Chapter 1
“W-what the—?”
Bennett, who rarely flinched at anything, couldn’t maintain his composure even in this situation.
Hum—
The necklace his father had given him was being ‘absorbed’ into his body.
Slowly, like sinking into a swamp, the necklace burrowed into his flesh. Shouldn’t there be a foreign sensation or even pain when something like that enters the body? He thought, but there was nothing.
After a faint final tremor, the necklace vanished. As if it had never existed.
Thinking he might be hallucinating, he touched the spot where the necklace had been—
“…”
All he felt was the rough skin hardened by hard labor. Nowhere could he feel the cool touch of metal.
Just as Bennett’s face twisted in devastation, realizing he had lost his parents’ last mementos.
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*Hibernation Mode Deactivated
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“What?”
He muttered, but no answer returned. Only an unfamiliar, foreign window floated into his view.
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*Name: Bennett
*Level: 1
*Affiliation: None
*Stats
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Strength: 13
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Agility: 18
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Stamina: 20
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Will: 23
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Magic: 6
*Skills
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Stealthy Steps Lv.1
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Marksman Lv.1
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A bizarre window had appeared, replacing the vanished necklace.
Bennett recalled the day he first received the necklace.
Ten years ago, he was just a boy in a commonplace rural village. A boy who occasionally got into trouble with his parents, sometimes did good deeds, and sometimes was mischievous.
His father was more like a friend than a strict parent, while his mother was the one who tended to be slightly stricter. Perhaps it was that his mother laid down the law, and his father would sneak over to loosen it.
That day, too, he had been scolded by his mother after getting into a fight with a neighborhood kid.
His father approached Bennett, who was sobbing, letting his red, swollen hands dangle.
“Son, does it hurt a lot?”
“Y-yes…”
Looking at his hands, his father clicked his tongue.
“Your mother, really. She could’ve just talked nicely. Why hit the boy?”
His father applied an ointment he had prepared beforehand to his hands. It wasn’t a miraculous remedy, but something his father had bought in the city a long time ago.
“Don’t use your hands for anything for a few days. It needs time for the swelling to go down.”
“Okay.”
“And make sure you apologize to your mother later. Understand?”
“But Johnson started it…!”
Bennett met his father’s eyes and lowered his head.
“I understand.”
“That’s my good son.”
His father’s large hand ruffled Bennett’s hair.
“In that case, I’ll give you this as a gift.”
“Huh?”
His father handed him the necklace he was wearing around his own neck.
Bennett’s eyes widened. Even at that young age, he knew. He knew how much his father cherished this necklace. It wasn’t adorned with jewels, and its shape was crude, but his father always kept it on him.
“C-can I really have this?”
“Of course! My son is all grown up now.”
Bennett’s smile while wearing the necklace didn’t last even a full day.
His mother urgently woke him and his little sister, who were sleeping as usual, kicking off their blankets.
“Mmm, Mom?”
“Bennett, get up now!”
He was young and half-asleep, but he immediately realized the situation was serious. It was because of the ‘fear’ he had never seen in his mother’s eyes before.
“Take Bella and hide, quickly.”
“W-where?”
“Come on! Follow me!”
He wanted to ask what was happening, but there was no time. Dragged by his mother’s forceful hand, they headed toward the small storage shed next to their house.
Going to the corner, a secret space he hadn’t even known existed was revealed.
“Mom?”
“Stay here. Don’t move until your mother or father comes to get you.”
“O-okay.”
His mother quickly left, leaving Bennett and his young sister, Bella, behind.
“Brother, why is Mom acting like that?”
“…I don’t know.”
It was around that time that loud noises began to echo from outside.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes, sir.”
A crowd of what looked like dozens of people rushed toward their house. Heavily armed, they immediately scattered, beginning to search the house.
“What is the meaning of this!”
His father and mother raised their voices, trying to stop them—
“They’re noisy. Silence them.”
At the command of the man who appeared to be the leader, they were forced to their knees.
His father managed to subdue a few men with a sword that hung on the wall, but the opponents were simply too numerous. A barrage of clubs rained down from all sides.
Soon, his bloodied father and mother were thrown to the ground.
Bennett barely managed to stop his sister, who was with him, from screaming in surprise.
‘Shhh.’
He patted Bella’s back and strained his ears.
The young man who seemed to be the leader looked down at his father and mother with an arrogant face. The leader was moving his lips, saying something to his parents.
Bennett wanted to know what was being said, but he could only catch fragments of the conversation.
“Tell me where it is now. Then I’ll only kill you.”
“…”
“It would be best not to test my patience.”
The conversation was quite long, but that was all Bennett could hear. The leader, who had been speaking for a long time, frowned, then suddenly drew his sword.
Bennett and his sister, watching the sight, couldn’t help but widen their eyes.
Slash!
His father and mother, their throats slit, lay sprawled on the ground.
The leader gave some instructions to the subordinates he had brought and then left.
But not everyone was gone. Despite the man having left the house, some still remained.
“Clean up quickly and retreat!”
“Yes, sir!”
Fwoosh—
The remaining men only left after setting the house on fire, and Bennett, taking the shell-shocked Bella, hastily fled.
Losing their home and parents in an instant, Bennett and Bella were forced into a life of wandering afterward.
His sister, who was naturally weak, caught a disease during their transient life.
To save his sister and to survive, Bennett had to take up mercenary work.
It wasn’t easy. His sister’s disease was a rare condition with no known cure, and even just to maintain her condition required a considerable amount of money.
Furthermore, he was in a situation where he had to seek revenge on those who killed his parents.
Bennett had only one clue. The crest he had seen on the leader’s clothing.
‘Hmm? Isn’t that the Drake Family crest?’
‘…The Drake Family?’
‘They’re one of the families that rule the Dungeon City, you know?’
Wandering and working as a mercenary, Bennett finally decided to turn his steps toward the Dungeon City. A massive crucible of desires, formed by those who dreamed of money, fame, and success.
Countless mercenaries, former soldiers, knights, and researchers entered the Dungeon for their own goals: to explore the ruined world and search for valuable artifacts.
Bennett was no different from them. He had come here to find the medicine to fully cure his sister’s disease, and for revenge.
“Brother?”
“…”
“Brother!”
Waking from his recollection, Bennett turned his head. His sister, Bella, was looking at him with a worried expression.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Just thinking for a moment.”
Bennett reassured his sister and glared at the floating window in front of him. He had always believed the necklace itself, though a memento from his father, was nothing special.
But now, as soon as he arrived in the Dungeon City, this strange phenomenon occurred?
Perhaps this necklace was related to the Dungeon, or rather, it might have originated from it. The possibility that it was the reason his father and mother died had only… increased.
“What exactly are you?”
Bennett murmured softly, but the window in front of him only spoke what it wanted to say.
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*Secure a residence
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Reward: 10 Experience
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