Episode 08
The modern era is called the Age of Superhumans.
It has already been ten years since the concept of Awakening became inseparable from humanity.
Homo sapiens, confronted with a power it had never known in tens of thousands of years, went through countless convulsions of pain and upheaval.
Yet in the end, humanity adapted.
And beyond adaptation—it began to study.
Ten years.
As research into Gates, which emerged simultaneously with Awakening, reached an advanced stage, the Hunter Association came to classify Gates into two broad categories.
At least, that’s how things stand for now.
Because roughly nine years later, a Gate would appear that would overturn the very concept of Gates themselves.
Not new as in 新 (new), but 神—divine.
They would later be named Millennium Gates.
Explaining them properly would take far too much space here.
Still, there is one point worth noting:
That Millennium Gate is my long-term objective.
The R&Y Guild is merely the problem right in front of me.
Anyway.
Back to the main subject.
Abyss Gates
The first type is the Abyss Gate.
This is the most commonly encountered category.
The method of clearing it is simple:
Defeat the boss monster.
Difficulty varies wildly depending on the monsters inside, with ranks spanning from E-rank to S-rank.
The reward for clearing an Abyss Gate is typically mana stones.
These stones are the single most important resource on Earth—so important they’ve practically replaced fossil fuels as the planet’s core energy source.
Every guild has its eyes on them.
Because they’re a money pipeline.
Chaos Gates
The second type is the Chaos Gate.
Chaos. Disorder.
Just hearing the name makes it sound powerful.
But that’s misleading.
It’s chaos—but in a very different sense.
A Chaos Gate is a phenomenon that humanity can, astonishingly, manage.
It’s been a long time since it shed the label of an “unknown phenomenon.”
In the early days of the Age of Superhumans, humanity succeeded in subduing this abnormality.
The next question became: who should manage it?
Arguments raged endlessly. National borders didn’t matter.
But as the conflicts began to resemble mutual destruction, compromise became inevitable.
In the end, through agreements between international organizations and major guilds, a new body was established—one whose sole purpose was oversight and administration.
That was the birth of the Hunter Association.
And now—
I stood before it.
“Welcome. This is the Hunter Association.”
The detailed address?
63 Building, Yeouido.
Oh—one more thing worth mentioning.
There’s also a Chaos Gate inside this building.
As I said earlier, nearly 90 percent of Chaos Gates are now understood and controlled by humanity.
The remaining ten percent—that’s where the chaos still lies.
In any case—
“I’m here to register as a hunter.”
Whether I was an awakened individual was confirmed the moment I entered.
The revolving door we passed through was itself a miniature Chaos Gate.
Non-awakened individuals couldn’t even step inside.
A thoroughly rotten organization.
I’d always thought so—but being here again really drove it home.
The staff member flashed me a bright, professional smile.
“I understand. Please wait just a moment. I’ll call the team leader.”
Her tone was polite, but her gaze kept flicking sideways—toward the person standing next to me.
“Yes, Team Leader. There’s an awakened individual here to register as a hunter.”
She paused.
“Oh, and just to note—Code One is with him.”
Of course.
So that’s how it is.
Because I’m acquainted with Hunter Seo Boseok, even their bureaucratic courtesy comes laced with genuine warmth…
If I’d come alone, I probably wouldn’t have been turned away—but I’d have been treated only slightly better than a nuisance.
Before long, the elevator near the desk opened.
A man in a tailored suit approached us, guided by the staff.
He looked pale, like an ordinary office worker you could find anywhere.
After whispering briefly with the employee, he bowed to us.
“Good afternoon. I’m Yoo Neung-hyun, Team Leader of HR Team 4.”
“Seo Won-seok.”
Behind his glasses, his eyes darted busily.
“…If you don’t mind my asking—what is your relationship with Hunter Seo Boseok?”
I replied flatly.
“Is that mandatory?”
“Not at all. It’s just… when people are involved, such things do tend to have some influence.”
“I see.”
“Yes. Ultimately, it’s entirely up to the awakened individual.”
“Then I’ll refrain from answering.”
“……”
Was that a problem?
“…My apologies.”
A vein twitched faintly on the team leader’s forehead.
“Have you conducted a self-assessment of your rank?”
As an aside, the Association sells official rank self-assessment kits at designated stores—an attempt to reduce unnecessary time waste.
An unspoken warning.
Don’t bother coming if you’re below D-rank.
I had used one.
“Yes.”
“And what was the result?”
“E-rank.”
“……??”
What is that look?
He stared at me as if he were seeing a brand-new species of human.
Almost… impressed.
Still, Team Leader Yoo quickly recovered his professional composure.
“I’ll escort you.”
Just as he turned to lead the way—
My brother nudged me with his elbow.
Encouragement?
“This.”
In his hand was a dagger—oddly shaped.
The blade had no blood groove. Where it should have been hollowed out, there was nothing at all. A clean, single-edged knife.
“A good-luck charm for passing. Nothing special—got it from a random box after running a D-rank Gate recently.”
“….”
I was at a loss for words.
Because I knew exactly what this dagger was worth.
…Bloodshadow.
Bloodshadow (血影).
Weapon grade: Advanced.
