Status Page

  Name: Prabu Sanjaya

  Age: 33 Years

  Level: 2

  Health: 110

  Mana: 110

  STR: 6

  DEX: 5

  END: 5

  INT: 8

  WIS: 10

  MEN: 6

  Skills:

  Fire Manipulation I Lv. 2 – Allows the user to manipulate fire slightly.

  Fire Magic Lv. 2 – Allows the user to summon and use fire magic.

  Mana Gathering Lv. 2 – Allows the user to gather and absorb Mana from their surroundings.

  Magic Sense Lv. 3 – Allows the user to sense Mana inside or around them.

  Mana Mastery Lv. 2 – Allows the user to control and manipulate Mana within themselves.

  Magic Pathway Lv. 1 – Grants knowledge of the Magical Pathways inside one's body.

  It has been four days since I started learning how to wield my skills better.

  As of now, I can summon more fire while using less Mana by carefully limiting the amount used each time. With this improvement, I feel confident that I could handle a monster fight if needed.

  And, lucky for me, the system decided to test my confidence.

  You have a new mission!

  Mission: Kill the Dungeon Boss Together

  Reward: Level Up or Status Point

  Punishment: Trapped in the Dungeon until the next mission!!

  Right after the mission appeared in front of me, another scroll popped up, displaying a list of dungeons I could enter.

  Some of them were so close that I could reach them on foot.

  Before I could decide where to go, my younger brother suddenly barged in, dragging our younger sister along.

  He invited me to join him in the nearest dungeon, saying I’d be a valuable addition to his team.

  It didn’t take long for me to agree—I had my reasons.

  First, both my siblings are Battle Type and Support Type. Together, they could form an effective duo, but my brother knew better.

  He was a gamer—a good one. And any good gamer knows that an effective party needs at least three or four members.

  They needed a tank—someone to draw the monsters’ attention. That’s my brother.

  They needed support, especially a healer. My sister could cover that role.

  Lastly, they needed a damage dealer—someone who could dish out massive damage in a short burst. That’s where I come in.

  Ideally, we’d add a fourth member—a speedy, agile fighter to balance out the team. But beggars can’t be choosers.

  We didn’t know anyone else, and our parents were too distracted to help us.

  Oh yeah—did I mention that our mom had a serious panic attack after barely surviving the monster mission a week ago? Probably not.

  *****

  The nearest dungeon was located at a school, just five minutes away on foot.

  The dungeon itself appeared as a circular magical gate.

  When we arrived, another group of people tried to enter, but they were blocked by ten students.

  These students were demanding a huge fee from anyone wanting to enter.

  Seeing this made me want to turn around and look for another dungeon.

  But my brother thought otherwise.

  He walked straight up to the group, acting bossy, barking orders as if he owned the place.

  Strangely enough, the ten students obeyed him without question, stepping aside and letting us through—confusing everyone else who had been stuck waiting.

  He called me and my sister over, introducing us to the group.

  That’s when I realized they were wearing the same uniform my brother used to wear.

  Turns out, he was their senior, and he had just used that authority to flex on them.

  I couldn’t help but feel proud of him for that.

  With no further obstacles, the three of us stepped through the magical gate and entered the dungeon.

  *****

  The experience of entering the dungeon was... weird—but oddly soothing.

  One moment, we were in our familiar neighborhood—the next, we were in a completely different world.

  But instead of feeling lost or out of place, I felt... at home.

  The air, the ground, the atmosphere—everything felt right.

  The dungeon was a cave—hot and dry.

  The floor was strangely smooth, with no sand or loose stones.

  The walls were cracked, revealing streams of lava flowing behind them, radiating intense heat.

  And yet, only I seemed to feel it—my siblings didn’t react at all.

  Scattered throughout the cave were strange plants and minerals.

  Clusters of orange crystals grew out of lava cracks.

  Coral-like flame plants sprouted from the walls, their branches burning like candle flames, serving as natural torches.

  *****

  With curiosity and excitement, the three of us ventured deeper into the dungeon—ready to explore the unknown.

  Out of the three of us, I am the only one who feels comfortable in this place. My siblings, while not exactly uncomfortable, don’t seem to be enjoying it at all.

