Two months passed.
Since that day, Kairo barely left his room.
He lay in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling's wooden beams, sometimes, he sat at the window, watching villagers pass below, their laughter, their normalcy, a reminder of everything he'd lost.
Kairo could not even sleep peacefully; dreams about his friends kept haunting him every day.
In one such dream, he dreamed of the library where he visited frequently with his friends. One memory had rooted itself deep, about resurrection.
They'd found it in an old book: a ritual said to call souls back from death. They had laughed it off then, uncertain if such a thing even existed. no one knew if it was real, and even trying it was classified as taboo.
It was only mentioned that the resurrection was once tried in the Aldoria kingdom, but it was not easy to reach Aldoria, as it would require an extreme amount of money to travel there.
Still, when he woke from those dreams, one thought began to consume him.
Even if it was forbidden…
Even if it was impossible…
"I have to bring them back."
He rose from bed and started to write a letter,
Grandma,
I'm leaving to carry out my friends' will. I'll return when I can make things right.
Don't worry about me.
—Kairo
He packed light, a spare shirt, dried meat, and the few coins he'd saved.
And with that, Kairo left the village quietly in the dead of night.
...
Eighteen days later, after walking through trade routes and small towns, he reached Sun City.
Sun City was one of the all-time active cities, which functioned both day and night, highly preferred by many adventurers.
He went directly to the adventurers' guild located in Sun City. He did not even care about resting after the long travel.
Inside, the great hall buzzed with voices. Adventurers laughed, argued, and bargained over quests at round tables.
Kairo moved toward the quest board, scanning through the listings posted on cork.
His goal was to earn money and level himself up, so he could travel to Aldoria Kingdom.
[Quest: Collect 5 Kobold Teeth – Recommended Level 2+] Reward: 2 Silver.
[Quest: Escort Merchant Caravan – Level 8+] Reward: 15 Silver + Bonus.
[Quest: Clear Sewer Slimes – Level 3+] Reward: 6 Silver.
[Quest: Harvest 25 Moonbell Herbs – Level 1+] Reward: 2 Silver per Bag.
Most were beyond him.
"Are you new here?"
He turned.
A woman with brown hair and round glasses smiled at him. Her guild tag read Serin – Advisor.
"I'm Serin. If you need help with quests or dungeons, I can assist you."
Usually, every adventurer can assign a guild advisor to themselves. From their guild advisor, an adventurer can get information about quests and dungeons, and even get notified about any new quests. And a small percentage from the quest completion rewards would be given to the guild advisor.
Kairo nodded. "I'm looking for miscellaneous quests."
"Let me check."
Serin led him to her desk, flipping through papers. After a minute, she looked up. "Hmm… nothing right now. But if you let me see your stats, I can match you to something appropriate."
Kairo hesitated. His stats were… humiliating. But he needed help.
"Alright," he said quietly.
Serin placed a status scroll before him, "Place your hand here."
The moment his palm touched it, glowing letters began to appear.
Serin's eyes scanned them. Her brow furrowed slightly, though she kept her expression neutral. "Level 1…? These stats are very low. I can only suggest harvesting or delivery quests for now."
"I understand."
"Come by tomorrow." Serin offered a kind smile. "I'll check again for new requests. Sometimes merchants post overnight."
Kairo nodded. "Do you know any cheap inns nearby? I don't have much money."
Kairo only had five silvers with him now; that was all he had.
Serin tapped her chin thoughtfully. "There's one near the outer gates. The Dusty Boot. It's not fancy, but the owner's fair."
"Thank you."
Kairo thanked her and left
...
On the way, he stopped at a weapon stall and bought a second-hand knife for one silver. By afternoon, he reached the inn, paid another silver for food and a room, and collapsed onto the bed.
Sleep came quickly.
...
"Mira!"
He woke screaming, drenched in sweat.
In the dream, she'd reached for him. Blood poured from her crushed body, but her hand stretched out, fingers grasping at empty air. Why didn't you save me?
He sat up, gasping. He looked around and noticed it was already midnight.
He tried closing his eyes again, but he could not sleep again.
The faces wouldn't leave. Mira, Ronin, Draven. All staring, accusing.
"I can't keep wasting time…" he muttered to himself, "I need to earn money."
He left the inn, walking through the streets towards the dungeon outside the city.
...
He soon reached the dungeon.
Before stepping inside, he opened his status screen.
---
[STATUS SCREEN]
Name: Kairo
Age: 16
Race: Human
Level: 1
Experience: 40 / 1000
Class: Unbound
Sub-Classes: -
+++
Health: 40
Mana: 5
Stamina: 25
+++
Attributes: Strength 2, Agility 5, Vitality 8, Magic 1, Dexterity 2, Luck 0
Free Attribute Points: 0
Skills: [Refuse to Die]
---
A faint glow pulsed in the corner of the screen.
He tapped it.
