Chapter Five: Blood and Splintered Wood
Minwoo stood before the Gate, the swirling purple distortion casting an eerie glow on his pale face. The humming sound grew louder, a deep, resonant chord that seemed to bypass his ears and vibrate directly in his bones. He knew what awaited him inside: a simple dungeon, likely no more than a short, muddy tunnel, guarded by a handful of F-rank Cave Crawlers. In his old life, he would have cleared a Gate like this with a single, contemptuous sweep of his sword, barely breaking a sweat. Now, it was a life-or-death challenge.
He glanced at his hands. They were trembling, not from fear, but from the alien feeling of a body that had never known combat. He had a champion's mind, but a teenager's body. He knew every weak point, every attack pattern of the Crawlers, but his Strength and Agility stats were a grim joke. He was a brain without a body. He was a Level 1, a pawn, a victim waiting to happen. The only thing he had was his knowledge, a grim roadmap to the future. That and the chilling knowledge that a Demon Lord was waiting for him at the end of it all.
He couldn't stay here forever. He needed to get stronger. The suppression on his stats would only lift when he acquired a Class, and to do that, he needed to level up. A quick glance around the abandoned park gave him his only option. He found a thick, fallen branch from an oak tree, splintered at one end. It was heavy and clumsy, a poor substitute for Soulrender, but it was something. He gripped it tightly, the rough bark digging into his palm.
With a final, resolute breath, he stepped through the shimmering Gate.
The world twisted, and he found himself in a place of perpetual twilight. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and something foul, a musky, chitinous scent he remembered all too well. The space was a single, large cavern, its walls glistening with moisture. The only light came from a phosphorescent fungus clinging to the ceiling, casting long, distorted shadows.
And then, the monsters. There were four of them, scuttling across the cavern floor. They were the Cave Crawlers—about the size of large dogs, with hard, obsidian-black carapaces and a dozen jagged legs. They had no eyes, but their antennae twitched, sensing his presence. A low, clicking sound emanated from them as they turned in his direction.
[System Alert: New Monster Detected]
[Monster: F-rank Cave Crawler]
[Danger Level: Low]
Low danger level, my ass, Minwoo thought, his mind racing. He knew their attack patterns. They would charge, trying to overwhelm him with a swarm of scuttling limbs and razor-sharp mandibles. His only advantage was his superior intellect and knowledge of the terrain. He had to use it.
He moved toward a section of the cavern where a massive, jagged rock protruded from the wall. He needed a choke point. The Crawlers, though simple-minded, were relentless. One of them, a leader with a slightly larger carapace, clicked its mandibles and charged. Minwoo, relying on his high Sense stat, anticipated its movement. He sidestepped at the last possible second, and the Crawler, unable to stop its momentum, slammed into the rock wall with a sickening crunch.
[System Message: Critical Hit!]
[Damage Dealt: 20]
The message flashed in his vision, but the hit barely fazed the monster. Its carapace was too thick. It shrieked in anger and backed away, its mandibles clicking furiously.
Minwoo knew he couldn't keep this up. He had to finish them quickly. The splintered oak branch was heavy in his hands, but he swung it with a champion's resolve. He aimed for the joint where the monster's legs connected to its body, a weak point he knew from a thousand battles. The heavy wood slammed into the joint with a cracking sound, and the Crawler let out a sharp cry.
[Damage Dealt: 10]
It wasn't enough. The other three Crawlers had surrounded him, their clicking sounds growing louder. One of them lunged, its mandibles snapping inches from his face. He ducked, but a razor-sharp leg caught his arm, tearing a gash through his sleeve.
[Health: -5 HP]
[HP: 95/100]
This is it. This is what it's like to be weak, he thought, the taste of blood in his mouth. He knew he had to finish this. He spun the branch, using its momentum to strike a second Crawler in the same weak point, this time with more force. The monster stumbled, its leg joint visibly damaged. He followed up with another blow, and another, until the Crawler's carapace cracked and its movements went still.
[System Message: F-rank Cave Crawler defeated.]
[Experience Points Gained: 10]
[System Coins Gained: 5]
He had no time to celebrate. He used his superior Sense to anticipate the charge of the final two Crawlers. He dodged the first one and, with a final burst of adrenaline, swung his makeshift club at the second one, connecting with a heavy thud on its exposed underside. The monster shrieked and writhed, and he finished it with a series of frantic blows. He repeated the process with the final Crawler, his movements sloppy and desperate, until it too lay motionless.
He stood panting, his entire body screaming in protest. The adrenaline was fading, leaving a raw, throbbing ache in his arm. He had survived.
[System Message: All Monsters Purged]
[Objective Complete: Purge the Gate Remnants]
[Reward: 50 XP, 20 System Coins, 1x Chitinous Carapace]
[Level Up!]
[Level: 2]
[Stat Points: 5]
The sweet chime of the level-up notification was a sound he hadn't heard in years. It was the first glimmer of hope in this dark, terrifying new world. He looked at his status window, at the 5 Stat Points waiting for him.
He had to make a choice. He could invest in Strength to deal more damage, or Agility to be faster, but his survival in this last fight had been pure luck. The pain in his arm was a reminder that he was fragile.
He chose Vitality. All five points went into it.
[Vitality: 5 -> 10]
[Stat Points: 5 -> 0]
His body instantly felt better. The throbbing ache in his arm lessened, and he felt a new, unfamiliar resilience. He was still incredibly weak, but he was no longer made of glass. His next fight, he knew, would be just as difficult, but he would not die so easily. This was his new reality. A constant, brutal struggle to survive, one bloody victory at a time. The path back to being a champion was long and filled with monsters, but now, he had taken his first step.