The world did not end with a whimper. It ended with the sound of breaking glass—a sound that echoed from the peaks of the Himalayas to the neon-drenched streets of Seoul.
Ten years ago, the "Great Cataclysm" arrived. It began with the Gates. At first, they were shimmering distortions in the air, beautiful and terrifying. But then the distortions solidified into jagged tears in reality, and the "vast ocean" of monsters poured through.
Goblins, orcs, and creatures that defied biological classification swarmed the earth. Conventional lead and steel were useless; the monsters were shielded by a strange energy the world would later call Mana.
Then came the Dragon.
It didn't emerge from a gate; it seemed to be the gate. A creature of obsidian scales and wings that blotted out the sun, it descended upon the Pacific, its roar alone shattering every window within a fifty-mile radius. It was the "Apex"—the strongest species—and its arrival signaled that humanity was no longer at the top of the food chain.
In the chaos, some humans felt a burning heat in their chests. A screen, flickering with light, appeared before their eyes. They were the First Generation Hunters. They fought with fire from their hands and swords that cut through dimensions. They pushed the tide back, realizing that the monsters left behind a treasure: Mana Stones.
Ten years later, the world has stabilized into a fragile peace. The Dragon has vanished into the high-rank "Unexplored Zones," and the Gates are now managed by powerful Guilds.
To the world, the Hunters are gods. But to Hakyun, sitting in his 10-square-meter apartment, they are just a news report on a TV he can barely afford to keep on. He isn't a hero. He isn't a legend. He is just a student, staring at a stack of Civil Service exam books, trying to survive in a world that decided his worth long before he ever opened his eyes.