Chapter 1: The Death of a Knight…


    The sound of shattering bones filled the cavern. Cain looked on in horror as their guide''s head was slowly devoured by the giant spider. Her body jolted, then went limp. The spider’s disgusting limbs pushed up their beloved guide further into its mouth, as the sickening sound grew louder.


    He wasn’t the first to move, that was Caira. The Saint let out a screech so loud, even the Silkspinner paused its meal for a second. She turned and ran, soon every one of the Hunters followed.


    It was supposed to be an E-rank dungeon, something to teach the Hunters how to operate, so how was it that the C-rank who accompanied them had been killed? Cain had no answer.


    He was trailing just behind Caira as she made a desperate dash for the exit, but they had been in here for a few hours, and none of them knew the way back. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.


    Why? Why? Why?


    Cain asked himself, but he had no answer. There was no reason in dungeons, only one law. The strong survive, and the weak perish. But Yara was strong. A C-rank Mage who has accolades stretching back before he was even born. Yet she was dead, and he and the other E-ranks were still alive.


    This was bad.


    They would have to blindly stumble through the dungeon until they found exit, but even then, most of them wouldn’t make it out alive. They were E-ranks after all, there was no way they could make it.


    The five of them dashed away from the Silkspinner, over mounds of dirt and through winding tunnels. Their lungs burned as they pushed forward. Cain lost track of time as they ran. It felt like hours, but it could have been minutes, he didn’t know. But he did hear.


    The sickening sounds of appendages scraping rock and knocking crystals down followed them wherever they went. The Hunters were running out of time, and they knew it. They rounded a corner and entered a massive clearing in the dungeon. If Cain wasn’t running for his life, he would have thought it beautiful.


    Then he heard a scraping sound, like metal on gemstone, and he saw it. Baby Silkspinners flooded through the cracks in the wall, slowly cutting off the Hunters escape. Caira tripped and fell, sliding through the dirt and muck. There was a yell, the sound of weapons slicing through the air as the horde of baby spiders surged forward.


    Cain summoned his simple broadsword and stepped forward to meet them. His sword sliced through the hard carapace of a spider. He dodged another’s fangs and cut off one of its legs. He had no time to check on his companions, there were simply to many of them.


    Damn, why do I only have a basic skill? Why do I only have [Novice Swordsman]? Shit!


    He was cursing the [System] as he fought. Every Hunter had access to the System, but there were so many classes and skills. He was lucky enough to awaken, but got the weakest class. Knight. It only came with one skill and most famous Knight’s didn’t get another until level 3 or 4. He was a level 1 Knight trapped in a death dungeon with a bunch of other level 1s. It was unfair.


    Cain felt the armor plating on his legs bend as one of the spiders sunk its teeth into his calf. He yelled and spun around, driving the sword right between the spider''s eyes. For the first time he was able to see what was happening to the others. Razok, a Paladin from a noble family, was being swarmed by the spiders. He stood in front of Caira, using his shield and hammer to crush his opponents. But he wasn’t in good shape. His expensive armor was cracked and broken, while blood stained his face and hair.


    The Lancer, Orian, dodged a spider with his glaive, and sliced in an arc, demolishing plenty of the spiders. He was injured and bleeding heavily from his arm and neck, but still alive. Sandy, the Warlock was shooting off beams of mana into the crowd, frying them. The numbers slowed as Cain drove his sword into the last one.


    “Is everyone alright?” Razok asked through ragged breaths. Everyone nodded in silence. Cain checked his stats.


    Cain - Level 1


    Mana: 100/100


    Class: Knight


    Titles:


    Skills: [Novice Swordsman]


    Stats -


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 10


    Vitality: 10


    Perception: 10


    Intelligence: 10


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    Charisma: 10


    Free Points: 5


    Damn! Not even a level up? Why?!


    “Caira, can you heal us?” Razok bent down on a knee and asked the Saint class Hunter. She did not respond. Instead, she just rocked back and forth with a terrified look in her eyes. “Caira?”


    “It’s no use. The girl is shocked, she won’t be of any use,” Orian said quietly. Then Razok stumbled and fell forward, his body completely still. A window popped up in Cain’s vision.


    [Condition: Poisoned]


    Shit.


    “Caira? You need to heal us now, we’re poisoned.”


    She didn’t respond. Sandy clutched her staff tightly, whispering a prayer or something. They were running out of time, Cain could feel it.


    “Caira, come on, you need to heal us, there''s no time!”


    “She’s not going to do shit we need to move. If we go now we might be able to get healed before it’s too late,” Orian yelled.


    “What? You want us to just leave them?” Sandy gasped. She was trembling almost as badly as Caira.


    “Yeah. We’re running out of time. I’m going with or without her. She needs to wake up if she wants to live,” Orian said while tightly gripping his glaive. He turned around and started walking away from them. Cain didn’t move at first. He then walked to Caira, crouched down, and slapped her across the face.


