The speed of the creature caught Cain off guard, but he managed to react in time, throwing himself to the side.
The creature shot past the spot he had been standing in a second ago, its claws scraping harshly against the ground.
Cain scrambled back to his feet, his mind racing to make sense of what he was dealing with. But before he could process it any further, a screen suddenly flashed into existence in front of the beast.
[Cinder Rat. F-Tier]
"F-Tier?" Cain repeated under his breath. He didn’t know such a rank existed. Dungeon monsters were usually ranked E to S, with E-Tier being the weakest.
A creature with a similar rank as a hunter was usually much stronger, and it took two or more hunters of a rank higher to deal with them.
Which was why E-Rank was considered useless, because they couldn’t do anything against E-Tier creatures.
But this wasn’t an E-Tier beast. It was F-Tier, meaning Cain stood a chance.
With his training and a weapon, he was sure he could compensate for the disadvantage of a lack of numbers.
But he didn’t have a weapon, so as the creature charged at him once again, he didn’t hesitate.
He turned and ran.
It was stupid to try fighting this creature barehanded.
And as he ran, another system notification flashed into view.
[Cain Wright. You have been selected to become a Hero Candidate.]
[Purge all island entities to gain full qualification.]
[You are currently undergoing training.]
[Cinder Rat is the starting entity for your training as a hero.]
Cain’s jaw tightened, his thoughts racing just as fast as his body.
This was supposed to be training?
The screen flickered again.
[Cinder Rat is the starting entity for your training as a hero.]
"I got it."
[Cinder Rat is the starting entity for your training as a hero.]
"I said I got it!!"
The system repeated the same notification like a broken NPC stuck on a fixed response, and that alone was enough to irritate him.
For a brief second, the notice disappeared.
But it reappeared again, this time showing something much more useful.
[You have been granted Basic Training Armament.]
"Basic Armament?"
A faint light formed in front of him, keeping pace with his movement as it began to take shape.
It hovered for a split second before dropping, and Cain didn’t hesitate. His fingers closed around the handle.
A blade?
This was exactly what he needed.
Now that he had a weapon in his hand, Cain felt confident in his odds.
He glanced back and saw the rat closing in on him as he slowed down his run.
He slowed even further.
The Cinder Rat burst forward.
He shifted his footing and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the rat.
The rat burst past him before skidding to a stop and turning back toward him, its ember-like eyes locking onto him again.
This time, Cain didn’t turn away.
His grip tightened around the blade as he forced himself to stand his ground.
The Cinder Rat lunged again, just as fast as before.
Cain moved accordingly, stepping out of range of its claws and twisting away from its snapping jaws that left faint trails of ash in the air.
He didn’t rush or panic.
He forced himself to stay calm as he dodged again and again, each movement bringing him closer to understanding the Cinder Rat’s movement pattern.
He waited until the moment the Cinder Rat’s attack overextended, leaving a brief opening he had been waiting for.
The rat snapped forward, and Cain shifted just enough to the side to avoid the creature’s bite, then drove the blade into the creature’s side with everything he had.
The creature let out a sharp, piercing screech as the metal sank deep into its body.
It thrashed violently, trying to pull away, but Cain didn’t let go.
He forced the blade deeper, pinning it to the ground, and leaned his weight into the strike, holding it there until the resistance weakened. After a few seconds, the creature finally went still.
Cain rose to his feet, breathing hard as he stared down at the creature beneath him.
The heat pressed against his skin, sweat ran down his face, and his chest rose and fell unevenly.
But he had a smile on his face.
"...I did it?" he muttered under his breath.
There was a brief pause, just long enough for the silence to settle again, before the air in front of him flickered once more and a series of notifications appeared.
[You have defeated: Cinder Rat]
[You have leveled up]
[Your level reflects your progression, strengthening your attributes and pushing your limits further with each gain]
[At certain milestones, you’ll receive bonus rewards and abilities designed to enhance your performance in combat]
[Due to your Hero designation, your attributes are distributed automatically in the most effective way]
[You have acquired skill: Heat Resistance]
As the notifications appeared one after another, a subtle shift ran through his body.
The oppressive heat that had been pressing against his skin eased slightly, like an invisible weight being lifted off him.
It wasn’t a full relief, but it was enough to be noticeable.
The air no longer felt like it was trying to suffocate him with every breath, and the sunlight didn’t sting his skin like before.
This must be the effect of Heat Resistance.
Cain thought to himself as he pulled out the blade from the Cinder Rat’s corpse.
One thing he was certain about was that this was not a game. He had just killed a real, living monster and had grown stronger as a result.
Meaning this trial ground, becoming a Hero Candidate, and having to purge the island of monsters were all real and something he had to consider.
Cain sighed. He hadn’t signed up for this. He had thought all he had to do was drink some serum and he would gain power.
But that did not seem to be the case.
Now he had to fight monsters for who knew how long.
*SHUFFLE SHUFFLE
A sound cut through the silence.
His head snapped up immediately.
And he spotted another Cinder Rat.
But it wasn’t just one this time.
There were about a dozen, coming at him from all directions.