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Kuro sat slumped against the base of a cracked stone pillar, his body refusing to move. Blood soaked through his torn clothes, which were mostly his own, Skullrend's however...he couldn't tell anymore.
And honestly, he didn't give a shit either.
His chest rose and fell in uneven hitches, each breath scraping against his lungs. In front of him, maybe five or six feet away, lay the corpse of Skullrend. Or...what was left of it.
The beast's massive body had been cleaved in two, one half lay twisted over a collapsed chunk of wall, it's intestines hanging over stone like rope. The other was crumpled near the center of the room, arms splayed, claws open, like even in death it was still trying to grab at him.
The boss's face was frozen in a contorted snarl with it's mouth wide, fangs bare, and its eyes dull. Kuro didn't look away. He stared back at it with the same dead expression.
Empty..
Cold..
Lifeless..
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[ NOTICE!]
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[YOU'VE DEFEATED THE KING OF THE FOREST, SKULLREND THE HOLLOW-TOOTHED.]
_________________________
Seeing the title pop up, even though the damn thing was already in two pieces, gave Kuro a wave of relief he didn't know he needed.
He let out a breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding.
"Finally..." he muttered, barely above a whisper.
His body slumped harder against the pillar, one leg outstretched, the other curled near his side. His fingers still gripped the handle of the Kunai or at least what remained of it. The blade broke in half from the last strike, with scorch marks covering the side of the blade.
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[ NOTICE!]
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[YOU LEVELED UP!]
[YOU LEVELED UP!]
[YOU LEVELED UP!]
[YOU LEVELED UP!]
[RANDOM MEDIUM GRADE LOOT BOX 1x ] - Rare
[HOLLOW-TOOTHED NECKLACE 1x ] - Rare
[BASIC KUNAI TECHNIQUES SKILL HAS LEVELED UP BY TWO.]
[WIND AFFINITY SKILL HAS LEVELED UP.]
[VACUUM BLADE JUTSU HAS LEVELED UP.]
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He looked up as another pop-up blinked in front of him, and despite the pounding in his head and the soreness wrapping around his limbs, a small smile crept onto his face. 'So I finally hit level 17...' he thought, letting the words roll around in his head for a bit. But even with the small win, the feeling didn't sit right with him. Everything he went through to get here didn't feel worth dying for.
He leaned back against the cold stone of the pillar behind him, letting out a dry exhale. 'I should've just stayed my ass home…' he told himself.
But then his eyes narrowed on the reward that came with the level-up, another medium-grade loot box.
A grin tugged at the corner of his lips, twisted and tired, but real nonetheless. ' Although it might've been worth it... if this box gives me something good,' he muttered in thought, already imagining what could be inside.
His gaze dropped to the broken kunai lying on the ground next to him, shattered down the middle. He clicked his tongue in frustration. 'I need to buy a new weapon... These kunai aren't going to cut it anymore.' He sighed. His thoughts flicked back to the short sword that had shattered during the fight. 'Sucks that it broke... but it was chipped anyway.'
"Will To Recover..." He grumbled beneath his breath.
And instantly, he was surrounded by a golden ray of light. The pulsing aches in his muscles dulled and his wounds sealed shut. His cracked bones straightened and mended as if they'd never been broken at all. In just a few seconds, the pain was gone.
Kuro exhaled as the glow faded. He pushed himself to his feet and rolled his shoulders, a few stiff joints cracking along the way. "Status screen..."
━─━─━─≪◈ STATS ◈≫─━─━─━
[NAME] ➤ Kuroshin Kagemura
[AGE] ➤ 13
[LEVEL] ➤ 17
◇───INFO───◇
[JOB] ➤ NONE
[TITLES] ➤ Courage Of The Weak...
[HP] ➤ 520/520
[CP] ➤ 1330/1330 (GENIN)
[FATIGUE] ➤ 0
[AVAILABLE ABILITY POINTS: 4 ]...
◇───STATS───◇
[STRENGTH] ➤ 42.5
[AGILITY] ➤ 29.5
[SENSE] ➤ 26.5
[HEALTH] ➤ 32.5
[INTELLIGENCE] ➤ 33
◇───SKILLS───◇
[BASIC TAIJUTSU TECHNIQUES] ➤Lv.6 (PASSIVE.) [ Basic Melee attacks inflicted on an opponent is increased by 18%. ]
[BASIC SHURIKENJUTSU TECHNIQUES]Lv.3 (PASSIVE) [ When throwing small concealed weapons, damage inflicted is increased by 10%.]
[WIND AFFINITY] ➤ Lv.3 (PASSIVE.) [ Whenever a Wind Style jutsu is used, its power is increased by 30%.]
[BASIC KUNAI TECHNIQUES]Lv.9 (PASSIVE) [ Basic kunai attacks inflicted on an opponent are increased by 21%.]
