Five minutes passed, but Lucian didn't move from his place, sitting there cross-legged.
The night air felt cold against his skin, carrying the stench of blood, sewage, and dirt. The corpse beneath him crumpled into nothingness, dissolving into his hands.
He stared at it without blinking.
Not just because he was shocked.
Because his mind was still… elsewhere.
He replayed the scenes over and over, recalling everything that happened as soon as he devoured the man.
He saw a fragment of the man's memories. Memories before he died.
The goblin lunging at him, the regret he felt over something Lucian couldn't clearly remember.
Though those memories were hazy to him, he knew what he saw.
For a minute, he even forgot his identity; he forgot who he was.
His name.
His past.
His reason for standing here in the first place.
Even his sister and his mother.
He sucked in a sharp breath and clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
"I—"
He swallowed.
'Is… Is this because of the skill?'
His skill—[Devour].
It allowed him to devour any being and turn it into power.
When he first understood it, he had thought that it would be such an overpowered skill, but now…
[Don't let it break you.]
Lucian frowned.
"Break me?"
His head snapped up, his eyes burned as he glared at the empty space in front of him.
"What do you mean break me?!" he snapped aloud.
"I literally forgot who I was for that moment when I saw his memories—when I felt his pain! And you… You are telling me to stay strong?!"
His words echoed faintly through the empty street.
Right now, anyone watching would've thought he had lost his mind—standing alone in the darkness, shouting at nothing.
But he didn't care.
Not like there was anyone present there.
[Yes.]
Akasha answered after a moment. She didn't mind his tone, since she knew it wasn't his fault. Anyone would've broken down by those memories.
It was even a bit surprising for him to be this aware of himself. If his will had been lower, then he probably would've lost himself, drowning in those memories.
But he wasn't just anyone. And he had to be better than that.
[Just because you saw a glimpse of his memory, will you let yourself break?] she mocked him.
Lucian's jaw tightened.
The words irritated him, but before he could respond—
[Didn't you say that you have to get strong to protect your family?]
The question hit him harder than any blow.
[Now, are you backing down?]
Lucian went silent.
He swallowed the curses he was about to say to her.
Her words brought him out of his anger.
His breathing slowly steadied.
Right.
That was why he was here.
Not just for power alone, but for his family.
'How could I forget that?'
It didn't matter how he got strong or if he broke himself in the process.
If he didn't get strong enough to protect himself along with them, then their fate would be the same as that man's, maybe even worse.
Just thinking about it made his breathing hasten.
'No, I am not.' He answered internally.
His eyes regained their clarity, and the trembling in his hands stopped.
[Will – 12➝15]
His mind cleared.
The lingering fear vanished.
His thoughts sharpened.
"Haa…" He exhaled out loud, staring at the full moon in the night sky.
[Good.] Akasha's tone softened slightly.
[Now take care of your injuries.]
'Injuries?'
He looked down at himself.
Only then did he realise the state of his body.
He lifted his T-shirt to see the bruises and small cuts on his stomach. There were even more bruises on his arms.
'...Right.'
Due to the adrenaline, he had almost forgotten about them.
He moved towards the spot where he had left his bag.
Bandaging the wounds and rehydrating himself, he got up.
'Now what to do?' He thought, slightly hissing at the pain in his stomach, where the goblin had slashed, almost killing him.
What should he do now?
Go home?
He could do that, but…
'That would be a waste.'
He had just awakened, just gotten his skill, and though it had its dangers, it was still a strong skill to be wasted by not using it.
Letting fear dictate his next move would be the same as throwing that power away.
So he moved in the direction from where the goblins came from.
But he didn't just rush blindly.
He looked around, careful that there was no one nearby.
After ensuring he was alone, he removed his mobile from the bag. He had kept it there because he was sure that it might break while fighting.
He turned on the flashlight on his mobile to track the goblin's footprints.
Since they were covered in grime and filth, it was easy to track them.
As he followed the trail, a thought surfaced.
He had always wondered about where the monsters came from, but he hadn't found out many answers in his previous life.
It couldn't be that the monsters suddenly came out of nowhere, right?
Ring!~ Ring~!
He looked at his phone.
It was his mother's call.
His heart skipped. He quickly picked it up.
"Lucia—"
"Mom, what happened! Is everything fine?!"
He interrupted her before she could say anything.
He was anxious, because if anything happened—
"I am fine," Seraphina said after a moment, making him sigh in relief.
