As Bittu woke up, he saw notifications flash before his eyes.
[You have entered a dungeon. ]
[This is a mid-level dungeon. Are you sure that you want to enter? ]
Bittu ignored the notification and first looked around and found himself in an ethereal place, bathed in a soft but dark glow. The air was thick with an ancient, musty scent, carrying dampness that clung to the moss-covered stones lining the walls. The dungeon chamber seemed to extend infinitely in his line of sight, the walls adorned with mysterious runes that emitted a faint pulsating light in the dark.
The ground beneath Bittu's feet felt cool and slightly uneven, with grasses all around. It was as if no one had traveled this path before and he would be the first one if he decided to.
A symphony of sounds immediately assailed Bittu's senses, echoing through the dungeon. The distant drip of water echoed in the chamber, accompanied by the soft fluttering of unseen creatures. Strange, almost melodic whispers reverberated, carried by the shifting air currents that danced through the cavernous expanse.
Bittu's body felt a lingering sensation from the previous ordeal; he could still sense the residual pain and power coursing through him,
He looked down at himself and saw that he was in tatters. Dried Blood–was all he could see in his first glance and rotting muscles–in the next glance.
"... I..... survived.... ", Just two words, but it carried the weight of all what Bittu has suffered for seventeen years, even when he was just nineteen years old. His whole life was nothing but a sad painting describing what it means to have everything but nothing at the same time.
He wasn't mad when be saw his condition because at least he stopped himself from turning into something he despised. Now, he could try to get back in his true form, which should be possible in this new world.
"... Ahhh.... "
Bittu, being high in spirit after surviving this ordeal, stood up only to fall down right after because of the tierd and painful state of his body.
The moment he stood up, all the muscles in his body suddenly ached in a way that was previously unknown to him and it brought a substantial amount of pain to his body. It was like ten thousand ants were biting his muscles the moment he moved even a little. This was not much, considering the condition of his body after all that.
He gave himself a forced smile and dragged his tattered body near the edge of the path, leaned his body on its uneven, cold and grassy to the touch amidst this tearing pain.
He laid there looking at thin air, specifically at the notifications given to him by the system, since he couldn't do anything else.
[This is a mid-level dungeon. Are you sure that you want to enter? ]
'... What does it mean? Am I not in the dungeon already? '
Bittu, unable to come up with any guesses about such a stupid question, decided to just agree.
".. Yes. "
'.. It's better than drowning in the water outside. '
Unknown to Bittu at this moment, he was not aware that he had no recollection of the moments that passed after he chocked. He didn't even know how he was in the dungeon?
He ignored these pieces of information as if they didn't need to be checked, since he didn't even suspect a thing wrong with him at the moment.
But, maybe that was for the best!
"status".
Bittu called out to the system because he wanted to confirm something.
He held his breath as he closed his eyes and after a while, after being sure that he was ready, he opened his eyes and gazed at the green screen before him.
[Bittu sah–Lv.1
[Soul power : 0/75]
Race: Half- Human (Partial zombie)
Class: Jocker
Bloodline: None
Strength-> E
Agility-> F
Stamina-> E
Constitution-> E
Perception-> G
Spirit-> F
Unassigned stat: 0 ]
"... Sigh. "
He sighed, disappointed so.
".. At least I am still sane and human. ", He tried to comfort himself but it was of no use. He couldn't lie to himself because he knew what he said was not his heartfelt feeling.
But unknown to him, these tough times, along with his struggle, bore fruit. His fragile mind has unexpectedly turned right after going against these hard life, though this was the result only because he lost his memories.
Men were just this, they can struggle all their life with their life on line in war, and survive. If not, they die trying but, they can't live for even a day, if the reason they are alive is not with them. Either they burn in hatred and revenge or live like the dead, fulling their responsibilities until death.
Bittu just like this, not remembering anything but at least having some hope that there was someone waiting for him in this world after he finds his identity, found the strength to struggle.
He just stared at thin air for a long while, trying to come to terms with this new reality. After some time, he dismissed the notification, only to be flooded by new ones.
[Congratulations, you have gotten your second skill from your class, Jocker. ]
[Class: Jocker (Unique class)
Skill 1 : Danger Intuition (passive)
Skill 2 : Sufferance Synergy (passive)
Rating : S+
Description : A skill that empowers its wielder through a harmonious growth fueled by both physical and mental pain, turning adversity into strength.
