Chapter 3: Survive

Baek stood alone against a horde of monsters, his heart pounding in his chest. He had no weapon, only his bare hands and the Lightning Field spell that he recently acquired.

"Shii... This is a risky plan," Baek muttered to himself. "They could be lightning resistant and I don't know if I have enough mana to release a large enough output." He glanced at his hands, realizing that he didn't have any weapons to defend himself. But he knew that he had to try his best with what he had.

The monsters closed in, their eyes gleaming with hunger and malice. Baek stood his ground, his body tense as he prepared to unleash the full power of his spell. As the first monster lunged towards him, Baek raised his hands and unleashed a bolt of lightning that struck the creature square in the chest.

He doesn't feel any mana depletion. Actually, he felt great to release that power. The fell back, writhing in pain as the electricity coursed through its body. He is glad that it was effective.

"Damn... Well, this is bothersome." He smiled even though the stress was still visible on his face.

There were more monsters coming, and Baek knew he couldn't take them all on at once. He dodged and weaved, his Lightning Field crackling with energy as he struck out at his foes. One by one, the monsters fell before him, their bodies smoking from the electricity that surged through them.

As Baek continued to release his Lightning Field spell, he heard a loud roar, and before he knew it, a monster bull charged straight at him. Baek's body was sent flying through the air as the monster bull slammed into him with incredible force.

He crashed onto the ground, feeling the impact reverberate throughout his entire body. He coughed, feeling like his insides were messed up, but his body was stronger than he had expected to take the hit.

"I didn't notice that bull... They aren't ordinary monsters." Struggling to get back on his feet, Baek knew that he couldn't afford to let his guard down for even a second.

Despite the pain and fatigue, he focused his mind and channeled all the energy he had left into his Lightning Field spell.

"Since all of the monsters here are in the proximity of my lightning field... I welcome you to zapplin dome!" he yelled, unleashing a massive burst of lightning that engulfed the entire horde, including the monster bull.

Baek fought with all his might, his mind clear and focused as he unleashed the full power of his spell. But the horde was unrelenting, and soon Baek was surrounded on all sides.

"More... More!" He shouted, feeling his mana depleting rapidly.

He fought on, keeping the lightning dome going as he felled monster after monster. But it was a losing battle, and Baek knew it. He was tired, and there were too many monsters to fight off alone.

With a final burst of energy, he unleashed a massive bolt of lightning that illuminated the entire area. When the light faded, Baek lay on the ground, battered and bruised, but alive. The monsters lay dead around him, their bodies charred and smoking from the force of his spell.

There is still one monster left standing, it was bigger than the other monsters. Baek doesn't have any mana and couldn't cast his lightning field anymore. Baek has his bare hands but he is tired.

"You gotta be kidding me... Sung Jinwoo got it better than me." He lamented his fate.

[Absorbing Monsters' Soul]

Baek only smirked... He had totally forgotten about it, but the system arrived at the right time. He could feel a surge of strength when suddenly...

[WARNING! SYSTEM DETECTS A STRONG PRESENCE IN THE DUNGEON]

A notification sound echoed in Baek's mind, causing him to widen his eyes in shock. Before the monster could attack Baek, he teleported right before the monster can land a hit.

[Teleporting...]

Baek suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if he was being pulled from his spot. His surroundings began to blur and twist, and he could feel the wind rushing past him. After a moment, the sensation stopped, and Baek was found sitting on the road.

It was the same location where he was before he got pulled into the dungeon. Suddenly, he heard an old man's voice behind him.

"Young man? Are you a hunter?" Baek quickly stood up, feeling surprised to hear someone's voice after going through all that.

[Absorbing Incomplete]

He didn't feel any tiredness after absorbing the monsters' souls, but it seemed like the process was incomplete.

Baek turned around to see an old man looking at him with concern. "Uh, no! I just got into a fight, that's all. And thank you!" Baek replied hastily, not giving the old man a chance to speak. He quickly ran away, knowing that his clothes were dirty, and there were wounds on his arms and bruises on his face.

* * *

In the dungeon, a mysterious figure appeared. His face turned sour as he felt the presence vanish and he couldn't track it.

"Strange... This dungeon is from nowhere and that familiar presence suddenly vanished. It cannot be him." The figure clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing as he pondered the situation.

The figure turned around and created a portal. He stepped into it and vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the eerie silence of the dungeon.

* * *

In Baek's apartment, he sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. His mind was racing, thoughts and memories from the past few days swirling around in his head. He couldn't shake off the feeling of being overwhelmed.

As he bandaged his wounds, he winced at the pain, but it was nothing compared to the emotional exhaustion he was feeling. Baek knew he needed to take care of himself, both physically and mentally.

