The creature roared.
Lucas charged forward.
The distance between them disappeared in an instant.
The monster swung its massive axe downward.
Lucas shifted to the side.
The blade slammed into the ground where he had been standing.
BOOM!
Stone cracked beneath the impact.
Lucas didn’t waste the opening.
He stepped inside the monster’s reach and drove his fist into its ribs.
CRACK!
The creature staggered.
Lucas followed with another punch.
Then another.
Each strike was enhanced by Boost Breaker’s basic abilities.
[Strength Enhancement]
[Speed Enhancement]
[Break Limit]
The power flowing through Lucas’s body was still weak compared to what he remembered from his first life.
But he understood how to use it.
That was the difference.
His opponents might have better natural abilities.
They might have stronger bodies.
They might even possess more powerful skills.
But Lucas had something they didn’t.
Experience.
He knew how monsters moved.
He knew when they attacked.
He knew how they reacted when injured.
And most importantly, he knew how to stay calm.
The creature swung its axe again.
Lucas ducked.
The blade passed over his head.
He stepped forward and slammed his elbow into the monster’s jaw.
The creature’s head snapped backward.
Marcus finally moved.
“Now!”
Marcus rushed forward and attacked the monster from behind.
Elena followed immediately.
Her sword struck the creature’s leg.
Ryan stood farther back, supporting the others with his ability.
The monster stumbled.
Lucas saw the opening.
“Move!”
Marcus and Elena immediately backed away.
Lucas clenched his fist.
[Break Limit]
The energy surrounding his body intensified.
He stepped forward.
One punch.
Straight into the monster’s chest.
BOOM!
The creature was launched backward.
It crashed into the cavern wall.
Dust filled the air.
Everyone froze.
For several seconds, nothing moved.
Marcus lowered his weapon.
“Did we get it?”
Lucas didn’t answer.
He stared into the dust.
Then he saw the creature stand.
His expression changed.
“It isn’t dead.”
The monster stepped out of the smoke.
Blood ran from its mouth.
Several cracks covered its dark armor.
But it was still standing.
Ryan’s face went pale.
“That’s impossible.”
Elena tightened her grip on her sword.
“It’s stronger than us.”
Marcus looked at Lucas.
“Can you beat it?”
Lucas studied the creature.
He could.
But not by simply overpowering it.
His body was already beginning to feel the strain from Break Limit.
He couldn’t maintain the ability forever.
Lucas glanced at the monster’s axe.
Then at its legs.
Then at the damaged armor around its chest.
There.
A weak point.
“Yes.”
Marcus looked surprised.
“You’re sure?”
“No.”
Lucas smiled slightly.
“But I know how we’re going to do it.”
The monster charged again.
“Marcus, keep its attention.”
Marcus swallowed.
“You’re asking me to fight that thing directly?”
“Just for a few seconds.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
Lucas ignored him.
“Elena, attack its right leg when I tell you.”
Elena nodded.
“Ryan, save your energy.”
Ryan looked confused.
“What about you?”
Lucas raised his fists.
“I’m going to finish it.”
Marcus charged.
The monster swung its axe.
Marcus blocked. The source of this chapter is g.com.
The impact forced him backward.
“Now!”
Elena rushed in.
Her sword struck the monster’s right leg.
The creature stumbled.
Lucas moved.
His body accelerated.
[Speed Enhancement]
He ran directly toward the monster.
The creature noticed him.
It raised its axe.
Exactly what Lucas expected.
Lucas stopped.
The monster swung.
At the last possible moment, Lucas stepped sideways.
The axe passed beside him.
He grabbed the monster’s arm.
Then he twisted.
The creature’s balance shifted.
Lucas pulled with everything he had.
The monster fell onto one knee.
“Elena!”
Elena understood immediately.
She struck the damaged armor on its chest.
The armor shattered.
Lucas saw the exposed core beneath it.
A glowing crystal.
The creature roared and tried to stand.
Lucas didn’t give it the chance.
He activated Break Limit again.
Pain shot through his muscles.
The ability pushed his body beyond its normal limits.
Lucas stepped forward.
His fist connected with the exposed core.
BOOM!
The cavern went silent.
The monster froze.
A crack appeared across the crystal.
Then another.
Finally—
CRACK!
The core shattered.
The monster collapsed.
Its body began breaking apart into particles of light.
Everyone stood still.
Lucas breathed heavily.
His arms were trembling.
He released Break Limit.
The pressure disappeared.
A notification appeared.
[Monster Defeated]
[Unexpected Encounter Completed]
[Quest Progress Updated]
[First Step]
[Reach E-Rank: 0/1]
[Complete Official Awakener Mission: 1/1]
[Survive an unexpected encounter: 1/1]
[Quest rewards available.]
