Asura Dungeon

A young man with fair yet pale skin and dark circles under his eyes was sitting on a bench across from the park. He was a 18 year old with unkempt jet-black hair that juts in all directions and dark grey eyes.

He was cradling a cup of coffee in his hands. Normally, he wouldn't be wasting time like this. After all, he still had to find a job or he would be going broke. But on this particular day, he decided to pamper himself.

Enjoying the warmth of the drink in his hands, he raised the cup and savoured the aroma. Then, he took a small sip and... immediately grimaced.

"Ah, So Bitter!!!"

Giving the cup of coffee an intense look, Henry cursed and forced himself to drink some more. Bitter or not, the coffee wasn't cheap so he was determined to get his money worth.

"Tsk, sweet my ass! This shit is disgusting. I should have bought ice cream instead."

Henry cursed some more and tossed the cup into the garage bin close by. At least his throwing skills was good.

Suffering from the after taste of the coffee, Henry thought back to the incident that's been coined as the "World Awakening".

At that time, while he was just a freshman in high school, the world completely changed. As if they had been living in a certain Korean novel, mana awakened in the world, people began to awaken supernatural abilities and affinities.

Each individual awakened an ability depending on their industrial talent such as fantasy stuff like wind manipulation or pyrokinesis.

However, that was not the only thing that changed. Dungeons which hosted immaculate treasures and powerful hostile magic beasts started appearing as well, forcing humanity to come together to survive.

But not everyone was lucky enough to awaken. There were many people whose bodies couldn't adapt to the changing environment, causing them to be unable to awaken an ability. Henry was part of this group of people.

To be honest, once he realized his own circumstances, he never wanted to to become a hunter and explore the mysterious dungeon.

But he was in desperate need of money, so he was left without a choice. His eighteen years of little happiness faded under the mountain of stress and worry.

Henry was forced to grow up before he wanted to. His hands were callused beyond their age due to the labor he had to go through. The hammers of time left their marks on his young heart. He, however, was only one of many.

He brought out his phone from his right pocket and booted it up. As usual, his phone lagged a bit before he could use it. He decided to read some job websites to solve his predicament.

There were always jobs out there if one was willing to risk enough. After searching and weeding out jobs' notices, Henry found one that he fulfilled its requirement.

"Portal Needed, Asura Dungeon, High Danger Level, High-Reward, Responsibility-Clearing Contract needs to be signed. Message me for further details."

Asura Dungeon was a new dungeon that had appeared only recently, and it had yet to be conquered. The job notice didn't state that the contract was for conquering the dungeon; that would be the job of those guilds.

It was for a group of hunters needing a porter, someone to collect the items and materials, carrying their extra luggage, making camp and other minor stuffs. Henry worked as a porter before, but it was only when times were dire.

Furthermore, he worked in cleared dungeons only. This time, however, was much riskier since Asura had yet to be conquered. It meant there could be unforeseen accidents.

"Hello, My name is Henry Everett, aged 18. I worked as a scavenger for four years, for the scavenger agency. Although I'm not an awakener, I have enough experience to to make up for it."

Henry typed his message for a long time and revised it several times before he sent it. He also sent his recommendation letter from the scavenger agency to further impress the employer.

He had high hopes because he read the comments, and they were all saying that the job was too risky. Of course, it wasn't that he was reckless, he was in a desperate need of money since his contract with scavenger agency was terminated.

Since he had a lot of free time, he used several hours to research the Asura Dungeon. The dungeon was said to have appeared half a year ago.

Since then, several hunters from different guilds have tried to conquer it, to no avail. The dungeon was stated to be the next stepping stone for humanity, encouraging warriors and mages to challenge it. After several causalities rising, it was found out that this dungeon was one of the Chaos Dungeons, causing an uproar in the world.

"Ok. Tomorrow at 12 AM, table 40. The pay would be 50$ per hour."

Henry was thrilled by the response but that thrill was soon replaced by fear. Being a porter was on the list of the riskiest jobs for non-awakener, if not the top one.

There were many preparations to do, but Henry checked his bank account and sighed. Then he stood up from the bench and headed for his house.

***

The next day at 11: 00 AM, Henry was in front of the dungeon's entrance. Every dungeon had a foyer for the warriors and mages to meet and hold strategic meetings before venturing the dungeon.

He was earlier than the appointed time but since he's weak, he decided it'd be better than risking being late. The world was slowly transforming into one where strength is king, and the law could no longer fully contain certain people.

He walked to table 40, where he could see several people sitting around. They were five in total; three wore full armor while the other two wore robes. The three people wearing armor were two men and one woman, the latter wearing light armor.

The robes-wearing people were one man and a petite woman. The group mainly looked in their twenties, while a warrior with a axe to his belt was middle-aged.

"Hello, I'm Henry Everett, the porter." Henry stepped forward and spoke out. The group were rather intimidating but henry was calm despite that. He had worked with many intimidating groups so he wasn't nervous.

The chatting ceased for a second, and everyone turned their eyes toward him, scrutinizing him.

"Hey, I'm John, I talked with you yesterday." The Axe Warrior, known as John, stepped forward and shook his hand. Henry felt relieved by the man's warm gesture and he exchanged some pleasantries.

However, the rest of the team showed little interest in him and resumed their chat over the monsters awaiting them inside, the latest weapons, and famous hunters.

Henry thought nothing of it and sat in a seat not too far and not too close to the rest.

"As you all know, we're not going beyond the third layer today. But that doesn't mean we should be relaxed, Chaos dungeons are known for their high risks, high-reward, and their irregularity."

John continued his briefing, and it lasted until noon. Despite this information being irrelevant, Henry strained his ears, listening to them in case they proved useful in the future.