Chapter 4: Adapt
(HKnote: Not all monsters have a special bloodline so it is just between luck and effort to find a hidden skill in lower rank monsters. The higher the rank, the probability of getting a skill higher)
Baek sat down on a wooden bench in the middle of the park, taking a deep breath of cold air.
[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]
[As an Inheritor, the only task given to you is to become stronger and collect other fragments. If you are unable to fulfill your task, the 'other' will inevitably catch up with you.]
"The other... Since I am the inheritor of Unnamed Monarch. Then the 'other' must be monarchs. But I never remember Unnamed Monarch being in the story."
He sighed. If he ended up in a whole different universe than he thought. His knowledge might be useless. If his prediction about the other monarch is wrong then he doesn't know if he can prepare himself to fight.
"I may not be the most experienced fighter or lucky reincarnator, but I have something that those perfect heroes don't. I have flaws. I have insecurities. I have doubts." he admitted to himself with a hint of self-deprecation.
"And if the universe itself doesn't accept me. I'll try my best to do what every flawed being can. Continue to live." He stood up from the weathered wooden bench and began to make his way home.
* * *
Baek opened his eyes. To see nothing changed in his life.
"This is not a dream..." To say the least, he wasn't happy or saddened by this fact. Maybe because of the memories, his feeling was conflicted.
Baek groggily woke up. Rubbing his eyes, he dragged himself out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom to take a refreshing shower. As the warm water cascaded down his body, he slowly began to wake up and prepare for the day ahead.
After drying off and getting dressed, he grabbed his backpack and headed out the door, ready to face another day of school.
"Another day, another hell," Baek muttered to himself as he trudged towards his school. "It feels like I never graduated...well, technically I haven't graduated in this life." He sighed, thinking back to his past life and all the things he had accomplished, only to find himself back at square one in this new world.
As Baek walked towards his school, lost in thought, he suddenly heard a voice calling his name from behind. "Seo!" the voice shouted, growing louder with each passing second.
"Great... another nuisance." Baek sighed wearily
"Hey, Seo! Good morning." Tae said cheerfully.
"Morning..." Baek stoically replied.
"The normal as always. Maybe, if you put more effort into being a little extroverted, you wouldn't be such a loner." Tae grinned mischievously.
"Ha ha, just because you got a girlfriend doesn't mean you're popular, you dingus," Baek retorted, rolling his eyes at Tae's teasing.
Tae chuckled in response.
"Ouch, right in the heart," he said, placing a hand over his chest in mock hurt.
"Don't be jealous, man. You'll find someone someday," Tae added, grinning.
Baek shrugged, trying to play it cool. "Who said I'm jealous? I'm too busy with my monster hunting," he replied.
Tae laughed, punching Baek lightly on the arm. "Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that. Mr. Future Hunter."
He technically tells the truth about it but he didn't want to tell any more about it. He only smiled and steadily walk faster as he leave Tae behind.
"W-Wait." Tae called out, struggling to keep up with Baek's brisk pace. "Since when did you get athletic?"
* * *
In class, Baek did his usual routine when the teacher is explaining. However, this time he wasn't just dozing off, he has something to confirm.
"Status...?" He quietly said.
[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]
It worked... Thanks to his relief, he thought he could only see his status when he reached milestones or something.
"Well, it's not really important to see my status all the time," he sighed.
He tried using his mind to close his status just like what he had seen in fantasy stories where the characters could dismiss their status screens since there's no close button.
He felt relieved as it closed immediately, without any issues. It was convenient, just the way he liked it.
Baek leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes again. When suddenly, a notification sound in his mind interrupts him.
[Dungeon available. Dungeon difficulty using this world's ranking is D-rank Dungeon. Please find a secluded place]
Baek quickly looked around to make sure that no one was watching and then stood up from his seat.
"Uhh... Teacher, can I go to the bathroom?" Baek raised his hand.
"Baek Seo... Alright, you could. But make it quick." The teacher nodded in approval.
* * *
Baek was waiting in the bathroom for the system to respond.
"Alright... Then what?" After a few moments of silence, he finally heard the familiar voice in his head.
Without any warning, Baek felt a sudden jolt as he was whisked away to another location.
