It All Begins With Death.

"So this is it? This is how I go... I wonder what it's like in hell," Marvet whispered, his body sprawled on the cold asphalt road. Blood flowed relentlessly from his mouth, his lungs crushed beneath the weight of a five-thousand-pound truck.

"And I still had that puppy I wanted to play with... Dissecting her would have been fun," Marvet muttered to himself, his consciousness fading away.

"I only wish I could have heard her silent barks as I slowly cut open her flesh. That would have been fun, huh?" Regret echoed in his voice.

*COUGH... COUGH.

With one final cough, the nineteen-year-old departed from our world, leaving behind nothing but memories.

*DING!!!.

[Input your name:______] A game-like notification appeared, accompanied by a chime.

"Marvet... Name's Marvet," he answered dazedly, as if in a trance.

As the message vanished, Marvet's eyes gradually opened, revealing the dim interior of a dark cave.

"Push... Push back... FIGHT THEM OFF!!!" Marvet heard a commanding voice.

Lying on the hard ground, he noticed three adventurers battling a horde of goblins. Outnumbered, it was only a matter of time before they were dinner.

"UGH!" Marvet grunted, attempting to sit up, only to discover multiple stab wounds in his torso.

'Where am I? And most importantly, why am I still alive?' Marvet pondered, his gaze fixed on the struggling adventurers.

'Then there's this strange game-like stat screen with my name on it.' He then focused his attention on the floating stats above him, trying to piece together the missing puzzle.

[Name: Marvet]

[Level: 1]

[Health Points: 12/1000]

[Mana Points: 10/150]

Strength: 20

Agility: 32

Intelligence: 15

Stamina: 5

Coins: 250

(Points to distribute: 20)

'It seems I'm in dire straits in the health department,' he muttered, assessing his stats. 'And I have some skills too.'

--------

[Primary Abilities:]

-Shadow Strike [Lv1]

Launches a swift and piercing attack, dealing 60 damage to a single target. If the target's health is below 20%, the damage is doubled.

[Reach Level 5 to unlock -Shadow Strike-]

-Soul Shroud [Lv1]

Surrounds you with a dark aura, increasing your stealth by 50% for 30 seconds and causing enemies to have a 20% chance of missing their attacks.

[Reach Level 15 to unlock -Soul Shroud-]

-Reaper's Grasp [Lv1]

Drains 30 health points from the target and restores the same amount to your health.

[Reach Level 1 to unlock -Reaper's Grasp-]

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"These stats and skills it's just like that time I played that RPG game," Marvet mumbled to himself.

'For now, I only have one unlockable skill'

[Would you like to unlock -Reaper's Grasp?] Almost as if the system could read Marvet's mind, it posed a question.

"Yes... Ugh!!! Unlock -Reaper's Grasp," he replied as he grunted, still feeling the sharp pain of his wounds.

*DING!

[You've unlocked the skill -Reaper's Grasp-]

Without wasting any time, Marvet stretched his hands toward the goblins, and as soon as he did, their life force gradually left them, making them feel weak.

[You used -Reaper's Grasp. -5 MP, +30 HP]

[You used -Reaper's Grasp. -5 MP, +30 HP]

As Marvet used -Reaper's Grasp, his wounds began to close, leaving only scratches and bruises.

"Damn. It works like magic," he said, getting up on his feet and dusting himself off.

Meanwhile, the three adventurers were still fighting for their lives.

"Alistair, I don't think we can fight them off much longer," Selene called out to the party leader. Her smooth dark hair swayed like a pendulum as she fended off the goblins.

"Just keep at it. We're weathering them out, slowly but surely... Finley, how's it going over there?" Alistair wrapped around in cheap armor asked, thrusting his dagger into a goblin that pushed too close.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine... I just want to get rid of these damn goblins," Finley, the last member of the party, grumbled as he swung his mighty hammer, smashing the heads of two goblins at once.

Finley was the powerhouse of the group, with the build of a rhinoceros. He swung his mighty hammer at anything that threatened him or his companions, and when it connected, it was lights out for good.

"Can I fight alongside you guys? so we can get out of this forsaken cave." Marvet finally asked as he emerged from the shadows, making himself known.

