The request desk was as dull as I remembered—grey walls, flickering lights, and an endless line of rookie hunters hoping to prove they weren't useless.
I stood there anyway, hands in my pockets, pretending to be one of them.
"Next," the clerk called without looking up.
I stepped forward. "Dungeon permit. E-rank."
She blinked, finally glancing at my card. "Valhalla Guild, huh? You're not one of the regular trainees."
"New recruit," I said evenly. "Need field experience before certification."
She hummed, typing lazily. "Most new Valhalla kids go through Seoul training grounds. You sure you want Incheon?"
"Yeah," I replied. "I heard it's quiet."
Quiet. Forgotten. Unprofitable.
That's why no one cared that an "E-rank gate" had been sitting for months, untouched, in a decaying warehouse district near the coast. Before my regression, the place had been dismissed as nothing special—until a group of miners stumbled onto a hidden floor weeks later.
They hadn't survived long enough to report what they found.
Now, I was going back before anyone else could.
"Fine," the clerk sighed, stamping my papers. "Team registration?"
"Already formed," I said. "Three others."
Incheon Industrial Zone
The air smelled of salt and rust. Massive cranes leaned like dying beasts over silent shipyards. Half-sunken containers littered the docks, their metal frames creaking with the wind.
Our group stood before the shimmering blue gate pulsing between the collapsed walls of a warehouse. It looked small, almost harmless—like a pool of water suspended vertically in midair.
"E-rank, huh?" Park Hae-rin snorted, cracking her knuckles. "I thought we'd at least start with a challenge."
She wore light armor and dual blades strapped to her thighs. Her short hair fluttered in the ocean breeze, eyes alight with reckless confidence.
Lim Seo-yeon ignored her, checking the mana readings on her tablet. "Challenge or not, we stick to protocol. Formation stays tight. Remember what Vice Master Choi said: 'Even weak gates kill the careless.'"
"Yeah, yeah," Hae-rin muttered, rolling her eyes.
Lee Min-jae, the team's quiet defender, adjusted his shield harness. "Readings look stable. No irregular mana flow."
Except there was.
I could feel it—the faint hum of something ancient beneath the surface. Gaia's presence stirred in my mind, soft and clear as running water.
[Executor detected anomaly within Gate resonance.]
[Warning: Spatial layer divergence recorded.]
[Hidden structure confirmed.]
I exhaled slowly. So it's real.
The hidden floor that would later claim a hundred lives… was already here.
Seo-yeon turned to me. "Kang Jin-ho, right? You're the new recruit. You'll take rear guard. Observation, mana mapping, basic defense. Leave the lead to me."
"Understood," I said.
She nodded, satisfied. "Good. Sync comms, then move."
Our bracelets flickered blue as the guild network linked us together.
"Valhalla Squad 17," Seo-yeon said, voice steady. "Entering Gate ID: ICN-0412. Time stamp 09:43."
The gate rippled like liquid glass as she stepped through. Hae-rin followed, blades drawn. Min-jae and I were last.
Cold light swallowed us whole.
Inside the Dungeon
We emerged into a cavern dripping with condensation. Moss clung to jagged rocks, glowing faintly green. Water pooled around our boots, reflecting the flicker of mana torches.
"Same old E-rank layout," Seo-yeon muttered, checking the walls. "Low-tier beasts. No boss until the final chamber."
Hae-rin grinned. "Perfect for a warm-up."
The sound of claws scraping stone echoed through the tunnel.
Gray wolves—low-rank mana beasts with glowing eyes—lurched from the shadows. Four of them.
"Contact," Seo-yeon snapped.
Min-jae raised his shield instantly, intercepting the first pounce. Steel rang out.
"Ha!" Hae-rin's blades flashed, carving deep lines into the second wolf's throat. Blood hissed against wet stone.
I stayed behind, quietly observing. Their teamwork was decent—rough around the edges, but functional. In my past life, these three would grow into some of Valhalla's brightest. Seeing them this raw again was almost nostalgic.
But nostalgia didn't matter.
[Observation complete.]
[Detected weak mana resonance beneath cavern floor.]
[Source… residual branch of Yggdrasil.]
Gaia's whisper resonated like thunder in my skull.
[Executor Quest: "Recover the Seed of Yggdrasil."]
[Objective: Locate and secure the hidden fragment.]
[Warning: Distortion field active below current layer.]
I glanced at the ground—no visible cracks, no hint of a lower floor. But I could feel it pulsing like a second heartbeat.
Seo-yeon turned, noticing my silence. "Jin-ho? You spacing out?"
"Just sensing mana fluctuations," I said calmly.
"Leave that to me," she replied, channeling energy through her gauntlet. Blue runes flared, scanning the walls. "Nothing major. Let's move forward."
Of course you can't see it, I thought. This floor is veiled from standard detection.
Deeper in
The cavern narrowed, forcing us into single file. Hae-rin led, blades dripping with monster blood. Min-jae guarded the flank, while Seo-yeon monitored mana readings.
