​The smell of copper and rot was thick enough to choke on. Deep within the lower depths of the Obsidian Caverns, a rank-D dungeon that should have been far out of reach for a group of novices, the air hung heavy with damp, stifling heat.​Leo knelt in the dirt, his lungs burning as he gasped for air. Blood trickled from a jagged gash on his forehead, blurring his vision in crimson streaks. Just feet away, the towering form of a Shadow-Clawed Bear let out a low, guttural roar that rattled the loose gravel on the stone floor. Its eyes glowed like dying embers, saliva dripping from a jaw wide enough to snap a man in half.​"Keep it busy, Leo!" a voice called out from the shadows near the cavern exit.​Leo looked up, wiping the warm blood from his eyes. Marcus stood near the glowing blue archway of the dungeon portal, his polished silver armor gleaming under the soft mana light. Beside him stood Elena, her staff already powered down, and two other senior members of the Iron Vanguard Guild

​The silence of the Obsidian Caverns was short-lived.​Leo stood amidst the rubble, watching the massive corpse of the Shadow-Clawed Bear slowly dissolve into particles of dark mana. What remained on the ground were three glinting mana crystals and a jagged, glowing beast-core. Under normal circumstances, a dungeon boss's drop would be worth thousands of credits to any guild—enough to pay off debts, buy high-tier armor, or live comfortably for months.​Leo knelt down and picked up the dark red beast-core. The moment his hands wrapped around the warm stone, the blood-red interface flashed in his line of sight.​[Item Detected: Shadow-Clawed Beast Core (Rank-D)][Class Skill 'Scavenger' Active: Convert core into raw materials?][Option A: Refine into High-Grade Iron Ore][Option B: Absorb Core Essence to Upgrade Weaponry]​"Option B," Leo muttered without hesitation.​The core shattered in his palm, dissolving into liquid crimson light that wrapped around his heavy kinetic gauntlets. Th

​The magma broadsword hit Leo like a falling meteor.​The sheer force of the blow shattered the cavern floor beneath him, sending a plume of sparks and pulverized rock twenty feet into the air. The intense, radiant heat scorched off what remained of his shirt, crisping the skin across his arms and torso instantly.​Leo didn't try to block the blade cleanly. He crossed his iron-bound forearms above his head, taking the full, crushing momentum straight onto his kinetic gauntlets.​BOOM!​The ground gave way, dropping Leo into a knee-deep crater of fractured basalt. The agonizing wave of heat and blunt force smashed through his defenses, cracking three of his ribs and sending a spray of blood from his mouth onto the glowing blade.​[CRITICAL DAMAGE SUSTAINED: Extreme Thermal & Heavy Crushing Trauma.][Pain Converted!][Strength +6][Endurance +8][Agility +2][Fire Resistance +5% (Total: 9%)][Kinetic Charge: 60%]​The pain was a blinding, suffocating nightmare, but the System’s icy coun

​The heavy iron hatch at the top of the stone staircase groaned in protest as Leo set his black gauntlets against its ancient, rusted rim. Dust rained down in thick sheets, settling onto his bloodied shoulders and bare, scarred chest. With a deep, controlled breath, he shoved upward. The reinforced metal, designed to keep low-tier monsters from escaping into the upper surface world, buckled under the sheer force of his converted Strength, snapping its heavy deadbolts like dry twigs.​Fresh, night air rushed down the chute, washing away the suffocating stench of sulfur, burnt flesh, and copper. It hit Leo’s face like a cold shock, sharp and clear.​He climbed out of the dark hole, stepping into the damp, overgrown thicket of the perimeter forest surrounding the Obsidian Caverns. Overhead, a full moon hung high in the indigo sky, casting long, pale shadows across the tall pine trees. In the distance, framed by the dark silhouette of the mountain range, stood the glowing neon lights and

​The entrance to Sector 4’s sub-level sewer was a rusted iron hatch buried beneath a pile of rotting debris behind a black-market meat clinic. The moment Leo kicked the heavy cover aside, a wave of humid, sickening air blasted upward, smelling of sulfur, wet copper, and melted plastic.​He descended the iron ladder into the gloom, his boots splashing down into ankle-deep, foul water. The concrete walls were slick with black moss and pitted with golf-ball-sized holes where chemical runoff had long since eaten away the stone.​Leo pulled his hood lower, adjusting his dark trench coat. Underneath his sleeves, the D-rank Void-Infused Kinetic Gauntlets rested cold and heavy against his forearms. He didn't pull them out yet. The dark tunnel stretched ahead, illuminated only by patches of bioluminescent fungus growing along the pipes.​HISS.​A sharp, metallic spray cut through the silence.​From the shadows twenty feet ahead, three dog-sized creatures crawled out of a shattered drainage pip