The next morning came too fast.
I woke up before my alarm—4:47 AM, according to the cracked phone screen on my nightstand. The ceiling of my tiny studio apartment stared back at me, water stains spreading from the corners like dark flowers. I'd been here for six months, and I still hadn't fixed the leak.
6 AM. Don't be late.
Dorian's voice echoed in my head. I swung my legs out of bed and sat there for a moment, my bare feet on the cold floor. The radiator hadn't worked since winter started. I'd gotten used to the cold.
I dressed in the dark. Dark grey cargo pants—thick fabric, lots of pockets. A black long-sleeve shirt that had seen better days. A worn leather jacket I'd found at a thrift store for eight thousand won. My boots were the only expensive thing I owned—steel-toed, waterproof, bought secondhand from a retired hunter who said they'd survived twenty-seven gates.
If they're good enough for him, they're good enough for me.
I packed light. A water bottle. A bag of dried squid for protein. A small first-aid kit. Everything went into a reinforced backpack that weighed about fifteen kilos empty. I'd carry their supplies too, so I left room.
Before I left, I knelt by the small wooden frame on my nightstand. A photo of the orphanage—all the kids lined up in front of the building, Sister Maria in the middle, her hand on my shoulder. I was ten in that photo, smiling like I didn't know how hard life was going to be.
I'm doing this for you, I thought. For all of you.
I stood up and walked out the door.
---
The Hunter Association building looked different at 5:30 AM.
Darker. Quieter. The glass facade reflected the last remaining stars, and the flag above the entrance hung limp in the still air. A few hunters milled around the entrance—early risers, maybe, or people who hadn't gone home at all.
I spotted Iron Maw near the east entrance. Dorian stood apart from the others, arms crossed, his massive shield strapped to his back. The shield was a slab of black metal—easily two meters tall—with claw marks etched into its surface. I wondered what kind of monster had made those marks. Then I wondered if I'd find out today.
Next to Dorian, a woman I hadn't seen yesterday was doing stretches. She was tall—almost as tall as Dorian—with corded muscles and short-cropped red hair. A longsword hung at her hip, and a smaller blade was strapped to her thigh. Her armor was a mix of leather and chainmail, practical rather than flashy.
Warrior, I realized. They have a warrior too.
She caught me looking and grinned. "You the new pack mule?"
Her voice was loud, cheerful, completely out of place at this hour. "Yes. Arlen Vale."
"Bianca." She extended a hand. Her grip was crushing. "Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing eats you."
Vex snorted from somewhere behind Bianca. "You can't even make sure nothing eats yourself."
"Shut up, firecracker. At least I don't hide in the back and throw sparkles."
"They're not sparkles, they're—"
"Sparkles."
I almost smiled. Almost.
---
The assassin was already in the shadows of the building, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. I still didn't know his name. He wore dark grey from head to toe, and his face was partially obscured by a hood. The only thing visible was his jawline and a thin scar that ran from his ear to his chin.
The healer—Jun, I learned—stood off to the side, checking his bag. He had the nervous energy of someone who expected things to go wrong. His fingers twitched as he counted bandages, potions, antidotes.
"Everything okay?" I asked him.
He looked up, startled. "Y-yeah. Just… double-checking."
"You do that every time?"
"Every time." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "Better safe than sorry."
I liked him immediately.
Then I saw the Beast Transformer.
He was sitting on a low wall, legs dangling, eating a protein bar with absolutely no urgency. His eyes were that same yellow I'd seen yesterday—predator yellow, with vertical pupils that contracted when he looked at me. His hair was a messy brown, and his clothes were loose, practical. No armor. Beast Transformers didn't need it.
"Name's Kai," he said, not bothering to stand. "Before you ask—yes, I can turn into things. No, I won't show you."
"I wasn't going to ask."
"Everyone asks." He took a bite of his protein bar. "You're the classless guy, right?"
I felt the words hit my chest. "Yes."
"Huh." He chewed slowly, studying me. "You don't look like nothing."
I didn't know how to respond to that. So I didn't.
---
Dorian checked his watch—a thick, expensive thing that probably cost more than my entire apartment. "Gate opens in twenty minutes. We move out at six. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Bianca said. "Where's breakfast?"
"You ate."
"That was an hour ago."
Dorian ignored her. His eyes scanned the group, lingering on me for a moment. "Supporter. You stay behind Kai. Don't talk. Don't touch anything. Don't make noise. If something happens, you run toward the exit, not toward us."
"Understood."
"Good. Move out."
---
The gate was in an abandoned industrial district on the east side of the city.
We drove there in a beat-up van that smelled like old blood and cheap air freshener. Bianca drove, singing along to a pop song on the radio. Vex sat in the passenger seat, scrolling through her phone. Jun and Kai sat in the middle row—Jun reading a medical manual, Kai staring out the window with his yellow eyes half-closed.
The assassin sat in the back with me. He didn't speak. He didn't move. He just sat there, breathing slowly, like he was conserving energy for something.
