"NO! PLEASE—!"
Before I could react, the floor beneath me opened.
And my body dropped into darkness.
I slowly opened my eyes—
But the moment I tried to move, a painful groan escaped my mouth.
"Aaagh...!"
Pain exploded throughout my entire body like countless needles stabbing into my flesh.
My breathing instantly became rough.
"Huff...! Huff..."
My leg—the one bitten by the wolf—still carried a deep, horrifying wound.
Fresh blood continued dripping slowly from it.
Drip... Drip...
The burning pain made my entire body tremble uncontrollably.
"Damn it..."
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to look around.
The place looked like some kind of underground basement.
Dark, Cold and Silent.
The air smelled rotten, mixed with dust and old death.
Broken bones littered the entire ground around me.
Goblin skeletons.
Wolf skeletons.
Human skeletons.
Countless empty skulls stared silently into the darkness.
A cold chill slowly crawled down my spine.
My heartbeat quickened.
Thump... Thump...
"Grrrgh..."
A weak growl suddenly echoed nearby.
My body froze instantly.
Fear shot through me like lightning.
I hurriedly looked around desperately.
Left, Right and Behind me.
Nothing.
For a brief second, I thought I imagined it.
Then—
My gaze slowly lowered downward.
And my pupils shrank.
The wolf is there.
Its body twitched weakly beside me.
Blood covered its fur while one of its legs bent unnaturally.
"It... also fell down with me..."
My voice sounded shaky.
Then realization suddenly struck me.
My eyes widened slightly.
"I survived because..."
"...it absorbed most of the impact."
For a moment, I simply stared at the dying wolf.
Then—
"Heh..."
A weak, bitter laugh escaped my mouth.
"Hehahaha..."
The laugh sounded broken.
Almost insane.
"This is karma, bitch..."
I spat weakly toward the wolf.
PTUI.
But the moment my eyes landed on my bleeding leg again—
My expression slowly darkened.
The pain, fear and helplessness.
Everything exploded into rage.
My hands trembled violently as I grabbed a thick bone lying nearby.
CRRK...
The wolf weakly tried to move.
"Grr..."
Its exhausted eyes looked toward me.
But this time—
I showed no fear.
Only anger.
"Die."
CRAAASH!!
The thick bone smashed directly into the wolf’s skull.
"AWOOOO—!!"
The wolf let out one final painful cry as blood splattered across the ground.
Its body twitched violently for a few seconds.
Then—
Silence.
Dead.
"Huff... Huff..."
I breathed heavily while leaning weakly against the wolf’s corpse.
My arms felt numb.
My entire body ached.
The darkness around me suddenly felt even colder.
"So..."
A weak voice escaped my dry lips.
"So this is how I’m going to die..."
The words sounded hollow.
Empty.
Tears slowly formed in my eyes.
Not because of pain.
But because deep down—
For the first time since waking up in this nightmare...
I truly felt hopeless.
"Why...?"
My trembling voice echoed weakly through the dark basement.
"Why am I thrown into this place...?"
I clenched my fists tightly.
"At least... I was living normally back there..."
A bitter laugh escaped my mouth.
"Heh..."
Even if my life isn’t perfect—
It was still better than this nightmare.
Then—
A face suddenly appeared in my mind.
Long black hair.
Cold purple eyes.
"...Silvia."
The moment I whispered her name, my chest tightened painfully.
"I thought..."
My voice cracked slightly.
"I thought I would see her one last time..."
Silence filled the basement once more.
Only the sound of my rough breathing remained.
Huff... Huff...
Then suddenly—
DIIIIING—!!
A strange mechanical sound echoed inside my head.
My eyes widened instantly.
Then—
A cold robotic voice rang out.
[HOST FOUND...]
"...What?"
My body stiffened.
Before I could even process it—
[HOST HAS COMPLETED FIRST KILL.]
[SYNCING CONDITIONS MET.]
[SYNCHRONIZING...]
1%... 10%... 50%... 100%
A strange pressure suddenly surged through my body.
My vision blurred slightly.
Then—
[Hello, Host.]
[Please say ’Status’ in your mind.]
"...What the hell?"
I froze completely.
My heartbeat accelerated rapidly.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
A cold sensation crawled through my entire body.
"Am I... hallucinating?"
I stared blankly into the darkness.
But honestly—
Who even cared anymore?
I’m probably going to die anyway.
Taking a shaky breath, I slowly spoke in my mind.
"Status."
DING!
