Chapter 01

“Do you really like ants that much?”

At the art gallery of Korea University, Teaching Assistant Lim Do-gyun stared at Suho’s paintings with an expression of complete disbelief.

One entire section of the exhibition wall was packed with paintings of ants.

Oil paintings, watercolors, charcoal sketches…

The mediums were varied, and every ant looked different.

Lim attached the nameplate beneath the display.

Korea University Department of Fine Arts Assignment Exhibition
Third-Year Student: Sung Suho

“You know, if we gathered up every ant you’ve painted since freshman year, we’d probably fill an entire truck. If you were going to obsess over insects this much, you should’ve majored in entomology instead of fine arts.”

“I thought about it,” Suho replied. “But apparently there isn’t a department dedicated specifically to ants.”

“So it’s not insects you like—just ants?”

“Yeah. Ever since I was little, I’ve had this strange fascination with them. Whenever I saw a line of ants marching along, I’d carefully avoid stepping on them, even by accident…”

“You’ve liked them since childhood? That’s some impressive consistency.”

Chuckling, Lim continued examining the paintings.

Then he suddenly stopped.

“Huh?”

His eyes landed on one particular painting.

“This ant looks different.”

Unlike the others, it depicted a humanoid ant wrapped in blazing black energy.

“Hm. Nice sense of movement. Very dynamic. Is this supposed to be a magical beast?”

“A magical beast? Not at all.”

Suho smiled awkwardly.

“It’s just an ant I used to dream about when I was a kid.”

“Haha! You’ve got to be kidding. How much do you have to love ants before you start dreaming about them? And when exactly was ‘when you were a kid’?”

“Before the Cataclysm.”

The Cataclysm.

That was the name given to the near-apocalyptic disaster that had struck Earth two years ago.

Mysterious Gates had appeared all over the world.

Horrifying magical beasts poured out of them, invading humanity.

Fortunately, at almost the same time, a tiny fraction of humans awakened supernatural powers.

Thanks to those Awakened, mankind barely survived.

It had all happened only two years earlier.

At the time, Suho had just turned twenty and entered university as a freshman.

But the period when he’d constantly dreamed about “that ant” was much earlier—back when he was in middle and high school.

“You really are one strange guy.”

Lim laughed to himself as he looked more closely at the painting.

“But seriously, you’re an incredible artist. It feels like this thing could leap out of the canvas and bite someone at any second. Well… maybe that’s an exaggeration. Your paintings are just that lifelike.”

Suho smiled inwardly.

Of course they are.

That wasn’t just artistic expression.

The ant in the painting had been the very embodiment of his nightmares.

During puberty, it had constantly appeared in his dreams, charging at him with the sole purpose of killing him.

…Looking back, those dreams were unbelievably brutal.

He remembered them vividly.

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

Inside those dreams, Suho had been forced into life-or-death battles against monsters without ever knowing why.

Endless ranks of armored knights.

Legions of ants.

Eventually even gigantic dragons.

Every monster he killed made him level up as though he were inside a game.

And if he died…

Everything reset.

Back to Level 1.

He had to start all over again.

The only way to escape the nightmare was to survive no matter what and reach the final boss’s chamber.

After countless battles, he finally made it there.

Only to discover something utterly absurd.

The face of the final boss…

…looked exactly like his father.

“Heh.”

Suho let out a bitter laugh.

Just another ridiculous adolescent nightmare.

At some point, however, those dreams had simply stopped.

That was probably… around then.

Yes.

The summer of his first year in high school.

Right after his parents disappeared.

That was when Suho’s peaceful everyday life came crashing down.

* * *

Around that same time…

Something ominous was happening in a corner of the museum building.

“This is where they stored them?”

“Yes, sunbae. The teaching assistant said everything was kept in here.”

Creeeak.

Several Fine Arts students opened the storage room to retrieve exhibition materials.

The moment they looked inside, their eyes widened.

“Huh?”

Crackle! Crackle!

A pitch-black hole floated in the middle of the wall.

“AAAH! It’s a Gate!”

“Hurry! Call it in!”

Terrified, the students stumbled backward.

With trembling hands, they hurriedly pulled out their phones.

Then one of the fourth-year seniors quickly stopped them.

“Calm down! Can’t you tell? It’s still a closed Gate!”

“Oh… you’re right.”

“The blue mist hasn’t started leaking out yet.”

“Exactly. It’s nowhere near a Dungeon Break.”

“Man… you scared the hell out of me.”

Only then did everyone sigh in relief.

A Dungeon Break was the phenomenon in which magical beasts poured out of a Gate.

But a Gate didn’t erupt immediately after appearing.

First, an eerie blue mist seeped out, contaminating the surrounding area.

Only after that process was complete would the Gate fully open and allow monsters to emerge.

“So for now, we’re perfectly safe.”

The senior grinned.

“Heh.”

“S-Sunbae… why are you smiling like that? It’s still dangerous. Shouldn’t we report it?”

“You idiots.”

He lowered his voice conspiratorially.

“Haven’t you heard the rumor? That breathing in the blue mist can awaken magical power?”

“Oh!”

The juniors perked up immediately.

No one yet knew exactly what the blue mist really was.

But an urban legend had spread across the internet.

People claimed the mist was actually vaporized mana.

And if an ordinary person inhaled it…

They could awaken magical abilities.

“Isn’t that just a rumor?”

“No one’s proven it’s false either.”

“Hmm…”

“So why don’t we test it ourselves?”

His grin widened.

“Who knows? Maybe one of us will become an S-Rank Hunter.”

“…!”

The juniors’ eyes changed instantly.

They all knew how much money S-Rank Hunters earned.

