"I have learned that it is not the blade that makes you strong, but the will to wield it – even when your hands tremble." - Aiden Blackthorn
Friendship—a bond stronger than steel, forged in the flames of shared destiny. It is a force that unites people inseparably and endures beyond life itself. Yet, like every blade, this bond carries a hidden sharpness. What happens when the winds of fate shift? When one friend suddenly attains immeasurable power? Then the true nature of the heart is revealed. For the deepest friendships can shatter faster than the eye can perceive, and betrayal, like a creeping poison, can sever the once unbreakable bond in an instant. This is a story of loyalty and betrayal, of trust and disappointment—and the realization that even the strongest friendships can break when tested by fate.
It was a typical Wednesday afternoon, and sixteen-year-old Aiden was sitting with his six friends in the school library, studying for an upcoming exam. The group was inseparable, and although Aiden wasn't particularly fond of studying, he was glad to spend time with his dear friends. Suddenly, Ash, one of the friends, returned to the table with a book titled "The Journey to Paradise" in bold letters. He had gone off a few minutes earlier to find something to study with. Mikko, another friend, looked at him puzzled and asked, "Aren't we supposed to be studying? What are you doing with a fantasy book now?" Ash, slightly disappointed, responded, "This isn't a fantasy book. It's a guide on how we can reach paradise!" Mikko burst into loud laughter, prompting Yuichiro, another friend, to lower his book and say, "We're in a library, so could you please keep it down?"
Aiden brushed his hair out of his face. The boy had a rather unique appearance, with alternating blonde and black strands in his hair. A large, round pair of glasses sat on his nose, and around his neck hung a silver ring on a chain that he always wore. "Don't be so stubborn," the distinctive young man began, "Even if it doesn't work, it's sure to be a fun experience." With these words, Aiden managed to convince the rest of his friends to give the strange book some attention.
After a long chapter in the book, the friends finally knew how to enter paradise. They followed the instructions written in the book and placed their hands on top of each other. Then, Aiden began to recite a sort of spell: "Bound by friendship, united in heart, open the gate that now sets us apart. With trust in our hearts and courage in hand, we venture forth to a distant land. Through space and time, let us now go. Together, united, we shall grow. Powers of the world, heed our plea. Guide us safely to this new place to be." As Aiden read the spell aloud, books began to fall from the shelves. It was as if a powerful gust of wind was blowing through the windowless library. The friends' hair fluttered in the wind until a strange, electrically charged energy enveloped their bodies and made them disappear.
Chapter 1 - Gaia
Aiden opened his eyes and found himself in a pitch-black room. The darkness was so intense that it was impossible to tell whether the space was infinitely vast or simply shrouded in shadow. Before he could ponder further, a flat, blue, transparent display appeared before him, resembling a window from a video game interface. On this display, nine buttons were visible, each labeled with a word: Warrior, Mage, Beast Tamer, Necromancer, Demon Slayer, Shadow Runner, Street Fighter, Archon, and Prophet. "Street Fighter? Who would choose something like that?" Aiden muttered, recognizing these names as classes from an MMORPG. However, the Prophet button was dark blue, while the others glowed brightly, indicating that the Prophet class had already been taken. "Fine, then Demon Slayer it is." But just as he was about to select the button, it too dimmed. "Huh?!" One by one, all the other classes were taken before Aiden could choose. The only remaining option was Street Fighter. "Seriously?!" With no other choice, Aiden selected the Street Fighter class. As soon as he did, the strange energy enveloped him once again, and he vanished.
Aiden opened his eyes to find himself lying in a beautiful, green valley. Around him stretched rolling hills and picturesque plains. "What… is this place?" he wondered as he stood up to get a better look around. Red mushrooms grew abundantly under the trees, and a turquoise hue seemed to weave through the landscape. As he wandered around, something caught his eye—a pillar embedded in the ground. Strange symbols, written in an unfamiliar script, were inscribed on it. Although the pillar offered no concrete information about this world, Aiden realized one important thing—there were people here. If not humans, then some other intelligent civilization existed. Surely, there were people who could help him, but he needed to be cautious. They might be hostile, especially considering he was literally from another world. From the pillar, a path stretched out through the deep valleys, seemingly endless. With a sigh, Aiden decided to follow it. Perhaps it would lead him to a village. And so, the young world traveler began his journey down the path, eager to discover if it would lead to a town.
