A faint creaking sound dimly echoed in the late hours of the night.

  Shouren mutely watched the creaking door swaying with the night’s breeze. The scenes of the day whirling through his mind. The boy could hear the deep snores of his grandmother beside him. Today had exhausted the poor elderly lady.

  The boy heard a growl.

  It was his empty stomach.

  Both Rhea and Shouren hadn’t eaten the entire day, and despite the old woman’s insistence, Shouren vehemently refused to eat the only piece of bread they had. Rhea thought the boy would eventually succumb to his hunger and eat it later, but she had severely underestimated Shouren’s vehemence.

  Screw the secret plan.

  Shouren cursed inside his mind as he shuffled away as quietly as possible from his sleeping grandmother. His ‘secret plan’ had been to covertly steal the common cardsmith class card from the wooden box and trade it for any other equivalent common class card he could find in the market.

  Sure Rhea would have been furious with him, but by then, it would be too late. You couldn’t change your class card once you awakened with it.

  But I can’t do that anymore. Not after today. No one will ever steal from grandma again, including me.

  Shouren’s heart clenched at the thought of his earlier plan to steal his grandmother’s card and calmly stood up, his feet barely making any noise in the process. Even though that class card was going to be his, it felt wrong now to take it away from his grandmother after he watched someone else extort her.

  In the end, Rhea would still forgive his crime.

  The boy lovingly gazed at the elderly woman. Her face serene of any troubles. Rhea had sacrificed so much of her life for her children, and then later for her grandchild as well. The elderly woman never complained, despite being mistreated and tormented by others. She remained kind and forgiving.

  Does she not feel the rage?

  The boy glanced down at his own hands. Was something wrong with him? Where did this fury come from?

  No, the plan to steal and sell the cardsmith class card had changed, however, he was steadfast in choosing his own class card. Even his grandmother didn’t get to choose what kind of life he had to live. Screw his ancestors and their legacy. It was their fault that his family had to live this destitute life.

  Shouren was running out of time. His 10th birthday would be in a few days and his heart would finally be ready to undergo the class card awakening. The boy brushed his wild black hair aside and scanned his gaunt body. Everyone thought he was only 8 years old, but his true age was almost 10 years old. His short height was the result of his malnourished body and deprived of a regular source of food.

  With his old plan discarded, Shouren was left with only one choice.

  He had to enter the Akarsha Dungeon and hope he’d find another class card. He didn’t have any chronas to buy a class card, and selling his grandmother’s cardsmith class card was out of the question. No one entered the dungeon before their awakening as it was paramount to suicide. Even a Tier 0 monster could effortlessly slice through a tierless human.

  I rather die than become a cardsmith.

  Steeling his nerves, Shouren gave one final look at his sleeping grandmother and silently tread towards the door.

  “I’m sorry, grandma.”

  Shouren whispered sadly as he pushed aside the door and walked away into the darkness of the night.

  The door creaked once before becoming still again.

  The sound of soft snores strummed within the lonely shack.

  “Should I turn back?”

  Shouren groaned as he jogged to the town center. It dawned on the young boy that he didn’t even think to bring a weapon or a means to fight inside the dungeon. Not that his shack had anything that could be used as a weapon. Rhea and him were so poor that they didn’t even own a kitchen knife.

  “This really is the dumbest plan I’ve had.”

  Shouren labored through his shallow breaths, his body still aching from yesterday’s injuries.

  It’s too late. I already decided that I rather die than live under someone else’s tyranny.

  The boy recalled the images of Master Boris coercing his grandmother to extortion. Nothing would change even if he became a cardsmith. Instead of just his grandmother being swindled of her shards, it would then be both him and her being swindled together.

  He had to become a Cardist with actual power. He’d never seen a Tier 1 ever be abused by the people in town. Those who killed monsters in the dungeon, had no qualms killing other living being as well. If his grandmother had a combat class card, then even as a Tier 0, Master Boris wouldn’t have dared to humiliate her to this extent. It was precisely because the merchant knew that Rhea couldn’t do anything that he gambled to exploit her.

  “Watch it, kid!”

  A chubby middle-aged man grunted with annoyance when Shouren bumped into him by accident.

  “Sorry, mister!”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Shouren yelled a quick apology before bolting off. It was dark and not the time to get lost in his thoughts. He had to pay attention from now on. Although it wasn’t illegal for a tierless to enter the dungeon, Shouren wanted to avoid any attention drawn to him if possible. His unkempt and dirty clothes were always a target for the people to pick on.

  The first floor of the Akarsha Dungeon was open to all, and also known as the ‘Tutorial Floor’ by the Cardists. Anyone could enter the floor and there was no time limit to clear it. The clearing conditions were very simple as well: kill any 3 Tier 0 monsters.

  But Shouren’s original problem still remained. How would he kill a Tier 0 monster with no weapon? His attributes were locked until he underwent his awakening, meaning even if tried to punch a monster with all his strength, it wouldn’t even scratch its hide.

  “Doesn’t matter. I’ll try to gouge its eyes out or lure it into a trap.”

  The young boy shook his head and made his way to the town center. One way or another, Shouren was going fight until his last breath. The boy had no experience in making a trap or ever fought anyone. His only experience was getting punched until the other side gave up.

  Only a single thought reverberated inside Shouren’s mind.

  I’ll never kneel down to others.

  Even if they killed him, Shouren would no longer submit himself to those with power. The boy’s hazel-green eyes flamed with aspiration.

  Gradually, a few hazy light orbs fluttered in the distance as Shouren finally made it to the edge of the town’s square. Everyone called it town, but in reality, it was just a destitute village.

