"Stay behind if you can't keep up."
Kairo Voss didn't stop walking.
The narrow dungeon tunnel echoed with footsteps, armor clinking, weapons shifting. In front of him, the main team moved confidently, like they owned the place.
Because they did.
D-rank hunters.
And then there was him.
F-class.
The gap wasn't just numbers. It was everything.
"Hey, you deaf or just stupid?" one of them muttered, glancing back. "I said don't slow us down."
Kairo let out a quiet breath. "I'm not."
A scoff.
"Then try not to die. We don't get paid extra for dragging corpses out."
A few chuckles followed.
Kairo said nothing after that.
He was used to it.
Used to the looks. The tone. The way people spoke like he was already dead.
But he still came.
Because even scraps of dungeon money were better than nothing.
Because outside this place… things were worse.
The party stopped suddenly.
"Room ahead," the leader said, raising a hand. "Formation."
Kairo moved to the back without being told.
Of course he did.
That was his role.
The door creaked open, revealing a wide chamber lit by faint blue crystals. Shadows clung to the edges. The air felt… wrong.
"Just goblins," someone said after peeking inside. "Easy clear."
Relief spread through the group.
Too fast.
Kairo's eyes narrowed slightly.
Something felt off.
"Move in," the leader ordered.
They rushed.
Steel clashed. Magic flashed. Screeches filled the chamber.
Kairo stayed near the entrance, gripping his cheap blade.
One goblin broke through the chaos and lunged at him.
He reacted late.
Too late.
The blade in his hand trembled as he barely deflected the strike. The impact sent pain shooting up his arm.
"Useless—" someone started, but—
The ground shook.
Everyone froze.
A deep, cracking sound echoed through the dungeon.
"…What was that?" someone whispered.
The walls… were moving.
No.
They were breaking.
"Back! Everyone back!" the leader shouted.
Too late.
The blue crystals flickered violently, then shattered one by one.
Darkness flooded in.
A pressure—heavy, suffocating—dropped onto the room.
The goblins started screaming.
Not attacking.
Screaming.
"Something's wrong—this isn't a normal dungeon!" one of the hunters yelled.
The floor split open.
A massive crack tore across the chamber, swallowing two hunters instantly.
Their screams didn't last long.
"RUN!"
Panic exploded.
Formation collapsed. Orders vanished.
Everyone ran.
Kairo ran too.
Or tried to.
His foot slipped on broken stone. He crashed hard, breath knocked out of him.
By the time he forced himself up—
They were already gone.
Footsteps faded.
No one looked back.
"…Figures," he muttered, forcing a weak laugh.
Another tremor hit.
The ceiling above him collapsed.
He threw himself forward, but debris slammed into his back, driving him to the ground.
Pain exploded through his body.
For a moment, he couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
Dust filled the air. Darkness swallowed everything.
Kairo lay there, staring at nothing.
His body felt… distant.
Cold.
"So this is it…"
No dramatic last words.
No one waiting for him outside.
Just… silence.
A faint sound echoed somewhere ahead.
Not collapsing.
Not monsters.
Something else.
Kairo's fingers twitched.
"…Not yet."
He didn't know why he said it.
Maybe instinct.
Maybe stubbornness.
But he moved.
Dragging his broken body across the ground, inch by inch.
Blood trailed behind him.
Every movement hurt.
Every breath burned.
But he kept going.
Because stopping meant death.
And he wasn't ready for that.
Not like this.
Not as nothing.
A faint glow appeared ahead.
Blue.
Soft. Flickering.
Kairo pushed forward, vision blurring.
The tunnel opened into a small chamber.
At its center—
Something floated.
A dark, shifting mist.
It twisted unnaturally, like it was alive.
Next to it, embedded in the ground, was a small, dim blue fragment.
The air around them felt… heavy.
Wrong.
Kairo tried to step back.
His body didn't listen.
The black mist moved.
It noticed him.
"No—"
It surged forward.
The moment it touched his skin—
Pain.
Not normal pain.
Something deeper.
Like his body was being erased.
Kairo collapsed, convulsing as darkness spread through his veins.
His heartbeat went wild—
Then started slowing.
Vision fading.
"Dying…" he whispered.
Then—
The blue fragment reacted.
Light burst out, rushing into his body.
Cold met darkness.
Clashing.
For a moment, everything stopped.
Then—
—
[Dual Core Adrenaline System Initializing…]
—
Kairo's eyes widened slightly.
A voice.
Inside his head.
—
[Balance: Unstable]
[Black Core: Active]
[Blue Core: Activating…]
—
His body spasmed violently.
Bones creaked.
Breath stopped.
[Survival Probability: 3%]
Silence.
Then
A new line appeared.
[Do you want to survive?]
Kairo stared at nothing.
His vision almost gone.
His body already breaking.
A weak, almost invisible smile touched his lips.
"…Yeah."
Darkness swallowed everything.
[Input Accepted]
[Forced Adrenaline: Activated]