I stared at the glowing blue screens floating in the air, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing. This couldn't be real. Systems didn't exist outside of video games and web novels. Yet here it was, hovering in front of me like holographic displays, showing information that made my head spin.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Stefan Hirogi
Level: 2
Title: None
HP: 180/220
MP: 50/50
Strength: 8
Agility: 7
Vitality: 11
Intelligence: 9
Sense: 6
Available Stat Points: 5
[SKILLS]
- None Currently Learned
[QUESTS]
- Daily Quest: Prepare to Become Strong (Available)
My hands were still shaking from the goblin fight, still covered in its dissolving blood, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screens. Numbers. Stats. A level system. It was like someone had turned my life into a game, complete with quantifiable measurements of my abilities.
And apparently, I was pathetic. A level two with stats that screamed "weakling." My highest stat was vitality at eleven, which probably explained why I hadn't died yet despite my complete lack of skill. Everything else was single digits. For comparison, I'd read that most F-Rank Hunters started around level ten with stats in the twenties.
But I had something they didn't. I had a system. A way to grow stronger that didn't depend on being born with talent or awakening Aura naturally.
[You have 5 unallocated stat points. Would you like to distribute them now?]
The mechanical voice echoed in my head again. I reached out tentatively to touch the glowing screen, and my finger actually made contact with something solid yet intangible. The sensation was bizarre, like touching water that held its shape.
"Yes," I whispered, my voice hoarse in the empty chamber.
The screen shifted, highlighting each stat with a small plus symbol beside it. I needed to think strategically here. Strength would help me hit harder. Agility would make me faster. Vitality meant more health, better survival. Intelligence probably affected magic, though I had no mana-based skills yet. And Sense... maybe perception? Awareness?
The goblin had nearly killed me because I was too slow and too weak. I needed to survive long enough to learn how to fight properly. With trembling fingers, I allocated my points:
Strength: +2 (8→10)
Agility: +2 (7→9)
Vitality: +1 (11→12)
The moment I confirmed the allocation, power flooded through my body. It felt like electricity racing through my veins, like every muscle suddenly remembered how to work properly. The exhaustion from the fight evaporated. My arms felt stronger, my legs steadier. Even my vision seemed sharper, the dim green light of the cavern somehow more defined.
I flexed my fingers around my father's sword. The weapon felt lighter now, more balanced. Or maybe I was just stronger. Two points didn't sound like much, but the difference was noticeable. Real.
[DING!]
[Daily Quest Available!]
Quest: Prepare to Become Strong
Objective:
- Push-ups: 0/100
- Sit-ups: 0/100
- Squats: 0/100
- Run: 0/10 km
Rewards: +3 Stat Points, +100 EXP
Failure Penalty: Unable to distribute stat points for 24 hours
I almost laughed. It was absurd. I was standing in a dungeon that could kill me, covered in monster blood, and the system was telling me to do push-ups. But then again, if completing basic exercises gave me stat points and experience... that was a path to power that didn't require natural talent or expensive training programs.
That was a miracle.
A scraping sound echoed from deeper in the tunnel, snapping me back to reality. More goblins. I wasn't ready for another fight, not yet. My HP was down to 180 out of 220 the goblin had landed a few glancing cuts I'd barely noticed in the chaos. Now that the adrenaline was fading, I could feel them stinging across my forearms.
I needed to be smarter about this. Rushing in like an idiot would get me killed, system or no system. I picked up the small mana stone the goblin had left behind about the size of a marble, glowing faintly green. E-Rank stones sold for about ten thousand won each. Not much, but it was a start.
Moving carefully, I retreated back toward the entrance tunnel, putting distance between myself and whatever was making that noise. My new agility made moving quietly easier. I found an alcove in the tunnel wall and pressed myself into it, catching my breath while I studied the system interface more carefully.
There had to be more to this than just stats. Every game had skills, abilities, special features. I focused on the "Skills" section, willing it to expand.
