Alone inside my living room, with the front door locked and everything secured, I sit on my sofa, fully dressed in my old mercenary outfit: black military fatigues, thick cargo pants, a full tactical vest, and a ballistic helmet fitted with night vision. My gear includes a Semi-Auto Taiga-M Tactical shotgun, a Glock 9mm, and a Titanium Steel combat machete. My compact assault pack is already packed with MREs, a medkit, and backup ammo—I can survive for two days with the supplies I’ve prepared. Everything is ready and in place. I look like I’m about to go to war, yet I feel quite relaxed right now.

“Hmmm… what should I choose…”.

Opening my status window, I’m contemplating which [Job] to choose. It’s a decision that will be permanent and will carry over to the world of Lothenheim with me, so every choice I make now will heavily impact my future. I notice from my status sheet and the Skill Tree window that the system is similar—or rather identical—to the one used in Lothenheim, the game. In Lothenheim, the Job system is quite diverse, and a single character can have two jobs to invest in: [Main Job] and [Second Job]. Jobs like Mage, Warrior, Healer, and Archer are the only [Main Job] options available at the start upon character creation, and one must choose one of the four to proceed. This is the stage where I’m at right now.

“Hmm… let’s see…… oh, the window expands… then it’s the same as the game…”.

I tap on the [Warrior] option, and as soon as I do, a new window appears, showing a long list of advanced jobs—from the first evolution all the way to the Grand-Master level jobs that a [Warrior] can ascend into. At the Grand-Master level, a [Warrior] can become a [Sword Saint], [Barbarian King], and more—all of which are overpowered, endgame classes. [Main Job] can grow stronger, which is why there are only 4 [Jobs] available for free at the start. From this, I confirm that my system is the same as the one in Lothenheim, the game. As for the [Second Job], this can only be obtained through an item or under specific conditions. There are a few thousand options to choose from—I know some of them from the game, but I’m sure others might be different, probably. Also, in Lothenheim, there’s no job restriction or specific equipment requirement—there’s no rule that prohibits a Mage from using a sword, and vice versa. The game has its logic straight.

“…Hmm… since I’m going into the dungeon alone… I need skills that allow me to become a one-man army… I guess Mage it is, then… Alright!… I choose Mage……”.

There’s no need for me to speak out loud at all—I can just pick it. Still, I choose [Mage] as my [Main Job]. This job isn’t only the strongest at early levels; it’s also the most versatile among the four. It has healing spells to act as a healer, tracking magic to compensate as an archer, and a multitude of attacking spells for firepower. Even in the late game, the [Mage] job is incredibly overpowered. It’s also the class I’m most familiar with. In Lothenheim, the game, I’ve played with many classes before, and the one I found easiest to play and with the highest survival probability is [Mage]. In Lothenheim, Mages are highly regarded throughout the world, known as masters of mana and magic, and they’re treated as nobility wherever they go. Not to mention that Mages are rare in Lothenheim—if you want to have an easy social life in Lothenheim, becoming a Mage is a must. Since my future is in Lothenheim, grabbing this chance early on is a must for me.

After choosing my job, nothing changes in my status, other than the previously empty field in the job section now showing [Mage], already set in place. So, I open the [Skill Tree] next. With my job set, I can now choose which skills I want to learn. My skill tree is divided into four selections: first, [Life Magic], then [Elemental Magic], followed by [Support Magic], and lastly, [Special]. Life Magic, as the name suggests, is magic for everyday use—spells like Tinder, which produces a small candle flame to light a fire, or Clean, which can clean anything. Elemental Magic is where the attack and defensive magic are, with famous spells like Fireball and Magic Missile. Support Magic is where the buffs, debuffs, and healing magic are. Naturally, there are tiers of magic. Right now, I’m at Tier 1 since I’m only at level 1. Once I reach level 20, Tier 2 will be unlocked. I also have another selection, the [Special] tab—this one is unique to players.

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Inventory and Personal Portable Dungeon are placed here. [Special] is the tab where skills that are uniquely available to players can be learned. There are hundreds of skills that can be bought here, and if players learn or obtain a skill, it will also be placed here. It’s a universal tab for non-job-specific skills. The first three selections are for a Mage, and this last one is for the player itself, so to speak. Right now, both Inventory and Personal Portable Dungeon are the only skills with their names lit up, meaning I have them. Of all the tabs, only these two are lit up; the others are still gray.