"Today... is quite a lot to take in. Reincarnation, dungeon, and new life." Baek whispered to himself, trying to make sense of it all.

He looked at the clock on the wall and realized he still had time to visit the hospital. He knew it was important to take care of his physical injuries, but he also wanted to talk to someone about what he was going through mentally.

Baek quickly got dressed, opting for a dark blue hoodie and black pants to cover his bandages. He knew it wouldn't hide everything, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself either. With a deep breath, he headed out the door and made his way to the hospital.

Baek arrived at the hospital and approached the front desk where a nurse was seated. He cleared his throat and asked, "Excuse me, I'm looking for Lee Johee. She's a relative of mine, and I was wondering if I could visit her?"

The nurse looked up from her computer screen and asked for Lee Johee's information. Baek provided her with the necessary details, and the nurse checked the computer for any restrictions on visitors. After a few moments, she informed Baek that he could visit Lee Johee.

"Thank you," Baek said with relief, and the nurse gave him directions to Lee Johee's room.

As Baek walked towards the elevator, he couldn't shake off the feeling of exhaustion that weighed heavily on him. His mind was clouded with thoughts of the dungeon, the monsters, and the soul-absorbing ability that he couldn't quite comprehend.

He got out of the elevator and passed by a patient room that had an open door. Suddenly, the nurse behind him screamed.

"Oh my god! What happened here?!" The nurse shouted, "I need some help here!"

Baek couldn't contain his curiosity and looked inside the room to see what was going on. The doctor and nurse were helping a man who was lying on the floor, unconscious.

Baek widened his eyes and smiled with sweat on his face.

"Sung Jinwoo." He thought to himself. He couldn't believe he just met the protagonist of the story he read. It was weird for him to witness this scene personally.

"It's definitely weird... He is the coolest Manhwa MC but currently, he is just a weak Sung Jinwoo."

But Baek knew he had to focus on his own purpose and so he continued his way to Lee Johee's room.

Finally, he arrived at her room and knocked on the door gently. A nurse opened the door and Baek asked if he could visit his relative. The nurse checked her records and allowed him to enter.

"Noona, I am here." Baek spoke softly as he entered the hospital room. Lee Johee, who he look as an older sister figure, smiled weakly at him from her hospital bed.

Even though he was a different person, his memories of Baek Seo are there. He couldn't just be heartless.

"I am sorry that I am late to visit you," Baek continued as he approached her bedside. "How are you feeling?"

Lee Johee smiled weakly. "I'm okay, Seo. Thank you for visiting me."

The two talked for a while. Lee Johee seemed to avoid the topic of a dungeon and Baek understood. He could see her visibly relax and let out a small smile.

They continued to talk for a while longer, reminiscing about old memories and laughing at each other's jokes. Of course, it was weird for him to say all of this but it just felt natural.

The first time he realized that Lee Johee is his relative, it was quite surprising that he have a connection with a side cast, but the world is small. Who knows?

Eventually, Baek noticed that it was getting late and he needed to head back home.

"Noona, I'll be heading home now since it's getting late. I hope you recover quickly."

Lee Johee nodded with a small smile, "Okay, take care on your way home, Seo. And thank you for visiting me."

He walked towards the door, turning around to wave goodbye before exiting the room.

Outside the hospital. Baek continued walking towards his apartment when he heard a notification sound on his mind. He looked at the hologram in front of him.

[Inheritor's Status

Name: Baek Seo

Soul: E-rank

Job: Inheritor of Unnamed Monarch's Fragment

Race: Human

Mana Quality: D-rank Hunter

Mana Points: C-rank Hunter.

Fragment Collected: 1/4]

-To Be Continued

(HKnote: It is quite hard for me to write a conversation between them, and I hope to improve my writing skills about realistic interaction in the future. Also, I do not want to introduce too many original characters as it may make them forgettable, so I chose Lee Johee. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and see you in the next one!)

Soul: E-rank

(HKnote: I do not want to use any numerical values to make it confusing to keep track of how he is becoming strong. It'll be slower for him to level up if he always absorbs weak monsters, but he can grow faster if he absorbs a stronger monster or even a monarch. By the way, Soul rank doesn't necessarily correspond to hunter rank! So, don't mistake a low Soul rank for weakness, as it can be more powerful than an E-rank hunter.)

Mana Quality: D-rank Hunter

(HKnote: refers to the potency or strength of Baek Seo's magical abilities. So, if he took the hunter's evaluation test then he would be a D-rank hunter despite his spell being stronger than what a D-rank hunter mage can do.)

Mana Points: C-rank Hunter.

(HKnote: refers to the amount of magical energy Baek Seo has available to cast spells or use other magical abilities)