Zack and his companions were resting in the carriage they came. The cramped interior they had previously complained about was now a small paradise where they could rest their exhausted bodies, oblivious to what was happening outside.

After the reinforcements arrived, the raiders took up a defensive posture and attempted to withdraw. Unfortunately for them, the kingdom´s soldiers did not give them that opportunity.

Once the enemies were repelled, the soldiers entered the dungeon searching for Zack and the other summoned heroes.

Kenzo and Ryu's faces, when they saw the kingdom's troops appear, were priceless. It seemed as if their parents had come to pick them up. Although Zack's reaction was not that exaggerated, he was also deeply relieved that those who came looking for them had no bad intentions.

When Zack and his companions were escorted to the surface, his companions could not help but get excited. That emotion disappeared when they saw the destruction everywhere.

Just as Zack imagined, the disaster was not contained just to the dungeon. The soldier´s encampment was also damaged, and the casualties were quite serious.

Zack did his best to ignore the corpses being carried towards a small clearing in the distance, and he focused on heading toward the carriage they had come in.

Fortunately, their carriage was not being used to move corpses even though it would be tremendously useful for it.

Zack once again realized the status wizards had in this world.

When Zack entered the carriage, there were already people inside.

He saw Shun and Miyu hugging each other as Shun comforted Miyu and whispered words into her ear.

The moment he opened the door, they looked to see who had interrupted them. When they saw him, they both turned red and bolted away from each other. He looked at them with a slight smile, much to their embarrassment, before entering the carriage to rest, without saying anything.

The instant he touched the hard seats of the vehicle, his entire body felt a deep relaxation. Not knowing when, Zack fell asleep, not caring about the awkward situation he had left behind between his two fellow wizards.

…

In the middle of a small meadow, just when the sun was starting to set on the horizon, a carriage passed by on a dirt road without stopping.

He did not know exactly how much time had passed. When Zack opened his eyes again, Austin was with them in the carriage, and it was moving, possibly towards the castle.

The first thing he felt when he woke up was a deep discomfort. His body was cramped, and his throat was completely dry. Any movement he made was obstructed by the other occupants of the carriage.

Despite being in movement, the rattling carriage seemed not to disturb the others.

Without being able to do anything else, he began to think about what he could have done to avoid falling into that situation. After thinking for some time, Zack realized that most things that happened were out of his control.

He couldn't have stopped the individuals who attacked the squad of soldiers, nor could he have alerted his companions about the oddities the accompanying guard was displaying without alerting him. With that said Zack realized that he should have noticed that the guard's behavior wasn´t normal.

By the time the dungeon began to shake, he should have gotten as far away from him as possible. If not for Ryu's help, that oversight could have cost him his life.

Zack could only smile awkwardly to himself as he noted his own helplessness. Despite knowing that there wasn't much he could do, that feeling filled him with frustration.

In that instant, he saw something flash in the corner of his vision. He focused on it and noted what it was. It was a system notification.

Congratulations!!! Due to your own efforts, you have earned the Survivor title.

Zack had heard of the title Survivor in a book at the central library that contained a list of the most 'common' titles.

Apparently, that book was written by a member of the aristocracy to help other nobles obtain titles, and thus have another advantage over commoners.

When Zack read that, he thought it was a joke. After all, who is going to bother enough to do all that work and not keep it to yourself? After investigating a bit, he realized it was true. The motives weren't even that important. There are people in this world who just want to see others suffer.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Zack shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. He had seen a lot of dark stuff in the library, this one didn't even make it to the top 10.

The method of acquiring this title is very simple. That doesn't mean easy. To get this title, all you need to do is survive, survive a situation where it shouldn't have been possible for you to do so.

Also, if you wanted to get the title, it wasn't enough for someone to save you from that situation. You had to survive thanks to your actions, as an individual or as a group.

The title could not be acquired if you were in a dangerous situation, and someone else saves you without you doing anything. You could receive help, but your actions had to determine your own survival.

