Chapter 55: Chapter55-Lucky draw spin
Then, out of nowhere, three blank black cards materialized in front of me and began circling my body in slow, silent orbits.
Under normal circumstances, they would’ve caught my full attention.
At that moment, however, I could barely think straight.
My head was spinning so badly that I struggled to stay on my feet. It felt like I could collapse at any moment.
Eden noticed my condition immediately.
"No. You can’t pass out. Not now."
He pulled a Recovery Potion from his storage ring, uncorked it, and shoved the bottle into my mouth before I had a chance to react.
He literally forced it in.
My eyes widened as he grabbed the back of my neck and tilted the bottle, making me swallow the potion.
For a second, I thought I was going to choke.
By the time I’d finished drinking it, I dropped to one knee, coughing.
"Eden, you bloody..."
Before I could finish, the dizziness began to fade.
The haze clouding my mind lifted, and my thoughts gradually became clear again.
Eden didn’t let me rest for long.
He grabbed both of my shoulders and said, "We don’t have time. We need to get out of here."
Before I could ask what was happening, the world blurred around me.
An instant later, we were standing in front of the dungeon entrance.
The moment my feet touched the ground, my legs gave out beneath me.
I dropped to one knee and groaned.
"For crying out loud, Eden... could you at least give me a warning before teleporting me all over the place?"
Another wave of nausea rolled through me.
My head started spinning again, and for a moment, I thought I was going to throw up.
Thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the last time.
Without wasting another second, I pulled a Recovery Potion from my storage ring and drank it.
As expected, the dizziness gradually faded away.
Once I was steady enough to stand, I got back to my feet and glanced at Eden.
He wasn’t paying any attention to me.
Instead, he stood there silently, his eyes fixed on the jungle with an unusually serious expression.
A sense of unease crept into me.
"Is something wrong?"
"Actually, many things."
"How many?"
"Thi—"
Before he could finish, a deafening blast ripped through the jungle.
The sound was so powerful that for a second I genuinely thought my eardrums were going to burst. Even with both hands clamped over my ears, the noise tore straight through.
It went on for several seconds before finally fading.
Eden’s face hardened. "Shit. It woke up."
He whipped around to face me. "Michael, for fuck’s sake, why are you still standing here? Get out. Now!"
I’d never heard Eden swear like that before. Not once since I’d arrived in this world. He barely cursed, even when he was furious.
The sheer urgency in his voice and the alarm written across his face told me everything I needed to know. I didn’t waste time with questions. I didn’t hesitate.
I spun around, sprinted toward the portal, and threw myself through it.
No second thoughts. Eden didn’t curse unless the danger was real. I trusted that without question.
***
The next second, I was flung out of the dungeon.
I slammed into the ground and rolled before coming to a stop.
Once I managed to push myself upright, I saw Allen standing beside the backseat door of the car. His expression was as calm as ever.
"Welcome back, young master. Congratulations on reaching Iron rank."
"Thanks, Allen."
I swept my gaze across the area, looking for Eden.
He was leaning against a nearby tree with his arms folded across his chest.
I called out to him. "Eden, what the hell was that?"
"A roar from an Elite rank beast."
Wait. Did he just say what I think he said?
I stared at him for a second before asking again. "Did you just say Elite rank?"
He nodded.
My stomach sank. How was that even possible? This was supposed to be a C rank dungeon.
I turned back toward the dungeon portal. It swirled calmly in the air, showing no signs of instability or fluctuation. So how could an Elite rank monster be inside?
I kept watching the portal for several moments before Allen’s voice broke through my thoughts.
"Young master."
I turned to face him.
He was standing beside the open backseat door. "It’s time to leave."
"Yeah. Right."
I got to my feet and walked to the car. Eden followed, sliding into the front seat next to Allen. I didn’t mind.
I dropped into the backseat as the car began to lift into the night sky. Within moments, we were flying away from the jungle.
My mind kept drifting back to that Elite rank beast.
How could something like that exist inside a C rank dungeon? Nothing about it made sense.
After mulling it over for a while, I decided to let it go.
Who cares how an Elite rank monster ended up in there? What mattered was that I survived. That was enough.
I pushed the thought aside and focused on the lucky draw cards that had been circling me since the moment I left the dungeon.
Three blank black cards rotated slowly through the air in front of me.
I didn’t overthink it. I just went with my gut and selected the second card.