◇───JUTSU'S───◇
[TRANSFORMATION JUTSU] ➤ Lv.10
[BASIC CLONE JUTSU] ➤ Lv.10
[SUBSTITUTION JUTSU] ➤ Lv.10
[VACUUM BLADE JUTSU] ➤Lv.3
[GALE PALM JUTSU] ➤Lv.1
━─━─━─━─≪◆≫─━─━─━─━
He nodded slowly, eyes scanning over the numbers on his stat screen. 'My stats are finally looking better… a few of my skills leveled up, which is good.' His gaze dropped down to the list of D-rank jutsu. A small hum followed. 'Maybe I underestimated just how useful these jutsu actually are… or at least, the basic Clone Jutsu.'
The other two were practically useless. But the basic Clone Jutsu had potential. The Jutsu was good, especially for grinding through mobs and clearing dungeons. The monsters weren't much smarter than wild animals, and acted just as dumb. So really, how could they tell the difference between him and a clone?
He should've used it more at the very least, but he only realized how effective it was after he used it against the boss. Before, he'd felt like he wasted his time leveling up those low-rank jutsu...but now they didn't feel as bad.
"Alright, time to leave this shitty-ass place…" he muttered under his breath with a long, tired sigh.
But before he could take a step, his eyes fell down to his clothes, and more specifically, the mess that used to be his flak jacket. The thing was in terrible condition. It was torn, slashed, and barely holding together by the seams.
[Green Leaf flak Jacket: DESTROYED] - Uncommon.
His shoulders slumped. Just great. The jacket was completely busted, and with it went all the stat boosts it once gave him. Now it was just a shredded piece of fabric that barely qualified as clothing anymore.
He clicked his tongue and shook his head, brushing a bit of dust off the ruined fabric. 'I spent a lot of money on it too...'
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[ NOTICE!]
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[You have defeated the boss and successfully cleared the dungeon. The dungeon is finally closing.]
Do you wish to leave?
[Y/N]
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He raised his hand and pressed Yes.
Just like that, the space in front of him cracked like before. Kuro stared at it for a moment longer, exhaling through his nose."I'm still not used to this..." he muttered, the words slipping out under his breath.
With a single step forward, he crossed the threshold.
The moment he entered, everything around him twisted. It wasn't painful, but it was unpleasant. Like falling face first into freezing water, then getting yanked straight down under water. For a split second, his entire body was weightless, spinning in a formless void.
Then...
Thud.
His feet slammed against solid ground.
He took a deep breath, breathing in the fresh air as his eyes scanned the area. The same moss-covered trees, the dirt path leading off toward the village, he was back. Back at the place where he'd first entered the dungeon.
He didn't know how long he'd been trapped in that hellscape. Time had no meaning in that place. It felt like he'd been stuck there for eternity. Still, he was glad to be out. Glad to feel the wind against his skin, to breathe fresh air that didn't reek of rot and blood.
He looked around and there was no one in sight. With a relieved sigh, he slipped off his ruined flak jacket and tossed it straight into his inventory. "I can't be walking around the village like this," he muttered.
His clothes were a mess. Torn in several places, covered in dirt, caked with blood which were both his and whatever monster had gotten in his way. If anyone saw him like this, they'd think he crawled out of a massacre...or caused one.
No need to get himself in more trouble than he already had to deal with.
With a quick hand sign, a puff of smoke burst around him. It cleared a second later, revealing clean clothes, untouched, smooth, and looking fresh out of the laundry. The Transformation Jutsu was far from good, but it did come in convenient at times.
It would do.
"I'm hungry..." he muttered, rubbing at his stomach with a tired hand.
Truth be told, he wasn't actually hungry, at least, not physically. But after crawling through that nightmare of a dungeon, a warm meal felt like the right way to ground himself again. Something hot. Something simple. Something normal.
With a soft sigh, he made his way home.
- - - -
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- - - -
Kuro stepped out of the shower, steam curling around him as the last of the warm water dripped from his skin. He grabbed a towel off the rack and began drying himself off, the fabric quickly turning damp as it dragged over the dirt he hadn't realized still clung to him. Days of dried blood, sweat, and dirt, it was like he'd been dipped in shit and left to bake under the sun. No wonder his skin had felt so itchy and dirty.
Once clean, he slipped into a fresh pair of clothes. Rolling his shoulders, he moved to his bed and let himself fall backwards onto the mattress. "Inventory…" he muttered, eyes narrowing as he stared up at the ceiling.
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[INVENTORY ]
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[ EMPTY WATER CANTEEN 1x ] - Common..
[KUNAI 2x ] - Common..
[SHURIKEN 13x ]- Common..
[RANDOM MEDIUM GRADE LOOT BOX 1x ] - Rare..
[HOLLOW-TOOTHED NECKLACE 1x ] - Rare..
[TELEPORTATION STONE 1x ] - Uncommon..
. . . .
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Raising his hand, Kuro tapped the icon hovering beside the loot box. The moment his finger made contact, light pulsed in his palm and within seconds, it began to take shape. A soft hum filled the room as the glow twisted itself into a chest-sized gift box, neatly wrapped with a dark ribbon tied at the top.
He stared at it for a second, lips twitching in a faint grin as he slowly licked them. Reaching out, he tugged at the ribbon. The knot came loose with a gentle pull, and the lid lifted open.
