It was a beautiful morning.
The sun was shining into the room.
The sunlight felt pleasantly warm.
A boy was sleeping in the bed inside the room when a loud voice echoed from downstairs:
"Mike! Come down here!"
It was Mike's mother.
Mike slowly woke up.
He sat up, raised a hand, and rubbed his tired eye.
Then he muttered,
"Just a minute, okay?"
He whispered to himself,
"She's always yelling…"
He got up and looked out the window.
He saw… grass… trees… and people.
Then he opened the window, and the fresh air rushed into the room.
"Man, I love this morning air," Mike said with a smile.
Just then, he heard his mother shouting again—
"Miiikeee!"
He shouted back,
"YEAH, I'M COMING!"
He opened his bedroom door and started heading down the stairs toward the kitchen.
Around the second step, Mike slipped…
He fell—
It was quite a drop.
While falling, Mike thought to himself:
"This… isn't good, is it?
If I had a second chance…
what would I change in my life?"
And with that final thought—
Mike hit the ground, headfirst.
His mother screamed:
"Oh God, Mike!"
Everything went dark.
The world grew quiet.
He felt nothing.
Saw nothing.
Was nothing…
But then—
System initializing…
Mike found himself in a pitch-black space.
He couldn't see anything…
And he still couldn't feel anything.
He whispered:
"Am I… dead?"
"Damn… killed by a staircase."
Suddenly, a kind of system interface opened above him.
Would you like a second chance?
Good. You'll get one… maybe.
Welcome to the 10-World Dungeon.
Only those who wished to change something right before their death may enter this place.
And luckily for you—
(an arrow pointed directly at Mike)
—you qualify.
You may bring one of the following three items:
A sword
A bow
A box (You don't know what's inside)
Mike grinned.
He knew exactly what he was going to choose.
He tapped the system display, and it shifted and moved.
Mike whispered:
"Alright then…"
He chose the box.
Suddenly, a blinding light burst forth in the black room.
A door made of light opened before him.
He stepped through.
The last thing he saw was a message from the system:
Loading World 1…
– The Abandoned Village –
Each world contains 10 stages.
At the end of each stage, a boss awaits.
Good luck.
Info: You may encounter other players from your world inside the dungeon.
Teleportation successful—
Mike's body dissolved into glowing blue pixels.
He was placed into a village.
The pixels reassembled and formed… Mike.
Mike now stood in the village.
It was abandoned.
The houses were broken down, covered in cobwebs.
He looked to the left, then to the right.
He took a deep breath and tried to activate the system—
But nothing happened.
He strained so hard his face turned red.
Then he exhaled sharply:
"Phew… that's not gonna work."
"I have another idea."
He spoke out loud:
"Inventory!"
And it worked.
An inventory appeared before him—10 slots in total.
1/10 slots occupied.
He tapped the box, the only item he had.
It teleported into his hand.
He opened it.
The lid glowed faintly and lifted off.
Then—
A dagger shot out of the box.
A green dagger.
Mike picked it up off the ground and looked at it closely.
He had another idea.
"I've played enough video games to know what to do," he laughed.
Then he said:
"Info!"
And just like that, a window opened in front of him:
Hydra's Dagger
Damage: 20
+5 Poison Damage per minute
Forged from the fang of the Great Swamp Hydra.
Once a three-headed serpent—now only two remain,
after warriors severed one of its heads.
Mike grinned even wider.
"So, an OP weapon right from the start, huh?"
Then—
He heard a noise behind him.
Zombies.
He turned.
He could see four of them approaching.
"Perfect," he smirked.
"Time to test this dagger out."
He held the dagger tightly in his hand and started running.
He jumped at the first zombie and stabbed it in the stomach.
The zombie let out a groaning sound and raised its hands toward Mike.
Mike stepped back and saw a kind of green aura around the zombie.
"The poison… it's working," he said.
Then he watched as the first zombie dissolved into pixels.
"Alright, three more."
He ran toward the next two and stabbed them both quickly—
Once in the arm, then in the stomach.
He turned, stabbed the second one in the belly, and stepped back.
He did it like a master—
as if he had done it a thousand times before.
Both zombies dissolved into pixels.
Then the last zombie.
The zombie pulled out a sword.
"Where did it get that?"
The zombie swung at Mike.
Mike raised the dagger upward.
The sword hit the dagger.
Mike slid the dagger under the sword and stabbed the zombie in the stomach.
The zombie groaned and was affected by the poison—
then dissolved.
The system opened automatically.
Congratulations!
You have leveled up to Level 2
HP: 200
Strength: 5
Endurance: 5
Magic: 3
Aura: 0
Skills: 0/10
After every level up, you can distribute 3 stat points!
Mike slowly began to realize where he was.
He grinned and said happily:
"I'm in a system story!"
————-