Dungeons.

They are the magic lungs of the world, a place where magic gathers, forming monsters and loots for those brave enough to slay them.

The deeper the dungeon goes, the stronger the monsters usually are.

If a dungeon is not explored for a long time, the mana inside stagnates, causing monsters to overflow, causing a monster tide.

A guild of individuals tasked with exploring the dungeon while making it monetarily worthwhile was formed.

And those who delve inside are called Dungeon Explorers.

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Inside the dungeon city of Vlita.

Inside the unoriginally-named Vlita Dungeon's 3rd layer...

Three corpses lay on the ground next to an opened, empty chest, their eyes wide with disbelief and anger.

Among them was a young man bleeding on the ground, his eyes still wide open in disbelief at how he died.

His name was Gerhart, an orphan who dreamed of becoming a dungeon explorer. From an early age, he worked to the bone to save enough money for exploration gear before setting off inside the dungeon when he turned 18.

He wasn't alone, as two of his childhood friends, Mylo and Hazel, formed a party with him, intent on making their fortune at the dungeon... Or so they wanted to.

In reality, what happened was that, on their 11th exploration, their first time on the 3rd layer, they found a treasure chest and got an ultra-rare drop, a skill book worth thousands of silver coins!

They originally planned on selling it to the guild and donating half the money to their orphanage while using the rest to further their careers.

But as fate would have it, acquiring such a valuable item was their downfall. A group of more experienced explorers saw them pick the skill book and become greedy. Without saying anything, they attacked them and effortlessly killed them, taking the skill book before leaving the scene.

This was not something new. Explorers were not always friendly, and killing each other over treasure was not unheard of, especially not in a dangerous place like the dungeon, where no one is monitored... Just like how the dungeons want it to be.

They were living organisms, with their floors being digestive tracts and monsters being enzymes that dissolve food. Just a single slime was enough to digest the three corpses.

But as fate had it, although the story of two aspiring explorers ended, Gerhart's story had just begun.

Hum*

A low humming voice sounded as black energy emerged from Gerhart's body. The wounds on his body slowly but surely healed as he regained consciousness.

"Hah?" Gerhart uttered, looking around in confusion. "Didn't I die?"

While confused, he suddenly had a headache as memories flooded in.

"I am... Deadmeat... I... am a slave baggage carrier... I died after touching that relic..." Gerhart(?) muttered.

Deadmeat was the name given to a slave born into slavery. He was hired by a heroic party to conquer the most dreaded dungeon of all, the Great Labyrinth of Terror... As a pack mule. As luck would have it, his masters didn't care about him as they fought the final boss, and he got swept in the aftershocks of that battle. But in a weird twist of fate, both sides wiped each other, leaving Deadmeat as the sole survivor... But not for long. He sustained fatal injuries. However, with the last remnants of his strength, he crawled to the treasure guarded by the final boss, hoping it might save him.

The treasure was a pitch-black crystal, darker than darkness itself. And when he touched it with his bloody hands, it was absorbed into himself... And he died. But that was not the end of him. The relic protected his soul and made him reincarnate as Gerhart... It was just that his memories were locked for the past 18 years. Only his death brought about his 'resurrection' along with those memories.

However, Deadmeat was... well, Dead Meat. Meanwhile, Gerhart was alive and kicking. So Gerhart/Deadmeat made the logical choice of remaining Gerhart while retaining Deadmeat's experiences and wishes.

"Okay... I will remain as Gerhart..." Gerhart muttered and stood up.

He then eyed his two companions and childhood friends, Mylo and Hazel.

"Sorry... I won't be joining you for now... And I can't bring your bodies with me to the surface..." Gerhart said, feeling pained.

Mylo was his best friend, excited about being an explorer as he was. Meanwhile, Hazel was a naughty girl who liked treasures and adventure. They were closer than blood-related siblings, and Mylo and Hazel even had a romantic connection.

"... I will make those beasts pay, I swear it," Gerhart said, his eyes tearing up as he grabbed their still-warm hands.

It was then that he heard a voice in his head.

 

Energy Detected. Absorb?

 

Shing*

"W-Who?!" Gerhart quickly drew his sword and looked around. However, he saw nothing even after a minute.

"... Wait..." Gerhart slowly realized something, hesitated, and bent down, grabbing Mylo's and Hazel's hands.

 

Energy Detected. Absorb?

