The morning after the strange disappearing gate, the Hunter Association building was louder than usual. Screens flashed emergency notices, officers rushed through the halls, and reporters swarmed outside like hungry pidgeons.
Rivan walked quietly among the noise, blending in like a shadow no one cared to notice.
He was there for one reason:
To find out what that unstable gate was.
Inside the lobby, a group of young hunters were bragging loudly.
"Did you see how fast I reacted yesterday? That gate was crazy!"
"Bro, you hid behind the police barricade—don't act heroic now."
"Shut up! I was analyzing the situation!"
Rivan couldn't help a small laugh.
The moment he did, one of them noticed him.
"Oh… it's him. The F-rank guy."
Their expressions fell instantly.
Conversation over.
Interest gone.
Rivan just shrugged and kept walking. He was used to this.
---
The Investigation Room
The Association had set up a temporary investigation room filled with holograms of energy readings, gate fragments, and mana traces. Most hunters were barred from entering, but Rivan wasn't trying to get inside.
He just wanted to see the reports pinned outside the door.
As he leaned closer, reading the energy graphs, he mumbled:
"So the gate wasn't D-rank… or C-rank… it wasn't anything?"
A guard nearby raised an eyebrow. "You understand that stuff?"
Rivan nodded. "Kind of. It looks like the gate didn't form naturally."
The guard blinked. "You're… surprisingly smart for an F-rank."
Rivan sighed. "I've heard that one before."
Before the guard could reply, a woman's voice called out:
"Hey! Watch where you're standing!"
A girl with bright red hair tied in a messy ponytail walked toward him. She wore light armor and carried a spear almost taller than she was. Her eyes were sharp, confident—annoyingly so.
Rivan stepped aside. "Sorry."
She looked at him more closely. "Huh. You're that… um… what's your name again?"
"Rivan."
"Oh right. The guy who fails the ranking test every month."
Rivan blinked. "Thank you for reminding me."
She smirked. "No problem."
The guard face-palmed.
Without warning, another girl rushed into the hallway—this one dressed in soft healer robes, her long black hair swaying behind her. She looked worried.
"R-Rivia! You ran off again!" she cried.
"That's because you walk too slow," the redhead—apparently named Rivia—snapped.
The healer girl finally noticed Rivan. She froze.
Her cheeks turned pink.
"H-Hi…" she whispered awkwardly.
Rivan nodded politely. "Good morning."
Rivia elbowed her. "Don't act shy! He's just an F-rank!"
The healer puffed her cheeks. "Strength doesn't determine value!"
Rivan blinked.
What is going on?
He barely said two words and the room suddenly turned chaotic.
A passing receptionist sighed, "Drama already? It's too early for this…"
---
The Truth About the Gate
An alarm suddenly blared, silencing everyone.
[UNSTABLE ENERGY READING DETECTED – ZONE 17]
Rivan's heart dropped.
Zone 17… the same place as yesterday.
Rivia immediately spun her spear. "Finally! Something exciting!"
The healer girl clutched her staff. "R-Rivia, wait—!"
The Association doors burst open as squads began assembling.
Hunters rushed, armor clanking, weapons activating with colorful glows.
Rivan stood frozen.
That feeling from yesterday…
The strange tug inside his chest…
Returned stronger.
He felt it pulling him toward the hall exit.
As if something in that zone was waiting for him.
"Hey! You!" Rivia shouted. "Don't just stand there. Run before something eats you!"
Rivan didn't move.
The healer noticed. "Rivan… are you okay?"
He swallowed. "I… need to see that gate again."
Rivia frowned. "What? Why would a weakling like you—"
But before she finished, the alarm changed tone.
[GATE STABILIZING… CLASS UNKNOWN]
Hunters gasped.
Even the Association officers looked confused.
"No way…"
"A gate is stabilizing on its own?"
"That defies every rule—!"
Rivan clenched his fists.
His heart pounded.
Something inside that gate… is calling me.
He didn't understand it.
He couldn't explain it.
But the feeling grew sharper, stronger—almost painful.
He took a step toward the exit.
The healer girl reached out. "Wait—Rivan!"
Rivia tightened her grip on her spear. "If he dies, it's not my problem."
Rivan didn't look back.
This wasn't bravery.
It wasn't stupidity.
It felt like fate.