(Notice)
[Congratulations! You are now a player!]
A brilliant yellow light burst forth, illuminating the dungeon with an intensity that banished the suffocating shadows. As Izuku's vision adjusted, he saw the stone warriors frozen mid-attack, their monstrous forms reduced to lifeless statues. The once oppressive chamber, heavy with despair and death, now stood silent, its darkness replaced by the radiant glow of his newfound resolve.
Izuku Midoriya's eyes snapped open as he shot upright, his chest rising and falling with rapid, shallow breaths. His hand instinctively pressed against his chest, feeling the wild rhythm of his heartbeat beneath his palm."I'm... alive?"The thought surged through his mind, disbelief crashing over him like a tidal wave. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled his nose as he took in his surroundings. White walls, the steady beep of machines, and the sterile atmosphere of a hospital room enveloped him.
As he adjusted to the scene, a nurse at the far end of the room noticed his movement. Her eyes widened in surprise before relief softened her expression. "The patient's awake! Notify his family and the doctor!" she called out, her voice trembling slightly.
Izuku's mind raced, fragments of memory flashing vividly before him. He recalled the gleaming sword descending toward his head, its blade catching the light with deadly intent. Even if it had somehow been missed, he had been surrounded by a horde of monstrous enemies—creatures so powerful they had pushed even the elite rank S Hunters to their breaking points.
"But I survived that?"The question echoed in his mind, his brows knitting together in confusion. Could it all have been a dream? The notion seemed absurd, yet the memories were so visceral, so raw. He had to be sure.
With trembling hands, Izuku pulled back the thin hospital blanket draped over him. He braced himself, holding his breath. If the nightmare had been real, his leg would still be gone—ripped away in that hellish dungeon. But if it had all been an illusion, his leg would be...
"Intact?" Izuku gasped, his voice barely above a whisper as he stared at his uninjured leg. Relief and confusion warred within him. "Was it really just a dream?"
Before Izuku could fully process his surroundings, the door to his room burst open. A doctor entered hurriedly, slightly out of breath, adjusting his glasses as he approached the bed. "I apologize if we startled you, Mr. Midoriya," he said in a composed tone, his voice steady despite his rushed entrance.
Izuku, still disoriented, shook his head. "N-no problem. Did I... have any injuries when I was brought in?" he asked hesitantly, his thoughts racing.
The doctor glanced at the medical chart, flipping through its pages with practiced efficiency. "No, none at all. Your condition is quite remarkable," he replied, though his expression shifted subtly, a shadow of seriousness crossing his face. He hesitated briefly before continuing, "Your sister is on her way. She'll be here soon."
As the doctor spoke, a nurse stepped closer, leaning in to whisper something in his ear. Though her voice was low, Izuku's newly heightened senses caught fragments of their conversation. "Should we tell him... psst... psst...?" The nurse's tone carried an undertone of concern, her words laced with hesitation.
The doctor nodded solemnly, his expression growing heavier. "We should," he agreed quietly before turning his full attention back to Izuku. His gaze was steady but grave. "Mr. Midoriya, do you remember the date when you were brought in?"
Izuku frowned, his mind struggling to piece together the timeline. "It was mid-June... a Friday, I think. Why?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.
The doctor took a deep breath, his tone now laden with sympathy. "I'm sorry to inform you, but you've been in a coma for three days."
The revelation hit Izuku like a thunderclap. "What?!" he exclaimed, his heart pounding as panic began to set in. "No, wait—the bills! The hospital fees! My sister!" His voice rose, his mind spiraling into a torrent of worry about the financial burden his condition must have placed on his family.
The doctor raised a calming hand, his voice reassuring yet firm. "Please, don't worry. The Hunter Association has taken care of everything. They've covered all expenses, as your actions were instrumental in ensuring the safe return of the other Hunters."
Relief washed over Izuku, but it was quickly replaced by a new wave of anxiety. As the doctor turned to leave, Izuku called out, "Wait, what about—" But the door had already closed, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Joohee... and ," he finished softly, his voice barely audible in the empty room.
Leaning back against the pillows, Izuku stared at the ceiling, his thoughts a chaotic whirlwind. What had truly happened in that dungeon? How had he survived? And what had become of Joohee and Song-san during the three days he had been unconscious?
As questions swirled in his mind, he couldn't shake the sense that his life had been irrevocably altered—and that this was only the beginning of a journey far beyond anything he could comprehend.
