Born in apocalypse

Reaching the top floor, the very first thing the old man did was look at the ranking board, and sure enough, a new name had been etched there.

’So, he was indeed telling the truth.’ Nodding his head, he looked at his teammates and began thinking about their next course of action.

Seeing the bustling crowd on the floor they couldn’t stand in front of the gate and moved beside.

No matter the time the top floor always seemed full of people. And why wouldn’t this be the case when so many things began from here?

People had begun looking for group members inside here. Guilds were paying extensive attention to the ranking list. If they found any arising names, they tried to search for the person and recruit them.

That wasn’t all either. Betting has become a common occurrence as well. They bet on the timing of the floor clearance.

Ignoring the crowd beside him, the mage inspected the core, ’A nature element core... should fetch us more coins. I heard they’re perfect for making items with healing effects.’

Making up his mind, the old man began deciding where to sell it.

If it were some days ago, he would surely have sold it to his local guild, but now that numerous shops had opened around this dungeon... he had quite some leverage.

While he was in the middle of his thought, the tank opened his mouth, "The food is quite good. Should we eat here?"

"Hmm! Let’s do that."

"It’s a bit expensive but the taste is worth it."

Everyone agreed as the group began to enjoy their food.

’I still don’t understand where this food is coming from..." Continuing their meal they began talking about its origin.

Midway through their meal, the old man suddenly heard a concerned voice coming from the swordsman.

"Old man... isn’t that? What was his name... Yes! Dhruv?"

"Huh!.." Blurted, the old man as he turned around, and sure enough, a few tables away from them was the man.

’What is he doing... he isn’t alone this time...’

The thought of going over to thank the man for giving them the core crossed his mind, but after seeing the people around him, he quickly dropped the idea.

’Who are those around him? They look like foreigners. Whether they’re foreigners or not, they sure look strong as hell.’ Thinking he looked at his group and muttered,

"Let’s just get out of here..."

Knowing the old man, all of them quickly agreed, and soon enough, they left the dungeon and the city altogether.

They all returned to their own countries. In a small remote village.

"Sigh! Let’s just wrap things up here. If you want, you can meet me tomorrow, after which we’ll exchange the core and do some shopping. The coins will be equally distributed, and with the coins you already have, we should be good."

Pausing, he asked, "Any questions?"

"No..." Shaking their heads, everyone moved toward their own houses... or at least what was left of them.

Sighing, the old man moved toward an abandoned house as well. All the smiles he had been keeping on his face quickly faded as he once again faced reality.

There was no one left in his life.

Everyone close to him had died during the second quest.

At this point, he wasn’t even sure why he was trying so hard to live, why he was hunting monsters.

Maybe it was for revenge.

Or maybe because it was the only thing that gave purpose to his meaningless life.

He just didn’t know...

Meow! Meow!...

Suddenly, the sound of multiple cats meowing reached his ears. Everything that was going on in his mind faded away as he entered the house with a warm smile.

"Ohhuhuh! Did you guys miss me? I sure did."

Looking at five cats rubbing themselves around his feet, the old man couldn’t help but feel his heart melt.

"Are you cuties hungry? Let me see. There should be some leftovers in the fridge..." mumbling, he quickly brought out the leftover monster meat and fed it to the cats.

As the cats were eating their meal, the old man noticed something different about them...

’Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or have they grown a few inches or what?’ Worn down by the work, the old man didn’t have the energy to think about the matter.

Leaving the cats with their meals, he went to bed and slept peacefully.

Soon the day came, and after giving them their morning meals, the old man went where the portal was located. There, he found all of his teammates waiting for him.

"Shall we go then..."

Reaching the portal, he entered it and began to look around the dungeon. No matter how many times he saw it, he couldn’t comprehend the scale at which humans worked.

Just a day or two ago, this place was nothing but barren, and now... now all sorts of shops and buildings were operating and being built each second.

After gaining supernatural powers, the speed and efficiency at which humans work only continued to soar to new heights.

Impressed by the sheer scale of it, the old man moved and began finding places to sell his core.

Soon they found a place to sell their core, and after much haggling, they managed to sell it for 600K CC.

With the newfound coins and the coins they already possessed, they wandered the market throughout the day and bought the things they needed.

Like this, another day passed.

***

"Let’s go... from which floor should we start hunting?" the old man asked, looking at the others.

"Let’s start with the fifth floor... we already know everything about that boss, and with this new gear, we should be able to hunt it," the swordsman suggested eagerly, ready to test his new swords.

"Nay! I don’t think so. There’s no need to rush it... we should evolve our skills another tier before engaging with the bosses," Laura said, not agreeing with this moron of a teammate.

"Tsk! Let’s at least go there first..." silencing his teammates, the old man entered the portal and appeared in front of the mega-dungeon.

The moment he arrived, he could feel something strange about the place.

Knowing that the people around these places were always strange, the old man didn’t pay much attention and began moving toward the portal.

As he was walking, he suddenly heard a familiar name...

"Dhruv... he’s done it again."

’Dhruv... What has he done now?’ Unable to calm his curiosity, the old man moved toward the speaker and asked his question.

"What? You don’t know about it? Haha! Let me tell you he cleared another floor."

"Another floor... which one are we talking about?"

"Which one? The ninth, of course... he should be clearing the tenth floor any minute. If you want, you can place some bets as well. I made a fortune today because of him."

’What!? He cleared the ninth floor...’ Hastening his steps, the old man moved toward the dungeon and entered it.

Ignoring all the murmurs around him, he focused on the ranking board, and sure enough, the man was telling the truth.

Seeing it, the old man couldn’t help but whisper, "Dhruv... just who is he?"