 

"The voice... It is in my head?" Gerhart muttered and sheathed his sword, a frown etched on his face. "Is it the relic?" He guessed.

After hesitating for some time, Gerhart made a decision. "Fine... Absorb."

The moment he said it, black energy exited Mylo's and Hazel's bodies, entering him.

As the energy flowed into him, the corpses visibly shriveled and mummified before turning into dust. But Gerhart didn't notice it as nerve-wracking pain assaulted his body.

Pop* Pop* Pop* Crack* Pop*

"GAAAAAHHH!!!!" Gerhart let out a heart-wrenching scream, falling on his back and spasmed in pain.

His body was transforming, its foundation refined from the root. His body continuously broke down before being repaired.

After what felt like hours but was closer to a minute, the pain stopped as Gerhart was released from his torment.

"Haa... Haa..." He breathed heavily, blankly staring at the stone ceiling. "What was that..."

Before he could process things in his mind...

"Kii! Kii!" Unpleasant screeching sounded, the sound of cave goblins, one of the more dangerous monsters on this floor.

Gerhart immediately got on his feet and drew his sword, holding his buckler in front as he warily looked at the entrance to the enclosed treasure room they found.

"Kii! Kii! Kii!" The screeching continued as not one, not two, but three cave goblins arrived, armed with rusted armor, swords, and clubs.

"This is bad... They must have been attracted to my screams..." Gerhart frowned.

A single cave goblin wasn't much of a threat, but fighting three-on-one was a bad idea. Cave goblins were pack animals, possessed good coordination, and were intelligent and ruthless enough to sacrifice themselves for their comrades. It was little wonder why they were called Rookie Killers.

If Mylo and Hazel were still alive, it wouldn't be a problem. But now... he would be lucky if he survived this with heavy injuries.

"Kii! Kii!!!" The three goblins menacingly laughed with their snot-colored ugly mugs and charged over.

However, Gerhart felt that something was odd. He fought goblins before... But...

"Why do they feel slower? Am I imagining things?" Gerhart thought.

It wasn't by much, but not too little, perhaps by a fifth. But he still felt they noticeably slower.

However, Gerhart couldn't bring himself to care as the first of the goblins leaped over, its club raised high, about to make a downward swing with its whole momentum.

Blocking it would make him stagger, but if he side-stepped, he would be assaulted by the flanking goblins. He had to take the attack head-on with his shield. And hopefully, he could deliver a shield bash.

"This will hurt...!" Gerhart braced himself for the impact, gritting his teeth.

Bam*

The club hit the shield, sending a shock through Gerhart's body. However, the imagined impact affected him less than expected. But Gerhart had no time to think about it. Using his training, he bashed the shield forward, sending the goblin tumbling backward, its nose broken.

"That was stronger than I expected..." Gerhart thought as he directed his attention to the two flanking goblins who used their comrade's distraction to attack him from both sides.

Using his shield, he blocked the sword from the left. And with his sword, he clashed against the goblin on the right. Such a sequence would be impossible for him and cause him to stagger, possibly getting stabbed... but that was before. He felt they were slower and weaker, so it was easier.

Performing another push with his shield, he sent the goblin on the left staggering before kicking the goblin on the right square in the chest, sending it rolling to the wall.

He attacked the still-staggering goblin on the left before stabbing it through the mouth to the back of its skull.

"G-Gii..." It uttered, its verticle eyes going up as it breathed its last.

Meanwhile. the goblin in the middle charged over again. Gerhart kicked the goblin on the left before confronting the club-wielding goblin, side-stepping its attack before chopping its head off with a swift slash.

"K-Ki..." The last goblin, the goblin on the right, saw its comrades dying and wanted to escape.

Cave goblins were notorious creatures who bullied the weak while avoiding the strong. And Gerhart was, in its eyes, a Strong Person. So it did what any of its fellow brethren would do... Run away.

Alas, Gerhart wouldn't allow it. If the goblin escaped, there was a good chance the goblins would form a pack and attack him ten-on-one. If that happened, he was Dead Meat... Again...

Charging over, Gerhart swiftly stabbed the goblin in the back and again for good measure before killing it. Once that was done, the room returned to silence.

"... How did I do that?" Was the first thing Gerhart asked himself.

He then looked toward the corpses of his two dead friends... Or what was left of them. They turned to dust, with only their equipment as a reminder of them.