Izuku heard the creak of the door and thought, "That must be Izumi. I didn't expect her to arrive this quickly." However, when he turned, he saw two men stepping into the room. Both were dressed in sharp, tailored black suits. One of them, a striking young man with slick orange hair—saves for a single rebellious strand—and piercing purple eyes. The man beside him spoke first. "Unfortunately, we can't wait any longer."
Izuku frowned. "Who are you?"
The man with the orange hair stepped forward professionally. "I'm Woo Jinchul, manager of the Hunter's Association Surveillance Team," he said, his voice calm but authoritative. He gestured to the man beside him, who looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties. This second man was lanky, with spiky purple hair and matching purple eyes. He carried a sturdy metal case in one hand. "And this is Kang Taeshik," Jinchul added.
Jinchul handed Izuku a business card, the crisp lettering confirming his identity. Izuku studied it briefly before asking, "What does the Surveillance Team want with me?"
Jinchul's expression remained professional as he replied, "We're here to provide information regarding the aftermath of the dungeon raid—the one that left you comatose." He nodded toward Kang, signaling him to prepare something.
"Are Joohee and Mr. Song okay?" Izuku asked, his voice heavy with concern. His eyes darted between the two men seated near his hospital bed, searching their faces for reassurance.
Jinchul's expression tightened, his professional demeanor faltering for a moment. "They're alive," he began, his tone measured and deliberate. "But the situation is far from ideal."
Izuku's chest constricted at the words, but he gave a small nod, urging Jinchul to continue.
"Song Chiyul lost an arm during the incident," Jinchul said, his voice steady yet tinged with sadness. "The injury is catastrophic and will almost certainly end his career as a hunter. As for Lee Joohee..." He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "She's physically recovered from the mana drain, but the psychological trauma has been profound. She's undergoing intensive psychiatric care to cope with what happened."
Izuku's hands tightened around the thin hospital blanket, his knuckles turning white. The memory of Joohee's terrified screams and her panicked face in the dungeon replayed vividly in his mind.
Jinchul's voice softened slightly as he continued. "Her condition is concerning. There's a significant risk her trauma could make her a danger to herself or any team she joins in the future. At this point, it's unclear if she'll ever return to hunting."
The room fell into a heavy silence as Izuku absorbed the grim news. The weight of the lives shattered by the incident pressed down on him like a physical burden.
Jinchul cleared his throat, his professional demeanor reasserting itself. "There's more you need to know, Midoriya. Out of your entire expedition, only six survivors were found, including you. Hunting has always been dangerous, but this incident... this was unprecedented."
Izuku's eyes widened in disbelief. "Six? Out of how many?"
"Sixteen," Kang supplied quietly from his post by the door.
Jinchul nodded grimly. "When the White Tiger Guild arrived after being alerted by the survivors, they discovered something unusual." His sharp gaze locked onto Izuku. "You were the only one found at the site, Midoriya. Collapsed but alive."
Izuku frowned, confusion clouding his face. "But that's..."
"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Jinchul finished for him, his expression unreadable. "If there had been even the slightest inconsistency in the reports, or if the remains hadn't matched the scene, suspicion would have fallen on your group."
Jinchul rose from his seat and moved to the window, where the late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the room. His voice carried a weight that matched the gravity of his words. "This is just speculation, but..." He turned back to Izuku, his expression intense. "We believe you might have experienced a Second Awakening."
The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning. Izuku's eyes widened, his mind racing to process the possibility."A Second Awakening?"he echoed, more to himself than to the others.
"A Hunter's power is determined at the moment of Awakening, an unchanging measure of their strength from that point forward. However," Jinchul explained, "On rare occasions, a phenomenon known as a Second Awakening occurs. It allows a Hunter to break through their previous limits, potentially reaching A-Rank or even the legendary S-Rank. It's exceedingly rare, but not impossible."
Izuku's gaze dropped to his hand, clenching it into a determined fist. The idea ignited a spark of hope within him."Could it happen to me?"he thought, a small, confident smile forming on his lips.
"Open the briefcase," Jinchul ordered, gesturing toward Kang. Without hesitation, Kang unlocked the case, revealing a sleek device cradling a glowing purple Essence Stone. "This is a mana meter," Jinchul explained. "Place your hand over it."
Izuku exhaled sharply, steadying himself. "Alright... moment of truth," he murmured, placing his hand on the device. A faint tingle spread across his palm as the mana meter's cool surface seemed to hum with latent energy.
