One night, when I went to bed, I had a strange dream. I was standing in front of a giant, black tower, with a height further in the sky than I could see. I was curious, so I decided to walk up to the door. As soon as I entered, I was greeted with a message in my head.

[Welcome to the Dungeon: Black Tower, weary traveler. System update will commence.]

I thought nothing of this strange dream, for I read about occurrences such as this often. I went to school the next day, but I thought nothing of the dream. When I went to bed again, I was in the same place. I thought this would be a fun dream, so I continued in. I heard the same robotic message:

[System implanted in user id Earth01. Please check status.]

I decided to try thinking about checking my status, when I noticed a projection in front of me.

Name: Roberto

Race: Human (Earth)

Level: 0 (0/10)

HP: 10/10

Class:

MP: 0/0

Strength: 11

Endurance: 14

Speed: 8

Luck: 1

Wisdom: 10

Dexterity: 10

Titles: None

Skills: Martial arts (F-) 0/100

Not knowing what this meant, I tried asking the message thing in my head, and I got some of an explanation.

Level: goes up from zero, increases stats and gives skill points. Special bonuses are unlocked at certain levels

MP: amount of mana I could use. Many skills use mana proportional to the skill, increases at a rate of +1 every hour until at maximum

Strength and endurance: how strong I am and how long until I get tired, respectively

Speed: how fast I can go

luck: how lucky I am

Dexterity: how precisely I can move.

Wisdom: how smart I am

Apparently, the default values are supposed to be around 10 for most people in a population. As I practiced martial arts for a couple of years, it seems my strength and endurance have increased. Also, that seems to be why I have the > skill. The system told me that the letter is rank, which symbolizes how strong a skill is, and it goes from H to SSS. There are also EX-ranked skills, which are unique to a specific planet. Apparently, there are people here from other planets. The number in parenthesis is my proficiency, which goes up the more I use the skill. I tried it out by punching the air and, sure enough, my proficiency increased to (1/100). It seems that proficiency is one of the requirements to rank-up a skill, although not all skills can have ranks increased further.

After the explanation, I continued into the dungeon place, and I encountered a small man with a green face, long nose, and pointy ears. A goblin! This dream is getting fun! I kick the goblin in the face, and it screeches. I then sweep its small legs and proceed to continually punch it. I then punch its neck a couple times until it disappears. When it does, another announcement goes off in my head.

[Achievement: First Subjugation of monster by Earth explorer. Award will be distributed.]

[Skill book: Appraisal (A) obtained.]

I received, in my hands, a small scroll. When I opened the scroll, a bright light shone, but it was blank. I decided to check my status, again, and I noticed > was listed next to my > skill from before.

Name: Roberto

Race: Human (Earth)

Level: 0 (0/10)

HP: 10/10

Class:

MP: 0/0

Strength: 11

Endurance: 14

Speed: 8

Luck: 1

Wisdom: 10

Dexterity: 10

Titles: None

Skills: Martial arts (F-) 5/100, Appraisal (A) 0/300

I wondered why I did not receive any experience, but the messages would not answer. I wanted to try appraisal so I thought about it, but, unfortunately, a message came up, then.

[Insufficient mana for skill: Appraisal. Required mana: 1, current mana: 0]

I wanted to know how to get experience and mana, now. What good is a skill if I can't even use it? I then took in my surroundings. I was in a narrow, white hallway. There were two doors on each side, and nothing in front of me. I continued walking, but, after the doors, it was like I hit an invisible wall. Past where I was, another goblin came running at me. I backed up, and, once it went through the barrier, I pounced on it and continued hitting it over and over until it finally started to disappear. When it did, a small red diamond and iron sword were left in its place. I grabbed both, and, once I did, I got some messages.

[EXP shard acquired. Experience 1/10]

[obtained basic dull iron sword (H)]

[Achievement: first loot gained my Earth explorer. Sword has gained additional attributes [Soul Bond]: Weapon is bonded to owner and can be taken in and out of inventory by a thought; no others can possess and will always return to owner, [Growth]: weapon grows with user, [Mana Infusion]: Mana can be infused in weapon, [Infinite durability]: sword will never break]

[Would you like to bind the weapon to your soul? If so, please name it].

I thought Blackmail sounded cool, so I decided to name it such.