Ever since magical beast materials and dungeon minerals had become priceless new resources, Hunters capable of obtaining them had become symbols of unimaginable wealth.

It had only been two years since the Cataclysm.

Humanity still had no idea how awakening actually worked.

“And besides,” the senior continued, “you all know Assistant Lim is an E-Rank Awakened, right?”

“We’ve heard.”

“He always complains that E-Rank Hunters don’t make much money.”

“That’s why he works here during the semester.”

“Tsk.”

The senior smirked.

“You’ve got no clue.”

“That’s just him being humble.”

“Even without joining raid parties, he earns a fortune just by entering dungeons with mining teams.”

“How much are we talking about?”

The senior leaned closer as if revealing a state secret.

He whispered the number.

“What?!”

“He makes that much?”

“Even as an E-Rank?”

“Exactly.”

“If even the weakest Hunters earn that kind of money… are you really going to throw away this chance?”

“Wow… Hunters really are incredible.”

“But if he earns so much, why’s he still working at school?”

“He makes money in dungeons and spends it on art.”

The senior shrugged.

“Plus, working here gives him more opportunities to exhibit his work.”

“That’s insane.”

Compared to the nearly impossible odds of becoming an S-Rank Hunter, the realistic income of an E-Rank Hunter sounded far more convincing.

Gradually, the juniors lowered the phones they’d been about to use.

“Well… they say it’s still safe for a while even after the mist appears…”

“So… should we wait?”

“Just a little?”

“That’s the spirit.”

The senior grinned.

“Life’s all about taking one big gamble.”

“The moment the mist comes out, we’ll each take one quick breath, then report the Gate.”

“What could possibly go wrong?”

A short while later…

Thin streams of blue mist finally began to seep out of the Gate.

* * *

BOOM!

The building suddenly shook.

“Hm?”

Suho looked up from the exhibition.

An earthquake?

No.

Something felt off.

It wasn’t the ground shaking.

It felt as though space itself had rippled.

Yet Suho seemed to be the only one who noticed.

Everyone else continued as if nothing had happened.

Then—

Tap… Tap…

Someone staggered into the exhibition hall.

“Ugh…”

Assistant Lim, who happened to be standing near the entrance, walked over.

“Young-cheol, what took you so long? I told you to go to the storage room—”

“I… I… tried… to… stop… them…”

“…Young-cheol?”

“B-but… the… senior… kept…”

“Park Young-cheol?”

“T-the… smoke…”

A chill ran down Suho’s spine.

Something’s wrong.

Seeing Young-cheol up close, Lim’s expression froze.

His pupils shook uncontrollably.

His lips muttered incomprehensible words.

“Park Young-cheol… what’s around your mouth?”

Only then did Young-cheol notice.

Fwoooosh…

Blue smoke was slowly leaking from his mouth and nose.

“N-No… this… shouldn’t… happen…”

Panicking, he clamped both hands over his mouth.

But the harder he pressed…

The more smoke escaped through the gaps between his fingers.

Then—

WHOOSH!

With a burst of scorching heat, blue flames engulfed his entire body.

“Assistant!”

Suho rushed forward and yanked Lim backward.

“GAAAH! I-It’s hot…!”

“…!”

Lim stared in horror.

Young-cheol’s entire body had erupted into flames wrapped in blue smoke.

“AAAAAH!”

“W-What is that?!”

Nearby students screamed in terror.

At that exact moment—

WEEEEEEEEEE—!

A piercing emergency siren echoed throughout the campus.

[Emergency Alert!]

Confused murmurs spread through the exhibition hall.

[A Gate has appeared on campus!]

“…?!”

“A Gate?!”

[The confirmed location is the university art museum—]

“Damn it! That’s here!”

“Run!”

“AAAAAH!”

Chaos exploded.

Students, their faces drained of color, sprinted in every direction.

They had just watched a human being burn alive before their eyes.

But there was one problem.

Young-cheol’s burning corpse lay directly in front of the exhibition hall’s only exit.

To escape…

They had to pass right beside it.

WHOOSH!

One student rushed forward—

Then froze, recoiling from the intense heat.

Another exit…!

He desperately looked around.

There wasn’t one.

Only a single doorway.

As the terrified students panicked…

A horrifying sound echoed through the room.

“Grrrrrr…”

The impossible happened.

“Huh?”

“T-That guy…!”

Young-cheol’s charred body…

stood back up.

Completely consumed by blue smoke.

“W-Wait… don’t tell me…”

Assistant Lim’s eyes widened.

“It’s a magical beast!”

“Get away from it!”

He shouted desperately.

ROOOOAR!

Too late.

Using Young-cheol’s corpse as its host, the blue-smoke monster lashed out with an arm that whipped through the air like a giant flail.

BOOOOM!

“AAAAAH!”

Students were hurled across the floor, coughing up blood.

The moment the blue smoke clung to their clothes…

Their bodies also burst into flames.

“Fire!”

“HELP!”

“AAAAAH!”

Panic consumed the hall.

Students scattered in every direction while desperate screams echoed endlessly.

“My God…”

Assistant Lim hurriedly pulled out his phone.

“It really is a Mist Burn…”

This wasn’t an enemy an E-Rank Awakened like him could handle alone.

As he frantically sent a request for reinforcements, Suho asked,

“Mist Burn? What kind of monster is that?”

Lim bit his lip.

“If that thing gets you…”

His voice trembled.

“You become one of them.”

ROOOOAR!

As if to prove his words…

The students who had just been killed by the Mist Burn slowly rose to their feet.

Blue flames burned across their bodies as they became new Mist Burns themselves.