    She jumped, startled by the stinging pain.


    “Wake up, or we all die,” Cain said quietly. There was no point in being harsh on the poor girl, she was already terrified. He just needed to be honest and she would hopefully understand. Caira nodded.


    “S-sorry,” she pushed herself to her feet and walked to Razok, who was lying there. “He’s still alive!”


    A soft, green light emitted from her hands, slowly covering Razok’s whole body. His muscles became less tense and his wounds began to close. Cain and Sandy smiled as the light dissipated and Razok pushed himself up.


    “Thank you guys. Now, heal them and let’s move,” Razok said weakly. Caira nodded and made her way to Sandy and Cain. Soon, both of their wounds had healed. Then they broke out into a mad dash. The sound of chitinous scraping grew louder as they ran. Sandy started lacking behind the rest of them, but they needed to keep going.


    Then, a shriek pierced the air. Cain whipped his head around to witness a spider sinking its teeth into the Warlock’s neck. Razok moved first. He dove toward Sandy, his hammer appearing in a whirl of white sparks. He crushed the spider with a single blow, but it was too late. He caught Sandy’s body with his hulking arms, but her lifeless eyes had already told Cain everything.


    She was dead.


    Caira started crying while Razok muttered a curse under his breath. Then he shouted. Another spider had driven its fangs into his arm. He crushed its head with his fist.


    “Shit!” Razok turned and swung his hammer, destroying another spider. Cain saw it too. Another horde of spiders, filling the darkness with chirps and vile noises. He stumbled backwards as Razok dove in headfirst to meet them. “Cain! To me!”


    But Cain did not move toward Razok. No. He was weak after all. Cain was a coward. He ran, leaving both Razok and Caira to the spiders. What a vile creature he was. What happened to the honor he prided himself on?


    By the time the screams stopped, Cain was long gone. He was now travelling through a tunnel that was only a little taller then he was. Could he have done something differently to save them? Not just Razok and Caira, but Sandy and the C-rank too. It was only supposed to be an E-rank dungeon, and with the amount of spiders he killed, he should have leveled up, but he didn’t.


    Why was this world so cruel? Monsters and humans devouring each other for what? The propaganda never explained that. It always spun the same tales of honor and glory. Would he and the others be used to trick others into becoming a Hunter? Probably.


    On his journey through the small tunnel, Cain had accumulated more wounds. Spiders would appear every so often, but he couldn’t run. When he finally reached the end of it, he was greeted by a massive stone door.


    It was littered in carvings and runes that he couldn’t read. He limped to the center of it, where the symbol of a hand was engraved. Above it was a single rune. One that he could read.


    ‘Death.’


    Shit. Well, fuck it.


    He placed his hand over the engraving. There was a rumble, and then an ethereal purple light covered him. He felt revitalized, stronger than before. But he got no notifications from the System. His only reward was the opening of that great door.


    He entered cautiously, his sword drawn, but there were no enemies waiting to swarm him. It was a vast chamber made of ancient stone, each pillar depicted a unique scene. The first one he saw was filled with skulls and shadowy creatures, while others showed a figure in a black cloak bringing the dead back to life.


    A shiver washed over his body as he looked upon the centerpiece of the chamber. There was a closed coffin, guarded by hundreds of statues. Each of them were unique, special in some way or another. There were skeletons, humans, elves, orcs, even a dragon hung from the ceiling. He saw the slitted windows that emanated blue light, illuminating the chamber. It was beautiful.


    If the propaganda were to be believed, then here is where Cain would find a secret relic that would make him impossibly strong, but he knew that it wasn’t going to happen. All he felt was an overwhelming sense of dread as the statue standing beside the coffin smiled.


    It was instantaneous. One moment he was holding his sword, the next his sword arm was laying five meters away. He looked down at where his arm had once been as blood began to shoot from it.


    He screamed in pure agony, watching as the statues began to circle him, laughing. They had evil grins plastered across their faces and malice in their hearts. Cain needed to escape. He stood up and took a few steps before falling back to the ground. His legs were now missing. What sins had he committed in a past life to deserve this? He would’ve rather been devoured by the spiders.


    His remaining arm grasped at the floor, still trying to pull himself away from this hell, but a statue blocked his exit. It was a simple man, draped in a cloak with an obscured face. He was holding a scythe, so large it put the Silkspider to shame. It spoke no words to Cain, only raised the scythe and brought it down in one motion.


    How unlucky he was. If he didn’t awaken, he could’ve lived such a simple life. He could have remained on the farm with his parents and sister, but no. He needed adventure and glory. What a fool he had been.


    The world shuddered and went dark as the scythe pierced his chest.


    “Oh my lonesome shadow… you have done well. But I won’t allow it to end so quickly. Rise my child, my shadow… my heir.”