The moment Leo stepped past the threshold, the air changed.
It wasn't just colder — it was heavy, pressing down on him like a wet blanket. The faint blue light of the gate behind him was already dimming, swallowed by the darkness ahead. His sneakers scraped against the stone floor, every step sending echoes into the endless black.
The dungeon didn't look anything like the glossy illustrations he used to see on fan forums. There was no grand fantasy scenery here. Just jagged walls slick with moisture, the smell of rot clinging to the air, and the distant sound of water dripping somewhere far inside.
Ahead of him, Baek Yoonho's guild moved with an ease that made it feel like they were in another world entirely. Their boots crunched over loose gravel without hesitation. Armor clinked. Mana-infused weapons glimmered faintly in the gloom.
Leo kept his distance, afraid to get in their way.
And yet, his eyes couldn't stop tracing them.
He caught snippets of their chatter.
"Two healers stay back. Don't get cocky."
"This one's mid-tier at best. Clear it fast."
Their confidence was palpable. Like they'd done this a hundred times — maybe they had. Watching them was intoxicating. He almost forgot the weight in his chest.
Almost.
The tunnel opened into a vast chamber, and the temperature dropped even further. Leo's breath curled in front of him in pale wisps.
Then came the roar.
It rolled through the cavern like thunder, a physical force that rattled the stone beneath his feet. He stumbled back instinctively, his hands shooting to his ears.
From the shadows at the far end of the chamber, the boss emerged.
And Leo froze.
It was massive — a hulking ogre-like beast with skin the color of bruised stone and eyes like burning coals. Every movement made its muscles ripple beneath the rock-like hide. In its hands, it held a crude club the size of a tree trunk.
Leo had imagined moments like this so many times before, in the safety of his room. In his mind, it was thrilling. In reality, his body refused to move, his throat tightening until he could barely breathe.
The hunters didn't hesitate.
"Frontline — intercept!" Baek Yoonho's voice was sharp, commanding.
They surged forward, steel clashing against stone. Sparks flew with every impact. The beast's roar shook loose fragments from the ceiling, each strike from its club sending shockwaves through the ground. Mana flared like brief bursts of lightning.
Leo pressed himself against the nearest wall, trying to stay out of the way. Every clash reverberated through his bones. He saw one hunter get clipped by the club and fly across the chamber, armor denting with a sickening crunch.
A goblin — smaller, quicker — darted from the shadows toward Leo's position. Its eyes locked on him.
Leo's heart stopped.
Before it could close the distance, an arrow whistled past his ear, embedding itself between the goblin's eyes. The corpse collapsed at his feet. He looked up in shock to see one of the hunters already aiming at another target, not even glancing his way.
The message was clear: You don't matter. You're baggage.
Minutes passed like hours.
Then, with a deafening cry, the boss faltered. Baek Yoonho drove his weapon deep into its skull, a wet, cracking sound echoing through the cavern. The beast staggered once, twice… and collapsed, shaking the ground.
Relief spread through the hunters instantly. They laughed, slapped each other on the shoulders. A few had already sheathed their weapons.
Leo exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
They were alive. He was alive.
He took a step toward them, and the ground gave way.
It wasn't a dramatic collapse. No cinematic cracking. Just a sudden, sickening drop as the stone beneath him crumbled. He barely had time to gasp before he hit the ground below with a thud that knocked the air from his lungs.
"Ugh—"
Pain shot through his side. He lay there for a moment, groaning, the world spinning.
When he pushed himself up, he realized he was in some kind of lower tunnel. Narrower. Colder. The light from above was faint, but he could see the silhouettes of the hunters gathering their things.
"Hey!" His voice cracked.
"HEY! I'm down here!"
One of them glanced his way. He saw movement. A faint hand signal. Then—
They turned away.
"Wait! Don't—" His voice echoed uselessly.
The distant glow of the gate began to fade as they filed out.
"No… no, no, no…" He scrambled to his feet, stumbling toward the light.
By the time he reached the spot where he'd fallen, the gate's glow was gone.
He was alone.
The silence was wrong. Too wrong.
Then came the sound — faint, almost like whispering. High-pitched. Chittering.
Leo's skin prickled. He turned slowly, his eyes adjusting to the dim.
They were there.
Dozens of them.
Goblins. Their small bodies hunched, weapons crude but sharp. Eyes gleaming with hunger. They moved like shadows, closing in with deliberate slowness.
"Shit… shit—stay back." His voice was trembling.
They didn't stop.
One laughed. A horrible, wet sound.
Leo backed up until his shoulders hit cold stone.
His chest was heaving. He could feel the panic rising, drowning every thought. He'd imagined monsters his whole life — but seeing one up close, smelling the rot on its breath…
The first goblin lunged.
He swung an arm wildly, shoving it back. Another came from the side, its spear slashing across his arm. Pain exploded in white-hot flashes.
He screamed.
"HELP! PLEASE—" His voice cracked, raw.
No one came.
They were on him now. The spear jabbed again — once, twice — and the pain tore through his abdomen. He choked on his breath, collapsing to the ground.
Another stab.
And another.
He sobbed, the sound pitiful in the darkness. "Please… please, stop—"
Blood bubbled in his throat. His vision blurred.
The goblins didn't understand. Or didn't care.
As the world went dark, a thought slipped through the pain.
The last world… would've been better than this.
Then, in the cold, in the dark, it appeared.
[You have met the requirements.]
[Welcome, Player.]
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A/N: I thought a lot about how to give him a system and all...I could have given him a much more dramatic scene to give him a system, but it wouldn't have felt right. I wanted our MC to know that you can die anytime.