Arin stared at the glowing blue window floating before his eyes.
For a moment, he thought he had gone insane.
The Dungeon Guardian's axe was still falling toward him.
Death was only a second away.
Yet the strange window remained perfectly clear in front of him.
LEVELING SYSTEM ACTIVATED
Arin blinked.
The message changed.
WELCOME, PLAYER
Another line appeared beneath it.
FIRST QUEST GENERATED
SURVIVE
Arin's heart pounded wildly.
A quest…?
The blue window continued to update.
QUEST: SURVIVE THE DUNGEON GUARDIAN
REWARD: SYSTEM UNLOCK
FAILURE: DEATH
Arin swallowed.
Failure… equals death?
As if responding to the system message, the Guardian's axe slammed toward him.
Instinct finally kicked in.
Arin rolled desperately across the floor.
BOOM!
The axe crashed down where he had been standing only a moment earlier.
Stone shattered everywhere.
The monster roared in anger.
Arin struggled to his feet.
The glowing window appeared again.
NEW SKILL UNLOCKED
EMERGENCY EVASION – LEVEL 1
A strange energy surged through his body.
Suddenly, the world around him felt slower.
The Guardian raised its axe again.
But this time…
Arin could see the movement clearly.
His body reacted automatically.
He dodged again.
The axe missed him by inches.
Arin's eyes widened.
I moved faster…
The blue window flashed once more.
SKILL ACTIVATED
EMERGENCY EVASION
For the first time since entering the dungeon…
Arin realized something.
He might actually survive.
The system appeared again.
PLAYER STATUS
LEVEL: 1
STRENGTH: 5
AGILITY: 4
MANA: 3
SKILL: EMERGENCY EVASION (Lv.1)
Arin stared at the glowing numbers.
Then slowly looked back at the towering Dungeon Guardian.
The monster roared and charged toward him.
Arin tightened his grip on his sword.
And for the first time in his life…
He smiled.