The gate exit shimmered like a heat mirage fifty meters ahead.
Every step toward it felt like wading through concrete. My legs wanted to give out. My mind kept replaying the last ten minutes on loop—the Shadow Knight, the deaths, the impossible choice.
But I kept moving.
[Quest Update: First Steps][Progress: 47/50 meters to gate exit]
The blue screen floated in my peripheral vision, updating with every step. I'd tried swiping it away a dozen times. It didn't budge. Apparently, this "System" was here to stay.
"Focus, Hajun," I muttered to myself. "Get out first. Freak out later."
Behind me, the boss room stood silent. I'd taken one last look before leaving—at Minseok's broken body, at Jung's severed head, at the bloodstains that were already starting to fade as the dungeon prepared to reset itself.
I should have felt something. Grief, maybe. Horror. But all I felt was numb.
And guilty for feeling numb.
[48/50 meters]
The gate's shimmer grew brighter. Almost there. Just a few more steps and I'd be back in the real world, where I could—
What? Report what happened? Tell the Hunter Association that a B-rank hidden boss appeared in a D-rank gate and killed everyone except the E-rank porter?
They'd never believe me.
[50/50 meters]
[Quest Complete: "First Steps"][Calculating Rewards...]
I stepped through the gate.
The transition hit like it always did—a moment of vertigo, a flash of light, and then solid ground under my feet. I stumbled forward onto asphalt, nearly face-planting in the parking lot.
Seoul's night air hit my lungs. Car horns. Street lights. The smell of convenience store fried chicken from across the street.
Reality. I was back.
"Survivor coming through!" someone shouted.
Hunter Association personnel swarmed me immediately. A woman in a white coat—probably a healer—grabbed my arm and started checking me over with glowing hands.
"Are you injured? Where are the others?" She froze when she looked at my face. "Your eyes..."
"The others are dead," I said. My voice came out flat. "Hidden boss. B-rank. They didn't stand a chance."
The parking lot went silent.
"B-rank?" A man in a black suit pushed through the crowd—an Association official, judging by his badge. "In a confirmed D-rank gate?"
"I know how it sounds."
"How did you survive?" His eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Good question. How did I survive?
"I hid," I lied. "The boss was focused on the Hunters. I stayed by the entrance. When it was over, the boss... disappeared. I think it was a gate error."
The official didn't look convinced, but what was he going to do? Call me a liar? Accuse the weakest Hunter in Seoul of killing a B-rank monster?
"We'll need a full debriefing," he said finally. "Tomorrow. 9 AM at the Association headquarters. Don't leave the city."
I nodded. The healer cleared me—not a scratch on me, which probably looked suspicious as hell—and I was released with a blanket and a bottle of water.
Standard survivor protocol.
I shuffled to the edge of the parking lot and sat down on the curb, away from the crowd. The Association team was already organizing a recovery operation for the bodies. Above the parking lot, the gate still hung in the air like a wound in reality, its purple light casting eerie shadows.
That's when the System decided to chime in again.
[Rewards Calculated!]
[Quest "First Steps" Complete!] **[Rewards:
Level Up! Title Acquired: "Sole Survivor" Skill Acquired: "Shadow Extraction" (Locked) 5 Stat Points]**
The messages appeared one after another, accompanied by a weird tingling sensation throughout my body. It felt like drinking an energy drink and taking a hot shower at the same time.
[Level Up! 1 → 2]
[All stats have increased!][HP fully restored.][MP fully restored.]
I pulled up my status screen with a thought. It responded instantly.
[Name: Kang Hajun][Level: 2][Class: Shadow Sovereign][Title: Sole Survivor]
[HP: 110/110][MP: 60/60]
[Strength: 11][Agility: 11][Vitality: 11][Intelligence: 11][Sense: 11]
[Available Stat Points: 5]
My stats had all increased by 1 just from leveling up. That alone was impossible—regular Hunters had fixed stats based on their rank. An E-rank stayed E-rank for life. The strong got stronger through equipment and technique, not raw stat increases.
But I could level up.
I could get stronger.
The realization hit me like a truck. This System, whatever it was, had just given me something every Hunter in the world would kill for: the ability to grow.
"Hey, white-hair."
I looked up. A girl stood over me—maybe nineteen or twenty, wearing a Hunter Association trainee uniform. She had short black hair, sharp eyes, and the kind of posture that screamed combat training.
"Yeah?"
"You're Kang Hajun, right? The porter from the incident?" She sat down next to me without asking. "I'm Han Yuri. E-rank Hunter, tracking specialty."
"Okay...?"
"I was part of the initial response team. Saw you come out." She studied my face with unsettling intensity. "You don't look like someone who just watched four people die."
My stomach clenched. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You look focused. Alert. Your pupils are dilated, but not from shock—from excitement." She tilted her head. "So I'm curious. What really happened in there?"
This girl was dangerous. Too observant.
"I already gave my statement," I said carefully.
"I know. I read it. 'Hid by the entrance while a B-rank boss killed everyone.'" She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Except the gate sensors never registered anything above D-rank. And you know what's weird? The Association can't find any record of a Shadow Knight existing in their monster database."
Shit.
"Maybe their database is incomplete," I tried.
"Maybe." She stood up, brushing off her pants. "Or maybe something else is going on. Either way, I'm going to figure it out." She handed me a business card. "If you decide you want to tell the truth, call me. I'm good at keeping secrets."
She walked away before I could respond.
I stared at the card. Han Yuri. Junior Hunter. Tracking & Investigation Division.
Great. Just what I needed—someone suspicious of me.
I pocketed the card and checked my phone. 11:47 PM. The gate dive had started at 6 PM. Five and a half hours, and my entire life had changed.
I had messages waiting:
Landlord: Rent due in 3 days Bank: Account balance ₩47,000 (roughly $35 USD) Mom: Did you eat dinner?
Right. My normal problems were still waiting for me. The System might have given me power, but it didn't pay my bills.
I needed to get home, sleep, and figure out what to do next.
But first...
I pulled up the stat point allocation screen.
[Available Stat Points: 5][Strength: 11] [+][Agility: 11] [+][Vitality: 11] [+][Intelligence: 11] [+][Sense: 11] [+]
Five points. Where should they go?
In Solo Leveling stories, the protagonist always invested in Strength early for damage. But I'd been weak my entire life—I knew the value of not dying. Vitality meant more HP, more survivability.
I split them: 2 points into Strength, 2 into Agility, 1 into Vitality.
[Stats Updated!][Strength: 11 → 13][Agility: 11 → 13][Vitality: 11 → 12][HP: 110 → 120]
The changes were immediate. My arms felt... different. Stronger. Like I'd been working out for months. When I stood up, my movements were smoother, more coordinated.
"This is insane," I whispered.
[New Quest Available: "Know Yourself"][Objective: Visit a Hunter's Gym and measure your current abilities][Time Limit: 48 hours][Reward: Skill Unlock Conditions will be revealed][Failure: -5 to all stats]
A quest with a penalty? The System wasn't messing around.
I sighed and started walking toward the subway station. Tomorrow I'd deal with the Association debriefing. Tonight, I needed sleep.
But as I walked, I couldn't help glancing at the locked skill in my status:
[Shadow Extraction (Locked)][Requirements: ???]
Whatever that skill was, it sounded important. And if I wanted to survive in a world where gates spawned monsters and Hunters died every day...
I needed to unlock it.