Note : A special skill given birth by someone ignored by the @&#, abandoned by the £€$¢ and toyed with by π^√. ]
[Your skill, Sufferance Synergy, imposes a forceful restriction on your race change. ]
[Your skill is using the power of race change to fuel your own power. ]
[Stamina is resonating the highest with your new skill and the race you are being changed into. ]
[Stamina has connected with your skill: Sufferance Synergy. ]
[You have unlocked your third skill. ]
[Congratulations, you have gotten your third skill from your class, Jocker. ]
[Class: Jocker(Unique class)
Skill 1 : Danger Intuition (passive)
Skill 2 : Sufferance Synergy (passive)
Skill 3 : Card manipulation (active)
Rating : B
Description : You can manipulate cards. ]
[You have entered the dungeon : Graveyard of the Ancients. ]
Bittu was a bit startled seeing so many notifications. But, before he could even read the notifications, He heard something.
*crackle*
In the eerie silence that hung in the air Bittu distinctly heard weird noises coming from the distance.
Unknown to Bittu, a skeletal hand suddenly emerged from the cold, damp earth.
Slowly, bone by bone, a mysterious skeleton clawed its way to the surface, almost like an ancient being rising from the depths. The hollow sockets of its eye sockets flickered with an otherworldly glow as it stood on its bony feets.
Its bones, weathered by time, each joint and vertebrae, a delicate balance between fragility and an unseen strength.
The skeleton gradually made its way straight towards Bittu, already knowing his location.
Bittu, unable to concentrate on the notifications after hearing the sound, dismissed them and stared at the way the sound was coming from, though that was all he could do considering the state of his body.
His muscles and nerves tensed as he clenched his fists and waited for the source of the sound to emerge.
'What–'
'A skeleton? '
After a couple of seconds, Bittu, shocked to see a skeleton coming towards him, tensed with concerns about his situation.
The skeleton, upon seeing Bittu, immediately raced towards him. He immediately got up to fight the incoming danger. Alas!
".. Ugh... "
Bittu felt like a thousand knives scratching his muscles the moment he strained his body.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh"
".. Argh... "
But this time Bittu couldn't let this pain stop him because accepting defeat from this pain was just forfeiting his life to the white skeleton coming his way.
Bittu immediately looked around to search for his weapons; the axe and the knife.
'sh*t.'
A moment later, realization hit him. He didn't bring the weapons back with him.
'This has just turned a lot harder.'
Bittu took a deep breath as he calmed his tensed nerve that was straining a little too much because of the constant pain.
"... Ugh. ", at least he tried to, but how could it be so easy? He didn't have time to do anything further, since the skeleton was just a couple of steps away from him.
Bittu, taking the initiative in his own hand, hit the skeleton before it could.
*crack*
"... Argh.. Arggg..... Arghhh... "
Bittu's punch landed right on the skeleton's hand that was aimed at his chest. Bittu, who was expecting himself to be thrown back, was a bit startled that his hand pained from the hit whereas the hand of the skeleton had some cracks on it.
'Isn't this a mid-level dungeon?'Why are the skeletons so wea–'
"Arrrrghhh"
"... Ugh..",he cried out in pain.
The pain that actually made him cry out was the intense pain generated by his muscles. His punch had unexpectedly done more harm to him than the skeleton.
Bittu, distracted by the pain, could not react when the skeleton once again attacked him.
*crack*
"... Arrrgh... "
The skeleton attacked with the same broken arm once again. But, instead of damaging him, it instead broke its own arm. Bittu would have laughed at this scene, but the pain from his aching muscles made him unable to do so.
Amidst his pain, Bittu tried to attack the skeleton's skull and end it at once and rest, but before he could, the broken arm of the skeleton landed on Bittu's chest.
*Pritch*
Bittu's body froze the moment the sharp end of the broken arm of the skeleton pritched him in the right side of his chest.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh"
He let out a sharp shout because of the pain that the simple cut made in his body. This feeling of ten thousand blades piercing his body all at once overwhelmed him.
He didn't know why he was experiencing such pain from such a small cut.
Unable to handle the pain, his legs lost its strength, and he fell down, but that was something Bittu immediately regretted.
*slam*
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh"
"Aaargggghhhhhh", he suffered once again.
He immediately rolled on the ground, hoping that it would help, but would it? Of course Not!
His eyes, that were cold for just a short while ago, were now were tearing up because of the inhuman amount of pain he was experiencing currently.
But this was just the beginning. The skeleton was not a statue to just stay there and watch. It acted as its instinct made it do and that was to slay all that had life.
It, uncaring of Bittu's struggle, once again hit Bittu on his body. This time, the attack landed on his right arm.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh"