The next morning, I woke up with something dangerously close to a plan.
Well—technically more of an impulse dressed up as a plan. But close enough.
I had new abilities. A teleportation function that still felt way too good to be real. A map that could magically mark interesting places without me doing a thing. And, thanks to my new and very questionable ????? talent tree, a built-in fruit radar.
So why not kill a few birds with one stone?
First order of business: set a fast travel point.
The system let me pick any safe location—and since I wasn’t exactly Mr. World Traveler yet, I played it smart.
Home sweet home.
I focused on the fast travel menu, selected the option to anchor my location, and a little notification popped up:
 
[Fast Travel Point Set: Bedroom]
 
I grinned. “Alright. Step one, complete. Step two… berry hunting.”
When I stepped outside, my new map immediately flagged a patch of wild strawberries and raspberries tucked away in a grove a few miles out. Fresh, free, and very edible.
No way I was passing that up.
Besides, it was the perfect excuse to stretch my legs, clear my head, and maybe—just maybe—test what else my new talents could do.
I tugged my cloak a little tighter and headed for the woods, my heart beating just a little faster than it probably needed to.
Adventure—or at least a really good snack—was waiting.
 
The morning air was crisp as I left the city behind, making my way down worn dirt roads and open fields. The roads were familiar, but the way I moved felt different.
It wasn’t huge, but it was there—a lightness, a sharper sense of control, a balance that hadn’t been there before. I wasn’t stumbling over uneven patches of dirt like I used to. Every step felt deliberate, precise.
I was stronger. Faster. My stats had changed, and I could feel it.
But I still had 4 unspent talent points.
And as much as I liked the passive boost to my agility, I needed to actually unlock some abilities.
Walking was great and all, but if I ever ran into something worse than a giant spider again, I needed more than just better footwork.
I opened my talent menu, scrolling back to my Shadowborn tree.
 
[Shadowborn Talents]
 
Available Talent Points: 4
I’d been thinking about my choices the whole walk here, and now that I was looking at them, the decisions felt obvious.
I selected the top one.
 
Quick Hands
Your hand movements are faster and more precise, improving sleight of hand, pick-pocketing, and weapon handling.
 
I clicked confirm.
Made sense. Being fast with my hands meant faster attacks, smoother reloads with my throwing daggers, better reactions in a fight. Not to mention, I’d already picked up lock-picking tools. It wouldn’t hurt to actually be good at using them.
A slight warmth spread through my fingertips, like my body was subtly adjusting to something it already knew but hadn’t been using.
Neat.
I moved on to the next talent.
 
Opportunist
You deal increased damage to enemies who are unaware of your location.
 
“Well, duh.”
I smirked, confirming the selection.
That was just free extra damage for doing what Shadowborn were supposed to do. Hit fast, hit first, and preferably before the target even knew they were in trouble.
My fingers tingled for a second, like my body was itching to test it out.
Two points left.
I scrolled down and selected the next one.
 
Ghost Hands
Increases lock-picking and trap disarming success rate by 10%.
 
Another obvious pick. Lock-picking was already part of my gear kit. Might as well get better at it.
And if this talent also applied to traps… well, let’s just say I’d rather not get impaled by something stupid.
A slight shift in my hands, almost a new instinct, like I could suddenly visualize tumblers in a lock I wasn’t even touching.
Weird. But cool.
One point left.
I scrolled down to the final talent I’d been eyeing and unlocked it.
 
Shadow Step
Instantly teleport a short distance (15 feet) in any direction, leaving behind a shadowy afterimage. Costs 10% of Guile reserves. (1-minute cooldown)
 
The second I confirmed it, something stirred in my muscles.
Like my body had just been given permission to move in a way it never had before.
Teleporting. Not walking, not running—teleporting.
I exhaled, rolling my shoulders.
“Alright,” I muttered to myself. “Guess I should test this stuff out.”
 
