Prologue
* * *
D-rank dungeon, they said.
Quick raid, they said.
Easy money, they said.
Yeah. Tell that to the entire party lying around me in pieces.
The moment the hidden door opened and we stepped into the second chamber, every instinct screamed no, but peer pressure is stronger than survival instincts, apparently.
Now I'm standing—well, lying—inside a colossal stone temple, surrounded by statues that look like they were designed specifically to kill idiots like me.
Everyone else is dead.
Every. Single. One.
"D-rank my ass…" I muttered, coughing as I crawled backward up the altar steps.
Then I made eye contact with the giant statue—the god-looking one sitting on the throne.
Its eyes lit up.
"Oh fu—"
A laser beam blasted past me, vaporizing what was left of Kang's shield.
I rolled onto the altar like some sacrifice about to be offered to an angry god.
My heart was trying to escape my chest.
My lungs were on strike.
Another statue, the one with the huge sword, stepped forward. Its stone feet cracked the floor as it raised the blade high.
I stared at it.
No escape.
No trick.
No plot armor.
Just me. A dead party. And a sword big enough to split a building.
"…Great. Amazing. Perfect. Totally what I signed up for."
The sword came down.
I flicked it off.
"Yeah, f*ck you too—"
The world went black instantly.
No pain.
No sound.
Just… emptiness.
Then—
[Ding!]
A blue window appeared inside the darkness, glowing unnaturally bright.
[Secret Quest: COURAGE OF THE WEAK]
You have fulfilled all the requirements.
Will you accept the burden of the Player?
>> ACCEPT / DECLINE
I blinked.
"…Huh?"
Another line appeared beneath it, almost like it was impatient
If you refuse, your heart will stop in 0.02 seconds.
I didn't need a third reminder.
"YES! yes, yes, YES! take me back!"
My hand slapped the option so hard I swear the system flinched.
The darkness shattered.
Light swallowed everything.
My heart kicked back to life.
A second chance… inside a place like this?
Alright then.
Round two, you stone-faced bastards.
Was what I thought….
I open my eyes to a hospital ceiling.
"…You gotta be kidding me."
The last thing I remember is the Sword Statue raising its blade. My whole party dead. My guts telling me I'm dead, I'm so dead, I'm literally dead.
And then that weird window.
I spam pressed yes. Of course I pressed yes.
And obviously I expected to respawn in the goddamn double dungeon with some cheat ability.
Instead I got… this. A IV drip.
The door slides open.
A man in a black suit and sunglasses steps in.
"Are you awake?"
"…Yeah." I push myself up. "Who are you?"
He flashes an ID.
"Hunter Association. Woo Jinchul."
I blink. "Uh… Woo Jinchul? From the Inspection Team?"
"Yes."
"Oh." I sit properly. "Damn."
He pulls a chair and sits beside my bed, back straight like he's interviewing me for murder.
"You were found unconscious near the dungeon exit. The healer on site said your pulse had stopped for a moment."
"No surprise there…" I mutter.
Woo Jinchul continues, ignoring my trauma.
"We detected an unusual mana fluctuation from your body. That typically indicates a possible reawakening."
My eyes widen. "So I got stronger?"
"We don't know yet. That's why we need to retest your rank."
LET'S GO! This is it! My protagonist arc! This is exactly what I wanted!
Woo Jimchul takes sometching out of his bag. A mana reader.
Heart pounding like crazy.
The device flashes.
"Results are in," the inspector says.
Woo Jinchul looks at the paper.
I grin. "So? What am I now? C-rank? B? S-rank maybe…"
"…E-rank," Woo Jinchul says flatly.
"Eh?"
"E-rank," he repeats.
"…No no no run that again. Like reset the router or something…."
The inspector shakes his head. "Sir… this is your official result."
I stare. Empty. Soulless. Dried out.
Woo Jinchul clears his throat.
"Congratulations on your… reawakening attempt."
I stare at him.
"Did you just congratulate me for failing?"
"It is standard procedure."
"This is harassment."
Woo Jinchul stands. "We'll continue to monitor you. Report if anything unusual happens."
He leaves.
I flop back on the bed, dead inside.