  After walking for about five minutes, we encounter a monster slowly making its way toward us. It’s a snail the size of a motorcycle. It moves sluggishly, its soft, jelly-like body wiggling slightly with each step. Its translucent flesh glows with the heat of the lava inside, radiating warmth that makes me want to hug it—despite knowing it's a monster. For now, I decided to call it a Lava Snail.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The three of us notice the creature at the same time and prepare ourselves. My sister and I simply raise our hands in front of us, while my brother, out of nowhere, draws a sword and wields it with an air of pride. He immediately starts giving us orders as if he’s the leader of this little group.

  Honestly, I feel a bit offended by his attitude, but with a monster standing before us, I choose to stay quiet. My sister casts her magical enhancements on him, and he charges at the Lava Snail. He slashes at it several times before backing away to assess the damage he has inflicted.

  His attacks have wounded the Lava Snail heavily, causing lava to spill from its wounds. Delighted by the sight, my brother rushes forward again to finish it off. When the monster finally dies, it disintegrates, leaving behind a small, glowing slime ball. My brother tries to pick it up but quickly withdraws his hand—it’s too hot. My sister also attempts to grab it but fails, looking oddly disappointed. Maybe she has a hoarding problem?

  I reach out and pick it up, only to find that it isn’t as hot as they made it seem—just pleasantly warm. With that, we continue deeper into the cave, eventually reaching a fork in the path.

  *****

  An hour passes, and I’ve collected a few of these slime balls. We haven’t encountered any other types of monsters, only more Lava Snails, and honestly, it’s getting boring. When another one appears, my brother refuses to engage and simply walks away.

  On the other hand, I finally have time to satisfy my curiosity. I’ve been experimenting with the hot slime balls, and I’ve discovered that my Fire Manipulation I skill allows me to control the fire inside them. Now, I want to test it on a living Lava Snail.

  I raise my hand and activate my skill, attempting to seize control of the fire within the creature. I immediately feel resistance—like trying to pull a rope from someone else’s grasp. I focus harder, but the more I try, the more it fights back. The effort makes my body heat up as if I’m burning from the inside.

  We continue this silent struggle until, suddenly, the Lava Snail gives up. Its fire is wrenched from its body, leaving behind an empty husk. Now, I control a floating ball of fire that was once part of a living creature. It feels strange—almost unnatural. I release my grip on it, and the flame vanishes instantly as if it were never there.

  Somehow, I feel incredibly satisfied.

  *****

  Another hour passes, and we finally arrive in a vast cavern, at least ten times bigger than the previous ones. As we step inside, we find ourselves face-to-face with a massive horde of a hundred Lava Snails. At the center of the swarm is an enormous, menacing snail.

  My brother is about to charge in recklessly, but I stop him. Instead, I try something new. I raise both hands and attempt to take control of the fire within all the smaller Lava Snails at once.

  The resistance I feel is immense—like trying to pry a boulder from the depths of a mountain with my bare hands. Then an idea comes to me. I channel my Mana into the effort, and suddenly, it becomes much easier. Pouring in even more magic, I reduce the struggle to nothing more than a simple tug-of-war with a child.

  One by one, the fires are wrenched from the snails, leaving behind empty husks of slime. I grin, pleased with my success, as my siblings stare at me in shock. I always love surprising them.

  My sister asks what I plan to do with all the fire I’ve gathered. Honestly, I have no idea. I simply shrug in response.

  My brother, unimpressed, ignores my display of power and rushes at the massive Lava Snail. With my sister supporting him, he manages to wound it. I attempt to assist by sending some of the fire under my control toward the giant snail, but instead of harming it, I somehow heal it.

  My brother glares at me, clearly frustrated. I can only respond with another shrug.

  In the end, I do nothing except maintain control over the fire I took from the smaller Lava Snails. After a tough battle, my brother finally slays the giant creature. It leaves behind three items: a sword with a glowing red blade, a staff with a red snail shell at one end, and a large, burning ball of slime.

  My brother instinctively claims the sword. I offered the staff to my sister and took the burning slime ball for myself.

  As I hold it, a dark thought creeps into my mind. What if I try to push all the fire I’ve gathered into this slime ball? Acting on impulse, I do exactly that. The fire is absorbed effortlessly. I repeat the process a few more times, stuffing every last bit of stolen fire into the slime ball.

  Then, something unexpected happens—the burning slime ball solidifies, transforming into a glowing red stone. It looks valuable. Maybe it could sell for a high price? Who knows.

  With our loot secured, we exit the dungeon. The moment we step outside, the entrance abruptly collapses and vanishes like a popped balloon. The crowd waiting in line glares at us with expressions of shock and resentment, which I think is unfair—this wasn’t our fault.

