Prologue

Deep inside a foreboding dungeon, the sound of a sword hitting a hard object reverberated through the air.

Within the expansive chamber, a towering demonic figure stood motionless, casting a watchful gaze upon his contracted summoner. His dark aura embodied the essence of conflict and chaos.

How could he, a higher level of existence, one of the revered Four Horsemen from the depths of hell, the very embodiment of War itself be reduced to a mere instrument?

He never thought there would come a day when he will be summoned just to clear a nest of insignificant beings.

His fiery eye sockets narrowed to a slit as he began to sound out the connection between the two of them,

And what he got from the resonance was...Frustration.

That's right.

The main protagonist of the story, Lunis, who is right now Lucas Stuvian is feeling frustrated.

***********

F*CK!

I hit the dungeon boss reward again. I've made a heavy sacrifice just to get to the bottom of this, and this is what I get in the end?

G**D FCKIN D*MN IT!

Every time I hit the box out of frustration, my interface only shows the same content.

«Your Level is not high enough to open the starter package»

Who in their right mind decided to impose a level limitation on a starter pack reward?!

I feel like I'm losing another fragment of my sanity. But I must maintain my composure. It's already terrifying enough to find myself trapped in this game-turned-reality, along with the traumatizing experience that I had recently gone through in this dungeon.

It all started with me exploiting well-known glitches in the game. I thought I'd score a free teleportation pass, but instead, I was confronted with a screen offering a gameplay enhancement. It doesn't sound bad since it's only asking whether I want to be part of the 100% synchronization program, and I also couldn't let the chance slip away despite its shady nature.

The next thing I knew, I'd been transported to a dungeon where mobs can easily kick my ass to death. Not only that, I have to move and perform my abilities in a life-like manner. How sick is that? Part of why I could execute them somehow is due to my senses that have been heightened beyond what I could fathom.

However, things took a crazy turn when I realized I was trapped, unable to contact anyone or quit the game.

The creeping unease intensified as the magnitude of the situation sank in—the sheer madness of it all. Meeting a god, forging unholy contract, followed by increasingly bizarre and chaotic events. How did I manage to stay sane after all of this? Well--

My attention was momentarily diverted as a ray of light emanated from the chest of the dead dragon. This dragon was basically the boss of this dungeon from which I obtained this starter pack box.

I got up and moved closer to the area where it is glowing. It's located inside the body of the monster so I had to crouch down and get it with my hand.

Normally, such an act would make me feel repulsive to do so. I guess the countless monster carcasses strewn about from my summon's carnage had numbed me to this sight.

I got it.

I pulled my hands back holding a still-beating heart enclosed in a crystalized container with runes floating around it.

«You have obtained a Dragon Heart.

Dragon Heart is a very rare ingredient that can be used for alchemy and rituals.

You currently have no ability to harness the power of the item to your class.»

Too bad. I'll see what I can do with this later. I'm still dissatisfied with the stupid starter pack, but since this Dragon Heart sounded legendary, I guess it'll do.

With a grunt, I stowed it in my inventory alongside the reward box. Thank goodness the inventory is still working well. Else I wouldn't have survived long enough if not for the potions I stocked up in case of emergencies.

My healing spells which are dependent on "faith" were useless back then. I didn't know how to access that power. it was not until I was put in a desperate situation that I resorted to "praying" to my ingame patron goddess for healing, only to encounter a different god altogether.

Speaking of which, I feel like I'm forgetting something.

I finally put my attention to the towering figure behind me.

...

If I keep on treating this like I'm still in the game, I can somehow fool myself and avoid being overly intimidated by my surroundings. However, after witnessing how my summon effortlessly decimate enemies, I could no longer ignore that fact.

I can sense it looking at me, but I'm quite horrified to look back at the big guy. Nonetheless, I turned to look at him.

From the description, it says that his title is one of the Horsemen generals. In a sense, he's the one picked by that same god to loan to me whom I can summon if I ever fall into grave danger.

War's body takes the shape of a muscular humanoid figure clad in black spiky armor defined by the dancing flames that pulsate from his exposed body from time to time. He's undeniably menacing. The area on his breastplate shows a familiar sigil that matches his summoning circle. No matter how you look at it, this huge figure is the definition of evil.

Take note, this is the guy who smashed the creatures like ants, including the dragon. He could easily erase my existence so I can't help but feel apprehensive when speaking.

[Do you have anything else you need me to do?]

The hoarse voice of War escaped from the gap of his horned helmet.

"...None, I think the job here is now complete. Uhh... T-thanks"

War's fiery eyes burned brighter all of a sudden, staring intensely at me as he spoke.

[The next time you summon me, make sure it is worth it]

I can't help but feel the sweat on my back increasing. Damn. I'll make sure there won't be a need to summon you as much as possible. Your presence is already draining my life like crazy, literally.

In an instant, a massive magic circle materialized and swallowed War, transporting him back to his origin.

Well, that took care of it. I'm still amazed at myself how I managed to con a god into loaning me a killing machine.

I stop and look at the corpse of the dragon again.

During my time in this dungeon, I've come to know that my inventory can't fit an item of that size. Still, it's such a waste to just leave it like this.

With a thought, I took out my sword and tried to hack one of its teeth but to no avail. It's hella tough alright.

I kinda wish War is still here to do the job. Once again, the memory of his parting words sent shivers down my spine.

Nevermind.

With all that done, I guess it's about time to get out of this place.