I run. I keep on sprinting, and don’t even spare a single moment to look back. Not even the slightest glance.
I can’t afford to.
Beads of sweat pour down my face, but I don’t have the luxury to wipe them away. Even with the adrenaline pumping through my body, I still feel the sprains in my tendons. With every heavy step, my muscles scream in fatigue. Beyond the point of soreness, every step is a challenge in itself.
Behind me, I hear the discombobulating screech of many roaches. The cavern walls rebound the screeching, the echoes magnifying to produce Hells Symphony.
My soul, my mind, and my body all wail the exact same thing, syncing together in a euphoric suffering.
“Run! There is no way in hell you can win. Not a chance at all. Keep on running, and don’t let them catch up!”
– A few hours earlier –
Ugh, I’m sooo bored.
Why is this dungeon so empty?
I’ve literally been waltzing around for… how many hours was that?
Forgot.
Well, I’ve been walking around for a couple hours, but I have not seen a SINGLE damn roach yet!
That’s right—not ONE mob in this entire freaking labyrinth of a dungeon has popped out and said ‘hello, please kill me!’ yet!
Is this place deserted or what?
Aw man, an empty dungeon now?
What a letdown.
…Wait. Wouldn’t it actually be more beneficial to me if there were no mobs around?
Less roaches means less fighting which means a lower chance of death, right?
Sure, I won’t get as strong that way, but me wanting to get strong was just a byproduct of me wanting to survive.
My survival is my first priority. Getting stronger just so happened to align with my goals of not dying.
So, yeah.
No mobs!
Yes please!
Empty dungeon for the win!
So, this is an abandoned dungeon with a scarce number of enemies, yeah?
Mhmm.
Sure, no complaints here…
…
Wait… if there’s a dearth in monsters, wouldn’t that mean one overpowered boss to compensate for the lack?
Heh heh…
NOOO!! I TAKE IT BACK!!
Dealing with swarms is easier than dealing with a power creep!
I mean if it’s just a horde, I could simply use guerilla warfare tactics to slowly whittle down the numbers. But, if it’s one super potent boss, cheap tricks like hit and run won’t work as effectively.
And head on, I don’t think I can beat any bosses as I am now. If I struggled on a rank D roach that was probably just a goon, then any big boss roach is gonna be way out of my league.
Besides, killing lots of enemies means that I can slowly progress and get stronger on my way to the boss. By the time I face that theoretical boss, I would be much stronger and would probably stand a chance.
If I jump straight to the boss without levelling on weaker opponents? Well, my best bet would be praying for a second isekai.
Wehhh… I wanna fight a swarm!
I keep on walking around, this time sticking to the left wall like all good adventurers do. If I get lost, I can just retrace the route I took this way, since all my turns are uniform!
Also, the once super rocky and hard to traverse landscape has become a bit more even.
Instead of having to take painstakingly wide strides, I can walk at a comfortable pace.
The ground right now is… similar to a long time unmaintained gravel road?
Yeah, something like that.
After some time, I found this huge gaping hole. At first, I thought there was just a break in the road since all I saw was emptiness.
But when I peered down… BAM!
Huge crater!
It’s so deep that I can’t even see the bottom of it! Looking down, all I see is black. Nothing more, nothing less…
Wait. If I squint reaalllyyy hard and change my angle, I think I can make out…
Glint!
W-Whaa?!
I go wide-eyed and I rub my eyes in disbelief and scratch my temple. I saw… something reflecting light at the bottom of the pit?
I squint again, this time so hard that I feel the beginnings of tears swell up near my eye ducts.
If I squint at the… bottom of the pit, it seems to be… moving? And once in a while, I see that shine come from random directions.
I try giving the shiny pit an [Appraisal].
Unnamed
Level: 1 Rank: F Class: None
Species: Dungeon Cockroach
Unnamed
Level: 3 Rank: F Class: None
Species: Dungeon Cockroach
Unnamed
Level: 4 Rank: F Class: None
Species: Dungeon Cockroach
Unnamed
Level: 1 Rank: D Class: None
Species: Dungeon Cockroach
Unnamed
Level: 1 Rank: F Class: None
Species: Dungeon Cockroach
Unnamed
Level: 7 Rank: F Class: None
Species: Dungeon Cockroach
Unnamed
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Level: 5 Rank: F Class: None
Species: Dungeon Cockroach
Unnamed
Level: 3 Rank: F Class: None >
“Eek!”
You idiot!
It’s not that I can’t see the bottom of the hole—those are a bunch of pitch black roaches in such a magnitude that they cover the whole freaking floor!
