Then they came.
Three scorpions, tails arched two meters high, bodies over three long. Shells gleamed like stone, pincers snapping with bone-crushing force.
The first lunged. I rolled, sand exploding around me, and drove my blade through a gap in its armour. With a twist, I tore a pincer free. It screeched, toppling.
The second pressed close, faster than expected. Tail whipped past me by inches. I cut low, steel plunging between plates, ichor spilling hot across the dunes.
The third came hard, stinger poised to split me open. I forced myself calm, waited, then ducked and rammed my sword up into its gut. It spasmed once, then collapsed.
Three kills.
+439 EXP. +439 EXP. +439 EXP.
LEVEL UP: 15
Warmth surged through me. Stance firmer. Grip steadier. Breath sharper. Already stronger than I’d been a moment before.
EXP to Level 16: 800 / 2,710
Another gate down. Another step ahead. The gap between me and the rest of the world widened.
After resting in the shade, I pressed deeper and found the boss gate. Three giant lizards prowled outside. I lured one off and dropped it in five slashes. Level fourteen, only 198 EXP. Not worth lingering. I entered the boss room.
A wide basin of coarse sand, walled in by jagged stone curling like broken ribs. At the far end, a cave yawned open. From the shadows, something emerged.
A lizardman. “Well that confirms it, everything is evolving at a rapid rate.” Two meters tall. Lean muscle wrapped in stitched armour of hide, bone, and scorpion plate. A crude sword, chipped but thick, dragged low in its claws.
Its yellow eyes locked onto mine. Unblinking. Cold.
Level 17.
My hands tightened on the hilt. Sweat prickled. Instinct screamed caution, there was no room for doubt.
I stepped forward. Ten meters. Eight. Heartbeat thundered. Then it lunged. The blade came high, diagonal, too fast. I dipped low, twisted, steel sliced air above my shoulder.
Its next strike slammed into my guard, sparks bursting as steel screamed. The force nearly drove me to my knees.
Before I could recover, it swung again. I threw myself aside and rolled through the sand as the blade carved into the ground where I had stood. Coming up low, I slashed across its ankle. The cut was shallow. The lizardman lunged again, jaws snapping. I ducked inside its reach and drove an elbow into its gut. The creature staggered, breath leaving it in a rough hiss.
I pressed forward, swinging for its head, but it blocked and shoved me back with brute strength. Its jaws snapped toward my face.
Too close.
I jammed my sword sideways between its teeth. I twisted the blade and felt teeth crack under the pressure. It roared and staggered back, swinging wildly.
After another blow connects together we broke apart, both breathing hard.
Blood ran down my arm and my grip weakened.
The lizardman roared and charged.
Its blade came down in a brutal overhead strike. I shifted at the last second, claws raking across my shoulder as pain flared through my body.
I ignored it.
Spinning behind the creature, I drove my sword deep into its back. The tip burst from its chest in a spray of blood.
The lizardman shrieked and clawed wildly, but the fight was already over. I yanked my blade free and brought it down one final time.
The edge split its skull.
I stood over the body, chest heaving, blood soaking into my shirt. My arms trembled from exhaustion. Even dead, the thing was terrifying.
But I had won.
SYSTEM PROMPT: BOSS DEFEATED.
Then, the notification flashed before me.
Critical Absorption Triggered
Swordsmanship Absorbed: +1 STR
Would you like to absorb?
[Yes] / [No]
I clicked yes.
My status window popped up, confirming my new level.
Status
Level: 16
Skills:
- Absorption
- Swordsmanship (Level 1) – Proficiency 34/100
EXP: 500 / 3,604
There wasn’t much information on how skills worked, but one thing was clear: Absorption didn’t have a level. Swordsmanship though, it came with a proficiency.
That changed everything.
A grin stretched across my face as I stared at the glowing prompt. If Absorption could steal skills from anything I killed, then there was no ceiling. Any ability. Any technique. Any trait, I could attain them all.
The thought sent a rush down my spine, a thrill hotter than the fight itself. This was freedom, and limitless potential.
I wiped the sweat from my brow and forced my breathing steady. Exhaustion weighed on me, but the level-up surged through my body, assisting my wounds, sharpening my reflexes. Not whole, but whole enough.
When I stepped out of the gate, I carried two blades at my belt: one heavy and rough, a meter of crude steel; the other shorter, sixty centimetres, balanced for speed. Tools, yes but to me, they were trophies. Proof I wasn’t scavenging scraps anymore. Proof I was moving forward.
