After some time, the tension finally faded, and Darien, not fully realizing it, sat down on the ground, breathing heavily and quickly.
The moment when the hobgoblin was directly in front of him had been terrifying, but fortunately, he had been lucky enough to defeat it. Now, as he sat catching his breath, he watched a chest appear in place of the hobgoblin.
According to his memories, such a chest rarely appeared; it could only be obtained by defeating a dungeon boss. It seemed the hobgoblin had been precisely that—a boss.
Inside the chest, various items could be found, ranging from skill books to equipment.
When his breathing finally steadied, he stood up and opened the chest. The next second, a book appeared before his eyes.
==================================
"Finally!"
A flash of light appeared in front of Darien, and after a few seconds, it vanished. He found himself in a vast space—the entrance to an E-rank dungeon.
An open area spread out before him, resembling a public park.
Not far from the glowing blue portal, a few people in blue uniforms were chatting with each other. These were members of the World Watch, an organization with significant authority over dungeons up to D rank.
However, more dangerous dungeons were typically controlled by powerful guilds or even mighty nations, whose strategy was to endlessly extract resources from these dungeons.
Unlike low-rank dungeons, high-rank dungeons offered abundant resources—from skills to magical items such as weapons, armor, and more.
As Darien emerged from the portal in a flash, the group exchanged glances. Soon, one of them approached him, a hint of surprise on his face. Judging by past experiences, weak individuals with little talent usually perished even in E-rank dungeons.
Yet, it seemed one had survived, though it was of little concern to them. Their main focus was on ensuring the commission fee was paid. Besides the dungeon’s toll of magical points for entry, organizations controlling these dungeons also demanded a fee upon both entrance and exit.
Weaker individuals like Darien had no choice but to comply, as they were, after all, powerless.
Darien looked at the man approaching him. He appeared ordinary, yet his uniform was not. It offered a certain level of protection, and its modern design did not surprise Darien.
Having absorbed the memories of his new life, Darien already knew the kind of world he was in. Technologically, it resembled Earth, a world where even the talented—those capable of becoming hunters—had to compete with those who couldn’t. This need for balance had, since ancient times, driven common people to find ways to compete with these special individuals.
This had even led to wars, where common people fought to ensure they were not regarded as insignificant. Since then, ordinary people had continued advancing science, gradually uncovering new aspects of their world.
As Darien scanned his surroundings in thought, the man in uniform finally approached, casting a mildly dismissive look his way. Though discrimination had been addressed centuries ago, traces of disdain still lingered.
The man looked Darien up and down before speaking.
"Pay the commission."
Darien held up his hand for a few seconds. The World Watch member took out a square device resembling a tablet and began pressing on it. Soon, the fee was set for payment. Darien had earned nearly 600 points from defeating all the goblins and a hobgoblin, leaving him with a total of 860 magical points. Luckily, he had cleared the dungeon, so there was no exit penalty.
However, he now owed 20 points to the World Watch. The good news was that no one could see how many points he had unless he revealed them directly.
His hand emitted a faint glow, and his points dropped by 20. The World Watch member pressed on his tablet, and the glowing particles transferred into it.
Though the device functioned like a tablet, it was also a kind of artifact. The magical particles, or points, were sent directly to the World Watch's repository—a convenient tool.
"Did the others die?"
"Yes."
After confirming the status of the others, the man pressed a few more buttons.
"So, do you want to sell the magic cores or not?"
Impatiently, the member of the World Watch eyed Darien. He could have sold the magic cores here for a good price, but Darien knew better. These people often lowered prices, sometimes even below market value.
"No."
Hearing Darien's response, the man clicked his tongue and returned to his colleagues.
Dungeons were filled with many perils, and unless someone important disappeared or died, details were seldom investigated. An unspoken rule existed in this world—anything that happened in dungeons did not fall under legal jurisdiction, even though these laws were often far from fair.
Of course, if an important or high-status individual perished, steps would be taken accordingly.
Watching the man leave, Darien began walking toward the exit. Strangely, this park contained multiple portals, and from his memories, Darien knew these portals led to E-rank dungeons.
The thing was, even after a dungeon was cleared, it wouldn’t close completely because the core remained inside. However, by controlling the core, the World Watch could relocate dungeons, though this could only be done once.
