"Sigh"
Darien took a deep breath, running his fingers through his blonde hair, and finally processed the memory acquired from the original body. Looking around, he could only see a few monster corpses resembling goblins and the bodies of fallen comrades.
The surrounding terrain reminded him of some kind of dungeon, confirming his memories. It was the dungeon where the previous body's owner had entered to earn money.
Their main activity as hunters was collecting magical stones from monsters. From childhood, the original body's owner gained some experience from his father.
In the world he found himself in, personal strength was crucial. If he were weak, his future would be highly unreliable. His father taught him about the weaknesses of weak monsters and the practicalities of this world.
This world resembled the fantasy novels he used to read, with dungeons as essential resources. Not only for obtaining various resources but also as a way to become stronger.
After killing a sufficient number of monsters, an individual would feel a surge of power. Then, they had to push their body to the limit to advance to the next level.
Creature levels could be determined using a special stone, which was quite expensive.
Besides dungeons, there was also the arena where various races fought continually. The winner received a reward from the tower. The tower hosted several tournaments, ranging from those for the weak to those for the strongest.
To earn rewards from the tower, one had to become stronger, and to become stronger, one had to go through dungeons. Having a talent was best for delving into dungeons and becoming stronger.
Talent was crucial in this world, and due to this factor, most creatures remained ordinary throughout their lives. The original body's owner was among such people.
Without any talent, he couldn't become stronger as quickly as talented individuals. He had to join groups with other people to increase his chances of survival.
However, he might still have had some luck, meeting a young girl whom he married, and they had a daughter. But a few years later, it seemed his luck ran out. His wife left him for someone else.
Taking custody of his daughter, he started delving into increasingly dangerous dungeons given his strength. Finally, he and his team encountered creatures resembling goblins. The result was that the previous owner of the body died from injuries, and Darien's soul took over, assimilating the memories of this body.
A 37-year-old man, immersed in mundane work all the time, always found entertainment in games during his free time. However, judging by the recent feelings of exhaustion, he likely died from overwork.
"Now the world is different, and unexpectedly, I have a daughter and a wife who betrayed me. What a start..."
Getting up, he felt his throat where the cut had disappeared. He picked up a simple sword covered in small holes that had fallen to the side and looked around.
"According to the memories, the entrance is on that side."
Carefully looking towards the exit, he pondered how to get out of there. It was clearly too dangerous to clear the dungeon.
As he was about to take a step, an interface with a loading bar suddenly appeared before his eyes. This made him stop and hide again, suspiciously staring at the loading interface until it filled completely.
Following that, lines of text appeared.
[Congratulations on reaching 37 years of life.]
[Would you like to accept a gift?]
"What the... Is this not the same pop-up window I received a day ago before dying from exhaustion?"
"Yes!... It's identical. By the way, it seems it was a notification from a game?"
The inscriptions were very familiar to him because a day ago was his birthday. However, no one congratulated him, making him feel unhappy. Yet, at that time, he received a message from the game on his phone, stating that he had received a gift. However, due to his busy work schedule, he hadn't opened the gift, and afterward, there was no opportunity.
"Alright, considering I've ended up in an entirely different world, receiving a gift from the game wouldn't be completely suspicious, right?"
As he spoke, he raised his hand and pressed the interface. However, nothing happened when he thought about accepting it. The interface seemed to respond to his mental command, revealing the gift.
[Congratulations on receiving the special talent "Amplification 37 times" in honor of your 37th birthday.]
Reading the message, he expressed surprise. It was a cheat talent.
"Well, I got a gift. Does it have any impact on me?"
Pondering, he raised the knife and swung it, but nothing changed, just like before.
"Maybe it affects other aspects? Or if it's from the game, does it only work on the game character? Well, in this world, there's clearly no concept of status; even levels are checked through a special stone."
Thinking that waiting was in vain, he considered the world he had entered, where there was no status or anything resembling other novels.
However, when he thought about the status, another window appeared before his eyes.
