence and mana capacity. Can learn tribal magic.
Ren looked at the options.
"Hobgoblin is strong, but big targets are easy to hit. Shaman gives Mana... which I desperately need for my figures."
But then, he saw a fourth option. It was flickering, unstable, likely unlocked because of his unique "Collector" skill and his strange method of killing the boss (explosives and tools).
4. Goblin Tinkerer (Special Variant)
Description: A rare variant that relies on dexterity and intelligence. Physically small but nimble. Bonus to crafting, trap making, and item usage efficiency.
Part 5: The Transformation
Ren stared at the options.
"Hobgoblin is too brutish. Shaman is good, but if I run out of Mana, I'm dead meat."
He looked at Goblin Tinkerer.
Item Usage Efficiency.
"If that applies to my summoned items... maybe it lowers the mana cost? or makes them last longer?"
It was a gamble. But Ren was a Collector. He appreciated the "Rare" and "Special" tags.
"I choose... Goblin Tinkerer."
[Selection Confirmed.]
[Beginning Metamorphosis.]
Pain.
It wasn't the dull ache of a bruise. It felt like his bones were being broken and reset. His skin felt like it was peeling off.
"GAAAAH!" Ren screamed, curling into a fetal position on the floor.
His skeleton shifted. His fingers grew longer, more dexterous. His legs became less bowed, more suited for running and climbing. His brain felt like it was expanding, neural pathways forging at lightning speed.
The world went black.
...
Time passed. Minutes? Hours?
Ren opened his eyes.
The pain was gone. He felt... compact. Efficient.
He stood up. He wasn't a towering giant like the Hobgoblin. He was still short, maybe 4 feet tall (120cm), but he was no longer a malnourished Runt.
He looked at his reflection in the dark pool.
His skin was a darker, healthier green. His eyes were sharp and intelligent, glowing with a faint golden hue. His ears were long and pointed. His hands were slender but looked capable of delicate work.
[Status Updated]
Name: Ren
Race: Goblin Tinkerer (Rare)
Rank: E-
Level: 1 (Reset upon Evolution)
HP: 40/40
MP: 50/50 (Significant Increase)
Strength: 10 | Agility: 18 | Intelligence: 40
Passive Skill: [Item Mastery (Lv 1) - Reduces Mana cost of item activation by 10%]
Ren grinned, revealing a set of sharp, clean teeth.
"Fifty Mana," he whispered. "And a discount."
He opened his Inventory. He looked at his collection. With 50 Mana, the possibilities had just expanded.
"Time to test out a new toy."
End of Chapter 5
Summary of Assets:
Race: Goblin Tinkerer (Rank E-)
Current Status: Healthy, Full Mana.
Passive: Item Mastery (10% Mana Cost Reduction).
Current MP: 50.
Location: Mushroom Cave.