I stopped on a flat stretch of road, took a deep breath, and activated Shadow Step.
The world blurred.
For a split second, everything felt weightless—like reality had forgotten about me for just a moment. My body flickered forward, leaving behind a dark afterimage, then snapped back into place fifteen feet ahead, my boots landing soundlessly on the dirt road.
I grinned.
“Okay, that’s awesome.”
And dangerously fun.
I scanned my status window, checking my Guile levels.
[Guile: 90%]
I kept watching it. After a few seconds, the number ticked up.
91%.
Then another three seconds later—92%.
I frowned. One percent every three seconds.
Not too bad. But if I was burning through Guile in a real fight, especially if I picked up more abilities that used it, I was definitely going to need to watch my usage.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Still, it was good information to have.
I experimented as I walked—hitting Shadow Step between trees, using my Boots of Whispering Winds to muffle my movement, and even throwing a dagger just to watch it flicker back into its sheath when it hit a tree.
Each time, the system responded exactly as it should.
It wasn’t just theory anymore.
I was stronger. Faster. Sharper.
I wasn’t the same Felix who had woken up yesterday morning, staring down the Proving Grounds like it was the end of the world.
Back then, all I could think about was what if I failed?
What if I died?
What if I never made it home?
I had been so scared of not surviving…
I hadn’t even thought about what would happen if I did.
And now?
Now, I could feel it—that buzzing, thrumming excitement just under my skin. Not fear. Not dread.
Potential.
Now, I wasn’t just scared of what being a Chosen meant.
I was curious. Hopeful.
Excited.
I tightened my grip on my cloak and grinned to myself, a little wry, a little wide-eyed.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Maybe this isn’t the worst thing after all.”
 
By the time I reached the fruit grove, the system’s Forager talent had been proving its worth.
I could see the berries from the road—plump, ripe clusters of strawberries and raspberries, tucked neatly against the underbrush of a small wooded area.
I crouched down, running my fingers over a handful of berries. Fresh, untouched.
I grinned. “I’m never going hungry again.”
I plucked a few strawberries and tossed them into my void bag before popping one into my mouth.
Sweet. Perfect.
And now?
Now it was time to see if Fast Travel was as easy as the system made it sound.
 
I was just about to activate Fast Travel and head home when something tugged at the back of my mind—a little nagging itch I couldn’t quite shake.
I paused, frowning.
What was I forgetting?
Then it hit me.
I hadn’t actually checked my map since I left town.
Curious, I flicked it open, letting my new Cartographer talent do its thing. The landscape unfolded before me, neatly marked with all the little points of interest it had picked up.
I skimmed the terrain, expecting to see a few berry patches or maybe some stray resource nodes.
Instead, my eyes snagged on something else entirely.
A question mark.
Just sitting there.
Only a few hundred feet away, tucked beyond the treeline.
I stared at it, suspicion prickling at the back of my neck.
“What the hell is that?”
The Cartographer talent was supposed to mark anything interesting… but the system hadn’t exactly defined what counted as interesting. For all I knew, it could be a forgotten treasure stash. Or a monster den. Or, you know, a suspiciously shaped rock.
Part of me wanted to just turn around. I’d already scored enough today—new powers, free food, a teleportation trick up my sleeve.
But it was close.
And I was still well within city borders. Nothing too dangerous roamed this close to civilization… right?
I sighed, adjusting my bag and muttering under my breath.
“Alright, mystery mark. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I slipped into the trees, moving light and quick, barely making a sound.
Even as I crossed through thick leaves, cracked twigs, and uneven ground, it was like I was a ghost—silent and smooth, barely disturbing the forest around me.
A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth.
Yeah. This? This was fun.
But just as I crested a small ridge, I froze.
Voices.
Sharp, low, tense.
Carried just faintly on the breeze.
I immediately dropped into a crouch, pressing myself against the thick trunk of an old tree.
They weren’t far.
Maybe fifty feet ahead, hidden by the brush.
I held my breath, heart ticking up a beat, and listened.
They were arguing. Two female voices. One male.
I edged forward, moving from tree to tree until I could hear them clearly.
“-and I’m telling you, it’s not going to work,” one of the women snapped.
“We don’t have a choice,” the man shot back. “We’re already behind schedule.”
“Then we find someone else,” the first woman argued. “It won’t let us in with only three.”
The second woman scoffed. “Oh, and you think a fourth person is just going to fall into our lap?”
I froze.
Wait.
Were they looking for someone?
For what?
I frowned, carefully creeping forward, trying to get a better look.
Whatever this was, it was interesting enough for the system to mark it on my map.
And that alone was enough reason to see what was going on.
 