Aiden had been traveling for two hours now, with no end in sight. He began to consider giving up, but the path was his only clue. There had to be a reason for its existence. After a long journey, the young man suddenly heard a strange roar in the distance, growing closer and closer. "What is that?!" he exclaimed. Suddenly, he saw it—a small dinosaur, about half his size, sprinting toward him. Above it, like in an MMORPG, floated a text that read "Dinosaur - Tier I: Miniraptor." "Tier I? Is that supposed to be the weakest dinosaur species?" Aiden thought, but he didn't have much time to ponder it further. Despite being a Tier I creature, the being before him was still a living dinosaur. Quickly, Aiden turned and ran back along the path to escape the Miniraptor, but it was faster than he was. Realizing he had no other choice, Aiden braced himself for a fight.
Aiden came to a halt and frantically searched for something to fight with, but found nothing. He was left with only his fists. Closing his eyes for a moment, he mentally prepared himself for the battle ahead. Suddenly, another RPG-like window appeared before him, displaying the text: "Do you want to activate your skills?" Below the text were two buttons—YES and NO. Aiden wondered why there was even an option to decline. "Who would click no?!" he muttered, and without hesitation, he tapped the YES button. Immediately, two more windows popped up: "Skill 'Body Enhancement' unlocked" and "Skill 'Interdimensional Communication' unlocked." Aiden grinned. "Body Enhancement? Sounds perfect!" Although he wasn't sure exactly how to activate the skill, it seemed to work intuitively. Without much effort, Aiden successfully activated it. A new window confirmed, "Body Enhancement activated."
Aiden smiled faintly as he felt an immense surge of power coursing through his body. The Miniraptor had reached him by now, giving him the perfect opportunity to test his new skill. The dinosaur lunged at him with incredible speed—so fast that Aiden couldn't dodge. He had no choice but to block the attack. Fearfully, he raised his arm to shield himself, bracing for the worst. But something unexpected happened. The Raptor sank its teeth into his arm, but nothing happened. His arm had become so tough that the Raptor's teeth couldn't penetrate it. It seemed that his physical resistance had been enhanced as well.
Quickly, Aiden reacted by striking the Miniraptor with his other arm, putting all his strength into the blow. The dinosaur was knocked to the ground and disintegrated into dust. Aiden hadn't expected his attack to cause such damage, especially since he wasn't known for his physical strength. He had only intended to scare the Miniraptor away and get it off his arm, not to kill it. Although it was an act of self-defense, Aiden couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt over what had just happened.
But there was no time to mourn the dinosaur. A menacing howl echoed through the valleys, and soon a wolf emerged before Aiden. However, this was no ordinary wolf. It was astonishingly large, with thick, black fur and large, intense eyes that glowed with a powerful red hue. The creature had long fangs, much longer than those of a normal wolf, and its breath appeared as a dark blue mist. Above this beast was a name: "Wild - Tier I: Direwolf." Aiden immediately prepared for another fight, but just at that moment, his skill deactivated. "Seriously?! Why now?!" The wolf closed in on Aiden and leaped at him as he ran for his life. But suddenly, something happened—a person shot an arrow that struck the wolf in the side, causing it to turn away from Aiden and focus on the new attacker.
Two young women, one or two years older than Aiden, sprang at the Direwolf. Before one of the girls, a window appeared: "Skill 'Twin Fang Assault' activated." One of the girls lunged at the wolf with her sword while the other readied her bow. The sword-wielding girl stabbed the Direwolf in the side and quickly leaped away. A status message appeared before them: "Debuff 'Immobility' activated." The Direwolf was apparently unable to move. As the melee fighter executed her attack, the archer had already released an arrow that struck the sword's hilt, driving it deeper into the Direwolf. The attack was powerful enough that the Direwolf disintegrated into dust.