  Ignoring them, we quickly leave the area and split up. I head straight home, locking myself in my room before finally checking the scroll that appeared when we left the dungeon.

  Mission Complete!

  Please choose your reward!

  Level Up / Status Points

  Of course, I choose to level up. After all, nobody else has figured out a way to gain levels aside from these missions.

  Once I select my reward, I open my status page. I must have missed some details while I was in the dungeon.

  Status Page

  Name: Prabu Sanjaya

  Age: 33 Years

  Level: 3

  Health: 120

  Magic: 120

  Str: 7

  Dex: 6

  End: 6

  Int: 9

  Wis: 11

  Men: 7

  Skill :

  Fire Manipulation I Lv. 5 - Allows user to manipulate fire slightly.

  Fire Magic Lv. 2 - Allows user to summon and use fire magic.

  Mana Gathering Lv. 2 - Allows user to gather and absorb Mana from their surroundings.

  Magic Sense Lv. 4 - Allows user to sense Mana inside or around them.

  Mana Mastery Lv. 4 - Allows user to control and manipulate Mana inside them.

  Magic Pathway Lv. 2 - Grants knowledge of the Magical Pathways inside one's body.

  My level has increased to three, along with an improvement in my stats. There are also a few noteworthy changes. My Fire Manipulation skill has increased by three levels, which likely explains my ability to extract fire from the Lava Snails and infuse it into the Fire Stone.

  I also gained levels in Magic Sense, Mana Mastery, and Magic Pathway, probably due to my experimentation with magic while controlling the fire.

  All in all, I’m satisfied with today’s mission.

  I just hope the world doesn’t change too much after this.

  The world looks like it's about to end.

  This morning’s news reported that several unchallenged dungeons have begun spilling their monsters into the world. These monsters are now destroying everything in their path and killing innocent people.

  With only a handful of people actually capable of fighting, the monsters are running rampant, spreading destruction wherever they go.

  My brother, who has somehow become obsessed with the idea of being humanity’s hero, decided to take my sister on an adventure to hunt down the loose monsters in our neighborhood. He claims that by training his body and mind, he will become a famous hero in this new era of magic and swords.

  With them gone, it’s up to me to protect our home and our parents.

  Speaking of my parents, I have to admit they’ve become quite a burden, despite having their own skills. I know I shouldn’t say this, but I also want to be strong and famous—though not as much as my brother.

  But that’s life. Never fair.

  It has been a day since my siblings left the house.

  We haven’t heard from them since yesterday. We don’t know if they’re safe or not.

  This has made my parents worried, but I reassure them that my siblings are strong. They can take care of themselves.

  Today, I also realized something.

  It seems that not everyone receives the mission to kill the boss monster in the dungeon.

  My parents are a good example. They haven’t left the house since the first mission, they never trained their skills, and they haven’t killed anything other than a slime.

  If they had received the mission, the system should have killed them by now. But not only are they fine and healthy, they also have no idea about the second mission. They think we’re just looking for an excuse to leave the house and chase danger.

  Of course, we’re not just out there for the thrill. Who in their right mind would willingly go to that Lava Snail cave just because the monsters look cute and warm to hug?

  …Hmm. Probably me. They do look warm to hug.

  Today, I heard that the world is becoming even more chaotic.

  People with skills have started rioting, stealing, and killing innocent civilians while establishing their own hideouts in large places like malls and office buildings.

  My siblings’ whereabouts are still unknown, but the news has reported several heroic individuals who are helping the innocent instead of taking advantage of them.

  As for me, I decided to train my skills today in preparation for the current situation.

  In my room, I trained Fire Magic along with Mana Mastery by trying to produce as much fire as possible while minimizing the Mana cost.

  The training was difficult—very difficult.

  It felt like trying to blow air out of your nose while pinching it shut. Painful, frustrating, but ultimately rewarding.

  Whenever I ran low on Mana, I practiced Mana Gathering to replenish it. At first, I could only absorb one or two points of Mana at a time. Fortunately, by the end of the day, I was able to gather about three to four points within the same timeframe.

  All in all, today’s training was incredibly productive. I need to do this more often.

  Skill Level Up! Fire Magic Lv. 4!

  Skill Level Up! Mana Gathering Lv. 4!

  Skill Level Up! Mana Mastery Lv. 4!

  Skill Level Up! Magic Pathway Lv. 2!