Dangers Within The Dungeon 2

"I didn't die…?" my thoughts were in disarray but one image never left my mind, the system notification stating that I had died. Yet I was still alive and without a scratch on my body.

As I was still thinking, the party leader appeared out of nowhere in front of me.

"Are you okay, John?!" he asked frantically but upon seeing my torn clothes and strangely unharmed body, he smiled.

"I knew you were a genius! You must have used [Enhancement] at the perfect moment! But this is no time to play around, I have to go take care of the monster so stay further away." he said seriously.

Just as he was about to leave my body moved on its own and grabbed his hand. A blurry image had appeared in my mind one of me and my sister a long time ago.

"N-no! I-I can still fight!" I shouted as I grasped for my sword.

"Are you sure? That's a D-rank monster."

"I'm sure, I'll kill him myself!" I almost roared in rage. In that I felt anger—no I felt pure hatred for the monster, though I had returned to life, it remained that a monster had killed me.

"I like that look in your eyes. Take this and go!" said the party leader as he handed me a spear.

I stood up and grabbed the spear as my brain began to heat up. Flowing energy pulsed into my neurons and moved towards my veins, my muscles, and down to my fibers. Even my breath had become a heated smoke. My gaze fixed on the hobgoblin, as [Enhancement] covered the spear and slowly enveloped the entirety of my body.

[Skill [Enhancement(D-Rank)] has increased to [Enhancement(B-Rank)]

"You look like a hunter, John. I'd say this qualifies as a [Revival]! Now go and show the monsters the reason humanity has survived!" shouted the party leader.

"Yes, sir!" I replied as my speed increased as I ran towards the monster with a spear in one hand and a longsword in the other. The increased stats along with enhancement allowed my speed to reach an incredible level nearing the human limit! Hunters naturally were hardly bound by human logic so even a newbie was still amazing in comparison to even an Olympic runner of the bygone era.

"GHOROOOOO!!!" shouted the hobgoblin as it repeatedly struck down on Jake's shield.

*Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!*

Blood was starting to splatter from his arm as he gritted his teeth and shouted.

"Fuck! I can't take this shit anymore! Even my fucking cyberware is overloading! Shoot harder you fuckers!"

"We're trying! Fuck I'm running out of mana!" replied Harley as the size of her fireballs decreased with every attack.

"I'm running out of arrows too!" shouted Ben with a terrified expression, a spoiled son of a corporation manager wasn't built for combat to begin with.

Soon, I was close enough to the hobgoblin and launched my first attack, with [Cold Heart] no fear or anxiety remained—as miraculous as it sounded it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows I would soon discover.

"I'm coming for you!" I yelled with a rage that surprised even the one who said it. I remember thinking, 'Why am I so angry?'.

I threw my spear with great power when I was only 10 meters from the hobgoblin and with a swoosh it pierced into the back of his knee. As he yelled in pain however I had already seen the path towards my next attack.

"GRAAAAAAAHAHHHH!" it wailed in pen as it fell to a kneeling position.

"It's John! He didn't die?!" yelled Harley with her screeching voice.

Jake smiled nearly from ear to ear and shouted as he retreated.

"Fuck! I almost died there, John! They said you were a genius, so fucking kill the bastard, choom!"

"Don't worry, he's going down!" I replied as I kicked the spear further into the hobgoblin's knee and jumped into the air with the longsword in my hand. As I descended through the air I felt the rushing energy filling my brain and in an instant, my grip changed mid-air as I descended onto the hobgoblin's head and struck it head-on.

"GHOORRROOO- AHHHHHH!!!" It wailed in pain but my sword soon split its brain into mush and silenced it.

Painted with its green blood, I finally felt a release from the strange overpowering rage that had filled my mind.

"I fucking did it!!!!" I yelled with the full power of my lungs.

[The gods were entertained by your actions! The prizes will be increased.]

[Some gods are wondering why the feed cut when you were hit.]

[Dungeon complete!]

[Calculating prizes…]

[Calculating contribution rate…]

"Woooooh!!! We did it!!"

"Fuck yeah! A D-rank on our first dungeon!"