[SKILLS]
Active Skills: None
Passive Skills: None
[Skill Shop: LOCKED]
Requirement: Reach Level 5
[Note: Skills can be learned through training, quest rewards, or purchased from the Skill Shop once unlocked.]
So I needed to hit level five before I could even access purchasable skills. That meant more fighting, more monster kills, more experience points. The goblin had given me enough EXP to reach level two, which suggested the leveling curve was steep. How many more would I need to kill to reach level five?
As if responding to my thought, another window appeared:
[EXPERIENCE: 100/300 to Level 3]
Three hundred experience points for the next level. If each goblin gave around a hundred... I needed to kill at least two more. My stomach churned at the thought. That first fight had nearly ended me, and only luck and desperation had pulled me through.
But I was stronger now. Faster. The stat points weren't just numbers they were real, tangible improvements. Maybe I could actually do this.
I pulled out one of my energy bars and ate it slowly, giving my body time to recover. The HP bar in the corner of my vision ticked up slightly 190/220. Interesting. Normal healing still pworked, just slower. I'd need to be more careful about taking damage. Unlike in actual games, I couldn't just respawn if I died.
The scraping sound came again, closer now. I gripped my father's sword and peered around the alcove. Three goblins emerged from the side tunnel, moving in a loose pack. They carried crude weapons one had a club, one had a spear, and the third had dual daggers. They were chattering to each other in some guttural language, yellow eyes scanning the cavern.
One versus three. Bad odds, even with my improved stats. I needed an advantage. I needed a plan.
The cavern ceiling was uneven, with stalactites hanging down like stone teeth. The goblins were walking beneath a particularly large cluster. If I could somehow...
I picked up a fist-sized rock from the tunnel floor. My father had always said that Hunters needed to be smart, not just strong. That creativity often beat raw power. I'd never understood what he meant until now.
Taking careful aim, I hurled the rock at the stalactites above the goblins. My improved strength sent it flying faster than I'd expected. The impact was loud in the enclosed space stone hitting stone with a sharp crack.
The stalactites broke free.
Hundreds of pounds of rock plummeted down. The goblins looked up just in time to see death falling toward them. They tried to scatter but there wasn't time. Two were crushed instantly, their bodies pulverized under the weight. The third dove clear but landed badly, its leg bent at an unnatural angle.
[DING!]
[You have slain: Goblin Scout x2]
[EXP +200]
I didn't hesitate. While the injured goblin struggled to stand, I rushed forward, my enhanced agility carrying me across the cavern faster than I'd ever moved before. The goblin raised its club defensively, but I was already inside its guard. My father's sword took it through the throat.
[DING!]
[You have slain: Goblin Scout]
[EXP +100]
[LEVEL UP!]
[You are now Level 3!]
[All stats increased by +1]
[You have gained 5 stat points to distribute]
The rush of power was even stronger this time. I felt my muscles strengthen, my reflexes sharpen, my body become more resilient. The cuts on my arms stopped stinging. My HP bar jumped to 250/250 fully healed just from leveling up.
This was incredible. This was impossible. This was everything I'd ever wanted.
I collected the three mana stones from the dissolving corpses, tucking them into my pocket. Thirty thousand won worth of stones, earned in less than five minutes. At this rate, I could actually make serious money here. I could provide for Yuki and Kenji properly. I could stop working myself to death at minimum wage jobs.
I could become strong.
The system interface glowed before me, waiting for me to allocate my new stat points. But I hesitated this time, thinking more carefully. I was getting stronger, yes, but I still had no actual combat skills. No techniques, no training, no understanding of how to fight properly. Raw stats could only take me so far.
I needed to survive long enough to learn. I needed to be smart about this growth, strategic. Random allocation wouldn't cut it if I wanted to truly become powerful.
Looking deeper into the dungeon, where more monsters surely waited, I made my decision. I would clear this dungeon. I would take every advantage this system offered. And I would never, ever be weak again.
The weakest link was about to become something else entirely. Something dangerous.
To be continued...