The world was still spinning.
Just a heavy silence broken by the faint drip… drip… drip of water echoing in the cavern.
The goblin shrieked and lunged.
The next seconds blurred.
Toma swung wildly, pure panic in his veins. His broken chair leg cracked against the goblin's skull with a thunk. The creature stumbled, dazed, before screeching and rushing at him again.
Toma screamed back, swinging in blind terror. Another strike connected, splinters flying. His arms ached, his lungs burned, but adrenaline kept him moving. He jabbed, smacked, flailed—anything to keep the monster away.
Finally, one desperate swing slammed into the goblin's nose with a sickening crunch.
The creature collapsed with a gurgle, twitching once before going still.
Silence returned.
Toma gasped for air, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his forehead. His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, still clutching the broken chair leg like it was the finest blade ever forged.
Then—
"DING!"
The System's voice nearly deafened him.
[Congratulations! You have defeated: Goblin Lv. 1]
EXP gained: 20
Bonus: +1 Improvised Weapon Proficiency
Stat Screen Unlocked
A new window opened, glowing even brighter.
[Improvised Weapon Proficiency – Lv. 1]
Description: The art of hitting things with whatever garbage you can grab.
Effect: +5% damage when wielding sticks, rocks, broken bottles, or other trash.
Flavor Text: "Not all heroes wield swords. Some wield table legs."
Toma stared. "You've got to be kidding me."
The System snickered. "Congratulations, young master! You've officially pioneered the path of… Trash Knight!"
"I am NOT a Trash Knight!"
"But you fight like one."
He wanted to cry. Instead, he raised his shaking hand to the stat screen. New panels were glowing with options.
[Level Up!]Choose Stat Points:
Strength
Agility
Intelligence
Vitality
Luck
Toma hesitated. "…Alright. This is where I choose carefully, right? Balance is important. If I put points into Strength—"
"Correction! The best choice is Luck. Always Luck. Max Luck and you'll win at life. Probably."
"Really?"
"Of course! I am your trustworthy guide, your mentor, your soul-bound advisor!"
Toma narrowed his eyes. "…Why don't I believe you?"
"Because you have trust issues. Which is valid. But also irrelevant, because I'm right."
He groaned. His gut screamed not to listen. But he had no idea how this world's mechanics worked, and the System was supposed to know more than him. Right?
He sighed, defeated, and dumped all his points into Luck.
The screen shimmered.
[Stats Updated!]Strength: 1Agility: 2Intelligence: 1Vitality: 1Luck: 10
Toma blinked. "…I feel exactly the same."
"Nonsense! With Luck this high, even your failures will succeed! Observe: Trip over a rock? You'll accidentally kick an enemy into a pit. Swing wildly? You'll land a critical hit. Look ugly? You'll attract rich widows who like charity cases."
"…I hate you."
"Aw, don't be like that. You'll thank me when you accidentally invent the art of Stick-Fu."
The goblin's body dissolved into mist, leaving behind a single rusted coin.
Toma picked it up, disgusted. "One coin? That's it?"
"Hey, don't knock it. That's one more coin than you had five minutes ago. You're basically rich."
He pocketed it anyway, too exhausted to argue.
Slowly, he dragged himself toward the faint light at the end of the cavern. The broken chair leg rested across his shoulders like a burden, though part of him refused to let go of it.
When he finally stumbled out of the dungeon, moonlight bathed him in silver. His knees buckled, but he managed to stand.
The System chimed one last time.
[Tutorial Dungeon Complete!]
Survival Rate: 21%
Reward: +100 EXP, +1 Stat Point, Broken Stick of Destiny (untradeable, unbreakable)
Title Gained: "Beginner Trash Knight"
"Congratulations, Toma! You didn't die. That's… honestly shocking. Truly, the gods have cursed me with a protagonist who refuses to expire."
Toma's eye twitched.
He wanted to scream. He wanted to throw the System into the river and forget it existed.
But deep down, he knew.
This was only the beginning.
And the nightmare had just started.