Two weeks had passed since my last battle against the goblin monsters, and I continued my daily training, pushing myself to strengthen my abilities further. Yet something else had captured people's attention and stirred controversy across the news sites and television broadcasts.
Ever since I defeated those monsters and the forest vanished, a garden had appeared in its place. There, countless corpses were discovered—children who had gone missing, young men, and even hunters of the weak F-rank.
Everyone wanted to know who had slain the monsters that haunted the garden. Thankfully, my identity remained hidden, and no one knew it was me. Still, I realized there were undoubtedly many other places in need of hunters to deal with their monsters. So I began searching online for such locations. After long hours of searching, I came across a dungeon cave called "The Dome Dungeon," classified as F-rank. Most who ventured there were of that same rank, while higher-ranked hunters were drawn to powerful guilds.
But what many didn't realize was that the Dome Dungeon, despite being labeled as F-rank, could unleash monsters capable of slaughtering countless humans if they escaped. Still, people seemed to care only about money. If someone wanted to become a wealthy hunter, they had to join a guild, where riches could be amassed.
I understood this better thanks to my older brother, an elite-ranked hunter with a large monthly income. The currency used here, called Aloro, was equivalent to the dollar in my old world and was the universal currency in this one.
Earning twenty thousand Aloro a month would provide me with a comfortable life, but higher-ranked hunters made far more than that.
So I pushed myself into harsher training, determined to gain more points and raise my level even higher.
As I sat in my room pondering my next move, my mother, Dalliana, stepped inside.
Dalliana: "Zokaro… I'm heading to work. Take care of yourself. The food's in the fridge—heat it up before you eat."
Zokaro: "Okay, Mom… take care too."
She left the house, and I was alone again. I recalled what had happened since returning from the battle, how she'd been treating me as if I were a five-year-old child. Though her concern felt warm, it was still a little suffocating.
I needed to find a nearby dungeon, but I couldn't locate any. Damn it! All I could find were monsters that had infested a forest near a small village, disturbing the people there. That was the closest spot to me for now.
I also discovered that many other places had been overrun with monsters after the Dome Dungeon's explosion. What puzzled me, however, was that monsters didn't leave the dungeon until twenty-four hours had passed—yet hunters were able to enter and exit freely whenever they wished.
I summoned the Ratio System to check my stats and current points:
Ratio System
Points Earned: 30,600
Rewards:
- Upgrade Heart Pulses: Lv9
- Upgrade Absolute Healing: Lv17
- Upgrade Instant Energy Boost: Lv2
- Upgrade Energy-Detecting Vision: Lv4
Full improvement currently requires: 36,800 points.
I considered which upgrade to pursue first. If I boosted "Absolute Healing," it would be incredible—instant and complete recovery. But I hadn't yet reached a high enough level.
So instead, I chose to raise the core upgrades. The results appeared:
Ratio System
Points Earned: 3,400
Rewards:
- Upgrade Heart Pulses: Lv100
- Upgrade Absolute Healing: Lv100
- Upgrade Instant Energy Boost: Lv100
- Upgrade Energy-Detecting Vision: Lv4
Congratulations on maxing out three upgrades. Upgrade the final one to unlock Vital Energy and Enhanced Senses.
I didn't fully understand what that meant, but I still had 3,400 points left. To raise the detecting vision, I'd need more. That meant I had to start a monster-hunting mission—it was the fastest way to earn points.
I opened the main page to check my power level:
Ratio System
Power Level: 360
Available Upgrades:
- Speed: Lv1
- Strength: Lv1
- Attack: Lv1
- Body: Lv1
Special Skills: None. Raise your level.
What puzzled me was the "Body" stat. All I knew was that my body felt slightly stronger than before. But if I were to max this stat, would my body become far more powerful than it was now?
I had to keep getting stronger… stronger and faster. But then I suddenly remembered something. I smiled faintly and muttered, "Breakfast first."
As I headed toward the kitchen, my phone rang. I picked it up and heard a voice.
Caller: "Hello… is this Zokaro?"
