One HP

Luka, feeling like he was going to lose his consciousness any second, blinked at the system window.

'One HP? Wait… HP? Like… hit points? What is this, a game? Am I about to get a game over from being hugged by a small girl!?'

He let out a bitter chuckle, hoping at this point that he was delusional, dreaming this entire thing, or in a coma—anything to actually explain this situation in a logical sense.

However, Luka couldn't ignore the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

Hell, he didn't have time to care about such a thing.

After all, he was quickly succumbing to darkness, unable to move an inch.

'Shit…' Luka felt so weak, so hopeless—he couldn't even utter a word anymore.

Not even a couple of seconds passed before he found himself surrendering his life.

Luka's eyes slowly began to close.

'Welp, that was a short run in whatever this game-like world is. Guess I won't be one of those webnovel protagonists living the overpowered life! No cheat skills, no romance, and worst of all—....'

As Luka's thoughts seemed to cut off, he suddenly felt his life returning to him.

Gasp!

The arms around Luka had loosened, and air rushed back into his lungs.

The system window vanished, and his eyes snapped open.

A bead of sweat formed on his forehead as he took deep breaths, trying to steady himself.

"I'm still… alive…?" Luka muttered to himself, wiping his forehead with his bare hand to calm himself down.

He unconsciously took a step back.

His legs felt weak, very weak.

Plus, his surroundings were a little blurry.

Despite this, Luka tried his best to keep a straight posture, to keep himself from falling over.

"I'm so sorry, Young Master!" Serene threw herself onto the floor, her forehead digging into the rug.

"Huh?" Luka, slowly coming back to his senses, looked downward at the woman.

"I'm such an idiot! I always forget I'm a Tanker... Please punish me! I deserve it for being such a horrible personal maid!" Serene blurted out, her voice trembling with embarrassment and fear.

She was acutely aware that her clumsiness could not absolve her from the consequences of nearly killing a noble.

Silence…

Seconds pass…

Luka was lost in his own thoughts…

'Did she really say "Tanker"? Are there classes in this game-like world? If that's the case, then it stands to reason I must have a class of my own…'

Shaking his head slightly, Luka knew he needed to snap out of his curiosity. 

'Now's not the time to nerd out over classes or whatever.'

A sense of urgency flooded Luka. 'I'm not exactly a fan of being on the brink of death.'

Gradually, his eyes shifted back toward the woman.

Serene was slightly trembling, her breath growing a little more high-pitched.

Even Luka could tell she was doing everything she could to stay quiet, like a mouse trying to stay hidden from a cat.

The effort was almost painfully obvious.

"Hey, you can raise your head… I'm not mad or anything." Luka rubbed the back of his head, feeling awkward in his position.

He'd never been in such a position before, where others seemed to bow before him.

It felt foreign, uncomfortable, even.

"You really aren't mad, Young Master?" Serene gulped nervously, finding it hard to believe.

Despite her doubt, she knew better than to disobey, so she slowly began raising her head, her eyes cautious.

"No, I'm not," Luka replied. He paused for a moment before continuing, "And, if you could… could you get me a health potion or something? I really don't want to drop dead randomly..."

"Ah! Of course, how could I let you be in such a state? I'll do that at once!" Serene spoke in a rush, hurrying to her feet.

But as she stood, her foot caught on her dress, sending her stumbling forward. "W-Whoa—!?"

Luka, not wanting to take any chances, used every fiber of his remaining strengh to do a quick step to the right, narrowly avoiding her.

Serene went down with a thud, her maid dress lifting as she fell. "Ouchie…"

'That was close…' Luka let out a long sigh, placing a hand over his heart as he turned away.

If she had landed on him, he knew he probably would've died...

'This girl is a walking death bomb!' Luka couldn't help but think.

Slowly standing back up, Serene glanced over, her cheeks flushing. 'Hopefully, the Young Master didn't see my panties…'

To her relief, Luka seemed lost in his own little world, not caring at all about her predicament.

He didn't even glance in her direction, much less react to her panties being on full display.

'Thank you, Goddess Lucia, that the Young Master didn't see my teddy bear panties…' Serene thought to herself, offering a small prayer in her mind.

She then let out a quiet breath, feeling a little less mortified.

"I'll be right back, Young Master, now if you'll excuse me!" Serene said quickly, hurrying without tripping.

Her heart raced as she quickly left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Serene was hell-bent on getting those healing potions as fast as possible.

Being left alone now, Luka slowly made his way to the bed and sat down. His gaze then caught a pair of glasses resting on a nightstand.

"I'm guessing these are mine...?" he muttered to himself, reaching over and grabbing them.

He put them on, and immediately, the difference was obvious.

"Damn, now everything feels brighter and not as blurry." Luka adjusted them, blinking a few times in surprise.

The world around him came into sharp focus.

As Luka fully adjusted to the glasses, his mind shifted back to the game-like world.

Knowing he'd soon be healed, his curiosity quickly took back over.

With a smirk on his face, Luka couldn't help but say aloud, "Status!"

He waited, eyes sparkling with anticipation, ready for the system window to pop up like it always did in the webnovels and animes. 

Yet…

Nothing.