"There be beasts whose breath can lay low a city,
and there be adventurers whose blade may strike them down.
Yet in this same world dwell many who cannot guard their own lives.
Thus is the burden laid upon the strong—
to stand, that the weak may endure."
—Stein Dreadmour, Dragon-Slayer and Champion of the Hinora Kingdom
…
In a small adventurers' guild located at Greystone Village, a lean young boy stood before the news board, staring at the quote pinned to it.
The boy's name was Kairo. His frame was thin, neither tall nor short. To most who passed him by, he looked more like a servant boy who had lost his way than an adventurer.
And yet, he kept staring at the words. To others, they were a sign of strength and courage. To Kairo, they were a reminder of his place.
He was one of the weak spoken of in that quote, a boy barely strong enough to crawl through dungeons, clinging to life by coin and chance. His fingers curled at his sides.
But even so, the man who had spoken those words, Stein Dreadmour, was his role model. The kind of adventurer Kairo dreamed of becoming, even if the whole world seemed set on reminding him he never would.
"Kairo! … Kairo! … Kairo!"
A voice barely reached him. Lost in thought, he didn't notice until a hand fell on his shoulder.
Kairo blinked, jolted out of his thoughts, and turned.
Mira stood there, arms crossed. She was similar to Kairo's age, her hair light brown, and with her honey brown eyes, she looked at him.
"How long should I keep calling you?"
"Everyone in the party is waiting."
Kairo glanced past her. At a table near the corner, Ronin and Draven were waving enthusiastically, motioning for him to come.
He sighed faintly, a small smile tugging at his lips. Even though we are weak… we are still adventurers.
Kairo responded in a whisper barely audible, "Sorry. I was… lost in thought."
Mira rolled her eyes, a teasing smile forming. "Let's go, daydreamer." She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the others.
The four of them, Kairo, Mira, Ronin, and Draven, had known each other since childhood. Growing up together in Greystone Village, they used to spend their days playing 'adventurers and monsters' in the fields, waving sticks like swords and pretending to slay monsters.
Even back then, Kairo had always been the quiet one. He rarely raised his voice, and even when he did, it was never rough or loud. It was something the others often teased him for, but it was also why they liked having him around.
The group gathered, and they began to talk about their last quest.
"After we killed that goblin in the last quest," Ronin said, puffing out his chest, "my total XP went up to thirty-four!"
That "last quest" had been a single goblin. One miserable, half-starved creature that took the four of them nearly half an hour to kill. It had stumbled before Mira finally landed the killing blow.
Draven groaned. "What? Thirty-four XP? Mine only went to twenty-nine!" His fist hit the table.
Ronin laughed. "Guess the system likes me more!"
Mira smirked, folding her arms. "Hah. I'm at sixty-two XP now." Her voice carried a note of pride.
Both boys froze.
Draven's eyes widened. "What—?! Sixty-two?!"
Ronin grinned. "That's our leader!"
Mira lifted her chin proudly, but her gaze softened when she noticed Kairo. He sat silently beside them, his expression unreadable.
He wasn't laughing.
Instead, his eyes drifted to the faint, shimmering window only he could see, his status screen.
---
[STATUS SCREEN]
Name: Kairo
Age: 16
Race: Human
Level: 1
Experience: 0 / 100
Class: Grunt (Basic Warrior)
Sub-Classes: -
+++
Health: 20
Mana: 5
Stamina: 25
+++
Attributes: Strength 2, Agility 5, Vitality 4, Magic 1, Dexterity 2, Luck 0
Free Attribute Points: 0
Skills: [Basic Slash Level 1], [Guard Stance Level 1], [Will to Survive Level 0]
---
Kairo muttered under his breath, "…Still zero."
Mira's expression shifted, "Don't worry, Kairo. You'll get there. Everyone starts somewhere."
Ronin clapped him on the back. "Yeah, we'll drag you up with us if we have to!"
Draven grinned. "That's right. Next quest, you're bound to get something."
Kairo smiled faintly at their encouragement, though deep inside, the words barely reached him.
He had been at this for over a year and a half.
Over a year of quests, carrying supplies, gathering herbs, scraping through the lowest of dungeons and forests. Still, he did not get a single point of experience.
The system was cruel. Everyone knew its rule. It was whispered in taverns, a truth no one could escape.
When an adventurer awakened, they had two years. Two years to gain even a single point of XP. The clock started ticking the moment the status screen first appeared before their eyes. Even if they gained XP at early stages, if they stayed at the same XP for 2 years, then they would be stuck at the same level.
