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“Huff… Ugh.” Ian Han panted heavily.

The humid air inside the dark cave filled his lungs with an unpleasant feeling, but he ignored it as his sharp eyes surveyed the area.

“Damn it… Why did I say I’d join?” He muttered to himself while scowling.

It was a Class 6 dungeon. Normally, one Grade 5 hunter and several Grade 6 hunters would team up to raid a dungeon like this one.

He was a Grade 7 hunter. There had been a time when he was praised for his exceptional skills, but he was only a swordsman. His skills with the sword continued to improve, he could not use mana no matter how hard he tried, and while he was one of the few skilled enough to clear a Class 7 dungeon without the use of mana, he wouldn't dare attempt anything higher than that. 

“You shouldn't have been greedy.”

The greed had been momentary. He was promised a mana stone if he and the raid leader cleared the Class 6 dungeon together. He decided it would be worth it if it resulted in him being able to increase his mana usage. And now, he was being chased by the same monster that had already wiped out most of his team, including their leader. 

Ian was certain of his own death.

The monster was too difficult. He let out a sigh. He was only delaying the inevitable by running.

I suppose it would be better to just…

If he was going to die, he wanted to go out with a bang. Besides, his chance of survival was greater if he faced his foe before he’d drained the last of his energy. At least then, he would die a fighter’s death rather than be too worn out from the chase to even try.

He turned around.

Boom. Boom.

The ground began to rumble, and the monster appeared. It was nearly four meters tall, its body made of black steel.

“A Gigant…” Ian murmured, gripping his sword.

A Gigant was a mana creature whose entire body was covered in steel. It was similar to a golem, but it had vastly greater movement and flexibility.

It had only one weakness—a core near the solar plexus. Still, as its entire body was steel, it would be almost impossible to defeat without mana.  Ian couldn't understand how it had appeared as they usually only spawned in the higher dungeons.

Fortunately, it had been weakened by his teammates who had focused their attack on its chest area before scattering. Ian focused his attention to the area he thought the core might be. Perhaps, there was a chance he could still survive.

“Fuu… Let’s give it a go.”

Ian kicked off the ground, brandishing his sword. The Gigant’s fist brushed past him, immediately followed by its right foot swinging toward him. Ian ducked to the ground, dodging the blow as the Gigant was thrown off balance. He lurched to his feet, swinging the sword as he went. The sword landed in the pit of the Gigant’s stomach. A perfect blow.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound echoed.

The Gigant’s weakened body began to emit sparks as it crumbled a little, and Ian was filled with hope.

“It worked…!”

Leaking from the fractured stomach was a crack of light. The core. He only needed to hit it once more, and it would break.

Ian leapt at the Gigant with great strength, careful to avoid its attack as he slammed his sword at the core. Suddenly, the world around him slowed down.

Crack!

The core exploded. Finally, it had broken. 

But it was not the only thing that had shattered…

“Kugh…”

Ian clutched his chest in despair. His sword had shattered from the impact, sending a shard deep into his heart. He fell to his knees, looking at the rest of his body that contained shrapnel from the exploded core. 

Ian stared as the Gigant collapsed.

Had I known this would happen, I would never have made this decision...

Ian thought with great remorse.

Well, it’s too late.

As Ian closed his eyes, the body of the Gigant began to shake with great force, and the mana in the room began to fluctuate. 

Slowly, Ian’s body began to levitate as he let out what he thought was his dying breath.

What in the world…

Ian tried to open his eyes as a strange sensation overcame his body.

A mellifluous voice flowed into his ear.

[The blood of the sleeping dragon has awakened.]

…….

…….

[You have awakened.]

[You have cleared the tutorial.]

…Huh?

Although Ian’s life was fading away, he could hear it very clearly.

[Unique attributes will be rewarded for clearing the tutorial.]

[With the completion of the tutorial, you will now be moved to the new testing site, the Panthea continent.]

As the message ended, Ian lost consciousness.

***

Rattle.

Ian frowned as the movement jolted him awake. His eyelids were still heavy, and he didn’t want to open them. The effort was too great.

“Hey! Get it together.”

Ian snapped his eyes open as he heard the voice coming from in front of him. 

