Everyone is born into a pre-set path: school, college, and marriage.
It's an endless cycle, a line of ants marching to a familiar rhythm.
Breaking free requires a shock—a jolt, something humongous that changes everything.
For Alexander King, that jolt came today. It was the day his life did a 180.
The morning light shone brightly in the sky.
Creating a beautiful and lively atmosphere in the usually bland office.
Rhythmic sounds of keyboards clicking, mixed with the distant roar of car engines could be heard.
People sat around, drinking coffee and having light conversations.
Inside the company lounge, the smell of roasted beans and disinfectant lingered faintly.
At a corner table sat a young man with unnatural, unattractive, messy dark hair and lazy eyes, staring absently at the ripples in his coffee.
Alexander's expression was calm, but his mind spun as an unfamiliar feeling crept over him.
I swear I've seen this before...somewhere...
He blinked slowly, his reflection trembling in the cup. It wasn't just déjà vu—it felt as if the entire scene around him had already played out somewhere else, in another time, place, or in another life.
He couldn't recall where or how, only that he knew this moment.
The sensation made his skin crawl, like being displaced into an alternate version of reality.
He narrowed his eyes and turned toward the stairway.
If his feeling was right, his friend Liam—another security guard—would appear any second.
Not even a moment later, familiar footsteps echoed from the stairs.
"There you are, Alex."
Liam called out, grinning as he strolled over with two cold cans of beer in hand.
Alexander raised an eyebrow.
"Liam, you know we aren't supposed to be drinking on the job."
Liam pulled a face.
"We're not on the job, buzzkill. It's our break, remember?"
Alexander sighed, the sound quiet and weary. He wasn't in the mood to lecture his subordinate today.
His chest still felt heavy, and the last thing he wanted was small talk.
Liam cracked open a can, the hiss and fizz of carbonation briefly cutting through the chatter around them.
He slid one across the table.
"Cheers to the strongest man I know—and the weakest hunter in the world. Eager to see you level up in the society my friend."
Alexander shrugged lightly.
"Actually, the weakest hunter in humanity is an E-rank in Korea. I'm at least one rank above that guy. Give me some credit."
Liam laughed, pointing his can at him.
"Still, man, a D-rank mage with just one spell in his arsenal? You're not far from the bottom. But as a man—that's where your true strength lies.
How can you be so calm after your fiancée dumped you over the phone?"
Alexander winced at the reminder, his fingers tightening around his coffee cup.
"I was trying to heal,"
he thought bitterly.
"Then you came here running your big mouth."
Outwardly, though, his face remained calm.
"Maturing as a man,"
he said, his voice level,
"is realizing it's rare to find someone who loves you for you. It's all about what you can offer—and right now, I don't have much to give. It's just reality."
Liam stared at him as if he were some kind of philosopher.
"I really admire you, man. I'd be losing my mind if my girl broke up with me."
He sighed.
"I hope I can be as brave as you one day, Chief. To stare danger in the face. Don't worry—I'll always have your back."
Alexander smiled faintly at that, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Then Liam's expression shifted as another thought struck him.
"Still...even if you're D-rank, you should be making decent money. How can you say you have nothing to offer her?"
Alexander leaned back in his chair, his gaze drifting toward the wide windows overlooking the city.
Liam was right—hunters earned a fortune clearing dungeons these days. But Alexander was a rare exception. His shoulders slumped slightly.
"It's... a long story, my friend."
He studied Liam, his ever-cheerful subordinate, wondering how someone could remain so optimistic in times like these.
Alexander's reflection stared back at him from a nearby cabinet's glass surface—tired eyes, unkempt hair, and the faint shadow of stubble.
"Just where the hell is my life headed?"
He worked as the head of security at Essence Craft Company, a major manufacturer of essence tools.
The company specialized in refining essence stones collected from dungeons to forge weapons and armor.
