Chapter 2 Restoration.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[DING!]

[Host Located.]

Xavier's fading eyes widened.

Another line appeared.

[Xavier Reed Found...]

[Identity Confirmed.]

A pause.

Longer than it should have been.

Then...

[Synchronization beginning...]

[Welcome back, Xavier Reed.]

Xavier's pupils contracted.

"Welcome back?"

The words made no sense.

Then another message appeared.

[I have finally found you.]

[DING!]

[Synchronization Complete.]

Silence.

The world remained frozen.

The monster's claw hung motionless an inch from Xavier's face.

Then...

[Host's current physical condition: Critical.]

A brief pause.

'Wha... what's going on?' Xavier wondered as his eyelids began to fall again.

[Survival probability: 0.03%.]

[...Unexpected.]

[Initiating Emergency Protocol.]

[Initiating One Time Use Ability: Restoration.]

Golden light erupted from Xavier's body.

His limp body slowly rose from the ground.

Then something impossible happened.

The blood beneath him began to move.

It crawled backward across the stone floor, rising from the ground and flowing into his wounds.

The gash across his abdomen closed.

Broken bones snapped back into place.

Torn muscles knitted themselves together.

Even the pain disappeared.

Within seconds, the body that had been moments away from death was completely restored.

Xavier stared at himself.

His trembling fingers moved.

His abdomen.

His chest.

His arms.

Everything was whole.

"I..."

His voice trembled.

"What the hell...?"

Then...

THUD!

His body suddenly dropped.

Xavier landed on one knee, barely managing to keep himself upright.

He looked up.

The monster was still frozen.

Its enormous claw remained suspended inches from his face.

Xavier stared at it.

He didn't understand.

Nothing made sense.

[DING!]

[Congratulations.]

[You have survived your first death experience.]

Xavier's expression twisted.

"First... death experience?"

Before he could think about it, another message appeared.

[Reward acquired.]

[Skill: Burst.]

[For ten seconds, the Host's movement speed will increase by 300%.]

[Warning: The Host's current body cannot withstand prolonged activation.]

"What?"

DING!

[Mission Notice.]

[Objective: Escape.]

[Mission Reward: ???]

Xavier stared at the final line.

"Wh... what is going on?"

The system didn't give him an answer.

[Survive.]

Then...

Time resumed.

The monster's claw came crashing down.

Xavier threw himself sideways.

BOOM!

The creature smashed into the wall.

Xavier rolled across the floor and scrambled back to his feet.

His heart pounded.

[Burst: 9 seconds remaining.]

'I don't know what's happening...'

'I don't care.'

'But I need to survive.'

Xavier turned and ran.

Immediately he realized a problem.

He was too fast.

His body shot forward like a bullet.

"Whoa..!"

His feet tangled beneath him.

He crashed through the stone floor and rolled several meters before finally stopping.

Pain shot through his shoulder.

[Burst: 7 seconds remaining.]

"Fuck!"

The monster emerged from the rubble.

It appeared before him.

Its claw swung.

Xavier ducked.

The claw passed over his head and shattered the wall behind him.

His eyes widened.

'Did I actually dodge that?'

'I moved before I even thought about it.'

He glanced toward the opening created by the monster.

Xavier ran.

The creature followed.

He slowly adapted to the speed.

[6 seconds remaining...]

He turned sharply into a wider chamber.

He wasn't simply running anymore.

He was searching.

His eyes darted across the walls.

'Come on...'

He had spent three years in dungeons.

He knew something about them.

Dungeons had patterns.

Weak points.

Routes.

Hidden passages.

'There.'

An X-shaped mark had been carved into the wall.

Xavier's eyes lit up.

'There you are.'

He turned sharply.

The monster followed at full speed.

But Xavier didn't continue forward.

The moment he disappeared around the corner, he pressed himself against the wall.

The monster thundered past.

Then he moved.

'There's no way I'm dying today...'

[5 seconds remaining...]

He sprinted.

The creature realized its mistake and roared behind him.

Xavier didn't look back.

He could see it now.

A faint light ahead.

The exit.

[3 seconds remaining...]

His legs were beginning to shake.

Every muscle in his body screamed.

The monster was catching up.

Closer.

Closer.

Xavier pushed harder.

The exit grew brighter.

[2 seconds remaining...]

He was almost there.

Then...

The monster lunged.

Its claws tore across his back.

"Fuck!"

Pain exploded through his body.

Xavier stumbled.

But he didn't stop.

He threw himself toward the light.

[1 second remaining.]

"Come on!"

His arm stretched out.

[Burst deactivated.]

His legs gave out.

Xavier crashed onto the stone floor.

His body was launched through the dungeon's exit.

He flew several meters before slamming into the ground outside.

THUD!

