The first thing Auren felt was warmth.
Not the comforting warmth of sunlight, but the strange, artificial warmth of medical equipment humming quietly around him.
A faint rhythmic sound echoed beside his ears.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
His eyelids fluttered slightly.
His body felt incredibly heavy, as if someone had wrapped chains around every limb.
Slowly… painfully… Auren opened his eyes.
Bright white light flooded his vision.
"…Mm."
He squinted, raising a hand weakly to shield his eyes.
The ceiling above him was unfamiliar.
Smooth white panels.
Bright hospital lamps.
A sterile scent filled the air.
"…Hospital?"
His voice was barely louder than a whisper.
As his vision slowly adjusted, he noticed something attached to his arm.
An IV line.
A heart monitor sat nearby, its screen displaying steady green lines.
Auren blinked slowly.
The memories began returning.
The dungeon.
The boss monster.
The glowing spirit blade piercing through the Ironfang Alpha.
The system notifications flashing endlessly before his eyes.
And then—
Nothing.
Just darkness.
"Oh…"
Auren exhaled weakly.
"I fainted."
He tried to sit up.
The moment he lifted his head even slightly—
Pain shot through his entire body.
"Ah—!"
His muscles screamed in protest.
It felt like every cell inside him had been drained completely.
A calm voice spoke beside him.
"You shouldn't move yet."
Auren turned his head slowly.
A woman sat next to the hospital bed, her long black hair tied neatly behind her head. She wore a white medical coat and held a sleek digital tablet in one hand.
Her eyes calmly studied him.
"You've been unconscious for quite a while."
Auren blinked.
"…How long?"
"Sixteen hours."
His eyes widened slightly.
"Sixteen?!"
The doctor nodded.
"You collapsed immediately after leaving the dungeon."
She tapped the tablet.
"When the hunters brought you here, your body was in a state of severe energy depletion."
Auren stared at the ceiling again.
"…That explains the pain."
The doctor continued calmly.
"Your muscles were overloaded with spiritual energy beyond what your body could normally withstand."
Auren frowned slightly.
"…Spiritual energy?"
"That's the closest scientific term we currently use."
She turned the tablet around so he could see the display.
Several graphs filled the screen.
Energy waves fluctuated wildly across the charts.
"These readings are from the moment you were brought into the hospital."
Auren studied the screen.
Even without medical knowledge, he could tell something looked strange.
The lines were erratic.
Energy spikes appeared randomly across the graph.
"What does it mean?"
The doctor hesitated slightly.
"…It means your energy signature doesn't match any known hunter classification."
Auren blinked.
"…Is that bad?"
"Not necessarily."
She crossed her arms thoughtfully.
"But it is unusual."
Before Auren could respond, the hospital room door suddenly opened.
Heavy footsteps echoed across the floor.
"Well look at that."
A familiar voice spoke.
"You're finally awake."
Auren turned toward the doorway.
Garrick stepped inside.
The large armored hunter looked exactly the same as he had inside the dungeon, his broad shoulders filling the doorway as he entered.
He crossed his arms and leaned casually against the wall.
"You had us worried for a moment."
Auren scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Sorry."
Garrick chuckled.
"You collapsed right after killing a dungeon boss. That's not exactly something we see every day."
The doctor frowned slightly.
"That kind of stress could have killed him."
Garrick shrugged.
"But it didn't."
He walked closer to the bed, studying Auren carefully.
"You remember what happened?"
Auren nodded slowly.
"…Mostly."
"The boss?"
"I killed it."
Garrick smirked slightly.
"Yeah. That part was hard to miss."
He pulled a chair closer and sat down.
"But here's the problem."
Auren tilted his head.
"…Problem?"
Garrick pulled out his phone.
"Take a look."
He tapped the screen and turned it toward Auren.
A video was playing.
Auren immediately recognized the location.
The subway station where the dungeon gate had appeared.
The footage showed the aftermath of the dungeon raid.
Hunters standing around.
Medical teams arriving.
And several people carrying an unconscious silver-haired boy on a stretcher.
That boy was him.
A bold headline flashed across the screen.
"MYSTERIOUS HUNTER SOLO CLEARS DUNGEON BOSS."
Auren stared silently.
"…Oh."
Garrick laughed.
"That's your reaction?"
Auren sighed softly.
"I was hoping no one noticed."
The doctor raised an eyebrow.
"That would have been difficult."
Garrick scrolled through the phone screen.
"Too late anyway."
He showed another post.
Hunter forums
Discussion Thread: Unknown Silver-Haired Hunter
Comments flooded the screen.
Did anyone identify him?
That movement looked like an advanced agility class hunter.
No way he's F-Rank.
Some people think he might be an unregistered S-Class.
Auren rubbed his forehead.
"This is bad."
Garrick shrugged.
"Depends how you look at it."
"How so?"
"You just gained the attention of the World Gate Authority."
Auren blinked.
"…The what?"
Garrick leaned forward slightly.
"The organization that monitors hunters, gates, and dungeon activity across the world."
"Oh."
Auren paused.
"…That sounds important."
"It is."
Garrick stood up.
"And they want to meet you."
Auren stared at him.
"…Why?"
Garrick smirked.
"Because hunters who kill dungeon bosses alone don't stay F-Rank."
Auren looked down at his hands.
They felt different now.
Warmer.
Stronger.
As if something inside his body had permanently changed.
Right at that moment—
The system window appeared again.
---
System Status
Name: Auren Kairos
Level: 4
Hunter Rank: F
Strength: 10
Agility: 13
Endurance: 9
Spirit: 24
---
Title
Gateborn
---
System Evolution Progress: 18%
Next Objective:
Locate the Origin Gate
---
Auren frowned slightly.
"Origin Gate…"
The words echoed strangely in his mind.
As if they carried deeper meaning.
Garrick noticed his expression.
"You look like you just saw a ghost."
Auren shook his head slightly.
"…Just thinking."
But somewhere deep within his mind—
A faint voice whispered.
A voice ancient and distant.
The Gateborn has awakened.
Outside the hospital window, the neon lights of Neo Aurora City illuminated the night.
Above the skyline…
A massive dimensional gate flickered faintly.
And far beyond Earth—
Across a distant realm filled with ancient ruins and colossal gates—
Something stirred.
Something that had been waiting for thousands of years.
Waiting for the one who would open the Origin Gate.