Lathan chuckled softly. "It's because I'm not dead yet, bro."
"I'm serious."
"Me too."
"... Hahaha, alright, whatever you say," Razy replied.
They kept walking down the now quiet street, the sounds of vehicles fading away.
"Sometimes I wonder if maybe I'm just fighting against time, waiting for the system to show up," Lathan said quietly.
Razy stopped and turned to look at him, his eyes serious. "Maybe. But I believe if you keep trying, that system will come to you. I believe you'll be different."
Lathan nodded slowly, but inside, a lingering doubt gnawed at him. He wanted more than just to survive; he wanted to prove that he could become something great, even though he hadn't been blessed like the others.
"Maybe what matters isn't how fast we rise, but how we survive until that moment comes," Lathan continued.
Razy smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Agreed. And as long as we can still stand, we're not alone."
"And hopefully you can awaken your system soon, Than," Razy added.
"Yeah," Lathan replied.
"Poor you, your system's not waking up, but your otaku soul sure is," Razy joked, laughing out loud.
"Hey, monkey, it's a calm, dramatic mood and you're laughing at me," Lathan snapped back, annoyed at the teasing.
After his annoyed reply, Lathan glanced at his watch. It showed 4 PM.
"Hey, I gotta go now, Zy. I'm almost late," Lathan said hurriedly as he started to leave.
Hearing that, Razy called out, "Already leaving?"
"I gotta work... thanks to you, I almost got late because we talked too long," Lathan said while running away.
"Oh well, let's hang out again sometime," Razy shouted.
"Sure," Lathan replied from afar, giving a thumbs-up.
You might be wondering where I work and what kind of job I have right now.
I mentioned before that I work part-time at a guild. I'm part of the "Cleaners" division in the Portal.
Hmm? You're asking what the Cleaners in the Portal do? Simply put, this division handles cleaning up the remnants left inside dungeons or portals that are nearly cleared. Their job includes hauling monster corpses, collecting crystals, and gathering minerals found inside the dungeon.
Even ordinary people—not just players—can work here and enter the dungeon. That's why I chose to work in this division.
Besides needing money to survive, I get to watch players in action as they clear dungeons with their skills.
Although it's not much compared to the top players, at least I can learn from their experiences.
The clock showed 3:45. I had just arrived at my part-time workplace.
"Huff... huff..." I was out of breath from running.
"Finally here. From the entrance, I just hope the boss won't cut my pay because I'm late," I muttered anxiously.
I stepped into the guild's office where I worked part-time. The building wasn't too big, nor too small. It was fairly clean, and as usual, many guild players were gathered, preparing to enter the dungeon soon.
I hurried to the Cleaners' division room, where many people were already gathered, ready to clean the dungeon later.
"Oi Lathan, late again huh?!" a voice with a heavy tone called out.
"Ahgghh... Boss Erwin..." I trembled, afraid of getting scolded.
"How many times have I told you not to slack off! Still late!!" Boss Erwin shouted sternly.
"Y-yes, boss, sorry... there was a little problem earlier," I replied, making an excuse.
"Well, alright then. Quickly get your gear on, we'll leave in 5 minutes to clean a level 'D' dungeon along with the players," Boss Erwin ordered.
"Since you're not Awakened yet, you must wear protective gear. So if anything unexpected happens, at least you can put up some resistance," Boss Erwin added.
"Yes, boss. I'll prepare now," I answered and hurried to the changing room.
A "Portal" or commonly called a "Dungeon" is a place that distorts the Earth, causing chaos and disaster for humanity. Countless monsters far beyond human comprehension emerge from these dungeons.
For years since the dungeon disaster, just like players, the difficulty level of a dungeon is measured by the density and intensity of the energy inside it.
~~Continued~~