"Huh? Who are you?" Alistair demanded.

"I think he was with a separate party. He was lying on the floor with multiple stab wounds... I had the chance to examine him right before we got ambushed," Selene informed the crew.

"If he was stabbed, then he's in no condition to stand, let alone fight... He'll only slow us down," Finley expressed his concern.

"Here, take this... If you say you can fight, then that's all I need," Alistair decided, handing Marvet his spare sword.

*Ding!*

[You've obtained a bronze-tier sword]

'Bronze-tier, huh? So that means it's a generic sword, and it also looks like it's on its last legs,' Marvet thought to himself as he examined the somewhat frail sword.

Satisfied that his sword would hold until he was done with the goblins, Marvet joined the fray. Swinging his sword, he began hacking down the goblins one after another.

[You used -Reaper's Grasp. -5 MP, +30 HP]

[You've killed a goblin. +10 XP, +3 coins, +1 point(s)]

<Congrats! You've leveled up. Current level: Lv3>

[You used -Reaper's Grasp. -5 MP, +30 HP]

[You've killed a goblin. +10 XP, +3 coins, +1 point(s)]

[You used -Reaper's Grasp. -5 MP, +30 HP]

[You've killed a goblin. +10 XP, +3 coins, +1 point(s)]

<Congrats! You've leveled up. Current level: Lv4>

[You used -Reaper's Grasp. -5 MP, +30 HP]

[You've killed a goblin. +10 XP, +3 coins, +1 point(s)]

'That's right,

I'll weaken each one right before I attack... That way, one strike should take them down,' Marvet thought as he plunged his sword into a charging goblin.

'If my mana depletes, I still have enough coins to purchase another mana potion... And it seems it's quite easy to level up at the beginning stage... At this rate, I'll be able to unlock that skill.'

[You used -Reaper's Grasp

. -5 MP, +30 HP]

[You've killed a goblin. +10 XP, +3 coins, +1 point(s)]

[You killed-Reaper's Grasp. -5 MP, +30 HP]

[You've killed a goblin. +10 XP, +3 coins, +1 point(s)]

<Congrats! You've leveled up. Current level: Lv5>

"System, unlock skill -Shadow Strike," Marvet ordered, slashing at the frail goblins.

[You've unlocked the skill -Shadow Strike-]

----------

-Shadow Strike [Lv1]

Launches a swift and piercing attack, dealing 60 damage to a single target. If the target's health is below 20%, the damage is doubled.

-----------

"Why does it look like he's having fun? There's something strange about him. I know the wounds I saw, he shouldn't be in any shape to hold a blade," Selene whispered to herself as she observed Marvet.

Seeing as their ambush was a complete burst, the goblins began to retreat into the cracks of the shadows.

[You used -Shadow Strike. -5 MP, +30 HP]

[You've killed a goblin. +10 XP, +3 coins, +1 point(s)]

'This was way more entertaining than I thought it would be. I wish they would have stayed a little longer,' Marvet thought to himself as he tested his -Shadow Strike- on one of the fleeing goblins.

"Thanks for your help fella, you were a big help," Alistair said as he approached Marvet, who had been cleaning goblin blood off his sword.

But as soon as Alistair got close enough, Marvet kicked his groin, and in pain, Alistair fell to his knees. And just like that, Marvet placed his blade on his throat.

"Drop your weapons or your precious comrade dies here," Marvet commanded Finley and Selene.

"What'd you say? Wanna die, flea?" Finley roared in anger.

"I don't mind slitting his throat right here, right now," Marvet told his face void of expression.

"Finley, calm down," Selene let out. "What do you want? We'll comply."

[You've purchased a rope. -15 coins]

'Wow, I'm so glad they didn't call my bluff. My only option would've been to run if they decided to let their leader die... They must be close friends or something,' Marvet thought to himself as he searched through his inventory.

'And I still need to get information because I don't know where I am, what I'm doing here, but most importantly, what these game-ish powers are,' Marvet said as he pulled out the rope he had just bought from the system's shop.

"Alright, tie yourselves up. The fun is just about to begin," Marvet said with a grin as he tossed the rope to Finley and Selene.