  A few decades ago, it used to be an actual town when Tier 2 Cardists roamed the nearby kingdom, but since the Sunspire Theocracy conquered the 10th floor and then later when the Starhaven Guild subjugated the 20th floor, most Cardists flocked to the higher density lumen environments. Now, only the Tier 0 and occasionally a few Tier 1 Cardists remained in the outside world.

  “No guards today?”

  Shouren whispered, a trace of thrill in his voice. A few villagers roamed around the town, but it was unusually quieter today. The boy saw a couple of guards loitering near the market’s entrance, their drunk and boisterous laughter causing a few shopkeepers nearby to click their tongues in distaste.

  However, the path to the dungeon entrance was clear. Strange.

  The entrance to the Akarsha Dungeon was remarkably nondescript. It was a plain rectangular portal with an overhead arch set that hovered a foot from the ground. When their world’s sun was destroyed and the dungeon appeared, countless portals culminated all over the land. They all differed in appearance. Some were grander, while other portals were simply a plain door.

  Shouren hesitated for a brief moment as he considered whether to ask someone nearby why there was no one entering the dungeon right now. Despite the late hours, there was always someone entering and leaving the dungeon.

  The boy exhaled out a deep breath. None of the villagers would give him an answer even if he tried. He needed to hurry before his grandmother woke up.

  Bracing himself, Shouren took one last look to make sure the guards’ sight wasn’t in his direction and raced to the dungeon entrance.

  Shouren wheezed out his breaths, his skinny legs wobbling with as much strength as he could muster. His chest bulged while his lungs desperately drew in air.

  He was almost there, and no one had noticed him.

  3 more seconds until he made it to the entrance. His back was now soaked. Shouren didn’t know whether it was from his sweat or fear.

  2 more seconds left.

  “Oy! What’s that idiot doing? Stop him!”

  A sharp voice suddenly boomed across the town’s square.

  1 more second.

  Shouren could hear the nearby villagers shuffle to a halt. The boy grit his teeth and leaped off the ground. He just needed to touch the portal. He felt someone’s shadow looming behind him.

  Right as that presence was about to grasp him, Shouren’s index finger made contact with the portal.

  [Enter Floor 1 of Akarsha Dungeon?]

  [Yes/No]

  Shouren cried ‘Yes’ with his remaining breath, and then the dungeon sucked him in.

  “Was that a child? Did anyone see the runt’s face?”

  Shouren heard someone’s fading voice right before his world turned black.

  “Ugh… what’s going on? My head hurts.”

  Shouren whimpered while clutching the sides of his temple. An eerie tingle crawled down his spine and made its way to the corner of his retinas. The young boy shuddered as he gradually opened his hazel eyes.

  [Floor 1 Clear Conditions: Kill 3 Tier 0 entities]

  [Current Kills: 0/3]

  Floating in the center of his vision, the text glowed once before dissipating away. Shouren didn’t have access to his status yet, so that’s probably why the dungeon’s message caused discomfort inside his body. If things went according to plan, then Shouren would soon find another class card and undergo his awakening. He was only a few days away from his 10th birthday, and his heart should be mature enough to accept a card.

  When Shouren tried looking up, a beam of velvety light smacked him on the face as the boy registered the surrounding scenery. Lush verdant trees rooted within a forest enclave, and accompanied by abundant dark green bushes. Shouren covered his eyes, taken aback by the sudden light. It was just night a few minutes ago.

  “This is the dungeon?”

  Shouren gasped in wonder. It felt so real. Was this an actual world?

  Something rumbled underneath him.

  The young boy glanced down. It was his stomach.

  He had no food, water, and no weapon to fight in the dungeon.

  Before his resolve wavered, the boy quickly rushed to the nearest bush. He couldn’t see any monsters nearby, but that didn’t mean none were lingering in the vicinity. Standing in the open was stupid, especially considering how defenseless he was right now. His dirty clothes didn’t even protect him from the wind, let alone the claw of a Tier 0 monster.

  “I need to find some food first and then water. Thankfully, there’s no time limit. After securing my immediate survival, I’ll need to survey the floor for what type of monsters are looming around.”

  Shouren brushed aside the twigs as he squeezed inside the bushes. It was important to stay out of sight before he figured out what kind of monsters he was dealing with. He might not have come prepared, but he wasn’t a complete fool. He’ll make the best of the situation.

  “There are lots of trees around, but I don’t see any fruit on them. Maybe there are a few fruit trees deeper into the forest?”

  The young boy took off his dirty shirt and used his teeth to tear it into several strips of cloth. Then placing one end of the strip between his toenail, Shouren wrapped the cloth around his foot until it completely covered the bottom of his soles. He took another strip and followed the same pattern, but now with the second cloth strip, there was more padding on the sole.

  Shouren repeated these steps multiple times, and it wasn’t long until both his feet looked like he was wearing several layers of poorly stitched socks. He didn’t have anything to protect his body after ripping his shirt into shreds, but Shouren achieved something even more essential: silencing his movement.

  The thick cloth on his feet was uncomfortable to walk, however, it was better to remain in stealth than move fast. Shouren was the weakest on this floor and almost all monsters would be faster than him. He couldn’t beat them with strength or speed. He needed his wits. And a carefully executed plan.

  “This should do it.”

  Satisfied with his amateur work, Shouren then used the remaining scraps of the fabric to bandage around his fingers. This will keep him relatively safe from accidentally touching anything poisonous. If he couldn’t find any fruits, the next option was to scour for some mushrooms.

  Feeling that his preparations were adequate, Shouren was ready to leave the bush and begin his exploration. It was at this moment, the boy heard a faint rustling in the distance.

  “At least let me eat something and die with a full belly.”

  Shouren moaned in despair as he sensed more rustling. Since he didn’t enter with a party, it meant whatever that was moving near him could only be one thing.

  A Tier 0 monster.