[Weapon Blackmail has been bound to user's soul. Entering inventory.]

After that announcement, I went to the first room. When I opened the door, I saw many goblins. I took the sword out from whatever this inventory was and started slashing. I was afraid with this many goblins coming at me, and I did not know what to do. I kept swinging the sword through the air, and it hit a goblin on the head. I then took the goblin outside of the room and quick shut the door as more tried to follow. To try my hunch, I repletely stabbed the goblin multiple times in the neck, but nothing happened. The sword would not pierce the neck of the goblin. Whenever it woke up, I strangled it until it fell back asleep. After what seemed like an hour, I finally hear something in my head.

[basic dull iron sword has evolved into basic iron sword. Hardness increases]

[due to evolution of Blackmail, acquired skill elementary sword techniques (F-)]

When this occurred, I was surprised. When asking why it was elementary, apparently, after a certain grade, the skill would evolve to become: elementary->basic->intermediate->advanced->legendary. Elementary becomes basic after it reaches rank C, and basic becomes intermediate after it reaches rank C. Intermediate to advanced requires a rank A, and advanced to legendary requires rank SS advanced. I finally succeeded in cutting the neck, and it also felt a little easier. For the next few hours, I continued quickly pulling goblins out of the room, strangling them, then repeatedly hitting them with the sword until they died. I obtained 2 more EXP shards, as well. Finally, the room seemed empty. Inside, there was only a table, and on it, there was a scroll and a small vial of 10mL of blue liquid. Still thinking this as only a dream, I drank the potion, since I did not care if it was poison.

[MP limit potion consumed. MP increased by 20]

I was excited when I heard that, as it meant I could finally use my appraisal skill. Appraisal, I thought, staring at the scroll

Type: spell book

Uses: 1

Spell: cannot be determined.

Checking my status screen, MP went down by one and Appraisal's proficiency went up by one. I decided to open the scroll, and, when I did, I thought nothing changed; however, when I checked my status, I saw spell: absolute frost.

[Grand Achievement: first magic learned on Earth. MP +30. +2 skill points. Ice affinity increases 20%]

I thought to appraise absolute frost to see what is does, and I was suppressed by the large cost

Absolute frost

Rank SS

Proficiency: 0/1,000

Mana use: 500/second

Requirements: ice affinity 65%

Description: freezes everything surrounding caster, regardless of defense, for duration of use. Area increases as proficiency increases. Current area: 1 meter. Increases by 10 meters every 50 proficiency Has a 50% chance to force enemy to incur substantial freezing damage. Chance increases by 10% every 250 proficiency

I then asked the system what Ice affinity ment, and I learned that there are different elements and that most people have an affinity for certain elements out of those. It is rare for the affinity to change after birth, except through classes and titles, and, even then, only slightly. Affinity above 15% is required for almost any sort of spell, while more powerful spells required higher affinity. My affinity was originally highest in electricity followed by ice, but now ice was in the lead. Affinity above 50% is required for powerful spells, and the element itself can be somewhat controlled above 75%. It is unheard of for non-deities to have an affinity above 80%. Thinking about this, it seems I have been here for about five hours, so I decided to wake up from the dream after using all of my mp appraising the table and a goblin I saw beyond the barrier

type: furniture (table)

durability: 500/500

materials: wood, birch (80%), dungeon wood (20%)

description: A table

type: monster (lesser goblin)

vitality: 25/25

Name: Roberto

Race: Human (Earth)

Level: 0 (3/10)

Class:

MP: 0/50

Strength: 11

Endurance: 14

Speed: 8

Luck: 1

Wisdom: 10

Dexterity: 10

SP:2

Titles: None

Skills: Martial arts (F-) 10/100, Appraisal (A) 50/300 elementary sword techniques (F-) (0/100)

Magic: absolute frost (SS ice) 0/1000

Magic affinity:

Ice affinity: 60%

Fire 15%

Water 5%

Electricity 50%

Dark

I woke up in the morning, and I went on my way to school, as usual. As Part of my journey, I have to pass through a shady neighborhood. This was one of the reasons I learned martial arts in the first place. If I ever needed to, I was confident I could defend myself.

"Hey, Roberto!" a gruff voice rang out from behind me.

