The world changed for the worse, and everyone had to adapt. Dungeons, portals to unknown locations, appeared all over the world, and from them, monsters began to emerge, attacking anything living in sight.
Humanity tried its best to fight these beings but wasn't successful, as these monsters couldn't be easily killed with firearms. As a result, the monsters' constant attacks caused many casualties, reducing the global population by a third. This put immense pressure on humanity, to the point of collapse.
But in times when no hope could be felt and the world's end seemed imminent, a ray of hope changed everything at once. People began to awaken abilities far beyond any technology, akin to magic. They were praised for their accomplishments, as they had the ability to fend off those monsters and keep them in their dungeons. We call those who awakened "Awakeners."
After 50 years, everything calmed down and improved. Technology advanced far beyond what it had been 50 years ago, thanks to the magic stones inside the dungeons, marking it as one of the most significant turning points in human history.
***
I was sitting in a corner with my torn leather armor that I had worn for more than a year, waiting for my team to arrive. Not many people were outside since it was still early in the morning. I was exhausted since it hadn't been long since I returned from my previous job, and since this job came up suddenly, I couldn't get any sleep.
"Hey, you! You can't be here. This area is restricted, guild property," said a guard who just noticed my presence.
I stood up and said, "I'm a porter, and I'm waiting for my team to arrive. They should have authorization for this dungeon."
"Let me see." He then took out a tablet from his pocket. "Ah, you're right. You must be Ethan... wait, that name seems familiar?"
"You might know me through Mr. Kim Ji-soo. He is the broker who arranges my jobs," I said with a soft smile.
"That's it, you're that Legendary F-rank, aren't you?" he said with bright eyes.
"Legendary F-rank? How did that come about?"
"That's what he calls you. He said you were one of the best porters he's encountered, thanks to your knowledge of monster behavior and dungeon strategies. Hard to believe an F-rank, the weakest rank possible, could be this impressive... but here you are," he spoke with genuine respect.
I kind of expected that from Kim Ji-soo. He was the kindest to me, and after I awakened, he became my broker without taking too much as compensation. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't try and spend my time as a porter.
"I'm grateful for that," I said with a soft smile.
I remembered it as if it were yesterday. It happened two years ago. I was working at a construction site after getting beaten nearly to death by debt collectors.
[ Congratulations! You have Awakened ]
I awakened at the time that I needed it most. For an awakener, no matter what the rank was, getting money wasn't as hard as working in labor, so I was happy despite not knowing my [Class] nor my [Skills]... until it hit me.
[ Error! ]
The [Status Window] was a system granted to all Awakeners after their awakening. With that, they could see their skills and the way to activate them, which was required... but I couldn't open mine. No matter how I tried, I couldn't open my [Status Window], and no matter how many times I tested various activation words, my skills didn't activate... so I got assigned as an F-rank, who had slightly higher strength than a normal person.
I moved on from helplessly waiting for hopes to come true and decided to put my all into learning how to fight monsters with my weak body, and that paid off.
"Are you the porter?" said a man who appeared in front of me, right after the guard left.
Although it was sudden, I stayed calm, stood up, and said, "Yes. You must be Mark, the party leader. I hope I can be useful."
"Great. Are you ready for the session?" he asked, skipping formalities.
"Yes, I am. I just need to know the strategy—"
"Don't worry about the strategy. Just stay at the back while we fight. The others will arrive shortly," he said as if he were in a hurry.
I nodded and sat down quietly.
Based on the text I got from Kim Ji-soo and his armor, I could see he wasn't very patient with those who weren't his boss, and thankfully, due to my experience with many types of Awakeners, I didn't find it hard to deal with him.
One by one, they came and greeted the party leader. They were talking about their daily lives, so I didn't intervene and waited for everyone to come.
There were two swordsmen, one archer, one healer, and me, the porter, in our team, which was considered the minimum standard for the best strategies for fighting in a dungeon. They were all wearing fancy armor and weapons, and they looked confident and experienced... all but one.
One of the swordsmen, who seemed to be younger, didn't seem to be experienced at all, despite having the most expensive items I had ever seen in the world.
'I feel bad about this,' I thought to myself.
"Alright. Now that everyone is here, we should go right now since we are late on schedule. Guard, open the door," he said loud and clear.
The guard nodded and opened the iron door of the contraption surrounding the portal. Behind the door, there was a white light beaming with glory.
The shape wasn't any different from a normal crack, just like any crack on a glass window... but this one was in space itself. The small fractures around the bigger crack were lengthening and shortening, giving it the illusion of a living being.
One by one, first with the party leader and last with me, we entered the dungeon.
Despite facing many dungeons in my time, I couldn't get used to the feeling of uneasiness when entering one, no matter the rank.
After passing through the white gate, we entered the place that most considered hell. The dungeon had a cave-like structure. The ceiling was filled with glowing colorful crystals that brightened the area just right. The imperfections on the walls and grounds were made visible by the crystal lights, giving it a fine texture.
[ Dungeon Mission
—————
> Objective: Defeat the Boss Monster.
• Time Limit: 108 Days, 5 Hours, 12 Minutes ]
A window appeared in front of me and everyone else, stating how we could clear the dungeon. Every dungeon had an Objective, and if not completed within the given time limit, the portal would open to the outside world, and monsters would start killing civilians.
After getting readjusted, we started moving forward. As far as I knew, this dungeon-clearing session didn't include killing the boss monster, so we were there to kill as many monsters as possible. Everything was going smoothly, and everyone was at their most focused... well, everyone but the guy who was standing beside me.
"...and that is how I joined the guild. Cool, right?" said the healer. As a healer, it was expected to stay at the very back and only intervene when things got dangerous, but for the first time in my entire career, I met an Awakener who couldn't get tired of talking.
"Yes, yes," I said, despite not listening to his words.
"Then, do you want to hear something more interesting?" he said quietly. Although I guessed with 100% certainty that he was going to talk about his life, I said, "Sure, why not," with a forced smile... after all, they were the ones who were going to pay me.
"This team only assembled for the new kid beside the leader. Can you guess the reason?" He then pointed toward the inexperienced kid.
"Is he a rich kid?" I answered with the most reasonable guess. As a porter, I had encountered people who would pay others to accompany them inside a dungeon so they could just gain the thrill and experience a true dungeon clearing session.
"Oho, not just any rich kid. He is the son of Red Knives' guild master, the thirteenth strongest guild in the world," he said with a bright expression, as if he was waiting for something.
I was shocked by the answer I received since it was unexpected to encounter such a figure. More confusing was the lack of any bodyguards or even interviewers in front of the dungeon... but that wasn't the main part for me.
"Then why am I here? There should be plenty of high-rank porters in Red Knives that could finish the job much faster than me," I asked with concern.
"You're correct, but we haven't told anyone about this session. Sean, the guild master's son, awakened not too long ago and insisted on entering a dungeon, but his father refused, telling him it was dangerous. He asked us to come with him in secret, and as the son of our boss, we couldn't refuse. You're here because he wanted a perfect team for today," he answered, seemingly truthful.
Although the chance of this was pretty unlikely, I did find it fitting for an answer.
I could see Mark, the party leader, who clearly was stronger than a C-rank Awakener, talking formally to the kid who hadn't yet touched his sword, which made me chuckle, even though I was exhausted.
"Hey Mark, I sense some monsters ahead," said the archer who was standing in the middle of our formation.
"Alright, everyone in position. We can't let our guard down," said Mark confidently.