A translucent blue screen suddenly appeared before my eyes.
[STATUS]
NAME: LUKE VOIDHEART
CLASS: GOD OF DEATH [DIVINE RANK]
TITLES: NONE
RANK: F-
STRENGTH: F-
ENDURANCE: F-
AGILITY: F-
INTELLIGENCE: F-
MANA: F-
CLASS ABILITIES:
ACTIVE: Resurrect [F]
PASSIVE: Death Realm [F]
TALENT: Eternal Void Ruler Shop
INVENTORY: 10 SLOTS
[3 Water Bottles, 6 Meat Strips, 1 Bandage, 1 Sword (F-), 1 Leather Armour Set (F-)]
I stared at the floating screen in complete shock.
My dry lips parted slightly.
"Did I... really awaken a system?"
For a moment, even the pain in my body faded.
My eyes quickly scanned through the information again.
Then my expression twitched.
"All my stats are garbage..."
Every single one of them sat at the absolute lowest rank.
F-.
But then—
My gaze stopped on one specific line.
CLASS: GOD OF DEATH [DIVINE RANK]
"God... of Death..."
My heartbeat sped up again.
But only for a moment.
Reality quickly returned.
Warm blood still seeped slowly through the bandage on my leg.
Drip... Drip...
"...Right."
If I didn’t stop the bleeding soon—
I might become the first idiot in existence to die immediately after obtaining a system.
"Damn it..."
Quickly, I focused on the inventory.
FWISH!
A water bottle suddenly appeared in my trembling hand.
"...Woah."
Even now, that felt unbelievable.
Ignoring my shock, I quickly poured water over the wound.
SSSS—!!
"AAAGHH!"
A painful hiss escaped my mouth as burning pain spread through my leg.
I clenched my teeth tightly and forced myself to continue cleaning the wound.
After that, I hurriedly took out the bandage and wrapped it tightly around my injured leg.
My hands trembled throughout the entire process.
Finally—
"Haa..."
I let out a long relieved breath.
The bleeding has slowed down considerably.
Then my stomach suddenly growled loudly.
GRRRRLLL...
"...Right."
I almost forgot how starving I was.
Quickly, I took out two meat strips from the inventory and ate them slowly.
The dry meat tasted awful.
But right now—
It felt better than any luxury meal.
After recovering a little strength, my attention finally returned to the system.
More specifically—
My class abilities.
A blue screen appeared again.
***
ACTIVE: Resurrect [F]
Able to resurrect beings killed by you or your undead.
All resurrected beings become eternally loyal to you.
[0/10]
***
"...That’s it?"
I frowned slightly.
"The description is pretty vague..."
Still...
I could roughly understand what this ability meant.
Slowly, my gaze shifted toward the dead wolf lying beside me.
Its lifeless eyes stared blankly into the darkness.
Silence filled the basement once more.
Then—
A slow smile appeared on my face.
"I guess..."
"There’s only one way to test it."
I slowly raised my hand.
"Resurrect."
The moment the word left my mouth, black energy immediately began gathering around my palm.
Dark smoke-like mana flowed outward before spreading across the wolf’s corpse.
The strange energy completely covered its body.
For a few seconds...
Nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
Twitch.
The wolf’s paw moved slightly.
My pupils shrank.
The corpse suddenly jerked violently as its crushed flesh and shattered skull slowly began repairing themselves.
The entire process looked horrifyingly unnatural.
Yet strangely smooth at the same time.
Then—
The wolf slowly stood up on its own.
And finally...
It opened its eyes.
"This isn’t resurrection..." I whispered in disbelief.
"It’s revival."
The wolf looked almost completely normal.
No rotten flesh.
No exposed bones.
No disgusting undead appearance.
If someone saw it right now, they would never believe it had died just moments ago.
I carefully observed my very first undead summon.
It isn’t breathing.
The wolf stood motionless for several seconds.
Its dark eyes wandered aimlessly, almost as if it were trying to understand its own existence.
Then its gaze slowly landed on me.
The instant our eyes met—
Its entire body froze.
A strange emotion appeared within those hollow eyes.
Absolute submission.
The wolf’s body trembled slightly before it slowly lowered itself before me.
Like a believer kneeling before its god.
"...Well, that’s crazy," I muttered quietly.
Even after reviving, it still seemed capable of independent thought.
"My ability guarantees absolute loyalty..."
I looked at the bowing wolf thoughtfully.
