It has been 11 years since the Gate opened.
Now, there are only two types of people in the world.
Those not connected to the System, and those who are.
The former live ordinary lives, while the latter become Awakened—registering as Hunters or simply becoming regular people with abilities.
Heroes, the kind you’d only see in sci-fi movies, started appearing, and with the rise of Hunters came the Rank System based on their abilities.
Hunters became a mainstream existence, and naturally, the number of Awakened also increased. For better or for worse.
“Kyaaah!”
A woman’s sharp scream rang out, drawing the attention of everyone passing by.
A random assault in broad daylight on the main road. No, this was murder.
A woman stabbed suddenly with a knife clutched her abdomen, gasping for breath. The more her body heat drained away, the more she sensed the approach of death.
What did I ever do to deserve this?
Tears welled in her eyes.
It wasn’t her fault. She was just unlucky.
“Ugh!”
“Aaah!”
Without even checking if the woman was alive or dead, the assailant turned away, targeting someone else.
Another victim fell. People fled from the crazed attacker brandishing a kitchen knife.
Someone inside a building called the police to report the random murder happening on the main street, and chaos broke out.
“R-raise your hands!”
A nearby patrol car spotted the scene and aimed a Taser Gun.
The assailant, seeing the police, didn’t look the least bit intimidated. Instead, he grinned, baring his yellowed teeth.
‘Awakened.’
The officer realized it instantly.
As expected, the vagrant charged at him in a blur, moving faster than the eye could follow.
Thwack!
The Taser Gun fired, but the vagrant swung his kitchen knife at the officer’s neck in an instant.
The officer squeezed his eyes shut on reflex. But no jolt of pain from metal ever came.
“Aegis?”
He muttered without thinking. The vagrant’s knife had been blocked by a bluish, shield-shaped light before it could reach his neck.
He’d seen that mysterious light in the news before.
The name of the person with that absolute shield was—
“S-Seol Jihoon!”
One of only five S-rank Hunters in the country. And among them, the strongest tank, known as the Holy Knight—Seol Jihoon.
“Are you all right?”
“Ah, y-yes. Yes!”
Seeing that famous Hunter in front of him, the officer felt dazed.
The silver-haired nobleman, often called a ‘face genius’ by the younger crowd these days, smiled gently.
“Heh heh heh.”
The vagrant just laughed at the shield that blocked his knife.
As if he had no idea who stood before him.
“S-Seol Hunter!”
The vagrant lunged at Seol Jihoon’s back, moving with that signature, eerie speed.
But despite the officer’s panicked shout, Seol Jihoon remained calm.
He flicked his fingers lightly. Instantly, the shield of light—his power known as Aegis—manifested behind him.
The vagrant smashed face-first into the newly formed shield and tumbled to the ground.
He tried to charge again, but suddenly noticed something strange.
He couldn’t move.
In front, behind, on both sides—
Shields of blue light had formed, trapping him inside. As the vagrant started to struggle, Seol Jihoon turned his attention to the injured woman.
“Hngh… I-I don’t want to die…”
“Don’t worry. I’m here now.”
Hearing Seol Jihoon’s gentle voice, the woman, stabbed in the abdomen, felt a wave of relief.
And as if it wasn’t just in her mind, the searing pain faded away in an instant.
Seol Jihoon knelt beside her and prayed. The miracle within him began to transfer to her.
The blood that had been gushing out stopped, and a scab started to form.
People who witnessed the miracle pulled out their phones to film, while others began to chant Seol Jihoon’s name.
Soon, police reinforcements arrived, and the now-exhausted vagrant was cuffed.
“I could take him myself, if you’d like.”
“Ah, no, no, that’s not necessary. You must be busy—I can’t take up any more of your time.”
He’d started as an E-rank Healer Support, but after reawakening his tanking ability, became an S-rank.
And yet, he was always gentle, never arrogant. That was why he was often compared to Yomje Hwang Jaeyeon, the nation’s first S-rank Hunter.
People might mock Hunters as ‘Miners’, but that nickname was never used for this man.
“You’re not taking up my time. Protecting the safety of citizens is something we all do together.”
Though the officer hadn’t done anything, he was deeply moved by Seol Jihoon’s words.
He really was such a good-natured, handsome man. No wonder he had a fan club.
“Thank you. We have to earn our keep, after all.”
Seol Jihoon smiled wryly at the officer’s words.
The officer unconsciously extended his hand.
He was younger, but so righteous and kind. Someone like this wasn’t just a Hunter—‘hero’ was a better fit.
Seol Jihoon’s eyes tensed for just a moment. The officer felt a vague sense of discomfort.
“Well, I’ll be going, then.”
Seol Jihoon smiled casually and shook hands.
As he left, fans who’d gathered before anyone realized swarmed toward him.
Seeing Seol Jihoon awkwardly smile and ask for understanding while his Manager tried to keep up, the officers couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“Is he a celebrity or a Hunter? I can’t tell anymore.”
“Honestly, I get why he’s like that.”
“He’s got everything, just everything.”
As the officers shoved the suspect into the car, the scene was finally cleared.
“Seriously, these people are something else. Blocking traffic, making a mess… what a disaster.”
Seol Jihoon’s Manager grumbled under his breath.
“Sorry, hyung.”
“Hey, hey, it’s not your fault. If being born good-looking is a crime, maybe…”
“Should I get plastic surgery?”
“To look like me?”
“I guess that wouldn’t be so bad.”
His Manager’s looks were never going to pass for ‘handsome’.
“With that dead-serious face, you’re trying to knock me down a peg, aren’t you?”
His Manager laughed heartily, and Seol Jihoon managed a wry smile. He pulled off his white gloves, tossed them into the trash can in the car, and put on a fresh pair.
There are just some things you can’t tolerate, no matter how hard you try.
