Garbage Warrior System-Chapter 4 – Rust Punch

Chapter 4 – Rust Punch

The yard shook beneath Rai’s feet as the monster rose higher, the mountain of garbage shaping itself into a grotesque body of steel, glass, and rubber. Its red eyes flickered behind the cracked screen that served as its skull. Pipes jutted out of its shoulders like tusks, its arms were thick coils of twisted rebar. The creature’s every step was thunder, its body groaning under the weight of compacted trash.

[ Warning - Lv.8 Trash Golem Detected ]

The notification glared in front of Rai’s vision. His hand tightened around the scrap blade as adrenaline surged through his veins. He had leveled up faster than any awakened he had ever heard of, but facing this monster was no easy task. His muscles screamed, his lungs still burned from the energy flood of absorbing an entire yard. Yet his spirit only sharpened.

“This... this is my battlefield,” Rai muttered, teeth gritted.

The golem bellowed, the sound of screeching metal tearing the air. Shards of glass clinked to the ground as its massive arm swung down toward him like a falling tree. Rai leapt sideways, the strike smashing into the dirt where he had stood a second ago, scattering dust and shrapnel across the yard.

He landed hard, rolled, and raised the blade. The creature turned, lumbering toward him with terrifying speed for its size. Every motion carried the weight of a collapsing building.

Rai’s instincts screamed at him to run. But the system whispered instead-

[ Skill Activated - Rust Punch ]

Garbage energy coiled in his fist, a burning, corrosive aura that tingled like acid across his skin. Rai dashed forward, eyes wide and focused, dodging another swing. His heart pounded with a mix of fear and exhilaration.

“This is my power. Trash... turning into strength!”

He drove his fist into the golem’s leg.

CRACK.

The air hissed as corrosive force spread out like wildfire. The thick steel pipe that served as the monster’s shin began to rust instantly, flakes crumbling away in a cascade of orange dust. The beast let out a metallic roar, staggering.

Rai jumped back, panting, but a grin cracked his face.

“It works.”

The golem’s massive arm swung again, faster this time. Rai raised his blade and barely blocked, the impact rattling his bones. The force sent him skidding backward across the dirt, his arms trembling. The blade screamed under the pressure, sparks flying.

But Rai’s grip never faltered.

“Come on!” he shouted, shoving forward and sliding under its next strike. He slashed upward, the scrap blade glowing faintly with the garbage energy stored inside it. Sparks of green light scattered as the blade tore through a cluster of wires holding the golem’s torso together.

The beast roared, staggering, but it didn’t fall. Instead, its body convulsed, the trash making up its form reconfiguring itself, patching wounds with new metal plates pulled from its own mass.

“...It can repair itself.”

The realization burned in his mind, but so did the answer.

“Then I’ll break it faster than it can heal.”

Rai sprinted, darting around the monster’s legs like a shadow. He struck again with Rust Punch, this time into its knee. The corrosive burst spread wider, weakening its structure. The beast groaned, leaning dangerously to one side.

Rai’s lungs burned, sweat dripping into his eyes, but his grin widened. He felt alive, more alive than ever before. Every step, every breath, every strike—trash had given him purpose.

“Trash Collector? No... Garbage Warrior.”

He dashed, leapt onto a fallen beam, and propelled himself upward. The golem turned, raising its massive arm to swat him down, but Rai twisted in midair, driving his blade into the monster’s chest.

CRUNCH.

The blade dug deep, garbage energy exploding outward. Rust spread like infection, racing through the golem’s torso, eating away at its pipes and gears. Its screen-head flickered wildly, static shrieking through the air.

Rai clenched his fist, screaming as he slammed Rust Punch directly into the blade, amplifying the corrosion.

“Fall!”

The golem convulsed violently. Its chest caved in, the glow of its core exposed—a pulsing orb of compressed garbage energy. The monster roared one final time before collapsing forward, its entire body dissolving into dust and shards of useless scrap.

The yard fell silent.

Rai dropped to his knees, panting, his blade still trembling in his grip. His chest heaved, sweat pouring down his face, but a wild laugh tore free from his lips.

He had done it.

[ Quest Complete - Defeat Lv.8 Trash Golem ]

Reward - +800 EXP

Reward - New Skill Unlocked – Automatic Garbage Absorber (Lv.1)

[ Level Up! 12 → 13 ]

The system screen unfolded, brighter than ever.

[ Skill Acquired - Automatic Garbage Absorber (Lv.1) ]

Description - Automatically absorbs garbage within a 500-meter radius. Efficiency and range increase with level.

Rai’s eyes widened. His exhausted body suddenly didn’t matter. His mind whirled, stunned at the description.

“...Automatic absorption?”

He looked around the yard. As if on cue, the air shimmered. Piles of remaining junk, cans, broken wood, and twisted wires dissolved instantly, streams of green energy flooding toward him without him even moving. The sensation was overwhelming—like breathing fresh air for the first time after drowning.

His muscles tightened, his chest surged with power, and notifications danced across his vision.

[ Garbage Energy +100 ] 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

[ Garbage Energy +200 ]

[ Garbage Energy +350 ]

The system chimed again-

[ Skill Efficiency Increased - Absorption Speed Boosted ]

Rai stood there, trembling, as the garbage around him disappeared into nothingness. The once-overflowing yard was now barren dirt and silence.

He laughed again, louder this time, the sound echoing across the empty lot.

“All my life... they called me trash. They spat on me. Laughed at me. But now... trash itself bows to me.”

The words spilled out of him, raw and electric. He raised his fist to the sky, his heart pounding with pride.

“Garbage Collector? No. Garbage Warrior!”

The system’s glow shimmered as if answering his declaration.

By the time Rai stumbled back toward the slums, the sun was setting. His body ached, his clothes were torn, and his blade was nicked and bent. But his eyes burned with fire.

He had power now. Real power.

And this was only the beginning.

....

[ Chapter 4 End...]