"Mylo... Hazel... I am sorry..." Gerhart closed his eyes, feeling pained.

After calming down, he looked toward the goblins... Or what remained of them. The corpses and even equipment silently turned into magic stones, one of the core reasons why explorers venture into the dungeon.

As expected of low-level monsters, cave goblins on the 3rd floor dropped cheap cores that could be sold for about one Silver Coin each. Five Copper coins, or half a silver coin, were worth a loaf of 8oz of bread. For a full meal, you needed a minimum of a silver coin at a tavern, and that was the bare minimum. For a dungeon explorer, the living cost was about 8-10 SC, excluding the price of equipment and possible injuries.

That is to say, a party of three dungeon explorers needed at least to kill thirty goblins to feed themselves.

Of course, sometimes, monsters drop loot, but that is exceptionally rare. On a single dive, you might not find one drop item. Instead, beginners like him had a better chance of finding loot inside treasure chests. Hazel had a knack for finding treasures, so they found three chests in 11 days, getting a steel dagger, a healing potion, and now, by sheer dumb luck, a skill book... That was robbed.

Shaking his head, Gerhart walked over to one of the magic stones, wanting to pick it up. But then, he heard that voice again.

 

Energy Detected. Absorb?

 

"This..." Gerhart widened his eyes, speechless.

He was offered to absorb the energy... Of a magic stone.

Magic stones. They are a material for enchanting magic tools and powering them up. Breaking them also allows the one who broke them to absorb some of the energy inside, making him stronger. However, the efficiency was painfully low, and the price was too extravagant. Except for the first few times, dungeon explorers seldom used them since they grew less effective as one used them, forcing them to use higher-quality stones(Which were more expensive). That wasn't all. Absorbing the energy without a sufficiently strong body was suicidal and left permanent damage on the user, possibly killing them, and they required time between uses.

He, Mylo, and Hazel also broke a few daily and got stronger. However, every time they did it, they felt discomfort and needed to rest before doing it again.

Gerhart remembered what happened when he absorbed the energy from Mylo and Hazel. He felt such horrible pain, but he didn't feel any discomfort after it, which made him disassociate the connection between the two.

"Wait... Did the relic treat them... As if they were magic stones?" Gerhart guessed. "And it also healed me while strengthening me?"

After much hesitation, Gerhart said, "Absorb."

Black energy exited the magic stone, turning into dust as the energy seeped inside Gerhart's body.

"Ugh..." Gerhart shook, gritting his teeth.

Crack* Pop* Crack*

His body made popping noises as it was painfully refined and healed.

He felt the absorbed energy from the magic stone was at least a dozen times more than when he did it the first time back in the day. However, it was nothing compared to when he absorbed the energy from his two friends.

Soon, the effect wore off as he looked at the dust in his hand. Clenching his fist, he felt a tad stronger, but it was hardly noticeable. However, this was already a lot. And he didn't have any side effects.

This made him think about a wild possibility.

"... Is it possible... That I can perfectly absorb the energy inside!?" Gerhart widened his eyes.

When breaking a magic stone, most energy escapes, with the leftover being absorbed by the one who broke it. Some alchemists can make specialized potions to enhance their efficacy or magic formations... But those are expensive.

But now, he could perfectly absorb the energy without side effects... If people knew about this... Especially those high and lofty powerhouses... They would kill him and dissect him.

"I'll go solo from now on... Or get a slave..." Gerhart decided, feeling that his secret was too deadly to share with others.

As a slave in his previous life, he didn't like the idea of getting a slave... But he didn't have a choice. He might have trusted Mylo and Hazel... But they were now dead.

"And to go solo... I need strength..." Gerhart continued muttering as he looked at the other two magic stones.

These magic stones were the money he needed to survive in this world... But if he was stronger, he could earn more, creating a beneficial cycle. And more importantly...

"I need strength to avenge you... To avenge all of you..." Gerhart muttered, picking up the two magic stones and absorbing them.

"Ghk..." Gerhart shook as pain wrecked his body, but it soon ended, him becoming more powerful again.

He looked at Mylo and Hazel's remains and picked up their weapons: A mace and a bow.

"I'll make them pay for this... I swear it..." Gerhart vowed.

Before leaving, Gerhart also took their bags and coin purses, as they wouldn't need them anymore. "Sorry... I'll give a dozen-fold to the orphanage later..." He muttered an apology and left.