[
Name: Darian
Level: 4 [679/800]
Age: 24 years [37]
Race: Human
Profession: Hunter
Attributes:
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 12
Intelligence: 10
Magic: 2
Skills:
Horizontal Sword Strike: Level 2 [319/7000]
Talent: Amplification 37 times]
"Oh, it seems I have a status. And it seems similar to that game. Does the talent work then?"
His gaze fell on the talent line, where he could see the Amplification 37 times talent.
"But how do I use it? Well, it's not the right time to think about it. For now, I need to get out of here quickly; the longer I stay, the greater the chance of dying."
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He stood up and cautiously began walking toward the exit. Absorbing the memories of the original body owner, he managed to remain calm, knowing that panicking would surely lead to death.
Moving toward the exit, the surroundings remained unchanged. According to the memories, entering dungeons happened through a magical sign on everyone's hand at birth. Creatures in this world could enter dungeons, battle arenas, and tournaments; everywhere was a potential death trap.
Dungeons appeared randomly in various locations, while battle arenas and tournaments took place in towers. The sign served as a kind of pass; without enough magical currency, one couldn't enter dungeons, battle arenas, or tournaments. Presumably, this was to prevent abuse by races.
The higher the dungeon rank, the more magical currency was needed. For example, Darian entered an E-rank dungeon, a common and widely accessible one. True A-rank dungeons or higher were highly profitable, leading to wars breaking out around them several times.
Unlike arenas and tournaments, one could exit a dungeon either by clearing it or returning to the starting point by paying a penalty.
Passing through the passage, he remembered the magical currency. Thinking about it, he raised the sleeve of his left arm, revealing the magical sign. Pressing it, it lit up magically, displaying a number.
297 magical currency, that's what the previous body owner had.
"Well, the penalty for an E-rank dungeon is not small. A whole 50 points. Considering that the previous body owner still has a debt, it seems my future is extremely bleak. Ugh."
Looking at the glowing digit on his hand, Darien remembered the credit he had taken from the previous body's owner. It was necessary to buy a suppressing amulet. The thing was, talents awakened at different times in people, or not at all.
There was a particular pattern when talents awakened. If the talent awoke in early childhood, from birth to 3-4 years old, it would be quite good, tested annually by most parents using a special stone. There was no visible effect if the talent did not rely on physical qualities.
However, the strangest thing was that when talents awakened between ages 5 and 10, they tended to be average. This led to the creation of the suppressing amulet. This amulet suppressed talent awakening to increase the chances of getting a good talent after the age of 10.
The previous Darien wanted his daughter to have a good talent, unlike him. So, he gritted his teeth and bought the amulet, taking a magical currency loan.
Although he bought it, he needed to earn more to pay off the loan and buy another amulet next year. The problem was that doing business with it was challenging, making the amulet work for only two years. Now, his daughter was already 6 years old. One year had passed, but he still hadn't paid off the loan, which was extremely problematic.
This was one of the reasons he entered the dungeon.
"Damn, in this world where strength rules, money still has its power," he muttered to himself, reaching a turn. According to his memories, the exit was behind him. It slightly excited him as salvation was close. However, as he was about to turn, he thought carefully and cautiously peered around, a wise decision, as five goblins stood there, which was extremely dangerous considering their team of five had failed against ten goblins.
Now, the situation was even more frightening.
Holding his breath, he continued observing the goblins, who seemed to be talking about something and examining the surroundings. He didn't understand their words, but judging by their movements, they were trying to figure out where the humans came from.
Darien retreated and assessed the environment. There was no visible place where he could confront or discreetly kill the goblins. If he attracted their attention, he would have to run deeper into the dungeon to find other hiding spots.
"It seems there's no other way but to go back," he thought. After a few seconds, he turned and went back into the depths of the dungeon. The scene was exactly the same as when he left. Seeing the other bodies, he thought, "Damn, I was stupid not to check if they had anything useful."
Muttering to himself, he crouched near the corpses and began searching for any items that could help. However, like him, the others had only their swords.
"It seems you died in this place for a reason, the preparation was extremely poor. But if you think about the prices of items, it's probably just me being clever."
