Eli was halfway through treating a wounded horned rabbit when the clinic trembled.
Not violently—just enough to make the shelves rattle.
He froze.
A sharp, tearing sound followed. Not metal. Not glass.
Reality itself.
Eli rushed to the window.
A few blocks away, the air had split open.
A jagged fracture hovered between two buildings, leaking distorted purple-black light. Cars had stalled mid-road. People were screaming, running in every direction.
"…A dungeon break," Eli whispered.
His stomach dropped.
That spot was bad. Too close to residential zones—and too far from the nearest Hunters Association branch. Even if they mobilized immediately, they wouldn't arrive in time.
And dungeon breaks didn't wait.
The first goblin crawled out.
Then another.
Then a dozen more.
They spilled onto the street like ants from a broken nest.
Someone fell.
A goblin pounced.
Blood hit the pavement.
Eli's hands trembled.
"I'm not a hunter," he muttered. "I'm not registered. I'm not ready—"
Another scream.
He clenched his fists.
If he did nothing, people would die. A lot of them.
"…Damn it."
Eli threw on his coat and ran.
Every step toward the dungeon felt wrong. His instincts screamed at him to turn back, to hide, to survive.
But his feet didn't stop.
"SYSTEM," he whispered. "RELEASE CORRUPTED HOUND."
[CONFIRMED.]
[SUMMONING — CORRUPTED HOUND.]
Dark lightning rippled across the ground as the three-eyed hound emerged, muscles coiled, eyes glowing with feral focus.
The goblins noticed instantly.
They shrieked and charged.
"GO!" Eli shouted.
The hound exploded forward.
A paw slammed into the first goblin.
Shadow lightning detonated.
The creature was sent flying, body smoking as it crashed into a wall.
Another goblin leapt—
Claws tore through it midair.
[SHADOW FANG ACTIVATED.]
Eli's breath caught.
This wasn't training.
This was real combat.
More goblins poured out.
Five became ten. Ten became twenty.
Too many.
The hound fought like a storm, but cracks were forming. It couldn't cover everything.
One goblin slipped past.
Eli barely dodged as a crude blade grazed his arm.
Pain flared.
[WARNING: MONSTER COUNT EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS.]
"I KNOW," Eli snapped, heart pounding.
Then—
A surge.
Heat and darkness flooded his body.
[LEVEL UP DETECTED.]
[MASTER LEVEL: 1 → 2.]
Eli gasped.
His hands burned.
Shadows wrapped around his arms, his fingers elongating slightly—claws forming. Half human. Half hound.
"What the—?!"
[COMPATIBILITY SYNC ACTIVE.]
[SKILL SHARED: SHADOW FANG — PARTIAL MANIFESTATION.]
Eli didn't have time to think.
A goblin lunged.
He swung.
Shadow lightning exploded from his clawed hand, tearing straight through the creature.
Eli stared at his hand.
"…I can fight too."
He moved.
Not recklessly—but decisively.
Eli fought beside the hound, their movements syncing unnaturally well.
Shadow Fang tore through goblins. Dark arcs carved paths through the street.
Bodies fell.
Mana surged.
[LEVEL UP DETECTED.]
[MASTER LEVEL: 2 → 3.]
Eli felt it—but didn't stop.
There was no time to adjust stats. No time to breathe.
The last goblin fell.
Silence.
Then—
A staff struck the ground.
The temperature dropped.
Ice crawled across the pavement.
Eli turned.
At the edge of the dungeon crack stood a goblin draped in bones and tattered cloth. Frost swirled around it naturally—old, practiced.
A shaman.
Then Eli noticed the staff.
At its tip pulsed a writhing, glowing creature.
A slime.
"…Fire and ice?" Eli muttered.
The shaman raised its staff.
Ice spears formed midair and launched.
Eli barely rolled aside as they shattered the ground behind him.
Then fire followed.
A blazing arc scorched past his shoulder.
Eli stumbled.
Even with Shadow Fang, he couldn't keep up.
[SYSTEM ALERT.]
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]
Information flooded his vision.
[TARGET: GOBLIN SHAMAN.]
[PRIMARY MAGIC: ICE.]
[SECONDARY MAGIC SOURCE: RARE FIRE SLIME — LEVEL 10.]
[STATUS: SLIME IN AGONY. FORCED MAGICAL CONDUCTION.]
Eli's eyes widened.
"It's… using the slime as a battery."
The slime trembled violently, its form unstable. Eli felt it—pain, fear, desperation.
Something twisted in his chest.
"SYSTEM," Eli said urgently. "CAN I COMMUNICATE WITH IT?"
[MONSTER GARDENER AUTHORITY CONFIRMED.]
[COMMUNICATION PERMITTED.]
Eli focused.
The battlefield faded.
Burning.
Screaming.
Trapped.
It hurts…
Eli swallowed hard.
"I know," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I'll get you out."
The slime hesitated.
You… won't hurt me?
"No," Eli said firmly. "Come with me. I'll protect you."
Silence.
Then—
Warmth.
Acceptance.
The fire slime tore itself free.
The shaman screeched as its staff cracked, fire magic collapsing instantly.
[CONTRACT ESTABLISHED.]
[NEW MONSTER ACQUIRED: FIRE SLIME — LEVEL 10.]
Power surged through Eli's body.
[SKILL UNLOCKED: EMBER FLOW — CONTROLLED FIRE OUTPUT, HIGH AFFINITY.]
[SKILL SHARING AVAILABLE.]
The shaman roared and unleashed ice magic desperately.
Eli raised his clawed hand.
"EMBER FLOW."
Fire surged—not wild, not chaotic.
Controlled.
Focused.
Fire devoured ice.
The shaman's spell collapsed.
Eli lunged.
Shadow Fang and fire combined.
The shaman's chest imploded as shadow lightning and flame tore through it.
The body disintegrated midair.
Silence fell.
Eli dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
[DUNGEON BREAK SUPPRESSED.]
[REWARDS ACQUIRED.]
[SKILL GAINED: BASIC MANA CONTROL.]
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Hunters.
Eli stood.
"…Not today."
He ran.
By the time the Hunters Association arrived, the street was empty.
But somewhere—
A video was already spreading.