The B-Rank Dungeon was drenched in blood.
And none of it belonged to Harvin.
Monster corpses lay torn apart, shredded by makeshift weapons and raw rage. Harvin didn't just fight — he hunted, crushed, and destroyed. His fists broke bone. His eyes burned with fury. Each kill echoed one thought in his mind:
> "Why was she here… Neon Airos…"
He couldn't forget her face. Couldn't forget the fire. Couldn't forget what she took from him.
So he kept killing.
Brutally. Mercilessly. As if every monster was her.
---
[ Dungeon Cleared! Time Taken: 50 minutes ]
[ Bonus Reward: +10 Strength, +1 Skill Point ]
Harvin stepped out of the portal, his body steaming, shirt torn, fists still clenched.
The sun was setting, but he didn't see it.
In front of him, a tree stood silently.
BAM!
Harvin punched it hard. Bark cracked. Blood from his knuckles dripped down the trunk.
"Damn it…"
His breathing was heavy.
BAM!
Another punch.
BAM!
Another.
Until finally… he fell to his knees. Eyes closed. Chest heaving.
Slowly… very slowly…
He calmed.
And stood again.
---
[An Hour Later – Harvin's Home]
"Vasu!" Harvin shouted the moment he stepped inside.
The house was eerily quiet.
Harvin rushed to the room—only to freeze.
Vasu's body was trembling on the bed. His skin had turned pale. The poison in his leg had spread again.
"Vasu!!" Harvin grabbed him. His breathing was shallow.
Harvin didn't wait.
He lifted Vasu in his arms and ran—barefoot—through the night streets toward the hospital.
---
[Hospital – Emergency Wing]
An hour passed like a lifetime.
Harvin sat outside the emergency room, fists clenched, blood still on his hands from both the dungeon and the tree.
The doctor walked out, removing his gloves.
"Harvin," he said calmly, "Your brother is stable... for now."
Harvin stood. "What do you mean?"
"The poison's progressing… His body is resisting, but it's only a matter of time. The pain will return. And the next time, we may not be able to suppress it without the right resources."
Harvin's heart dropped.
"…What's the cure?"
The doctor sighed. "A high-grade antidote. Something that can only be made with rare herbs or monster cores. Found in A-Rank or higher dungeons."
---
[Later – Harvin on the Hospital Rooftop]
Harvin stood silently, overlooking the glowing city.
The wind blew softly.
He looked up at the sky. Closed his eyes.
> "This… this is why I fight."
> "Not for revenge."
> "Not for fame."
> "Not for power."
> "But for Vasu."
Harvin's fist tightened.
"I will become stronger. Stronger than anyone. Strong enough to cure him. Strong enough to protect him. Strong enough that no one ever takes anything from me again."
A system notification appeared silently in front of him.
---
[ Daily Quest: Strength Through Will ]
100 Pushups | 100 Situps | 100 Squats | 10km Running
Optional Bonus: Monster Elimination
Penalty: Six Hours Survival in Random World (Increased Threat Level)
Time Remaining: 3h 47m
Reward: +1 Stat Point (Random), 500 XP
---
Harvin smirked, wiping blood from his mouth.
---
– "Strength First"
The sky above was pale, and the air carried a quiet tension.
Harvin stood in the middle of an abandoned training field, his shirt soaked in sweat, fists bruised from endless hours of punching reinforced dummies. He had just returned from clearing a B-Rank dungeon—one he had crushed in only fifty minutes, leaving behind a trail of blood and shattered monster bones.
But his heart wasn't calm.
His chest rose and fell rapidly—not from exhaustion, but from fury.
> "Why… Why am I still not strong enough?!"
The system blinked in front of his eyes.
---
📜 [SYSTEM UPDATE]
Name: Harvin
Rank: B+
Level: 27
Strength: 139
Intelligence: 96
Agility: 120
Vitality: 109
Perception: 95
Mana Points: 70 / 70
HP: 390
Fatigue: 0
---
Harvin exhaled slowly, staring at the stats.
