With a final glance at the patrolling soldiers outside, I slipped through the swirling surface of the Gate.
[You have entered a Dungeon.]
The world changed instantly.
The air thickened. The temperature spiked. And the silence… was absolute.
I stayed crouched low, my breath shallow, my Stealth still active.
[Stealth: Active][Mana Consumption: 50/sec.]
Even inside the dungeon, I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
There could be monsters just around the bend, waiting — hungry for blood, moving silently in the dark. And unlike me, they wouldn't hesitate.
I took a step forward.
This dungeon... it looked like a cave, yes, but something about it felt off.
The walls pulsed faintly, glowing veins of red magic tracing along the stone. The heat was unnatural — not just warm, but alive, like the dungeon itself was breathing. There were torches fixed to the walls, but they didn't flicker. Their flames burned steadily, endlessly — fire that couldn't die out.
Magic fire.
It didn't need wood. It didn't need fuel. It just… burned.
This place wasn't formed naturally. It was made by the rulers.
[Skill: Map Lv. 3 - Activated.]
A semi-transparent map formed in my vision, overlaying the cave layout in real time.
Small red dots began to appear — signals of magic. Monsters. The deeper I scanned, the more dots I saw.
Some moved in patrols. Others stayed stationary, likely guarding something.
There was a faint golden light pulsing at the very end of the map. That's the Gate Core. Or maybe the boss room.
I also detected no other Awakened. Good. That meant I had the place to myself.
Perfect.
I began to move again, quietly and deliberately.
They were the first monsters I encountered — goblins.
Small, green, humanoid creatures, each barely the size of a school kid. But what they lacked in size or intelligence, they made up for in ferocity.
They snarled and hissed at each other, brandishing crude weapons — chipped daggers, rusted short swords, bone-tipped spears, even a few short bows slung over narrow shoulders. Their eyes glowed faintly in the dark, filled with mindless bloodlust.
There are eight of them.
They hadn't noticed me yet — huddled together around a fire made of magical flame. Their guard was low.
I reached into my inventory and pulled out a pair of steel knuckles — nothing special, just something I bought online using the allowance I'd secretly saved over the years.
Ordinary.
But better than bare fists.
[Stealth: Active][MP Remaining: 780/1000]
I slid the knuckles over my fingers. The cold steel tightened around my grip as I crept forward.
Then—
[Skill: Stealth - Deactivated][Sprint - Activated][MP: -50][Fatigue: +1]
In a flash, I darted behind the nearest goblin.
"HAAAH!"
My fist slammed into the side of its head — enhanced by Muay Thai, my knuckle struck with brutal precision.
The goblin's skull cracked with a sickening crunch.
It dropped instantly.
[Enemy Defeated.][EXP Gained.]
But then—
Crack.
The knuckles in my hand shattered.
"Tch."
Figures. They weren't magic-enhanced — just standard alloy. Against monsters, normal weapons break like glass. Even so, that blow landed thanks to my Muay Thai skill's raw force boost.
I stared at the goblin's corpse for a moment.
My first kill.
Strangely, I didn't feel fear or guilt. Just… unease. Not at the death, but at how calm I was.
[Passive Skill: Rationality - Effect Active.]
Right.
That's why. My mind was clear. Focused. No panic. No shaking.Just cold logic.
The other seven had noticed me.
They shrieked in rage and charged, weapons raised.
I dropped into a fighting stance, taking a deep breath.
This was real combat now.
The first goblin lunged with a jagged spear. I sidestepped, grabbed its arm, and drove my elbow into its throat — crushing its windpipe.
Another came from behind. I pivoted, ducked low, and swept its legs from under it. Before it could rise, I stomped down hard on its skull. Bone cracked.
The third and fourth attacked in tandem. One with a dagger, the other with a sword.
I weaved between them, parrying the dagger with my forearm and slamming a straight knee into its stomach. It flew back, coughing blood. The sword goblin slashed wildly — I slipped inside its guard and landed a spinning elbow directly across its face.
[Muay Thai Combo: +Bonus Damage Applied.]
Two more charged. One had a bow, trying to draw an arrow.Too slow.
I surged forward using Sprint, covering the gap in an instant, and drove my fist straight into its chest. It flew backward, lifeless.
The last two hesitated — one turned to run.
I didn't let it.
[Stealth - Activated.]
I vanished. Before it could flee, I reappeared beside it like a phantom and struck its neck cleanly.It collapsed.
The last goblin stood trembling, weapon shaking in its grip.
I walked toward it.
It screamed and lunged.
I dodged.
One hit.
Two hits.
Roundhouse.
Its head snapped back.
Dead.
[All Enemies Defeated.]
[EXP Gained.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Level: 4]
Name: Zephyr Navarro
Level: 4
EXP: 50/ 4000
Job: --
Title: Reincarnator
HP: 4000
MP: 4000
Fatigue: 0
[Fatigue: 3 → 0]
Strength: 18
Agility: 23
Sense: 13
Vitality: 18
Intelligence: 13
Free Stat Points: 11
[Level: 4][Stat Growth: +1 to all base stats per level][Free Stat Points Gained: +2 per level][Current Free Stat Points: 11]
My stats had already risen from just leveling up, but I had full control over these bonus points.
HP and MP were full again.Fatigue reset to zero.That alone made leveling up one of the greatest advantages of the system. Every kill brought me closer to another power spike — a full restore.
But I couldn't waste my points.
My Intelligence didn't matter much right now..
But Sense? That needed improvement.
I'd nearly missed one of the goblins that had circled behind me. Low Sense was a weakness — and in solo combat, weaknesses get you killed.
I raised it.
[Sense: 10 → 20][Strength: 18 → 19][Free Stat Points Remaining: 0]
I clenched my fist.
My awareness of the cave's surroundings deepened.
Every movement in the air, every flicker of heat, every whisper of motion from deeper in the tunnel — I could almost feel it.
Now that my stat management was done, it was time to clean up.
The goblins had dropped a few things — not much, but it was something.
8 Goblin Cores (faintly glowing green crystals, each pulsing with weak magic energy)
I stored them all in my inventory.
[Loot Collected.][8x Goblin Core][Common Goblin Weapons (Low Quality)]
Then, I turned to the corpses.
"Eventually, I'll need proof of what I kill," I muttered to myself. "Or at least something to trade with when I start selling cores."
I didn't have a license. I wasn't even legally allowed to hunt. But that didn't mean I couldn't prepare.
[Corpse Storage: Active][8x Goblin Corpse stored.]
Everything has value. Even monsters.
Right now, I couldn't sell any of it — I was just a student. A kid with no license.