"…Bro. I died for nothing."
Then—
ding
A bright blue window snaps into existence above my face.
Daily Quest: Preparations for Battle
- Push-ups: 100
- Sit-ups: 100
- Squats: 100
- Running: 10 km
Rewards:
- 3 Stat Points
- 1 Random Reward Box
Penalty for Failure:
- Transfer to the Penalty Zone
I stare at it.
And then… I start laughing.
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA no way. This? THIS is the big system power-up I get? Bruh I've been doing this since middle school after I watched One Punch Man!!"
I flex my arm dramatically.
The window blinks, as if judging me.
I point at it. "Watch me, you blue Minecraft-looking UI. This is literally the easiest quest of my life."
I swing my legs off the bed.
Nurse opens the door just as I'm stretching like a man possessed.
"Sir—? What are you doing?"
"Going out for a walk."
The Daily Quest window glows ominously.
* * *
Five months later…
Man… looking back, it feels like my life got hit by a truck-kun made of blue system windows.
Every single day I woke up to that cursed Daily Quest.
Every single day I thought, "Okay today will be easy,"
and every single day I ended up crawling back home like a dying worm.
Then came the dungeon runs.
The near-death experiences.
The centipede that made me scream louder than any horror movie.
The business with Hwang Dongsoo.
Becoming ripped enough that even gym bros stare like, "Bro what protein you using?"
And now… the Job Change Quest.
I flop onto the stone floor, panting like a dog in summer.
"Ughhh… that hug from Igris was a tough fight… why's a knight in a suit hitting like a family-size truck…"
In front of me, the red knight kneels… then falls.
A new window pops up.
You have completed the Job Change Quest.
Congratulations.
You have earned two Job Classes:
[Job: Shadow Monarch]
[Job: Multiversal Jumper]
Two…?
I blink.
"…Okay, that's good I guess."
The first explanation unfolds:
[Shadow Monarch]
- You may extract the shadow of a fallen being and bind it as your soldier.
- Their loyalty is absolute.
- Their growth is limitless.
- You are the sovereign of death.
I grin.
"Oh hell yeah… now THIS I like."
I walk toward Igris's collapsed armor, still steaming from the fight.
I lift my hand.
"Arise."
His shadow stretches… rises… forms.
And there he is… kneeling before me, silent.
I smirk.
"Welcome to the squad."
He bows, one knee down.
Damn… that feels good.
But then the second job description pops up, and my eyes widen even more.
[Multiversal Jumper]
- You may travel to alternate worlds and fictional universes.
- Each world has its own power system.
- You may acquire skills unique to that universe.
- Jumping consumes mana and requires a target world.
- Limit: None.
[Multiversal Destination Menu]
Please select a world to travel to:
• My Hero Academia (MHA)
• Sword Art Online (SAO)
• Date A Live (DAL)
• High School DxD
• Re:Zero
• That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
• Classroom of the Elite
• Konosuba
• Jujutsu Kaisen
• Demon Slayer
• Black Clover
• Bleach
• Naruto
• One Piece
• Attack on Titan
• Oregairu
• Tokyo Ghoul
• Mashle
• Fairy Tail
• DanMachi
• Fate/Stay Night
• Blue Lock
• Chainsaw Man
• The Eminence in Shadow
• Overlord
• Jobless Reincarnation
• Rent-a-Girlfriend (??? why is this even here)
• Nisekoi
• Quintessential Quintuplets
• Random World (Mystery Jump)
Scroll for more...
I freeze.
"…Wait wait wait WAIT. ANY universe?"
I reread it.
Then reread again.
Then I laugh like an unhinged anime villain.
"Bro… BROOOOOO I can go anywhere?! Like ANYWHERE? Like any anime? I can just…jump?! this is actually insane!!"
I take a deep breath and pick my first target.
"Mha… My Hero Academia… yeah, let's go say hi to that world."
I tap the window.
Target Universe Selected:
[MHA — ACTIVE]
Preparing jump…
Light floods my vision.
The stone room disappears.
My heartbeat spikes.
"Alright… let's see how crazy this gets."
A flash.
A pull.
A boom.
And then—
my world changes.