If they failed… their growth would end there, locking in weakness for the rest of their lives.
For Kairo, more than a year had already passed. Eighteen months of struggle, eighteen months of watching that zero remain unchanged.
If he didn't earn even one point of experience soon… then like so many others who once dreamed of glory, he would be condemned to remain nothing more than a powerless boy in a world where magic and monsters ruled.
The strong would rise. The weak would fade.
This was the cruel truth of the system they lived under.
A system that granted power to some, while leaving others behind forever. No matter how hard they fought.
"We got a quest lined up." Mira said, "Harvesting medicinal herbs near the forest edge."
Ronin leaned in, "How much?"
Mira replied, "Fifteen coppers, split four ways. Easy money if we're quick."
Draven snorted. "Better than chasing goblins for scraps."
"Let's move out then." Mira stood up.
...
They left the guild and walked the dirt trail toward Greystone Forest.
By noon, they reached the forest edge. Trees rose before them, but scattered between them lay massive grey stones, some as large as houses, others half-buried in moss and roots.
The forest earned its name honestly. It was not only trees. An equal amount of grey stones were found in it.
Their quest was simple, gather medicinal herbs.
Mira and Ronin took up guard positions at the clearing's edge, weapons drawn, eyes scanning the shadows between the trees.
Kairo and Draven knelt among the roots, plucking leaves and stems, filling their baskets with sprigs of silverleaf and moonvine.
This area of the forest was usually filled with monsters like slimes.
The forest was quiet. Too quiet.
Then—
A wet sound.
Something leaped from the bushes. A slime, translucent, and wobbling.
Kairo froze, his fingers still wrapped around a stem.
Before he could react, Mira rushed forward and intercepted it mid-leap.
She swung her sword, the edge biting into the slime's body. It split briefly, then knitted itself together again, undulating and reforming.
"Tch—[Firebar]!"
A burst of flame erupted in her left hand. She thrust it forward, and the fire slammed into the slime, scorching its surface.
Ronin followed through, slamming his sword down with a shout. The slime splattered apart, melting into the dirt in a puddle of acidic residue.
Mira turned, panting, "You okay, Kairo?"
Kairo nodded shakily, "I… got scared for a second."
Draven laughed, "As long as Mira's around, nothing can touch us!"
Mira smirked, sheathing her blade. "You'd better remember that."
They resumed their work. The sun crawled across the sky, shadows lengthening. By evening, their baskets were full.
The setting sun painted the forest in hues of gold and red..
Then—
A scream.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The sound came from deeper within the woods, they turned instantly.
A middle-aged man stumbled toward them. He was drenched in blood, his clothes torn, his eyes wide with terror. His mouth opened and closed, words failing him.
Behind him, a troll lumbered forward.
Massive. Gray-skinned, muscles bulging beneath cracked hide. A crude log gripped in its hands like a weapon.
The ground shook beneath its steps. Each stride snapped branches and uprooted saplings.
Kairo's breath hitched, his chest tightening. "A troll? Here? They only live inside dungeons…"
Mira's eyes widened, her face draining of color. "Run! It's coming this way!"
"RUN!"
They started to run in fear for their lives.
They bolted as branches whipped at their faces, thorns tearing skin.
Kairo looked back as he heard a scream. He saw the troll's massive foot come down, crushing the fleeing man flat. Bone crunched and blood sprayed across grey stone.
His body froze. His foot caught a root.
He stumbled and fell, hitting the ground hard.
Ronin and Draven crashed into him from behind, tangling limbs, gasping for air.
Mira rushed back and helped them, she grabbed Ronin and Draven up who were on top of kairo.
She then grabbed Kairo's arm, hauling him upright. "Run!"
But the troll was already upon them.
Mira shoved Kairo aside just as the troll's log came swinging at him, a blur of motion.
Crack.
Mira's body twisted unnaturally, ribs shattering, spine breaking. She was flung through the air like a broken doll, limbs flailing. Blood splattered across Kairo's face, hot and wet.
"Mira…"
She hit the ground with a lifeless thud, her eyes still open, staring at nothing.
At that moment, seeing Mira die in front of his eyes, one of his skills, [Will to Survive], which had never activated before, even once, was activated.
[Skill Activated: Will to Survive Lv.0]
His limbs surged with strength, muscles flooding with unnatural energy. His feet dug into the earth, and he sprinted, faster than he ever had before. Faster than he thought possible.
He caught up with Ronin and Draven, then passed them.
