Sunlight filtered through the curtains, gently waking me up. I stretched in bed, feeling surprisingly refreshed for once.
Birds were chirping outside. It was actually kind of nice, waking up to something peaceful instead of panic or confusion.
I yawned and finally dragged myself out of bed, heading straight for the bathroom. The cool water on my face washed away the last bits of sleep.
After my shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and grabbed some clothes from the wardrobe. Just simple stuff. Nothing fancy.
Once I was dressed, I couldn't resist flopping back onto the bed.
"God, this bed is amazing," I groaned into the pillows.
So soft. So comfortable. Part of me wanted to just go back to sleep and forget about everything else.
But I couldn't do that.
Not today.
I'd already spent three days holed up in this mansion, reading through the system's information. Monsters. Dungeons. Skills. History. Everything I needed to know to survive in this world.
Three days of preparation.
Today was when I finally put it into action.
And that meant today was going to be exhausting.
Why?
Because today was the day I'd go on my first dungeon hunt to get that SSS rank Future Sight skill.
I needed that skill desperately. It was the only thing that could show me what would happen in the future, which would massively increase my chances of survival in this world.
But honestly? I wasn't that worried about getting it.
The reason was simple. I knew exactly how to obtain it without much trouble.
Back in my previous world, when I was reading that review from Meelon, I'd noticed something interesting. The dungeon containing the Future Sight skill was only F rank.
An F rank dungeon with an SSS rank skill inside.
It sounded impossible, but it was true.
Now, I knew that for someone with a zero rank like me, even an F rank dungeon should be incredibly dangerous.
But thanks to that review, it wouldn't be.
Why? Because the reviewer had revealed something crucial. The dungeon actually had space for two hunters at a time, not just one.
According to Meelon, nobody in the novel knew this. The dungeon had a sign next to it that said "One Hunter Only," so everyone assumed that was the actual limit. Nobody wanted to risk testing it because they were terrified of causing a Dungeon Outbreak.
What's a Dungeon Outbreak?
Basically a worst-case scenario where the dungeon starts spewing endless waves of monsters into the real world. It only happens for two reasons.
First, if a dungeon stays inactive for too long. Every dungeon needs at least one hunter to enter it each week to keep it stable. If nobody goes in, it erupts and releases all its monsters at once.
Second, if more people enter than the dungeon can handle. Every dungeon has a capacity limit. Go over that limit, and you trigger an outbreak.
That's why nobody ever tried entering that F rank dungeon with a partner. The sign said one person only, and nobody wanted to be responsible for unleashing monsters into Ambrosia.
But the sign was wrong. Or maybe it was a trick. Either way, the dungeon could actually handle two people.
And that's exactly what I planned to use to my advantage.
While thinking about my plan with a smile on my face, I suddenly remembered something important.
"System, can you show me the world power structure list again?" I asked.
A holographic screen appeared immediately.
[Of course, Host!]
The screen flickered, then displayed a new window.
***
Ranks (From Lowest to Highest):
Normal
Bronze
Iron
Gold
Platinum
Ace
Master
Dominator
Conqueror
Grandmaster
***
Levels: Every rank from Normal to Grandmaster contains 100 levels.
***
Skills: Skills were ranked from F at the lowest to SSS at the highest. Each rank was further divided into three tiers: minus, base, and plus. So an F-rank skill could be F-, F, or F+, with F- being the weakest and F+ being the strongest within that rank.
***
Monster Essences Required for Each Rank:
Normal: 100 essences
Bronze: 1,000 essences
Iron: 5,000 essences
Gold: 25,000 essences
Platinum: 125,000 essences
Ace: 625,000 essences
Master: 3,200,000 essences
Dominator: 15,000,000 essences
Conqueror: 80,000,000 essences
Grandmaster: 400,000,000 essences
***
Monster Classifications (Lowest to Highest):
Lesser: 1 essence when killed
Common: 10 essences
Uncommon: 100 essences
Rare: 1,000 essences
Elite: 10,000 essences
Legendary: 100,000 essences
Mythical: 1,000,000 essences
Immortal: 10,000,000 essences
Eternal: Unknown
***
(More...)
***
I studied the list carefully.
Right now, I was at zero rank, which meant my immediate goal was reaching Normal rank as quickly as possible. That was the absolute minimum I needed to survive in this world.
I checked the requirements again. Only a hundred essences to reach Normal rank? That actually seemed manageable.
An F-rank dungeon typically had between 150 and 200 lesser monsters inside. Since each lesser monster gave one essence when killed, I should be able to collect enough essences in a single dungeon run. As long as I didn't die, of course.
Essences basically worked like EXP in video games. Kill a monster, get essences, use those essences to level up and get stronger. The only real difference was the name. While games called it experience points, this world called it essences.
Simple enough concept. The hard part was actually surviving long enough to collect them.
