You know the saying when something is messed up beyond all repair? It went to shit.
Without knowing much about our world, you could say that it did. But history tells a very different story. For centuries, it was almost always like this, back in the age of monsters.
My mother told me a long, long time ago, humanity was normal. We lived as we do now, just without the magic or the system. Wars raged over the dumbest of things, people dying of starvation, it was just on a bigger scale. You couldn't hunt monsters with no talent to be able to eat or become a porter. If you were unlucky, you struggled.
We struggled to survive, no… Struggled to live.
But eventually, that all changed. Strange portals appeared in every major city on Earth, and monsters flooded from these portals. A war of epic proportions began.
But we were losing.
We couldn't band together. Our differences were too great to allow us to work for a greater goal. At least… The governments struggled to agree.
This is where the story kinda gets fuzzy. My mother doesn't really know what happened in between then and now from this point forward. But most governments from back then crumbled under the weight of the new humanity, "System Users".
Marcus's thoughts were interrupted by the heavy whir of the gate engaging and the crunch of shifting boots on gravel.
"There they go," he muttered.
He looked toward the sound, watching as the Hunters entered the swirling pool of mana. He couldn't sit around reminiscing anymore, he had a job to do: carrying their gear.
Groaning, Marcus lifted the impossibly heavy canvas bag onto his back, the hundreds of pounds of swords, magic scrolls, and potions weighing down on his spine. He squared his shoulders against the weight, huffed lightly as he fixed his sunglasses, and began to walk towards the portal that the Hunter Association called a "gate".
As he got close, the gate seemed to react to his presence, as it did every other time. A loud whirring sound filled his ears as his right foot entered first, then his left, and finally his whole body.
He never got used to that sensation. The feeling of his body being displaced and moved against his own will. His organs left his body for a split second, his soul doing the same. It was always dark… But suddenly, there was light. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dungeon's darkness, the torch on his left helping. He was inside.
An E-Grade Dungeon. "Gate of the Abyss".
Once he fully regained his vision, the dungeon came into shape. The stone floors, the sputtering torches… It wasn't very comforting. But he was used to it.
Looking ahead, he spotted his client and her raid team. Marie Pierce. She stood at the front of the group, armor glimmering in the low light, her massive shield and hammer dwarfing her already towering physique.
She gave the group one more command, then glanced toward Marcus.
He met her stare with a yawn, then tapped the face of his watch.
"Tick Tock, Marie. We're on a time crunch, remember," Marcus said, eyebrow raised.
He knew he was a porter, the hierarchy wasn't in his favor. He was rarely shown respect, but he was a high-tier porter. His time was money.
Marie glared at the slightly older man before she huffed. She didn't say anything back. She just turned towards the long hallway and began walking deeper into the dungeon.
Marcus smiled a little before fixing the bag on his back and following after the group of ten into the darkness.
The deeper they walked, the heavier the air grew. Marcus was used to the feeling, but the thick, overpowering sensation of killing intent squeezing on his neck was impossible to ignore.
"We're about to encounter some goblins. Be prepared, and make sure to protect the porter," Marie called out, her voice bouncing off the mossy walls of the dungeon. Her hands rested on her weapons.
The rest of her group began to get into position. The two other massive, hulking frames standing next to their leader. The others standing behind them, making an extremely efficient formation. Tanks in the front, mid-range DPS in the middle, and their mages and healers far away from the main line.
Marcus stayed all the way back, even behind the healers. He wasn't a combatant. He wasn't even a System User… He had no window, he had no special ability, he stood no chance against even goblins. He had a weapon, yes… But… It was just for safety. He'd never used it in a fight… All those callouses were from training.
"You sure you're good, M?!" Marcus called out jokingly, causing the bigger woman to huff yet Again.
"Yes, I'm sure, asshole! You're a measly level 3 Porter! We'll be fine!" She would yell with a chuckle, her eyes never leaving from the darkness in front of her.. The battle was about to begin.
It got quiet in the chamber of the dungeon as the squad watched the darkness with their full attention. It was utterly silent. Just the sound of a nearby water drip and chuckles of the goblins from afar. The Hunters didn't seem to be on edge… They were used to the calm before a storm.
So was Marcus. Looking around, his gut was telling him something was… Wrong. He could feel it in his bones. He took off his glasses to get a better look at his surroundings, looked up, and that's when he saw it… There was a sky hole in the ceiling, and inside there was-
"Hobgoblin! There's a Hobgoblin!" Marcus yelled out, trying to warn the group. But it was too late.