A new window appeared.
[Reward Page]
– Long Walker (100 XP, +10 Free Attribute Points)
– Reward Item: [Healing Potion × 1]
Claim Rewards? [Yes / No]
"What…?" Kairo stared at the glowing text, "A reward page?"
He had never seen or even heard of such a thing before, "Did I get this… just for walking all the way here?"
His finger hovered over the screen, trembling slightly.
"Is this because of the system update?"
He pressed Yes.
His XP rose to 140 total. Ten free attribute points were added to his stats.
He added all of his free attribute points into Strength. "I need power."
The number shifted from 2 to 12.
"What is this healing potion?" He saw another button shining in the corner, labeled Inventory.
When he pressed it, a new page opened showing [1 Healing Potion].
When he pressed the healing potion, details appeared,
[Healing Potion]: Heals 50% health.
He stared at it in disbelief, Healing potions are too expensive, "The system… It's giving me items for free?"
His hands clenched. This changed everything. If the system rewarded travel, what else could it reward? What other hidden mechanics existed that no one knew about?
He closed the window and stepped into the dungeon, not fearing it like he had since his childhood.
The recent events had changed him, and the skill [Refuse to Die] influenced him without him knowing it; he didn't care about dying anymore.
Inside, the first floor of the dungeon sprawled before him, dark spikes jutting from the walls. Water dripped somewhere in the distance. This was the first time he had entered a dungeon alone and with a right mind.
He walked deeper, knife gripped tight in his hand. His footsteps echoed. Soon, he encountered a beast rabbit; it spotted him and lunged towards him.
Kairo dodged sideways, but still the creature's claws raked across his shoulder, tearing through fabric and skin.
"Damn—"
But he didn't panic. He stood back and faced the beast rabbit calmly.
Kairo's mind raced through possibilities—dodge left, strike high, aim for the legs.
It lunged again. This time he sidestepped perfectly, bringing his knife down hard into its back.
The blade sank deep. The rabbit shrieked, a horrible sound that bounced off the dungeon walls. Blood sprayed across stone.
But still, this was not enough to kill a beast rabbit. It twisted, trying to shake him off, screaming.
Kairo dashed forward while it screamed and drove his knife into its front.
The creature convulsed once, twice, then went still. Its body began to dissolve into particles of light, leaving behind a small crystal.
[Loot Acquired: Beast Rabbit Mana Crystal]
[20 XP Gained]
He picked up the crystal, "I did it… with just two strikes."
The strength he had added made a difference. His strikes carried weight now, force he'd never possessed before.
Kairo stored it in his pouch and went deeper into the dungeon.
Deeper in, three more beast rabbits waited, they turned as one when he approached.
He struck first, bringing his knife down on the nearest creature's skull. It dropped instantly, dissolving.
The others pounced. One bit his arm, fangs sinking through muscle, but he ignored it, stabbing again and again until they fell still.
[60 XP Gained]
Blood dripped from his wounds; his health had dropped to 31.
More came from the shadows, drawn by the scent of blood. He fought on, his movements clumsy but relentless, each kill feeding the quiet fire burning in his chest.
He moved deeper into the dungeon, encountering more beast rabbits.
He kept fighting and killing those beasts, not caring about getting any wounds. A claw opened his cheek, and teeth tore his leg. He stumbled, recovered, and struck back. Eventually he'd killed seven more beast rabbits.
[140 XP Gained]
He then heard a system notification.
Quest Completed - Kill 10 Low-Level Monsters
Rewards: 300 XP, [Healing Potion × 1]
New Quest Available – Kill 50 Low-Level Monsters
Kairo froze, panting. "Three hundred…?"
His hands shook as he pulled up his status. The numbers glowed before him.
"That's six hundred sixty total."
"I'm close to leveling up! I will try to get more XP!"
But his health was dangerously low, just 22 HP.
"I should try it now." He opened the inventory page and hesitated before pressing on the healing potion, which then spawned in his hand.
The glass vial materialized from nothing, filled with glowing red liquid. He was shocked to see an inventory inside his system; for everyone, it was only available as a magic item in different sizes based on its capacity.
He uncorked it and drank. Cool energy spread through his veins; wounds knit shut instantly. The gash on his cheek sealed. The bite on his leg closed. Within seconds, he stood whole again.
His health climbed back to 40.
He went deeper into the dungeon to fight.
Hours passed bit by bit as he kept killing more beast rabbits.
[20 XP Gained]
[60 XP Gained]
[100 XP Gained]
[20 XP Gained]
The largest group yet, thirteen beasts that swarmed him from multiple tunnels. He'd used his second healing potion halfway through that fight, barely surviving.
[260 XP Gained]
Finally, when he killed the last beast rabbit, collapsing against the dungeon wall, he could hear the system's voice in his mind.
You have Leveled Up!
Kairo dropped to one knee, exhausted. "Finally…"