Lucas stared at the notification.
He had completed two conditions already.
But the first one remained.
He still needed to reach E-Rank.
That would take more than one battle.
Marcus walked toward him.
“Lucas.”
Lucas turned.
“Yeah?”
Marcus looked at the remains of the monster.
“What rank was that thing?”
Lucas glanced at the creature’s remains.
“I don’t know.”
Marcus frowned.
“Come on.
You obviously have an idea.”
Lucas shook his head.
“The mission was classified as F-Rank.
Whatever that thing was, it shouldn’t have been here.”
Elena walked over.
“I agree.”
She looked toward the deeper section of the dungeon.
“Do you think there are more?”
Lucas didn’t answer immediately.
That same strange pressure was still there.
And now that he had defeated the monster, he could feel it more clearly.
Something was deeper inside.
Something powerful enough to make the entire dungeon feel different.
Lucas turned toward the dark passage.
“We shouldn’t stay here.”
Marcus nodded.
“Agreed.”
Ryan looked relieved.
“So we’re leaving?”
Lucas looked at the dungeon core chamber.
“Not yet.”
Marcus stared at him.
“What?”
“The mission requires us to recover the dungeon core.”
“We almost died fighting that thing.”
“And we’re not going to fight anything else unless we have to.”
Lucas walked toward the center of the chamber.
The dungeon core wasn’t there.
He examined the damaged stone structure again.
There were signs that someone had removed something.
“Someone took it.”
“Then the mission is already impossible.”
“Not necessarily.”
Lucas touched the stone.
There was a faint residue of energy.
Someone had extracted the core recently.
Very recently.
He looked at the ground.
The footprints continued toward the deeper passage.
Lucas stood.
“Someone is still inside.”
Marcus immediately shook his head.
“Then we should leave.”
Lucas looked at him.
“You’re right.”
Marcus seemed surprised.
Lucas continued.
“We’re not strong enough to investigate.”
He turned away from the passage.
“Let’s report everything.”
The four of them began walking back.
Lucas stayed at the rear.
As they moved through the dungeon, he looked back one last time.
For a moment, he thought he saw something moving in the darkness.
Then it disappeared.
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
He wasn’t imagining it.
Someone had entered this dungeon before them.
Someone had removed the dungeon core.
And someone had left behind a monster that wasn’t supposed to exist here.
That wasn’t random.
Someone had changed something.
Lucas’s expression became serious.
He had expected the future to change slowly.
He had expected himself to be the main difference.
But this was different.
This wasn’t caused by him.
At least, not directly.
They reached the dungeon entrance.
The strange pressure disappeared.
The abandoned warehouse returned.
Sunlight filled Lucas’s vision.
He took a deep breath.
For the first time since awakening, he felt something he hadn’t expected.
Uncertainty.
In his previous life, he had spent years learning how the world worked.
He knew which dungeons appeared.
He knew which guilds rose to power.
He knew which disasters happened.
He knew which people would become important.
But now one event had already changed.
And he didn’t know why.
Lucas looked down at his hand.
A faint glow appeared.
[Boost Breaker]
[Current Rank: F]
[Available Abilities:]
[Basic Enhancement]
[Strength Enhancement]
[Speed Enhancement]
[Break Limit]
[Quest System Active]
[Next Evolution Requirement: Reach E-Rank]
Lucas smiled.
He had only just awakened.
There was no reason to rush.
He didn’t need to become the strongest person in the world overnight.
He only needed to keep moving forward.
One rank at a time.
One quest at a time.
One step at a time.
That was how he would climb.
Not by forcing the world to change around him.
But by quietly becoming stronger until the world had no choice but to notice him.
Lucas looked toward the city.
Three days ago, he had been an ordinary person waiting for his awakening.
Now he was an F-Rank Awakener with an ability nobody understood.
And somewhere inside that ability was a path to something much greater.
He just had to unlock it.
Lucas opened his status window.
[Name: Lucas]
[Rank: F]
[Class: None]
[Ability: Boost Breaker]
[Hidden Ability: ???]
[Quest: First Step]
[Progress]
[Reach E-Rank: 0/1]
Lucas closed the window.
He didn’t know what the hidden ability was.
He didn’t know why his awakening had produced something nobody had ever heard of.
And he definitely didn’t know why the dungeon had changed.
But he wasn’t afraid.
He had already died once.
This time, he had a second chance.
And he wasn’t going to waste it.
Lucas turned toward the city and began walking.
Behind him, inside the abandoned warehouse, something moved in the darkness.
A pair of eyes opened.
Then disappeared.
Lucas never noticed.
The world had already begun changing.
And this time…
Lucas wasn’t the only one moving forward.