As he walked, he saw many people in various types of equipment, exuding an air of authority. Equipment here was unlike in games; it had certain attributes. Users needed to understand its effects before channeling magical energy into it, and the power of the equipment depended on the amount of energy supplied.
But this didn’t concern Darien now. Finally, he reached the checkpoint leading out of this area, where a few people with powerful auras stood—high-ranking members of the World Watch.
After passing the inspection, Darien finally exited the place. Once outside, he felt a sense of calm wash over him, though excitement lingered. He glanced around, taking in the surroundings. If he overlooked a few peculiarities—like the massive tower in the distance, the floating islands, the ancient giant birds, and the unusual forms of transportation—the scene almost felt familiar.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
After passing the inspection, Darien finally left the area. Stepping out, he felt a wave of relief and a sense of excitement. Looking around, if one overlooked certain features like the distant tower, the magical elements—such as enormous ancient birds, floating islands, and unique transportation—this world could almost pass for Earth.
People moved around, and unlike the dungeon area, they were dressed in what Darien considered "normal" attire. Yet there were still traces of nobility; on rare occasions, a carriage would roll down the road, and people would clear the way, ignoring any traffic rules to let it pass uninterrupted.
“Well, society here is more diverse than on Earth.”
Muttering to himself, he started toward home. He had to change buses a few times before finally reaching his destination. At last, he arrived at a nondescript apartment building and climbed to the upper floors.
The previous owner of his body had lived in the outermost ring of this enormous city, a place that, though the outer ring, was itself almost as vast as any megacity on Earth.
But beyond the outer ring lay two more. For example, the central ring was the safest and most luxurious area, where the elite, people with status, power, and influence, resided. At the center of this ring stood a towering structure with an ancient aura and architecture. Even more impressive, it was surrounded by a powerful shield spanning nearly 40–50 kilometers, with a wall marking the boundary between the first ring and the rest.
Right beyond that was the second ring, inhabited by large guilds and powerful organizations like the global overseers.
In this world, society was clearly divided into levels.
A surge of anxiety hit him—he would be meeting his daughter soon, and the thought unnerved him.
“Alright, just calm down. I’ve accepted this body, so I must accept his daughter too.”
Repeating this to himself a few times, he finally reached the third floor and arrived at the door of his apartment.
He knocked, and after a moment, the door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman with a slightly plump build. Seeing her, Darien smiled and greeted her.
“Hello, Mrs. Elara, thank you for looking after Ariel.” He stepped inside, and she fully opened the door to let him in. She was his neighbor, someone the previous owner of his body had known for a long time.
It was why he could venture into dungeons to earn money with peace of mind, entrusting her to look after his daughter. Although it wasn’t free—he paid her one magic point each time.
For a hunter, this was a laughable amount, but for everyday life, it was quite decent.
The woman smiled as Darien stepped in.
“Welcome home, Darien. I’m glad you’re safe.”
Entering the apartment, Darien felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. Although he had integrated the memories, it was a strange, dual sensation—as if he were both observing and experiencing everything. Walking into his home, he felt calm and at ease.
“Where’s Ariel?”
He settled on the couch in the small living room to rest and, noticing the quiet in the house, he asked Elara.
“Oh, she’s asleep. She had a busy day at class today, so she was exhausted.”
Upon hearing this, Darien nodded. After chatting a little while longer, he saw Mrs. Elara out and paid her magic points.
Returning to the living room, he remembered his sword and went to a small room nearby. The entire house was simple, with nothing that would hint at this world’s unusual nature.
After leaving his hunter gear in the small room, he moved to the next room. It was a bit bigger and, unlike the rest of the apartment, it was decorated in a cute, whimsical style, with cartoon characters on the walls and toys neatly arranged on a small table.
In the room, a crib held a peacefully sleeping little girl. She was a delicate beauty, with fair hair, a small nose, and gentle lips.
Seeing her, Darien felt his heart soften. He quietly approached the crib and sat beside it.
He didn’t say anything, partly so as not to disturb her and partly because he didn’t want this beautiful image to vanish.