I’d been gone over an hour, but outside, barely twenty-five minutes had passed. Time well spent.
As I adjusted the blades at my side, I told myself I’d fight smarter, no reckless gambles. But even as I thought it, I knew the truth. My pulse was already quickening, hungry for the next fight.
The system’s logic was simple: stronger monsters, higher returns. Bosses gave nearly triple the experience of their underlings, and some carried skills. My healing was four or five times faster now than a standard human, but every wound still carried risk. By raw stats, I felt close to a level nineteen creature, but bosses weren’t just stronger. They were smarter, and they adapted.
On my phone, I scrolled through the chaos online. Posts screamed across every feed, some players claiming to be level thirty-three already, demanding healers, bragging. Lies? Maybe. Or maybe the cities held more Gates than I could imagine. In Poznań, groups were already organizing raids. Safer, smarter.
But me? I wasn’t ready to share the spoils. Not yet.
When I got back to the worksite, more gates had spawned. my trophies I placed in the van and met up with Shay. One glance at my torn shirt and blood-soaked gloves told him enough. He didn’t ask. We compared levels straight away, no point hiding. He was level twelve. That said plenty about his skill.
Together, we dove in.
The first gate was a goblin den. Standard. I claimed a steel dagger among the corpses, balanced and sharp. A real weapon at last.
The second gate was worse. A sprawling jungle alive with spiders and snakes, low levels lurking in the canopy. The boss… a basilisk. Level fifteen. Scales like iron, fangs dripping venom.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Shay struck first, a bolt of lightning locking it in place. My opening. I vaulted up its back, drove steel through the base of its skull, and tore free a fang. Before it could thrash, I rammed the tooth straight through its head. The beast spasmed, collapsed, and dissolved into ash.
From more than twenty monsters, Shay climbed to level fourteen. I earned 1,200 EXP short of another level, but enough to push me to 2,114 out of 3,604.
When we regrouped, Shay pulled up his status window.
Shay’s Status Window
Level: 14
? HP: 100/100
? MP: 44/89
? STR: 64
? DEX: 62
? CON: 49
? INT: 37
? WIS: 62
? DEF: 49
Skill: Elemental Magic
? Fire: Level 1 (77/100)
? Lightning: Level 1 (59/100)
The next gate was bigger than the rest. I warned Shay, we might not be able to clear it, not if the Gate out scaled us. We could try to weaken it, maybe even leave it uncleared, hoping the gate stayed.
Inside was a frozen tundra, wind slicing like knives across bare skin. The cold went straight to the bone, colder than any gate before.
Fifteen minutes in, we found them. Wolves. A pack of five led by a level seventeen alpha. No time to plan, they came fast, snow kicking behind them.
Shay’s bolts struck first, paralyzing the smaller wolves mid-leap. I moved in, swift and clean, cutting throats before they could recover. Barely any EXP. Weak prey.
The real threat stood back, yellow eyes fixed on me. The level seventeen alpha.
I lunged. It dodged and snapped for my throat. Too close. My dagger flashed into its eye. It howled, blinded, staggering as I locked my arms around its neck. Strength surged, seventy-three points driving bone to breaking point.
SNAP.
The wolf dropped. 632 EXP.
The confirmation hit: only dealt damage claimed EXP. No free rides.
We pushed deeper. More wolves. More kills. I rose to level 17, my shoulder knitting enough to fight. We found level 18s next harder, faster, but the same tactic worked: stun, disable, finish. Half-split EXP, but progress.
Then it happened.
We froze.
Not from cold, from instinct.
Something was watching. Heavy, unseen, close enough to feel but not hear.
The trees stilled. Even the wind paused.
For a moment, it was like the world held its breath.
Then the weight faded… but the unease stayed buried in our bones.
We pressed on, crossing more packs. Shay climbed to sixteen. I reached eighteen. We returned briefly, the constant battle exhausted us, so we gave ourselves some time. We ate, posted for healers in the hopes we could find some help in the more difficult gates, but no reply still.
When we re-entered, the land had shifted. Tracks fresh in the snow. The lake cracked with strain. And then we saw it.
The fear wasn’t paranoia.
It was real.
A massive bear, white fur stained red, saliva dripping from its maw. Eyes fixed on us, unblinking. Its name glowed blood-red. No level. Just a title.
ICE BEAR.
The system highlighted this as an area boss.
It moved and it was quick, real quick.
