## Chapter 4 – Hunter's Eyes
The forest was silent.
Not the peaceful silence of nature, but the heavy, watchful quiet of a place where predators hunted and prey struggled to survive.
Ronan moved carefully between the trees.
Moonlight filtered weakly through the thick canopy, creating shifting shadows across the forest floor. The damp smell of soil and moss filled the air.
Somewhere far away, something howled.
Ronan tightened his grip around the metal pipe in his hand.
It had been nearly an hour since he entered the low-level dungeon zone.
And he had already killed several goblins.
Six.
Each fight had been short.
Brutal.
Messy.
Goblins were weak monsters, but they were still dangerous. Their attacks were wild and unpredictable, and their sharp daggers could easily injure someone careless.
Fortunately, Ronan wasn't careless.
The years he spent training his body were finally proving useful.
His breathing remained steady as he moved forward.
But what fascinated him the most wasn't the fights themselves.
It was what happened **after** the fights.
Each time he killed a goblin, the same sound echoed inside his head.
**DING.**
Then the system voice followed.
**[Weak Assimilation Activated.]**
Dark particles would rise from the monster's corpse and flow into his body.
After that…
His muscles would grow slightly stronger.
His senses slightly sharper.
The change wasn't dramatic.
But it was real.
And most importantly…
It stacked.
Ronan stopped walking and looked down at his hands.
He slowly clenched his fist.
The strength in his grip was clearly different compared to earlier that night.
Not by a massive amount.
But enough to notice.
"If goblins keep giving this much…"
He murmured quietly.
"Then a hundred goblins…"
His sentence trailed off.
Even thinking about it made his heart beat faster.
But Ronan quickly forced himself to calm down.
Getting carried away inside a monster zone was a good way to die.
He continued walking.
The deeper he went, the darker the forest became.
The training zone was divided into several areas.
Zone A.
Zone B.
Zone C.
Beginners were only allowed to hunt in the first two zones.
Anything deeper contained stronger monsters.
Ronan had no intention of going that far yet.
He wasn't stupid.
Even with his strange ability, he was still weak.
Suddenly—
A faint sound came from the bushes ahead.
Rustling leaves.
Ronan immediately stopped moving.
His body lowered slightly as he shifted into a combat stance.
His eyes focused on the darkness ahead.
The sound came again.
Then something stepped out from the bushes.
A goblin.
But the moment Ronan saw it…
Something unexpected happened.
A faint translucent window appeared in front of his eyes.
---
**[Target Detected]**
**Goblin**
**Level: 3**
---
Ronan's eyes widened slightly.
"…A level?"
The window disappeared almost immediately.
He frowned slightly.
"That means…"
He looked back toward the goblin.
But the window didn't appear again.
Instead, a new message echoed in his mind.
**[Observation Ability Activated]**
**[You can view the level of targets within 10 levels above your own.]**
Ronan blinked.
Then his lips slowly curved upward.
"So that's another part of the system…"
He whispered.
If he could see enemy levels, it meant he could estimate danger.
That alone was an enormous advantage.
Most hunters had to rely on experience or equipment scanners.
But Ronan could simply **look**.
The goblin in front of him noticed him at that moment.
Its yellow eyes widened.
"SKREEEE!"
The creature immediately rushed forward, raising its crude dagger.
Ronan didn't hesitate.
He stepped forward.
The goblin swung wildly.
But Ronan tilted his body slightly to the side.
The blade missed.
In the same moment—
**CRACK**
The metal pipe smashed into the goblin's jaw.
Teeth flew into the air.
The creature collapsed onto the ground, screaming.
Ronan didn't give it time to recover.
He raised the pipe again.
**CRACK**
Then again.
**CRACK**
After the third strike, the goblin stopped moving.
The forest returned to silence.
A moment later—
**DING**
**[Weak Assimilation Activated.]**
Dark particles rose from the corpse and entered Ronan's body.
The familiar warmth spread through his muscles.
He exhaled slowly.
"…Seven."
Seven goblins.
Seven assimilations.
His body was gradually changing.
Ronan looked deeper into the forest.
His eyes were calm.
Cold.
But focused.
"Still not enough."
He muttered.
If goblins were level 3 monsters…
Then stronger creatures likely existed deeper inside the zone.
But Ronan wasn't reckless.
He wouldn't challenge something far stronger than himself.
Not yet.
He walked forward again.
Minutes passed.
The forest grew quieter.
Then—
Another presence appeared.
Two goblins emerged from behind a fallen tree.
Ronan's eyes focused.
Immediately the window appeared again.
---
**Goblin – Level 4**
**Goblin – Level 4**
---
"Two of them…"
Ronan murmured.
Normally, fighting multiple monsters at once was dangerous for beginners.
But Ronan didn't run.
Instead…
He stepped forward.
The goblins noticed him instantly.
They screamed and charged together.
One from the front.
One from the side.
Ronan moved quickly.
He stepped toward the goblin on the left.
The pipe swung in a wide arc.
**CRACK**
The blow struck the creature's temple.
It collapsed immediately.
The second goblin lunged toward him at the same moment.
Its dagger grazed Ronan's shoulder.
The fabric of his shirt tore.
But the blade barely cut his skin.
Ronan's eyes turned colder.
He grabbed the goblin's wrist.
Then slammed the pipe downward.
**CRACK**
Bone snapped.
The goblin shrieked in pain.
Ronan ended it with a final strike.
Silence returned again.
**DING**
**DING**
Two assimilations.
The warm energy surged through his body once more.
Ronan exhaled slowly.
His breathing was heavier now.
But his eyes shone with a strange light.
He could feel it.
His body was clearly stronger than when the night started.
Stronger.
Faster.
More durable.
But just as he was about to move again—
The bushes ahead rustled violently.
Something larger stepped into the clearing.
Ronan froze.
The creature that appeared was still a goblin.
But different.
Its body was larger.
More muscular.
Its skin darker.
And in its hand…
Was a rusted iron blade.
Ronan's eyes narrowed.
The system window appeared again.
---
**Goblin Warrior**
**Level: 9**
---
Ronan's heartbeat slowed.
Level 9.
That was far stronger than the goblins he had fought so far.
But it was still within the limit he could see.
Which meant…
It was less than ten levels above him.
The Goblin Warrior bared its teeth.
Its yellow eyes locked onto Ronan.
Then it grinned.
A slow, cruel smile.
"Grrr…"
Ronan slowly raised the metal pipe again.
His grip tightened.
His expression remained calm.
But his eyes were sharp like a predator's.
"A stronger one…"
He murmured quietly.
The goblin warrior suddenly lunged forward.
Fast.
Much faster than the others.
But Ronan didn't move.
He waited.
One second.
Two seconds.
Then—
The battle began.
And somewhere deep inside the forest…
The true hunt was about to start.