"Yeah, I did it!"

The shouts of happiness filled the cave as the exit gate appeared. Two chests were placed right in front of it as notifications appeared to us.

[Contribution Rates]

John Crane(E-rank)-60%

Harley Vega(E-rank)-20%

Jake Jones(E-rank)-15%

Ben Stilley (E-rank)-5%

Johnathan Brain(???-Rank)-0%

[Only the highest contributor can open the chest.]

[John Avery, one of the gods states he left you a gift as he laughs maniacally.]

[Experience will be distributed. Thank you for entertaining the gods.]

Experience points soon spread to everybody as we stood around the exit gate.

"Go ahead and open the chests, John, they're yours!" said the party leader.

"Thank you," I replied as I opened the first chest.

[You have found a C-Rank Skill Card [Mana Control]!]

"What is it, John?" they all asked almost in unison.

"It's a skill card for [Mana Control]."

"[Mana Control]? That's at least C-rank! Can you sell it to me?" said Harley.

"No, sell it to me!" said Ben.

Jake was uninterested, [Mana Control] was more suited for long-range damage dealers after all.

"No, you should use it, John." said the party leader.

"Yes, si-" I was about to reply when a notification appeared to me.

[Are you sure you want to use your final skill slot?]

"What? No! I can't waste it on a C-rank." I thought. I'm the end I handed it to the party leader.

"Please sell this for me, sir. I need the money more."

He looked at me deeply and then nodded.

"Alright, I'll send the money to your account when it's sold," he replied.

Immediately Ben and Harley began trying to buy it from him. Meanwhile, I approached the other chest.

"Please be something useful…"

I touched it and a notification appeared.

[You have found F-rank sword [Ravaging Wolf's Edge(Cursed)]

"Huh?"

[The god [Swift Handed Lion] laughs maniacally and says your face was worth the price for changing the reward.]

"Petty bastards are always the same, let's at least check the description."

[Ravaging Wolf's Edge]: A weapon that grows along with Its owner and allows the summoning of ancient shadow wolves. Once bonded it cannot be unbounded. It Consumes lifespan for even the weakest attack. It will grow stronger depending on how much life is imbued into it.]

"This…I'm not sure yet but I might have found a hidden treasure just for me.." I thought.

"Is it good?" asked the party leader.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright let's head out then," he replied.

After passing through the gate, I said my goodbyes and walked back home.

The place I lived in was a small apartment in a large industrialized living region. Basically countless tiny rooms with only enough space to fit a small car, even then they were still hard to afford unless the neighborhood was a dangerous one like the one I was in.

A tiny bed in the corner a burner stove, and a large duffle bag for my clothes, as well as a small hologram system. Bedroom, kitchen, entertainment, and closet, as for the bathroom….let's not mention that.

Laying on the bed and facing the ceiling, I was filled with countless thoughts.

I sat up, the [Wolf's Ravaging Edge] in my hands.

"Should I just…try it?" I said as I placed the edge of the sword on my palm.

With a swift move, I cut a small cut into my palm. The pain however was far from small.

"Ack! Fuck! Getting shot hurt less than this!"

In an instant, a crimson energy covered my hand and within a few breaths, my hand had recovered.

"Fuck, this really means I can't die! It hurts more but I'm really fucking immortal!!" I was smiling from ear to ear, the concept of immortality was just too good, especially in a world where the rich live in city-sized mansions while the workers live in buckets.

Corporations took over the world after the [Calamity] and sure they developed it and made it better and safer for living but that was only for hunters and the rich. Even most hunters could barely afford an apartment. Meanwhile, the wealthy, lords over money and strength, their weapons the best, their cyberware a mythical level, their cars, their mansions, and even the teams they used to easily grind levels in dungeons, all of these were enviable.

I looked at the blade in my hand and a thought came to mind.

"To live in a shit while risking my life in dungeons or to make it to the major leagues! I'm going to be a fucking legend!" I shouted my resolve, as the sword clutched by both of my hands moved towards my heart at incredible speed.

It was all or nothing and I, John Crane wanted all…