Gazing at her serene face, he was still in awe that he suddenly had a daughter.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect her…”
He didn’t know why he said it, but when he did, it felt as though a weight had lifted from his chest. He didn’t realize it, but he felt more at peace after speaking those words.
As he continued to watch the lovely child before him, she seemed to be dreaming.
Her eyelids tightened, reflecting some unspoken emotion, and soon she murmured in her sleep.
“Daddy…”
Hearing her voice tugged at his heart.
“Daddy, don’t go…”
Watching her struggle, Darien instinctively reached out and placed his hand on Ariel’s small one.
Restlessly, he glanced at her, thinking of waking her up. But the other side anticipated him, opening her eyes.
In the next moment, her bright blue eyes turned to meet his gaze. Two pairs of blue eyes locked onto each other.
Seeing this, Darien felt a slight tremor of fear. Deep down, he was still uncertain. However, when he noticed her sweet little face looking at him with concern, he felt a wave of reassurance. He smiled and spoke softly.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here with you!"
It took a moment for her to react, but then she sprang up from the bed and leaped onto Darien, arms spread wide. Her loud voice echoed in his head.
"DADDY!"
The word pierced to the depths of his heart. He felt her small, delicate arms wrap tightly around his neck, as if afraid he might disappear.
A warm feeling stirred in his heart as he raised his arms and gently embraced his daughter.
"Don’t be scared. I’m here."
Arielle clung to him tightly, and he could not resist her grip. Holding her, he stood up from the floor and walked out of the room. Carefully sitting down on the couch, he softly patted her back, reassuring her.
"I'm here; Daddy's not going anywhere."
These words seemed to be what she needed to hear. Gradually, her tense grip loosened, but she still didn’t let go. Darien didn’t mind; he just held her silently, comforting her.
After a while, he noticed that she had fallen asleep in his arms. Looking down at his beautiful, unexpected daughter, he smiled and gently placed her back in her bed.
Following his memories, he prepared himself something to eat before sinking into the couch in the living room. Previously, the body’s former owner had moved into this apartment after separating from his wife. Unable to afford a better place, he had finally settled for this one-bedroom apartment.
The couch in the living room was enough for him, leaving a separate room for his daughter.
Lying on the bed, Darien stared at the ceiling in astonishment. Everything happening around him felt like a dream, yet he was aware that it was reality. Now, he had to think about what to do next.
"The previous owner of this body had numerous problems. In this harsh world governed by the law of the jungle, he was determined to awaken a powerful talent in his daughter. Realizing how beautiful she would become in the future, he set this goal, knowing that beauty without power would be a curse. If his daughter awakened a strong talent, she would be able to protect herself until she grew stronger. This was better than just being beautiful and ending up as a toy for some noble or powerful figure. But to do this, he needed a powerful amulet."
However, because he had no talent himself, even working an ordinary job did not allow him to save up enough magical points. He had to take out loans and eventually take risks to earn money by delving into weak dungeons.
"But now, unlike him, I have talent—not just talent, but something incredibly powerful. I don’t know exactly how strong it is compared to other talents, but having even the weakest talent is better than nothing."
His thoughts became clearer.
"From what I understand, talent affects skills. And there are countless skills in this world. They’re not only active, like a 'Horizontal Strike,' but can also act passively. The challenge, though, is that I need magical points not only to buy skills but also to understand and learn them."
"In other words, unlike in games, simply acquiring a skill doesn’t mean I can use it right away. If unlucky, a person might not even understand how to use a skill at all."
Some memories told him that grasping a skill was no easy feat. Although there was a catch: skills were classified into different levels by people. From low to high.
"There are several skill levels."
"From Rank 0 to Rank 5. According to memories, when a skill book appears, it has certain characteristics. For instance, on the cover, there may be lines—one to five. Based on this, people discovered a pattern: the more lines that eventually form a star, the more powerful the skill."
"So far, the highest skill rank discovered is Rank 5, rumored to be incredibly powerful. But the stronger the skill, the harder it is to master."
"For example, the skill 'Horizontal Strike' is a Rank 1 skill, as indicated by a single line on its cover. It also consumes magical energy, unlike Rank 0 skills."
“Given my talent, I need to start with a rank 1 skill. Which one exactly, I don't know yet. It's better to see what I can buy and what's available first. And by the way, I got the book.”