“Shay, cover!” I barked.
He darted wide, sparks already dancing across his palms. The bear’s claws shredded a trunk beside me, wood exploding into splinters. Too close.
“Tom!” Shay’s voice. A bolt cracked out, lightning striking the beast’s flank. Muscles twitched, but it powered through with a roar that rattled my bones.
I dove into the opening, dagger jabbing for its neck. Nothing. The blade barely scratched hide.
It jerked me free, flinging me like a ragdoll. My body smashed against a tree. Pain screamed through my ribs.
The bear came again. I scrambled, weaving around trunks as claws carved trenches into bark. My dagger was gone, buried in snow.
Shay hurled another bolt, dead on. The bear skidded sideways, steam hissing from burnt fur. Not enough to stop it.
I roared, slammed my fist into its eye. A hit. But the paw came down, crushing my ribs. White fire lit up my chest. Blood filled my mouth.
It loomed, breath hot, fangs dripping. My arm went limp under the weight of its claw.
Then Shay.
He dropped from above, dagger in hand, driving it into the bear’s remaining eye. Mana flared fire erupted down the blade, his last reserves burning bright. Flames roared across the beast’s skull.
It howled, thrashing. I was thrown into the snow, vision swimming.
Shay wasn’t fast enough.
The claws came, ripping his chest open. Blood sprayed red across white. He hit the ground and didn’t rise.
“Shay!”
I staggered, body screaming, and grabbed the fallen dagger. Breath ragged. Vision blurred, then I ran.
I couldn’t let him die. Not here. Not now.
I leapt, blade driving into the bear’s jaw. Flesh split. Bone cracked. It snapped at me, fangs tearing into my arm, but I didn’t stop. I wrenched free, reversed the grip, and rammed blade into the blinded socket Shay had opened.
The Ice Bear shrieked one final, monstrous roar. Its body gave out, collapsing with a crash that shook the frozen ground.
I fell with it, half-buried in snow, blood pouring from wounds. My chest burned. My arm screamed. I pressed cold frost to the cuts, forcing myself to breathe.
Through haze, my eyes found Shay.
Still. Too still.
I couldn’t hear a heartbeat, he looked fragile, too human for this world of monsters. And guilt hit me like a hammer.
He followed me in. I brought him here. If he dies… it’s on me.
The silence pressed in. Blood hissed against ice.
Then the system’s voice cut through, cold and merciless.
[BOSS DEFEATED]
[Critical Absorption Available]
SYSTEM: YOU HAVE OVERCOME ADVERSITY. AREA BOSS: ICE BEAR DEFEATED.
EXP GAINED: 12,572
Level Up: 18 → 20
EXP: 212 / 11,276
I gasped on the floor.
Two levels. Two.
My HP spiked, the worst damage dragged back from the edge. Bones still cracked. Muscles shredded. But I was alive.
Pain tremored through me with every heartbeat, a reminder how close I’d come.
Shay moved, the levels sparing his life, and he moved in closer. A flicker of flame lit his hand, and then the pain flared white as he pressed fire into his torn side, cauterizing the wound, then my wounds were done next. The hiss of burning flesh was louder than my scream.
“I hate how used to this I’m getting.”
We didn’t speak. We lay there, broken and breathing, side by side in blood and snow. The cold numbed us.
This gate hadn’t even changed colour. Still light blue. We almost died in a light blue gate. I stared at the sky in wonderance.
What’s in a red gate?
What nightmare waits behind black?
We had brought down an area boss, and it nearly cost everything.
If this was level thirty… what’s level one hundred?
Untouchable?
Does black mean five hundred? More?
The thought buried itself in my chest, cold and crawling.
This world is bigger than us. It doesn’t care if we’re ready.
I clenched my jaw.
We aren’t strong. Not yet.
Twenty minutes later, we limped out. After rough first aid, there was only rest. Shay told me he’d levelled twice and was close to nineteen. Pride in his eyes and a shadow too.
The walk back dragged. Every step pulled at unhealed wounds. Clothes stiff with dried blood. I collapsed onto the bed without undressing upon return. Cold sheets in a quiet city and a mind that wouldn’t stop.
Today wasn’t just a fight. It was pure survival. One bad dodge and I’d be a corpse in the snow. The dagger was still out there, half-buried where the bear fell. I didn’t have the strength to go back. Symbolic, maybe. Or nothing.
The ceiling blurring and my mind had questions spiralling around. Is this how every fight will feel? Knife’s edge, wondering if I’ll ever be strong enough not to fall?
