The red liquid inside the 'Full Recovery Potion' glowed with a strange, warm light. Arthur didn't hesitate. He uncorked the vial with his trembling, blood-stained fingers and downed it in one gulp.
It tasted like liquid fire, but the moment it slid down his throat, a miraculous change occurred. The excruciating pain in his chest vanished. He looked down and watched in shock as torn muscles knit back together, shattered ribs snapped back into place, and his pale skin regained its healthy color in mere seconds.
Not only was he fully healed, but he felt a strange surge of vitality pumping through his veins. He felt stronger, faster, and more alive than he had ever felt in his entire miserable twenty years of life.
A sharp screech snapped him out of his daze.
The D-Rank Shadow Arachnid, confused as to why its dead prey was suddenly standing up, clicked its venomous mandibles in anger. It lunged again, its eight massive legs carrying it across the cavern floor with terrifying speed.
But this time, Arthur's eyes could track its movements.
'I'm an F-Rank,' Arthur thought, his mind racing. 'Even fully healed, I can't pierce its armor with my bare hands. I need a weapon!'
His eyes darted around the dimly lit cavern. Near his discarded backpack, he spotted Zane's spare weapon—a heavy, steel shortsword the arrogant C-Rank warrior had dropped while running away like a coward.
Arthur dove for the sword. His fingers wrapped around the cold, leather-bound hilt just as the giant spider crashed into the spot where he had been standing a split second before, shattering the solid rock.
"You missed, you ugly bastard!" Arthur roared, fueled by a mix of adrenaline and the burning hatred he felt for Zane and Elara.
The spider hissed, rearing back to spit a glob of highly corrosive acid. Arthur remembered studying monster encyclopedias for years since his F-Rank abilities forced him to rely on knowledge rather than power. He knew the Shadow Arachnid's weak point: the soft, glowing blue cluster of eyes on its underbelly.
As the monster reared back, exposing its weak spot, Arthur didn't retreat. He charged forward, sliding under the creature's massive, hairy legs. The acid flew over his head, melting the stone wall behind him with a sickening hiss.
While sliding directly beneath the beast, Arthur gripped the steel shortsword with both hands and thrust it upwards with every ounce of strength he had in his body.
SKREEEEEECH!
The blade pierced the soft blue cluster. Dark, foul-smelling blood rained down on Arthur as the monster thrashed violently. He held on, twisting the blade deeper and deeper until it reached the creature's brain.
With a final, deafening shriek, the massive D-Rank monster collapsed, its heavy body crashing onto the cavern floor, mere inches away from crushing Arthur.
Arthur lay there, panting heavily, covered in monster blood. He had done it. He, the weakest F-Rank porter, had single-handedly killed a D-Rank monster.
Suddenly, the cold, robotic voice echoed in his mind once more.
[Ding!]
[Host has successfully killed a D-Rank Shadow Arachnid.]
[Base Experience gained: 500 EXP]
[Base Loot: Shadow Fang x2, Venom Sac x1, 50 Bronze Coins]
Arthur smiled weakly. It wasn't bad for a first kill. But then, the blue screen flickered, and the text changed, glowing with an intense golden light.
[Passive Skill '100x Multiplier' Activated!]
[Calculating rewards...]
[Experience gained: 500 EXP x 100 = 50,000 EXP!]
[Loot gained: Shadow Fang x200, Venom Sac x100, 5,000 Bronze Coins!]
Arthur's jaw dropped. Fifty thousand experience points?! A normal F-Rank awakened needed only 1,000 EXP to reach E-Rank. This amount of EXP was something a regular hunter would have to grind for years to obtain!
Before he could even process the sheer absurdity of the reward, a series of notifications bombarded his vision.
[Ding! Host has leveled up to E-Rank!]
[Ding! Host has leveled up to D-Rank!]
[Ding! Host has leveled up to C-Rank!]
A tremendous, overwhelming power exploded from within his core. His muscles expanded, tearing his old, ragged shirt. His senses sharpened to an impossible degree. He could hear the drops of water falling a mile away; he could see perfectly in the pitch-black darkness of the cavern.
He had jumped from the absolute trash-tier F-Rank to a respectable C-Rank warrior in a matter of seconds. He was now just as strong as Zane, the man who had left him to die.
Arthur slowly stood up, the heavy steel shortsword now feeling as light as a feather in his hand. He looked at the massive pile of glowing monster materials and the mountain of coins the system had deposited directly into his spatial inventory.
A dark, chilling smile spread across his blood-splattered face.
"Zane... Elara..." Arthur whispered, his voice echoing in the empty cavern, carrying a promise of absolute destruction. "I hope you two survive the upper levels. Because if the monsters don't kill you... I will."
The hunt had just begun.