"Ah, good... ah, I won. That was unbelievable."
"Status open," Raito said, breath still uneven. The glowing panel shimmered into view, but as his eyes scanned it, his chest tightened.
"What? My level didn’t go up?" His voice cracked in disbelief. "But when I defeated goblins, it went up to three. I haven’t even reached four... I thought I’d at least level up this time."
He clenched his fists, frustration burning through the fatigue in his muscles.
"I have to reach four today. Before I leave this dungeon. As fast as I can. No, if I can reach level fifty... I’ll be strong. Strong enough to survive anything."
The thought alone sent a rush of determination through him, but his body screamed otherwise. Every step throbbed in his legs. His arms trembled from strain. His chest rose and fell heavily.
"...Should I keep going in?" he muttered, dragging his feet across the stone. His body wanted rest, yet his will pushed him forward.
He walked deeper. And deeper. The dungeon walls seemed to pulse faintly with light, guiding him down the narrowing corridors. The silence pressed against his ears until it shattered.
Raito froze. His head snapped toward the sound.
"Wait—that’s human." His eyes widened. "An adventurer?"
He bolted forward, sprinting down the tunnel, the sound of his footsteps echoing harshly against stone.
A red wolf. No, five of them. Their crimson eyes glowed like embers, their teeth dripping with saliva as they circled two adventurers. Both men were battered and bleeding, clutching broken weapons as they tried to stand their ground.
"Get back! Away from us!" one of them shouted, voice shaking. "Get away!"
The wolves snarled, closing in, their bodies twitching with bloodlust.
One of the red wolves stepped forward, claws scraping against the stone floor. Its low growl vibrated in the cold air, echoing off the dungeon walls. The two adventurers staggered backward until their backs hit the wall.
"So this is it..." one of them whispered, his voice trembling. "So this is the day I die. I never imagined it would be ."
"Same here," the second man muttered, his knuckles white as he clutched his cracked sword. "I was desperate to become an adventurer. But this is a rank E dungeon... what is a rank D monster doing here?!" His voice cracked with panic.
The first man let out a shaky laugh. "And I promised myself I wouldn’t die a virgin..."
The red wolf crouched low, muscles coiling like a spring, then launched itself at them in a blur of crimson fur. The two men squeezed their eyes shut.
This is it. The source of this content ɪs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽
A heavy impact shook the corridor. Dust lifted from the ground. Silence followed, thick and absolute.
Slowly, one of the adventurers cracked an eye open. "Wait... we’re not dead?"
He opened the other. The two of them blinked in disbelief.
Standing between them and the wolf was a boy—white hair catching the faint dungeon light, dagger at his side, one fist outstretched from a punch. The red wolf’s body had been hurled across the corridor, slamming into the wall with a sickening thud.
"Wait—we’re not dead?!" one of them gasped again, his heart hammering.
The other found his voice. "Who are you? Are you—"
"Who are you?" the first repeated, eyes wide.
"I’m an adventurer like you," the boy replied calmly.
The remaining four wolves lowered their heads, growling as they began circling, their eyes locked on him.
Raito’s gaze didn’t waver. His white hair shifted slightly in the dungeon breeze, his hands clenched into fists. He glanced back at the two injured men.
"Hey, you guys—get on your feet," he ordered sharply. "Leave this to me."
"I don’t know who you are," one of the men said, voice shaking, "but will you really be able to take them out alone? It takes a rank D hunter just to fight a single red wolf. Only a rank C can actually defeat one."
"Just leave," Raito said firmly. "You’ll only get in the way."
"Hey, come on, Daichi. Let’s go," the other man—Haruya—said, pulling Daichi back, moving them away from the corridor where the wolves waited.
Raito’s eyes stayed locked on the wolves. "So, what do we have here..." he muttered under his breath. "Red wolves. I’ve already defeated white wolves. Can I take these out too?"
He tightened his grip on his daggers. Look at me, he thought. I was just trying to act cool, but actually, I’m pretty shaken. Things are happening so fast. From someone who was cleaning gears and normal to suddenly manifesting my powers in just a few days.
I think I’m getting stronger. Maybe I have. But still... I always say this, and when I say this, I mean it—I want to be the strongest.