Ever since I was still a small kid, I have dreamed of being a top ranked adventurer. Surrounded by fame, by women, having a lot of money and having nothing to worry. I have envied such people...why? I always wonder why--
[Please just one time! Just one fucking time!]
There's always a voice inside me telling me that even I can do it. If they can, then so could I. I have dreamed of becoming an adventurer who is strong, wise--
[< I have dreamed of such a moment where you would be posted as one of those hall of fame adventurers. Adventurers that have conquered the dungeon, adventurers that have saved a city from a disaster, adventurers who have done something so significant...I have dreamed of becoming someone like that. But..... [[[[ROAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]]]] Maybe it's just bad luck.I always thought that if they could do it, then so can I.....I was wrong. I was born talentless, I was born only able to use the basics....I have no talent for being an adventurer, but why am I still trying? Survival, what for then? I had to start at a young age otherwise I would just die a dog's death, dying at the streets due to hunger and sickness. So I asked myself back then--do I really want to die that way? [BURN MY ENEMIES! FIREBALL!!!!>>>>] Talentless, that is what I am. I am sure that this is where I would last stand, for it is hopeless to ask for help when it's too late. A monster stampede occurred at the dungeon, and I was the last to leave the 10th floor. The portal keeper has already left for safety like the rest, I was too late because I was busy fighting for me life.....but I guess I won't be fighting much anymore. My meager fireball is no match against a horde of monsters rushing to sunk their fangs at me... [Hehehe.....AHahahahaha....AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!] If this is where I die, to hell I see then to hell shall I go! ================================================================== The creatures were relentless, their eyes glowing with predatory hunger as they surged forward, claws scraping and gnashing against the dungeon walls. Every instinct screamed at me to flee, to escape this nightmare, but there was nowhere to go—no exit, no safety, only the suffocating pressure of certain death. (Maybe this is how I end) I thought bitterly. Another nameless, talentless adventurer swallowed up by the darkness...My grip on the staff tightened, my knuckles turning white. The flickering flame at its tip was barely enough to cast a shadow, let alone hold back the wave of claws and teeth. But the idea of simply giving up, of letting these creatures consume me without a fight... that was unbearable. I decided that if I'm going to die here, I'll go down fighting. There was a strange comfort in the thought, a calm acceptance that seemed to steady my shaking hands. [BURN! BURN, DAMN YOU!]Another fireball sputtered from my staff, barely larger than a candle flame, before it fizzled out and vanished. The monsters closed in, undeterred. My heart pounded, my breaths coming in ragged gasps. Despair gnawed at me, but so did something else—a deep, insatiable rage. A rage that clawed its way up from my gut, twisting and filling me with a reckless, desperate defiance. (Why? Why do I still keep on fighting?) Because I had nothing else. No title, no fame, no family, nothing waiting for me back in the city. Only this—this burning desire to prove, even if only to myself, that I wasn't completely worthless. The monsters circled closer, their fetid breath hot against my skin. My limbs were heavy, the weight of my impending death settling over me. But even as I faced the inevitable, a voice inside me whispered one last time. STAND The voice was unfamiliar, but it rang through me like a command. STAND AND FIGHT My grip on the staff steadied, the warmth of some strange power flooding my veins. EVEN IF THE GODS ABOVE HAVE FORSAKEN YOU.... Without thinking I raised the staff once more and aimed it at the incoming monsters, bracing myself against the onslaught.... I WILL NOT Suddenly, a rush of heat surged from the core of my body, igniting the air around me. My mind went blank as the staff burned with a light far brighter than I'd ever seen. This power... it wasn't mine. I'd never had such strength, not even close. But in that moment, I didn't care. I embraced it, letting it flood through me, letting it consume me. [< When I started to chant, I could feel magic surging through every vein of my body. It was as if my blood was overloaded with mana. It's never like this. The magic circle was way too different, and it was producing a hissing sound. [--BOLT!!!!>>] The chant escaped my lips, it is one of the same old basic spell I knew but...powerful. The same old candlelight level of flame was far from the current spell I had released. It was if the sun had descended to blast the surface of the world to a crisp. I was too engrossed over the fact that my spells....were not like this before. *BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!* YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! The entire dungeon shook under the immense explosion that occurred. Following that is a powerful shockwave that knocked me off a few inches from my feet. The sound of leveling up is being defeaned by the dungeon floor erupting in an inferno, flames roaring to life as they surged forward in a sweeping arc, engulfing the creatures in front of me. It was a hellish landscape. They shrieked, clawing at the air as they were swallowed by fire, their monstrous forms twisting and writhing before disintegrating into ashes. For a brief, breathtaking moment, silence fell over the dungeon. The only sound was the crackling of embers and my own unsteady breathing. I stared at the destruction before me, stunned, struggling to comprehend what I'd just done. That power... it was like nothing I'd ever felt. I hadn't even known I was capable of such a thing. As the adrenaline faded, the weight of exhaustion settled over me, heavier than ever. My legs trembled, and I sank to my knees, the staff clattering to the ground beside me. I had survived, somehow. But even as relief washed over me, a new feeling emerged—fear. Whose voice had I heard? And what had I just done? I didn't know the answer. All I knew was that something within me had awakened, something ancient and wild, something that burned with a fury and a power I couldn't control. [Is this... my power?] I whispered, my voice hoarse and disbelieving. But the silence that answered was as empty as the smoldering dungeon around me. The monsters were gone, reduced to ash, and the only thing left was the glowing embers of the floors, the faint echoing beat of my heart and the chilling thought that maybe, just maybe, my wish had been answered in a way I'd never anticipated. After feeling amazed...I blacked out.