[\\\Teleporting///]
Baek teleported onto a secluded mountain. As he looked around, he could see nothing but towering trees and rocky terrain.
"So, this is the dungeon?" Baek muttered to himself, looking around at the normal-looking mountain.
As he turned to look around, a blue portal suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"The portal doesn't force me to enter this time. That's good, but I don't have any weapons with me at the moment," Baek thought to himself as he stared at the blue portal in front of him.
[Rely more on magical capability than using weapon]
Baek sighed and tried to communicate with the system. "Maybe, but having a weapon could be more efficient," he said aloud. However, there was no response from the system.
Feeling uncertain but determined, he stepped closer to the blue portal, observing it closely.
"This is a normal D-Rank dungeon... Right?" Baek put his hand in the blue portal when out of the blue, the portal turned red.
"Haha... Wait, what? Don't tell me." Baek muttered under his breath as he stared at the now-red portal.
[Warning! There has been interference in the dungeon]
Baek struggled to pull his hand out, but it seemed that something was pulling him from the inside of the portal.
"Darn it." Realizing that he had no other choice but to enter the dungeon. He took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.
[Warning! The Inheritor entered 'RED DUNGEON'... Dungeon Difficulty is unknown]
As Baek opened his eyes, a daunting sight greeted him. Everything was painted with darkness, from the trees that loomed in the surroundings to the blackened moon that cast an eerie glow. While it wasn't completely impossible to see, the dim lighting made everything look ominous and unsettling.
"...Can I just have a normal way to be stronger?" Baek muttered to himself.
[Teleporting is currently not possible. Find a way to exit the dungeon]
"I figure..." He sighed.
He took a deep breath and began to move forward cautiously, his eyes scanning the area for any potential dangers. As he walked, he noticed that the ground beneath his feet was rough and uneven, making it difficult to maintain his balance.
A presence lurking behind him from afar but Baek's sense isn't to the point he could detect the danger quickly. He continued to move forward cautiously, keeping his senses sharp and his mind alerted for any potential dangers.
Suddenly, someone shot an arrow in his direction. Baek's instincts kicked in as soon as he heard the whistling sound of the arrow. He quickly dove to the ground and rolled behind a nearby boulder for cover.
"An archer?" Looking around for the source of the attack, Baek saw a figure on a nearby hill, holding a bow and arrow.
"There is no way my Lightning Field can reach that distance," Baek thought, his breathing becoming erratic as the archer kept shooting arrows.
"How many arrows do they have?" Baek took a closer look at the arrow the archer shot and realized the material is a skeleton.
"Skeleton... A skeleton." Baek's heart sank as he saw the three skeleton knights emerge from the dark woods. He realized that he was now facing a much larger threat than he had anticipated.
One of the skeletons threw an axe at Baek. Baek's sharp reflexes kicked in, and he quickly dodged the flying axe.
"These skeletons... They aren't simply weak pawns," Baek said with a wry smile.
He got out from his cover and the archer took the chance, firing an arrow at him. Thinking quickly, Baek cast a protective lightning field around himself, just in time to block an arrow from the skeleton archer.
Baek moved quickly, dodging their strikes and relying on his lightning field to protect him from their relentless assault. The field crackled with energy as the skeletons' weapons bounced off its invisible barrier.
Baek realized one thing... He doesn't have the experience of fighting. The time he have the direwolf, he was just relying on his instinct and brute strength. But this time, the skeletons have weapons. He doesn't have the experience to fight a sword.
Meanwhile, the skeleton archer continued to rain down arrows on him, forcing Baek to remain on the defensive.
Baek knew that he couldn't keep relying on his lightning field forever. It took a lot of energy to maintain, and he needed to find a way to defeat the skeletons and the archer before his magic ran out. With a quick flick of his wrist, he sent a bolt of lightning toward the skeletons, causing them to stumble backward.
"I knew that it wasn't effective... Tsk." Baek clicked his tongue.
Baek then thought of a plan that will definitely succeed and among many manhwa MC, it wasn't used enough but he knew that this will be effective. He decided to try it out. He turned around and shouted,
"NIGERUNDAYO!"
With the style of the Joestar family, before taking off at full speed, away from the skeletons.
-To Be Continued.
(HKnote: Adapt, Improvise, Overcome.)