"Huh? What's wrong Marc-" The Healer turned around in confusion. She was obviously preoccupied with looking at her Status window and didn't even fully hear what Marcus had said.
From the ceiling dropped a Hobgoblin. A hulking mass of red and black, yellow eyes that caused Marcus to freeze up in fear where the healer was once standing. In an instant, she was impaled by a spear through her throat. Blood sputtered all about, covering the Hobgoblin's golden armor in even more bright red.
The Hobgoblin wasn't normal either. The long hair running down its back, the more feminine features… No way… "H-Hobgoblin Nest…?" was all Marcus could get out as he stood face to face with the hulking mass.
The Hobgoblin grinned as she looked down at Marcus, her yellow eyes filled with hunger. Marcus's chest grew tight, his breathing hitched, his eyesight getting worse. He was panicking. He felt like his world was crushing all around him. Was this how he died? A slave to a Hobgoblin?!
"Human… Good-" The hobgoblin growled out before she was hit across the head with a maul.
The Hunters immediately turned around, one of the Vanguards bashing her upside the head. "Get back Marcus!"
"Protect the porter, get Avalin a healing potion!" Marie immediately grounded Marcus back in reality. He had to survive this.
Marcus forced himself to calm down as he immediately backed up. The heavy bag of gear weighing him down… He wanted to drop it, but his job was to be a porter. Just because a few things got risky didn't mean he abandoned his job.
He watched as the Hunters immediately got to work. Marie and the two Tanks encircled the Hobgoblin, the mages stepped back towards the darkness they were just watching, and the DPS System Users grabbed Avalin and brought her back towards the mages as well. One of them stayed back with them to begin pouring a healing potion on Avalin's wound, the hole in her neck slowly closing up, but her face filled with purple… "She lost too much blood, Marie! You have to finish this quick!" one of the DPS called out as Marie nodded.
"Get into Shield Breaker Formation! We have to kill this Hobgoblin! Now!" she yelled, the Hunters nodding. The DPS left the mages and surrounded the Hobgoblin as well.
She was now surrounded on all sides. Daggers, longswords, mauls, and axes now pointed at her body as she rubbed her head in pain.
She looked around at the group and her tusked face curled into a terrifying grin. "Humans think they can take Bara down with just simple formation?! I kill all and take human as prize!" she roared, her voice echoing throughout the entire dungeon.
"Attack!" Marie yelled, and as soon as she did the Hunters began their attacks. The two tanks swung their mauls at the Hobgoblin's head, but she dodged both swings, making their massive hammers hit each other instead, causing a shockwave through both of their weapons and sending them reeling.
She attempted to use this chance to grab one of the Tank's heads with her free hand, but she was stabbed in the gut by their resident assassin, giving Marie a chance to swing at her knee with her hammer-!
CLUNK.
The sound of the hammer hitting the ground rang throughout the dungeon as the Hobgoblin somehow reacted, kicking Marie's hammer away from her body… "W-What?" Marie said before she was sent flying with another kick, her chest piece crumbling like a soda can as she crashed into the far right wall.
Marcus's eyes widened as he saw this. Marie was level twenty, and she was dispatched that easily? He didn't have a system or a window, so he never actually knew the strength of an enemy, but it seemed the hunters didn't know either.
Marie wasn't getting back up from the crater in the wall. The mages immediately began casting, fireballs slowly appearing in the air as the battle with the Hobgoblin quickly got out of hand.
The assassin slowly looked up to the hobgoblin as he couldn't pull his blade out of her gut. "What the fuck is happening?!" he called out, staring up at the terrifying beast. He saw something that seemingly crushed his spirit immediately, eyes glazing over as he began to speak, "L-Level fifty—" Before he could even finish his sentence, his head was grabbed by the Hobgoblin and crushed in seconds.
"Ugh.. Disgust," she said as she rubbed the assassin's brains on her hand. The hunters crumbled. Their leader was down, and they had already lost two members out of the ten of them.
The Tanks attempted to swing at the Hobgoblin's head one more time, predictable. She dodged both, grabbing one of their hammers and snapping it in two before impaling the man through his stomach, slashing directly through him, and hitting the other tank directly through the throat in one swift movement, killing both in seconds. Their bodies fell to the ground.
All that was left were mages and DPS. "Mages, when are those fireballs coming?!" one of the swordsmen called out, making Marcus gasp in surprise. Fireballs?!
