Kael was running.
Not heroically.
Not strategically.
He was running like someone who had absolutely no intention of becoming a legend today.
Behind him, the monster crushed the ruins with every step.
Each impact shook the ground.
— This is unfair! Kael shouted. I'm barely seventeen!
The creature answered with a roar that probably meant:
I don't care.
The dungeon's red sky vibrated. The air was thick, heavy, almost liquid. Every breath burned.
Kael tripped over a stone.
— Seriously?
He hit the ground face-first.
The monster raised its gigantic claw.
The end.
Finished.
Game over.
A message appeared.
Critical failure detected.
Activating: Divine Misfortune
Kael sighed.
— Of course.
New ability unlocked:
SSS — Insulting Trajectory
…
— Excuse me?
The monster struck.
Its claw suddenly veered ninety degrees.
It smashed… into its own head.
BOOM.
Silence.
The monster staggered.
Kael remained on the ground.
— …did I just see that?
The message blinked.
Any object or attack targeting the user will follow a humiliating trajectory for its owner.
Deeply offended, the monster roared.
It attacked again.
Same result.
Its own blow slapped it with divine precision.
Kael slowly stood.
— So… if I understand correctly…
The monster delivered a monumental self-inflicted strike.
It collapsed in a cloud of dust.
Monster defeated
Kael stared at the body.
— …I just won through incompetence.
Another message appeared.
Level 1 → Level 5
Title obtained: Accidental Survivor
— Thank you, system. Very respectful.
A laugh echoed.
Not his.
Kael froze.
Someone was sitting on a broken pillar.
A girl.
Silver hair. Light armor. Sharp gaze.
She was applauding slowly.
— Impressive.
Kael pointed at the monster.
— I can explain.
— I'm sure you can't.
She jumped down gracefully.
— Name?
— Kael. Student. Victim of circumstances. You?
— Lysara.
She studied the corpse.
— Rank S minimum.
— Great. I almost died to an S on my first day.
— You didn't almost die.
— I literally watched my life flash before my eyes.
She narrowed her eyes.
— How long have you been awakened?
— About… ten minutes?
Silence.
— You're joking.
— I wish.
The dungeon trembled.
Harder.
Deeper.
The ground split open.
Lysara turned pale.
— Oh no.
— What do you mean oh no?
— That monster was a guardian.
— And?
— You just killed the guardian of a catastrophe dungeon.
Pause.
Kael thought about it.
— …is that bad?
The sky tore open.
A silhouette descended slowly.
Massive.
Too large to be real.
Wings of shadow.
Eyes like dead suns.
A Dungeon King.
Lysara whispered:
— We're going to die.
Kael looked up.
— No no no. I already used Cosmic Refusal. It's written. I read the fine print.
The King opened its mouth.
Reality trembled.
A message appeared.
Extreme critical failure detected.
Divine Misfortune entering resonance.
Kael screamed:
— STOP DETECTING FAILURES!!
Forced evolution triggered
SSS — Protagonist by Mistake
Silence.
The Dungeon King froze.
Confused.
The world hesitated.
The message continued.
The narrative accidentally favors the user.
Absurd survival probability: activated
Lysara stared at Kael.
— What are you?
— I don't know! I just wanted to fail my awakening peacefully!
The King attacked.
The sky collapsed.
A tower fell…
directly onto the King.
A portal opened…
beneath the King.
A magical explosion from nowhere…
struck the King.
Three catastrophes at once.
The King vanished into a dimensional hole.
Silence.
The dungeon began collapsing.
Lysara looked at Kael.
— …I take back everything I've ever said in my life.
Kael looked at the falling sky.
— We running?
— We're running.
They sprinted.
The world crumbled behind them.
An exit portal appeared.
They jumped.
They crashed onto the gymnasium floor.
Dozens of agents surrounded them.
Riven screamed:
— KAEL!
He grabbed him in a hug.
— YOU'RE ALIVE!
— Unfortunately, yes.
Master Edrik trembled.
— The portal… it disappeared…
Lysara stood up.
— Catastrophe dungeon neutralized.
Total silence.
All eyes turned to Kael.
— It was him.
Kael raised his hands.
— I'd like to clarify none of this was intentional.
A message appeared.
Visible only to him.
Global reputation acquired:
"The Living Error"
Kael closed his eyes.
— I want to go home.
The system replied:
Impossible.
Global event triggered.
The sky above the city cracked.
Thousands of red portals opened.
And a voice echoed across all of Zelendia:
"We have found our anomaly."
Kael sighed.
— …this is my fault, isn't it?