The moment he passed them, Kairo heard more screaming sounds.
Kairo glanced back. He saw the troll's hand shoot out, fingers wrapping around Draven's leg. It swung him like a rag, then slammed him into a tree. The trunk cracked, and Draven's body went limp.
Ronin lay on the ground, both legs shattered, bone jutting through skin. He reached out weakly, fingers clawing at dirt. "Kairo… help me…"
No… I have to help them… I can't leave them…
Kairo's throat tightened. He wanted to stop. He wanted to turn back.
But his body refused. The [Will to Survive] forced his muscles to move, even as his heart screamed. His legs carried him forward against his will.
He ran. Tears blurred his vision, streaming down his cheeks.
Then, a shadow fell from the right.
The troll's log.
It struck him before he could react, slamming into his side.
In the next second, he found himself lying on the ground. His skull was broken, fragments pressing into his brain. Broken neck, ribs caved in, shoulders shattered, legs twisted at wrong angles.
The last thing he saw was the troll towering over him, the setting sun burning behind its silhouette, a halo of dying light.
His fingers twitched weakly. He couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
His thoughts dimmed to a single whisper.
I… want to live…
Darkness took him.
...
SYSTEM ERROR!
Vital signs: unstable.
Core synchronization... failed.
[*#@*&!^#%^&&]
ATTEMPTING REPAIR...
SYSTEM ERROR!
[&*@#%%&*&#$@##$@]
Unauthorized interference detected.
Soul resonance identified.
[*&%$#@@#$%^^&]
Skill [Will to Survive] — evolving…
[Will to Survive] → [Refuse to Die]
ATTEMPTING REPAIR...
Warning: unknown entity integration complete.
[&*%%#%$@#$^&]
System updating... 17%.
...
....
.......
"The goblin's running away! Get it!" a voice of a young girl rang through the fields, full of laughter.
Three children ran through the clearing, wooden sticks clutched in their hands like swords and staves.
Mira led the charge, face flushed with joy. Ronin stumbled after her, swinging his stick wildly at invisible foes, and Draven tripped over a root, crashing face-first into the dirt.
"That doesn't count!" Draven shouted, spitting out a mouthful of leaves.
"You're dead!" Mira declared proudly, pointing her "sword" at him. "The goblin got you!"
"No way! I was dodging!"
"You fell!"
"That's strategy!"
Their laughter filled the fields.
Not far away, a smaller boy stood behind a trunk, watching them in silence. His fingers gripped the bark, half-hidden.
Mira noticed him first. "Hey, you there! Wanna play?"
The boy froze. His eyes widened, mouth opening slightly, but no words came. After a moment, he nodded, just barely.
"Then come on!" Mira said, waving him closer. "You can be the healer!"
Ronin groaned, dragging his stick through the dirt. "Healers don't fight."
"Then maybe he can keep you alive," Mira teased.
"Ha-ha, very funny."
The boy—Kairo—stepped forward, hesitant, shy. A faint smile touched his lips as he walked toward them, heart lifting.
But the warmth in the scene suddenly changed.
Mira's grin faded. Her face went pale, eyes hollow. "Kairo…"
"Why did you let us die?"
The laughter vanished.
The field went silent.
Kairo looked down. His hands were slick with warm blood, dripping between his fingers.
He turned, and in the corner of his vision, he saw the troll, its massive club descending. Mira's body crushed beneath it, ribs shattering, blood spraying across the ground.
...
Kairo jolted awake with a scream.
He lurched upright, drenched in sweat, his breath ragged, and his heart pounded so hard it hurt.
He looked down at himself and found no wounds in his body. But his clothes… they were soaked in dried blood.
"Was it a dream?" he muttered hoarsely, voice cracking. "Where… where are my friends? Where's Mira?"
He looked around and found himselve he was near a lake. It was a familiar place to him, since he had come here many times with his friends to harvest.
"Mira!" he shouted.
He had never screamed that hard in his life.
The visions of blood still clung to his mind. The sight of Mira's body breaking, Ronin's crushed legs, and Draven's empty stare. He shook violently, clutching his chest, "No… this isn't just a dream."
"Someone must have saved me!"
"If they saved me, then they must've saved the others too!"
He pushed himself to his feet, stumbling at first, then found his balance. He started running back toward the forest where it had all happened.
When he reached the place, the stench of dried blood hit him immediately. The earth was dark, stained in wide patches, and broken branches littered the ground. But there were no bodies.
"They must've been saved," Kairo muttered, voice shaking. "They must be in the village."