Mythical. Legendary. Heroic.
Rare. Advanced. Common.
Out of six total tiers, it sat second from the bottom—hardly impressive at a glance.
But the important part wasn’t the grade.
This weapon allowed the user to embed a custom engraving.
Not a random gacha effect.
A chosen one.
This only drops from ghouls.
Knowledge I’d picked up in my previous life while crawling at the bottom.
And ghouls only appear in Abyss Gates of B-rank or higher at minimum.
No way they should show up in a D-rank—
Ah.
I carefully stowed the Bloodshadow and said casually,
“Guess the world’s getting rough. If ghouls are showing up even in D-rank Gates.”
“…! How do you know that came from a ghoul?”
“Thanks. I’ll make good use of it.”
The team leader was already pressing the elevator button, irritation obvious.
I quickly stepped beside him, then waved to my brother.
His figure disappeared as the doors slid shut.
A strangely familiar sight.
Just like on the day of the college entrance exam.
If that’s the case—
It’s a good sign.
That was the brightest period of my life.
About ten minutes later.
After finishing the escort, Team Leader Yoo stepped out of the elevator.
His face was tightly wound with irritation.
He snatched the bottled water handed to him at the desk and drank it down roughly.
That’s when his eyes landed squarely on Hunter Seo Boseok.
Team Leader Yoo whispered to the staff member,
“Is Hunter Seo still here?”
“…Yes. He’s been staring at the display board for a while now.”
Yoo followed his gaze to the large electronic board mounted on the wall.
The board displayed which awakened individual was currently inside which Chaos Dungeon—encoded in terminology only Association staff could understand.
To an outsider, it would be meaningless.
Hunter Seo Boseok was clearly concerned about which Chaos Dungeon his companion had entered.
The two Association employees whispered while stealing glances at Korea’s greatest hunter.
“What do you think their relationship is?”
“No idea. I’ve never heard that Hunter Seo has any immediate family… but they’re way too close to be just cousins.”
Hmm…
Should I try talking to him?
After returning the empty bottle, Team Leader Yoo straightened his hair and approached Hunter Seo.
“I apologize for not greeting you properly earlier, haha. For Hunter Seo to come personally—our hospitality must seem lacking. If you haven’t eaten yet, perhaps—”
“I’ve already eaten.”
A blunt reply.
Yoo’s smile froze for a moment, then he tried again.
“You should never skip meals! You’re the pride of our nation, after all—!”
“I have a question.”
Yoo’s face brightened.
“Ask anything!”
“What kind of Chaos Gate is Sityletr-66?”
Chaos Gates.
Their defining trait was unpredictability.
While humanity could now manage them, no other dungeon type was quite like them.
The Association even arranged them by floor, lowest ranks first.
But there was one thing that still couldn’t be solved.
You never knew the type until you entered.
Yes, the results cycled within a set table—but from the outside, it was still random.
Low-floor Chaos Gates played a decisive role in determining an awakened individual’s rank.
For applicants and newcomers, the type of Chaos Dungeon was a critical issue.
“Well… judging by that code…”
Team Leader Yoo hesitated.
“It seems your companion has rather poor matchmaking luck.”
“What do you mean by poor matchmaking?”
“Ah—please don’t misunderstand, Hunter Seo.”
Yoo raised a finger.
“It’s not that I doubt your companion’s awakened ability. It’s just that this particular Chaos Gate is extremely difficult to endure with E-rank-level stamina. It’s a battle against oneself, you could say!”
“A battle of endurance…?”
“Exactly! Unfortunately, no awakened individual has achieved a rank higher than B+ there so far.”
“I see.”
“…?”
Why?
Why did Hunter Seo Boseok look relieved?
Then he turned his gaze toward Yoo.
“I might sound foolish, but would you hear me out?”
“…O-of course. Anything you say, Hunter Seo.”
“That kid graduated from Korea University Medical School.”
“…Ah… an elite talent.”
In today’s world, where awakening abilities had replaced academic credentials, that might not mean much—but Yoo wisely kept such thoughts to himself.
He listened carefully.
“He’s always sitting around, so one day I asked him, ‘Isn’t that hard on you?’”
“And what did he say?”
“That even if it’s hard, he endures it?”
“Wrong.”
Hunter Seo shook his head.
“He said, ‘I’m just sitting down. What’s so hard about that?’”
A smile tugged at the corner of Hunter Seo’s lips.
“He was born with perseverance.”
“……”
Only then did Team Leader Yoo notice something off.
Hunter Seo Boseok had not looked at him even once.
His eyes never left the display board.
Meanwhile—inside Room 266 of the Association building.
A single door stood at the end of a hallway resembling a luxury hotel corridor.
When I opened it, there was nothing but darkness—
Until, a few seconds later, a quest window ambushed my vision.
Survive as long as possible!
• Time inside the Gate flows significantly slower than in the real world.
• All food and drink brought from outside will evaporate. They will be returned after the Gate is cleared.
• For additional rewards, defeat monsters consecutively in the shortest possible time!
An incredibly cruel quest—for someone with acquired anemia.
And of all monsters—
It had to be those things.
My Luck stat wasn’t –44 for nothing.
