Fifty years ago, the world ended—quietly at first.
No warnings.
No prophecies broadcast on television.
No gods descending from the sky to announce judgment.
One moment, humanity was arguing over borders, money, and meaningless pride.
The next, the sky cracked.
Across continents, space itself tore open like rotten cloth. Massive, glowing rifts appeared in cities, seas, mountains, and empty lands. They were called Gates—a harmless name for something that brought hell with it.
From those Gates came monsters.
Beasts that should not exist.
Creatures that defied biology.
Demons with claws sharper than steel and hunger that never ended.
Entire cities vanished overnight.
Governments collapsed.
Military weapons proved useless.
Bullets bounced off hides. Missiles angered what they could not kill.
Then came the Dungeon Breaks.
When a Gate remained uncleared for too long, it shattered—and everything inside poured into the world. Streets turned into slaughterhouses. Rivers ran red. Humanity fled, abandoning homes, history, and the dead.
Earth was losing.
That was when humans began to Awaken.
At first, it looked like a disease.
People collapsed without warning—feverish, unconscious, trapped in a deep sleep that lasted days or even weeks. Many feared they would never wake up.
But those who did…
They came back changed.
They could lift cars.
Control fire, ice, wind.
Move faster than sound.
See what others couldn't.
They were called Hunters.
Humanity fought back.
The Awakened were ranked—E to A Rank at first. Even an E-rank Hunter was stronger than ten normal soldiers. Gates began to fall. Monsters were hunted. Hope returned.
Then, years later, something unexpected happened.
Some Hunters collapsed again.
When they awakened the second time, their power had broken past human limits.
S Rank.
SS Rank.
SSS Rank.
SSSA Rank.
The world realized something terrifying—
Humanity was no longer alone in evolution.
South Korea paid a heavy price.
Among all nations, it faced some of the most brutal Gates ever recorded.
And then, one year changed everything.
Three massive Gates appeared almost simultaneously.
One on Jeju Island.
One near the Han River in Seoul.
And the last—on Ulleungdo Island.
The sky above Ulleungdo turned pitch black. The sea around it boiled. Satellite images showed something massive moving inside the Gate—something that made even SSSA-rank Hunters hesitate.
Korea mobilized everything.
The Jeju Gate fell.
The Han River Gate was sealed after countless deaths.
Only Ulleungdo remained.
Hunters entered.
Most never came back.
Out of hundreds… only two survived.
Gu Young and Jin Yu.
Their testimonies shook the world.
"That place wasn't a dungeon," Gu Young had said, eyes hollow on live broadcast.
"It was a world… with rules. And we were prey."
That night, millions watched the news in silence.
Including a small family in a cramped Seoul apartment.
A young boy stood frozen in front of the television.
His name was San Sun Ho.
When the list of missing Hunters scrolled across the screen, his breath stopped.
San Jun Woo.
His father's name.
The screen blurred.
His mother collapsed.
His elder sister screamed.
That night, something inside Sun Ho broke.
Present Day
Drip.
Drip.
Blood fell onto the cold dungeon floor.
Sun Ho's hands trembled as he leaned against his rusted dagger, gasping for breath.
"Damn it… not again…"
His vision swam. His ribs burned with every inhale. A deep claw mark stretched across his side, soaked red.
An E-rank Gate.
The weakest kind.
And yet—he was barely alive.
If Dad were here…
If Mom weren't sick…
If noona weren't lying unconscious in a hospital bed…
He clenched his teeth.
"I have to survive," he whispered. "I have to…"
This was his life now.
At twenty years old, San Sun Ho was already exhausted of living.
His father—missing, presumed dead.
His mother—bedridden from shock-induced illness.
His elder sister—trapped in a coma after an accident.
Left behind were him, his younger sister, and his little brother.
Bills never stopped coming.
Hospitals didn't care about grief.
Rent didn't wait for miracles.
So he Awakened.
Or rather… he survived the Awakening.
E-rank Hunter.
The weakest.
No special skills.
No talent.
No future.
Still, he entered Gates.
Because even trash was worth something inside a dungeon.
"Oi, E-rank trash, hurry up!"
Sun Ho looked up.
Twenty Hunters stood near the Gate entrance today.
Only one E-rank.
Him.
"Why's he even here?" sneered Kang Min Jae (C-rank, Warrior).
"Walking medical expense," laughed Choi Dae Sung (D-rank, Tank).
"Don't die too fast. I don't want to clean your corpse," said Lee Hyun Woo (B-rank, Swordsman).
Others joined in.
Park Jin Seok (C-rank Archer)
Yoon Tae Min (D-rank Mage)
Han Seung Kyu (B-rank Spearman)
Oh Min Chul (C-rank Rogue)
Baek Soo Yeon (D-rank Healer)
The rest blurred together—faces that looked at him with contempt or indifference.
"Trash."
"Weakling."
"Why don't you quit already?"
Sun Ho said nothing.
He never did.
He bowed slightly, adjusted his cheap armor, and stepped into the Gate with them.
The dungeon interior glittered with crystal-clear stone walls, glowing faintly blue. The air was cold. The floor shimmered.
Monsters appeared quickly.
Goblins.
Wolves.
When killed, they dropped Germ Stones, glowing fragments of condensed mana.
The team pushed forward easily.
Sun Ho lagged behind.
His arms shook after every swing. His dagger barely pierced a wolf's hide.
Still, he fought.
One wolf lunged.
He screamed as claws tore into his side—but he stabbed, again and again, until it fell.
Blood everywhere.
Panting, he stood up.
That was when he realized—
The others were gone.
"…Huh?"
The air twisted.
The dungeon shifted.
Reality broke.
And Sun Ho stepped into a different world.
Orcs.
High Orcs.
Red-skinned.
Massive.
Eyes glowing with cruelty.
And something else.
A voice echoed.
"THIS DOMAIN HAS RULES."
"FAIL TO FOLLOW THEM… AND DIE."
Screams filled the air.
Hunters were slaughtered.
One by one.
Sun Ho watched people who mocked him beg, cry, die.
Fear paralyzed him.
I'm going to die.
When the last survivors gathered, trembling, he stepped forward.
"Go," he said hoarsely. "I'll… hold them."
They stared at him.
The trash.
The weakest.
Why?
Even he didn't know.
Maybe… he was just tired of running.
He turned back.
The monsters came.
Pain exploded.
Claws tore him apart.
As he collapsed, darkness closing in, only one thought remained.
I wanted… to be strong.
Just enough… to protect my family.
Tears mixed with blood.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Mom… Noona… Jin Ha… Woo Jun…"
Why am I so weak…?
And then—
Darkness.
Silence.
A void.
Endless. Black.
Above him—
A single, blinding light.
A voice echoed.
[CONGRATULATIONS, SAN SUN HO.]
[YOU HAVE MET THE CONDITIONS.]
[A SECOND AWAKENING IS GRANTED.]
A countdown appeared.
10…
9…
8…
"What…?" he whispered. "System…?"
Questions flooded his mind.
But before he could speak again—
The void trembled.
And something ancient… noticed him.