The creature lunged forward again.
This time… faster, more dangerous.
But Rin was no longer the same.
His eyes narrowed.
Everything around him seemed to slow down.
The creature's movements… its claws… even the dust in the air—
He could see it all clearly.
"So this is… Combat Instinct…"
Rin muttered softly.
The creature's claw came straight toward his chest—
But Rin moved.
He stepped aside at the perfect moment.
For the first time—
He didn't dodge in panic.
He dodged with precision.
"Now…!"
Rin grabbed a broken sword lying on the ground.
For a moment, his hands trembled—
But then, they steadied.
The creature let out a terrifying roar.
At that moment, the system screen flashed—
[ENEMY DETECTED: VOID BEAST]
[RANK: F]
[TYPE: DARK CREATURE]
Rin's eyes widened slightly.
"A… Void Beast…?"
The creature rushed toward him again, its glowing red eyes filled with killing intent.
Rin took a deep breath.
"If I don't kill it… I die."
No hesitation.
No fear.
Only one choice.
Survive.
The Void Beast attacked—
And this time—
Rin ran toward it.
The distance between them closed in an instant.
At the exact moment the Void Beast attacked—
Rin stepped forward.
And swung his sword with all his strength.
SLASH!
The blade tore through the Void Beast's neck.
Silence.
For a moment… everything stood still.
Then—
The Void Beast's body collapsed to the ground.
Rin stood there, frozen.
Breathing heavily.
"I… killed it…?"
Before he could process it—
The system appeared again.
[ENEMY DEFEATED: VOID BEAST]
[EXP GAINED: +50]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL: 1 → 2]
A surge of energy rushed through his body.
His strength increased.
His breathing stabilized.
His wounds… slowly began to heal.
Rin looked at his hands in shock.
"This power…"
"This is real…"
The system screen flickered once more.
[NEW SKILL AVAILABLE]
[SKILL: BASIC SWORD MASTERY (Lv.1)]
A faint smile appeared on Rin's face.
For the first time in his life—
He felt it.
Power.
Real power.
But suddenly—
The ground trembled again.
BOOM…
Rin's expression turned serious.
Slowly… he turned around.
In the distance—
More Void Beasts were approaching.
And this time…
There were dozens of them.
Rin tightened his grip on the sword.
"This is just the beginning…"