I woke up awkward, as usual.
Hair sticking in five directions, shirt halfway twisted around my chest, drool dried into my pillow. I stared at the ceiling for a second longer than I should have, hoping I had wake up in a world where I wasn't still a walking mystery with an SSS-rank soul stuck in a Level 3 body.
Nope. Still me.
I got dressed, after having a bath. My shirt was on inside out until someone pointed it out on the street making me a laughing stock. My boots were mismatched. I might have frightened two cats and a child on my way to the guild.
Another normal morning, not a life an SSS-RANK should be living.
The guild was already alive with hunters shouting, arguing, and bragging. I stepped inside, half-ready to crawl under the nearest table when I saw Luna,arms folded, face unimpressed. Yh I guess that's her usual expression.
"You again," she said.
"I live a short walk away," I replied.
She sighed. "The manager wants to see you."
That got my attention. "Already?"
"Try not to blow anything up," she muttered as she led me past the front desk, deeper into the guild building.
***
The manager's office was cleaner than I expected. Leather chairs. A polished desk. Framed pictures of famous hunters on the walls. The man himself is tall, older, with silvery eyebrows and sharp eyes as he watched me enter the room. He also had some scars on his face with a little strong aura probably an A-RANK hunter out of his prime.
So, he said. The new SSS-RANK hunter whose at level 3.
I stood there stiffly and looking so awkward. "I... guess that's me."
This is how it's supposed to be, me being recognized, I thought.
Hm, what's your name son?
"Souta." I said giving a nod.
He nodded slowly, then pulled something from his drawer. "You've caused quite a stir for someone we barely know. But rules are rules. For now, your card."
He handed me a D-Rank Hunter ID. It gleamed faintly. "Temporary until we see where you really belong." we are giving you this because you cleared a f-rank dungeon alone and we believe the system can't be at fault. So for now you are ranked D.
I took it, bowing slightly. "Thanks."
He watched me leave without a word.
D-Rank. That means you can now enter basic dungeons. Try not to die. Luna said with a wicked smirk.
"Wow," I said. "Such confidence."
I'm trying to be realistic, she said sweetly, and walked off.
Not long after, I arrived at the entrance of a local D-Rank dungeon a gate pulsing faint blue, nestled between crumbling stone and overgrown trees. There were already a few hunters lingering nearby, clearly part of a party.
Before I could step forward, one of them muscular, armor-clad, and full of himself, waved me off.
We're not full, he said. "Party of four. Waiting for a fifth. You don't look like much."
"I'm not trying to join," I said.
Then what do you intend on doing? he asked.
"I'll solo it."
They laughed. Suit yourself, newbie. Just don't cry when you get your arm chewed off."
We are not going to stop you, go on.
They had scratches and looked rough, it seems they entered but couldn't clear the dungeon so they came back, to wait for a 5th member and go again probably a healer or a mage, definitely newbies to d-rank.
I ignored them and stepped through the gate.
In this world their dungeons are similar to a game some have levels, easy and normal. While some have hard. But the F-Rank dungeon I cleared recently are so weak that they don't have a level so it's pure easy. But as for this d-rank it has easy and normal and a 1hour cool down. So I will be going with easy first maybe I might be able to clear it again after this raid.
***
⟢Inside the Dungeon ⟣
I was already in the dungeon for about 20 minutes now I haven't seen or spotted any creature, something doesn't feel right.
The dungeon walls shifted like taking another form.
Stone corridors swallowed me whole. The air turned cold, not biting, but watchful. Strange, mossy vines clung to the walls. The silence wasn't empty.
I reached for the blade in my inventory getting prepared for anything
Something about the air changed.
A pulse. Like pressure from deep below had just shifted. A ripple ran through the dungeon, and I instinctively froze.
***
⟢ Outside the Gate ⟣
The group of four stood around, fidgeting. They had gone in minutes ago but came back out with scratches and excuses.
"We'll wait for backup," their leader said.
Then the gate flickered.
Blue turned to green.
One of them gasped. "Wait… green? That's a C-Rank gate now!"
No way. It was D-Rank just five minutes ago!"
Their faces paled. And slowly, every eye turned to the gate.
"To that guy…"
"The kid with the messed-up boots?"
"He… he went in alone."
No one said it, but they were all thinking the same thing.
He's dead.
***
⟢ Back Inside ⟣
The atmosphere had shifted again.
My system pulsed in my head.
[Warning: Dungeon Level Increased]
Current Threat Level: C
Recommended Party Size: 3–5
Hunter Count Detected: 1
"Well, crap," I muttered, am cooked.
That's when I saw them.
Six-legged beasts slithered into view—slick, armored with cracked chitin, glowing yellow eyes scanning. Their breath hissed like steam, and their claws left cracks in the stone.
C-Rank Beasts.
Bigger. Faster. Hungrier.
I gripped my blade, heartbeat steady.
"All right," I whispered, a grin forming.
To be continued…