The roaches notice me and a cacophony of screeches ensue, the jumbled octaves overwhelming me.
As they start to move, the whole floor seems to tremble in unison.
Since the ‘floor’ was just a multitude of roaches lumped together, the ‘floor’ quite literally begins to move, as the roaches start chasing me.
And so, I sprint away as fast as my legs allow, a tidal wave of impending death looming behind my back.
Present time…
Huff… Wheeze…
Keep… on… running…
No matter how hard, no matter how long, no matter how much I run, the sound of ruinous scuttling and clicks always follow behind me.
I’ve run to the rocky part of that path once again.
I start to lose my footing, and constantly stumble between strides.
HURRY, YOU IDIOT! STOP STUMBLING! I cry inside my head, straining my mental voice in aggravation.
I want to run. My mind is screaming for me to take those steps…
But… my body…
My body has already given up. It’s a miracle that I’m still managing to move at this point.
Every action feels rough and improper.
My knees buckle whenever my foot hits the ground.
The adrenaline is slowly leaving my body.
I’m decelerating. At an alarming rate.
I take a split second to glimpse behind me.
From the original swarm—roughly a few thousand, only a dozen continue in pursuit.
But I’ll still lose if I stop. If I don’t keep moving, I'm dead.
I’m still outnumbered, and I don’t think my current level of strength will be enough to push past all these roaches.
Worst of all, the roaches are catching up.
It doesn’t take long before I feel a bite on my leg. My cold blood trickles down my leg, looking almost blue from the lack of oxygen circulation.
Unnamed
Level: 4 Rank: F Class: None>
GODDAMNIT!
If I can’t run, I’ll fight.
“Materialise weapon!”
An ebony sword suddenly materialises in my hand. Using it, I strike down onto the roach. Sapphire blood spurts out from the crevices in its exoskeleton, falling down and mingling with my crimson blood.
Despite the satisfaction of hearing the crunch, I haven’t killed it yet. I stab once more, before double-checking with [Appraisal] to see if the roach died.
However, I’ve got no time to celebrate. The other dozen swarmed me in the time it took for me to kill the first roach.
Flanked from all sides, the roaches begin to screech and click louder, as if moved by the death of their comrade.
I quickly [Appraise] all of them.
Most of them have the same specs as the roach I had just killed, but there’s one roach that stands out as a main caution.
Unnamed
Level: 23 Rank: F Class: None>
Level 23… 13 levels above what I deemed as dangerous. Luckily for me, the stronger roach doesn’t seem all that aggressive, as it stays behind the crowd, doing nothing but looking at me narrow-eyed.
The rest of the roaches, however, all simultaneously leap towards me with bared fangs.
I blindly thrash around, flailing my sword to and fro like a maniac. I grab at anything I get my hands around, before violently stabbing the gripped matter.
…The roaches are clearly overwhelming me. Sharp, searing pains envelope my body. And I have no way to defend.
I hate roaches.
I really do.
It’s strange, isn’t it?
Just then, I was panicking, my life flashing before my eyes. Yet now, in the face of doom, I feel strangely—even oddly—tranquil. My heart was moving to the pace of an everlasting rainfall, each droplet being a beat. I was unable to contain my emotions and burst like a balloon. I feared death’s grasp.
I was scared.
Now?
Now I feel numb. No—not numb. That wouldn’t be the right word. My emotions are still as real as ever. I’m not ignorant of an impending death. I know it’s coming, and I know the reaper is coming for me. A more accurate way to describe it would be that I have in fact, accepted it.
I’ve got nothing to lose, so I might as well fight recklessly in a last ditch attempt. I know for a fact that winning isn’t a possible outcome, but I still want to be the salty guy and dwindle down the population of these stupid roaches, even if only by a smidgen.
If I remember correctly, I had gotten two other things from my level-up notifications. Namely, Combat and Skill Points.
I had tried to use them but gave up shortly afterwards, having failed once. After that, I didn’t bother.
But in a now-or-never situation?
Might as well try finding out what they do or die in the process—literally. If I can somehow use them, I feel I’ll get a lot stronger. If not, then…
“Skill Points!”
“Combat Points!”
Nothing happens, just like before.
Still shaking off as many roaches as possible, I go for an alternative attempt.
“Allocate Skill Points!”
Why is nothing working?!
I was talking big before—I don’t wanna diee!!!
What about Combat Points? Combat Points will work, right?
Please, work! Surely I’ll manage to allocate them!
“Allocate Combat Points!”
I recoil in surprise, only for my fall to be cushioned by the bodies of dead roaches. I’ve killed two. But ten more still persist.