Given its importance to national defense, the Federal Bureau of Hunters in America—the FBH—had personally assigned Alexander, a D-ranked hunter, to protect the facility.
"Poor guy."
He thought as he glanced back at Liam.
"If I told him how deep in debt I am, he'd probably fall off his chair."
He sighed again.
"No need to ruin his mood."
Just then, his phone buzzed sharply against the table. The familiar vibration cut through their conversation.
Liam looked over, concern flickering across his face. He recognized that chime; it meant danger.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "A nearby gate outbreak? We should—"
Alexander waved him off.
"Relax. It's just another dungeon break. They've been happening more often lately. Other hunters are probably already on it.
Besides, I'm not in the mood to get myself wounded today."
Liam hesitated, tapping his fingers nervously against his beer can. Around them, the atmosphere began to shift.
Employees were checking their phones, whispering, their voices tight with unease.
The hum of conversation turned into an anxious murmur.
Liam glanced at the tense faces and then back at Alexander, who still sipped his coffee with an unreadable calm.
"You know,"
Liam said, trying to lighten the mood,
"You could just leave this job to make better money. The FBH can't force you to stay here, right?"
Alexander's lips curved into a faint, humorless smile. Inside, though, the answer was clear.
"Yes, they cannn."
He owed them a debt so large it chained his life.
"If it wasn't for that bastard leaving the debt on me, maybe things would've been different."
If he wanted to abandon me—no problem. But abandoning me and leaving a huge debt behind? Now that's beyond being a deadbeat."
The tension in the lounge thickened. People were scrambling from their seats, phones lighting up with emergency alerts.
Murmurs turned into cries, footsteps into frantic shuffling.
Alexander's brow furrowed—something was off. Had the hunters failed to contain the gate? Or had another one opened nearby?
He reached for his phone, intending to check the coordinates.
"CRASH!"
The deafening sound of shattering glass tore through the room, followed by the shrill chorus of screams.
Alexander's head had snapped up just in time to see something enormous hurtle through the window, scattering glass and debris across the floor.
The impact shook the entire building. People ducked and shrieked as papers, furniture, and shards flew everywhere.
Liam, frozen mid-turn, slowly faced the source of the chaos—his expression draining of all color.
The thing that had crashed through the window began to rise.
It was massive—at least seven feet tall—with greenish skin stretched tight over corded muscle.
Its arms were thick and coarse, ending in hands like rough slabs of stone.
Its angular face twisted into a snarl, long tusks jutting from its lower lip. Its eyes—cold, indifferent—swept across the room.
Liam's breath caught in his throat.
"A... a high orc!"
The words detonated in the air. Panic erupted instantly. Screams filled the space as people bolted in every direction, knocking over tables and chairs.
The office dissolved into pure chaos like an ant colony that was stepped on.
The orc's muscles rippled as it swung its arm like a battering ram.
The impact sent three employees flying like rag dolls, their bodies crashing into walls and desks.
The swipe cleared its path, smashing anything in front of it.
"Rooaaarr!!"
The creature's roar followed—a deep, guttural bellow that rattled the windows and shook the very floor.
Alexander stood rooted, his pulse
quickening but his expression steady.
"What? How did my day possibly get worse... an orc? Just popping out of nowhere?"
He looked from the rampaging monster to Liam, whose entire body was locked in terror.
His posture was so stiff he could've been carved from stone.
Alexander exhaled slowly, the third heavy sigh of the day.
"Guess I'll have to handle the situation. I can't have my subordinates seeing me run away like a coward.
Even if I die... at least I'll have some dignity."
A faint smirk crossed his face as he stepped forward, his blue eyes shimmering with an unknown light.
"Who knows, maybe I'll even make the news. I don't have much to live for anyway."
He squared his shoulders, eyes narrowing on the high orc as it turned toward him, nostrils flaring with rage.
"It's either I die and be free from debt," he muttered under his breath, "or I live—and drown in it."