2 Hans Luther

Perhaps it's because he had drunk too much alcohol last night, that his hangover came along with a terrible headache.

Hans slapped both of his cheeks, suppressing his dizziness before strolling inside the mercenary building where freelance Awakened works. As soon as he entered, his ears caught the low sounds of people murmuring as they saw his figure.

"Ah, here we go again."

"Shhh, stop talking or he might hear us."

"So what? Can he do something about it? You think he's special or something?"

"Well, he might be. After all, the government even made a nonexistent class for him."

"Pfft… Hahahaha, you're right."

The staff kept a close eye on Hans' reaction as they continued to giggle. Fortunately, the distance was far enough, and Hans did not seem to have heard them. Ignoring their words, he formed a bitter smile on his face, followed by a feeling of powerlessness.

If not for that accident, then he wouldn't be in this situation where birds don't even shit.

Sigh.

Clearing his mind, he turned towards the direction of the door with the sign 'Team Ru' written on it. Forcing his heavy body to move, Hans galloped towards the door.

"This is the room, right?"

Awakeners raiding a dungeon usually get to know each other first before planning strategies. This allows them to become acquainted with the party, discover their roles, and gain trust from one another.

Creak—

Setting his foot inside the room, he was greeted by five people talking and laughing.

"Not at all… my wife is pregnant with our first child, so I joined. I heard raids earn money easily."

"Hahahaha, that's right. Money is as easy as breathing here. That is why many people want to be a Awakened. If you have high potential you can even fight those monsters. Earning millions wouldn't be a problem by then."

Despite being aware that someone had entered the room, they continued to chat. Hans shakes his head, dizziness strikes him once more before settling into his chair. For an 'F' Class like him, rising through the ranks was already impossible. He wouldn't even consider remaining an awakened if he didn't need to earn money. He'd just get a regular job.

Who would want to risk their lives in dangerous dungeons?

Unfortunately, Hans' life is like this. Knowing there was no other choice, he could only grit his teeth and enter this dangerous gamble, where he could die at any time.

.....

"This is your share of this raid."

Gab, the team leader, pulled a $100 bill from his pocket and handed it to Hans.

"Thank you, Gab."

"There's no need to thank me; you earned it on your own. Our time would have been extended if you hadn't been carrying those mana crystals."

Gab cheerfully smiled, raised his hand, and patted Hans' shoulder before asking.

"Oh… by the way, we're raiding again tomorrow, are you in?"

"Really? then count me in. There aren't many teams raiding E-rank crystal dungeons these days. My grandmother is on medication so… I really need the money. Thanks, man."

"Well, then if that's the case… If we need a porter next time, I'll contact you immediately. I have to go now, see ya."

Hans raised his hand and waved goodbye to the other members. He earned 350 USD after participating in four raids today, which was enough to cover his and his grandmother's expenses for the day. Being a porter didn't pay well, but since it was the only job where he could earn money consistently, Hans could only put up with it.

Dragging his feet back to his old apartment, Hans hastily went back to his bedroom. He huddled under the covers, gripped the sheets, and heaved a long sigh as his body felt weak. At times like this, he's tired both physically and mentally. Although Hans was an F Class Awakened, his strength was no different from regular people.

'Sigh, I made 350 USD today plus the remaining 53 USD yesterday, I can buy a mana stone again.'

A mana stone is a cumulative amount of Mana stored inside a container that is a stone. Once absorbed, it can purify the body, giving it a small boost of strength. Perhaps he can be lucky to upgrade one of his stats by 1.

But before he could even attempt to delve into those thoughts, Hans shakes his head. Even if he bought one, its boost was so small that it felt nonexistent at all. Since that's the case, who would want to buy those things?

The buyers were typically ordinary people, and of course… Hans as well. However, due to his financial situation, purchasing one mana stone would be difficult. All of his earnings went to pay for his grandmother's medical bills and medications. Giving out a loud sigh, his gaze turned towards the panel floating in mid-air.

It was called the status window. After awakening their powers, they'll receive their status window.

[Name: Hans Luther

Age: 23 Level: 1

Race: Human

Potential: No potential

Strength: 2

Agility: 1

Stamina: 2

Mana: 1

Skill: No skill]

His status window is somewhat pitiful if one looks at it. A regular human has 1 stat in all of the 4-dimensional attributes, while some may even have 2.

Unfortunately, for someone like Hans, stats of 2 and above seemed farfetched as his rank and stats wouldn't increase anymore due to his potential.

'If only I hadn't saved that child, I coul—'

Slap—

Slapping his cheeks with a strong force, Hans's cheeks were beet red from the hit. At times like such, he is haunted by memories from his past, as if they were afraid they would be forgotten.