"H-Hey! What are we talking about?! We're in a cave type dungeon, and I'm also in the crossfire?! You guys don't deal friendly fire damage because of your system! I'll get fried!" Marcus yelled, his eyes crazed with anger.
The Hunters looked at each other and then to their unconscious leader. "We would've sacrificed you multiple times already if Marie didn't have some honor code! You're just a fucking porter!"
Marcus didn't feel betrayed but.. He knew it all along. System Users like them were parasites on this Earth. He looked around the room for something to hide behind as the Mages finished their fireballs.
All he could do was hit the dirt as the Hobgoblin turned toward the mages and grinned. "Kill them."
Instead of hearing an explosion or feeling his skin burning, all he heard was silence. Marcus looked up from the dirt and felt his heart drop.
He hated them in that moment, but they were his only chance at survival. Before him, he watched as the mages' throats were slit by more Hobgoblins that appeared from the shadows of the long hallway. Blood splattered against the walls as all that were left were the DPS—
No. They were dead too. How long was his head down? The entire group was dead, a head rolling right by Marcus, an expression of pure anger on the Hunter's face. Even in the midst of their death, they still blamed someone other than themselves.
"Fucking disgusting." He sat up, throwing the bag of now useless junk off his back, his eyes looking towards Marie's lifeless body. "At least she's alive."
He was disassociating. He knew she was still alive but.. They both wouldn't be for long. The hobgoblin grabbed the arm of one of the DPS, ripping it off and taking a bite, the sound of bones crunching. She gulped it all down and grinned, the blood dripping from her tusks.
"We have new breeding human. Take him," she said, pointing at Marcus with that shit-eating grin…
Fucking disgusting.
That's all he could think as he watched the hobgoblins walk toward him. His mind was racing, but his body was strangely calm. It was like he was watching everything in slow motion.
But then he remembered. "Ana.." He couldn't die here.
His body immediately sped up yet again, adrenaline running through his veins as his breathing hitched again, his eyesight getting blurry, even more so than before. Tears filled his eyes as he could barely hear anything anymore.
"You… Can't," Marcus said.
"Can't what, humie—?!" the Hobgoblin yelled, her goons laughing in response.
Their laughing filled the room. His own laughing filled his mind. The laughing of thousands. Happy laughter. Angry laughter. Mocking him.
This is how you die?
"No."
THIS IS HOW YOU DIE?!
"NO."
IS THIS HOW YOU DIE MARCUS?!
"YOU CAN'T TAKE ME AWAY FROM HER!" Marcus screamed as his entire body shook with anger. Then there was a loud—
BOOM.
It was all a blur. Marcus could remember the sensation of pulling out his blade, the one he got from his father before his death. That blade slashing through flesh, his body breaking under impossible weight, moving at speeds faster than he had ever moved. No, was he even moving with his own two legs?
As he opened his eyes, he saw it. Several craters all over the area, the bodies of the hobgoblins laid about, cuts from a blade all over their bodies, shockwave scars over their faces. "W-What happened?"
He asked himself as he looked up, and before him he saw it. The battered body of the hobgoblin queen… Wait, how did he know who she was?
She was covered in sword marks, even a few punches through her armor. She looked horrible. But her eyes never left Marcus's. She grinned as she spit up blood directly into his mouth.
"I don't know.. Human. Why I love you. But.. You bested Bara… I die, marking you as mine." She stopped speaking, and her head finally rolled from her body before Marcus, content.
He drank her blood… Happily? What was happening to him?
He looked down at his hands, the blade in his hands covered in blood, the black scabbard on the ground next to him. His breathing calmed down as he felt whatever wounds he had healing before him.
"What the fuck is wrong with me?" As Marcus said this, he looked up and finally saw what was truly wrong with him.
[Class Awakened: Breaker Swordsman]
[New AFFLICTION: Marked for Destiny]
[Welcome to the system MARCUS KOA: Maythe Gods be with you for all eternity.]
"I… Just want to get out of this damn dungeon." He groaned softly to himself as he fell to his knees, tired.
As he thought of it, he blinked for one second and the next he was… At the gate of the dungeon? Sitting right outside of it. The ground around him was destroyed but he was no longer in that hellhole?
"What the hell?"
He looked around in confusion and sighed… "Whatever."
Falling back he immediately passed out from stress; no longer in a life or death situation, Marcus relaxed.
But back inside the dungeon, Marie finally stopped acting as if she were unconscious.
Her heart beating out of her chest, she gulped. "Marcus… What was that…?!"