I turned and saw Derick, followed behind by his lackey Chris and girlfriend Theresa. Chris and Derick were known as the biggest bullies in my high school, and they also practiced martial arts. I was a first-degree black belt in WTF-style Tae Kwon Do, but they both were third-degree. They had been training since they were little. They were also delinquents who had to repeat some grades, so they were 21-year old high school seniors. I was not confident I could go against them, especially with how often they beat me up during class. As such, I was hoping I could run away, but, I heard them again as I tried running across the intersection

"Chris, sick!"

"Hey, guys, come on, we train together! Can't we do this at our Dojang?"

Chris caught up to me in that time period and spun me around.

"You should know better, scum. Now give us that necklace you always wear and all your money." (Derick)

While Theresa laughed in the background, Derick and Chris encircled me in the middle of the road. Derick through the first move, a jab-cross combo, which I parried away. I prepared my front kick, but Chris was quicker, executing a jumping roundhouse to my rib cage. I was down at that time, and when I attempted to get back up, Derick hit me with a front snap kick to my face. I wished Blackmail from my dream was real. As a black belt, I had a little experience in using a sword, but I knew there was no way I could win. Even so, the necklace they were talking about is my family's heirloom passed down for generations. I could not give it to them, but I had no way to fight back. Suddenly, as I was thinking about the sword from my dreams, it materialized in front of me. While I was surprised, I knew not to let it show. It was more important to fight.

"Hey, Chris, where'd he get that sword all of a sudden?"

"I don't know, man. It looks like it just came out of nowhere."

"Let's retreat. We may be able to win, but I don't want to be cut with that sword in front of my beautiful Theresa"

They left, and I could now calmly analyze the situation. I tried thinking of status, and sure enough, it was right there in front of me. My MP didn't seem to increase too much, though. Maybe it was that I slept for four hours, so it only went up by four. I used appraisal on my backpack to see if it was possible.

type: item bag

storage list available

description: bag for storing items. Cannot be brought to dungeon

Sure enough, my appraisal works as well. I knew I had to hide the sword, so I thought of recalling it back into my inventory, and it worked. My MP also went down to three. After school, I had Tae Kwon Do practice. As a black belt, I was given some freedom to practice on my own. My sah-bum-nim and I discussed that I brought my own sword and wanted to focus on training with my sword. Derick and Chris arrived after that. Sah Buh Nim Richard agreed to help me after pleading for his help, so he had Derick and Chris start the class while he helped me. I pretended to take Blackmail out of my inventory while pretending it came from my backpack. For the next 30 minutes, we continued practicing with the sword. I thought I had gotten a little better during my practicing. I joined class for the following hour. When class ended, I asked to practice again, and Sa Buh Nim Richard seemed pleased. I also appraised him to see what would show up.

Name: Richard Pleat

Level: 0

MP: 0/0

Strength: 15

Endurance: 17

Speed: 15

Skills: Martial arts (D+), intermediate sword techniques ©, elementary bow techniques (F), strength up (E-), movement prediction (H)

I was surprised by his stats, with endurance almost double an average person, as well as the bow techniques. I have never seen him use a bow before, but he must be quite proficient, since my > skill was F- even though I was a first-degree black belt. I asked the system, which somehow still responded to me. It told me that, without the system, it was very difficult to increase the proficiency of skills, and even the best in the world may only be around C+~B- range in skills. After practicing for another half hour, I left, positive I wouldn't run into Derick and Chris again. Once I got home, I quickly took a shower and ate a freeze-dried meal before going up to my room. I wanted to sleep early to go back to the dungeon.

"are you aright? Are you sick? It's not like you to go to bed so early," my mother asked.

I responded, "I'm just tired. Training was harder than usual today. Everything's fine."

"OK, just don't over-exert yourself. You're still my baby."

