For a long moment after waking up, Han Jiwon simply lay there, staring at the cracked ceiling above his bed.
The familiar stain near the corner—shaped vaguely like a bird—was still there. The faint buzzing of the old ceiling fan filled the room, uneven and irritating, just as it always had. Outside the thin window, distant traffic noises blended with the occasional shout of street vendors.
Everything was the same.
Too much the same.
Jiwon slowly raised his hands in front of his face. They were uninjured. No blood. No crushed bones. No lingering pain from being buried under rubble. His breathing was steady, his heart no longer threatening to tear itself apart.
Yet the memory of death clung to him with terrifying clarity.
The weight of stone pressing down on his chest.
The suffocating despair.
The cold indifference in the Dungeon Guardian's glowing red eyes.
It hadn't been a dream.
His gaze shifted slightly, and his breath caught.
A translucent window floated calmly in the air.
[First Mission]
Kill one monster.
Reward: Monarch Authority (Lv.1)
"…So it's real."
His voice came out hoarse, as if unused.
Jiwon sat up slowly, muscles tensing as he waited for pain that never arrived. His body felt light—too light, almost fragile. Whatever power the Monarch System promised, it clearly hadn't been granted yet.
He swung his legs off the bed and stood.
The mirror hanging crookedly on the wall reflected a version of himself he hadn't seen in years. Younger. Less exhausted. His eyes still held a faint spark, not yet dulled by endless failure and humiliation.
Three years ago.
Before the debts piled up.
Before guilds stopped even pretending to evaluate him.
Before he learned just how cruel the awakened world could be.
Jiwon clenched his fists.
"This time… I won't waste it."
The system hadn't told him much, but one thing was clear: if he wanted power, he had to earn it the hard way—by killing monsters.
Which meant only one place to go.
Low-grade dungeons appeared across the city almost every week. Most were quickly sealed or cleared by guilds, but occasionally, small unstable gates were left open for independent hunters and rookies.
They were dangerous—but survivable.
At least, survivable for someone desperate.
Jiwon pulled on a jacket and left his apartment, his old dagger tucked securely beneath his coat. The city felt different now. Familiar streets carried unfamiliar weight, as if he were walking through a memory he could finally change.
An hour later, he stood before a flickering gate in an abandoned construction site.
E-rank dungeon.
The lowest of the low.
Perfect.
A small sign had been erected nearby, warning civilians to stay away. No guild insignia marked it, which meant it hadn't been claimed yet.
Jiwon swallowed.
Fear crept in, cold and persistent.
He had died once already in a dungeon. Even with a second chance, the instinct to run screamed at him.
But then the system window flickered again.
[Mission In Progress]
Kill Requirement: 0 / 1
There was no way around it.
Jiwon stepped forward.
The world twisted, and the city vanished.
The dungeon interior was cramped and suffocating. Narrow stone tunnels stretched endlessly in both directions, the air thick with dampness and rot. Faint mana pulses crawled along the walls like living veins.
His heart pounded.
Every footstep echoed too loudly, sending his nerves into overdrive. He tightened his grip on the dagger, sweat forming on his palms.
"Calm down," he muttered under his breath. "You've been here before."
That was the terrifying part.
He knew exactly how weak he was.
A faint growl echoed ahead.
Jiwon froze.
From the shadows emerged a creature no taller than his waist—a Stone Rat, its rocky hide cracked and uneven, sharp yellow teeth clicking together as it sniffed the air.
One of the weakest dungeon monsters.
Even so, it had killed hunters before.
The rat's red eyes locked onto him.
Jiwon's breath hitched.
In the past, he would have hesitated. He would have waited, prayed for backup, or retreated if possible.
This time, he stepped forward.
The Stone Rat lunged.
Jiwon barely rolled aside, claws scraping the stone where his head had been a moment earlier. Pain shot through his shoulder as he slammed into the wall, but he forced himself upright.
"Move!"
He slashed with the dagger, the blade glancing off the monster's rocky hide. The impact numbed his wrist.
The rat screeched and turned, tail whipping toward him. Jiwon ducked instinctively, feeling the wind rush past his face.
His chest burned. His legs trembled.
This is real combat.
Not training.
Not theory.
Kill or be killed.
As the Stone Rat charged again, something shifted inside him.
Time seemed to slow.
He noticed the way its weight shifted before each leap. The slight delay in its right leg. The exposed gap beneath its jaw when it opened its mouth.
Jiwon moved without thinking.
He stepped inside the creature's charge and drove the dagger upward with everything he had.
The blade pierced flesh.
A wet crunch echoed through the tunnel.
The Stone Rat convulsed violently before collapsing at his feet, lifeless.
Jiwon staggered back, gasping for air.
Then—
[Monster Defeated: Stone Rat]
[Absorbing residual essence…]
A surge of warmth flooded his body.
It wasn't overwhelming, but it was unmistakable. His muscles tingled. His heartbeat steadied. The exhaustion that had weighed on him moments ago faded slightly.
Another window appeared.
[Mission Complete]
Reward: Monarch Authority (Lv.1)
The air around him trembled.
Jiwon felt something settle deep within his chest—an invisible crown, heavy yet empowering.
[Monarch Authority Lv.1 Unlocked]
• Passive Effect: Minor stat absorption
• Authority Effect: Command presence against low-grade entities
He stared at the windows, hands shaking.
"Stat absorption…"
He looked down at his body again. He felt stronger. Not by much—but enough to notice.
Enough to matter.
A slow smile spread across his face.
For the first time since awakening, effort had been rewarded.
"This is only the beginning."
The dungeon no longer felt like a grave.
It felt like a hunting ground.
And Han Jiwon stepped forward, deeper into the darkness—ready to claim everything the world had denied him.