"It's an accident Hans, you did a good job okay? There's nothing to regret."

Convincing himself, Hans slowly calmed down after.

Sigh—

"Let's rest for now."

At the very least, although being a porter is a tough job due to the mass of mana crystals he carries during the whole raid, as long as he earns money it doesn't matter how hard it is.

As for his safety? He couldn't even afford to worry about such things.

...….

Team Ru gathered near the dungeon's entrance, waiting for other members to arrive. Some of them had their eyes closed, and a few of them were drinking coffee. If one sees their expressions, one can easily tell that all of them were fresh from the bed.

"Team Leader, when is the porter coming? We've been waiting for 30 minutes."

One of the raid team members, Allan, asked in annoyance. He hadn't had much sleep after hearing that the raid would start before the sun rose, but now a bastard wasn't even here yet at the promised time.

"Don't worry, I already texted him, he's on his way."

Team Leader Gab immediately answered. Allan was probably annoyed at their porter being late.

'Where are you now, Hans?'

"Sigh, why wouldn't we just hire another one? There are many out there who would be more interested in this job." Allan said in a hushed tone after hearing Gab's response.

"Pant—pant— I'm here!"

The raid team shifted their eyes away towards where the sound of voices came from.

It was Hans.

Beads of sweat flowed from his forehead and neck while his shirt was already wet from running. It seems that he'd arrive late, as the whole team was looking at him with those annoyed expressions on their faces.

"I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay, as long as you're finally here."

Gab immediately responded, afraid that the team would suddenly bombard Hans with harsh words. But what can he do? Although he's the leader of the team, he still needs to consider what his team members think. If they decided to change a porter now, there's nothing he can do about it.

Thankfully, his other party members were open-minded and weren't bothered by the late arrival of Hans. Seeing the team all ready, Gab raised his voice, as it was time for debriefing.

"This dungeon is an E-Class. According to analytics, there might be just gnomes or kobolds inside so we can safely assume that this raid wouldn't be much dangerous."

"Is there any specific point we need to remember?"

"Yes, we all know once a dungeon is cleared, it will disappear. Our goal is just mana crystals here and we don't need to battle too much as the guild will be the one clearing it. Are there any questions?"

Seeing no one answering, it seems that the team already understood. As for Hans, although he had something to ask, he immediately swallowed his words.

"Let's go."

One by one, as they stepped inside the dungeon, their figures vanished from the outside world.

...…..

20 Years Ago, an apocalypse came to Earth.

January 1, 2010.

Dungeons suddenly start appearing together with the mutation of animals and plants which leads them to become more savage and violent.

Events that could only be seen in fantasy novels happened in real life. Thanks to this, some theories say that some mad scientist created a virus so powerful that attracted even aliens from another world.

When humanity was finally at its last straw, they appeared. They were called the Awakened as they fought back against the monsters that terrorize the whole planet, eventually reclaiming half of humanity's land.

Due to their sacrifice, many children can live in peace away from the dangerous wild, where being weak is a sin.

And this is why many children, specifically teens, want to become awakened themselves.

Of course, it was the same for Hans.

"Team Leader, look what I found! Look, so many mana crystals!!"

One of the team members shouted, which piqued the team's interest. They quickly rushed over hurriedly walking toward the cave-like tunnel. Its path was crude, narrow, and full of stone spikes, which is why the team had to be careful.

Drip, drip—

The sound of water hitting the ground echoed as they continued galloping towards the tunnel. Fortunately, each brought flashlights, or else they would be walking in the dark, blinded.

"Team Leader, it's here…Huh? Treasure box? Where were the mana crystals earlier?" the scout, Rain, scratches his head, confused in this sudden situation. Earlier, there was a bulk of Mana crystal here so where did it go?

"Are you sure you're not hallucinating?"

"No! I swear. There are mana crystals here earlier. Take a look…"

Rain pulled a small bead of mana crystal from his pocket and raised his hand, giving the other Awakened a chance to see the crystal up close. Its edges were sharp, as well as the transparency of the crystal, suggesting that this is a high-ranking one.

"Then, where did it go?"

"Hey! Did you hog it all by yourself!?"

The immediate outbreak came from other Awakened, hearing the news of the high-quality mana crystals. If what Rain said was true, then wouldn't they make a fortune?

"Tell us! Did you steal it and hide it somewhere!?"

"I didn't! If I wanted to hog it all by myself, then I wouldn't even bother telling you."

"Are you lying then? There are no mana crystals here except for that one treasure box."

"Stop that! There's nothing we can do. Maybe there were other Awakened here before us, so please shut up!"

The voice of the Gab, echoed through their ears, as they hastily shut their mouths up, afraid of further angering the team leader.

