Left in Rage

Akira's eyes flopped open to the muted golden light of a room well warmed.

The light, working through cream-colored curtains, cast its serene glow upon the walls.

Freshly baked bread wafted its gentle fragrance through the air, complemented by the mild scent of herbal tea.

The soft couch underneath was quite a change from the frozen, hard dirt of the dungeon he'd escaped just a short time ago.

His body, wonderfully intact and free of injuries, felt strangely light.

As he shifted a bit, motion caused a sudden ping to sound, and his system window hovered before his face

[System Notification:]

[-There are some unclear changes in the user's body. The system can't identify them.]

[-The user must be cautious from now on. Please proceed with caution.-]

Akira blinked, still groggy in the head from sleep.

He stared at the message, his mouth dropped in incredulity.

"Truly what is this System…?!" 

"It does talk like a machine sometimes, and then again sometimes, it is almost as though it is worried about the user basically me and express it like a living begin"

A second message flashed on, overlapping the first.

[System Notification:]

[-Because of a traumatic experience and returning alive from an powerful enemy, the user will be rewarded with more experience points.-]

[Calculating the large EXP.]

Before Akira had even fully processed this, a string of congratulatory messages began blinking into his vision.

[System Notification:]

[Congratulations! you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! you have leveled up!.]

[+20 Stat Points awarded.]

[Perfected Symmetry in effect. Allocating stat points equally across all attributes.]

[Since the user's level has increased, the body will be restored to peak condition.]

A warm, energizing flow went through his body, and he felt his muscles strengthen.

Akira mumbling

"I leveled up… four times in a row?"

His voice was husky but full of wonder.

He could hardly believe it.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"As long it gives me strength i don't care about its origin tho"

The dungeon, the pain and the risk to almost lost his life it had all been worth it, just to see the results of his relentless pursuit of strength.

He shut the window to the system with a silent sigh, and for the first time, he looked around.

It was a small room, cozy, with wooden furniture polished to a warm glow. A knitted blanket had been tucked over him.

A distant, soft laugh from the voice of a child pulled at something deep in Akira's chest, coming from another part of the house. Almost overwhelming was the comfort of this place after what he had seen.

He slowly sat up, and his body was at peak condition because of the level up.

His hand brushed the soft material of the sofa as he looked around the room once more, taking in every detail. On a little table nearby, there was a steaming cup of tea and a plate of cookies.

With his groggy voice, he finally broke the silence.

Akira drowsily, muttering

"Where… am I?"

From the doorway, a familiar figure came into focus-Cha-Jong himself.

His worried-lined face relaxed at the sight of Akira awake.

Cha-Jong relieved

"You're finally up."

"We were starting to worry."

Akira's eyes drifted to him, a faint shadow of gratitude crossing his features.

"I suppose… I should be thankful for this, huh?"

Cha-Jong laughing

"You've got more lives than a cat, kid."

"And believe me, you needed every damn one of them to survive that hell."

Akira smiled but said nothing.

Cha-Jong sat down beside Akira, his expression heavy with unspoken thoughts.

"I brought you here after you fainted," - He said quietly.

"You were in bad shape."

His voice carried a sincerity.

Akira furrowed his brows, confusion breaking through the haze of exhaustion.

"But why here?"

"Why did you bring me to your home?"

Cha-Jong let out a slow sigh, his eyes dropping to the floor for a moment before locking onto Akira's.

"Well… let me explain." His tone was steady

"You saved us back there.

"You faced that vampire knowing the risk, knowing you might not make it out alive."

"You didn't just fight to survive."

Cha-Jong leaned forward slightly.

"You fought so we could live."

Akira's breath hitched.

The words sank in, rattling something inside him.

"I never thought of it that way my head was so filled with survival and the brutality of the fight that i didn't stopped to think about what my actions might have looked like to others."

"That's how they saw it?"

He had always thought of himself as selfish, driven only by his own goals, his own pain. But to them… to Cha-Jong… it had been different.

"You're saying I did all that just to protect you?"

His voice was quieter now, uncertain.

"Don't you think I was just fighting for myself?"

Cha-Jong met his gaze without hesitation, his expression unwavering.

"Maybe that's what you thought," - He said.

"But what we saw was different."

"You put yourself between us and death without hesitation."

"Despite everything you have a good heart."

"And I believe that."

There was no denying the sincerity in Cha-Jong's voice.

Akira couldn't help but feel a tangle of emotions surprise, gratitude, and a foreign sense of conflict he had never experienced before.

The words were unexpected, but they felt real—like a lifeline he didn't know he needed.

For a moment, he wrestled with himself over the truth.

"I mean how easy it would have been for Cha-Jong to leave me in that dungeon, to save himself when i fainted.

"But he didn't."

"He brought me here, to his safest place—his home."

Akira to himself

"Maybe… if I tell him my real name im feeling bad lying to him now so i think it won't hurt."

"I owe him that much."

He turned to Cha-Jong, his voice softer, but firm.

Akira reluctantly

"I lied to you about who I am."

"I wasn't honest about who I am or why I was there."

Cha-Jong did not flinch.

He reached out and set a hand upon Akira's chest, steady and reassuring.

His eyes spoke for him an unspoken understanding that went beyond words.

Cha-Jong gently

"It's not about who you."

"It's about what you did for us."

"For me"

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be with my family right now."

"That's what matters to me."

Akira felt the weight of those words sink into him, grounding him in a way he hadn't in a long time.

A small, genuine smile crept onto his face—an expression rare for him.

Akira smiling gently

"My name isn't E.B."

"You can call me Akira Shoto."

Cha-Jong's face responded with a gentle, sincere smile of his own.

"Nice meeting you then Akira Shoto"

"That's a name I shall not forget for the rest of my life."