Before the fire, before the blood, Kaito was nothing more than a quiet high school student in Tokyo—an unnoticed ghost in a world obsessed with shining stars. He didn't care for popularity or praise. He simply wanted peace. While his classmates gossiped about college and relationships, Kaito trained alone, honing his body, mind, and focus through martial arts and meditation. Not to be strong for others—just to stay sharp in a world that never looked his way.
On a rainy evening, as he sat in his room with the lights off and his earphones in, something snapped. Reality fractured. The world trembled. Light—white, blinding, divine—flooded his vision.
He was being summoned.
Somewhere Else…
In a grand cathedral carved of obsidian and bone, twelve robed magi chanted in unison. A crimson sigil pulsed beneath them. "Let the chosen bearers arrive from the Mortal Plane. Let power be brought to our dying land."
Two silhouettes emerged from the swirling summoning circle. One shone with dazzling golden mana; the other, dim and unreadable.
"What is this? One of them is… empty?" one of the high priests muttered.
"No. His mana cannot be read," said another. "Useless. The other boy is the chosen one."
Kaito blinked, confused and disoriented. Before he could even ask where he was, a guard struck him with a gauntlet to the face. Blood sprayed.
"Throw him away. The Empire has no use for trash."
He was dragged off by armored soldiers like a sack of meat and cast into the dark, reeking pit known as The Endless Dungeon—a place where criminals and monsters alike were thrown to die.
Day 1: The Pit
Kaito awoke, cold and battered, in complete darkness. The air stank of rot. The stone floor beneath him was damp with blood.
A weak growl echoed.
A goblin—green-skinned, hunched, beady-eyed—snarled and crawled toward him. It lunged.
Instinct took over.
Kaito rolled aside and grabbed a rusted dagger from a skeleton nearby. As the goblin leapt again, he plunged the blade into its throat. Warm blood sprayed across his arm.
DING!
[You have slain a Goblin (Lv.2)][You have gained: +3 Strength, +2 Agility, +1 Skill Point][Skill Acquired: Minor Night Vision][System Activation: Adaptive Evolution Protocol Initiated]
"What... is this?" he breathed. Blue digital text floated before him. It looked like something from a game. He wasn't hallucinating—this was real.
His strength had increased. He felt it in his limbs.
So he killed another goblin. Then another. And another. Each kill brought more strength. More speed. More awareness. His senses sharpened, his body hardened. He wasn't just surviving—he was evolving.
Day 4: The Ogre
The goblins stopped coming. Something else took their place.
An ogre.
It stood over ten feet tall, with a massive club carved from stone and spikes for teeth. A beast born of hate and brute strength.
Kaito barely dodged the first strike. The club slammed into the wall, splintering stone like glass. His blade snapped on the second swing. Blood ran from his shoulder.
But he adapted.
He baited the creature, sliding between its legs and stabbing the remnants of his dagger into its Achilles tendon. The beast roared and turned—too slow.
Kaito scaled its back, grabbed a broken bone from its hide, and jammed it into the ogre's eye.
It screamed one final time before crashing dead.
[Boss-type Monster Slain: Dungeon Ogre (Lv.12)][Major Attribute Boost Gained!][Abilities Unlocked: Magic Resistance, Brute Strength, Monster Sense][Unique Mutation: Mana Negation][Skill Tree Expanded]
He collapsed, panting, covered in steaming blood.
Then, he felt it.
The system gave him something… more.
A sword. A glowing artifact burned into his hand.
[You have been granted the Divine Blade: RAZIEL][This weapon can cut through anything. Wielder: Kaito only.]
The handle molded to his grip. The blade thrummed like it was alive.
Kaito grinned for the first time since arriving.
"I see… This world wants to cast me aside. Fine. Then I'll carve my place into it."
He roasted ogre meat over a makeshift fire and ate.
And the system changed again.
[You have consumed Monster Flesh: Ogre][Traits Gained: Enhanced Healing, Extreme Endurance, Reinforced Immunity][Notice: Due to consumption of high-nutrition monster flesh, you now surpass human physiological limits.]
Day 11: Descent to the Core
Kaito continued. He killed giant salamanders whose flames licked the walls. He gutted giant snakes with a single slice of Raziel. He bathed in blood and grew stronger with every breath.
Each level of the dungeon became darker. Harder. He stopped needing to dodge. The monsters couldn't hurt him anymore.
Then came the system's final prompt.
[Boss Room Ahead][To return to the surface, you must defeat the Guardian of the Core.][Warning: This foe has slain over 100 challengers.]
Kaito stood before a towering door of bones and flame.
He tightened his grip on the divine blade.
"They should never have thrown me away."
The doors creaked open.