Inside sat a weapon.
A dagger rested perfectly in place, Its blade was jet black through the center, bordered by jagged, blood-red edges that gave it a serrated, predatory feel. The handle was wrapped in pitch-black bandages, worn in a way that felt intentional. At the base of the hilt, a hollow red gem glinted faintly.
Kuro's grin widened. He slipped his fingers around the hilt and slowly lifted it out of the box, holding it overhead, letting the light bounce off its surface as he inspected every inch of it.
"Well... at least now I won't have to buy a new weapon," he muttered, eyes still locked on the blade.
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( RARE ) – [ITEM: REDUVIA, THE BLADE OF BLOOD]
[TYPE: DAGGER ]
[LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: C ]
[ATTACK: 15+ ]
[-REDUVIA INFO-]
- (EFFECT), "BLEED": Each attack causes bleed, which result in your opponent losing more HP per second.
- (EFFECT), "BLEED BURST" :Each attack fills a meter of blood in your weapon. Once that's filled you can use it for a burst attack.
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"Yeah… I'm definitely not gonna buy a new weapon now," Kuro muttered, staring down at the weapon's description.
The dagger rested across his lap, its edge glinting even under the soft light of his room. After everything he went through inside that dungeon, nearly getting ripped apart by Skullrend, limping around half-dead, covered in blood, this was the first moment he actually felt like it was worth it.
Barely, but still.
It wasn't like the dungeon was high-level either. It was just supposed to be a grind run, a way to farm a little experience and level up a few skills. Instead, it turned into a desperate fight to survive. He almost died in there, and for what? A couple of skill increases? At first, it felt like a joke. A sick one.
He leaned back against the bed frame, his gaze lifting toward the air in front of him.
"Store…" he said under his breath.
A soft chime echoed in the room as the interface flickered to life. For the first time since he started using the system, the Store Function was unlocked. He hadn't been able to access it before, he didn't meet the minimum level requirement. But now, after pushing himself to the brink and finally hitting level 17, he could finally use it.
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[STORE] Lv.1
[RYO: $18,000]
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[ALL]
[EQUIPMENT]
[CONSUMABLES]
. . . .
- CONSUMABLES -
( COST: 2,000 RYO) - [ LOW LEVEL HEALTH POTIONS] - Recovers 10% of HP upon consumption.
( COST: 2,000 RYO) - [LOW LEVEL CHAKRA POTIONS] - Recovers 10% of CP upon consumption.
( COST: 3,000 RYO) - [LOW LEVEL FATIGUE POTIONS] - Reduces fatigue by 5 upon consumption.
click to see more...
[BUYING ITEMS LEVELS UP THE STORE]
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His face went blank the second he saw the numbers on the screen.
"...That's way too expensive—just for a couple of low-level potions? I'll be broke afterwards..." he muttered, dragging a hand through his hair in frustration.
He scrolled through more categories, hoping to find something reasonably priced, but every new tab just made things worse. Weapons, gear, scrolls, even accessories, everything was overpriced to hell. It was like the system wanted him to stay poor.
Letting out a tired sigh, he shut the store menu and slipped the dagger back into his inventory with a flick of his fingers. Without another word, he let his body fall backward onto his bed, his gaze fixed on the ceiling above him.
'To think I almost died today…' the thought drifted lazily in his mind. Most people would've called it quits after something like that and cut their losses or even tried to live a normal life. But not him. He couldn't. Even knowing this probably wouldn't be the last time he'd have a fight with death, he kept moving forward.
There really wasn't a choice.
With everything that was coming, the chaos, the bloodshed, the hell waiting just around the corner, he knew one couldn't just sit around.
He didn't care about becoming the strongest. Power for the sake of power never meant anything to him, fame and power didn't mean much to a man like him. He just wanted to make it out of this mess alive.
To reach the end of it all.
To kick back on a quiet beach somewhere, a warm breeze brushing over him, with a nice cold drink in hand...maybe a few kids running around. That was the real dream.
A simple, boring life.
And for that... he'd do whatever it took.
He turned onto his side, arm curling beneath the pillow as his eyes half-lidded. 'Well... the next thing to prepare for is the examination test in a few days. I think I've leveled up to the point where I should barely qualify for higher-ranking missions…'
His thoughts drifted slower now, heavier, slipping between clarity and sleep.
'Still... I don't know how my stats stack up against everyone else. I'll just have to find out soon.'
A soft yawn escaped as he rubbed a finger beneath his nose. The exhaustion hit all at once. His mind went foggy, his body felt heavy, and eyes were falling shut. After fighting monsters endlessly, without a moment to rest, the exhaustion had finally started to kick in. He hadn't slept, at least not properly and was running purely on adrenaline. Every time he closed his eyes, he imagined something tearing into him. With one mistake, one second of letting his guard down, he could've died.
He was drained, mentally and physically, like a battery run down to zero.
And so, with the weight of it all pressing down on him, he finally let go and his eyes slipped shut.
And just like that, he drifted off to sleep...
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