Killing was the only way to gain power. That was the law of the universe. The strong could beat down the weak and no one would bat an eye. This law started five centuries ago, as dungeons started to appear all over earth.

  It had seemed like the world would end. These dungeons, if left undelved for a month, Beasts stronger than the strongest human, faster than the fastest runner and filled so intense bloodlust it overwhelmed even the most crazed serial killers.

  But then, when the first beasts started to fall, humanity discovered their own way to fight back. Cultivation gave them the ability to level up. It wasn’t entirely like a video game, not containing things like stats or status screens, but it did contain skills, levels and classes. With their new found power, prodigies started blossoming to protect earth. They became known as the progenitors.

  Blaze Harrow, a sixteen year old boy, wasn’t one of them. In fact, he was considered to be one of the weakest, as a level 1.

  ****

  A deep growl made Blaze whip around and aim his iron shortsword at the shadows. Blaze was in a level 1 dungeon. That was the best he could handle since he was also a level 1. He couldn’t even take on the boss of this dungeon, which meant it wouldn’t close. He was in a snowy forest with thick brush and tall trees. Out of the shadow slunk out a wolf. It had a snowy white pelt and sharp white teeth. Red eyes glinted at Blaze.

  Blaze grit his teeth and made himself calm down. He had done this dozens of times before and he was still alive, right? Well, Blaze did almost die every time. The wolf didn’t wait for him, however. It hurled itself towards him.

  Twenty minutes later, Blaze was sitting on a dead wolf, panting. It had been a close battle. The wolf had managed to get a clean bite on his left arm. It now had a bloody gash with blood pouring freely. Blaze couldn’t take a break though. He still needed to skin the body. That was why he risked his life, after all. Except for growing stronger, he sold what he got for money. It was enough to feed Blaze, but only barely.

  “The curse of the weak, huh?” Blaze thought cynically. He stared at a pond not too far away. His reflection showed a boy of average height with unruly light brown hair and amber eyes. His face was covered with scratch marks. Blaze hated being weak. But… leveling even once took a lot of killing beasts for their essence. The first person to ever level up, Arjun Anand, an Italian man, had done so only a year after the apocalypse had started. Nowadays, it was far easier to level up, with more and more beasts appearing in dungeons, but it was still insane.

  ****

  “So, you’re still alive then!” Gerald Hawkin greeted Blaze as he dragged two carcasses over to him.

  “Yeah, I only got two this time. My left arm got messed up pretty badly so I had to leave after a while.” Blaze replied cheerfully. While Blaze might hate being weak, there were some upsides. He didn’t have enormous amounts of responsibility on his hands, for example.

  “The same price?” Blaze asked and Gerald nodded.

  “Two hundred dollars, as promised.” Blaze laid the bodies at Gerald’s feet, then gratefully took the money of the old man.

  “Can I use your backyard again to practice?” Blaze asked. Gerald snorted but waved Blaze dismissively towards the backyard. Blaze beamed, then dashed off.

  A man that had been standing nearby watched Blaze go, then turned to Gerald.

  “Who is that kid?” Gerald sighed, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it, popping it in his mouth.

  “Poor kiddo. Family died in a dungeon break six years ago. Had to take care of himself for years. Hates those darn beasts now.”

  The man stared after Blaze’s figure.

  “You’re saying he didn’t level up even once after six years?”

  “Nah, he only started delving three months ago. Been using that old wolf dungeon. No one wants it, so it was pretty much free. Someone’s got to close it though. Should burst in a month or so.” Gerald said, then sighed.

  “I hope he won’t die. Life is dangerous, after all.”

  ****

  Blaze closed his eyes and thought back to the moment he had been fighting the wolf. Then, he took a fighting stance and started swinging his shortsword. It was the only good item Blaze really had. It was made out of level 1 metal, but it was nicely made and was still sharp, even after months of use. Blaze kept on practicing for a few minutes before stopping to take a break. He didn’t notice the man leaning on Gerald’s house until he spoke.

  “Nice moves, though a bit slow. Maybe loosen up.” Blaze jumped and spun around. Blaze hadn’t noticed the man.

  “Uh…” Blaze stuttered. He had been intensely to his surroundings while he had trained. The man, clearly reading his thoughts, grinned.

  “Stealth skill. Pretty neat, huh?” A skill. That explained a lot. Blaze stared at the man in awe. He had never seen a skill in action before. Except for the dungeon break all those years ago. He didn’t want to think about it, however.

