Three days after entering the Academy—
The ground shook.
A sharp alarm echoed through the dormitory
halls.
"Emergency Notice!"
"Underground Zone breach detected."
Students rushed out in panic.
"A dungeon? Inside the academy?!"
"This has never happened before!"
Arakio stood in the corridor, frozen.
His heartbeat quickened.
A familiar window appeared before his eyes.
_______________________________________________
◼ SYSTEM ALERT ◼
Hidden Dungeon Activated
Difficulty: Unknown
Condition: The weakest candidate must enter first.
_______________________________________________
"…Me?"
Arakio whispered.
Eyes turned toward him.
"Send him."
"He's the weakest anyway."
"If he dies, what difference does it make?"
The words pierced him—
but this time,
he didn't lower his head.
_______________________________________________
The underground gate opened.
Darkness spilled out.
A professor spoke coldly—
"This is not a test.
This is survival."
_______________________________________________
Arakio stepped forward.
The gate slammed shut behind him.
BOOM.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
_______________________________________________
◼ DUNGEON STATUS ◼
Location: Underground Trial Zone
Objective:
| Survive.
Time Limit: None
_______________________________________________
"So simple…"
Arakio muttered with a bitter smile.
"Just stay alive."
Something crawled across the floor.
A sound—
like bones scraping stone.
From the shadows,
a creature emerged.
Tall.
Exposed bones.
Eyes filled with hunger.
_______________________________________________
◼ MONSTER ◼
Name: Hollow Crawler
Threat Level: Low
Quantity: Multiple
_______________________________________________
Not one.
Not two.
Ten.
Arakio stepped back.
"This is too much for me…"
Then the system reacted.
_______________________________________________
◼ SKILL UNLOCKED ◼
Active Skill: Hunger Step (Lv. 1)
Movement speed increases with hunger.
_______________________________________________
His legs moved on their own.
Faster.
Lighter.
For the first time,
he dodged an attack.
A claw sliced through empty air.
"…I'm moving?"
He raised his fist.
A crawler lunged.
_______________________________________________
CRACK!
Pain exploded through his hand—
but the creature was thrown back.
_______________________________________________
◼ Hunger Level: 6% ◼
"Pain…"
he realized,
"…is being consumed."
Another crawler attacked.
Then another.
Blood spilled.
Breathing grew heavy.
Yet fear began to fade from his eyes.
_______________________________________________
◼ PASSIVE SKILL EVOLVED ◼
Devour Pain → Devour Pain (Lv. 2)
Injury accelerates growth•
_______________________________________________
"This system…"
Arakio laughed weakly.
"…is insane."
One crawler's head hit the ground.
Then another.
Then—
silence.
_______________________________________________
Arakio collapsed to his knees.
Blood.
Sweat.
Breath.
But he was alive.
_______________________________________________
◼ SYSTEM MESSAGE ◼
Trial Cleared.
Weakness reduced.
Rewards:
Strength +1
Endurance +2
Hunger Control +0.5%
_______________________________________________
From the darkness,
a deep voice echoed—
|"You are still hungry."
Arakio looked up.
Within the shadows,
a massive silhouette shifted.
This time—
it wasn't a test.
_______________________________________________
"I know,"
Arakio whispered.
"But I won't run anymore."
His eyes glowed.
Light.
And Darkness.
Together.
_______________________________________________
Chapter 4 Ends
_______________________________________________