The two girls turned to Aiden, and he noticed that they looked remarkably similar. They had the same faces, the same build, and even wore identical clothing. The only difference between them was that the swordswoman had her hair tied in a ponytail, while the archer let hers flow freely. After a brief moment of silence, they began to speak with each other, but their language was unfamiliar to Aiden. For a moment, he hoped they might speak Japanese, but why would people from another world speak the same language as him? The swordswoman started, "Tynav rek zhur alon vessa?" The archer shook her head. "Nyk, iska tor nal vessa." The other girl responded, "Har ektara selm. Iska veran ta nyral." At that moment, Aiden remembered that he possessed the skill "Interdimensional Communication." Instinctively, he activated the skill again, and a window appeared before him: "Language 'Vessaric' learned."
Now, Aiden could clearly understand the girls' words. The girl with the bow asked, "What should we do with him? We can't even talk to him," and both sighed in frustration. Suddenly, Aiden spoke up, "Actually, I do speak your language." The archer smiled, visibly relieved as it made things much simpler. "That's a relief!" she began, "If you want, you can come with us to our village. Stronger beasts appear at night, so we should get going soon." With that, they started their small journey toward the village. As they walked, the swordswoman asked, "Are you by any chance a wanderer? Where do you come from? I don't think you're from around here. Otherwise, you'd know how to deal with beasts like Direwolves..." This question put Aiden in an awkward position. He wasn't ready to reveal how he had arrived in this world. "I come from... something like another country," he replied cleverly. The swordswoman looked surprised. "There are other countries besides this one? I thought they were all destroyed in the war back then. Or do you mean you come from another territory?"
Quickly, the archer pinched her sister's cheek. "Seraphina! You can't just bombard him with questions like that! We haven't even introduced ourselves yet!" As she let go, the archer brushed her hair out of her face and said, "I'm Selennia! And this is my sister, Seraphina." Seraphina muttered angrily, "I can introduce myself just fine..." Aiden smiled, relieved that the girls weren't hostile toward him. He hoped the other people here would accept him just as kindly. "I'm Aiden Blackthorn, nice to meet you!" Selennia looked at him, puzzled. "Ayyyy... Ten? What kind of strange name is that?" This time, it was Seraphina who scolded her sister. "Leave him be. Some people just have unique names." Aiden couldn't help but chuckle. He liked the dynamic between the sisters—they clearly cared for each other but also enjoyed teasing one another. It seemed the people here were much like those back in his own world.
After a few minutes, Aiden asked, "So, what's the deal with these beasts?" Seraphina responded immediately, "Beasts are like monsters. They appear out of nowhere and turn to dust when defeated. It seems they're not real animals with personalities, but mindless creatures that attack anything human. Beasts are divided into four categories: Dinosaur, Elemental, Mythic, and Wild. Each category has three tiers. Tier I monsters are very common, Tier II beasts are rare but still appear occasionally, and each category's Tier III beast exists only once in the world. There are people called Beast Tamers who can tame these creatures and fight alongside them. Two of the Tier III beasts have even been tamed." This was a lot of valuable information for Aiden all at once. He was able to follow along and understood the power of these beasts. Soon after, Aiden saw the village where the two girls lived in the distance. The village was called Neathris. "I assume you don't have any money to afford a room at an inn. If you want, you can stay with us tonight and earn some money tomorrow," Selennia offered. Aiden smiled. "Thank you, and where can I earn that money?"
The girls hesitated but eventually gave him an answer: "In the dungeon, defeated beasts drop Lunaris, the currency here. You're an adventurer, so you can probably earn some there." Aiden felt a mix of fear and excitement at the idea. Soon, they arrived at the village, where Aiden took a bath and headed straight to his room. "A dungeon, huh? This is just like in an Isekai anime!" he thought as he got ready for bed. As he lay down, he felt like he was in heaven—it was easily the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in. With that, he closed his eyes, eager to see what the next day would bring.