I inched closer, careful to keep my steps light as I moved from tree to tree.
The argument kept going, voices sharp and frustrated, but I still couldn’t make out exactly what they were fighting about.
A few more feet.
Just a little—
I peeked around a thick oak trunk… and my stomach dropped.
A portal.
A shimmering green one, glowing faintly between the trees.
I didn’t need a system prompt to know what it meant: Group Instance.
The pieces clicked together fast.
They weren’t arguing about strategy.
They were arguing because they couldn’t get in.
Not without a full party.
I felt a flicker of curiosity.
A real group dungeon. Right there.
Should I offer to help?
…No.
Absolutely not.
I had just barely survived the Proving Grounds by the skin of my teeth. I was level six, sure, but I wasn’t about to waltz into my first group dungeon with zero experience and hope for the best.
Not today.
I slowly started backing away, careful, quiet, retracing my steps—
Snap.
The world froze.
I looked down.
A branch. A stupid, traitorous branch under my boot.
For a second, everything was still.
Then the argument stopped.
The air shifted.
Tension coiled tight.
And before I could move, three figures surged toward me.
They moved fast.
Too fast.
By the time my brain caught up, I was surrounded.
A tall guy planted himself right in front of me, arms crossed, expression locked in permanent irritation. Dark brown hair, military short, with a squared jaw and shoulders like he’d been carved out of stubborn. His whole stance screamed, I have been dealing with idiots all morning and you might be next. He didn’t look like he was in the mood for games.
To my left, a woman with short, messy blonde hair leaned casually against a tree, watching me like she was waiting for me to dig my own grave. Her posture was relaxed, but her eyes weren’t—they were the kind that tracked movement out of habit. A scar cut across one eyebrow, just enough to give her a permanent look of amused suspicion. Light on her feet. Smirk on her lips. Dangerous in a very don’t say anything stupid kind of way.
And to my right, the third member, the one who’d been arguing earlier, stood with her hands on her hips, unimpressed but not outright hostile.
She had a pretty face, sharp in that don’t-you-dare-call-me-pretty kind of way. Red hair pulled back in a loose braid, a few strands falling across her forehead like they were too stubborn to behave. Freckles. A lean, wiry build that said she was faster than me and probably better at everything else, too. Her eyes locked onto mine with something between challenge and boredom. She looked like she had opinions about me already—and none of them were good.
The guy—the angry one—narrowed his eyes.
“Listening in on a private conversation, were you?”
I blinked.
Okay. First of all?
I looked around at the wide, wide woods surrounding us.
Nothing private about this.
Second—wasn’t my ‘Charmed, I’m Sure’ talent supposed to make people less hostile when we met?
Because either it wasn’t working… or this guy was just naturally an asshole.
Before I could answer, the woman on my right sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“Come on, Rez. We’re in the middle of the woods. It’s not exactly private, is it?”
Rez—the angry one, apparently—huffed but didn’t argue.
The blonde one against the tree just smirked, like she was finding this whole situation hilarious.
The tension broke, just slightly.
Not a full reset. But enough that they weren’t about to jump me.
Progress.
Then the blonde pushed off the tree, tilting her head, giving me a once-over like she was sizing up a horse she wasn’t sure she wanted to buy.
“Alright, mystery guy,” she said. “You’re here. We’re here. How about you help us out?”
I blinked again.
“…What?”
She jerked a thumb toward the portal.
“We need a fourth.”
I stared at the dungeon entrance.
Then at them.
Then back at the dungeon entrance.
Oh.
Oh, no.
 