I watched the city pass by through the tinted windows. Apartment buildings. Convenience stores. A school with a playground. Normal life, happening just a few meters away from people who killed monsters for a living.
This is my life now, I thought. Riding in a van to a hole in reality that leads to another world.
The van stopped.
---
The gate was beautiful.
I don't know what I expected—maybe a dark swirling vortex like in the movies. But this was different. The gate hovered about three meters above the ground, a shimmering oval of blue-white light that pulsed like a heartbeat. Wisps of mana drifted from its edges, curling upward like smoke before dissolving into nothing.
Around the gate, a temporary barrier had been set up—orange mesh fencing, warning signs in Korean and English, a small booth where a tired-looking Association worker checked credentials.
"Iron Maw, B-rank," Dorian said, handing over a tablet. "Six combatants, one supporter."
The worker glanced at me. "Supporter?"
"Pack mule."
"Right." The worker stamped something on the tablet. "Gate stability: 94%. Estimated duration: 4-6 hours. Standard retrieval protocols. Good luck."
Dorian took the tablet back and turned to face us.
"Listen up." His voice was low, serious. "This is a B-rank gate. That means B-rank monsters. We've cleared this type before—standard dungeon layout, mostly goblins and orcs with a possible hobgoblin sub-boss. Stick to formation. Don't do anything stupid."
He looked at each of us in turn.
"Bianca, you're on point. Kai, you're left flank. Assassin, right flank. Vex, center—support fire. Jun, stay behind Vex. Supporter, behind Jun."
I nodded.
"And me," Dorian continued, "I'll be at the front with Bianca. If something bigger than a hobgoblin shows up, we fall back to the entrance and request reinforcements. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Kai said. "Can I eat the goblins?"
"No."
"What about the orcs?"
"No."
"You're no fun."
Dorian turned and walked toward the gate. The rest of us followed.
---
Stepping through a gate felt like diving into cold water.
One second I was in the industrial district—grey sky, cold wind, the smell of exhaust fumes. The next second, I was somewhere else entirely.
The dungeon was a cavern. A massive, sprawling cavern with walls that glowed faintly blue, like someone had painted them with bioluminescent moss. Stalactites hung from the ceiling like stone teeth, and the floor was rough, uneven, covered in a layer of fine grey dust that puffed up with every step.
The air was different here. Thicker. Heavier. It smelled like wet stone and something else—something organic, rotting.
Monsters, I realized. I smell monsters.
"Formation," Dorian said quietly.
Bianca moved to the front, her longsword already drawn. Kai shifted to the left, his body beginning to change—his fingers lengthened into claws, his eyes glowing brighter in the dim light. The assassin disappeared into the shadows on the right. I didn't see him go. He was just… gone.
Vex took position in the center, her staff glowing with red light. Jun stood behind her, his hands already shimmering with healing energy.
I stood behind Jun. My job was to carry things and not die.
We moved forward.
---
The first tunnel opened into a large chamber—maybe fifty meters across, with a ceiling that arched high above us. Stalactites hung like stone icicles, and the floor was littered with broken crates and old bones.
And goblins. At least a dozen of them.
They were crouched around a fire pit in the center of the chamber, roasting something that smelled terrible. When they saw us, they scrambled to their feet—green-skinned, yellow-eyed, clutching rusted swords and spears. One of them, larger than the others with a crude metal helmet, screeched a command.
The goblins charged.
"Showtime," Bianca whispered.
She moved like water. One moment she was standing still; the next, she was among the goblins, her longsword carving arcs of silver light. The first goblin lost its head before it could scream. The second lost its arm. The third tried to stab her from behind, but she spun, kicked it in the chest, and sent it flying into the wall.
But the goblins kept coming. Five. Six. Seven.
"Kai, left!" Dorian shouted.
Kai was already there. His body shifted mid-stride—his arms elongating, his fingers becoming claws, his face stretching into something wolflike. He pounced on a goblin that had tried to flank Bianca, tore its throat out with a single swipe, and landed on another. His movements were brutal, efficient, almost beautiful in their savagery.
"Assassin, right flank!"
The assassin appeared behind a group of goblins that had been sneaking toward Vex. His daggers flashed twice, and two goblins collapsed. A third turned to face him, but he was already gone, reappearing behind it, sliding his blade between its ribs.
"Vex, clear the center!"
Vex raised her staff. The red glow at its tip exploded into a blinding orb of light.
"Sunlight Burst!"
The orb detonated in the middle of the chamber. A wave of searing white light erupted outward, catching four goblins in its radius. They didn't even have time to scream. Their bodies turned to ash, then black smoke, then nothing.
I stood there, mouth open, heart pounding.
This is what a B-rank party looks like.
They weren't just fighting. They were performing. Every movement was practiced, precise, almost choreographed. Bianca's sword work was like a dance. Kai's transformations were seamless. The assassin moved like a ghost. And Vex's magic—Sunlight Burst—had turned four goblins into cinders in less than a second.