Jinchul's mind churned with possibilities as he watched intently. "If those survivors truly encountered instakill-level magic beasts, no low-level Hunter could have survived. The absence of any trace of those creatures suggests the involvement of an A-Rank, maybe even an S-Rank Hunter. The only explanation is that Midoriya experienced a Second Awakening."
The tension in the room was suffocating. Jinchul leaned closer, his eyes locked on the mana meter's display. Beside him, Kang held his breath, his gaze fixed on the screen. Suddenly, the device flickered to life. Both men froze, their anticipation twisting into disbelief as the reading appeared: "10."
Izuku leaned forward, his heart pounding. "What does it say?" he asked, his voice trembling with a mix of excitement and dread. "If I've reawakened, what rank am I now?"
Jinchul hesitated, his professional demeanor cracking as he searched for the right words. Finally, he spoke, his tone calm but tinged with regret. "My apologies, Hunter Midoriya. It seems we were mistaken." He exchanged a glance with Kang before continuing. "I'm sorry to have troubled you with this."
Without another word, Jinchul and Kang gathered their belongings, their movements deliberate and mechanical. The metallic snap of the briefcase closing echoed in the now-stifling silence. They exited quietly, leaving Izuku alone with his thoughts.
As their footsteps echoed down the sterile, brightly lit hallway, Kang's frustration boiled over. "Even E-Ranks usually score above 70 on their evaluations," he muttered, his voice sharp with disbelief. "He's barely stronger than a civilian! How is this possible?"
Jinchul's expression darkened, his brow furrowing as his thoughts whirled. "The dungeon has completely vanished—no trace, no access, nothing," he said, his voice low and heavy with concern. "So how did he survive? How did he escape? Something doesn't add up."
Back in the hospital room, Izuku clicked his tongue in annoyance, leaning back against the bed with a heavy sigh. The crisp white sheets rustled beneath him as he shifted, trying to find a comfortable position. "Tch... And here I was, getting my hopes up," he muttered, disappointment clouding his blue eyes.
He stared at the ceiling, tracing the fluorescent light patterns, when a sudden thought struck him. His gaze shifted to the corner of the room, where a strange blue prompt hovered. "Wait," he murmured. "Why didn't I ask about this thing?"
(Notification)
[You have unread messages.]
Izuku sat up, his muscles protesting after weeks of disuse. The prompt seemed to respond to his movement, floating closer as if demanding his attention."Maybe I'm the only one who can see this,"he wondered, reaching out tentatively. His fingers met empty air, causing the panel to glitch and flicker slightly.
"Okay, so it's not a touch panel," he concluded, withdrawing his hand. The eerie blue glow illuminated his pale skin, a stark reminder of the otherworldly dungeon he'd barely escaped. A memory surfaced as he studied the floating prompt—the moment the sword-wielding statue had loomed over him, ready to strike.
"I've seen this before," Izuku realized, his heart racing as the recollection sent a chill through him. The strange blue prompt seemed to dance at the edge of his vision, a haunting reminder of the dungeon's otherworldly nature.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a sharp click. Izuku, still lost in thought, barely registered the sound. A female voice, tinged with relief and confusion, broke through his reverie.
"I heard you're awake... huh?" The newcomer paused, her brow furrowing as she took in the scene before her. A comical sweat drop seemed to form on her forehead. "What are you doing?"
Izuku's head snapped up, his eyes widening in recognition. "Izumi?"
There, standing in the doorway, was a carbon copy of their mother. Izumi's long, shoulder-length green hair was tied up in a neat ponytail, swaying gently as she tilted her head in confusion. Her matching green eyes, so like his own, sparkled with a mix of concern and amusement. She wore a crisp blue button-up long-sleeve uniform, beneath which peeked a white undershirt. A red bow, slightly askew from her rush to the hospital, adorned her collar. Her skirt swished as she stepped into the room, a white backpack slung over one shoulder.
"What's with the weird arm wave?" Izumi asked, raising an eyebrow as she plopped her backpack onto a nearby chair. The fabric made a soft thud against the plastic seat. She walked over to his bed, her footsteps echoing in the quiet room.
Izuku's cheeks flushed a deep crimson, the color stark against his pale skin. "Oh, uh... just stretching?" He let out a nervous laugh, his hand instinctively moving to scratch the back of his head. The gesture was so familiar, so quintessentially Izuku, that for a moment it was as if the past three days had never happened.