  “Yeah, I’m just practicing. W-who are you?” Blaze asked nervously.

  “James Porter. Nice to meet you.” The man introduced. He was tall and looked to be in his early thirties with clean black hair and brown eyes.

  “I had just been talking with the old lad over there and thought you might want to join my party on a raid to a level 10 to 15 dungeon. We need a carrier and I pay well. How’s about 5,000 dollars?”

  “5,000 dollars? Just from carrying their stuff around? Wow, they must be rich.” Blaze felt greed bubbling up inside him. But Blaze already knew his luck. Anything could happen.

  “Level 15? Isn’t that too dangerous for me?” Blaze asked hesitantly. James waved the statement off dismissively.

  “Oh please, not even a level 15 boss can get through our tank. He’s damn sturdy.” James stated. Blaze couldn’t help feeling amazed at this man. But then, suspicion filled him.

  “Why me? You could also get a level 5 to do it for you. Even a level 2. Why me? I’m level 1.” James' carefree smile slowly faded away.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “I heard your story from the old man. No one should have to go through that.” So, it was pity that he was giving him this job. Blaze would have felt annoyed, if the pay hadn’t been so damn good. He bit his inner lip, but then slowly nodded. James grinned again, then pushed off the wall. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it Blaze.

  “This is a map to the dungeon. Meet me there tomorrow morning.”

  ****

  Following the map, Blaze walked through the alleyways of Plymouth. Blaze remembered when it had been just rubble, when the monsters had attacked. He shook his head.

  “Don’t think about that. I’m about to earn a lot of money.” Then he turned a corner to find three people, two men and a woman, waiting for him. Behind them was a gateway made of dense wood and leaves. A forest dungeon, then.

  “Blaze, you’re here!” James greeted him and patted him on the back. “Almost thought you wouldn’t come.”

  “The line for the bakery was abnormally long today.” Blaze answered. The other man just nodded at him. He was decked in thick plate armor with inscriptions covered all over it. It was hard to see his face. The woman with blond hair and green eyes handed him a huge bag that seemed to be empty. Blaze nodded and strapped it on. It was surprisingly light.

  “Ok, if we’re all ready, let’s go.” James said. He was decked out in light leather armor and carried two daggers on either hip. He stepped up to the gate and put a hand on it. The gate creaked ominously, then opened slowly to reveal a golden light emitting out of the portal. The entire party stepped through and after a moment’s hesitation, Blaze followed.

  When Blaze reemerged, he found himself in a forest, as expected. He looked around, then started and ran after the raid party. He wasn’t here to look, just carry.

  As Blaze caught up to the raid party, the forest came alive with sinister sounds: laughter, cackling, and the clang of crude weapons. The team moved with practiced ease, James at the front, the tank guarding the rear, and the woman scouting ahead. Blaze couldn’t help but marvel at how composed they seemed in the face of danger.

  “Stay close,” James whispered, his eyes scanning the shadows. Blaze clutched the strap of his bag tightly, his heart pounding against his ribs. The eerie atmosphere erupted into chaos as goblins charged out from the bushes. They were small, wiry creatures with green, leathery skin, sharp claws, and crooked teeth. Their bloodshot eyes glinted with malice, and they wielded jagged knives and clubs.

  Blaze froze, rooted to the spot, while the rest of the team sprang into action. The tank let out a battle cry and raised their massive shield, blocking the goblins’ frenzied attacks. James moved swiftly, his daggers slicing through the air with deadly accuracy, while the woman conjured bursts of emerald light that blasted the goblins backward.

  The goblins fought with reckless aggression, screeching as they lunged and swarmed the team. Blaze stayed out of the fight, pressing himself against a tree. The battle seemed endless, but the raid party handled the assault with precision.

  When the final goblin fell, James turned to Blaze with a grin. “See? Piece of cake.”

  That’s when the axe fell. In an instant, the tank got crushed by a massive war axe and turned into a giant blood bomb. Blood flew everywhere, on the ground, on James’ and the woman and Blaze’s face. For a second, he couldn’t process what had just happened. Breathing hard, his eyes went up to stare at a humongous orc, at least the size as some of the trees. The orc had such a dense aura that it choked Blaze. He couldn’t even scream, his throat had died. Level 50. It had to be at least level 50. In a level 15 dungeon.

  “How?” Blaze asked himself. Then, he got his answer.

