Zero sat on the ground as he tried to calm himself down, his entire body still trembling due to the close call with death.

[You have slain a Goblin. +10 Experience Points.]

[You have unlocked the Leveling System. Current Level: 1.]

[Would you like to view your status sheet? Y/N]

Three notifications from the system popped up one after another, with the last one arousing the interest of Zero.

"Yes."

Then, a black window popped up in front of Zero.

10/25 EXP

Name: Zero

Title:

Race: Human

Class:

Level: 1

HP: 45/50

MP: 12/14

STR: 3

END: 5

INT: 7

AGI: 3

Zero frowned as he looked at his HP stat.

45/50? Won't that mean I'll die if I get hit a few more times?

[No worries, host. Your body is unlike the ones of other human beings. Whenever you are harmed, your HP stat will slowly begin to recover. As long as it is not a fatal injury, your body will heal itself.]

"If I get an arm or leg cut off, will it regenerate?" Zero asked.

[Yes, host. However, if your HP ever reaches 0, you will permanently die. Weaknesses such as the heart and brain should be protected at all costs, they can reduce your HP instantly to 0.]

"Got it." Zero bit his lip as he thought.

As long as I protect my heart and brain, huh... Also, I have access to mana?

Zero couldn't help but to chuckle to himself as he thought of himself wielding magic.

"Room cleared. All monsters defeated. No rewards are available. Granting exit to all survivors." A monotone female voice suddenly rang out.

Zero grabbed the shortsword on the ground and looked up in alarm as he tried to locate where the voice was coming from. It felt like the voice was close to him, yet far away at the same time. But before he could think about it any longer, Zero felt a sense of weightlessness and his vision went black.

As Zero's vision came back to him, he noticed that he was back to where he was originally, with the portal behind him and the podium off to the side.

Wait, no. I remember that before I walked into the portal, the torches on the walls seemed to slant away from the wall with the portal inside. But now, they seem to slant towards the portal. Maybe this is the entrance to that 'Room,' and I entered from the exit? Either way, it looks like I can only keep moving forward.

Zero grit his teeth and continued walking forwards with the shortsword in his hand.

"System, who was that lady with the weird voice back there?"

The system didn't respond.

Zero sighed as he trudged forward, lost in his own thoughts.

"Kai, we're here." A tall, lanky teenager that looked around sixteen or seventeen said to his friend beside him.

"Mhm, this looks to be the right place as described in the mission description." The other teenager named Kai responded.

Kai reached into the satchel he was wearing and pulled out a piece of worn-out paper.

"Between a cluster of trees, with three boulders behind it," Kai read aloud. "Yeah, looks accurate enough."

Both boys stared at the portal hovering about one foot above the ground with curiosity.

"It's not every day we get the honor of mapping out an unexplored dungeon. I wonder if any dumbasses trying to strike it rich already went in without telling anybody?" Kai said aloud.

"Don't remind me," His friend said as he grimaced. "That was so long ago, and we barely made it out alive. We already promised Anata we wouldn't do it again. She's scary when she's angry, Kai."

"Yeah, yeah," Kai said as he walked towards the portal. "Well, let's do this, Anun."

"Yeah, I hope we make it back out in one piece," Anun replied.

Kai smacked the back of his friend's head, "Don't jinx it, idiot."

Anun chuckled as he and Kai walked into the portal together.