CHAPTER 1 – THE RED GATE
Kai had always hated the night shift.
The streets of downtown Atheria were cold, damp, and filled with the faint smell of ozone from the glowing mana runes that lined the sidewalks. Ordinary citizens avoided these areas after dark, but Kai had no choice. His job as a street cleaner paid little, yet it was all he had.
Tonight, though, there was something… different.
The city's usual hum of distant engines and chatter of hunters on patrol was replaced by an unnatural silence. The faint blue runes pulsing along the asphalt flickered like dying stars. Kai shivered, pulling his tattered coat tighter around him.
[WARNING: DUNGEON BREACH DETECTED][Gate Rank: UNKNOWN]
He froze mid-step. The message was not projected on his phone. It wasn't a news alert. It was inside his head. A cold pulse reverberated under his feet.
"Shit…" he muttered.
A flash of red light tore through the alley across from him. The light twisted into a jagged, bleeding portal. Shadows leaked out like black liquid, slithering across the ground, whispering unintelligible words that seemed to scrape his mind raw.
Kai's first instinct was to run. But he barely moved before a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Move, civilian!" a voice barked, sharp and commanding. A woman in hunter armor stood before him, her eyes glowing a piercing blue. Her spear, forged from pure mana, hummed with power.
"I—I can't—" Kai stammered, heart pounding in his chest.
Before she could respond, the shadows surged forward, wrapping around the woman's legs and throwing her into the portal. Her scream echoed in his ears. Then everything went black.
Kai woke to a silence that was worse than any scream.
The world was colorless. The ground beneath him cracked like glass, and shards floated in midair. Where the portal had been, there was only a shadow hovering above the ground, pulsing with crimson light.
He tried to move but couldn't. His chest ached as though molten metal had been poured into it. The shadow bent closer, forming the vague shape of a man — yet its eyes burned with a fire that wasn't human.
"Hunters. Systems. Gates. All borrowed power from me. You, boy… will return it."
"I—what are you?" Kai whispered, his voice trembling.
The shadow leaned forward. Its clawed hand pressed against Kai's chest, and pain tore through his body in waves. He screamed, black veins spreading across his skin, shadows crawling like worms under his flesh.
Then, a voice — calm, mechanical — pierced through the agony.
[You have awakened.][Class: ???][System Initializing… ERROR… Integrating foreign entity… SUCCESS.][Welcome, Shadowbound.]
Kai's vision blurred. When he blinked, the shadow had vanished, leaving only a faint echo in his mind:
"Rise… and hunt for me."
He coughed, blood trickling from his lips. His hands were trembling, but he felt… alive. Stronger than he had ever been.
[HP: 120/120][MP: 98/98][Strength: 10] [Agility: 11] [Mana: 9] [Shadow Corruption: 2%]
"What the hell is this?" he muttered aloud.
By the time Kai stumbled back into the city streets, sirens had begun blaring. Hunters in silver armor patrolled the area, speaking into radios with urgency. Civilians were being evacuated, and the media had begun streaming footage of the portal.
A young medic ran up to him. "Sir! Are you alright? How did you survive? What's your class?"
"I… I don't know," Kai said, still trying to comprehend the numbers and stats floating in his vision like ghostly projections.
[Quest Received: The First Hunt]Objective: Kill one Feral Shade within 24 hours.Reward: Unlock Active Skill.Penalty: Death.
"Penalty… death?" Kai asked, swallowing hard.
The medic didn't answer. Her gaze flickered behind him — and then he saw it.
A Feral Shade, black as oil, eyes glowing with malevolence, slithered from the shadows. Its claws tore the air, leaving streaks of darkness that hissed with heat.
Kai panicked. His instinct was to run, but the system seemed to take over. Shadows from his arms shot out, forming claws that impaled the Shade. It screamed, a sound that curdled his blood, then dissolved into black smoke.
[Enemy Slain.][EXP +50][Level Up!][New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Grasp]
His chest heaved as adrenaline surged. He had killed a monster — barehanded.
The medic stared in disbelief. "You… you just killed that thing with your hands?"
"I… I guess I did," Kai muttered, looking at the dark claws that had vanished. I didn't even mean to…
[Shadow Corruption: 4%]
Kai shivered. Something inside him had changed forever.
The following two days were a blur.
Kai was taken to a government research facility, filled with white walls and humming scanners. Every hunter and researcher who came near him stared at his readings in shock. He was unlike any awakened hunter they'd ever seen.
Commander Vareen, an S-rank Hunter, stepped forward. His coat was black, lined with gold embroidery, and his presence radiated authority. "Kai Rehn, age nineteen, previously unawakened. Survived an S-class gate alone. Your mana signature is… undetectable."
Kai rubbed his temples. "That's because it's not normal mana," he muttered.
"Do not speak of me."
The voice again. From inside his head. The one that had destroyed the gate.
Kai's pulse spiked. "Who… who are you?"
"I am the original System. The Shadowbound. They stole my code, split my power. But you — my vessel — you will restore me."
[Hidden Quest Unlocked: The True System Awakens]Objective: Devour Corrupted Mana Sources (0/10)Reward: ???Penalty: Loss of Humanity
Kai nearly laughed, but something in the air made it sound hollow.
Vareen studied him. "Something wrong, boy?"
Kai shook his head. "Nothing."
But inside, he whispered: What happens if I don't obey you?
"Then you die. Slowly. Painfully."
Kai's stomach turned. He clenched his fists. "Fine. I'll play your game."
That night, he snuck out of the facility. He followed the pull inside his chest, a black tugging force that led him to a smaller portal, pulsing weakly against the night sky.
[Mini-Dungeon Detected][Recommended Level: 5]
Kai was Level 2.
"Guess I'm skipping the tutorial," he muttered.
The air inside was thick with ash and the scent of blood. Shadows clung to the walls like living things. Eyes blinked from every crack. Eight Feral Shades circled him.
[Enemies Detected: Feral Shades (x8)]
Kai's heart pounded. His system responded automatically.
[Skill: Shadow Grasp – Lv.1 Activated]
Black tendrils lashed forward. Two Shades were impaled instantly, screaming as they dissolved into nothingness. The others attacked, clawing at him. Pain seared through his shoulder — blood spattered the floor.
[HP: 62/120][Passive Activated: Blood Resonance][HP Regeneration +10/sec for 10s]
Kai's wounds closed. His body felt sharper, faster. He grinned. So this is what it feels like to be a hunter.
Minutes later, the last Shade fell. The dungeon collapsed, leaving only Kai standing in a haze of smoke and black mist.
[Dungeon Cleared.][EXP +350][Level Up!] x3[Level: 5][Quest Progress: 1/10 Corrupted Mana Sources Devoured]
Kai wiped blood from his face and gazed at the fading portal. Something deeper called him — darker.
"Good… You're learning to kill."
"Shut up," Kai muttered, stepping into the light as the world returned to color.
He was no longer the same boy who hated the night shift.He was something… else.Something alive.Something dangerous.