Sung Jin-Woo's POV
The city felt wrong.
Too quiet for the flashing lights. Too still for the number of armed personnel surrounding the area. Sung Jin-Woo stepped out of the vehicle, the cold night air brushing against his face, carrying the smell of concrete, fuel, and something faintly metallic.
The gate stood in the middle of the street.
Space bent inward, like reality had been folded and stitched incorrectly. Jin-Woo's eyes lingered on it longer than necessary.
Woo Jin-Chul walked beside him, his steps brisk.
"This way," he said.
Hunters gathered near the perimeter. Some checked their gear. Others stood with forced calm, shoulders tight, eyes fixed on the gate. Jin-Chul raised his voice.
"This is the raid team. The leader is Kim Chul. A-rank."
Kim Chul stepped forward. Broad frame. Confident posture. His gaze flicked over Jin-Woo briefly, dismissively, before returning to the gate.
Jin-Woo didn't respond.
He turned to Jin-Chul."Do we know anything about this gate?"
Jin-Chul hesitated.
"…Not yet."
That pause was enough.
"But," Jin-Chul continued, "there's something else. A civilian entered the gate before we arrived."
Jin-Woo stopped walking.
"…What?"
"Witnesses say he was cycling. The gate formed right in front of him. He couldn't stop."
Jin-Woo stared at Jin-Chul.
"…That's ridiculous," he said. "Do you believe that?"
Jin-Chul exhaled slowly."We verified his identity. Frey Starlight. European student. Parents deceased. Few acquaintances."
He lowered his voice.
"He isn't awakened."
Cold settled in Jin-Woo's chest.
"This is a B-rank gate," Jin-Woo said. "You know what that means."
Jin-Chul nodded."There's a high chance he's already dead."
Silence followed.
"…If he's alive," Jin-Chul said quietly, "please save him."
Jin-Woo didn't reply.
He stepped toward the gate.
The moment his foot crossed the boundary, the air twisted.
Red bled through the surface.
The gate warped violently.
"RED GATE—!"
"HURRY! REPORT THIS TO THE HIGHER-UPS!" Jin-Chul shouted.
Jin-Woo didn't look back.
He entered.
Frey's POV
Cold.
It slammed into Frey the moment he crossed through.
His lungs burned as he inhaled air sharp enough to hurt. Snow stretched endlessly in every direction, clinging to the ground and trees alike. The silence was heavy, broken only by the faint crunch of his boots.
White swallowed everything.
Frey steadied his breath.
"Okay," he muttered. "Don't panic."
The smell of pine and frost filled his nose. His fingers tightened reflexively around his bicycle.
Staying in the open is suicide.
He moved.
The forest closed around him quickly. Snow dust fell from branches as he passed, brushing against his jacket, melting slowly against his skin.
Ice elves hunted in groups.
The woods were better.
"This is a B-rank gate," Frey whispered. "Which means it's lying."
His jaw tightened.
"A real A-rank gate."
That meant C-rank monsters at minimum.
"This is bad," he said under his breath.
He checked the time in his head.
"The gate opened around ten," he murmured. "Jin-Woo should be preparing now."
His chest felt tight.
"I don't have much time."
He lowered himself, brushing snow aside with gloved fingers.
Footprints.
Large. Round. Deep.
As big as his head.
Blood stained the snow nearby, the color harsh against the white.
His mouth felt dry.
"It's injured," he whispered. "Or dragging something."
There was no fresh snow over the prints.
Recent.
"This might be my only chance."
He followed.
The mountain appeared slowly through the trees.
A dark cave yawned at its base.
Cold air spilled out, carrying a faint copper scent.
Frey stopped.
His heartbeat felt loud in his ears.
This was the first time.
No system reset.No safety net.
"This is nerve-racking," he muttered.
He stepped inside.
A shadow moved.
Something massive surged forward.
Instinct took over.
Balerion snapped into place just as a paw crashed into him.
The impact felt unreal.
His body flew.
He slammed into a tree, the bark tearing at his back as he fell into the snow.
Pain arrived in waves.
Warm blood filled his mouth.
His vision blurred.
"…Yeah," he coughed. "That's broken."
He forced himself up.
The bear stepped forward.
Four meters tall.Jagged teeth.Eyes red with madness.
And wounds.
Claw marks. Torn flesh. Fresh blood.
"In-fighting," Frey breathed. "Lucky me."
His chest burned.
"I'm E-rank," he muttered. "You're C-rank."
Snow crunched beneath his feet.
"This is unfair."
He moved.
The bear slammed the ground.
Snow exploded upward.
Frey darted sideways, vision lost in white—
Too slow.
The claws came down.
He broke momentum, rolled, felt air shear past his back.
Barely missed.
He sprang up, lungs screaming.
Berserk, he thought. But that won't save me.
He rushed forward.
The bear lunged to bite.
Frey jumped aside, landed, twisted—
And drove Balerion into its left eye.
The scream was deafening.
The forest seemed to recoil.
Frey was already moving.
"Alright," he gasped. "One more."
The bear howled.
The sound vibrated through his bones.
"Calling backup. Of course you are." Frey cursed.
Frey moved forward, Now or Never, he thought.
But just when he was about to attack,
Pain shot through his back.
His focus slipped, just for a moment, but in a situation of life and death, this one moment was very costly.
"—NOT NOW—!" Frey screamed
Claws struck.
His arm shattered.
The ground swallowed him.
Pain meant nothing anymore.
Kill it, right here and now.
He forced himself up.
The bear didn't wait; it bit down on Frey. Hard
Ribs collapsed.
Blood poured from his mouth.
His vision started dimming from the edges,
But his arm moved.
He arced his back and, with everything he had, thrusted his blade.
He screamed, throat tearing raw.
"DIE ALREADY, DAMNNNNNIT!!"
The blade pierced the other eye.
Deep.
The bear struggled with all its might, but after some time it stopped.
Then collapsed.
Frey fell from its jaws into the snow.
Cold soaked into his back.
Blood pooled beneath him.
Snow drifted down.
"…So," he thought weakly, "this is how it ends?"
A notification appeared.
MISSION: Slay a MonsterREWARD: 0.25% Template ProgressMISSION ACCOMPLISHED
The cold didn't fade.
But Frey smiled.
Barely.