Everything went black.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

The hunters standing outside slowly turned toward the unconscious figure lying on the ground.

One of them frowned.

"Who the hell is that?"

There was only one other person in the dungeon.

But it couldn't be.

Another hunter took a step closer.

Then he realized.

Even through the blood and tangled black hair, Xavier was recognized.

His expression changed.

"...Red eyes?"

The others stared.

Confusion.

Disgust.

Fear.

But before anyone could approach, several medics rushed forward.

"Move!"

"He's alive!"

"Get the stretcher!"

Xavier was lifted onto the stretcher and rushed toward the waiting ambulance.

Nobody noticed the faint golden light that flickered across his chest.

And nobody heard the voice inside his unconscious mind.

DING!

[Mission Complete.]

[Reward: +10 Stat Points.]

[Reward: +15 EXP.]

[ Level Up! ]

A pause.

[Impressive, Xavier.]

[You survived.]

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Xavier belonged to a planet known as Earth.

A rather different Earth from the one that existed today.

Twenty-five years ago, five years before Xavier was born.

There were no Gates.

No Dungeons.

No monsters.

No Awakened.

There were only humans.

Then came the Cataclysm.

It wasn't a single event.

It was a series of events that changed humanity forever.

It began with something simple.

People prayed.

And nothing answered.

The presence humanity had worshipped for thousands of years suddenly vanished.

Then came the first undeniable proof.

A crack appeared in space.

Then another.

And another.

Not in one location.

Not even in one country.

Across the world.

The cracks became known as Gates.

And from them came creatures humanity had never seen before.

Things that should not have existed.

Human weapons were almost useless against them.

The world was caught completely unprepared.

Cities fell.

Billions died.

Earth lost 37% of its population.

Humanity was slaughtered.

For two years, humanity fought a losing battle.

Then...

People began to awaken.

Abilities that defied everything humanity understood about science suddenly appeared within certain individuals.

They became known as the Awakened.

Humanity finally had a way to fight back.

The Awakened were classified into seven ranks.

F.

E.

D.

C.

B.

A.

And finally...

S.

F was the lowest.

S was the highest.

But the Cataclysm didn't stop with the Gates.

Dungeons began appearing as well.

Unlike Gates, Dungeons didn't constantly spill monsters into the world.

They remained dormant until a certain deadline was reached.

If they weren't cleared before then, the Dungeon would break.

And when that happened everything inside would be released.

At first, humans entered Dungeons simply to prevent Dungeon Breaks.

That didn't last long.

They soon discovered something else.

Monsters possessed valuable materials.

Magic Stones.

Rare resources.

Weapons.

And most importantly...

Power.

Dungeons became an industry.

A profession.

A source of wealth.

The strongest Awakened became celebrities.

Guilds became corporations.

And humanity slowly adapted to the world that had been forced upon them.

Some even began to believe that perhaps God hadn't truly abandoned them.

Perhaps the appearance of the Awakened was His answer.

Perhaps the Gates were a trial.

Perhaps salvation would eventually come.

They were all wrong.

At least...

That was what humanity believed.

For twenty-five years, there had been no sign of their God.

No voice.

No miracle.

No answer to their prayers.

Only monsters.

Only Gates.

Only Dungeons.

And one question that humanity had never managed to answer.

Why had God abandoned them?

~ ~ ~

Xavier opened his eyes.

White.

That was the first thing he saw.

A white ceiling.

The second thing he noticed was his surrounding.

A hospital ward.

He slowly tried to sit up.

His body tensed, expecting pain.

Nothing came.

Xavier frowned.

His right arm was wrapped in bandages.

So were both of his legs.

There were even bandages wrapped around his head.

Yet he felt nothing.

He moved his fingers.

Nothing.

He moved his legs.

Nothing.

His brows furrowed.

Slowly, Xavier began removing the bandages.

One after another.

His confusion deepened. There wasn't a wound.

Not even a scar.

He touched his abdomen.

Perfectly healed.

His eyes widened.

"What...?"

The he rembered a single phrase

' Level Up. '

The memories came rushing in.

The dungeon.

The monster.

Its claws.

The System.

The golden light.

Burst.

The escape.

Xavier stared at his hands.

"It... wasn't a dream huh?"

[DING!]

A translucent screen suddenly appeared before him.

Xavier nearly fell out of the bed.

"Whoa!"

The screen remained suspended in the air.

[Welcome back, Xavier.]

His breathing stopped.

"Back...?"

[Correct.]

Xavier stared at the message.

His mind raced.

"What are you?"

A brief silence followed.

[I would like to answer your questions...]

[However, you need to run now.]

Xavier blinked.

"...What?"

[Hostile presence detected.]

His expression changed.

[Distance: 3 meters.]

The door knob tilted.

Xavier slowly turned.

[Move Xavier.]

[ NOW! ]