Prologue – The End Before Awakening
Blood.
Smoke.
Screams.
That was all I could hear as the world crumbled around me.
I had never stepped into a Portal before—at least, not like this.
They said it was a low-level gate.
"Perfect for your first mission," they told us.
"Just a routine cleanup for F-ranks."
But there was nothing routine about what waited inside.
Nothing low-level.
It was a massacre.
My team—experienced hunters, stronger than me—were torn apart like paper.
Their screams faded beneath the sound of ripping flesh and cracking bone.
I couldn't even scream.
I couldn't move.
My legs refused to obey.
I collapsed.
Frozen. Useless.
I was going to die.
No magic.
No strength.
No backup.
Just a weak F-rank, trembling in the middle of a slaughterhouse.
And then I saw it.
The demon stood over me — massive, grotesque, its eyes glowing with hunger.
Its claw raised, ready to strike.
And then… it appeared.
A screen. Floating. Silent. Glitching with unreadable light.
Right in front of me.
---
[System Activation Detected]
[Initializing… Loading Class: ???]
[Death Condition Met. Awakening Begins.]
---
I didn't understand.
The words meant nothing.
The pain meant everything.
Then — black.
No more screams.
No more fire.
Just the cold, infinite void.
That should've been the end of me.
But it wasn't.
Fate wasn't done with Han Jiwoo yet.