Into the Dungeon!

“Beep beep, beep beep.”

I woke up to the sound of my five a.m. alarm. I literally fell out of bed. My body hit the floor with a thud.

“Ugh… why do I even set this thing that early?” I muttered, dragging myself toward the drawer, grabbing my towel, and heading straight to the bathtoilet.

The moment I opened the door, I froze.

Two hollow eyes stared right at me.

I blinked. Then sighed. “Oh, it’s you, Jerry.”

Right. My first summon. How could I forget?

Over the weekend, I’d been… well, playing with him. More like giving commands, testing how fast he could move, or how he’d react if I tossed a pen at him, he didn’t react. Jerry doesn’t get tired. Or annoyed. Or hungry. Kind of the perfect roommate, actually.

I washed up while Jerry stood awkwardly in the corner, just existing like a bag of bones. When I was done, I towel-dried my hair and threw on my uniform. Breakfast was the usual, fried eggs and slightly burnt toast. Not bad for a necromancer.

I wolfed it down while scrolling through my phone. Group chat was dead silent. Normally there’d be at least five people bragging about their awakenings, but I guess everyone was still hung up on Saturday. The Ministry registration had basically turned school into a social hierarchy draft. The powerful ones got scouted right on the spot.

I couldn’t help but think about Kenji. Tamer job. The guy lucked out hard. Probably already getting calls from the military or one of those new monster guilds.

Just a few months left before graduation, then everyone goes their separate ways — some into training, some into work. And me? The “unawakened.” guy? Screwed.

I sighed, locked the door behind me, and smiled despite it all. For once, I felt weirdly safe leaving my apartment. I had Jerry now. My personal security system.

“Let’s go, Jerry,” I said, half-jokingly, as I walked away.

Of course, he didn’t follow. It was just something I said. I left him inside. I checked the time on my phone.

“Huh? Six thirty-nine!?” My eyes widened. “How am I always this late?”

I stuffed my phone in my pocket and sprinted toward the station. The morning crowd was ruthless — like a tidal wave of uniforms and briefcases. At one point, I swear an old lady shoulder-checked me into another world.

“How are there so many people on one crossing!?” I hissed, pushing through the crowd at Shibuya Scramble.

By the time I reached the school gates, my lungs were on fire and my uniform looked like I’d survived a mini typhoon. The clock hit 7:01. One minute late.

I slipped into class quietly, trying not to draw attention but it seemed that everyone already knew. The atmosphere felt heavy, quieter than usual. Normally, mornings were chaos. Someone would be joking, another half-asleep, Kenji yelling about some new game. Today? Silence.

People glanced at me when they thought I wasn’t looking.

Yeah. Obviously word had got around. “Rei didn’t awaken.” Probably half the school knew by now. The guy who’d studied mana theory harder than anyone, who ran every mock test, turned out powerless.

I took my seat, staring blankly at my desk while the teacher droned on about something I didn’t care to process. My mind kept circling back to one thought: how ridiculous it’d be if they knew the truth. If they knew that right now, in my cramped apartment, a skeleton named Jerry was probably standing in the dark waiting for my next command.

Break time came. I was halfway through pretending to be fascinated by the bento box in front of me when Kenji finally approached.

“Yo,” he said, setting his tray beside mine. “You’re quiet today.”

I raised a brow. “You’re one to talk. You’ve barely said a word all morning.”

He scratched his neck, smiling awkwardly. “Yeah, just… busy thinking. Saturday was a lot.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, stabbing at my food. “Guess it was.”

We ate in silence for a bit. Normally, Kenji would be rambling about monsters or ranking systems or some random anime fight scene he thought he could replicate now that he was a Tamer. But today, he just looked… guilty.

“So,” he finally said, voice low. “How’re you holding up?”

I forced a small smile. This again, “I’m fine. Really.”

He didn’t believe me, obviously. But he nodded anyway. “You don’t deserve the way people are acting. Screw them. Power’s just luck.”

I chuckled dryly. “Easy for you to say, Mr. Monster Whisperer.”

He winced. “Yeah… maybe.”

We didn’t talk much after that. The bell rang. Classes dragged on. The day moved like sludge. Every time I caught someone’s glance, I felt that sting again — the kind you can’t hide from because it’s not hate, it’s pity.

At some point, I caught myself staring across the room at Sakura, the class president. She was talking to a group near the window, her laugh soft, composed. The kind of person who always made things seem lighter. I’d heard her birthday was the same day as Kenji’s. Which meant… she awakened too.

I wondered what her job was. Probably something elegant, like Healer or something. The kind of ability that actually helps people.

Then I stopped myself. It didn’t matter. Thinking about it just made the knot in my chest tighten.

The rest of the day blurred together. By the time the final bell rang, I was already halfway out the door.

I shoved my books into my bag and stepped into the hallway, letting out a long breath.

"Hey! Not waiting for me?" Guess who. Yeah it was my best friend Kenji.

At this point I think I'll just slap him and tell him to stop pitying me so much.

We walked home together for a while, the air heavy with that awkward silence neither of us wanted to break. When we reached his turn, Kenji clapped me on the shoulder and gave his usual grin before heading off.

I kept walking. The streets were quiet… until the sirens started.

...

..

.

The once congested street turned into a stampede of panic. People were shoving, yelling, running in every direction. Sirens screamed over the chaos, and the wind was getting stronger, fast.

I knew what that meant. The sensors picked up the usual strange mana flow. Which only meant one thing: a dungeon break. 

Judging by the direction of the alarms… the break would happen right here. In the middle of the crossing!

Sparks flickered in the air like static. The wind whipped my hair into my face, but I didn’t move. Everyone else was scrambling for their lives, but me? I just stood there.

This was exactly the kind of scene I’d been fantasizing about all weekend!

For someone to get stronger in their job, they have to gain experience. And the only way to do that… is by actually using your power. In my case: summoning.

The air cracked open. The portal formed. Then, suddenly, the wind went dead still. No monsters came out. That was....weird, sure, but not unheard of.

Hunters would be here any second. They’d clean up, and close it before anyone like me could do anything.

So I did the s

tupid thing. The reckless thing.

I ran toward the portal.

And without thinking twice.....

I stepped in.