The walk home was quiet for Minho. He didn't even know who owned the jacket he put on, but one thing was clear though. It stunk.
He walked to the door of his house and exhaled before opening the door. The lights were turned off, so he expected his mum to be asleep. He carefully locked the door and started tiptoeing when the lights came on and his mother stood right in front of him, resting on a wall with a tight frown.
"Ahh!" Minho put a hand on his chest, startled. "Mom…you're…uhh, awake?" He faked a smile.
"Where were you?" She asked, arcing an eyebrow.
"I…uhh…wait what?" He rubbed his forehead. "Oh, I was just outside." He blurted out, faster than he should.
"Where exactly were you outside?" She pushed off the wall and put her hands on her waist. "Because I went out shouting your name and you were nowhere to be found. Secondly, who's clothes are you putting on and why does it smell that bad?" She covered her nose.
"Well…I went out to a far place and uhh…my shirt got…" He tried to make something up that didn't sound completely stupid. "Well—"
"Just go take a bath and get dinner from the kitchen." She cut him off, walking to her room. "And also make sure to throw that jacket away. Or return to wherever you got it from."
She was his mother after all. She did know something was wrong, but it was something he wasn't going to talk about, so it's best she let it off.
Minho smiled. "Thanks mom."
She waved him off. "Goodnight, Honey." The door to her room creaked open and slammed shut as she entered.
"I just…I wish I could at least tell her. I wish I could." Minho sighed, walking to his room. "Thanks mom. I'll make sure to cover for all the suffering my existence has put you through. Stay with me." With that, he slipped into his room.
In his mother's room.
She lay on her bed, lights off, but eyes wide open with no sign of sleep. Her mind flashed back to when Minho came in. His trouser had holes and were burnt at the sides.
"What are you up to, Minho?" She whispered to herself. "Please don't push yourself too hard because of me." With a deep exhale, she decided to close her eyes shut, though the sleep was still far away.
Ever since that day, Lee Minho, titled: humanity's weakest E-rank hunter, became a national menace. Dungeons had appeared and disappeared without being attended to by any guild or freelance hunters. Those who caught glimpses of the one who was behind it, only saw a man with a mask, surrounded by mist.
The Korean Hunters Association tried as much as they could to meet this mysterious hunter who they deemed to be an S-rank. But every attempt was a woeful failure. The mysterious man who took down dungeons alone was officially announced tothe public as The Breaker and probably Korea's tenth S-rank hunter.
This drew attention from international guilds, their curiosity piqued by the enigmatic and unstoppable 'Breaker'. But The Breaker was far more complex than they could've imagined. All hunters sent after him either returned with failure or never returned at all. The Korean Hunters Association gave all they could in searching for The Breaker, as he could either be a potential ally or a grave enemy.
But the guilds weren't the only ones searching for The Breaker.
Seoul - Korea
An abandoned construction site
"Goodbye, Jinwoo!" Johee yelled at a boy, waving.
Jinwoo smiled, waving as well.
The title of humanity's weakest hunter was unknowingly shared between Lee Minho and Sung Jinwoo. Another E-rank hunter.
Jinwoo was on his way home when everything went dark and all he could see was darkness.
"Behind you." A voice called out from behind him.
The voice was familiar but strange. It was his, but laced with more maturity and deeper. He spun around and what he saw made his blood run cold.
In front of him were warriors. Not humans, but one's made of shadows. Dozens of them. And at the frontline was a knight with a sword that crackled with lightning, an Ant that gave off a disastrous aura and a monstrously huge knight warrior with a single horn helmet. And what shocked him more was the throne in front of them, where a man sat.
His body moved on its own. And he couldn't stop it. Some force seemed to draw him closer to the man. The closer he came, the more warriors started to kneel from behind.
He finally stood in front of the man who's face was now clear. He was looking at an older version of himself. The man on the throne stood up and walked to him.
"So there still is a timeline where I was the weakest E-rank hunter." The man muttered, taking both of Jinwoo's hands in his. "There's a threat that has been lurking and hiding in this one. One I should have eliminated a long time ago."
"Who are you?" Jinwoo asked, his voice devoid of fear.
"I am The Shadow Monarch. I am the ruler of this army. I am you. I am…Sung Jinwoo." The man muttered. "It's time you took what is meant to be yours." He placed a hand on the young Jinwoo's shoulder.
Images started to flash in the minds of both of them. Flashes of the older Jinwoo's life as the weakest E-rank hunter, the one with the system and the Monarch of Shadows. A blinding purple light shun and they both closed their eyes.
The younger Jinwoo opened his eyes. Knowledge, power, and the cold patience of eternity flooded into him. He was no longer Sung Jinwoo, the weakest E-rank hunter, but Sung Jinwoo, The Shadow Monarch.
He put his hands in his pockets and made for his home. His gaze cold with a feint purple glow, he muttered. "Where are you hiding…Antares?"