Nova dashed toward the goblin, baring his claws as he roared, "MAD BEAST CLAW!"
Blue and black energy flared from his hand, wild and violent. He slashed down with brutal force—but the goblin caught his arm mid-swing with shocking speed and grinned.
BAM!
The handle of the goblin's weapon cracked against Nova's skull. The impact echoed through the dungeon as Nova was sent flying, crashing into the stone wall with a grunt.
"Argh—! Damn… that hurt," Nova groaned, wiping blood from his lip. "How was he so fast…?"
Before he could fully rise, the goblin raised one clawed hand and released his ability :
SHADOW ARCANA: CRY OF THE FALSE DRAKE!
A thunderous wail burst from its throat—shadow magic pulsing in rippling waves, tearing through stone and space itself. The shockwave screamed toward Nova.
"Echo Step!" Nova vanished in an instant.
He reappeared behind the goblin, crouched low, lips parting in a savage grin.
"Mad Dog Howl!"
A sphere of compressed energy surged at his mouth before detonating in a howling blast. It struck the goblin's back, pushing it forward—but the beast remained standing, barely staggered.
"Tch... Still not enough…"
Nova narrowed his eyes, and the air around him distorted.
[Skill Activated: SINGULARITY]
A small black sphere bloomed in his palm, no larger than a marble—silent, but impossibly dense. The goblin turned, saw it, and laughed mockingly.
As if saying Hah! That's your big move
Nova said nothing.
His voice dropped, laced with something ancient—echoing in tones not entirely human.
"Sink... into darkness."
Dark energy pulsed out in waves. His pupils narrowed, his mind clouded by fury and something darker. The singularity swelled—first a marble, then a boulder, then...
A moon.
A howling vacuum formed. Rubble, weapons, chunks of the dungeon floor—everything was dragged toward the growing black hole. The goblin scrambled, claws scraping stone, finally gripping onto a jagged outcropping for dear life, resisting the pull with every ounce of strength.
"No... no...!"
Nova walked forward, unaffected. The very laws of gravity ignored him.
He floated inches above the ground, stopping just in front of the goblin whose body dangled midair, barely holding on.
Nova knelt calmly, face-to-face with the creature.
"Let go," he whispered.
The goblin's eyes widened in horror.
"MAD BEAST CLAW."
SHLICK.
Nova's claws gleamed once more as they sliced clean through the goblin's arms.
The grip broke.
The goblin screamed as it was pulled into the singularity, twisting, vanishing—until there was nothing left.
Then—
BOOM.
The black hole collapsed in on itself, releasing a shockwave that scattered dust and silence across the dungeon.
A cold chime echoed:
[ENEMY DEFEATED — LEVEL 2 ACHIEVED]
[LEVEL UP COMPLETE]
STRENGTH: 1 → 2
SPEED: 4 → 6
ENDURANCE: 5 → 8
HP: 25 → 28
ARCANA ENERGY: 3 → 5
ARCANA OUTPUT: 4 → 6
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE?]
Nova's vision cleared as the swirling energy around him faded. He returned to his human form. His breath steadied, his heartbeat slowing. A strange weight lifted from his chest, like something dark had momentarily taken hold of him—and finally let go.
He stared into the dim dungeon air, wiping sweat from his brow.
"…Before we continue," he muttered, "can someone please explain to me what the hell that was?"
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MAD DOG SIDE EFFECTS—]
—RAGE FUELS YOUR POWER.
—BATTLE FUELS YOUR RAGE.
Nova blinked. "Okay... And now in actual English?"
[YOU GET STRONGER WHEN YOU GET ANGRY.]
[YOU GET ANGRIER WHEN YOU FIGHT.]
"…Oh. That sounds incredibly unhealthy."
[MAN, YOU REALLY ARE DENSE.]
Nova flinched. "Huh?! Since when did you have a personality?"
[I'VE ALWAYS HAD ONE. YOU JUST NEVER BOTHERED TO NOTICE.]
[TYPICAL PROTAGONIST BEHAVIOR.]
"I'm not even gonna unpack that," Nova grumbled, crossing his arms. "Fine. Just tell me what's next."
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUMMON LEVEL 2 ENEMY: SHADOW GOLEM?]
> [YES] [NO]
Nova stared at the glowing options.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Let's get this over with. The last one wasn't that bad anyway," he said, tapping YES without hesitation.
The dungeon trembled.
The torches flickered. Shadows stretched and twisted unnaturally across the walls.
From the far end of the chamber, a low rumble echoed, like boulders grinding against one another. Something massive was waking up.
The stone floor split open.
Dark smoke erupted from the cracks, coiling upward like a living serpent. Two glowing eyes flared to life within the black mist.
Then
An eight-foot-tall monster stepped from the mist like a nightmare given form.
No eyes. No voice. Just a lipless grin stretched too wide, exposing jagged obsidian teeth.