"Why are you panicking like that?"
She asked in concern. Something was going on; she could feel it in her guts.
"Nothing…
By the way, why did you call?"
She paused for a moment, then—
"When are you coming home?" she asked softly.
"I told you, right? I'll be back by morning."
A faint sigh came from the other side.
She wanted to call him back, tell him to come home right now, but hearing his voice, she could tell that he wasn't going to listen.
"Fine. Take care."
Saying that, she cut the call before he could answer her.
"I will." He murmured absentmindedly, staring at the dark screen.
He resumed following the trail.
The footprints eventually led him to a sewer opening.
The lid had been forcefully thrown aside, resting crookedly nearby. Dark, thick grime surrounded the opening, letting the disgusting foul smell seep outside.
Lucian grimaced.
"Do I have to go through here?"
He stared into the darkness below.
For a moment, he considered turning back.
Then sighed.
'The things I have to do.'
Gripping the ladder, he climbed down.
It was a bit difficult to move down the narrow pathway while having a bag, but he somehow managed it.
As he moved down, he saw a faint light coming from below.
As he stepped down, his shoes stepped into the dirty water.
The disgusting sewage smell hit him, making him nearly gag.
The smell intensified, but he forced himself to ignore it.
His focus wasn't on that.
He was looking at the source of the light.
His mouth opened slightly as he saw the magical sight before him, something he had only seen in games.
A circular portal, swirling, pulsating.
[A dungeon portal.] Akasha confirmed.
'You mean like those portals from games and novels?'
Lucian asked, staring at it in awe.
[Yes.]
It's shimmered with deep green light.
He moved towards it, slowly, while looking around, wary if there were any more monsters.
Seeing no movement, he sighed in relief.
'So they came from here.' He thought.
He didn't know anything about monsters coming from the portals.
Maybe it was because, in his past life, he lived in a very poor place, and after the lights went out a few days into the apocalypse, they had no luxury of getting such information—not when they were struggling for food and survival.
'So…
What should I do now? Do I go in?'
He considered it for a moment, but then remembered the monsters. If there were more such monsters, then it might be difficult.
And more than that, he didn't know what rank those monsters might be.
He could barely fight a F-ranked goblin when he was an unawakened.
Now, he might be able to fight them easily.
But what about the monsters above F rank?
[You should.] Akasha answered, feeling his concern.
[It is an F-rank dungeon. It will help you grow. All the monsters will be around F-rank, and the dungeon boss at E-rank. And by morning, others might arrive here.]
Before he could respond—
[Ding!~]
A panel appeared before him.
[New Quest Generated!]
[Quest: Trial of the First Dungeon]
Objective:
– Enter the F rank Dungeon.
– Kill the Dungeon Boss.
Reward: 20 AP
Difficulty: C
Time Limit: 5 Hours
Failure Penalty: ???
— — —
Lucian stared at the screen.
Not at the quest, but at the screen itself, at its frame.
He frowned.
He hadn't noticed this earlier, but now he did.
The screen that was supposed to be blue in colour had faint, beautiful golden engravings along its edges, like borders in a paper.
"...Am I overthinking, or does the screen look different?" He muttered.
[You noticed just now?]
"What is it? Why did it change?"
[I don't know.]
Lucian narrowed his eyes.
"Do you even know anything?" He snorted, annoyed.
[...]
She didn't answer.
"Tch."
He felt like she was hiding something, which she clearly was.
This much was obvious.
But he couldn't do anything about it.
At least not now.
Leaving that aside, he read through the quest.
"You just want me to go inside, huh? You didn't even ask me for my consent."
He didn't know what the failure penalty might be, and neither did he have any intention of knowing what it was.
He opened his phone, looked at the charge, and, seeing that it had enough battery, sighed in relief.
He texted his mom, sending her a short message, then looked at the time.
12:55 AM.
'Around 1 AM.'
That meant that he had to complete the quest before 06:00 AM.
But he couldn't afford that. He didn't know when people might arrive here and might notice what happened.
There were also the people who had run away.
'They might call the cops.'
Shaking off those thoughts, he walked towards the portal.
Standing before it, he extended his hand.
His fingers passed through the surface easily, as the portal rippled outwards like pond water.
Seeing it passing through, he inhaled deeply and stepped forward.
His body passed through. His vision blurred, and the space around him twisted.
And in the next instant—
Lucian found himself inside the dungeon.