A young, plump man crouched behind the rock, his face pale as milk and slick with sweat. Terror etched every line of his features.
The goblins haven't noticed Zarek at all.
They were after the boy.
Zarek froze mid-step, stunned by the realization.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Alexander's heart thundered so violently it felt like it might burst from his chest. His sweaty hands clenched his crude wooden staff, the shaft rattling in rhythm with his trembling grip.
The goblin horde advanced steadily, their eyes glowing like embers in the dim light.
Alexander's chubby face quivered, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.
Why… why did I come here?!
He cursed himself endlessly as he stumbled backward.
He'd been reckless—blindly trusting a rumor about this dungeon without bothering to confirm it.
And now he was paying the price.
Unlike Zarek, Alexander wasn't here by accident.
He'd walked into this nightmare of his own free will.
As a poor orphan, life had never been kind to him.
By law, the orphanage could only house children until their fourteenth birthday.
Yesterday, he had turned fourteen.
Today, he was on his own.
With no skills, no money, and no connections, his options were grim:
Starve to death on the streets… or gamble everything by entering a dungeon to awaken a class.
After all, a good class could change the game.
He had chosen the gamble.
He scraped together his meager savings, buying information about what was supposedly the easiest dungeon in the city. An old man had even sold him a cheap map, assuring him this place was perfect for beginners.
It had felt like fate.
But the moment Alexander stepped into the dungeon, something strange happend.
[You have entered the Sacrificial Dungeon of Divine Battle.]
[Your ability to eat has been sacrificed as the price to enter.]
[Clear the dungeon to regain your ability.]
[Congratulations, warrior! You have awakened the Legendary Grade Class: Reality Bender.]
When he first saw the notifications, Alexander had almost collapsed with joy.
"L-Legendary class?!" he gasped, tears streaming down his round cheeks.
All the hunger, all the suffering—worth it. This was his miracle!
He barely even registered the ominous words "sacrificial dungeon" or the bizarre note about his ability to eat being taken away.
Who cared about details like that? He was going to be rich!
But when he opened his status window, his dream shattered.
[Name: Alexander Rufus]
[Class: Legendary Grade – Reality Bender]
[Level: 0 (0/10)]
[Strength: 0.6]
[Agility: 0.8]
[Perception: 0.9]
[Physique: 0.4]
[Mana: 0]
[Unassigned Stat Points: 0]
[Class Skill: The Dilemma of Reality Bender]
His stats were abysmal. Pathetic.
But that wasn't the worst part.
"…One skill?" Alexander croaked.
How could a legendary class have only one skill?!
Frantic, he opened the skill description.
[The Dilemma of Reality Bender (Calamity):Whatever the host thinks, the opposite will happen]
There was no additional explanation. Just that single, cruel sentence.
Alexander's face turned ghostly pale. His heart sank into a pit of despair.
"No, no, no!" he screamed, clutching his head. "What kind of cursed ability is this?! I need an attack skill, not this garbage!"
As if mocking him, a guttural growl echoed from the darkness.
Alexander froze. The sound was close. Too close.
There was no more time to wallow in misery.
Driven by raw survival instinct, he staggered to his feet and stumbled forward through the dungeon's winding corridors.
To his surprise, the place seemed… strangely empty. Except for the occasional cleanly sliced goblin corpse, he didn't encounter a single living monster.
He was just starting to relax when a blinding red light seared his vision—then everything went black.
When he awoke, he was lying in dried blood, alive by sheer dumb luck.
Now, though, luck had abandoned him completely.
The goblin horde thundered toward him, their screams echoing like a war drum.
Alexander ran as fast as his stubby legs could carry him, tears streaming down his face.
Please don't come near me! Please don't come near me! he screamed silently in his mind.
But the moment he thought it, a strange purple energy flared around him, invisible to his eyes.
The effect was immediate—and catastrophic.
The goblins chasing him multiplied.
Twenty became forty.
Forty became eighty.
The swarm doubled and doubled again, a living nightmare of claws and teeth converging on his position.
Alexander glanced back and saw the endless tide pursuing him. His mind snapped.
His eyes seemed to have rolled back in terror, and he almost fainted mid-run, collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.
From a distance, Zarek witnessed the entire disaster unfold.
For a moment, his instincts screamed at him to act.
To summon Misery, rush forward, and save the plump boy from certain death.
As someone raised in the twenty-first century, helping others was ingrained in him.
He took a step forward… then froze.
What am I doing?
Cold sweat ran down his spine as clarity returned.
Risking his life for a stranger—a stranger he'd never met, whose name he didn't even know—was sheer madness.
Zarek's breath came fast and shallow. I almost threw my life away…
But fate was cruel.
As Alexander lay sprawled, his frantic gaze locked onto Zarek's frozen figure. Relief flashed in his panicked eyes.
Damn, someone else is here! he thought desperately. I hope these monsters don't chase him too!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, the purple energy around him exploded outward like a bursting dam.
Invisible tendrils lashed out, wrapping around the goblins—and around Zarek himself.
Zarek felt it immediately. A chilling, unnatural force coiled around his legs, rooting him in place.
"…What—?!"
Panic surged through him as he tried to move. His muscles strained, but his body wouldn't respond.
At that exact moment, the goblins ignored Alexander entirely.
As if he didn't exist, they swarmed toward Zarek instead.
The tide of green-skinned monsters surged forward like a hurricane.
"No! What have I done?!" Alexander wailed, his voice hoarse as consciousness started to slip away.
Zarek's pulse roared in his ears.
Move, damn it!
The nearest goblin lunged, its maw opening wide to reveal rows of jagged, glistening teeth.
Time seemed to slow.
In that frozen heartbeat, Zarek's mind screamed one word: MOVE!
His vision went white. A strange aura erupted from his body, surging like a storm.
Clashing against the purple aura that had wrapped around his legs.