In a world where almost everything probably wanted to kill me, followers that could never betray me is an huge advantage.
Still...
My situation isn’t good at all.
I slowly looked down at my injured leg.
The bandages are already stained red again.
A sharp pain throbbed through the wound every few seconds.
Throb... Throb...
"Tch..."
I gritted my teeth.
"I can’t move properly like this..."
If another monster appeared now—
I would probably die instantly.
Then suddenly—
I remembered something.
My talent.
Quickly, I focused on the system again.
"System."
My voice echoed softly through the dark basement.
"What exactly is my talent?"
DING!
A blue screen flickered before my eyes.
[Host’s talent is Eternal Void Ruler Shop.]
[Through the shop, the host may purchase anything as long as sufficient points are available.]
The system explained in an oddly cheerful voice.
"...Anything?"
My eyes widened slightly.
That sounded ridiculously overpowered.
But then another question immediately appeared in my mind.
"Then where do I get points from?"
The system responded instantly.
[Host can gain points by killing beings ranked F and above.]
The mechanical voice paused briefly.
Then—
[Host has also received a Starter Pack.]
[Reward: 1,000 Points.]
For a moment, I genuinely thought I misheard it.
Then excitement exploded inside my chest.
"One thousand?!"
My mood instantly improved.
At least...
I am not completely doomed anymore.
Without wasting time, I immediately opened the shop.
DING!
Countless items instantly appeared before my eyes.
The sheer amount of things nearly made my head spin.
"...This is insane."
Still, survival came first.
After quickly searching through the shop, I purchased:
• 1 Healing Potion
• 1 Mana Potion
Each cost 50 points.
The moment I saw the remaining balance drop, my expression twitched slightly.
"Total scam..."
I muttered under my breath.
Still—
I immediately opened the healing potion.
POP.
A strange herbal smell spread into the air.
Carefully, I poured the liquid onto my wounded leg.
SSSSSS—!!
"AAAGHHH!"
A painful hiss escaped my mouth as intense burning spread through the injury.
It felt like someone had poured fire directly into my flesh.
My fingers dug into the ground painfully.
But slowly—
The pain began fading.
The deep wound visibly started closing.
Fresh flesh slowly regenerated before my eyes.
"...No way."
I stared in disbelief.
After that, I quickly drank the remaining potion.
GLUG. GLUG.
Warmth instantly spread throughout my entire body.
The exhaustion weighing me down slowly disappeared.
Even my dizziness faded considerably.
"Haa..."
A relieved breath escaped my mouth.
I finally felt alive again.
Using the undead wolf beside me for support, I slowly pushed myself upward.
My legs still trembled slightly.
But at least now I could stand.
Afterward, I opened the inventory once more.
FWISH!
A rough leather armor set appeared in front of me alongside a basic sword.
Quickly, I equipped the armor and attached the sword to my waist.
The cheap leather felt uncomfortable.
But compared to before—
I finally felt slightly safer.
Then my eyes slowly narrowed.
A dangerous thought appeared in my mind.
"I need more undead."
Right now, having only one summon was far too risky.
"At the very least..."
"I should fill all ten summon slots first."
With that decision made, I began moving deeper into the underground basement alongside my undead wolf.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
The basement remained eerily silent.
Only the sound of footsteps and distant dripping water echoed through the darkness.
Drip... Drip...
After walking for around five minutes—
My wolf suddenly growled softly.
"Grr..."
I immediately froze.
Then—
I spotted it.
A lone goblin leaned lazily against the wall ahead while holding a wooden club.
The ugly creature looked completely unaware of our presence.
Its eyelids drooped sleepily.
"...Perfect."
Still, I frowned slightly.
"I seriously need a ranged attack skill."
I couldn’t risk losing my only undead this early.
Quickly, I opened the system shop again.
After searching through several options—
One skill immediately caught my attention.
***
Necro Bolt [F]
Cost: 100 Points
***
Without hesitation, I purchased it instantly.
DING!
A strange stream of information suddenly flooded into my mind.
For a brief moment, my head throbbed painfully.
Then instinctive understanding appeared naturally.
"...So this is how it works."
After confirming there are no other enemies nearby, I slowly raised my hand toward the goblin.
Dark energy slowly gathered around my palm.
BZZZT...
Thin black sparks crackled through the air.
The goblin finally noticed me.
"Krr?"
But it was already too late.
"...Now die."
I activated the skill.
’Necro Bolt.’
ZAAAAAP!!