It was real.
Every point he'd earned came from his blood, sweat, and pain.
No blessings.
No shortcuts.
No guild.
Only survival.
---
He clenched his fists and muttered to himself,
> "Even now, I'm not ready. Not ready to protect anyone. Not even… him."
He didn't even say Vasu's name.
He couldn't afford to.
> "No... If I try to save him now, I'll fail."
> "I have to become something more. Something far beyond this."
---
Harvin opened the dungeon locator system and scanned the available gates.
---
🔹 [ Nearby Dungeons – Kolkata Region ] 🔹
C-Rank Dungeon – "Deadscale Caverns"
B-Rank Dungeon – "Echoing Mire"
A-Rank Dungeon – "Shattered Spire"
⚠️ [Hidden Dungeon – ???] – Unstable Rift Detected
---
Harvin's eyes stopped at the last one.
His heart beat faster.
> "A hidden dungeon?"
No guild. No registered hunters.
Only danger… and power.
He smirked.
> "Perfect."
---
He turned around, left the training field, and began walking toward the unregistered zone. With every step, one thought pulsed through his mind like a war drum:
> "I'll come back when no one can touch me… When no one can harm what's mine."
> "Only then, I will cure him.".
---
– Shattered Spire
A fierce wind howled through the deserted valley of Kolkata's Sector 13, where a massive obsidian obelisk jutted out of the ground like a broken sword.
This was no ordinary obelisk. It was the gate to an A-Rank Dungeon known as:
> "Shattered Spire."
Hunters usually arrived in groups of six to ten to tackle this type of dungeon.
Harvin came alone.
He stood before the gate, his hoodie fluttering, two hooked steel rods hanging from loops on his belt—his only weapons.
> "System," he muttered, "activate survival tracking."
---
🔹 [SYSTEM RESPONSE] 🔹
You are entering an A-Rank Dungeon alone.
— Estimated Survival Time: 9 minutes
— Recommended Party Size: 8
— Rewards Amplified: +100% EXP, +50% Drop Rate
— Penalty for Death: Permanent
> [ENTER DUNGEON?]
Harvin smirked.
> "You think I'll only survive nine minutes? Let's make it ninety."
> [COMMAND: ENTER]
---
🌀 DUNGEON ACTIVATION: SHATTERED SPIRE 🌀
Environment: Floating Ruins
Threat Level: High-A
Primary Monsters: Sky Reapers, Echo Sentinels, Glass Wyverns
---
The moment Harvin stepped in, the world shifted.
He found himself on a jagged stone platform, floating in mid-air. The sky above was cracked like broken glass. Floating islands hovered in chaotic patterns, some held by magic, some drifting slowly into nothingness.
Then—
SCREEEEEECH!
Three Sky Reapers—avian humanoid monsters with blade-wings—descended from above.
Harvin didn't flinch.
> "Read them... movement... eyes..."
One swooped in fast, too fast for most humans to react—but Harvin slid under its slash and rammed a hooked rod through its leg, tearing its wing. Another Reaper came from behind—he ducked, spun, and struck its neck.
Third came in screaming—Harvin leapt and kicked off a floating stone, spinning mid-air.
> CLANK!
SPLATTER!
A blade to the throat.
All three dropped. Dead.
But Harvin's breath was already quickening.
> "This isn't like before. Their speed… it's insane."
Suddenly, the floating platform shattered beneath him.
> CRACK—BOOM!
He dropped.
Another island.
More enemies.
---
As Harvin fought through hordes of flying monsters and spectral guardians, his body grew bloodier and heavier. Yet every kill made him faster. More accurate. More lethal.
Then, the dungeon shook.
> [WARNING: A-Rank Dungeon Guardian has Awakened]
The clouds parted.
A monstrous wyvern made of cracked glass and lightning screamed into the air.
> [GLASS WYVERN – Guardian Rank: A+]
Harvin's lips curled into a grin, blood dripping from his chin.
> "Let's see if you break… or I do."
---