After long patience and harsh training, I kept practicing every day to become stronger. Sweat was pouring down my entire body from exhaustion, yet I did not take a single step back.
My goal was to become strong—someone who wouldn't be despised by others through their looks.
And after two months of this harsh training…
System: Ratio
You have successfully completed all the missions.
I had earned many points, and my level rose because of them.
System: Ratio
Points gained: 50
Upgrade Heartbeats: Lv9
Upgrade Absolute Healing: Lv17
Upgrade Instant Energy Boost: Lv2
Upgrade Energy Vision Detection: Lv4
I was happy with the level I had reached. But every upgrade level had its own benefit:
Heartbeats: Made my heart stronger.
Absolute Healing: Heals fatigue and any damage, but to become even stronger, I must reach the final level, where it can cure all poisons, diseases, and everything else.
Instant Energy Boost: Energy stored in my body that I can use during sprinting or intense training, greatly increasing my strength.
Energy Vision Detection: Allows me to see and sense the opponent's energy, but its range is still limited and weak in detection.
After completing all the missions, I obtained something else that made me feel even stronger.
System: Ratio
Warrior Name: Zokaro
Power Level: 100
Available Upgrades
Speed Upgrade: Lv1
Strength Upgrade: Lv1
Attack Upgrade: Lv1
Body Upgrade: Lv1
Special Skills: None available. You must reach a very high level.
---
My power level had increased, and I wanted to raise it more and more until I became the strongest.
But there was something else…
My father, mother, and brother noticed that my physique had become stronger. Even my father praised me, saying:
"What a remarkable boy… In just two months, your body has become firm, and your muscles have started to show a little. I guess you've been training intensively to reach this state."
Dalyana said:
"You've become a strong young man, my son… You're no longer thin. Please, have your food and eat slowly to regain your strength."
I was waiting for a new mission from the system to carry out, but the shock came when it gave me a gift. The gift itself wasn't a problem, but the mission was something else.
System Ratio:
"You have the gift. Open it."
I opened the gift, and then a small screen appeared with the number zero on it.
System Ratio:
"Energy Vision Detector Device — a measuring machine that calculates the energy level of your opponent.
Warning: If you cannot measure your opponent's energy level and you see an exclamation mark, it means the opponent is stronger than you and their power level cannot be detected."
I looked toward my mother, and the small rectangular device appeared. It began measuring energy, but the indicator sent a warning that it couldn't measure her power. That's why I decided to raise my level to its maximum.
But afterward, another mission came — this mission was different from all the previous ones.
System Ratio:
"You must display what you've been training for. You will fight goblin monsters.
Each monster you kill grants you 300 points, and you take 10% of its power to raise your own strength and become stronger."
The problem is that facing goblins isn't easy. Damn it!
So I said to it: "How can I face a goblin… and I'm not even a hunter?"
System Ratio:
"There are goblin monsters in the abandoned park. It's been closed for several years because monsters hide there, and it's 34 km away from us."
Facing goblins is difficult. I've barely trained, and I don't think my level has risen much, but I'll see what I can do there. This is my chance to showcase my abilities.
When I was about to leave the house, my mother called out to me:
"Zokaro… where are you going?"
I turned and said to her:
"I'm going outside, Mother. I have something I must do."
Dalyana said:
"But I'll be serving lunch soon… won't you eat before you go?"
Zokaro said:
"It's okay, have the food without me… goodbye."
My heartbeat quickened. I didn't know if it was tension or fear, but it felt like taking a final high school exam.
Still, I decided to find out how far my power had reached, and whether I could fight at my best.
After some time, I arrived at the abandoned park. Honestly, anyone who saw it would call it a forest; it was dense with trees, and the trees were very tall — maybe around 10 meters.
What I saw behind the trees was nothing but darkness. I was trembling before entering that place, and as I was about to jump over the barrier to get in, someone saw me and said:
"Watch out… this place has monsters… you shouldn't go inside."
I turned to him and said:
"Don't worry. I want to discover what's inside, so there's no need to be concerned."
I quickly entered the forest before anyone else could see me. I was among the trees, but determined to fight.
System Ratio:
"Warning: You have entered the Goblin Forest. You cannot leave until you defeat them all."
Zokaro was shocked. He could no longer see where the exit was, though he knew he hadn't gone far from the surrounding barrier.
Zokaro said, sweat dripping from his forehead:
"Impossible… why can't I get out?"
System Ratio:
"This place is the Goblin Forest. After you entered, you moved away from the outside world."
Zokaro was nervous, then he said:
"But the Dome Dungeon disappeared… shouldn't they be coming out?"
System Ratio:
"Yes, but the reason they haven't come out is because they sense the strength of hunters. They know that once they leave, their lives will end. Also, a barrier of their world surrounds the forest — only prey can enter this place."
At that moment, Zokaro froze in place. He knew that entering this place confirmed his weakness, and that today he would become prey to perish within this forest.
"Damn it! I wanted to kill a few goblins, gain a bit of strength, and then escape, but now I'm finished.
I must find a way to escape. If I can't, I'll die here."
System Ratio:
"The reason you entered this place is because they sensed your weak power. But your power level is 100, with 70 of that being added strength. That part cannot be sensed because you're a warrior whose energy relies on destructive physical strength and a virtual electromagnetic energy that cannot be detected."
At that moment, I understood that my power couldn't be sensed no matter how high it went, but I still wouldn't be able to defeat a large number of monsters alone in this place.
But I had no choice. I wouldn't retreat. I would move forward. No more steps backward. I knew it was dangerous, but if my power level was 100, I might be at rank F.
"Wait a second, rank F?
System Ratio, what rank is this place? Tell me."
System Ratio:
"The goblins here, according to the data, were part of a dungeon of rank F, so its monsters won't be strong.
But warning: if you see the Goblin King and the energy detector cannot measure his power, run."
At that time, Zokaro felt the sound of death calling him. He had failed in life before, and that's why he was determined to succeed in this one.
But what lay within this forest, and his fate hidden in its darkness, he did not know. He heard the sound of roaring mixed with the sound of the wind, but he decided to move forward and never retreat.
Because the time he had was to go forward, not back — just like his old life.