The instant I made my choice, all three cards disappeared.
A virtual screen appeared in their place, and the system’s voice rang out inside my head.
[Host! You have chosen the second card!]
[Congratulations, Host! As a reward, you have obtained the B-Rank Skill: Teleportation!]
[Your skill slots are full (3/3). Upgrade your rank to unlock an additional slot.]
The second I read the notification, the satisfaction I’d felt from ranking up shot through the roof.
This was incredible. Completely unbelievable. I couldn’t even come up with the right words to describe it.
The rush of excitement hit me so hard that I actually started breathing heavier. For a moment, keeping myself under control took genuine effort.
Allen noticed right away. "Young master, are you alright?"
I forced myself to calm down and pulled my expression back into something neutral. "Yeah. I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong."
Allen returned to his book without another word, and Eden stayed absorbed in whatever he was scrolling through on his phone.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t stop replaying what had just happened in my head.
I’d gotten the Teleportation skill back. Sure, it was B rank instead of S rank, but that didn’t matter. Having it again was more than enough.
I hadn’t expected to pull Teleportation from the lucky draw at all. Today had been ridiculous. My first Rare rank kill. Advancement to Iron rank. And now I had the Teleportation skill I’d traded away for Telekinesis returned to me.
What a day.
I raised my wrist and glanced at my watch.
---
Name: Michael Frostburne
Total Rules Broken: 0
Time: 9:00 PM
Date: 24th February
Year: 2130
---
Nine o’clock at night.
I dismissed the display and pulled up my character profile.
---
Name: Michael Frostburne
Race: Human
Current Rank: Iron
Current Level: 3
Title: 0
Progression to Gold Rank: 3% (3/100 levels)
Progression to Level 4: 12% (55/250 essences)
Total Essences: 805/25000
Potential: 0
Attributes:
[Power]: Iron
[Speed]: Iron
[Spirit]: Iron
[Recovery]: Iron
Free Attribute Points: 16/30
Human Racial Abilities:
Notifications
Quest
Inventory
Skills (3/3)
---
I scanned through my stats slowly. When I got to the essences required for the next rank, I stopped.
Twenty-five thousand essences. Reaching Gold rank was going to take a long time.
The requirement climbed with every rank. I’d known that going in, but actually seeing the number written out still stung a little. I wanted to reach Gold rank as quickly as possible.
Still, what I had right now was good enough.
I dismissed the screen and let myself sink back into the seat. My eyes drifted shut, and before long, I fell asleep.
***
The next morning.
Sunlight filtered gently through the curtains. I woke slowly, feeling more rested than I had in days.
I stretched my arms above my head and let out a long yawn, savoring the rare feeling of waking up without danger looming over me.
Birds chirped somewhere outside.
After a few more moments of stretching, I finally dragged myself out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. I splashed cold water across my face, the shock of it washing away the last lingering traces of sleep.
Once I dried off, I wrapped a towel around my waist and grabbed some fresh clothes from the wardrobe. After getting dressed, I returned to the bed and sat on the edge.
***
I pulled up my character interface and tapped on the Skills section under Human Racial Abilities.
A holographic display appeared, listing all three of my current skills.
---
1] Seer’s Eye (SSS)
2] Telekinesis (A+)
3] Teleportation (B)
---
I selected Teleportation. A detailed breakdown of the skill loaded right away.
---
(Teleportation)
[Specific: Spatial]
[Allows the user to instantly relocate themselves through spatial manipulation. The maximum range, accuracy, and frequency of teleportation depend on the user’s skill mastery.]
[Limitation: Can only teleport up to 400 meters per use. The destination must be within the user’s clear line of sight.]
[Daily Limit: 500 teleports.]
[After Effects: Each teleport places strain on the body. Excessive use causes increasing pain and fatigue, with severity depending on the user’s physique.]
---
After reading through the description, I dismissed the screen with a swipe.
Not much had changed from the S rank version. The skill worked almost the same way. The only real difference was the daily limit. The S rank Teleportation had allowed seven hundred uses per day. This one maxed out at four hundred.
Still plenty for what I needed.
While I was still mulling over the skill, a knock came from my door.
I walked over and opened it. Allen stood there with his usual calm demeanor. "Good morning, young master."
"Morning, Allen."
An awkward silence followed.
I knew exactly why.
Fuck, I should have woken up early today. Damn It!
