"We're back!"
A voice shouted from the front door.
It was our adoption parents. The Adlers.
My father's name is Paul. He's the vice guild master of the Misteltein Guild. He does most of the planning and managing of the entire guild along with the help of other politicians. Since he has that high of a position, his income is ginormous. Along with the fact that he is part of one of the top guilds in the world, his salary easily exceeds six figures per month.
Paul removed his tie and scratched his head of black hair.
He sighed when he saw me blankly staring at the ceiling.
"You went into a dungeon again, didn't you?"
"Yeah…"
"Goodness! Ethan!?"
His wife hurriedly moved towards me to check my condition. She was once a top A rank adventurer with the class of priest. After having her first child, she retired from entering gates.
Her name is Claudia. Their daughter, Alice isn't here at the moment since she always goes out partying late at night with her seniors. She always enters the penthouse late at night. I couldn't for the life of me understand why a girl from a good family like the Adler family would be such a rebel.
"Why do you never take the money I give you? The money in your account keeps accumulating. At this rate, you might as well start your own business with that amount of money. I checked and saw that it was already a million."
'I don't want your fucking money…'
He was one of the people who refused to help my father back then. It might be a grudge on my part, but I don't want to spend his money earned from the sweat and effort of hunters while he sits in his office and gets head from his secretary.
Paul grumbled and walked towards the kitchen. After grabbing a beer, he plopped down on the couch.
Meanwhile, Claudia began cleaning my wounds.
"Ouch…"
"Hold still, Ethan. Is this dung?"
She wiped a type of purple slime off of her finger using a tissue.
"Yeah… I was grazed by an arrow shot by a goblin."
Since the cut wasn't deep, the effects of the poison wasn't strong. I only felt mild stomach pain and slight headaches when I came home on my bike.
"Ethan, you–"
"Claudia, you've already told the boy this before. He does not listen whenever we tell him to give up on his dreams of becoming a hunter. I already told you that you can work in the family business."
Claudia looked at me worriedly when I clenched my fists.
Maybe it was concern for me but… his words cut into my heart. I couldn't describe the pain in my heart from hearing someone crush my dreams with just a few words.
"If only you were more like your little sister…"
I stood up since I had enough of his ramblings.
"Where are you going?"
"To my room."
"Doesn't your first day at the academy start in a few hours?"
I ignored them and continued my way up the stairs.
"Huh? Brother? Why do you look like that?"
When I turned in the hallway, I ran into Farnese. She was already dressed in her first year uniform. Today would be the opening ceremony for them.
I didn't bother answering her and walked right past.
"Hey! What happened?"
I shut my room's door and fell down against it.
After fishing through my pockets, I took out my hologram card. A hologram card is something that allows us to check our abilities and level.
Mine was…
[Level: 1]
[ATK: 2]
[DEF: 2(×10)]
[MP: 40/50]
[HP: 200/500]
Skills: [Absolute Defense] [■■■] [■■■]
…very pitiful.
"Those black boxes… what do they mean?"
Aside from my lacking abilities, there's not anything noteworthy on my status screen.
I opened up one of my drawers and pulled out something wrapped in cloth.
It was a dagger.
[Grade: SS]
Abilities: Soul extraction – By stabbing a victim, the wielder can absorb the victim's soul and thus be able to turn that energy into a temporary power up.
[Name: Fafnir's fang]
It was a blood red dagger with an ominous glow.
I shudder whenever I see the cheat ability of the dagger. It was a gift left behind by my father. One of his old friends gave it to me when I went to visit his grave.
He said in the letter that I'll know one day when I'll be worthy of using the dagger. I don't think Farnese knows about it. He never mentioned anything about her in the letter.
–Are you there, son? I hope the teleport scroll can deliver this phone to the assigned destination. I'm currently inside the dungeon. They weren't kidding, whenever you go back, your entire body freezes in fear of what new things might be lurking down here. Heh, I encountered my first monster when I was a new SS class hunter. It was a Fafnir dragon. I hope you like the drop item I got for its annihilation.
I played the recording he left for me as well. It wasn't to feel any emotional attachment. I did that every time so I can harden the hate I have for him. He dared go into a dungeon with an SS rank grade when his wife was sick and we were still children.
-I didn't want to go this way.
I looked towards the old phone with a cracked screen with a bored face. I've already listened to his voice over a thousand times. It's the voice I always have in my head all day.
-I found something inside a dream of mine.
"Haa… here comes the bullshit."
I turned it a little louder. The contents were the same. Even if I wanted answers, I couldn't find them in a recording from a decade ago.