It was one of the few titles that the nobility didn´t dare pursue, as they would need to be in real danger to do so. And a lot of nobles would kill for it if it were possible to get it that way.

The benefits that this title grants are enormous.

Survivor

Title obtained by those who survive against the expected

It will be easier for you to survive in extreme conditions

You will be able to intuitively detect ways to survive in difficult situations

Unlocks the Danger Sense skill

Survivor is one of the few titles that grant you skills.

Each person acquires a class specializing in their talents at the age of eight. That makes it relatively easy to learn and level up the skills that belong to that class. Even so, some people are unable to raise their class's basic skills to the maximum level over the years.

Maxing out skills is hard despite the advantages of having the right class. That's precisely why anyone can gain skills if they try hard enough, regardless of their class, but only with the right class, can you bring out their full potential.

Some skills are so difficult to obtain that it is practically impossible unless you have the corresponding class.

Kenzo's Danger Sense skill is one of them. There are very few classes that can acquire this skill naturally. The only other way to obtain this skill is to live on the edge of death day after day for years.

To give everyone an example, in Zack's world, the only people who might be able to acquire this ability would be military men with decades of active service and multiple achievements on the battlefield.

A lot of people would kill for this ability, although they were most likely the ones who would die.

When Zack realized how truly close he came to dying, a chill ran through him. Zack tried to focus on the title issue and opened the status screen for him.

Status

Name: Zack Mayima

Age: 18

Race: Human

Title: Bookworm, Survivor

Class: Mage

Level: 16

Stats:

Strength: 10

Endurance: 10

Wisdom: 25

Luck: 11

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 29

Charm: 11

Mana: 37/37

Skills:

Fast Reading Level 4

Memorization Level 3

Mana Control Level 7

Danger Sense Level 1

Universal Traduction

Spells:

* Tier 0:

Magic Hand Level (MAX)

Light Level (MAX)

Trip Level (MAX)

Spark Level (MAX)

Deafen Level (MAX)

Night Vision Level (MAX)

Breeze Level (MAX)

Summon Water Level 3

The first thing he noticed was that he had leveled up.

Before entering the dungeon, he was level 15. He probably didn't see the notification. Many things happened at the same time.

The title was there, and on his skill list was Danger Sense. That brought a small smile to Zack's face. Maybe next time it can help him survive.

Mana Control had also risen to level 7.

The water summoning spell had gone up a couple of levels from practicing in the dungeon.

With the level up, some of his attributes had gone up. His strength had increased, as had his intelligence and his mana. Zack was used to increasing them through reading and practice, so seeing them increase on their own was somewhat disconcerting. Seeing that luck had also increased, Zack felt the need to take his status and throw it away.

(What kind of luck have I had for it to increase? The real name of the Luck attribute should be Bad Luck) Zack thought offended.

Zack closed his status and began to think about what to do from now on. This incident has marked him. Although he already knew that his life would be in danger, he did not know it would happen so soon. It's only been a month since he came here, he wasn't ready. None of his classmates were prepared for this. Zack needs to get stronger fast, otherwise next time things may not be the same as now. Still, that's easier said than done.

He is not a Shonen protagonist who receives a tenfold power increase after every encounter with enemies. He's already stretching his time as long as possible. There's not a moment of the day that he's not doing something to improve his chances of survival.

(Now that I think about it, he should have received the title a week ago) Zack thought.

The only thing he can do is continue to improve as much as possible, making the most of the castle's resources. He still has many things to do in there: Memorize all the magic he has access to, read all the books in the castle, level up... and plan his escape.

Zack used to think he could take his time on the latter, but this last trip to the dungeon showed that the higher-ups weren't planning on giving them much time. The sooner he starts planning his escape, the better.

Zack settled in his place and tried to get some sleep to regain his strength before reaching the castle. The last thing he thought before closing his exhausted eyes and resting his dusty body was:

(The next thing I will do is learn a cleansing spell)