1 Chapter 1 Unfortunate death
After the third world war, when the world was still healing from the conflict, numerous dungeons suddenly appeared all around the world. No human-made power could defeat the monsters within, so every human being was given the gift of power to combat these creatures. This gift was called "awakening." Unfortunately, Xavier's awakening was not particularly impressive. His strength and power couldn't even defeat the weakest beasts, and he was often ridiculed for his apparent weakness.
Xavier had to find a way to earn money, even if it meant being the bait during dungeon raids. He used the money he earned to cover his living expenses and his sister's monthly hospital bills. The power they gained, known as "rukh," put his sister's life at risk, as she couldn't comprehend the power within her and had fallen into a coma.
Their parents had tragically died in a car accident caused by a dungeon suddenly appearing above their vehicle, leaving Xavier and his sister as the only survivors. Two years had passed since these events unfolded, two years of hardship, two years since the world changed, and two years since his sister fell into a coma.
Xavier endured taunts from his teammates. "You weakling, watcha got there? Something to make you stronger?" said the arrogant Johnson, flexing the fire he emitted on his hands. "Oh stop that, Johny. We all know he can never get stronger," said a girl who resembled a horse, sneering at him. This just made Xavier look at her in disgust. "Hah, I know, right? Probably if he took a jump off a building, he can probably get a rukh on his next life," said Johnson, smirking at him with pure hatred.
"Stop making fun of our team," said Jazekeen. Xavier blushed; he had liked the girl for as long as he could remember. She was also the team's healer.
"He is not on our team; he is just bait," Johnson said, throwing a fireball at Xavier. Xavier's brow furrowed, but Jazekeen reflected it back using one of the defense spells she knew. "Thank you, Jaze," Xavier said as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly, his bobbed hair in a mess.
"Oh no, it's okay. I should be the one sorry. I am the one who invited you in here in the first place," said Jazekeen, calmly patting his head lightly. Xavier couldn't help but blush harshly, hiding behind his long bangs to conceal his very red face.
"We are going to start to raid a dungeon in a few minutes, so ready yourself, team, especially you, Xavier," said the team leader, Daniel, pointing at him. Xavier nodded, sighed, and changed his clothes to low-level armor since he didn't have much money to buy a decent one.
After a few minutes, they raided the dungeon. "It's a D-level dungeon, only filled with some orges and tricky elves, so no splitting up, alright? No going to the left hole and right," said the team leader while fixing his glasses with his middle finger.
They walked through the middle, and when they were halfway through, some elves jumped at them from one of the little holes in the dark ceilings. The team leader swung his sword left and right, the golden rim of it shining through the lights. It was the Sword of the Ouroboros. All of them were in awe of how the team leader had obtained such a rare sword. "Where did you get that sword, Team Leader?" asked Johnson, bewildered.
"Well, I am one of the teammates of the legendary Oz, and when we went on an SS dungeon, I gained this," explained Daniel. The story sounded fishy, but they all seemed convinced by what the team leader said. Xavier was not amused, but he wondered if anyone would listen to what he had to say.
The elves were defeated, and they walked further until they could no longer see the entrance. They arrived at a gigantic door with diamond lining on the side and gold linings beside it. They struggled to open it, but the door finally budged. The room inside was filled with red lights, making everyone nervous.
"The fudge is this room. There's nothing here but knights in armor holding swords and some sort of cute chick," said Bruno, who had a shiny head. He was physically fit, with muscles and veins popping out.
In the middle of the room, there was a ginormous square with six floating candles on every side. There were six of them inside the room, and the door didn't close, thankfully. Ten magnificent knights surrounded the square, holding their swords, pointing them at the middle of the square. In the center, there was a female giant statue wearing alluring clothes, sitting in a chair and smiling widely as if mocking them.
"Don't you guys think that statue is mocking us?" asked Jazekeen, shivering a little.
Johnson agreed, "I agree. That statue kept staring at us like it's mocking our existence." He laid his arms on Jazekeen's shoulders, making her blush. Xavier couldn't do much; he was weaker than a skeleton soldier.
Xavier tried to hide his furrowed eyebrows inside his bangs. Johnson mocked him, "Watcha looking at, Weakling?" as he held Jazekeen tighter. Xavier had noticed the horse-looking girl staring at the two with jealousy, but he knew that Johnson wouldn't be interested in her because of her looks.