Realizing there was nothing good, he shot toward the dungeon's recess and then toward the exit. Switching his attention a few times between the two paths, he gritted his teeth and delved deeper into the dungeon.
After several turns and descending, he also saw structures ahead in the middle of the passage. Several goblins stood on stone formations, holding bows and arrows, looking toward the passage.
"Well, going deeper is impossible, and there are no other passages."
He started walking towards the exit.
"Darn, it seems my only option is to confront and kill those flashy goblins at the exit. If I can figure out how to use the talent, it will be easier."
Saying this, he invoked the status again, trying to interact with it somehow. However, nothing worked.
With no other way out, his gaze fell on the skill 'Horizontal Sword Strike.'
"I'll try using it."
Saying this, he confirmed that he had moved far enough down the passage, finding a relatively open space. Making sure there were no goblins on the other side, he began testing.
According to memories, the previous body's owner stood in a specific pose. Following those memories, he held the sword with both hands, lowering his stance to prepare for the strike. He held the sword to the left side of his body, right in the middle, horizontally to the ground.
After tightly gripping, he swung. Following it, a sharp whistle sounded, and a crescent with compressed air, creating a wind, extended two meters forward, increasing from the size of the sword to two meters in length.
The skill seemed potent at first glance, yet its preparation required some time. Moreover, the initial possessor couldn't use it to avoid harming allies, though he didn't even get a chance to use it. He was killed faster than he could employ it.
While pondering how this skill could aid him, notifications from the system appeared.
[Detected skill "Horizontal Sword Strike." Apply the talent?]
The words appearing directly in front of him stunned him. Without hesitation, he accepted, and the notifications disappeared. Reflecting, he checked the status again.
```
Name: Darien
Level: 4 [679/800]
Age: 24 years [37]
Race: Human
Profession: Hunter
Attributes:
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 12
Intelligence: 10
Magic: 2
Skills:
Horizontal Sword Strike (Enhanced 37 times): Level 2 [319/7000]
Talent: Enhancement 37 times]
```
"Oh?... Does the talent really work?"
Examining the status, he finally understood the nature of the talent. Judging by its actions, it seemed to affect only skills.
"Quack!"
As he wondered how it had intensified, a cry echoed from the dungeon recess. Turning his head, he saw three goblins already staring at him, wielding short daggers with a bloodthirsty look.
Looking at them, Darien immediately became alert and assumed a defensive stance. The goblins, in turn, began to approach slowly. Gripping his sword tightly, Darien felt tremors in his hands and legs. It seemed like they were weakening due to the memories of the previous owner's demise echoing in his head.
"Calm down; I still have a chance. There are only three of them, and if the talent really worked, a simple skill is no longer just simple."
His brain began to analyze the situation quickly, and he finally came to a decision. After that, he changed his defensive posture, adopting the stance for the Horizontal Sword Strike.
His actions were the same as before, but considering that the talent might not work, he estimated the moment to execute the skill.
Judging from the previous instance, the skill had a range of 2 meters and a width of attack of 2 meters as well.
As the goblins continued to approach, maintaining their bloodthirsty demeanor, Darien nervously waited, holding his position.
Second after second, he continued to stand there, intensely staring at the goblins.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, one of the goblins accelerated and rushed towards him. The other two, after waiting for a while, did the same.
"Darn it, if I strike one, the others will have a chance to kill me. What should I do?"
Narrowing his eyes, Darien felt his heart beating furiously. The tension grew, and he lost control of his panic.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he observed the first goblin entering the skill's range and swung his sword as before.
The familiar sound of the wind's whistle, the scene before Darien changed. The crescent moon appeared again, but moments later, it sharply expanded, occupying the entire passage. Not only did its length increase, but it also became larger than before.
In the next second, a roar was heard, and following it, the crescent moon, leaving traces on the walls, flew forward with a whistle. The distance of two meters increased.
The crescent moon passed through the entire passage, leaving traces on the wall, simultaneously dividing all three goblins into two parts.
Finally, it struck the wall, leaving visible cracks behind before vanishing. Darien, holding a sword in his hand, stood there, shocked, gazing at the aftermath of the skill.
"Wow, that was amazing!"