Akira stepped into the dungeon, and something maddening inside him boiled, brimming against his skin from the inside out. It was a feeling, a sense of his very own body—he wasn't that helpless boy from a few days ago. He was awakened now. That ghostly status window had made it possible.
He muttered to himself, his voice low but filled with determination,
"Let's see about this."
And with that, he stepped fully into the shadows.
The air grew cold as he crossed the portal entrance, a chill inching into his bones. The portal that he entered the dungeon vanished. A foul stench of decaying matter filled the small corridor, thick and oppressive, like the breath of something long dead. Half-buried in the walls, phosphorescent light, making every crevice and shadow a lurking danger. The scratching of claws upon stone and low growls rising to a crescendo filled the silent air with portentous strains.
Akira came to a dead stop, alert in an instant. Yet his breathing was even, his heartbeat staccato against coiling muscles. He flexed his fingers, feeling the raw energy coursing through him.
"Soul Infusion: Active."
The words left his lips like a cue, a key turned or a switch thrown. In that instant, pure electric energy rioted inside him, firing every fiber of his being. His muscles surged, veins bursting with the ghostly strength of untold souls forcing their way into him. His senses sharpened, and colors and shapes leaped into clarity as his vision adapted to the dark. The smell of rot, the scraping of claws in the distance—all of it touched him painfully, acutely.
He flexed his fingers and let out a low laugh—the power humming in them.
"It's like… for the first time, I'm feeling alive."
His voice was low and reverent, as if he could hardly believe his own words. Then it rose in a shout, echoing across the cavernous halls.
"I TRULY FEEL ALIVE!"
All of his stats had increased since the activation of Soul Infusion. A thrill ignited within him as his heart raced, pumping this new energy through his veins.
"Alright, dungeon," he called out, his voice echoing, "Show me what you've got!"
As if conjured by his words, shapes coalesced from the darkness: vile, misshapen beasts, rat-like yet with limbs impossibly long and eyes aglow with a malevolent red.
"I saw at the StarNet dungeon details 'Lopbandicota,'" Akira muttered, recalling the name of the monsters. "That's what these rat-like creatures are called."
Shrill screams echoed down the corridor as they hurled themselves forward, jaws agape, showing pointed teeth, talons unsheathed. It was a reaction before his mind could catch up entirely, and he was forward in an instant—the distance between him and the closest creature bridged in a flash. His fist drove into its skull with a sickening crunch, sending shards of bone and blood splattering against the wall. The creature's body hit the ground, lifeless.
"Think you can stop me?" he jeered, triumphant with an edge of adrenaline.
Another came at him from the left. He dodged its claws, the twisting of his body having an ease that seemed almost to surprise himself. A foot lashed out, catching the creature square in the chest, sending it flying across the room to fall in a heap.
"Really?" he jeered, his laughter booming, a dark and wild sound.
Every beast that came at him met its end in a brutal, swift murder. Without a moment of hesitation, faltering not, every strike was sure—every kick a methodical force that saw his enemies go to their knees, broken and bleeding. The Soul Infusion made him feel stronger, his stamina increased too, as each movement flowed into the next, like his body was built for it. A whirlwind of power, it razed through the storm trying to rip him apart with pure ease.
"So, that's what an awakened feels like, huh?" - He whispered to himself as another monster fell with a dull thud. Something perilous, let loose, shone in his eyes.
"Amazing."
He continued to strike, his voice darkly amused, full of the arrogance that saturated every single one of his blows:
"Come on, keep coming. This isn't close to enough."
With every swing, every stomp, Akira was filled with surges of pure strength no fear, no hesitation, only the pure thrill of power in every movement—unstoppable. Then, as if it were fated never to win, came that last shriek from his lips as he squashed it with one final, swift punch, its body falling limply to his feet.
He panted hard and stopped, looking down at the carnage around him, his face split in a wild grin. His chest was heaving, this time not out of exhaustion but out of the high of it all—the exhilaration that kept his mind and body humming.
"This is only the beginning," He said, his voice trembling with excitement.
Akira felt more alive than he had ever been.
"It's like I'm finally seeing the world in color," - He murmured to himself, flexing his hands and feeling the raw power radiating from every fiber of his being.
The thought set him tingling with an electric thrill, his heart pounding with something other than exertion—pure exhilaration. He couldn't help but smile as the notification blinked into his view:
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have leveled up.]
[+5 Stat Points awarded.]
The next line followed immediately:
[Perfected Symmetry in effect. Allocating stat points equally across all attributes: Strength, Agility, Stamina Endurance, and Intelligence increased by +1 each.]
[The user's level has increased, the body will be restored to peak condition.]
His stats rose, the Rapid Growth passive skill at work, and with each kill, it was just so much more satisfying.
"Incredible," he mouthed, his mind racing at the thought of what that could mean.
"Huh, when I level up, I recover, and my stamina returns? This is dope and just keeps getting better."
As Akira moved deeper into the dungeon, he glanced at the lifeless bodies of the monsters he had slain. A thought crossed his mind, one he had heard countless times from Eri and others.
"People get magic stones from dungeons to sell them," He muttered, his voice low. "But I know since this is the lowest dungeon rank, magic stones here aren't found. They're too rare in E-Rank dungeons. Maybe that's why no one bothers with them."
He crouched beside one of the fallen creatures, inspecting its body. No glowing core, no shimmering stone—just flesh and bone.
"Not that I care," he said, standing up. "I'm not here for money. I'm here to get stronger. To prepare for that."
He went deeper into the dungeon, his footsteps the only sounds echoing off the stonework. A small tunnel opened into a wide chamber, dimly lit by a series of unusual, blue crystals lining the walls. Among them was something that stood upright on two muscular legs, with a body armored in thick, obsidian scales, taller and broader, far more menacing. Its red eyes shone with malignant intelligence as they fixed on him, and it growled low in its throat.
"He must be the ruler of this dungeon," Akira thought instinctively, tensing his body.
It was then that the beast roared, charging with the awkward gait of a mountain in motion. Each of its treads shook the earth beneath them. Akira could feel the weight of its murderous intent, and yet he stood firm, his concentration honed in on the residual power coursing through his veins as the thrill of his newly awakened abilities surged to the surface.
Akira's voice was calm, but his words carried the weight of a storm.
"You're in the way."