Matt’s head was throbbing as he regained consciousness. His chest felt heavy, but his breathing felt natural, which was a relief. He checked the clock, surprised that not much time had passed.

  Author note: this webnovel is freely available on Royal Road. Please support the author by reading only on that site.

  June 4th, 2025

  15:48

  Huh, six hours. Could’ve been worse, he thought, glad that it wasn’t another week long excursion. Also that he was alive of course. Yeah, definitely the alive part first.

  The second surprise came in the form of his heart, which was beating. The chest wound hadn’t fully healed, but apparently his lungs and heart had.

  It was an odd feeling, closing your eyes expecting never to open them again, only for it all to seem like a distant bad dream. That had been a mortal wound he had no right surviving, yet here he was, heart beating and lungs breathing. He wondered if it was a feeling he’d ever get used to, but he hoped he wouldn’t have to since he really didn’t like the feeling of being stabbed through the heart. Nothing against those who do like it, it just… wasn’t for him. He’d rather his heart remained stab free. He was old school like that.

  His gaze shifted towards the fallen huntress a few feet away from him. His jaw tightened as his eyes fell on her form. She was the exact same as she had been before he lost consciousness, sitting on her knees, head drooped forward, arms limp beside her, utterly still.

  He didn’t know if the mentalist and huntress were sapient or even alive to begin with. He had wrestled with the idea a few times, but ultimately, he didn’t know how dungeons worked nor how someone became a part of a dungeon, and after his fight with the mentalist he had decided not to overthink it as it would only do more harm than good, but deep inside, he had hoped that they would be nothing more than puppets, constructs made by the dungeon for the dungeon. Now though, looking at the huntress, he was starting to doubt that thought. She had fought till the bitter end, not like a mindless puppet, but an actual intelligent being with more than just blind instinct. Even in death, she had refused to fall. A true warrior till the very end.

  He sighed. It was a grim thought, with implications he really didn’t like, and the more he thought about it, the worse it got in his head. It was unlikely he’d be getting answers anytime soon, meaning the only thing he could do was carry on, and hope it wasn’t as bad as his head was making it out to be.

  With a thought, he opened his notifications. There was bound to be something there to take his mind off of this. Hopefully, there would even be some good news.

  [Mend] (common 6) → [Mend] (common 9)

  [Advanced Mana Control (passive)] (rare 4) → [Advanced Mana Control (passive)] (rare 5)

  You have defeated Dune Desert Huntress (level 16)

  Level up!

  Level up!

  You are now level 10

  You have 14 free stat points to distribute

  Three levels in [Mend] and a level in [Advanced Mana Control] was good news in his book. [Mend] had gone far above and beyond what a common healing skill should’ve been able to do. He had been too panicked before, but now, with a calm and steady mind, he could see things he had missed. Obvious things. Like how blood had kept moving even without a heart, and how no muscle nor organ had failed, even with him not being able to breathe. His first thought was that it was the system, or his evolved body, doing the impossible, but that didn’t feel right.

  When he was stabbed, his consciousness had started fading, and his body giving out. It wasn’t until a couple of seconds later, after he had cast [Mend], that the feeling had lessened ever so slightly. It was probably the difference maker in the fight. His body had felt weak and on the verge of collapse at the time, but that slight relief was what made him able to get up, raise his arm, and cast two mana orbs.

  He didn’t know whether a stab to the heart was a fatal wound in the system or if he would’ve healed on his own given enough time, but one thing was for sure, the huntress would’ve finished him off long before then, so he was thankful for the difference [Mend] had made, and seeing it gain three levels did put him in a better mood since now it would be even better at healing such injuries. Once again he wanted to reiterate that he didn't plan on getting stabbed in the heart in the foreseeable future, but these days anything could happen, so he was never gonna say never.

  What didn’t please him, however, and was even slightly disappointing, was the fact that level 10 offered him nothing. No new skills, no skill upgrades, no power boosts of any kind. It just came and went, just like any other level. In hindsight, it did make sense. With only 15 skill slots, and him being Tier 9, there was plenty of time to get more, he just would’ve rathered if it had been sooner.

  With that out of the way, he got up and slowly started walking towards the huntress’s body. He didn’t know why, but her blindfold had a very slight sheen to it. He had tried using identify, which did make it much more noticeable, but displayed nothing else otherwise.

  He reached her unmoving body a second later. Even in her kneeling position, she was still up to his chest, and yet she was as agile as someone half her size. He gave her a nod of respect before very carefully taking off the blindfold, a new notification popping up as soon as he held the piece of cloth.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Cloth of the Unseen Huntress (Rare)

  A simple cotton cloth.

  Reinforced: Indestructible by anything Tier (9) or below.

  Immaterial: Does not occupy physical space once worn.

  Enchanted: [Patient Predator].

  +2 agility

  +1 endurance

  [Patient Predator]: When activated, the user’s presence is erased, rendering them invisible to most senses for as long as they remain unmoving.

  “At least that answers a few questions,” he muttered while appreciating how smooth and intricate the fabric felt in his hand. It was a simple black piece of cloth that didn’t look special in the slightest. He had wondered at times why the huntress was wearing a blindfold, and whether she had been blind, same as the mentalist, but the way she fought showed a level of awareness that was hard to achieve without sight. The cloth being see-through was an easy explanation, but he had been a little too busy not dying to think about it at the time.