He turned and sprinted again, shouting their names as he ran. "Mira! Ronin! Draven!"
...
When he reached Greystone Village, he charged straight into the Adventurers' Guild, his voice echoing through the hall.
"Mira! Ronin! Draven!"
People inside the guild turned as he passed, started whispering, "Is he still alive?"
"Thought he was dead."
Kairo didn't hear any of their whispers. His eyes darted frantically across the room, searching every face, every corner.
A man at a nearby table slammed down his mug. His breath stank of alcohol, face flushed and angry.
"Coward!" he spat, standing abruptly. "You let your friends die and ran away!"
Kairo froze mid-step.
"You spineless bastard!" the man continued, jabbing a finger at him. "A man should never run away!"
"Look at you, not even a single wound, only dried blood of your friends!"
Someone else muttered agreement. Another spat on the floor.
Kairo didn't hear anything after that. His world shrank to a single echo.
You let them die.
His breath turned ragged. His eyes burned, vision blurring.
"I… let them die."
His voice came out small, broken.
"I should've stayed."
"I should've fought."
"I let them die!"
His voice cracked into a sob, shoulders shaking.
"Why am I the only one alive?"
The hall blurred as tears filled his eyes, spilling down his cheeks.
He turned and ran, stumbling through the door, out of the guild, out of the village.
...
The dungeon gates appeared ahead before he realized where his feet had carried him.
Kairo staggered inside. When he reached the first floor, a single goblin stood at the center of the first chamber, gnawing on a bone.
Kairo's vision clouded with rage, he screamed and charged.
The goblin dropped its bone, reaching for its log, but Kairo was already on it. He swung his fists wildly, slamming into the creature's face again and again. Bone crunched beneath his knuckles. Green blood splattered across his hands.
The goblin shrieked, swinging its log in retaliation. The weapon smashed into Kairo's ribs.
Pain exploded through him, he felt his teeth break, fragments cutting his tongue.
But he didn't care about it.
"Why!" he roared, lunging again. "Why them!"
He tackled the goblin to the ground, wrestled the weapon from its clawed hands. His fingers closed around the rough wood, and he raised it high and brought it down.
Again and again.
Until the goblin disintegrated into particles of light.
He didn't notice when the goblin died, when its body began to crumble.
He just kept hitting.
The log struck stone now. His arms trembled with each impact.
Normally, a monster's death made it crumble and leave behind loot. But Kairo did not even notice the loot and didn't care about it.
When nothing was left but dirt and blood-stained stone, he staggered upright, trembling.
Then he saw movement deeper within the dungeon. More goblins, drawn by the noise.
He screamed again and charged, swinging the blood-soaked log.
They swarmed him.
Blows landed from every direction. A club cracked against his shoulder. Another caught his jaw, snapping his head sideways. His arms fractured under the assault, bones grinding. His leg snapped, folding at an impossible angle.
Blood filled his eyes, turning the world crimson.
He kept hitting, even as he fell to his knees.
"I won't... run..." he gasped through broken teeth. "Not again..."
A goblin's claw raked across his face. Another drove a rusted blade into his side.
Until at last, his body couldn't move.
The goblins climbed on him like ants on a carcass, stabbing and beating.
His breath stopped.
As darkness took him, he thought, Now I can join you.
Skill [Refuse to Die] Activating…
Activating Defense System…
Dormant Soul Awakening…
[#&^%$@&!*@&$*%*#$^%($(#&%&%(#^]
...
"Hey, stop it! Leave him alone!"
Kairo opened his eyes.
Two boys stood before him—no, before a smaller version of himself. One had grabbed young Kairo by the collar and shoved him against a rough tree trunk.
"Crybaby," the bully sneered,n.
Young Kairo's lip trembled. Tears streaked his dirt-smudged cheeks.
Mira's voice rang out again, "Didn't you hear me?"
Ronin and Draven appeared behind her.
The bullies turned and were startled by them; they exchanged glances, then ran.
Mira rushed forward, helping the younger Kairo to his feet.
"You okay?"
He sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve. "Y-yeah."
"You can't cry like that," she said, brushing dirt from his shoulders. "You're a boy. You should fight like one."
"I was scared..." he whispered, fresh tears threatening to spill.
Ronin and Draven both shook their heads.
"Stop crying, Kairo," Ronin said, hands on his hips.
Draven crossed his arms, mimicking Ronin's stance. "Yeah, it doesn't suit you."
Mira smiled faintly, reaching out to ruffle young Kairo's hair.
