Kairen got barely any rest that night.
Whenever he shut his eyes, he could hear the words on that screen rolling over his head.
[GATE ALERT: LIGHTRISK]
LOCATION: EAST RIDGE DISTRICT
Low risk.
He should have felt relieved upon hearing that phrase.
But instead it was like a boulder in his chest.
The Hunter Association base at East Ridge was already packed with people by the time he arrived just at sunrise.
An armada of transport vans were parked along the street.
On the side were the guild's emblems painted in bright colors, emotionally warthog-tacked.
Clumps of Hunters gather nearby, laughing and stretching their limbs, as they drink coffee in paper cups, like they're going for a workout before going to the gym and not a dungeon.
Kairen was standing by the outside fence.
Solo man.
Like always.
He tightened the strap of his well-used rucksack and gazed at the giant black ellipse suspended in the air, two hundred meters from where he stood.
The Gate.
It rippled slowly like dark water.
It was surrounded by security fences.
Soldiers, armed, kept watch.
Engineers scrolled through screens teeming with mana graphs and data that pulsated.
Low risk.
He didn't believe it.
"Yo. No registration."
The voice made him jump.
The squad captain that had been in the training hall yesterday was standing a few feet away, arms folded.
His name was Joran.
B-rank.
Fire Type.
With the guild mark sewn securely onto his jacket.
"You are coming with us," Joran said flatly.
Kairen blinked. "Me?"
Joran smirked. "Don't look so shocked. We just need another person to help carrying supplies and watch our rear."
A few hunters behind him chuckled.
One of them, a spear-wielding man named Riven, drew closer.
"Try not to die back there, okay?"
Kairen swallowed. "Sir… but I thought only registered hunters could go in."
Joran nonchalantly waved his hand.
"You signed the waiver last year. You're legally expendable."
Those words struck harder than they should have.
Expendable.
There was the smell of coffee, cool metal and ozone in the briefing tent.
Above the table was a holographic projection of the Gate.
Mana readings scrolled over to the side.
"Normal cave-type dungeon," said the Association officer, " Nothing anomalous detected."
Joran nodded confidently.
"See? Easy run." Fine.
Kairen slowly lifted his hand.
"Sir …if I may…"
Joran sighed. "What is it?"
"Anomalous spikes in the mana concentration at the entrance. It's a little thing, but—"
Joran interrupted him. "You are unregistered. You don't feel anything."*
A few hunters snickered.
The officer cleared his throat awkwardly. "Technically… he's not wrong. Currently, there is a small amplitude oscillation pattern —"
Joran gave him a look.
"So what? You want to postpone the raid since the weakest dude in the room has a bad feeling?"
Silence.>
The officer looked away.
Kairen lowered his hand.
They got dressed silently.
Armor plates locked with a clack.
Weapons were charged.
Potions were distributed.
Kairen took a look at his own equipment.
Used leather coat.
Used dagger.
One emergency healing vial he bought with his last savings.
Riven spotted it and snorted.
"That's cute."
Kairen ignored him.
They stood before the Gate.
It felt different close up.
Cold.
The air around it pushed into his skin.
As if the space itself were breathing.
Joran rolled his shoulders.
"Alright, listen up. Standard formation. Front line-Fans length. Mid-line support. Rear guard watch flanks."
His eyes flicked to Kairen.
"You go on ahead of everyone else. Do not move, not unless you're ordered to."
Kairen nodded.
"Yes sir."
They stepped through.
The world twisted.
He was swallowed by the cold.
Now in his accumulating world:
Stone.
Darkness.
Ahead of them, the dungeon hallway extended, moist walls faintly reflecting light courtesy of emitters that had been tucked into the ceiling.
The air was metallic.
Something was off.
Immediately.
prickledKairen's skin was.
"Does anybody else feel that?" he asked softly.
Riven laughs "Feel what?"
Joran clenched his fist. "Focus. "
They moved deeper.
Their footsteps were too loud to be an echo.
It all felt too confined.
The mana pressure gradually rose.
Kairen's breathing grows shallow.
He halted.
"Sir … we should head back."
Joran turned slowly.
Rage flickered on his face.
"You're doing this again?"
"The mana flow is weak. It's like the dungeon core is—"
"Enough," Joran said sharply. "You just need to haul bags and keep quiet."
Riven smirked. "Told you he'd start whining."
Kairen clench his fists.
Just survive.
That was his only rule.
Something growled in the distance.
Low.
Deep.
The sound seemed to vibrate off the stone.
Everyone froze.
"…That wasn't in the report," one hunter whispered.
Joran's jaw tightened.
"Formation," he said quietly.
Kairen's heart started racing.
Far ahead in the darkness…
Something moved.
End of Chapter Two.