Still stunned, I fail to avoid a roach flinging itself right at me and take the brunt of its force as its fangs sink into my flesh. With momentum backing it up, the chomp goes in deeper. Much deeper.
I yawp noticeably louder before and get snapped out of my paralysed state. Lukewarm blood trickles down my shirt.
This isn’t good. Although my body is fighting on instinct while my mind is wandering, instinct isn’t enough. I need to draw my full attention to the battle in front of me without getting distracted.
If I keep on half-assing, I’m as good as dead. I need to do this system thing quickly.
<15 Combat Points
Health: 7
Mana: 5
Damage: 8
Defence: 5
Speed: 6
Which attributes do you wish to increase?>
Seriously now?
So many options…! Alright, change of plans.
I’ll put all of my attention into selecting how to distribute my Combat Points so I can quickly get back to the battle without making a bad decision.
I suspected I was weak, but these flimsy stats seem… too low. No wonder I’m getting overpowered so easily.
My sword alone does twofold the damage of my raw attack stat.
Right now, survivability is my top priority, meaning I need to distribute these points carefully so I can get the upper edge in battle.
Okay. Quick listing time.
Health—I need this. Health will let me tank more hits and increase my overall ability to persevere. High priority.
Mana—the key stat for using magic. Seems cool, but I have no idea how to use or activate magic whatsoever. Out.
Damage—Important. Increasing damage lets me hit harder and kill faster. Damage will definitely improve my offensive abilities. High priority.
Defence—Important. Higher defence will let me take more hits, similar to health. Will improve my defensive abilities, but so will health. Mid priority.
Speed—Very important. Agility can be used both as an offensive and defensive countermeasure. Speed means I go faster. I hit more times. And I can dodge. Very important, this is definitely top priority.
…
…
On something that could be called a whim, I decide to allocate my Combat Points to health, damage and speed.
Damage: 8 (+2)
Speed: 6 (+10)
Confirm?>
Confirmed.
Health: 7 → 10
Damage: 8 → 10
Speed: 6 → 16
Current Combat Points: 0>
I feel power surging through my body. Okay, quick!
I went all serious again for some fast calculations, but now I need to focus on the battle again!
…But, with my speed literally three times higher than before, the roaches’ attacks seem to slow down. Not to the point where I can dodge every single attack, but certainly to the point where this ‘onslaught’ has become more of a fair battle, where both sides have a chance of winning.
I flex my free hand, testing things out.
Compared to before, this is much more of an improvement.
I see another… no, sorry.
I see the same roach that jumped at me before rearing up, ready to jump me again.
Seriously, is jumping headfirst all these bugs can do?
I would expect cockroaches to scuttle or something.
Well, with this new ability to dodge the roaches' attacks, things get much easier. I mean, faster agility also means things around you seem to slow down, right? Speed really is the best.
It’s an all rounder that can be used to increase my offensive output as well as minimising damage by being able to see and dodge attacks.
I mean, individually, I had no trouble with these roaches, even before I used my Combat Points.
It was sheerly the copious amounts that gave me trouble.
Thank you, Combat Points! I will forever be in your debt!
The roach finally jumps, but I use its acceleration against it. I quickly latch onto one of its legs, before redirecting that momentum sideways. Using the roach as a cricket back, I smack down another roach, sending it skidding a few metres backwards.
And with my other arm, I use my sword to mercilessly cut down the roach I grabbed. After killing it, I quickly hurl the body away, before moving onto the next bug.
<[Stab Lv1] has become [Stab Lv2]>
In no time flat, I make quick work of the roaches.
All basic attributes increased.
Level up proficiency acquired
Proficiency has reached required level
Rena Shinohara has acquired skill [Rationality Lv1]
[Stab Lv2] has become [Stab Lv3]
Skill Points acquired
Combat Points acquired
50% of max recovered>
All basic attributes increased
Level up proficiency acquired
Skill Points acquired
Combat Points acquired
50% of max health recovered>
The satisfying churn of level up and new skill notifications soothe my soul. I feel tears stitch themselves up, my body reverting to its original state. Ah, this is bliss! I might get addicted to this feeling! But a much louder, more aggressive screech brings me back to my senses.
Behind the pile of corpses, I see the level 23 roach. Unlike those weak ones, this roach gives off an intimidating aura. Even more than the first roach I met.
Seriously?
This guy is only ranked F, so it should be weaker than my first roach encounter. Yet the vibes it gives off are totally different. This one seems battle hardened. An experienced fighter.
Bad news.
And it charges straight at me.