The ground was damp and uneven, with droplets of water falling at steady intervals. Walls surrounded me on both sides, and behind me, the only entrance or exit was completely sealed.
This was the environment I woke up in.
And my first reaction?
A long sigh at my terrible luck.
I knelt on the ground, almost in a posture of surrender, then slowly raised my hands toward the sky.
"Oh God… is this the price of thinking about theft? Please, forgive me. I haven't even done anything yet."
I held my hands up for a moment… then quickly lowered them again in fear.
Right. I had almost forgotten. I might actually be in a world where something would answer me.
Or worse… something might hear me.
I stood up quickly, brushing the dirt off my clothes, and immediately started searching for my weapons.
I was inside a cave. Why? Where? I didn't know.
All I knew was that there was only one open direction ahead of me.
And as a human who follows rules… I turned around and tried to break the wall behind me.
But no matter how hard I struck it with my sword, it didn't even move.
"So… there's no other way."
I sighed, accepting my fate, and began walking toward the unknown.
Humidity. Rough ground. Thin air.
Everything felt real… but something inside me kept telling me this was still a cave.
"Status screen."
I opened my status window to check for any issues, but there was nothing abnormal.
Which meant…
"Am I… in trouble? Or did I get transported through some kind of spatial scroll?"
I thought back to the white light before I lost consciousness, but it gave me no answers.
I continued moving forward cautiously, sword in my right hand and pistol in my left.
I used the gun to create openings or distractions when needed, while my main focus stayed on the katana. Sometimes I would even throw the pistol just to free both hands for the blade.
This was Raven's combat style.
Although I had never fought real monsters before, training dummies ranked F and E had been enough… for now.
I kept moving forward, relying purely on instinct. If there were traps ahead, I would have to sense them myself.
Fortunately… there were none.
But suddenly ...My instincts screamed at me.
Without thinking, I found myself lying behind a large rock near the cave wall.
"Huff…"
I controlled my breathing and focused, then looked at the source of that warning.
A tall, thin creature. Long clawed arms. Heavy legs supporting a strange bulky body. A grotesque bat-like face twisted with confusion ..almost human.
"S ..ound?"
"I… I heard… a sound…"
It spoke in a broken, rough voice.
Slowly, it began moving toward me. Only a few steps remained between us.
"A D-rank monster," I thought, cold sweat running down my back.
"Did I offend some god of fate in my past life?"
I thought bitterly, forcing a sarcastic smile at my cursed luck.
My mind raced.
Sword. Gun. Environment.
If I used everything properly… maybe I could kill it.
"All or nothing."
Suddenly, a calm feeling spread inside me.
The skill I had.
Cold Rationality.
I ignored my doubts.
The danger kept rising every second.
"Huff…"
My first real fight.
I stood up quickly, stepping away from the rock, now directly in front of the monster.
I jumped back and raised my pistol, aiming carefully.
Bang!
A metallic impact echoed as the monster raised its arm and blocked the bullet.
"That was fast…" I thought, a tense smile forming on my face.
"My first real fight… isn't going to be easy, is it?"
I circulated mana inside my body, strengthening myself. A violet aura began covering the surface of my katana.
Block.
Without hesitation, I threw the pistol aside and gripped the katana with both hands, raising it in front of my body.
The monster's claw collided with my blade, forcing me back slightly.
"My chances of winning… are negative."
A forced smile appeared on my face as cold sweat covered my skin.
Still, I moved.
I enhanced my body and rushed forward again.
But the monster was not made of paper.
collision.
collision.
Every strike I made was read and blocked before it could land.
And then—
A roar.
Blood began leaking from my ears. A sonic attack.
I staggered, but still held my katana.
Crash!
My back hit the cave wall.
Cough.
Blood spilled from my mouth.
The monster was speaking again.
"Weak."
"Trash."
Those words ignited rage inside me.
But I forced it down.
"Focus."
My eyes glowed faintly silver as I suppressed the anger.
I grabbed a handful of sand from the ground.
And threw it directly into its eyes.
The monster roared in pain.
That was my chance.
I moved instantly, rolling to the side, then sprinted toward my katana.
Another sonic wave hit my head.
"Annoying skill…"
I thought while forcing myself to endure it.
And then Something changed inside me.
Maybe the skill was growing stronger… or maybe it was just me.
I grabbed my katana with my right hand and the pistol with my left.
I looked at the monster again.
Its eyes were red now. A dark aura surrounded its body.
"Second round? Sorry… but I'd rather decline."
I gave the bat a faint, mocking smile.
I regained my focus and reinforced my body with mana.
Then a violent gust of wind burst forward.
"Pierce."
A sharp sound of flesh being torn echoed out.
The bat's claw drove straight through my stomach.
"Damn—!"