-The truth of the appearance of the gates. I think the gods wanted to show me the reason all those dungeons appeared when it did. Why did Ardell, the other world appear? Why did the realm of monsters, Ragnarok appear? I believe I may be able to find the reason for this. The director said it was crazy to prepare for a trip to an SS rank dungeon but I didn't give up. Although one of my friends died, only three of us were able to make it. I truly have wonderful friends.
The question of why the dungeons appeared was on everyone's minds. Every scholar to ever exist during the last 200 years tried proving why. Although, you can't prove something if you can't observe it.
This was the reason dungeon exploration became so popular. If someone can find a clue to their existence then that person would receive both wealth and authority higher than anyone else in this world. It was similar to cracking a math formula which has been left unsolved for hundreds of years.
We humans are curious beings so anything that intrigues us will get our attention. After the first artifact was discovered that changed the very nature of the world's goods, dungeon exploration reached a new peak in the year 4024. It's been that way ever since.
Did my father and his companions find anything before dying?
-Protect your sister. You know she loves you.
"Yeah, right."
-If…
That was the moment the signal started messing up.
-Shit! What is that!?
I heard a roar. It was a sound that could not be found anywhere on this planet. The dungeons have many strange creatures so that wasn't surprising.
The roar of that particular being sent chills up my spine. It was like listening to the most annoying and horrifying sounds mixed together. The sheer pitch was enough to mess with my brain.
-What the hell?! There's so many! Jason, prepare divine spells!
-Roger! You better protect my back, captain!
I heard a lot of crumbling noises.
-Listen, son. I may not make it out alive but just know… I…
"Fuck… What did you want to say?"
The recording kept getting cut off when he mutters the letter 'I'. Those horrifying sounds in the background filtered out his words before the recording shut down.
"Ragnarok… A dungeon said to devour gods…"
There was a poster on my wall that had the illustration of Ragnarok on it. The dungeon is a pitch black gate with ominous purple haze drying the sea of its energy. The entire region near the dungeon is unpopulated.
Screech
I slid in a disk into the drive plugged into my TV.
-Breaking news! A monster known as a Titan suddenly appeared in the middle of Belmor city! The hunters are doing everything they can to keep the other monsters from coming out of the gates as well!
-Where are the damn high rankers!? Shouldn't they protect us!?
-Screw them! They only move for money!
It was a news report from 20 years ago that happened right in the middle of this city we live in. A titan monster can be any kind of monster with a mutated form. They are typically ranked S.
This particular one was a hybrid. It was controlled by a parasite and was given a power boost. If their eyes are enlarged in their heads then it meant they are being controlled.
It's unknown why there are so many monsters controlled by parasites. They are stronger than their original counterparts since the parasite injects their body with a fluid to control it. That fluid can also be used as a temporary power boost.
-Good heavens! Isn't that thing too strong? Zoom in so everyone at home can see.
-Roger.
The camera zoomed in on the monster reaching heights higher than some of the most tallest buildings.
It trashed the entire city with no specific goal in mind. Just letting its raw power out. It was like watching a lion trying to show off his power by killing the current alpha.
-Huh? What's that?
Someone pointed to a grey light flying towards the monster.
The grey light enlarged and then a torrent of power was thrown at the monster.
‐----KIEEEEE!!!
It screamed as the flames burnt its body.
-It's the incredible Dusty!
"It's the incredible Dusty."
I've heard that line a thousand times before. He was my father after all.
The monster fell down after he released his second attack.
-Two hits!? So amazing!
-He's heading over here! Shit, where's my pen so I can get an autograph!
A muscular man wearing a leather jacket and jeans landed right next to them. His entire body was covered in the grey flames.
His hair was like a mane of a lion and he had red eyes that seem to be filled with power.
Since his flames were grey instead of red or blue, he is what people call an Abnormal. They are people born with abilities that break common sense. Others included are the Sword Saint and King classes.
His class was Silver Fire God. The name itself was self-explanatory.
-You should evade the area. That wasn't the last one.
-Y-Yes, sir! Before we go, is there anyone you would like to shout out to at home, sir Dusty?
-Hmm…
My father smirked and pointed at the camera.
-I'd like to say something to my kids. Some day when I'm an old fart, I hope to see my two children wear this with honour.
He showed the SS rank insignia to the camera. It was made from a rare type of material found in the dungeon worlds.
-Make me proud when you grow up!
I paused the video.
"Even if I'm able to become that strong, you're not here to see it."
After shutting down the TV and closing the curtains, I climbed into bed and embraced sleep.
'To become the strongest hunter… That will never be my destiny, father…'