I trailed last, hand brushing the damp wall.
Each step deepened the pull beneath my feet—like gravity was urging me downward. The hidden floor was close.
Gaia spoke again, colder this time.
[Executor, caution advised. The fragment's corruption is unstable.]
[Reality layer may collapse upon retrieval.]
Collapse, huh. That matched what I remembered: the miners who found the hidden floor triggered a rupture that destroyed the entire dungeon.
Not this time.
We reached an open chamber—a hollow cavern with a shallow pool at its center. A cluster of glowing crystals pulsed like veins of light beneath the water.
Seo-yeon raised her hand. "We clear this floor, then report. Standard procedure."
Hae-rin was already wading into the pool. "Yeah, yeah. Let's finish—"
The ground rumbled.
Mana surged up from below, warping the air. The pool's reflection twisted, swallowing the light whole.
Min-jae shouted, "Mana spike! It's off the charts!"
Too late.
The floor beneath Hae-rin cracked open. She screamed as the water spiraled downward, pulling her into a glowing vortex.
"Hae-rin!" Seo-yeon lunged forward, but I grabbed her arm.
"Wait."
Her eyes widened. "She's—"
"She's alive," I said. "But if you jump, you'll die. That isn't part of this floor."
The vortex pulsed once, then stilled—leaving behind a faint shimmer where reality had folded.
Seo-yeon stared at me. "How the hell do you know that?"
I met her gaze evenly. "Because this dungeon isn't what it seems."
[Hidden Floor Detected.]
[Access Node Active.]
[Executor Authorization Required.]
The air vibrated with static. Blue lines of light formed a sigil beneath my feet, ancient and alive.
"Jin-ho, what are you—"
"Stay back," I said.
[Confirm descent?]
[Yes / No]
I whispered, "Yes."
The world dissolved.
The fall felt endless—like sinking through layers of frozen air and molten light.
When I landed, the impact sent ripples across the ground, but the floor was soft—covered in moss that glowed faintly gold.
A low hum filled the air, rhythmic, almost like breathing.
Roots crawled across the ceiling, thick as pillars, pulsing with mana. Ancient ruins jutted from the mossy ground: broken arches, shattered marble, fragments of statues half‑swallowed by vines. It wasn't just a dungeon floor.
It was a tomb.
> [Hidden Layer: "Forgotten Sanctuary of Gaia"] [Environmental stability: 62%]
The same whisper echoed in my head—Gaia's voice, colder this time.
> [Executor, the Seed is nearby. But corruption has taken root.]
A groan rolled through the chamber. Dust rained from above.
From the far end, a massive shadow stirred.
Chains scraped stone. Then an enormous figure straightened—towering, scarred, one‑eyed.
A Cyclops.
Its single golden iris flickered like a dying sun.
It wasn't supposed to be alive.
But this dungeon was older than any record.
The monster's chains snapped free, falling like thunder.
> [Boss Entity Detected: Cyclops of the Forgotten Floor] [Threat Level: A+]
I drew my dagger, the steel humming faintly with stored mana.
It looked pathetic compared to the hammer that beast carried—an entire boulder forged into a weapon.
---
The Cyclops swung.
The hammer hit the ground a breath later.
The shockwave shattered everything—roots tore, walls cracked, air screamed.
Stone fragments exploded outward like bullets.
I dove sideways, rolling behind a pillar as the impact crater swallowed where I'd been standing. The moss caught fire, glowing white‑hot, and the mana haze rippled like water.
> [Warning: Dimensional stability at 49%] [Executor, extended combat may cause collapse.]
"Noted," I muttered, stepping out.
The monster roared, swinging again.
Each blow distorted the air—every strike carried raw, unrefined mana.
I ran straight toward it.
The hammer came down. I sprinted across a twisting root, the ground sprouting under my feet as Gaia answered.
Roots surged from the moss like living snakes, wrapping around the Cyclops' ankles. The creature bellowed and tore free, but it gave me the second I needed.
I leapt—
air spinning, dagger flashing.
The blade sliced across its cheek, barely missing the eye. Sparks flew.
It howled, hammer swinging in a wide arc.
I dropped low, skidding across the moss. The hammer passed overhead, its wake tearing my hood clean off.
"Fast," I murmured. "But dumb."
Hae‑rin's voice crackled faintly through the comms—static, distorted.
"J‑Jin‑ho?—Where—are you—?"
No signal. Different layer.
Good. She wouldn't see this.
---
The Cyclops stomped forward, each step like a minor earthquake.
I raised my hand.
> [Authority Unlocked: Root Resonance Lv. 1]
The ground erupted.
Vines burst upward, slamming into the Cyclops' chest and binding its arm mid‑swing.
I darted up the roots, momentum carrying me straight to its shoulder. Mana burned through my veins—hot, steady, familiar.
"Let's see if gods still bleed."
I plunged the dagger into its eye.
