A dull, aching pain throbbed through my body as I drifted back into consciousness. My head pounded, my limbs felt like they were weighed down by lead, and a cold, jagged surface pressed against my back.
I sucked in a sharp breath—and immediately regretted it.
The air was thick and damp, heavy with the metallic tang of blood… and something else. Something ancient. It carried the scent of time itself, as if the air had been trapped in this place for centuries, untouched by the world above.
A low, guttural growl rumbled through the darkness.
A chill raced down my spine.
What the hell was that?
I forced my aching muscles to move, turning my head as my vision wavered, still hazy from—whatever had just happened. As the blurriness faded, my breath caught.
I wasn’t in the alley anymore.
Massive stalactites loomed above, jagged and menacing, like the gaping maw of some slumbering beast. Faintly glowing blue crystals jutted from the cavern walls, their eerie light pulsing like a heartbeat, casting long, shifting shadows across the uneven stone floor. The cavern stretched endlessly, twisting into tunnels that vanished into darkness.
I swallowed hard.
“…Where the hell am I?” My voice was barely a whisper.
Another distant roar echoed through the tunnels—deep, inhuman, too vast to belong to anything I wanted to meet. My skin prickled. Every instinct screamed that I wasn’t alone.
Ignoring the protests of my aching body, I pushed myself upright. My fingers brushed the stone beneath me—slick with moisture… or was that blood?
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
I gritted my teeth and forced my legs to steady beneath me. My fingers scraped against the rough stone, worn down by time. Every muscle protested, but I exhaled sharply and stood, blinking as my vision adjusted to the dim, pulsing glow around me.
What I saw made my stomach twist.
I was standing in the middle of a massive underground labyrinth. Towering stone pillars—weathered by age—stretched toward a ceiling so high it vanished into shadows. The walls weren’t just rough, natural rock. They were carved. Marked. Engraved with intricate symbols, some faintly glowing beneath layers of dust and decay. Crumbling ruins—remnants of what must have once been a temple or city—were scattered throughout the cavern, swallowed by time and darkness.
It was like something straight out of a fantasy game.
Except this felt too real.
I let out a slow, controlled breath, my breath visible in the frigid air.
“What the hell…?” My voice barely reached my own ears.
The engravings along the walls pulsed faintly, as if whispering to themselves. The symbols weren’t in any language I recognized—ancient and jagged, twisting in unnatural patterns, like they were alive.
A shiver ran through me.
This has to be a dream… right?
Or—
A wild, impossible thought shot through my mind.
“Did I… get Isekaied into some underground ruin?”
Ridiculous. Impossible.
And yet—I was here. Feeling every ache, every breath, every shiver down my spine.
Then—the cube.
I stiffened.
I thought back to the artifact I’d found in the alley. The glowing symbols. The unnatural pull. The way it had felt alive beneath my fingertips. The way reality itself had fractured the moment I touched it.
I clenched my fists.
That thing did something to me.
And now, I was here.
Wherever here was.
———————
I tread carefully through the cavern, my footsteps echoing in the vast emptiness. Every corner of this place felt ancient, like it had been lost to time—untouched, unseen. But something about it also felt wrong.
Like it wasn’t just abandoned.
Like something had died here.
Then, I saw it.
A shattered skeleton, half-buried under a pile of debris. But this thing—it wasn’t human.
Its skull was elongated, almost beast-like, with jagged, predatory teeth frozen in an eternal snarl. The bones were thicker than any human’s, the fingers ending in what looked like claws. Whatever it had been, it had died a long, long time ago.
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I swallowed.
"Yeah… that''s not comforting."
Despite the eerie sight, something caught my eye—a rusted sword, clutched tightly in its bony fingers.
Carefully, I stepped closer, crouching down. The blade was in horrible shape, its metal corroded and chipped beyond repair, but the hilt…
There were markings carved into it. Faint, barely visible beneath the grime, yet still intact—like whoever made this had left something behind.
Curiosity got the better of me. I reached for the sword, prying it from the skeleton’s grip. The bones crumbled at the motion, turning to dust.
And then—
A blue screen suddenly materialized in front of me, floating in midair.
I flinched, nearly dropping the damn sword.
“What the—?!”
The glowing window flickered, displaying lines of text, as if I had just triggered a notification.
[Appraisal Activated]
[Item: Ancient Ruined Sword]
Rank: E
Condition: Useless
Description: A broken relic from an adventurer who perished long ago. It holds no value.
I stared.
“…Wait, what?!”
The words stared right back at me, completely unreal yet undeniably real. My heart pounded as I hesitantly moved my fingers through the air—the screen flickered slightly, reacting like a real interface.
This was like a… game system?
Before I could even wrap my head around it, another window popped up.
[SYSTEM DETECTED]
Welcome, Lucian Rengoku.
System Integration: Complete.
I felt a cold wave of realization crash over me.
This wasn’t just happening to me.
The system wasn’t some cheat ability or unique gift. It was just… a part of this world.
And I had no idea what that meant yet.
———————
I took a deep breath, my mind still struggling to process the floating blue screens before me.
“…Alright,” I muttered. “If this is really some kind of system, then…”
I hesitated, then focused on a single thought.
Show me my stats.
Another screen instantly appeared, flickering into existence.
[STATUS]
Name: Lucian Rengoku
Race: Human (?)
Level: 1
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
Strength: 10
Agility: 12
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 15
Luck: ??? (Hidden)
[TITLES]
[One Who Walks Between Worlds] – Grants [Card of Conquest] (Allows the user to seal defeated enemies into cards, gaining skills, items, or abilities they possessed.)
[???] – Effect Unknown.
[SKILLS]
[Appraisal EX] – Able to analyze anything, including hidden information, surpassing normal appraisal abilities.
[Language Comprehension] – Instantly understands and can speak any language.
[Beginner Magic Affinity] – Grants the ability to use basic magic spells.
[Divine Protection] – ???
[Limit Break] – When faced with a life-threatening situation, temporarily surpasses normal physical limits.
[Instinct] – Heightened battle sense, allowing reaction to danger a fraction of a second faster than normal.
[Inventory] - Able to Store Anything Non-Living.
[Mana Control] – Improves efficiency in using magic, reducing MP consumption.
I stared at the screen, my mind completely blank.
“…What the hell?”
These titles and skills were insane—[Appraisal EX]? [Divine Protection]? [Card of Conquest]??
But then, I glanced at my stats again.
Strength: 10.
Agility: 12.
Endurance: 10.
They were… normal. Completely average. Hell, my MP was only 50, and the luck stat was hidden for some reason.
I rubbed my forehead, exhaling.
“So, let me get this straight,” I muttered. “I have overpowered skills, but my actual stats are just… basic?”
That wasn’t how this usually worked. Isekai protagonists were supposed to start strong or have some broken leveling system.
Instead, I had a ridiculously good skill set, but physically? I wasn’t any stronger than a normal guy.
That left me with a bigger question—
If everyone in this world has a system, does that mean people here are just naturally stronger than me?
I clenched my fists.
Whatever this world was, it wasn’t going to be some easy power fantasy.
I had skills—but whether that was enough?
I was about to find out.