"Are they..." the operator's voice paused. "Are they hunters, perhaps?" Her tone carried a hint of hopefulness, trying to ease the mood, even if it was just a little bit.
"No..." Park Jiwon responded bluntly.
"Okay..." the operator spoke quietly. "I've already dispatched hunters to the area, one S-Rank included, but..." her voice wavered. "With the time you called me and the expected arrival time... They're not expected to make it within the 5-minute window."
Jiwon froze, breaking out in cold sweat. Unless some miracle happened, they were going to die.
__
Baek Iseul landed with a thud on the hard stone floor. The cave was eerily quiet and calm, almost as if the enemies didn't exist. He stood up and dusted his clothes.
Iseul shivered. Compared to outside, this dark cave was freezing. It was so cold that he could see his breath from the light that illuminated the gate.
"Baek Nari!" he called, searching for his little sister. The place was dark, and it only looked like a stone field from what was visible.
Huge lumps of dark stone stood in front of him. Maybe Nari was hiding behind one of them? "Baek Nari!" he tried again. She couldn't have gone far.
"Oppa!" she responded, standing up from behind one and running into his embrace. "Thank God," he mumbled into her black, long hair as he held her tight.
Iseul pulled her away and looked for any sign of injury, but thankfully, there was none. He pulled her back in and cradled her.
"Oppa, I can't breathe!" Iseul chuckled slightly and let her go. Nari, ever so curious and feeling safe, looked around. The two stood in front of the gate and stared.
There was silence.
"Oppa," Nari began. "Are we in a gate?" Iseul bit his lip. He might as well tell the truth. "Yes, Nari." he winced at the bluntness.
Sugarcoating it won't hide the truth.
What do they do?
Iseul hopped into the gate, not thinking about what the future could hold, only caring about rescuing his baby sister. But now that he has her safe in his arms, how do they get out? It's not like they can just waltz right out.
They both walked right in, with no way out other than killing the boss. He's not even awakened, and neither is Nari. Even if she were, he'd have to go crazy before allowing Nari to fight monsters at the age of 10.
To make things even worse, in the other universe, Iseul ignored a lot of the basic rundown of gate safety, only caring about the smut. Even in this world, Baek Iseul carried himself with the mindset that, "it won't happen to me, so why should I bother paying attention," when he was in school.
He had one hand around Nari's body and the other pulled at his hair.
He was screwed.
To make matters worse, Nari decided to speak. "At school, I learned that monsters get closer and closer to the gate as it gets closer to a dungeon break..." she trails off, looking worried.
Iseul gnawed on his lip further.
They could try hiding, although if what Nari says is true, they're likely to be found and killed sooner or later. Maybe it could be manageable if it were an F-Rank gate. They were the most common type.
Iseul pulled out his phone, looking for a disaster notification from the Hunter's Association. Of course, there was nothing because he jumped in without a second thought, forgetting about the notification delay of new gates.
And of course, human technology refuses to work in these.
So now, he and Nari, unawakeneds, were stuck here without help, food, or water in a gate they don't know the rank of.
They were fucked.
Iseul checked the time. Surely 5 minutes had already passed. That means that they could expect no help and would die in about 5 days. Iseul slumped onto the floor with Nari and pulled her into his lap.
Her hair tickled his chin as he placed it on her head. "Nari-ya, Oppa doesn't know what to do," he admitted softly, inhaling her sweet scent and curling his arm around her.
Oh.
That was his scent. He remembers scenting her last night before bed. It still carried in a cloud around her—the addictive scent of tuberose and honey. Damn, he smelled good and was sexy? He was a whole package.
Nari, the sweetest little sister in the world, consoled him by patting his arm lightly.
"It's okay, Oppa, we can just try and fight them." She turned her head and flashed him the most adorable smile he'd ever seen.
One of his hands uncurled and stroked his neck subconsciously. A black collar he had never noticed before sat there perfectly, marking him as an omega to the whole world.
"I'm not sure, Nari... that's too dangerous." Nari puffed her cheek and stood up, facing her older brother. "Oppa!" she shouted. "Are you going to just sit here and wait for the monsters to come and eat us?!"
Iseul gupled. Right, his sister can be assertive sometimes. "No," he mumbled. Nari put her hands on her hips, and her backpack's keychains jingled. "Then get up! I'd rather die fighting than waiting for death."
Baek Iseul's mouth was agape. He can't believe what his little sister just said. And even more so because she was right. He'd rather die fighting than waiting for tragedy—especially since he has the energy to do so. Waiting without resources would only hinder their chances of survival.
Feeling encouraged, Iseul stood up, proud and tall, and nodded at his sister, who nodded back. Together, they would defeat this dungeon, hoping it's just another one of those easy F-Ranks. Actually, on second thought...
"You're not fighting anything though, Nari." Nari huffed and pouted.
Iseul held her hand tightly and walked carefully with her, away from the light of the gate, using his phone as a flashlight.
The gate looked as gloomy and dark as it did at the entrance. It really was a field of rocks. A really quiet one.
Iseul and Nari held their breath while walking with quiet steps, hiding behind rock pillars and observing their surroundings before continuing. That's when they heard something.
In the quietness of the cave, a grumble sounded. A low, hungry, horrifying one. Nari's face turned as white as a sheet. She fumbled on her feet, accidentally kicking a rock and getting the monster's attention.
Iseul cursed mentally before he did something that could kill him. The monster was already coming to the rock they were hiding behind. He heard the monster's grumble and heavy, hot breaths.
Fear trembled down Iseul's spine. He gently pulled Nari closer and whispered in her ear while handing her his phone. "Go hide behind that rock," he pointed to a rock a reasonable distance away. "And don't make a sound or move a muscle."
The shaking girl nodded before carefully walking over, hand on her bag, holding her keychains from moving for extra measure.
Iseul bit his lip again, a nervous habit. With quivering hands, he pulled out the "weapons" he could use. He had keys and a fan, which he put in his pocket the moment he entered the gate. The key obviously wasn't going to do much, but the fan seemed... sturdy enough.
He held it and tried to bend it for extra measure. Yep, very sturdy, surprisingly for a cheap fan.
Maybe he could bash it a bit before stabbing it in the eyes with his key? Sounded like a pretty probable plan. But then what would—
He never got to finish his thoughts before the creature lunged towards him, its form more like a werewolf. Iseul's world slowed down as it came for his face. His 2 lives flashed before his eyes.
He wasn't fucking fast enough. He was going to die. He was going to—
Huh?
Time slowed down? Literally? He thought it was one of those moments in stories, right before you die. But it seemed... different.
Suddenly, a red, glowing system interface appeared, blocking his view of the grotesque monster in front of him.
[Congratulations! You have awakened!
No Rank→S-Rank]