I cursed as warm blood began pouring down my body.
"There was never any mention of a bastard monster like this. The one who got these items was just some worthless extra… so how the hell is my luck even worse than his?"
My vision suddenly began to darken.
I bit the inside of my mouth to keep myself conscious, tasting blood on my tongue, but I ignored it.
I looked at the filthy bat.
That disgusting grin was still on its face as it stared at me with something close to satisfaction.
"M… comfortable."
It let out another broken sentence.
But what did that matter now?
My breathing was fading.
My eyes kept trying to close.
Yet I endured for one reason alone.
My skills.
They were the only reason I was still alive.
Instead of panicking… instead of accepting death…
I thought of only one thing.
"Kill this bastard."
I gripped my pistol tightly and aimed downward.
"Boom!"
The shot pierced its foot.
A strange cry escaped the monster's mouth.
It opened its jaws and roared in fury.
At that moment, every instinct inside me screamed—
Don't let it do it.
I knew what it was trying to do before it even moved.
"Crack!"
I raised the pistol toward its head and fired straight into its left eye.
"Bang!"
With a furious shriek, it tore its claw out of my body and hurled me toward the wall.
I crashed into the stone.
Blood spilled from my head and mouth.
At that point, I looked like a man who had bathed in blood.
I bit my lip again to stop myself from passing out.
Then I forced the mana inside me to circulate once more.
Just a little.
Only enough for one last bullet.
That single thought filled my head.
I looked back at the monster.
Blood poured from its ruined left eye as it covered the wound with both hands.
Yet aside from that injury, its filthy body remained mostly unharmed.
"Damn."
I cursed silently as it slowly lowered its hands and glared at me.
Its remaining eye was red like blood itself, overflowing with rage and inhuman killing intent toward the creature who had wounded it.
And yes.
That unfortunate creature was me.
Even after smashing into the wall, I had somehow managed to keep hold of both my katana and pistol.
Then the monster charged at me, flying forward with wings like some vampire from a nightmare.
I moved my head quickly and raised the katana in the direction I expected it to strike from.
"Dodge."
The monster avoided the blade entirely.
Still… it was enough that I survived.
I glanced at its claw.
It had struck the exact spot where my head had been a second earlier.
This time, I poured every remaining drop of mana in my body into the katana and thrust forward.
"Swish!"
The crimson-coated blade pierced its body.
…Though not in the way I had imagined.
"But this is enough."
The monster was now pinned against the wall.
Exactly what I wanted.
I quickly raised my pistol toward the ceiling.
"Goodbye, my little bat."
"Ding!"
I fired at a spear-shaped rock formation hanging above us.
At the sound of impact, the monster looked upward.
"ROOOAR!"
A furious roar filled with fear and refusal burst from it.
But it was too late.
"…Why do I suddenly feel bad about this?"
I understood the answer almost instantly.
The entire cave ceiling had begun collapsing.
Which meant—
"FUUUUUCK!"
I was about to be buried along with the damned monster.
"Move!"
I tried to push myself free.
I tried to move.
I couldn't.
Despair began filling my eyes.
"Did I really waste my second chance just to die with a stupid bat?"
That was my final thought before the falling stones crushed my body.
"Maybe… I should be happy I killed it too…"
My voice came out weakly as blood loss stole the focus from my eyes.
"Sorry, mother."
Then my body was crushed.
The bat beside me was crushed as well.
"Raven? Dead."
"The bat? Dead."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Fuck!"
I shouted as my eyes snapped open in shock.
My hands flew across my body, checking for injuries.
Instinctively, I ignored the fact that I had just died inside the cave.
"Huff… ha… huff…"
I released a trembling breath of relief and fear when I found my body completely unharmed.
"Damn it."
As calmness returned through the activation of my skill, I bit my lip.
"I almost died."
"I rushed in like an idiot."
"With no plan at all… I trusted the event description from the novel and came here with nothing but my weapons."
Disgust and anger surged through me.
But mixed with it was a small sense of relief.
I survived.
I stayed there for several minutes before lifting my gaze toward the ceiling.
"At least… I'm alive?"
Honestly, I was happy.
No one wants to die after being given a second chance.
I pushed those thoughts aside and looked around the decaying wooden walls surrounding me.
"So everything was an illusion?"
I stood quickly and rushed toward the silver box that had emitted light before I lost consciousness.
"It felt completely real… I couldn't tell the difference from reality."
Fear rose inside me.
But another feeling rose stronger.
Joy.
Because now…
I wouldn't need to go through that again.
I reached into the box and pulled out three items.
With every object I took out, a smile spread wider across my face.
A wide.
Dangerous smile.
"I'm sure my face is going to hurt later."
That was my thought as I grabbed the corners of my mouth.
My reward had finally arrived.