Izumi wasn't buying it. She crossed her arms, the fabric of her uniform crinkling slightly, and gave him a look that was equal parts skepticism and fondness. "Right. Three days in a coma and the first thing you do is... interpretive dance?"
"Hey, give me a break," Izuku protested, but he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. It felt good to see a familiar face, to engage in their usual banter. The normalcy of it was a balm to his frayed nerves. "How'd you get here so fast anyway?"
Izumi's eyes widened, her arms dropping to her sides. "Fast? Izuku, I've been coming here every day after school." Her voice softened a hint of the worry she'd been carrying for months creeping in. "I've all been so worried."
Guilt churned in Izuku's gut, coiling tightly like a vice. "I'm sorry," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper as his gaze dropped to his hands. They looked frailer than he remembered, the pale skin stretched thin from too little sunlight. The thought struck him like a blow:"How could I have ever wanted to die when I have a younger twin sister who needs me?"
"Don't be silly," Izumi said, her voice gentle. She perched on the edge of his bed, the mattress dipping slightly under her weight. Her hand found his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm just glad you're finally awake." She paused, biting her lip, a habit she'd picked up from their mother. "So... how are you feeling? Really?"
Izuku hesitated, his gaze flickering to the corner of the room where a glowing blue prompt hovered, glaringly out of place against the sterile white walls of the hospital. His stomach churned, a mix of anxiety and curiosity swirling within him."If I tell her there's a floating panel, she'll think I'm crazy,"he thought, biting his lip. The soft beeping of medical equipment in the background seemed to emphasize the surreal nature of the situation.
"Question?" Izuku murmured, his voice barely audible over the ambient hospital noises.
"Yeah?" Izumi replied, raising an eyebrow as she leaned back in her chair, the plastic creaking slightly under her weight.
"You know how, in games, there's sometimes a notification that says you have unread messages?" he asked, his tone cautious. His fingers absently picked at the thin hospital blanket covering his legs.
Izumi tilted her head, clearly puzzled. Her green hair caught the fluorescent light, creating a soft halo effect. "Games? We're talking about games now?"
"Just... humor me," Izuku pressed, his eyes darting between his sister and the mysterious blue panel. "How do you usually read those notifications?"
She shrugged, her uniform rustling with the movement. "You open the message box, obviously. Why are you asking about this?"
"Open the message box..." Izuku echoed under his breath, his eyes drifting back to the glowing panel. He focused intently, willing the notification to open as if it were a game interface.
Suddenly, the blue glow intensified, and new text appeared:
(Notification)
•[You'vebecome a Player.]
•[DailyQuest: Strength Training has arrived.]
Izuku's heart raced, a mix of excitement and trepidation flooding his system. "I remembered this 'Player' stuff being mentioned before..." he thought, his mind racing back to the strange events in the dungeon.
Izumi got up from her chair, her legs scraping against the linoleum floor. She grabbed her book bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "Well, you seem fine enough, just a bit weird," she said with a small smile. "I've got to go. See ya, bro."
"You too, sis," Izuku responded, watching his sister leave the room. The door closed with a soft click, leaving him alone with the mysterious notifications.
He looked back at the panel and saw three more messages had appeared:
(3X Notification)
(This system is designed to assist the development of the Player.)
(Failure to comply with the system may result in a penalty.)
(The rewards have been delivered.)
Izuku's brow furrowed as he read the new information. "I don't have a clue what this is supposed to mean," he muttered, running a hand through his messy green hair. The weight of these cryptic messages settled on him, a mix of anticipation and unease churning in his gut.
He glanced around the empty hospital room, half-expecting to see some physical manifestation of the "rewards" mentioned. The room remained unchanged, save for the ethereal glow of the notification panel.
"Player? System? Penalties?" Izuku murmured, his mind spiraling with questions. "What on earth have I gotten myself into?"
As if answering his unspoken thoughts, the glowing panel flickered before displaying a new message:
[Daily Quest: Strength Training Goals.]
Objectives:
• 0/100 Pushups
• 0/10 KM Run
• 0/100 Squats
• 0/100 Curl-ups
[Warning: Failure to complete this Quest may result in a penalty.]
"Ha... HAHA! You've got to be joking, right?" Izuku muttered, his voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and frustration. His gaze flickered between the glowing panel hovering before him and his frail body sprawled on the hospital bed. "I'm stuck here, barely able to move, and they expect me to do all this? Pushups? Running? Squats? Curl-ups? I can't even sit up without feeling like I'm going to fall apart!"