Then her eyes changed.
The warmth drained from them, replaced by something hollow. Empty.
"Kairo," she said softly, her voice echoing strangely, as if speaking from a great distance. "Do you think you can escape your guilt... just because you die?"
Kairo's eyes widened. He tried to step back but found his feet frozen.
The young Mira blurred, her small frame stretching unnaturally. Her dress darkened, turning crimson with blood. The older Mira stood before him again, chest shattered, ribs jutting through torn flesh. Her eyes were empty pits.
Behind her, Ronin and Draven appeared, Ronin's legs twisted at wrong angles, bone protruding through skin. Draven's head hung at an impossible angle, neck broken.
They spoke in unison, voices layered and distorted. "Why did you run?"
Kairo screamed—
...
—and woke again.
He was back in the forest, lying on soft moss near the lake.
His body bore no wounds again.
He pushed himself up, hands shaking violently. "What... what's happening to me?"
A chime echoed in his head, clear, mechanical, impossible to ignore.
[System Notification]
The words appeared before his eyes, glowing softly in translucent blue.
– New System Update Completed
– Soul Resonance Completed
– New Class Unlocked: Unbound
– Skill [Will to Survive] Evolved to [Refuse to Die]
– First Quest Completed – Kill a Goblin
– 40 XP Gained
– New Quest Available – Kill 10 Goblins
Kairo froze.
A voice accompanied the text, calm, mechanical, echoing inside his mind like something speaking directly to his thoughts. It read each line aloud.
He staggered backward, clutching his head. "Wh-what...? I can hear it?"
The voice had never spoken before. The system had always been silent text, something you read. Never something that spoke.
He pulled open the translucent screen with trembling fingers. The interface responded instantly, expanding before him. His eyes locked onto the new skill glowing at the bottom in golden letters.
[Refuse to Die]
"Is this... why I'm still alive?"
His mind reeled, trying to process the impossible. "Did this skill bring me back?"
He scrolled upward, reading the other notifications carefully. Each word felt foreign, wrong.
"What's a system update? What does 'soul resonance' mean?"
He had never heard of such things before. The system was supposed to be fixed, unchanging since the day it awakened in each person. Updates didn't exist. Resonance was a word without meaning in this context.
His gaze fell on the XP count. 40 points. His first gain in nearly two years of desperate struggle.
Once, that would've filled him with joy. He would've shouted, celebrated, felt hope kindle in his chest.
But now, all he felt was hollow.
He clenched his fists.
"Why..." his voice trembled, "Why am I the one always being saved?"
Tears blurred his vision again. "Why can't I ever save them?"
He rose unsteadily, legs weak, and began walking toward the distant glow of the village.
The path to the village blurred in his vision, his steps unsteady, his thoughts drowned in grief.
Only the faces of his friends remained in his mind, smiling, laughing, alive in memory if nowhere else.
...
He eventually stumbled through Greystone Village's narrow streets, when Kairo reached the small cottage at the village's edge, he found the door already open.
He walked inside, body operating on instinct alone.
His grandma sat hunched at the worn wooden table, face buried in her weathered hands. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs.
She turned at the sound of footsteps.
"Kairo!"
The word came out strangled, disbelieving. She lurched from her chair, her hands reached for him, trembling violently.
She crashed into him, arms wrapping around his thin frame. Her body shook against his, tears soaking into his bloodstained shirt.
"You are alive!" Her voice cracked, "They told me—everyone said—"
She pulled back abruptly, hands flying to his face, his shoulders, his arms. Her fingers searched frantically, checking every inch of him for wounds. They came away stained with dried blood, but found no cuts, no broken bones, no gashes.
Relief flooded her, followed immediately by confusion. Her brow furrowed as she stared at the blood covering his clothes, his skin.
"What happened?"
Kairo's face crumpled.
"I let them die."
The words tore from his throat, raw and broken.
His legs gave out. He collapsed against her, body wracked with sobs that came from somewhere deep and terrible inside him.
His grandma caught him, sinking to her knees with him, arms tightening around his shaking form.
She opened her mouth, searching for words—any words—that might ease his pain. Comfort him. Tell him it wasn't his fault.
But nothing came.
Her throat closed, voice dying before it could form. What could she say? What words existed for this?
So she simply held him.
Her fingers stroked his hair, the same way she had when he was small and frightened of thunderstorms. She rocked him gently, letting him pour out his anguish against her shoulder.
The cottage fell silent except for Kairo's broken sobs and the crackling of the hearth fire.
"I let them die..."