I had always thought S-rank was the highest.
Until I awakened.
***
This was an unreal world.
Gates connected to Dungeons existed, and terrifying Monsters often burst out of them.
Awakened individuals known as Hunters, who could fight and defeat those Monsters, truly existed.
And I...
worked a job that took me in and out of the Dungeons connected to those Gates.
A Hunter?
Unfortunately, no.
My occupation was the profession ranked number one for encountering nightmare customers: a Dungeon Porter!
I had no idea where they had conducted that survey.
At the very least, I agreed with its results.
After all, I had run into a particularly awful customer right now.
“Yu-gwon, do your job properly, will you? Do you expect to get paid working like that?”
Those were the words of a man holding an ornate sword.
As though they had been waiting for their cue, his companions immediately joined in.
“I swear, I’ve never liked porter bastards. Looks like today’s hunt is going to be another frustrating slog.”
“Get your head on straight. You act like such an idiot, no wonder all you can do is carry Hunters’ baggage and handle filthy Monster byproducts.”
The profession truly lived up to its number-one ranking for encountering nightmare customers.
‘This is pissing me off.’
I might have felt a little less irritated if I had actually done something wrong.
However, all I had done was refuse their demand that I violate the safety regulations.
“I explained this before we entered the Dungeon. You must follow the safety regulations, at the very least.”
I spoke as politely as I could.
They were still the customers paying me, after all, so I had tried to ease the tension.
“Are you trying to lecture us right now? A weak little bastard like you doesn’t even know his place.”
“Why is this fucking moron running his mouth when he’s just a porter?”
“Hey! If you don’t want to get yourself killed, just do what we tell you.”
The Hunter customers were openly acting like deranged thugs now.
There was no reasoning with them.
How the hell had I ended up with the worst of the worst?
‘···Endure it. This too shall pass! By tomorrow, this won’t matter at all.’
I forcibly raised the corners of my mouth, which were trembling with rage.
I repeatedly bowed my head to the Hunter customers as they showered me with abuse.
Swallowing my pride and apologizing despite having done nothing wrong.
It was difficult, in truth.
Difficult enough to make me want to quit on the spot.
Even so, this was a job I absolutely had to keep.
‘Think about Mom and Dad.’
I pictured my parents lying in their hospital beds.
They were one of the reasons I continued working as a porter and endured being treated like dirt.
This job allowed me to earn enough money to cover at least some of my sick parents’ hospital expenses.
And there was another reason.
‘If I’m going to take revenge on the Monster bastards who did that to my parents··· I have to become stronger!’
I wanted the power to kill Monsters.
That power was a Trait!
My goal was to awaken a Trait—the qualification needed to become a Hunter.
『An intriguing study has produced new results! You’ve heard that the longer you spend in a Dungeon, the greater your chance of Awakening, haven’t you? After repeated experiments, this has been confirmed to be true!』
I could still vividly remember the television program I had watched two years ago.
It had claimed that spending long periods inside Dungeons increased a person’s chances of Awakening.
While watching that program, I had resolved to awaken a Trait.
From then on, I began working as a porter.
Apart from Hunters, it was the only profession legally permitted to enter Dungeons.
Two years had passed since then.
I had worked as a porter and entered Dungeons as often as possible, but...
‘I have to become stronger···· Only then can I keep up with the hospital bills and take revenge on those Monster bastards····.’
Bitterly enough, I had not Awakened.
All I had gained was the opportunity to meet nightmare customers like these.
“Hey, porter! Your name was··· Yu-gwon, right? Even your name is fucking stupid. Just get lost.”
“Heh heh! You’re really going to leave this porter bastard behind? What if a Monster kills him?”
“If he dies, he dies. No one will know if he dies inside a Dungeon anyway.”
“That’s true. Besides, we wouldn’t be killing him, would we? The Monsters would.”
Their insults had crossed the line.
I had encountered few abusive customers who would go so far as to mock someone’s life.
Yet these people casually spoke about leaving me to die.
‘Endure it. I really have to endure it.’
It was becoming difficult to keep my expression under control.
A Dungeon truly was a dangerous place where people could die, just as they had said.
What would happen if those Hunters actually abandoned me?
My chances of dying would rise dramatically.
‘Come on. No way.’
Of course, that would never happen.
I had met countless nightmare customers during my two years as a porter, but none had ever been insane enough to do something like that.
And yet...
The very thing I thought impossible happened.
“Have a nice death! We’re leaving!”
“Heh heh! Are we really allowed to do this?”