Within two minutes, all twelve goblins were dead.
Bianca flicked her sword clean and sheathed it. "Too easy."
"Don't get cocky," Dorian said. "That was just the welcome party."
Kai shifted back to his human form, licking blood off his claws. "Tastes like chicken."
"Please don't say that," Jun muttered.
I looked at the black smoke rising from the goblin corpses. My hands were shaking—not from fear, but from adrenaline.
This is what they do, I thought. This is why they're B-rank.
And I'm just here to carry bags.
---
We moved deeper into the dungeon.
The next chamber was larger than the first—easily a hundred meters across, with a ceiling that disappeared into darkness. In the center stood a group of orcs. Bigger than goblins. Meaner. Eight of them, wearing patchwork armor and carrying axes that looked like they could split a man in half.
"Orcs," Dorian said. "Standard formation. Bianca, draw the big one. Kai, take the left. Assassin, right. Vex, AoE on my mark."
"What about the supporter?" Jun asked.
"He stays behind you. Don't move, boy."
I nodded.
The orcs noticed us. The largest one—a brute with a skull helm and a battleaxe—roared and charged.
"Engage!"
Bianca met the brute head-on. Her longsword clashed against its axe, sparks flying. She pivoted, drove her shoulder into its chest, and forced it back a step. "You hit like a girl!" she taunted.
The brute roared again and swung wildly. Bianca ducked under the axe, spun, and slashed across its stomach. Black blood sprayed. The brute stumbled but didn't fall.
"Tough bastard," she muttered.
Kai was already in the middle of the other orcs, his body fully transformed—a massive wolf-like creature with claws like razors. He tore through one orc, then another, his movements too fast for them to track.
The assassin flickered between shadows, his daggers finding gaps in armor. Every strike was precise. Every kill was silent.
"Vex, now!" Dorian shouted.
Vex raised her staff. This time, the glow was different—orange and red, flickering like a bonfire.
"Inferno Wave!"
A torrent of fire erupted from her staff, washing over three orcs that had tried to surround Bianca. They screamed—a horrible, guttural sound—and collapsed into black smoke.
Dorian stood in the center of the chaos, his massive shield raised. An orc slammed its axe into the shield, and the impact rang through the chamber like a bell. Dorian didn't even flinch. He pushed forward, shield-bashing the orc so hard its skull caved in.
Within three minutes, all eight orcs were dead.
Bianca wiped her sword on her pants. "That was fun."
"That was sloppy," Dorian said. "Kai, you overextended on the third one. Assassin, you left your left flank exposed. Vex, your Inferno Wave almost hit Bianca."
"I had it under control," Vex said.
"You almost set my hair on fire."
"Your hair is already a disaster."
They kept bickering as we moved through the chamber. I followed behind Jun, trying to calm my heartbeat.
---
We entered a tunnel that was narrower than the others—barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Dorian took the lead, his shield scraping against the walls. Bianca followed, then Kai, then Vex, then Jun. I brought up the rear, with the assassin somewhere behind me in the darkness.
The tunnel went on for what felt like forever. The blue glow faded, replaced by a darker, redder light that pulsed like a heartbeat.
"I don't like this," Jun whispered.
"Keep moving," Dorian said.
The tunnel opened into another chamber. But this one was different.
The walls were covered in symbols—glowing red symbols that looked like writing, but not any language I'd ever seen. In the center of the chamber stood a pedestal, and on the pedestal was a chest.
A treasure chest.
"Jackpot," Bianca said.
"Don't touch it," Dorian ordered. "It could be a trap."
"Since when do B-rank dungeons have trapped chests?"
"Since now." Dorian raised his shield. "Assassin, check it."
The assassin appeared beside the chest, seemingly out of nowhere. He knelt, examined the lock, the hinges, the floor around it. After a moment, he stood and shook his head.
"No traps," he said. His voice was quiet, raspy. "But something's wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"This chest is too clean. The rest of the dungeon is old, decayed. This chest is new."
Dorian was silent for a long moment. Then: "Open it."
The assassin did.
Inside was a single item—a black crystal, about the size of my fist, pulsing with dark energy. The moment the assassin touched it, the crystal shattered.
And the dungeon screamed.
---
I don't know how else to describe it. The walls shook. The floor cracked. The red symbols on the walls blazed to life, burning so bright I had to shield my eyes.
"What did you do?!" Vex shouted.
"I didn't do anything!" the assassin shouted back.
"Everyone, formation!" Dorian's voice cut through the chaos. "We're leaving. Now!"
We ran.
The tunnel that had brought us here was collapsing behind us—rocks falling, dust filling the air, the ground shaking with every step. I ran as fast as I could, my backpack slamming against my spine, my lungs burning.
We burst into the large chamber—the one with the hundred-meter ceiling—and skidded to a stop.
The ceiling was gone
In its place was a hole. A massive, gaping hole that led up into darkness. And from that hole, something was descending.