How do I get stronger?
Gear? Skills? Armour? Is there an option I haven’t seen?
I had no answers, only questions. They echoed until exhaustion dragged me under. The next day came too soon.
Friday, the shortest workday of the week, up at six, sore and half-rested. Every step was a strain. My ribs burned where claws raked across them. Shay was staring out the window in the office. The glint in his eyes, he was ready.
“How are you holding up… after yesterday?”
He exhaled. “I ache everywhere.” His hand brushed his ribs. “The fear… it got in deep. It sat under my skin all night. I couldn’t stop shaking.” I nodded. I remembered it too.
“But,” he straightened, eyes harder, “it sharpened me. My nerves feel wired. Clearer. I can’t afford to hesitate anymore.”
“Good,” I said. “You’re adapting.”
We didn’t speak again for now. It was 7:40 a.m., we were at work, but by 8:30, back at the gate.
This time, we split up, keeping our messages open for when we left the gates, the gates were no more than a kilometre apart.
I retraced my steps to where the Ice Bear fell. Blood froze into the crusted snow. I found the dagger half-buried and took it back, a quiet reminder how close I’d come.
On the way back, two wolf packs crossed my path. Fifteen total. One alpha, level seventeen. I cut them down with the scorched blade, fast, precise. Steam rose from the alpha’s severed throat.
Even winning hurt now. Windows trickled in: a little over 100 EXP each, 115 for the alpha. Barely a dent.
Two hours later we regrouped. Shay was level nineteen. I’d gathered around 7,000 EXP 4,000 short of the next level. We left the tundra and headed for a new gate.
The jungle hit like a wall, humid, heavy, alive. Light vanished beneath the canopy. Everything dripped.
At first, easy. Snakes and spiders the size of my arm, levels 1 to 3. One EXP per kill. Not worth it, but necessary to carve a path.
Deeper in, the real threats. Crocodiles at level fourteen lurking in marsh pools. I slid steel between plates, twisted, dragged them under. Then car-sized spiders, level eighteen. Shay pinned with lightning, legs spasming. I severed them one by one. A thrust through the eyes ended it.
The path wound into a basin draped in vines. The ground vibrated. It slid into view.
A snake… no, two heads on one monstrous body. One drooling venom. One glowing hot, smoke curling from its maw.
Twin-Headed Serpent — Level 20.
“That’s new,” Shay muttered.
Fire spat first. I dove. Heat blistered leaves overhead. Shay raised both hands. Lightning danced across scaled muscle. The beast shuddered, slowed.
“Now!”
I sprinted, longsword high. The blade smashed into a fang, snapping it clean. Venom sprayed, sizzling the dirt. I leapt, dagger in my off-hand, and drove it into the nose. The body slammed the ground, thrashing.
The poison head lunged. Jaws snapped inches from me. Shay hurled a fireball, bigger than anything he’d managed before. It crashed into the open mouth and detonated. The head whipped back, scales charred.
“Tom, finish it!”
I tore the lodged sword sideways, ripping a gash through skull. Blood erupted. Both heads hissed, snapping wild.
Shay didn’t hesitate. He seized the broken fang slick with venom and drove it into the blinded eye. Poison flooded deep.
The serpent convulsed, coiling in death throes, then crashed to the ground. I staggered back, chest heaving, blades dripping.
The window appeared. The count climbed and stopped four points shy of level twenty-one. So close I could taste it. White light flashed; we were back at the entrance. Stable gate. Repeatable.
The system timer showed just under seven minutes. My thoughts were already on the next move.
Before all this, though, my life had been… average. Stable. Predictable.
Office supervisor by title, problem-solver by habit. I was good at what I did—sharp enough, reliable—but under all the meetings and the numbing routine, there was always this quiet ache. I wanted more. Not money or recognition.
I wanted the impossible. Magic. Adventure. Worlds beyond what this one offered.
I used to laugh at myself for it really, for being the kind of adult who still daydreamed like a kid. But the truth is, when the System came… when power surged through me and the rules of reality bent?
It didn’t scare me. It felt like waking up. And now, I needed to play into my strengths.
“How do we handle the Ice Bear gate?” I asked, stretching. “If it’s still up, it might have respawned.”
Shay winced. “Better coordination. Fire worked, kind of. We got lucky.”
He was right. That wasn’t a fight. That was a near-death flail with a lucky ending.
Then the timer hit zero.