A black bolt of necrotic energy exploded from my hand like dark lightning.
The attack struck the goblin directly in the chest.
BOOM!!
"KRRRAAAAGHHH!!"
The goblin let out a horrifying scream as black sparks spread rapidly across its entire body.
CRACKLE!
BZZZT!
Its limbs convulsed violently.
The creature stumbled backward while smoke rose from its chest.
Then—
It froze completely.
Still standing.
"...It didn’t die?"
I looked genuinely surprised.
The skill looked powerful enough.
But my stats are simply too low.
Without hesitation, I immediately gave order to my undead.
"Kill it!"
"GRAAAH!"
The undead wolf instantly lunged forward.
WHOOSH!
Before the goblin could react—
CHOMP!!
The wolf’s jaws sank directly into its throat.
RIIIIP!!
Blood sprayed across the wall.
The goblin’s body twitched violently for a few seconds before collapsing lifelessly onto the floor.
THUD.
Silence returned once more.
Then—
DING!
[YOU HAVE GAINED 1 POINT.]
A slow smile appeared on my face.
I nodded in satisfaction while looking at the undead wolf.
"Good."
Then I used **Resurrect** on the goblin as well.
The goblin suddenly twitched.
CRRK...
Its broken neck slowly straightened unnaturally while hollow black light ignited inside its eyes.
Then—
Just like the wolf before it...
The goblin slowly knelt before me.
Its head lowered completely.
Awaiting orders.
For the first time since arriving in this nightmare...
I finally felt like I possessed something.
"Heh..."
A faint smile appeared on my face.
After that—
We spent nearly two hours exploring the underground basement.
Time slowly lost meaning within the darkness.
Sometimes we encountered lone goblins.
Sometimes injured wolves.
And occasionally...
Human skeletons scattered across the ground.
The deeper we traveled, the colder the basement became.
Drip... Drip...
The endless sound of water echoed constantly through the darkness.
Several battles broke out during those two hours.
"GRAAAH!"
"SCREEECH!!"
RIP!
SCHKK!
My undead wolf tore through monsters violently while the goblin undead attacked from the sides using rusty weapons.
Meanwhile—
I supported them from the back using Necro Bolt whenever needed.
ZAP!!
Each battle slowly improved my control over the skill.
And by the end of those two hours—
I had finally filled all ten undead slots.
"Haaah..."
A long exhausted sigh escaped my mouth.
"I’m completely exhausted..."
Both mentally and physically.
Eventually, I found a relatively safe corner deep inside the basement.
Broken walls surrounded the area while only one narrow entrance led inside.
Good enough.
Using broken wood and monster remains, I lit a small fire.
FWOOSH...
Warm orange light flickered softly against the dark walls.
For the first time since arriving here—
The darkness didn’t feel completely suffocating anymore.
Quietly, I warmed my food over the fire before eating slowly.
The meat still tasted awful.
But compared to starving—
It is heaven.
While eating, my mind slowly began organizing everything I had learned so far.
This dungeon is extremely dangerous.
Hidden traps, Monsters and Ambushes.
One mistake meant death.
And right now—
My biggest weakness is awareness.
If the wolves hadn’t revealed themselves earlier—
I would have died without even noticing them.
"I need some kind of detection skill..."
Muttering softly, I opened the system shop again.
After searching for several minutes, two skills caught my attention.
***
Survival Instinct [F]
— Warns the user when danger approaches.
Sixth Sense [F]
— Grants mysterious instinctive awareness.
***
I stared at both descriptions carefully.
"Survival Instinct sounds safer..."
"But Sixth Sense..."
For some reason—
That skill felt different.
After thinking quietly for a while, I finally made my decision.
"I’ll take Sixth Sense."
DING!
[300 Points Deducted.]
The moment I purchased the skill—
A strange sensation suddenly spread throughout my body.
BZZZT...
My heartbeat slowed slightly.
The air around me suddenly felt clearer and Sharper.
I could vaguely sense tiny movements nearby.
The flickering fire.
The dripping water far away.
It felt almost like...
I had gained an invisible extra sense.
Like another limb I didn’t fully understand yet.
"...Weird."
I frowned slightly while touching my chest.
The sensation felt unnatural.
But useful.
Eventually, I shook my head and stopped overthinking it.
Right now—
There is something far more important.
Slowly, I lifted my gaze toward the floating system screen.
"System..."
My voice echoed softly beside the fire.
"How do I rank up?"
The flames crackled quietly.
Then—
DING.