Damien blinked at the glowing screen, his hand reaching out almost on reflex. The moment his fingers brushed the strange light, the window dissolved into mist.
"What the hell… was that a—?"
Before he could finish, another screen appeared, larger and clearer than before.
[Congratulations! You Have Now Become a Player.]
Damien's eyes widened. "…A player? Nah… is this—"
The system didn't wait for him to process. More notifications stacked up one after another.
[You have unread messages.]
[Daily Quest: Train to Become a Formidable Combatant!]
"Daily quest… Wait. Hold up." Damien squinted, leaning closer to the text. "I know I've seen this somewhere before. Déjà vu? No—this is straight out of…"
Another message blinked across the screen, cutting him off.
[The System will help Player 'Damien Ardent' develop.]
"…Guess that's me."
[Failing to comply with the System's orders may result in penalties.]
Damien froze. "…That's fucking ominous."
Another window appeared, shimmering with faint gold.
[You have received a reward.]
His heart skipped. "Oh? Now that's interesting." He reached to swipe it open—
And then a massive screen swallowed his vision.
[Daily Quest: Train to Become a Formidable Combatant!]
Goals:
Push-ups [0 / 100]
Sit-ups [0 / 100]
Squats [0 / 100]
Run [0 / 10 km]
Caution! Failure to complete the Daily Quest will result in Penalties.
Two words slipped from Damien's mouth.]
"…Oh, fuck me."
He rubbed his face with both hands, groaning. "This is the Solo Leveling system. No doubt about it. I remember this. Sung got thrown into the goddamn desert with those massive sand worms or whatever the hell they were…" His voice cracked in nervous laughter. "Nah. Nope. I can't deal with that. Not chancing it."
His eyes flicked to the forest around him, thick and endless. "I don't even know where I am. I'm not risking a penalty here. Best option? Do the damn training."
With a resigned sigh, Damien dropped to the ground and started his first set of push-ups.
Fortunately, unlike the original Sung Jin-Woo, Damien wasn't a complete weakling. Back on Earth, he had worked out enough to keep himself in decent shape. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats—painful, sure, but manageable.
The run, however, was hell.
Ten kilometers. Ten whole kilometers through unfamiliar terrain. Sweat drenched his body, every breath burning in his chest. He ran in wide circles around the clearing, refusing to stray too far into the unknown.
"I'm not getting lost in this forest," he muttered between gasps, "and I'm sure as hell not running into another goblin."
His legs screamed with every step, but fear kept him moving. The memory of jagged teeth ripping into his flesh was burned into his mind.
.....
Damien collapsed onto his back, drenched in sweat, lungs burning. His eyes fluttered toward the glowing notification that hovered above him.
[Choose your reward!
Status Recovery
Ability Points +3
Random Loot Box]
Damien grinned weakly. "Oh, hell yeah. Ability Points, no contest."
The moment he selected it, the reward sank into his body with a pulse of energy. Another screen opened, revealing his status for the first time.
[
Name: Damien Ardent
Job: None
Level: 2
Title: None
HP: 200
MP: 20
Stats:
Strength: 18
Agility: 12
Sense: 8
Health: 16
Intelligence: 12
Available Ability Points: 3
Passive Skills:
Tenacity
Demi-God of ███████
Active Skills:
Quicksilver
Mind's Eye]
"…Oh, stats. And skills too. Interesting."
Curiosity pushed Damien to tap the skill list. A new screen bloomed in front of him.
[Tenacity] – When the user's stamina drops below 30%, this skill automatically activates, reducing all damage taken by 50%.
"Huh. So that's how I survived that goblin. Lucky break."
[Demi-God of ███████] – The user is the Demi-God of ███████, the last ███████ in the world, and inheritor of ███████.
Damien's eyebrow twitched. "…Wow. That's really helpful. Totally not cryptic at all. Just gonna pretend I'm impressed."
[Quicksilver] – Increases the user's speed by 30% at the cost of 1 MP per minute. Scales with level.
Damien groaned. "Could've used this before I almost died. Thanks, System. Real considerate."
[Mind's Eye] – Allows the user to sense danger, traps, mental interference, and overall unease when the situation is not in the user's favor.
Damien smirked faintly. "So I can… sense death flags? Peak."
Shaking his head, he stood and noticed one final reward notification.
[You have received a Map!]
"What… the fuck? Where was this before?!" he shouted, yanking the parchment from his new Inventory.
The map unfolded in his hands, alive with detail. A vast forest stretched across the page, marked with goblin camps. To the north, a jagged mountain range. A river split the land in two. Strangely, no highways or cars were marked—only dirt roads, all converging on a massive city crowned by a towering spire.
Damien blinked. "The hell is this place?"
He turned the map, and noticed a small arrow shifting with his movements.
"…Wait. No way. That's me? A live-updating GPS? Okay, System, I'll give you that one. That's dope."
But curiosity gnawed at him. Instead of staring at the city icon, he pressed it.
The map flared. A new message appeared.
[Labyrinth City Orario]
Damien froze. His eyes widened. His throat went dry.
"Orario…"
The word echoed in his mind. The name of the city built atop the Dungeon. The city of gods and adventurers. The place he had read about countless times.
"This is… Danmachi."
His chest tightened as he looked again at the soaring tower drawn at the map's heart.
"Why am I here? Why is this—Solo Leveling's system—in that world? What the hell is going on?"
Questions stormed his mind, but no answers came. In the end, he could only sigh, folding the map shut.
"…Doesn't matter. If this is Danmachi, then Orario's the safest bet. No way I'm hanging around goblin camps at Level Two."
Straightening himself, Damien cast one last glance at the forest behind him. Then he turned toward the city, gripping the map tight.
Step by step, he began the long march to Orario.