In an urban park with a workout zone, Remedy sat on a bench, his hood pulled over his head. A small running track stretched out before him.
He popped the last piece of bread into his mouth and began to chew.
He stared at his interface. His finger traced an arc in the air. Then a twisting motion. A combo. He was testing trajectories, angles, and possibilities—like a chess player visualizing his moves before making them.
"The exam is approaching. I wonder if I can break through to the first Tier before then?"
He took his bottle and drank.
The others crossed that threshold a long time ago.
He stuffed the bottle back into his bag and exhaled.
"But before that, I need to reach Level 9 first."
I don't have any savings left to book a dungeon. All I have are the credits my uncle gave me. I wanted to buy a new weapon with it, but...
He sighed.
And I can't even count on standard kill rewards anymore.
He checked the credits on his phone, his thumb scrolling down the screen.
No magic solution. He clicked the screen shut and slid it into his pocket.
He remained silent for a moment, eyes closed, head tilted back, lost in thought.
Then he sat up.
"I have a few ideas to make money. And I think they should work."
He pulled his phone back out and returned to the Guild's website. He scrolled through the listings until he came across a Level 4 training dungeon.
"A goblin dungeon? And the reservation is... 40 gold coins?"
That's almost half of my credits.
But he had no choice. He booked it anyway.
"In two hours? I'll rest a bit, then."
Now that I think about it, the Players' system has a few features, like an inventory space, right? Does mine have it too, Ely?
[Yes. Information for the Host: The system possesses a storage space. You can simply think about the space, and the dedicated interface will appear. You can put whatever you want directly into it. Alternatively, you can store items by thought.]
[WARNING: The object must be within your Action Zone and must officially belong to the Host.]
The Action Zone?
[The Action Zone is a shortcut feature that allows you to use your skills without direct contact. Your Action Zone is 6 meters. The Action Zone evolves with the Host's Level.]
Basically, it lets me use contact-based skills from a distance. Like storage, or even manifestation...
Remedy tilted his head from side to side.
"Hmm... That's a very useful feature, honestly."
He took a breath, then:
Speaking of manifestation, I'd like to increase the level of "The Weight of a Feather." You never know, it might come in handy in the dungeon.
[TO WHAT LEVEL DO YOU WISH TO INCREASE THE MANIFESTATION OF "THE WEIGHT OF A FEATHER"?]
"Uh... since I'm going into a Level 4 dungeon, it would be good to raise it to Level 5."
By the way, how much will it cost? I have 18,000 MP.
[TO INCREASE IT TO LEVEL 5, YOU WILL NEED 10,000 MP.]
That much? And here I thought I was rich...
"Alright, level it up."
[DING! 10,000 MP CONSUMED. MANIFESTATION LEVEL OF "THE WEIGHT OF A FEATHER" INCREASED TO LEVEL 5.]
MP: 8,000
He scanned the interface one last time. Counted his MP. Checked the manifestation level. Then he closed the interface and stretched, resting both arms on the back of the bench, his legs extended over the running track.
Now I just need to see how much permanent manifestations cost and...
Suddenly, a shout rang out: "Thief!
Stop him!"
Remedy turned his head to his right, where the noise was coming from.
A man wearing a black mask, clutching a woman's handbag, was being chased by a hero wearing a red bandana. Both men were Level 5. The masked man was laughing, mocking the hero in the red bandana who couldn't seem to catch up.
As he ran past Remedy, the masked man leaped over his outstretched legs.
He looked back over his shoulder with a smirk.
Seeing the thief's smirk as he flew through the air, Remedy's eyes narrowed. Just as the thief was about to touch the ground:
Manifest. Bind to gravity.
The masked man froze mid-air for a split second, ruining his landing.
Unbind gravity.
He crashed down hard, completely off-balance, and splayed out on the pavement. Before he could scramble back to his feet, the hero in the red bandana was already on him.
"I've got you at last, villain..."
Remedy stood up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked away while the hero restrained the thief.
[DING! 50 MP CONSUMED.]
"So it cost me 50 MP for a Level 5 manifestation. I see."
He continued on his way.
***
Inside the dungeon, Remedy stood before three goblins, each wielding a heavy wooden club.
The one in the middle lunged at him with abnormal speed.
What the—?
An upward club swing whistled through the air. Remedy stepped back a few short paces, his head tilted back, narrowly dodging the attack as it passed inches from his face.
He backed up to gain some distance.
Another goblin was already on him from his left. A horizontal sweep cut through the air toward Remedy. He ducked low, then rolled to the left on the ground. The attack sailed right over him.
He seized the opening and slashed at the monster's exposed calf. Thrown off-balance, the goblin dropped to one knee.
Immediately, Remedy pivoted toward it and, in that circular motion, slit its throat. A critical hit that should have been fatal.
But the monster didn't die. Its resistance, multiplied by two, had saved its life.
Still, it was only a matter of time before it succumbed to its wounds.
Remedy didn't give it the luxury of time; he lunged, plunging his dagger straight into the monster's heart. He and the creature tumbled backward, with Remedy on top.
As his hand grabbed the wooden club of the monster he had just killed, a downward strike came crashing down toward his back.
He thrust the club behind his back to block the hit but suddenly arched his spine, creating an inclined slope. The attack struck the wood but didn't land cleanly—it deflected along the sloped club, and the kinetic energy sent the attacking monster stumbling forward.
Remedy pivoted in a half-circle and drove his dagger into the monster's throat. This time, he placed his second hand on the pommel of the dagger for support. The blade sank deeper, slightly to the side.
Then he grabbed the monster's head and wrenched the blade out. Not forward, but sideways, tearing open a massive, gaping wound.
The third monster, realizing the situation, turned on its heels.
Wait, it's running?
Remedy understood the danger and bolted after it while the corpses of the two monsters dissolved into Remedy's shadow.
***
Remedy sprinted in pursuit.
"Hey, you! Get back here!"
Shit. It's trying to alert every monster in the dungeon.
He accelerated.
I can't let it. With my curse, I can't handle multiple monsters at once.
As he ran through a narrow bottleneck—a natural stone arch—he sensed something closing in from his flanks.
He instantly spun around, facing the threat, before leaping backward.
Too late.
A club swing, much larger than those of the previous monsters, shattered the daggers he had held up as a shield and exploded against his abdomen.
The impact lifted him off his feet. The blow sent him crashing into a concrete pillar, which was already cracked. As he lay on the ground, the pillar collapsed on top of him. He rolled to the side, narrowly dodging it.
He got back to his feet, a burning pain tearing through his abdomen, coughing up blood.
Then he saw it.
The horde.
A mass of monsters stood before him.
Approximately forty-seven goblins.
Shit... This is exactly the situation I wanted to avoid.
End of Chapter 5
═══ STATUS WINDOW ═══
Name: Remedy
Lineage: Human
Tier: 0 — Ordinary Human
Level: 6
EXP: 63% (To next level)
MP: 8,760
Health: 65%
Energies:
• Mana: 80%
═══ CLASS ═══
• Primary Path: Sealed
• Secondary Path: Scourge of Reality
═══ SKILLS ═══
• Secondary Path: Steal, Manifest, Bind, Devour
═══ INNATE TALENTS ═══
• ???
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