I Immediately went back to bed and arrived back at the dungeon, as usual. I went into the room I cleared last night and found it empty, just as before. I took out the sword, as I wanted some more practice. I opened the next door, and I jabbed and slashed at the goblins in front. This room was slightly larger, with about 30 goblins in it. Realizing I could not continue fighting them all with the sword, I proceeded to do the same as yesterday. After a few hours, I succeeded, and I gained another 2 EXP shards. The inside of the room looked exactly the same as the first room I went to, with a table and rewards. This time, there was a shimmering green liquid 10mL vial. Appraisal showed it as a SS-ranked strength-enhancing potion. I drank the potion, and my strength increased by 10! My endurance also increased by two. Next to that was another "spell book. Appraisal showed

Type: spell book

Uses: 1

skills: paralysis eyes (rank D-), poison eyes (rank D-), paralysis resistance (10R), poison resistance (10R), light (rank H)

After I opened it up, I asked the system why paralysis and poison resistance, both passive, used R. The response I got was that, rather than ranks, it was measured in resistance units. When it got to 100R, the skill changed to nullification. 100R nullification makes the wielder immune. After I opened the scroll, I appraised paralysis and poison eyes. Further, I appraised light

Paralysis eyes

Rank D-

Proficiency: 0/125

Mana use: 10/use

Requirements: electricity affinity 15%, paralysis resistance 10R

Description: paralyzes target for 10 seconds (base). Actual time and extent of paralysis depends on affinity and skill proficiency

Poison eyes

Rank D-

Proficiency: 0/125

Mana use: 15/use

Requirements: dark affinity 15%, poison resistance 10R

Description: poisons target. Potency of poison increases with proficiency. Increases in rank can allow different types of poison to be used current types:

Basic poison: gradually lowers target vitality through contact or air-borne transmission, requires 10R to protect caster

Paralysis poison: due to possessing paralysis eyes, can cause breathing paralysis when inhaled, as well as lower vitality requires paralysis resistance 15R to protect caster

Complex poison: quickly lowers target's vitality through contact, air-borne, or fomite transmission. Requires 25R to protect caster.

Light

Rank H

Proficiency: 0/20

Mana use: 5/second

Requirements:

Description: creates a small, bright light. Chance for mana use to decrease and light to get larger as proficiency increases

Upgrade conditions: increase proficiency to 20/20, attempt spell in dungeon

I didn't quite know what the conditions were, but there was one item left. It was a pale blue liquid, and there were 20mL. Appraisal showed that it could increase my MP by 50 each use. Before I Drank it, I wanted to use my remaining 9 MP. My only choice was light, so I thought of light, and, when I did, a small light-about the size of a golf ball, appeared. Three seconds later, it disappeared—and so did my MP I drank 10mL, and my MP was restored to 50. I went to the third room and saw it also had 20 goblins. In this room, I immediately casted paralysis eyes, which paralyzed the closest goblin, and poison eyes, which paralyzed the goblin in front. I immediately lunged with my sword and killed them both. The other goblins were dancing around a circle, and they did not notice me. I yelled at the goblins, as I was ready to fight them the same as the other rooms. They began running to me as I heard the system message.

[you have acquired the skill existence. Enemies are more likely to notice you and fight you instead of other explorers. Proficiency increased due to number of targets. Proficiency: 18/20. Due to proficiency increase, area is expanded to ½ meter]

When I saw the goblins start to come at me, I ran out of the room. This did not stop the goblins, though. They burst out of the room even with the door closed. I did not know how I would fight them all, but I then remembered that there was the mana infusion attribute in Blackmail. I tried thinking of my mana flowing into Blackmail, and it began glowing in a light blue color. I also saw my status showed my MP decreased by 15. This left me with just six mana left. I also noticed my speed went up by 3, my strength by 5, and my dexterity by 6. I began my goblin extermination. One, two, three, four, five. I easily sliced down five goblins, especially since very few could enter the narrow hallway at a time. It was almost like the hallway was meant to restrict their movements. After I defeated goblins six, seven, and eight, I began retreating. The remaining goblins seemed stronger. I decided to appraise one

type: monster (weakened goblin)

vitality: 35/35

The goblin's race seemed to have become weakened goblin, and its vitality increased by ten. I was almost out of the dungeon after defeating one weakened goblin, which also dropped an EXP shard, but there was another pouncing on me. I threw Blackmail and pierced the goblin's eye.

[Skill: critical strike learned. critical strike increases chance to strike an opponent in their critical area, once critical area is known. Current chance: 10%. Chance increases as proficiency increases. Skill can only be learned 10 times per planet.]

It was the first time I heard about a skill limit per planet, but I recalled the sword back to me and tried piercing the goblin in the eye by throwing my sword. It worked, but, it seemed I still could not escape the goblins—there was an invisible wall preventing me from leaving, showing

「goblins defeated 13/20」Showed in gold at the top of the invisible wall.