  “This dungeon is supercharged.” James muttered, dazed. “We need to get out of here.”

  The orc disagreed. The axe came down again, this time on the woman. She screamed and tried to run, but it was too fast for her. She became another blood bomb.

  “I’m going to die.” Blaze realized. His legs gave out under him. He stumbled and fell down, sitting hard. But that didn’t mean everyone had to.

  “Go.” Blaze told James. “I’ll make sure it goes for me next, then you’ll have the chance to escape. You’re far faster than me, get a level 50 to clear this damn place. Make sure there isn’t a dungeon break.”

  James’ eyes went wide in shock, then shook his head.

  “No, I can’t. No, no…” He trailed off at Blaze’s fierce gaze.

  “I’d rather die than let another dungeon break of this magnitude happen. Run!” Blaze commanded, then grabbed a stone and hurled it at the orc’s face. It didn’t even faze the orc. The orc roared, then lifted it’s axe again.

  “Wait until it can’t change its trajectory. Then dodge.” Blaze had trained for this. Well, not exactly this, but it was close enough. The axe started to fall. Now.

  Blaze hurled himself with newfound energy to the left. The axe narrowly missed him by an inch. Blaze crashed hard onto the ground, then rolled, getting back to his feet quickly.

  James gulped, then started running.

  “I'll get a level 50, try to escape!” He called back helplessly.

  “Good, there won’t be a dungeon break.” Blaze said, then smiled. But why? He was going to die. Anger filled Blaze, not at James, but at himself.

  “I could also warn the level 50s. Why do I have to die?” But Blaze threw those spiteful thoughts out of his head. He won’t die. Blaze just had to distract the beast for a bit longer, then he could run as well. He could escape. Blaze took a deep breath, then squawked and jumped before another axe swing could hit him. Sadly, he was too slow. The axe came down like an unstoppable force and cut Blaze’s left arm to ribbons.

  Blaze screamed a soul wrenching scream, then dodged again before he got hit by another axe blow.

  ****

  James wanted to stab himself. He just left a defenseless kid to die alone. But he had to fulfill the kid’s last wish. He wouldn’t let another dungeon break ever happen in Plymouth, ever. He reached the dungeon gate and jumped through, exiting the dungeon.

  He didn’t stop, however. He kept running. “Why did I invite him? If I had just let him mind his own business, he would be alive. He would keep on hating beasts and hunting them.” James felt sick. Soon, he reached Plymouth’s Delver association building. He barreled through the door and screamed as loud as he could.

  “Supercharged dungeon, level 50! Hurry!” He screamed. Then, he stumbled towards the reception desk and asked the startled lady: “Where are the level 50s? We need them now!”

  “Sir, please calm down…” James’ rage boiled over. Calm down?

  “There is a defenseless kid…. fighting for his god forsaken life, god dammit!” He roared at the receptionist. The receptionist recoiled, then started quickly typing on her laptop.

  “Most of the level 50s are already delving, sir. We do have a team of level 40s.” James’ snorted with outrage.

  “The difference between level 1 and 2 is already great. What can level 40s do against a level 50? What’s their cultivation percentage?”

  “They have an average 64% cultivation.” That wasn’t bad. A human had an average percentage of 50%. That was the starting point, after all. Any percentage above the number would increase the effectiveness of their stats by said percentage. But 14% stronger stats wouldn’t help them in this situation.

  “Damn it.” James slumped down on the desk, feeling sick.

  “Calm down, I’m fine.” A young voice startled James. He turned slowly and stared at Blaze, leaning on Alisha’s, the woman in the raid party, sword. He was covered with blood, but he was grinning. And his cultivation felt weird.

  ****

  Blaze lay on the ground, panting heavily. He had lost too much blood and felt sick. He watched the orc grin down at him and raise its battleaxe for one last time.

  “This is it.” Blaze thought. He couldn’t say that he had had a good life, but it had been his. That’s was fine. He closed his eyes as he heard the axe crashing down towards his chest. Then, time seemed to slow down. The axe progressively traveled slower and slower until it stopped right before his chest. Blaze’s eyes shot open in confusion.

  How wasn’t he dead? And what was this screen in front of him?

  [New Quest]

  [Quest: Risk and Reward]

  [You are about to die. Fight for survival. The system rewards the brave, not the dead.]

  [Quest: Kill Battle Orc(Level 53/Normal)]

  [Reward: System Interface, Random skill shard]