A boy around fifteen years old sat in the corner of a street.
He had an average appearance, but years of hunger and starvation had left him pale and malnourished. His clothes hung loosely from his thin body, while his deep blue eyes stood out against his jet-black hair.
He had nobody in this world.
No family.
No relatives.
No one he could call his own.
In a world filled with monsters, surviving each day was a struggle. For Asher, every morning wasn’t a chance to live—it was another battle to make it to tomorrow.
He had no goals, no ambitions, and no dreams to chase.
His only purpose was simple.
Survive another day.
But then he heard the news.
The government was planning to send homeless people into labor.
Asher didn’t want that.
He already knew about the Awakeners—people who possessed power beyond that of ordinary humans.
They walked through the world displaying their strength, able to do things normal people could only imagine.
Until now, Asher had nothing to do with them.
But now, everything had changed.
Becoming an Awakener was the only choice he had left.
The only problem was that his knowledge about them was limited.
He had only heard rumors.
They said that when someone awakened, a Status Screen would automatically appear, displaying their abilities, level, and power.
But that was all he knew.
In this world filled with monsters, power was everything.
Without it, people like Asher could only lower their heads, rely on those stronger than them, and hope they didn’t decide they were no longer useful.
Asher had accepted living like that before.
But now...
Even the government had decided people like him were useless.
So he had to find a way.
And there was only one place where he might find a connection to the Awakeners.
The Monster Forest.
Everyone had heard stories about that place.
Some Awakeners entered and returned stronger than before.
Others entered...
and never came back.
But what did he have to lose?
His pathetic life?
Asher had already lost everything else.
With that thought, he began walking toward the forest.
However, before he could enter, two guards standing near the entrance stopped him.
"Where are you going?"
Asher calmly looked at them and answered without hesitation.
"I was hired by an Awakener team to carry their supplies. I’m heading there now."
It was a lie.
But he delivered it smoothly.
The guards looked him over.
Their eyes moved across his frail body, his thin frame, and his worn-out clothes.
For a moment, they looked down on him.
Then one of them seemed to understand.
An Awakener team hiring someone like him probably didn’t mean they needed a worker.
In the slums, people like him were often treated as disposable.
A possible sacrifice.
The guard sighed and stepped aside.
"Fine. You can go. But don’t cause trouble. If you do..."
He left the threat unfinished.
Asher understood what he meant.
He simply nodded and walked past them.
If he could awaken before the academy entrance test, he might finally have a chance to leave this slum.
That thought pushed him forward.
So Asher continued deeper into the Monster Forest, searching for anything...
Anything that could change his fate.
But he found nothing.
Only silence.
The deeper he went, the more the forest changed.
Tall, dark trees surrounded him, their branches reaching toward the sky like twisted fingers. Some had already withered away, leaving behind nothing but dead trunks.
The leaves had long since fallen, covering the ground in a layer of decay.
The entire forest felt ominous.
A place where death had settled.
Yet, after living through the hellish conditions of the slums, this sight did not frighten Asher.
He had already seen the worst parts of this world.
So he continued forward.
Then he saw it.
A monster.
The moment Asher laid eyes on it, his expression changed.
It was horrifying.
Something that made his stomach turn.
A black, disgusting substance seeped from its body, dripping onto the ground beneath it.
Its mouth was covered in the blood of another creature it had devoured.
It looked like a giant dog...
But calling it a dog would have been an insult to dogs.
Its twisted body and unnatural appearance made it seem like something that should never have existed.
Even Asher, who had endured years of hunger and suffering, found the creature revolting to look at.
Before fear could even reach his mind, his body moved on its own.
He hid behind a nearby tree.
It wasn’t a decision.
It was instinct.
A survival instinct carved into him after years of living alone.
From behind the tree, Asher watched.
The monster hadn’t noticed him.
It had no intelligence.
It was nothing more than a mindless beast that only knew how to hunt, kill, and consume.
Asher watched as the creature attacked another monster.
It tore into its prey without hesitation and devoured it.
His body remained completely still as he observed the terrifying scene.
He understood one thing.
He couldn’t fight that thing.
Not now.
Not with his current strength.
So he slowly moved away, carefully making sure he didn’t attract its attention.
Only after he was far away from the monster did he continue deeper into the forest.
Then he noticed something unusual.
A small crack in the side of a mountain.
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a natural gap.
But when Asher approached and inspected it, he realized something.
The crack was much deeper than it appeared.
A hidden path leading into the darkness.
Asher stared into the darkness beyond the crack.
He stepped closer and looked inside.
But he saw nothing.
Only endless darkness.
He carefully checked what he had with him.
A small dagger.
One piece of bread he had been saving for emergencies—for the days when he couldn’t find anything to eat.
That was all.
Asher looked deeper into the darkness.
He knew the risk.
He had no supplies.
No strength.
No guarantee that he would survive if he entered.
But then he looked back at his life.
What did he have to lose?
There was nothing waiting for him outside.
No family.
No home.
No future.
Only the same meaningless struggle to survive another day.
So Asher made his decision.
He would risk everything.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward...
and jumped into the darkness.