The next day, Aiden was up early. After getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and having breakfast, he was already on his way to the dungeon, where Selennia and Seraphina were supposed to explain the rest to him. "Ah, hello Aiden!" The two girls were already waiting for him. They stood in front of a cave blocked by a large stone, which was covered in mysterious images and symbols. "Morning," Aiden greeted them. He could have stayed a bit longer in the cozy bed, but duty called. "First, I have to tell you that you'll be on your own," Selennia explained. "The dungeon changes every time you enter it, and it's different for each person. This means you can only go in alone. There's not much else to say. You'll get a skill that allows you to leave the dungeon whenever you want, and if you die in there, you'll just respawn outside. Every beast you defeat will drop money. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Good luck!" With that, Aiden placed his hand on the entrance stone. Just like during his dimensional journey, a white energy enveloped him, causing him to dissolve and disappear.
When Aiden opened his eyes, he found himself in a corridor of an ancient temple. The walls were made of old, dark stone blocks, and every two meters, a torch with blue flames illuminated the dungeon in a pale blue light. Aiden began his journey through the dungeon, quickly noticing that it resembled a vast labyrinth. Fortunately, Seraphina had provided him with a sword the day before, so he at least had a weapon for defense. In the next room, he encountered three Miniraptors. With skillful sword strikes, Aiden was able to defeat them without much trouble. He continued to fight his way through the rest of the level, facing Miniraptors, Direwolves, and even Gorgons, which were the Tier I beasts of the Mythic category. Eventually, he reached the end of the first of twenty levels. The staircase to the next level was already in sight. However, just as he was about to proceed, the wall next to him suddenly burst open. A massive bear, standing on two legs, emerged from the hole, stepping into the room that connected the current level to the next.
The creature was about twice the size of a normal grizzly bear, with claws glowing in an electric white hue. The bear's fur was interwoven with electric, luminous patterns that seemed to move as if they were alive. The monster's eyes were a vibrant electric blue, and it emitted a flickering aura. Above the bear, the text read: "Wild - Tier II: Thunderbear." Aiden knew he wasn't strong enough to take on a Tier II beast yet. Before he could react, the Thunderbear attacked. "Dammit!" Aiden cursed as he ran into the next room, but the floor rose before his eyes, trapping him inside. With no other choice, Aiden activated his [Body Enhancement] skill again to fight the bear. The Thunderbear charged its claws with electricity and attacked Aiden, who managed to dodge and counter. However, after landing a punch, he realized that the Thunderbear was almost unscathed. The bear then launched a series of lightning bolts at Aiden, each one following him as he dodged. This relentless attack continued for about five minutes, during which Aiden noticed that his skill was lasting much longer this time than before. "Could it be that I'm training my skill, the more I use it?" he wondered. As if on cue, [Body Enhancement] dissipated, leaving Aiden defenseless against the Thunderbear's final attack. In that moment, Aiden died and found himself waking up outside the dungeon.
From that day on, Aiden began his new life in this other world. Since only the language was affected by [Interdimensional Communication], Aiden practiced reading and writing in Vessaric every day. He also ventured into the dungeon daily, earning his livelihood and training his skill. The boy grew stronger, progressing further each day, and gradually built a new life for himself. Within a month, he had already reached Level 10, and six months later, he managed to reach Level 15. From then on, it took months, sometimes years, to defeat the beasts on the higher levels. After seven long years, Aiden finally felt ready to clear Level 20, the final level of the dungeon. Before his eyes, a small status window appeared, providing information about himself:
< Profile >
< Name: Aiden Blackthorn >
< Age: 23 years >
< Class: Street Fighter >
< Skills: >
< [Body Enhancement] >
< [Interdimensional Communication] >