"The real question would be, who's the owner of the treasure box items."

Allen, who had been silent the entire time, opened his mouth. The other team members exchanged meaningful glances before staring at the leader of the raid. Although they were somewhat reluctant to give the treasure reward to the team leader, it's better than angering this man.

"Team leader…"

"Very well, I keep it first for safekeeping."

Concluding the ownership of the treasure box, the party continued to delve deeper into the dungeon. There were markings written on stones in the stones they passed by, most likely carved by the scout who came inside first. Perhaps just like the vanishing phenomenon, that scout did not notice any treasure on his way which was fortunate as their party eventually was the one who got it.

"Why do you keep on working as a porter, Hans? There are many jobs out there where it's safe and not as dangerous as this."

"I need to earn money. Simple jobs don't pay well."

Grasping the backpack tightly with both hands, Hans continued.

"As of now, it's the only thing I can do. At 16 years old, I had already started working, so I knew how much those simple jobs earned in a month. Considering my situation, it's not enough."

Earning a groan from the team leader, Hans scratches his head after. Due to the different types of jobs appearing after the apocalypse, many would want to abandon their old jobs and try to make money in the dungeons.

"Haa… I don't have that much advice for you as this is your own choice. But if you feel that being an awakened is not for you, then you can consider working at my farm."

"Thank you for the offer, team leader."

Hans glanced over Gab's shoulder and took a look at the awakened fighting gnome. They were creatures the size of a dwarf, sometimes even smaller commonly found in E Class Dungeon.

A dungeon's difficulty is divided into seven colors which correspond to the 7 ranks of an awakened.

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.

The Red Dungeons can be easily raided by 5 E-Class Awakened while the highest difficulty dungeon, Violet, is still unknown till now.

Some red dungeons can even be cleared by a skilled E-Class alone. But the government advises that raiding a dungeon must still be cleared by a party to avoid unnecessary sacrifices.

Unfortunately, for an F-Class Awakened, this is kinda impossible for him. He felt that being a porter was already doomed to be his fate after that accident that happened a year ago.

"Team Leader, we've reached the boss monster hideout."

A majestic gate was laid on the ground with gold markings and traces carved onto it. Despite the urge to open the door, Gab immediately dispelled the team's idea and decided to end the raid for now.

"This is the end of our journey. Don't risk your life for a small gain that you can get for clearing a dungeon boss. Although we might live after the boss was defeated, a member of the guild would surely take us down after we went out. Our lives are more important. Always remember that."

"Yes, team leader. "

"Ah team leader, shouldn't you open the treasure box? After all, we gave it to you for free. Shouldn't we at least see what treasure it contains?"

Rain expressed his thoughts, believing that the treasure box might contain something they could share.

After hearing those words, other Awakened nodded. Everyone's eyes glanced towards Gab, waiting for his answer.

"… fine."

Staring at the box, the awakened around him watched with anticipation.

Letting out a soft sigh, Gab reached out for his pocket and brought the golden key out which was there when they picked the treasure box up. After aiming the key in the keyhole, Gab twisted its lock which made a clicking sound. Raising his hand, Gab opened the box.

Eeenk—

Thud—

The cover of the box, which contains a small bead of crystal, is opened.

"Just a… mana crystal? Is that it?"

"… I expected too much."

"But it should be of high quality right?"

"It seemed to be."

Hans perked his ear as he listened to their conversations dejectedly. The dry wood crunched under his seat as his hair blocked his envious eyes. As far as he knows, those small but high-quality mana crystals can be purchased for around '5000 USD'.

'Sigh, when can I have that amount of money in a day of work?'

Suddenly, the flashlights turned off, which awoke the Awakeners' vigilance.

Shing—

Pulling their weapons from their sheaths, they readied their senses to block any possible sneak attacks. Sounds of metal clanging echoed around the cave which made their skin tremble. It's as if someone is pulling a heavy blade from the floor.

"W-who is it! Damn it!"

"My flashlights aren't opening? Even my phone as well!"

As Hans walked silently behind the Awakened, he could hear their voices in his ears. More and more people panicked as the sound of the blade being pulled echoed louder and louder. Hans was frightened as well. But what can he do? He didn't have any special powers or skills to even help his teammates. He could only watch this scene unfold in front of his eyes.

If he can see it, that is.

"Watch out!!! "

Team Leader Gab's voice reached Hans' ears, shouting towards Hans as he heard small movements behind his back. Though the cave was faint and dark, the man with a large sword on his back was already standing behind Hans, which can be seen clearly. His muscular body together with the shaved hair and beard, and the tight-fitting clothes that outline his burly figure, all of this points to one person.

Gradually, as if the light was being shined upon him, the man's face was revealed.