That was not Korean. Yet he could understand the meaning.

What is…it?

Ian looked around. The strangeness did not end with the language.  Ian breathed in the dusty air through his gaping mouth as assessed his situation. He was lying in the bed of a wagon. It jerked sideways as it traveled over the rutted dirt road. Ian sat up, trying to keep his balance as he looked at the faces of the ten strangers who surrounded him with curious eyes. 

What's…going on right now?

Ian was overwhelmed with confusion. The air was too hot, and the taste of dust in his mouth was too real. It wasn’t a dream. It couldn’t be.

His last moments in the dungeon flashed through his mind.

I know for sure... I was fighting the Gigant.

He had struck its core, and the Gigant fell. 

Then…I died too…

Ian looked down at his body. There was no blood.

Wait, don’t tell me...

He recalled the voice he heard just before he fainted. It said he had cleared the tutorial and…that he would be moved to the Panthea continent. 

It was all starting to come together.

Is this Panthea then?

It must be the case, but there was much that he didn’t understand.

It was only a tutorial?

He wondered how it could simply have been a tutorial. There were hunters who risked their lives in each raid they entered. Ian put his all into his sword training as well. Despite not being able to use mana, he still did everything he could to the best of his ability. It was hard for him to accept that this had been a mere tutorial. 

Furthermore, it had already been 20 years since monsters appeared in the world and people began to awaken and hunters were formed, yet not once had he ever heard of something like this happening before.

I've never heard of the Panthea continent. And the notification… it said I awakened.

Regardless of his inability to use mana, he was a nationally recognized hunter. The system also recognized him as one, allowing him to have levels and skills.

But to awaken again? He could not wrap his head around it.

How am I supposed to take things in...?

Ian scanned the area again. All he could see were ten men and an unfamiliar landscape–rivers and green grasslands that weren’t easy to see on Earth.

It's a view you'll only find in dungeons.

Dungeons were usually found underground. However, there were a few cases when they were above ground. They were rare, but there were exceptions, such as underwater dungeons, or jungles and dense forests.

Ian wondered if Panthea was a dungeon. He recalled a dungeon that had once been found inside another dungeon in the United States. 

Ian allowed a slight sigh of relief. The situation was absurd, but his uneasiness dwindled slightly as he realized that there couldn’t have been other people in the dungeon. 

“Hey, you alright?”

“Yes?”

Ian raised his head to see the man who spoke to him. He was a sandy-haired man with slightly dark blue eyes, a typical Western appearance.

“You need to pull yourself together. We're almost there."

“…”

He wanted to ask where “there” was, but he was silent. The men in the wagon were all facing forward. His gaze followed theirs.

There were buildings made of wood and large open areas where dozens of armor-clad men were training.

“That’s…”

Anyone could see it wasn’t a pleasant place.

His repulsion flared up as soon as he saw the various facilities, attire, and drills.

…An army?

The more Ian saw, the more he realized. It was the army.

Ian spat out a curse.

Gulp.

He heard someone swallow, most likely because everyone was on edge.

The wagon entered the military camp and stopped in front of a building.

"Get off the wagon in the order you’re called!"

He heard a booming voice say.

“Baker!”

“Y-Yes!”

They were being called one by one. Most of the men answered with a shaky voice due to their anxiety. Then, only Ian and the man who had spoken to him remained. Unlike the others, he did not appear anxious, but his body was tense with readiness.

“Jason.”

“Yes!”

When the big guy called him, the man immediately got out of his seat and off the wagon.

Am I last?

Though he had only just been cursing his confusion and distaste for being there, he still felt a tinge of nervousness.

“Ian!”

“Yes!”

Ian hopped down from the vehicle and stood in the line next to Jason. He had once been in the army. The process was not that strange to him. 

The bulky man who had called their names looked back at them and smiled.

"Everyone, let me introduce myself first. I'm your instructor Luke. I’ll be in charge of you lads and your drills for the next two weeks! Other soldiers usually call me Joker. I’m good at cracking jokes. Kuhaha!" Instructor Luke burst out laughing.

Ian frowned.

Are you sure they don’t call you that because you’re a joke? 

One thing was certain.

I’m royally screwed.