That visceral discomfort, closing in.
“Hey, you’re changing gloves again?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“That’s a disease, you know. Don’t you know about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?”
“Maybe.”
“At least it’s not so bad. That’s a relief.”
“It’s not easy to fix.”
Seol Jihoon smiled gently, his eyes curving into crescents.
His Manager was sorely mistaken.
He didn’t have anything like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
“Tomorrow’s the big Dungeon raid, right?”
“Yeah.”
The car pulled up in front of the Fighting God Guild.
The reason for today’s guild visit was the Dungeon raid scheduled for tomorrow.
It was a routine thing, but this time, the guild was especially on edge.
“Wow, look at all those reporters gathered out there.”
Even the underground parking lot of the guild wasn’t safe. Reporters hiding everywhere just to catch Seol Jihoon—might as well be ninjas at this point.
“Seol Hunter! Please, a word about tomorrow’s Dungeon raid!”
“It’s the first time two S-rank guilds are competing in a high-level Dungeon…”
“What are you all sneaking in for? Is this really the time for an interview? Out, now!”
“Seol Hunter, just one comment!”
Despite the reporters being chased out by the Security Team, Seol Jihoon didn’t respond.
‘Disgusting.’
Disgusting.
Their interest was utterly repulsive.
The Security Team pretending to do their jobs disgusted him. The Manager acting chummy beside him disgusted him too.
It was the primal feeling a human has when they see a cockroach.
Seol Jihoon was feeling it now. But he endured with superhuman patience.
“It’s Seol Hunter.”
“Wow, look at that face, working hard again today.”
Seeing these loathsome creatures wagging their tails, Seol Jihoon felt as if a crack would split his lips. But still—
“Hello.”
“Kyaa, hello!”
“Hunter-nim, you look handsome as always!”
He was good at smiling.
Whenever he smiled, people always reacted to the shell on the outside, never to what was within.
When he entered the conference room, all eyes inside turned to him. Some people stood to greet him, others waved a hand in acknowledgment.
“Seol Jihoon. Jihoon-ah.”
The HR Team Leader of the Fighting God Guild, Kim Shin, looked relieved the moment he saw Seol Jihoon.
“Hyung—ah, Team Leader.”
“Come on, you can just call me hyung.”
Kim Shin, usually sharp, was the only one who became gentle around Seol Jihoon.
It was a well-known story.
Kim Shin slung an arm around Seol Jihoon’s shoulders, and Seol Jihoon sighed internally.
Looks like he’d have to change his clothes again later.
“Just seeing our Jihoon makes my stress go away, you know?”
“Am I some kind of antacid?”
“Exactly! Our Jihoon is an antacid. You know, the one with the fan logo.”
Cracking a manager joke he’d never usually attempt, Kim Shin addressed everyone.
“Tomorrow, make sure to show those Hanul lackeys how it’s done.”
Hanul Guild, the cause of Kim Shin’s recent stress.
They used to be outside the top 20—just punks earning some pocket money—but they’d suddenly surged into the top 10.
“Let’s show them the difference in class.”
Recently, thanks to that damned Delivery Man Lee Hyunbin, Hanul had been stealing all their market share.
They needed to show their strength in this Dungeon raid.
Seol Jihoon stared at the Delivery Man’s profile and combat footage on the conference room monitor.
‘Surprisingly…’
Footage secretly filmed showed him handling a one-handed sword, two-handed sword, spear, and various special weapons with ease.
‘He doesn’t look like much.’
Seol Jihoon’s lips curled up unconsciously.
It was laughable, seeing his clan get so worked up.
These days, everyone’s talking about the raid competition between Fighting God and Hanul.
But it’s not really the guilds’ rivalry—what’s caught everyone’s attention is the battle between the S-ranks.
Most expect Fighting God to win by a landslide. Apparently, that’s made illegal betting pretty hot right now.
Maybe I should go all-in on Hanul. No, on myself to win. The odds must be pretty good.
I’m heading up to the guild’s Royal Floor. I got a notification that my earlier request was approved.
Just as I’m about to open the Union Chief’s office, I hear voices chatting inside.
“Wow, I really love this!”
“It’s our guild’s magnum opus!”
Inside the President’s Office, there were three Justice Armors.
“With the light of salvation—Yellow!”
The yellow Justice Armor struck a pose as if measuring height.
“Executor of darkness—Black!”
The black, horned Justice Armor struck a pose as if measuring width.
“Cool, beauty, chic—Pink! Ah, but do we really have to do this?”
The pink Justice Armor, posing as if measuring thickness, was trembling in her boots.
I closed the door. Took a deep breath and opened it again.
I hoped what I’d just seen was a dream, but reality was cruel.
Creak—
“It’s fine. It just feels awkward at first.”
“But what if someone sees…?”
“Don’t worry. The Hero’s too busy prepping for tomorrow’s raid to come by today.”
Nope. I’m here. I came right now. Just what are you doing?
“If the Hero shows up, I’ll eat my hat.”
From now on, your palm is mine.
But that Yellow… looks awfully familiar.
Could it be Karin?
“Man, wearing Justice Armor makes me super hungry.”
It is Karin.
I mean, does wearing that really make you hungry? You just like food, don’t you.
And what are you doing, dragging a perfectly normal girl into this? Has the Demon King lost it?
“Mister Demon King, there’s a combination move, right?”
Watching Karin seriously ponder a combination pose, I took back my previous words.
She’s enjoying this.
“Still, without Red, it just doesn’t come together.”
“Lately, combining with other guys is the trend.”
“……”
What exactly are you trying to combine?
Looking at the Former Demon King and Former Saintess of the High Priest enjoying their act together… it almost looks sweet. So sweet I want to smash it.
“I wish you’d all just disappear.”