Its skin was a sickly purple, pulled tight over muscle that shifted with unnatural life. Four arms hung at its sides, claws long enough to pierce steel, twitching in anticipation.
Black, vine-like tattoos coiled from shoulder to hip—alive, pulsing with every breath.
It wore only pristine white harem pants, untouched by the filth around it. Each step was deliberate, patient—predatory.
Seven massive black orbs floated in a silent spiral behind it, warping the air, bending space with their slow, menacing orbit.
"Oh no..." Nova muttered, eyes narrowing as his body began transforming back into his hybrid form
[HYBRID FORM ACTIVATING...]
His breath came faster, heavier—something primal rising within.
Across the chamber, the Shadow Golem lifted two of its massive arms and began weaving a series of jagged hand signs. The air warped with each gesture, red lightning crackling along its fingertips.
Its lipless grin widened as it tilted its head—and let out a distorted chuckle like grinding stone.
Then came the chant, thunderous and warped:
CHAOS ARCANA: RED SERPENT CATACLYSM!
The ground beneath them split open with a violent quake.
From the rupture surged a massive serpent of pure crimson energy. Its form was coiled flame and fury, twisting through the air with unnatural speed. Stone shattered in its wake, the dungeon trembling beneath its wrath.
"Whoa—!" Nova's eyes widened.
ECHO STEP!
In a blink, he vanished—dodging just as the serpent roared past, destroying the ground he had just stood on.
He reappeared a dozen feet away, crouched low. "Ha! You missed!" he shouted with a grin—
But the serpent coiled in midair and turned around.
Its molten eyes locked onto him again.
"…Seriously?"
The serpent struck, faster than before.
Nova's instincts kicked in, but there was no time to teleport again. He raised both arms—
CLASH!!
The serpent bit down, its fangs slamming into Nova's forearms. He groaned, muscles bulging, as he held its massive jaws apart.
"Rrrgh—damn, you bite hard...!"
Heat seared his skin. Sparks flew as his claws dug into the energy-beast's mouth, fighting to keep it from snapping shut around his head.
The red serpent hissed, pressing harder.
Nova's footing cracked the stone floor beneath him. His vision blurred before the serpent flung him into a wall.
CRASH
Nova slammed into the wall. The serpent rushed at him once again, driving him deeper into the stone.
It lunged, jaws snapping shut around him. With a vicious twist, it flung him into the air—then coiled up, wrapping around his body mid-flight.
Tight.
Tighter.
Bones creaked.
His breath caught.
The light in his eyes began to fade and he started to feel the most primal of human fears the fear of death.
COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!
"I... I can't get away... I can't... I can't move..."
Nova whispered, the light fading from his eyes.
"Don't tell me that's all you've got, kid,"
a growling voice murmured into his mind.
It was Kan Sha, and his tone dripped with disappointment.
"Kan Sha? You're still here—great! Then stop the battle! Hurry, please!"
Nova shouted, desperation thick in his voice.
"No."
Kan Sha's reply was cold, firm.
"Why?! If I die, you die too! Stop this thing—please!"
Nova screamed in panic.
"Don't be such a coward. If you can't beat this thing, then how the hell do you expect to save your sister?"
Kan Sha roared, his voice distant but burning with fury.
Nova froze, caught off guard.
"Wait... what?"
"You heard me, kid. You won't be able to save your sister. Or the rest of your family. Or the few friends you met at Bluestone Mansion. All of them—trapped in that miserable place."
Kan Sha's words cut deep, like daggers to the heart.
He went on, his voice venomous.
"You know what they do to people there. Beaten. Abused. Used—then tossed into the dirt. Is that what you want for your sister? You want her to be found in a pile of trash? You want your nephew—he should be born in a few days—to become one of them?"
"No... No, I don't,"
Nova whispered, trembling.
"Then grit your damn teeth. Dig into that bottomless pit of malice inside your heart... and show them your rage. Show them madness."
Kan Sha's words ignited something—something violent, something primal.
> [MAD DOG SYSTEM: RESONANCE INITIATED]
Nova felt it—cold skeletal hands wrapping around his body, a whisper echoing through his bones:
> "Save them."
> [RESONANCE: 47%... 78%...]
His mind warped. Twisted. Visions struck him like lightning.
His sister—beaten, held down against her will.
> [RESONANCE: 81%... 93%...]
His friends—stabbed, kept alive to suffer.
Bones shattered, teeth knocked out. Left to rot, wounds festering, cries ignored.
> [RESONANCE: 100%]
And Nova had enough.
The serpent of energy shattered into fragments.
Nova stepped forward, body transforming—no, evolving—into something else.
The fur around his neck ignited into living flame.
Red spirals spun in his eyes.
His grin—terrifying. A madman hunting for souls.
Shadows swirled like a storm around him, and his once white scales turned black and dark gray.
> [MAD DOG: BEAST MODE ACQUIRED]