“…Well… since I’m only at Tier 1… let’s choose [Magic Missile]……”.

I bought [Magic Missile] as my first magic, an offensive spell.

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~Magic Missile~

Lvl: 1

Tier: 1

Type: Non-Elemental/Offensive Magic

Cost: 5 MP

Description: Upon casting, fires a bolt of concentrated mana at the target, dealing 20 pts of fixed damage.

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At first glance, Magic Missile might look like a lackluster spell, but it’s actually quite formidable. It has no elemental effect, which means it can hurt anything equally, no matter what the enemy’s resistance is. This spell deals 20 points of damage, making it a sort of equalizer for magic. Finally done with choosing my job and acquiring my first magic, I’m ready to go on an adventure. Once again, I check all the locks, doors, and windows, fasten my gear, and finally turn toward my bedroom door. Slowly, I place my hand on the door.**

“…Personal Portable Dungeon…”.

“[Use normal wooden bedroom door as dungeon entrance?…{Yes}…{No}]”.

“What if… I do this… ohh~… it’s gone… again…”.

“[Use normal wooden bedroom door as dungeon entrance?…{Yes}…{No}]”.

The same blue-tinted window appears right on the door, with two choices. Surprisingly, my skill is really user-friendly—it even kindly informs me about the door. Feeling elated, I take my right hand off the door, and the window disappears. Then I place my hand back on the door and will it in my mind to use the skill again—the same window appears again.

“Yes…”.

“[Normal wooden bedroom door is now connected to Personal Dungeon Floor 1…]”.

My bedroom door shines slightly for about 3 seconds before the light dims. Now, the only change is that hovering right above my bedroom door is a sign that reads [Dungeon Floor 1]. Naturally, this sign can only be seen by me—I know this because I can’t see the reflection of the sign in the mirror hanging on the wall behind me. It doesn’t bother me much, so I just chalk it up to ‘magic stuff’ and accept it.

“… here we go…”.

With my trusted handgun ready and the flashlight on, I grip the door handle and twist it open. When I swing the door open, I can still see the view inside my room, but it’s slightly distorted, as if there’s a plastic wrap covering the sight. So I thrust my left hand in first, and as soon as I do, up to my left wrist, my hand just vanishes. But since I can feel my fist forming and spreading again and again, I decide to step inside. I don’t close the door, but as I step through, the door closes on its own.

“…ouuff… huff~ huff~… fuuuu~… that felt weird…”.

Once I’m on the other side, I feel lightheaded, slightly shaky. Immediately, I kneel down to gather myself. The sensation of passing through the door for the first time was like getting hit by a warm and wobbly barrier. I can walk just fine, but everything makes me feel nauseous. It takes me about 3 minutes to get back to normal. Naturally, the entire time, I’m ready for any incoming attack, with my handgun pointed forward.

“…this is quite beautiful… everything… just like what I imagined a dungeon would be…… it’s dirt… so is the wall…”.

As I finally stabilize and observe my surroundings, I find it rather dark—not entirely pitch black, more like the darkness outside at late dawn. There’s some visibility, but not much. It’s a cave terrain—the floor is dirt, as are the walls and ceiling. It feels like a normal cave. The ceiling is about 5 meters high, and the width is about 6 to 7 meters where I’m standing. As I shine the light around me, the width and height vary, just like in a normal cave.

I seem to be in a straight hallway for now. Since it looks like a normal cave, my tension eases a little bit. Looking at my watch, it’s 17:58 right now. Perhaps the dungeon follows Earth time. My flashlight is working just fine here, as are my watch and phone. So, another fact debunked for me—electronics do work inside a dungeon. With that confirmed, I start walking, casually but still careful and ready. I turn off my flashlight and pull down the night vision on my helmet, turning everything in sight green. Now I can see better. After 10 minutes of walking, I finally encounter my first monster.

“…Goblins… they’re even uglier in real life…”.

My first monster in the dungeon isn’t the typical slime but rather two little green goblins.