NOVPUBGolem Mountain.
Inside a dungeon.
'How is this human still taking hits?' Kira thought to herself, arms crossed as she leaned against the stone wall.
Her crimson eyes gleamed with boredom as she watched her student, Luka, holding his ground.
In front of him, several small golems had awakened—each one no taller than his chest, but packed with dense, earthen muscles—
Swinging their heavy stone arms one after another in rhythmic attempts to crush him.
Luka grit his teeth as his long dagger shook violently in his grasp, catching yet another crushing blow.
His arm trembled from the force, his fingers aching.
Still, he didn't break formation.
'Damn, when will she let me attack?' Luka thought, darting backward a few feet to reposition.
'I'm getting bored just defending… and I want that XP…'
Despite their weighty attacks, the little golems were incredibly slow.
Painfully slow.
They moved like a rusted wind-up toy, dragging their feet forward, each punch telegraphed a mile away.
Luka had plenty of time to dodge, duck, and parry—yet his teacher had made it very clear:
Pure defense only.
So there he remained, drenched in sweat, circling and sidestepping, carefully intercepting blows with the flat of his blade.
Each hit sent jolts of pain up his arm.
Worse yet, the little golems didn't tire—they had no stamina to drain, no breath to lose.
They just kept coming.
Minutes passed.
Then a half hour.
Then a full hour.
Luka's face was flushed, his breath ragged, and his soaked uniform clung to his back like a second skin.
"Um…" he called out, raising a hand mid-sway between attacks, "Can I please kill them now? I think I've demonstrated enough defense for the day…"
Kira rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Fine, whatever. Go ahead."
She waved a hand dismissively. 'It's fine… These were just little golems… The weakest forms of golems.'
Luka's eyes lit up. "Sweet."
With renewed energy, he straightened up and narrowed his focus.
Rather than block the next sluggish swing, he stepped to the right, letting it pass him.
He then slipped under the nearest golem's arm with surprising grace and maneuvered behind it.
The next golem threw its punch—only to smack its rocky fist straight into the back of its companion.
CRACK.
Chunks of stone flew.
Luka was grinning now.
'It appears this works as good as in the game.'
He kept circling, baiting the golems into hitting each other instead of him.
Each time, more bits broke off.
The little golems stumbled, arms dangling awkwardly from their sockets.
Some fell onto one knee, no longer able to throw a proper punch—too many of its body destroyed.
By the end, what remained of the little golems were cracked torsos and stumps of arms, twitching but unable to swing.
Once the little golems were nothing more than twitching, half-broken heaps of stone, Luka didn't hesitate.
He walked up to the first one, raised his foot, and slammed it down with all his strength.
The little golem cracked instantly beneath his heel.
[Ding! You have killed a Little Golem!]
[+15 XP Earned.]
"Nice," Luka muttered with a satisfied grin, moving to the next.
Another stomp.
Another break.
[Ding! You have killed a Little Golem!]
[+15 XP Earned.]
Luka began to enjoy the process—clean, efficient, and oddly therapeutic.
The little golems were quite literally stepping stones.
'Cutlivation moment,' he thought to himself.
[Ding! You have killed a Little Golem!]
[+15 XP Earned.]
[Ding! You have killed a Little Golem!]
[+15 XP Earned.]
Once again, the system resounded inside Luka's head.
[New Title Unlocked: (Stone Breaker) — After taking a hit, you become increasingly resistant to pain. For the next 60 seconds, pain is nullified, and your Strength increases by +10. (Cooldown: 60 minutes)] 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Whistling to himself, Luka beamed at the new title.
'Stone Breaker...'
He liked the sound of that.
The strength bonus would definitely come in handy, but what really got his blood pumping was how close he was to leveling up.
Luka's thoughts drifted to just that, and curiosity quickly got the better of him.
"Open Status!" he called out.
In an instant, the system windows shimmered to life around him, floating in his field of vision.
Without hesitation, his eyes darted to the one that mattered most at the moment.
———————
[User: Luka Rein Junker]
Race: Human
Class: Ranger
Level: 2 (XP: 180 / 200)
Hit Points: 14 / 14]
———————
"Damn," Luka muttered under his breath, just barely holding back a sigh. "So close…"
That burning itch for progress gnawed at him harder than the weight of exhaustion in his limbs.
He turned to face his teacher, who had been silently watching him.
"Ma'am," Luka said, his tone more serious now. "May I try and clear this dungeon?"
Kira blinked, tilting her head slightly as if she'd misheard. "What did you just say?"
Swiping the system windows away with a flick of his wrist, Luka rubbed his cheek with a tired hand and looked ahead—deeper into the dungeon.
His gaze carried no hesitation, only hunger for XP.
"I really want more experience points. So I was wondering… would you let me try to clear this dungeon?"
"…" Kira stared at her student in disbelief, caught completely off guard.
"I don't see why not. Sure. Go ahead."
"Thank you." Luka wasted no time and began moving.
Kira followed behind, biting her lip to suppress the twisted smile threatening to break across her face.
She couldn't wait—for the moment he'd stumble, the instant panic would flicker in his eyes.
Whether he begged for her help or turned to flee like the coward she believed he was, it made no difference.
Just like all the other humans, he would show his true nature—putting his own survival above everything else.
Something Kira couldn't wait to see.
This student of hers at his lowest, stripped of hope, clinging to life like a worm in the dirt.
Whether he died screaming or tried to drag her down with him, it didn't matter.
'It'll be quite interesting. Let's see just how far this human gets… in a B-Rank Dungeon.'
