Saiga Matsushiro had never been special. In fact, he'd been deemed worthless—a failure, an F-rank hero with no skills. As punishment for this inadequacy, the goddess had discarded him into a dungeon. And now, towering above him, was the ultimate proof of his impending doom: a massive, venomous Hydra.
Saiga's heart pounded in his chest, panic flooding his veins.
"No! No way!" he screamed as he turned and ran. Survival instincts took over—he had no hope of defeating a monster like that.
But as he sprinted into the darkness, his escape was suddenly cut off by solid stone.
"A dead end?!" he gasped, his breath ragged. He spun around, his eyes darting to the far side of the cavern. The only possible exit was beyond the Hydra, a small opening in the rock behind it.
"You've got to be kidding me... I can't leave unless I get past that thing?"
The Hydra hissed, its wide mouth opening to reveal dripping fangs. From its jaws seeped a purple mist, thick and noxious, slowly filling the chamber.
"Cough, cough!" The gas clawed at Saiga's throat, his lungs burning with every breath. His eyes watered as the poison permeated his body. His vision blurred, and he staggered, choking on the foul air.
"No... I can't... breathe...!" His skin began to itch, then burn as the Hydra's poison worked its way through his bloodstream.
He collapsed to his knees, wheezing and gasping for air, the searing pain overwhelming him. Was this it? Was this how he would die? Alone, abandoned, suffocating in this hellish place, all because he was deemed too weak to matter?
Saiga's mind raced back to his former life, to the moment he'd been cast aside by the goddess. F-rank. Useless. And then to Kisogawa—the class bully who tormented him in life—and the Hydra before him now, poised to snuff him out. His thoughts churned with resentment, not just for the goddess and the Hydra, but for everything that had led him here.
"No...!" he whispered, teeth gritted. Anger surged through him, hot and potent.
"No! I refuse to die here!" Saiga's fists clenched as he glared at the Hydra through bloodshot eyes. He wouldn't let the goddess win. He wouldn't let anyone win. The fire of his rage burned stronger than the poison now coursing through him.
"I'll kill them... I'll kill them all!" His voice cracked as the pain intensified. His body was failing.
Then, from deep within him, a strange voice echoed:
"Would you like to evolve the skill [None] to [Poison Immunity]?"
Saiga's eyes snapped open. What? Evolve?
The voice repeated: "Would you like to evolve [None] to [Poison Immunity]?"
His mind raced. Could it be... my skill isn't 'none' but... [None]?
It had always seemed like he was given nothing, but what if that was the skill itself? His breaths came in shallow gasps. His thoughts, though clouded, latched onto one truth—he had nothing to lose.
"Yes! Yes, I'll evolve it!" he cried.
The voice responded immediately: "Skill [None] has evolved into [Poison Immunity]."
Instantly, the searing pain vanished. The poison stopped burning his throat, his lungs cleared, and his vision sharpened. Saiga blinked in disbelief.
"The pain... it's gone. It actually worked?"
He stood up, his body no longer weakened by the venom. He faced the Hydra, whose purple mist still thickened the air, but Saiga remained unaffected.
"Poison doesn't work on me anymore."
His heart thudded with newfound confidence. He glanced at the status window that appeared before him.
――――――
Saiga Matsushiro
Level 1
Skill: Poison Immunity
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"It's real... I can resist its venom!"
The Hydra, sensing something was wrong, let out a deafening screech. Its massive body shifted, and with a burst of speed, it lunged at him, spewing a fresh wave of venom from its gaping mouth. Saiga didn't flinch. The poison splashed across his body, but he remained unharmed.
"Sorry, but your poison doesn't scare me anymore," Saiga muttered, smirking at the panicked beast. He could see the confusion in its eyes. The Hydra had likely never faced a creature that could resist its deadly venom.
"You think I'm still scared of you?" Saiga taunted. "No. I'm your worst nightmare."
The Hydra, enraged, slammed its tail toward him with crushing force. Wham! It connected hard, and Saiga was thrown into the stone wall with a sickening crack. His ribs shattered on impact.
"Agh!" The pain was immediate and overwhelming. Poison immunity couldn't save him from physical damage.
Blood filled his mouth as he staggered to his feet. His body was wrecked, barely able to move.
"Damn... this thing is strong." He coughed, trying to remain on his feet.
Just when it seemed like he couldn't continue, that strange voice returned:
"Would you like to evolve the skill [None] to [Wound Immunity]?"
Saiga's eyes widened. Wound immunity?
"Yes!" he shouted.
"Skill [None] has evolved into [Wound Immunity]."
At once, his broken bones mended themselves, his cuts sealed shut, and the pain vanished entirely. He stood tall, his body fully healed.
"I can't believe it... I'm uninjured! It's like the wounds never happened!"
He grinned, realizing the true nature of his power. The skill [None] wasn't an absence of abilities—it was a blank slate. He could evolve it into anything he needed. Poison immunity, wound immunity... what else could he become?
"My skill can make things... disappear. First poison, then wounds... I wonder what else I can erase from existence." Saiga's confidence surged. This power could make me unstoppable.
The Hydra roared, thrashing in frustration as its poisonous attacks failed and its physical blows had no lasting effect.
Saiga stepped forward, a calm smile on his face.
"You're scared, aren't you? Well, you should be. I'm not that weak kid you thought I was." He approached the massive beast, now writhing in desperation.
"Time to end this." Saiga leapt forward, not with a weapon, but with a new, reckless idea.
He bit into the Hydra's scaly flesh.
"Not bad. Tastes like sashimi." He grinned as he tore off another chunk, ignoring the creature's pained screeches.
The poison couldn't kill him. And if the Hydra couldn't fight back, then why not eat it? Bite by bite, Saiga devoured the massive creature, the Hydra's thrashing growing weaker with each passing moment.
"You should've fought back." Saiga muttered as he swallowed the last bite.
The Hydra's massive head collapsed, its body dissolving into nothing more than ash.
Lying back against the cave wall, Saiga breathed heavily, a triumphant grin spreading across his face.
"I survived." He let out a laugh. "I actually did it."
The power of [None] had saved him. The skill everyone had thought worthless had proven to be anything but.
"This skill... I can make anything disappear. Maybe I'll even become invincible."
As he drifted into an exhausted sleep, one thought echoed through his mind.
"Who's F-rank now?"