He dragged a shaky hand through his unruly black hair, wincing as even that small effort sent a sharp protest through his muscles. The fluorescent lights above buzzed faintly, their harsh glare casting jagged shadows across the sterile room. The steady beep of the heart monitor only seemed to mock him, a rhythmic reminder of his predicament.
"It's a Daily Quest, though," he muttered, his eyes darting back to the glowing panel. "That means I have 24 hours, right? I'll... I'll deal with it later."
The words felt hollow, even to him.
Exhaustion pressed down on him like a leaden weight, his eyelids growing heavier with each passing second. The ominous blue glow of the panel blurred into an indistinct haze as sleep overtook him.
Before long, Izuku was out cold, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. The room sank into silence, broken only by the faint hum of medical equipment.
Time slipped by unnoticed, the quest timer ticking steadily forward. Green shifted to yellow, a silent warning that went unheeded by the sleeping boy. As the clock neared midnight, the timer turned an angry red, flashing with urgency that fell on closed eyes.
When the clock struck twelve, a new message materialized on the glowing panel:
(Notification)
[You have failed to complete the daily quest. Loading penalty zone...]
The words lingered ominously before the very fabric of reality seemed to warp. The sterile confines of the hospital room dissolved, replaced by an endless expanse of golden sand and a cloudless, blazing sky.
Izuku's eyes snapped open as the ground beneath him shuddered violently. "W-What's happening? An earthquake?!" he gasped, his trembling hands sinking into the warm, shifting sand. The grains slipped through his fingers, so alien compared to the crisp hospital sheets he had fallen asleep on.
Disoriented, he struggled to sit up, his hospital gown now dusted with a fine layer of sand. All around him, the vast desert stretched endlessly, dunes rolling like frozen waves under the oppressive sun.
"Where... Where am I?" Izuku muttered, shielding his eyes from the glaring light. "A desert? No way... Was I dreaming this whole time? Or is this—" He stopped, the realization dawning on him like the heat of the sun overhead. "The penalty zone...?"
The Penalty Zone is an expansive desert where endless dunes of sand extend to the horizon. The air is eerily still, with no trace of wind, sun, moon, or stars. Overhead, the sky looms like a vast pool of spilled black ink. Yet, despite the absence of any visible light source, your surroundings remain unnervingly clear.
A low, sinister hissing broke through the oppressive silence, sending an icy chill down Izuku's spine despite the desert's blistering heat. He spun around, his breath hitching as his gaze landed on a dune—larger than any other in sight. It pulsed ominously, as though a colossal force stirred beneath its surface, waiting to break free.
Without warning, the dune erupted, sand exploding into the air in a blinding storm. Izuku instinctively threw his arms up, shielding his face as the fine grains stung his skin and filled his lungs. He coughed, staggering back, his heart pounding like a war drum. When he finally lowered his arms, the sight before him made his blood freeze.
Towering above him was a monstrous centipede, its segmented body glinting like polished armor under the harsh desert sun. Each of its countless legs was as thick as a car, ending in razor-sharp tips that pierced deep into the sand. Its grotesque head loomed high, crowned with enormous, chittering mandibles that dripped venom. The creature's sheer scale was mind-numbing—its height rivaled a five-story building.
"This can't be real," Izuku thought, his heart hammering so violently he could feel it in his throat. But what truly unnerved him wasn't just the creature's size. Suspended above the centipede's head, glowing in midair like a surreal video game display, were five ominous red words.
"The Poison-Fanged Giant Desert Centipede," Izuku read aloud, his voice barely audible over the pounding of his pulse. He blinked rapidly and rubbed his eyes, but the words remained steadfast, floating in defiance of logic. "What... why is there a name floating above it?"
As though in answer to his bewilderment, a new message materialized directly in his field of vision:
(Penalty Quest: Survive!)
Objectives:
• Survive until the timer runs out.
• Required time: 4 Hours
[Time remaining: 3:59:59]
Izuku's throat went dry, panic clawing at his chest. Sweat dripped down his temples, stinging his eyes as he stared at the countdown. The centipede's antennae twitched, its attention locking onto him. A series of rapid, clicking sounds erupted from the creature, the vibrations rattling Izuku's ribcage like a death knell.
"You've got to be fucking me," he muttered, his voice shaking as his gaze darted between the relentless timer and the nightmare towering above him. The centipede's mandibles quivered, venom oozing from their jagged edges and sizzling upon contact with the scorched sand.
To be continued...