“Why are you pretending to be nice now? It’s not like this is our first time.”
The Hunters began running while cackling among themselves.
As someone who was not Awakened, I could never hope to match their speed.
Their actions no longer felt like a joke.
In particular, the last thing I had heard continued to echo in my ears.
‘Not their first time···? Are they saying they’ve done this to someone else before?’
To survive, I had to stay with the Hunters somehow.
I ran desperately, but the distance between us only continued to widen.
Worse still...
I could no longer chase after them.
“SKREEK! SKRIIK!”
“SKRIIIIK!”
“SKREEK!”
Monsters burst out of the bushes and blocked my path.
***
Three Monsters had suddenly appeared.
Cold sweat poured down my body as I stared at the creatures blocking my way.
They had blue skin and wielded swords and shields.
Unless one was a Hunter, defeating them in a fight was nearly impossible.
“Damn it!”
Fighting was never an option.
I turned around, prioritizing escape above all else.
“SKRIIK!”
“SKREEK!”
“SKRIIIIK!”
That was when I discovered three more Monsters behind me.
“Were there··· six of them from the beginning?”
This was the worst possible situation.
Had those Hunters known this would happen?
Was that why they had looked so delighted?
‘Those crazy bastards···!’
Rage surged within me.
But there was··· nothing I could do.
My mind was gradually going blank, and I could not think of a single good solution.
Death.
That word began to take root in my mind.
‘No! I can’t die!’
SMACK!
I raised a hand and slapped myself hard across the cheek.
The intense pain cleared my whitening mind.
“I have to survive. If I die here····.”
I pictured my parents lying in their hospital beds.
Could I really die and leave them behind while they remained in a vegetative state?
I could not.
WHOOSH!
I scattered the contents of my bag.
They were foul-smelling Monster byproducts.
More importantly, they had been obtained by killing Monsters of the same kind as those blocking my path.
“SKRIIK?”
“SKREEK!”
Perhaps it was only natural that the creatures recoiled from them.
THUDTHUDTHUD!
I started running.
I slipped through the narrow opening created when they avoided the byproducts.
“SKRIIIIK!”
“SKREEK!”
The enraged Monsters chased after me.
Bitterly enough, they were faster than I was.
SHNK!
A warm sensation spread across my back.
A moment later, it began to burn.
“Ghk!”
It was difficult to know exactly what had happened.
However, I suspected that one of the Monsters had slashed my back with its sword.
At least I was still alive, which meant the blade had not reached my head.
‘I have to survive!’
I ran in a zigzag pattern to allow as few attacks as possible to land.
It was a desperate struggle.
It did have some effect. I repeatedly heard the Monsters’ swords cutting through empty air behind me.
WHOOSH! WHOOOOSH!
However, it could never be a perfect solution.
SHNK!
Another searing sensation tore across my back.
At that moment, dizziness washed over me as well.
‘No···! If I lose consciousness here, it’s over!’
I did not give up.
I desperately ignored the dizziness and continued running.
Clinging to the thought that I could survive.
Clinging to the thought that I had to return to my parents.
However...
Despair soon swallowed me.
‘Ha····.’
Directly ahead, in the direction I had been running...
was a cliff.
‘Is this as far as I go?’
As negative thoughts threatened to fill my mind, I forced myself to think positively once again.
I refused to give up that badly.
‘There might be water below the cliff, right? Then I might survive! I know how to swim a little, so I’ll manage somehow!’
If I stopped running for even a moment, the Monsters’ swords would cut me down.
Believing there was water beneath the cliff, I leaped over the edge without hesitation.
THUMP!
“Aaaaaagh!”
I jumped from the cliff, desperately hoping to see blue water below.
However...
Reality was different.
There was no water in sight.
All I could see was the hard ground below, which would kill me before I could even feel the pain of landing.
Even so...
CRACK! CRAAACK!
Apparently, I was not destined to die just yet.
I heard something breaking violently.
But the sound had not come from my body.
‘···A tree branch?’
By sheer luck...
I had become caught on a branch jutting from the cliff, hanging from it like a piece of laundry.
***
‘I’m··· alive?’
I had not died.
For now.
“Haah··· Haah····!”
The breath I had been holding burst out in ragged gasps.
My heart hammered madly from the tension. Cold sweat soaked my entire body. Blood flowed from my back, worsening my dizziness.
My condition made it painfully clear how close I had come to death.
“The Monsters···.”
I raised my head and looked toward the top of the cliff.