A scream tore through the floor, shaking the entire dungeon.
Golden mana sprayed like molten light. The Cyclops staggered, thrashing wildly, smashing ruins and roots alike.
It grabbed me mid‑air, massive fingers crushing around my torso.
Pain flared white. I gritted my teeth, channeling mana into the blade still embedded in its eye.
"Burst."
The dagger detonated.
Light exploded, ripping through its skull in a brilliant flare.
The force hurled me backward into a wall. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs. The Cyclops fell to one knee, howling, clutching its face.
I forced myself upright, vision swimming.
Gaia's whisper cut through the noise.
> [Stability: 37%] [Core Exposed—finish it.]
The roots answered my will.
Dozens speared upward, coiling around the Cyclops' body, pinning it in place.
A final root burst from the ground, sharpened like a spear.
I aimed at the flickering light where its heart should be.
"Gaia's judgment."
The root drove through.
The Cyclops convulsed once, then went still—chains clattering as the life left its body.
Silence.
---
> [Boss Entity Defeated] [Hidden Quest Complete: "Guardian of the Forgotten Floor"] [Reward Unlocked — Mistilteinn (Dormant)]
A soft glow spread from beneath the corpse.
The ground cracked open, revealing a pale branch half‑buried in stone. It pulsed faintly, as though breathing.
I knelt, brushing away the dust. The wood was cool to the touch, smooth, almost alive.
> "A branch that once slew a god. Sealed in slumber, awaiting the hand of its rightful bearer."
The words echoed without sound.
When I lifted it, the entire dungeon responded. The moss brightened; the air hummed like the heartbeat of the world itself.
Then the floor began to collapse.
Cracks spider‑webbed across the ground.
Light poured through them, swallowing the corpse, the ruins, everything.
> [Emergency Transfer Sequence Initiated] [Executor: Return Protocol Active]
I clutched the branch tight.
"Let's get out of here."
---
The world flipped.
Colors inverted.
And then I was standing back at the entrance of the Incheon Gate, the sea breeze hitting my face.
The others were there—Seo‑yeon shouting orders, Min‑jae stabilizing the gate with a barrier. Hae‑rin collapsed beside me, drenched and dazed but alive.
She blinked up at me. "W‑what happened down there?"
"Nothing," I said, slipping the pale branch into my inventory. "Just an E‑rank cleanup."
The gate behind us shattered into light.
Fragments dissolved into the sky like stars falling into the sea.
> [Quest Complete: First Step of the Executor] [Authority Acquired: Gaia's Blessing Lv. 1] [Artifact Registered: Mistilteinn (Dormant)]
I looked down at my hand.
Faint green veins of light ran across my skin, pulsing with the same rhythm as the branch.
A whisper followed—soft, distant, almost tender.
> "Grow, little seed. The roots of Ragnarok begin here."
I smiled faintly.
The others were cheering—thinking it was over.
But for me, this was only the first step.
Returning to the Guild
The city smelled of salt and diesel as we emerged from the shattered gate.
The sun hung low, casting long shadows over the empty docks. Hae‑rin staggered, brushing sand and blood from her armor. Seo‑yeon immediately checked her mana levels, while Min‑jae guided her to a bench.
I took a deep breath. The branch—Mistilteinn—was tucked safely in my pack, humming faintly, unseen by anyone else. Its pulse was slow but steady, like a heartbeat in tune with my own.
> [Artifact Status: Dormant]
[Mana Affinity: Executor Linked]
The rest of the team chatted nervously, trying to make light of the fight. I smiled faintly, letting them think the Cyclops was nothing but a minor hazard.
We walked back to the Valhalla Guild headquarters in silence. The air inside was warmer, crowded with trainees celebrating small victories, clerks shouting over mana readings, and guild officers inspecting reports.
I approached the registration desk and handed over the dungeon completion report. The clerk barely glanced at it. Standard procedure. E-rank dungeon, minor losses, no extraordinary events.
She stamped it, and the paper became official.
"Your team survived," she muttered, passing the form back. "Good work. Nothing else to report."
I nodded, slipping the paper into my folder. Nothing else to report. Except for the branch humming softly in my bag.
Later, in the privacy of the supply room, I finally pulled it out. Mistilteinn glowed faintly in the dim light, its veins of green pulsing across the pale wood like slow lightning.
I ran my fingers along its surface, feeling a whisper of power—not overwhelming, but ancient and patient.
> "Seven years… I see you, Executor. Let the roots awaken."
I smiled, closing my eyes for a brief moment.
Seven years until Ragnarok, and already I had a weapon that had once rivaled the gods themselves.
This was no longer a warm-up.
This was the beginning of rewriting fate.
And nothing—not Valhalla, not the Association, not the Nine Realms—would be ready for me.
---
The city noises drifted in through the windows.
But all I could hear was the soft, steady pulse of Mistilteinn.
The first step had been taken.
The roots of Ragnarok had begun to stir.
---