  Now though… he covered his eyes with the piece of cloth, tying it. The cloth adjusted itself around his face, becoming a perfect fit. He slowly opened his eyes, and to his surprise, the cloth wasn’t just see-through, it was as if it didn’t even exist. He waved a hand in front of his face, then started moving and jumping around, and still felt absolutely nothing. He would’ve sworn nothing was covering his eyes if he hadn’t tied it himself.

  Magic is truly magical, he thought as he removed the blindfold, which was apparently just a piece of cloth. Even if it didn’t impede his sight, he didn’t want to walk around like some blind monk. He thought about wrapping it around his head, like a head wrap, or around his neck, but both styles didn’t feel like him. Instead, he simply tied it around his nose and mouth like a face cover. Yes, he knew that it wouldn’t matter since he was alone, but he liked the wild west outlaw look, it was cool. And who doesn’t like cool?

  He was once again surprised at how imperceptible it felt. He had to touch it with his hand a few times just to make sure that it was really there.

  The skill itself was intuitive enough to use. There was no weird pattern on his body or soul, he simply just gave a mental command, and the cloth started drawing in mana… and stamina for some reason, then his body became utterly motionless. His breathing slowed, heartbeat barely perceptible, as he became one with his surroundings. He didn’t know whether he was invisible or not, but he could sense that the skill was active and continuing to drain both mana and stamina.

  One word from the description stood out to him though. ‘Most’ senses.

  During his fight with the huntress, he wasn’t able to sense anything. It was as if she had completely vanished. He hadn’t tried reaching with his hand, which, in hindsight, maybe he should’ve, but did that mean it couldn’t avoid someone’s touch? What about other senses, could it hide smells? Right now he smelled like a sewer, thanks to all the blood, sweat, and ichor covering him, that he doubted even a skill could hide a smell that acrid.

  What about something other than the five senses, could it hide from thermal imaging? What about cameras? Night goggles? Did it simply trick the eyes, or was there more to it? Was there a way to sense mana? Too many what-ifs that made the item feel iffy to use. It had worked exceedingly well against him, but while he lacked the tools and knowledge, others might not, which made it extremely unreliable at best, and dangerous at worst.

  Even then, it was a powerful item, it just wasn’t one he could safely rely on for the time being. The extra Agility and Endurance were a welcome bonus though, so that was nice.

  He did ponder a bit more on the mana sensing idea. It was an immensely powerful tool to have for someone lacking in everything like he was. This had been the second fight in a row where he had missed an incoming attack, one that could’ve easily been his end.

  He had no fighting sense and no way to keep track of his surroundings. Something that could detect mana would really shore up that weakness, or at least provide a safety net of some kind. However, there was one issue with that idea, he had no clue how to go about acquiring such a skill.

  His understanding of mana, while much better than it had been, was severely lacking. Even his mana wave could be boiled down to him pushing so much mana together that it turned into a liquid-like state, then shoved it all into someone’s face. Obviously that wasn’t the right way to go about it since the system refused to offer him [Knockback], or any variations of the skill, as a reward for his efforts, which served as further proof of his glaring limitations thanks to a gap in knowledge. It was a long way to the top, and he hadn’t even climbed the first step.

  Matt sighed as he started walking towards the portal, “Another item added to the list of things to work on.”

  He started replaying the fight in his head as he walked, it was a good habit to have, learning from one’s fuckups, and he knew where he had fucked up. When he was channeling mana for his attack on the jackal, he’d performed a cursory scan, and was sure he hadn’t seen anyone else in the room with them, and yet, as soon as his back was exposed, something slammed into him.

  That should’ve triggered instant alarm bells in his head, but for some reason he had completely ignored the fact, and had almost paid dearly for it.

  The huntress herself wasn’t very durable. The fight was probably meant to be a 2 on 1, with the jackal bearing the brunt of Matt’s force and the huntress going for an ambush or a ranged approach. He honestly had no idea how he would’ve fared in that scenario and was extremely thankful that he had managed to take out the jackal before the fighting had started. It would’ve been much tougher otherwise.

  Also, where were his kill notification and experience for killing the jackal? It was daylight robbery not to award anything for that. If it had been a 2 on 1 he would’ve been even more pissed.

  It did point towards another mistake he had made though. When he received nothing after the statue had crumbled, his immediate thought was that he had broken something, which caused him to ultimately drop his guard and expose his back to the room.

  That was something that needed to end. Treating the system as if it were a simple AI that could fail or be abused was a dangerous way of thinking, one that had almost gotten him killed.

  It wouldn't be easy to disregard everything he had learned and gotten used to over the years, and approach this system with an open mind, but at the very least, he should never drop his guard, no matter the situation. It was extremely taxing, both mentally and physically, to keep his guard up 24/7, but well, he could rest when he was dead.

  He sighed in resignation. There was a lot to get used to, and not enough time to do it. It had only been ten days, and yet it felt much, much longer. “It’s gonna be a long six months,” he complained, finally reaching the portal.

  He had fucked up, and the only thing he could do now was to learn from it and move on. His ego was severely bruised after so many close calls, but no one had ever said it would be easy. He just assumed it would because deep inside he was still comparing it to a game, which was something that had to stop, and the sooner the better.

  No matter what, there was no denying how enjoyable it had been. The fights, the thrills, the new experiences, and the endless possibilities presented to him, along with a path to power he never knew existed. And the cherry on top would be showing the people who had rejected him the grievous error they’ve made. The only thing he had to do was be smart about it, and not get himself killed. It wasn’t going to be easy, but the harder it was, the more sweeter it would all taste.

  With one last deep breath, he put his hand on the portal, the familiar message appearing once more.