Zokaro: "Yes, this is Zokaro."
Caller: "You've been absent from school for three weeks. You must come to the administration office with an excuse, or you'll be expelled."
I froze. School! I had completely forgotten I was still a student. I quickly remembered the medical report from the forest incident.
"Yes, wait for me—I'm on my way," I answered.
I dashed out of the house and sprinted to the bus stop. But I had to wait a full thirty minutes, cursing the slow bus company under my breath.
Finally, I reached the university just in time. I ran with all my strength to the administration office, where I handed the deputy principal my hospital documents. But the man wasn't lenient. He scolded me harshly for every little move I made, his voice so loud it nearly pierced my ears.
I sat there, lost in thought:
"Damn it… I'm still a student, and I need money. But I can't sell the monster materials because I'm not an official hunter. I have to find another way to work and earn enough for my monthly expenses… I don't want to rely on what I get from my parents or my brother."
He was walking alone when he passed the entrance to a Dome Dungeon. Its dome was white. He wondered what lay before him; every hunter who entered here had their level checked — their ID card with a small number.
What caught Zokaro's attention was the dome's color: white meant F or E rank. Each dome color corresponded to a different tier and the strength of the monsters inside. Blue domes were D to C rank; purple domes were B to A; black domes marked the highest ranks — the beasts within could surpass imagination.
A young man came sprinting and collided with Zokaro, dropping his ID card. Zokaro picked it up and scanned the information.
Hunter: Diaz
Level: 46
Serial: 57648jh99
Zokaro looked at him in surprise. "You're a hunter at that level?"
Diaz was about Zokaro's height — 176 cm — with brown hair and olive skin, but he trembled, eyes darting left and right. Zokaro snatched the card back quickly. "Don't meddle in other people's business," he snapped, then watched the young man rush off toward the registration clerks.
Zokaro kept his eyes sharp. He remembered how some guilds exploited under-leveled people, criminals on the run, or hunters whose memberships had been revoked for breaking rules — fighting civilians, abusing power.
One of the clerks waved him over. Zokaro approached; the clerk greeted him, "Welcome. Want to become a hunter? You've got a chance. Give us your name and some info."
Zokaro took the form.
Name:
Have you entered a Dome Dungeon before?
Have you seen monsters before?
What is your power level?
Which weapon do you need?
Zokaro filled in the details. The other clerk checked his combat level — it read 30, as he'd said. They handed him a basic sword. Zokaro thought his old sword that had fought the goblins was a hundred times better than this training blade.
He stepped forward to enter the dome. Someone called out: "Listen! Cooperate with each other if you want to stay alive… This is an F-rank dungeon. Those who make it out alive will receive a card. Some people here already have theirs."
Zokaro scanned left and right and spotted the youth who'd bumped into him earlier — Diaz, talking to others about cooperating. Zokaro worried that most of them would die once inside.
There were more than fifty people gathered. Still, to clear a dome efficiently they needed a team of twenty hunters, all F- or E-rank. These people — scattered, inexperienced — stood no chance of leaving alive.
Diaz approached Zokaro slowly. "Hey… can we cooperate?" he asked.
Zokaro turned to him. "Oh — you're the one who slammed into me earlier."
Diaz bowed his head. "I'm sorry… but can we team up so we can get out alive?"
A hush fell. Zokaro didn't answer at first. The boy didn't look like he knew the basics of killing — why was he even here?
Diaz watched Zokaro, waiting for a reply. As no one else seemed willing to team up, he tried another person, but nobody volunteered.
Zokaro finally said, "Wait. Let's cooperate — to get out safely. But tell me why you're here."
Diaz clenched his fists, his eyes shining as if on the verge of tears. "I need money to support my mother in the hospital, and my twin younger brothers — they're ten years old. My father was a D-rank hunter, but he died inside a dome."
Zokaro met him with a steady, motivated gaze. "We all have our reasons. Then let's work together."
Everyone prepared to enter. Zokaro knew, though, that most would flee at the first sign of real danger — and that he might be the only one to survive.