But lying here thinking about it wouldn't get me anywhere.
I should ask Allen to book that dungeon now.
I climbed out of bed and walked over to my door.
When I opened it, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
Allen was standing right there, directly in front of my door, staring at me.
"Jesus!" I gasped, taking a step back.
Why did he always do this? Just appear out of nowhere like some kind of ghost? One of these days he was going to give me a heart attack.
"Young master," he said calmly, as if he hadn't just scared the life out of me. "Is there something you need?"
His voice snapped me back to reality.
"Yeah, actually," I said, trying to steady my breathing. "I need you to book a dungeon for me."
His eyebrows rose slightly. "May I ask why you suddenly want to enter a dungeon?"
"It's nothing special," I said, trying to sound casual. "I just want to hunt some monsters and start leveling up. Can't stay at zero rank forever, right?"
The moment I said those words, Allen gave me a strange look.
I knew exactly why. The original Michael had never shown any interest in dungeons or monster hunting. He'd spent all his time partying, drinking, and wasting his life away. That was the main reason this body was so pathetically weak.
If Michael had actually trained instead of throwing his life away, I wouldn't be struggling with basic survival right now.
Allen kept staring at me with that confused expression for a few more seconds before finally responding.
"As you wish, young master. I'll arrange for..."
"Wait," I cut him off. "Not just any dungeon. I need you to book a specific one. There's an F-rank dungeon on the outskirts of Brigadoom City, in the E-rank state. I want you to book that."
Allen's confusion deepened. "Why that particular dungeon, young master? If you want to start hunting monsters, there are plenty of dungeons much closer to home. Some are even safer for beginners."
I scrambled for an excuse. "I was scrolling through my phone earlier and came across some posts about that dungeon. People were saying it was perfect for beginners, really interesting too. Made me want to check it out."
Allen considered this for a moment. "I see. Very well, I'll make the arrangements."
"Great. Book it for today if possible," I added quickly. "The sooner the better."
"As you wish, young master."
With that, Allen vanished into thin air.
I blinked. Still not used to that.
I quickly shut my door and leaned against it, exhaling slowly.
"That actually worked," I muttered to myself.
For a second there, I thought he'd see right through my excuse. Allen was sharp, and he knew me better than almost anyone. But apparently my lie was believable enough.
Though honestly, it helped that the original Michael had certain habits that made my story plausible.
The guy was infamous for impulse buying. If he saw something online that caught his attention, he'd buy it immediately without thinking twice.
According to these memories, he once bought an entire bankrupt shopping mall just because he liked how the building looked in the photos.
Just because of that. Nothing else.
Even with his memories, I couldn't figure out why he did stuff like that. Maybe it was just rich kid syndrome, or maybe he was drunk or high half the time. Given the amount of alcohol and cigarettes he consumed daily, anything was possible.
Whatever the reason, his reputation for random impulse decisions had just saved me from an awkward conversation with Allen.
I went back to my bed and sat down to wait. Allen worked fast. He'd probably be back any minute.
Five minutes later, there was a knock at my door.
'That was quick,' I thought as I got up.
When I opened the door, Allen was standing there, professional as always.
He gave me a small nod. "Young master, I've booked that dungeon for you as requested. You have access to it for the entire day."
"Perfect. Thanks, Allen." I stepped forward, ready to leave. "Let's head out now."
"Wait," Allen said, looking at my wrist. "Where's your watch?"
Crap. I'd completely forgotten about that.
In this world, everyone living inside Ambrosia had to wear a government-issued smartwatch. It wasn't optional. The watch monitored everything you did and automatically flagged any illegal activities.
If you got caught without one, or wearing a fake, you'd be killed immediately.
How did they catch people? The government had given special tracking phones to law enforcement and association members. These devices could detect anyone within a 150-kilometer radius who wasn't wearing their watch properly. Once detected, they'd send agents to kill you on the spot.
The only place these rules didn't apply was outside the walls, in monster territory. But inside Ambrosia? You had to wear it almost everywhere.
Now I had to figure out where I'd put that watch. I remembered having it when I first arrived in this world, but the next day I took it off and tossed it somewhere in my room.
"Damn it," I muttered under my breath.
At least the government didn't require you to wear the watch when you were at home. That was the only exception to the rule.
"I think I left it somewhere in my room," I told Allen, trying to sound casual. "Give me a second to find it."
I quickly shut the door and started searching. I checked the dresser, the nightstand, even inside the wardrobe. Nothing.
After a few frustrating minutes of tearing my room apart, I finally thought to check under the bed. I crouched down and looked. There it was, lying on the floor against the wall.
"Finally," I said, grabbing the blue smartwatch.
I strapped it onto my wrist, made sure it was working properly, then headed back to the door.
After opening the door, I looked at Allen and said, "Alright, let's go."