Fortunately, the Monsters were nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps they had given up and left when I fell from the cliff.
“I didn’t die right away···· but how am I supposed to get out of here alive?”
I tried to calm my still-racing heart.
I had no idea how likely I was to survive, but remaining calm would give me a better chance.
SWISH! SWISH!
I turned my head from side to side and examined my surroundings.
At that moment...
“Huh?”
I noticed a hole in the cliffside.
It was large enough for a person to enter with room to spare.
“Is that···· a cave?”
It looked like the entrance to one of the caves I had only ever seen on television or YouTube.
Moreover, it was not far from the branch on which I was hanging.
After a moment of deliberation, I made my decision.
‘If I stay here, I might bleed to death anyway. I don’t know what’s inside that cave··· but I should at least take a look.’
I decided to enter the cave.
CREAK! CRACK!
The branches swayed and bent precariously each time I moved.
It was frightening, without question.
However, when I reminded myself that I would die if I remained where I was, I found myself able to move without hesitation.
SNAP! CRACK!
Some of the branches bent until they broke.
The situation grew increasingly dangerous.
Even so...
“I made it!”
After a difficult struggle, I managed to place one hand on the mouth of the cave.
SWISH! GRAB!
The moment I reached out with my other hand and caught hold of the cave entrance...
‘Ghk!’
A burning pain tore through my back.
Using my strength must have aggravated the wounds.
GRIND!
I clenched my molars and endured the pain.
I forced more strength into my arms as they threatened to give out.
Throughout my life as a porter, I had paid particular attention to physical conditioning.
That effort finally paid off.
SWISH! THUMP!
Keeping my arms tense, I extended my legs and hauled my body upward.
It was dangerous, but I succeeded.
“Ha···· I actually did it····.”
For a moment, I felt proud of myself.
However, it was too soon to celebrate.
My dizziness and the pain in my back were both growing worse.
‘Please let there be something in here!’
With that desperate plea in my heart...
I moved deeper into the cave.
But then...
“Why is it so···· bright?”
I had not been inside the cave for long when I encountered a brightly illuminated interior.
The light was artificial rather than natural.
I soon discovered its source.
“Could those possibly be···· Mana Stones?”
Stones embedded in the cave walls were emitting light.
If I was right, they were Mana Stones.
They were mysterious substances that increased a Hunter’s Mana when absorbed, making the Hunter stronger. As a result, they sold for extraordinary prices.
Mana Stones were renowned for their rarity, yet there appeared to be dozens of them at a glance.
“Why are there so many Mana Stones here?”
Under normal circumstances, greed would have overcome me.
However, the unceasing blood loss currently placed my life in immediate danger.
I tore my gaze away from the Mana Stones and ventured deeper into the cave.
‘Just a little farther···· Let’s keep going a little longer.’
My dizziness continued to worsen.
Even as I staggered, I did not stop moving forward.
I had made that decision because I knew it was already too late to turn back.
When I finally reached the depths of the cave...
“···Who are you?”
I saw a person sitting with his eyes closed in a rather unusual posture.
‘What was···· that posture called again? The lotus position?’
Clinging to the faint hope that he might be able to help me...
I approached the unresponsive man.
‘He’s quite large up close. And why does he have so many muscles?’
He possessed an extraordinarily muscular body, pure-white hair, and skin so flawless that not a single pore was visible.
He was an utterly otherworldly person.
Why wasn’t he answering, anyway?
“I am in very bad shape right now. Could you please help me?”
Thinking he might not have heard me, I raised my voice.
Still, no answer came.
“Excuse me! Why aren’t you saying anything?”
I reached out, intending to place a hand on his shoulder and shake him gently.
FWOOSH!
The man I had thought was alive began scattering like smoke.
“What the hell?!”
Startled, I stumbled backward.
Before I knew it, the smoke had begun flowing into my nose and mouth.
“GASP! COUGH!”
I could no longer breathe.
I thrashed in fear and suffocation.
‘What the hell is thiiis?! Huh···?’
Letters suddenly began appearing before my eyes.
At first, there was only one character, but more soon appeared until they formed a complete sentence.
In that brief moment...
The word ‘Awakening’ came to mind.
‘Could it be···?’
The Awakening I had wanted so desperately.
Was I finally going to achieve it?
Excitement surged through me!
At that moment, the sentence was completed.
It was what Hunters called a ‘System Message,’ or simply a ‘Message’!
However...
Something was strange.
[You have obtained Martial God’s Legacy (SSSSS).]
“Why does the rank look like this?”
***