[Haru POV]
I kept walking through the forest. My left arm was fractured, my body was aching everywhere, and blood was still dripping from my wounds. This was honestly the worst.
I walked without knowing where I was heading. My breathing grew heavier with every step, and my vision began to blur—like my body was warning me that I was at my limit.
Then I suddenly collapsed. I didn't know whether I tripped again or if my body had finally given up. My eyes shut on their own. Strangely, the ground I fell on felt warm and comfortable. For a moment, I thought maybe I had already reached heaven.
A few hours later, I woke up. I looked around and realized I was inside a cave. I touched my body and was shocked to find my injuries had healed. My left arm was back to normal, though traces of the wounds remained.
"What happened last night? Did the system heal me?" I wondered.
But that was unlikely. The system had only ever sent me messages, tips, and items—not direct healing.
I looked toward the mouth of the cave and saw it covered by clusters of blue lotus flowers. I used my skill, **Lazy Eyes**.
[Blue Moon Lotus
A lotus with strong healing properties that works slowly over time. It also releases invisible spores with a scent disliked by low-level monsters, preventing them from entering.]
So that's how I recovered. While I was unconscious, the lotus spores healed me. I looked upward and saw dozens of them hanging from the ceiling of the cave.
Suddenly, the system appeared again.
[Quest
Enter the dungeon deeper inside the cave and defeat the monsters within.]
I stared at the message, then muttered under my breath:
"Damn system… I just recovered and now you want me to conquer a dungeon? And there's a dungeon inside a cave inside another dungeon? Seriously… a dungeon inside a dungeon."
I was still grumbling to myself when I suddenly remembered something—I had received a new skill and leveled up last night. I quickly spoke the command:
"Status Window."
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Shige Haru
Age:17
Title: Newbie
Class: –
Stats
STR: 9 (Common)
AGI: 16 (Rare)
END: 11 (Common)
INT: 17 (Heroic)
LCK: 36 (Legendary)
MNA: 3 (Common)
Skills
– Lazy Eyes
– Fast Adapt
Seeing the new skill listed, I opened its description.
[Fast Adapt
A passive skill that is always active when learning something new, and becomes even more effective during combat. The longer you fight, the faster you adjust to the enemy's movements. The more you focus on their actions, the shorter the adaptation time becomes.]
I let out a small hum, honestly a bit satisfied.
"Yeah… this is exactly what I need right now. But if that's the case, I'll have to fight by dodging and letting the enemy attack first. If the enemy is stronger than me, I might die before I even finish adapting to their patterns…"
I let out a slow exhale.
"Well, for now it's better to hunt outside first and strengthen myself before diving into the dungeon deeper inside this cave."
I stood up and stepped out of the cave, greeted by the clear blue morning sky—a peaceful scene that sharply contrasted with the dangerous world filled with monsters. I began walking, searching not for creatures of malice, but hopefully for normal animals I could hunt.
Unfortunately, luck was not on my side at first. Partway through my search, I stumbled upon a group of goblins resting. Some of them were chewing on something, and it took only a second for me to realize—they were eating the corpse of a human.
A shiver ran down my spine. Disgust twisted my stomach, and I almost threw up on the spot. My first instinct was to rush in and kill them, but I forced myself to calm down. Reckless action would only put me at a disadvantage. Goblins were nothing more than experience fodder anyway, and their meat was tough, foul, and not worth the effort. Without a word, I backed away and resumed my hunt.
After several more minutes of searching, I finally spotted something worthwhile—a rabbit, larger than normal, with a pair of sharp horns jutting from its head.
I crouched low, hiding in the grass, observing carefully. When the horned rabbit lowered its head to nibble on a flower, I tightened my grip on my weapon and prepared to strike.