I let out a short laugh, holding up my hands. “Yeah, see, I appreciate the offer, but I’m gonna have to go with a hard pass.”
Rez—still looking annoyed with my existence—crossed his arms. “Really? You don’t even know what the dungeon is.”
“Don’t need to.” I jabbed a thumb at the glowing green portal. “That? That’s a group dungeon. Built for four people. And I am very much not dungeon-ready.”
The blonde—the one who’d initially asked—tilted her head. “You’ve at least got a class, right?”
“Yeah, I—” I hesitated. Some Chosen weren’t exactly friendly toward stealth classes. Shadowborn had a reputation—and not always a good one. But whatever. Not like I was planning to hide it. “Yeah. Shadowborn. Got it yesterday.”
Rez scoffed. “Figures.”
I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He just waved it off. “Never mind.”
I narrowed my eyes. Rude.
The blonde smirked. “Alright, Shadowborn. I’m Maria. Acolyte, Level 14.”
Acolyte. Magic-user.
Made sense. She didn’t have any weapons that I could see.
Rez sighed like even talking to me was a chore. “Rez. Acolyte, Level 15.”
I blinked.
Both Acolytes?
Which meant they were probably loaded with firepower.
I shifted my gaze to the third woman—the redhead who had stayed mostly silent. She was watching me like she was weighing pros and cons in real time.
When she spoke, her voice was calm, steady. “Thorne. Initiate. Level 12.”
Initiate. A frontliner.
The kind of Chosen who didn’t dodge monsters—they ran at them.
I let out a breath. “Yeah, that’s great and all, but here’s the thing—I’m Level 6.”
All three paused.
Maria’s eyebrows lifted. “You’re kidding.”
Rez actually looked vaguely interested for the first time. “Level 6? But you said you just cleared your Judgment?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Haven’t even done a solo dungeon yet. Literally fresh out the gate.”
Thorne tilted her head slightly. “That’s… impressive.”
Maria nodded. “Yeah, most Chosen get out of the Proving Grounds at Level 3 or 4.”
Rez eyed me again, like he was seeing me in a slightly different light. “If you came out at Level 6… you didn’t just survive. You crushed it.”
Okay, that was not what I was expecting.
I tried to keep my expression neutral, but inside?
Yeah. I wasn’t gonna lie. That felt good.
I hadn’t really thought about it much. I just assumed that was normal. But hearing actual veteran Chosen act impressed?
It felt good.
Maria waved a hand back toward the portal. “Look, you might not have a ton of experience, but with Rez and me handling most of the damage, and Thorne tanking the hits? You’ll barely have to lift a finger.”
Rez nodded, his earlier irritation melting into cold, efficient logic. “The monsters’ll focus on us. You’ll be free to move around, pick your targets, hit where it hurts.”
I frowned, glancing between the three of them and the portal.
On one hand—no.
On the other hand—also no.
But…
Maybe?
I stared at the portal again.
Everything in me screamed, walk away.
Maria must have seen my doubt, because she pressed harder. “We don’t need you to carry us. We just need a fourth to get through the portal.”
Rez placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. “And like I said—low risk. You’ll learn a lot. You’ll barely be a blip on the monsters’ radar. It’s basically free XP.”
Thorne finally spoke again, her voice calm but firm. “You don’t have to say yes. But you’ll never get stronger if you avoid dungeons forever.”
I snorted. “I was planning to start slow, you know. Maybe with something not designed for four people?”
Maria grinned. “Come on. Don’t you wanna know what it’s like to work with a real team?”
I shifted my weight, chewing on the thought. Did I?
I had told myself I was done after one dungeon. That I was lucky to have made it out alive.
But this wasn’t just another deathtrap.
It was a chance to learn.
To fight.
To get stronger.
And if things went sideways?
I had Fast Travel now.
Worst case, I could nope right out of there.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Alright. Fine. I’m in.”
Maria’s grin widened.
Rez looked mildly pleased, in the same way a cat looks pleased after knocking a glass off a table.
Thorne just nodded.
Before I could second-guess myself, Maria clapped her hands together. “Perfect! Now before you change your mind—”
She grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the portal.
Rez and Thorne followed close behind.
I barely had time to get a breath in before my foot crossed the threshold.
The portal’s green light flared—
And the world swallowed us whole.