The first strike team entered through a gold-rimmed portal.
S-rank hunters.
Their presence crushed the air, mana flaring instinctively as their combat instincts screamed danger.
Yet the moment they laid eyes on the dungeon—
They hesitated.
A boss monster stood at the center of the chamber.
Alive.
Unhostile.
And kneeling.
At the center of it all stood a single man.
Level 1.
Rank F.
Kang Jinwoo.
—or rather—
Jin Tae-Hyun.
The system flickered violently, as if choking on the name.
[Name Conflict Detected]
[Primary Record: Kang Jinwoo]
[Archived Record: Jin Tae-Hyun]
[Access: DENIED]
One of the S-ranks swallowed.
"…That name," he whispered. "I've heard it before."
Another turned pale. "No. That's impossible. That record was sealed."
Jinwoo exhaled slowly.
"So you do remember."
The system pulsed, furious.
[WARNING: FORBIDDEN DATA ACCESSED]
He looked up at the incoming hunters.
"Jin Tae-Hyun was my name," he said calmly.
"Kang Jinwoo is the one you were allowed to know."
The dungeon groaned.
Reality itself seemed to strain.
One of the Association enforcers shouted, "Hunter Kang! Stand down immediately! You are classified as a system-level threat!"
Jinwoo tilted his head.
"A threat?" he repeated softly.
Behind him, the Devourer growled—deep, protective.
The S-ranks raised their weapons.
Mana surged.
The system screamed.
[SUPPRESSION PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]
Chains of glowing code burst from the air, snapping toward Jinwoo from every direction.
This was not magic.
Not skills.
It was authority.
The system attempting to overwrite him.
The chains wrapped around his arms.
His legs.
His chest.
The dungeon held its breath.
Jinwoo didn't struggle.
He simply looked at them.
"…You really don't learn," he said.
The chains cracked.
Not shattered.
Cracked—like glass under pressure.
The system froze.
[ERROR]
[ERROR]
[UNSUPPORTED ENTITY RESPONSE]
Jinwoo took one step forward.
The chains dissolved.
Every S-rank staggered backward as if struck.
Some fell to one knee.
One vomited blood.
"Impossible…" someone gasped. "He didn't release mana—!"
"Because this isn't power," Jinwoo replied.
He looked straight at the system message hovering in the air.
"This is permission."
Silence.
Then—
The dungeon knelt.
The walls.
The floor.
The very mana flow bent inward toward him.
A new message appeared.
Not red.
Not blue.
Black.
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE FAILED]
[AUTHORITY HIERARCHY COMPROMISED]
Far above the world—
Something ancient stirred.
Something that had not intervened since the first gates opened.
Jinwoo felt it watching him.
"…So you're awake now," he murmured.
The S-ranks realized the truth too late.
They weren't here to capture him.
They were here to confirm his existence.
And now that confirmation had been made—
There was only one outcome.
Jinwoo raised his hand slightly.
"Leave," he said.
Not a command.
A rule.
Every portal destabilized.
Hunters were forcibly ejected, bodies ripped back through space like debris caught in a storm.
In seconds—
He was alone again.
The dungeon stabilized.
The Devourer lowered its head once more.
Jinwoo stared at his status window.
Level: 1
Rank: F
True State: SEALED
Note: Downgrade incomplete
He smiled faintly.
"…So I still have room to fall."
And somewhere beyond the system—
Something felt fear for the first time.