Suddenly, the knights began to move slowly, but the force they exerted while lifting their swords was so fast that it almost hit them. The team leader shouted, "Run, just run! Don't you guys ever stop!" He started running, and the team followed his instructions, running and running. Jazekeen had a hard time keeping up, as she was running low on MP after using it to heal their injuries from the elves.
Xavier ran to her and helped her run. However, a sword suddenly swept her up and sliced her in half. Her lower half collapsed, and her upper body flew to the other side of the room due to the heavy blow of the sword. Xavier was horrified and couldn't move his body.
He looked around to see the team leader heading towards the female statue. No knights or anything else followed him. Xavier realized that they were just distractions so the team leader could reach his goal. Xavier understood that the statue in the middle was actually a succubus.
The succubus moved suddenly, slamming the team leader against the wall. Surprisingly, the team leader didn't take any damage, probably due to his high-level armor. This dungeon was supposed to be a Class F, so it was perplexing to encounter something this powerful.
Xavier realized that it was all the team leader's plan. He had made them believe that he was their leader and manipulated them into following his orders for this deadly expedition. As Xavier continued running, he tried to reach the succubus but failed. The team leader, who revealed himself to be a criminal, slashed Xavier's hand. His glasses fell off, and the truth became clear. Xavier was dealing with a wanted criminal who killed his teammates for loot and then left the scene.
The criminal laughed menacingly. Xavier looked around to see that the others were either unconscious or dead. He was likely the only one left alive and in the right state of mind.
The criminal intended to kill him and destroy the succubus statue all by himself. Xavier was filled with anger and determination.
"So now you know who I am. Yes, I indeed stole this sword by killing the team leader in my last guild. It's a pitiful backstory, pretty nice, right?" the criminal taunted as he swung his sword in a circular motion.
"Damn you, I knew it! I KNEW IT! You will pay for this!" Xavier yelled in defiance, his voice shaking with anger.
The criminal kicked him toward the statue, and Xavier looked down to see an inscription that read, 'Offer some blood for eternal power. It can be animal blood, but the succubus lord much prefers human blood as it is much more delicious. If you offer an animal, you will gain the following, but if you offer a human, you will gain much better power comparable to a god himself.'
Xavier was terrified at the realization that the criminal intended to kill someone just to satisfy his greed. It was inhumane, and Xavier screamed, desperately trying to avoid his impending fate.
He tilted his head upwards to see the succubus looking back at him. The succubus straightened its body, and its massive hand moved toward Xavier. Paralyzed and unable to escape, Xavier's fate seemed sealed. "NO! NO, PLEASE, NO! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, DANIEL Andrews!" Xavier cried out while looking at the criminal, whose face contorted into an evil smile as he was carried by the hands of the succubus.
"Oh, no, not really. How am I going to pay when you are already dead?" the criminal said, mocking Xavier as he laughed and carried his sword on his shoulders. The other hand of the succubus reached for Xavier's head, and he tried to speak, but he couldn't make a sound.
Xavier felt his body getting twisted and pulled apart, his vision getting blurry. As he fell from the hands of the succubus, before he could be eaten by its mouth, he saw Daniel's face smiling back at him, grinning in success.
Then Xavier felt himself get crushed inside the succubus's mouth as he drifted into darkness. His last thought echoed in his mind, 'I swear you will pay for this, Daniel.'
When Xavier finally opened his eyes, he found himself in a room, the curtains drawn open, blinding him with the sunlight. Memories of his gruesome demise flooded back, sending shivers down his spine. He couldn't believe he was still alive.
He touched every part of his body in disbelief, relieved to find himself intact. Xavier looked around and realized he was back in his old room, surrounded by familiar possessions – his books, his uniform, and everything he remembered. The calendar on the wall showed that it was September 1, 2078, just a week before the world changed.
Xavier rushed downstairs to find his dad sitting at the table, reading the newspaper, and his sister eating breakfast. Tears welled up in his eyes as he saw that they were still alive and well. His mother sat there too, unharmed. The car crash had yet to occur, so they still had a chance, except for his sister, who remained in a coma due to the rukh inside her.
As Xavier tried to process this strange turn of events, a window screen suddenly appeared, displaying the words, "Welcome, Player One." It was a bewildering new beginning.
