"You really like ants, huh?"
Im Dogyoon, the teaching assistant at Hanguk University's Department of Painting, seemed bored with Suho's work.
In one section of the wall at the exhibition hall, a tightly packed assortment of art depicting ants was displayed. The pieces included oil paintings, watercolors, and various sketches. The artworks showed great diversity, and the depictions of ants varied significantly in appearance. Dogyoon attached a nameplate he had brought below Suho's latest artwork.
—Hanguk University Department of Painting Exhibition
—Third-Year Student, Sung Suho
"If we had collected all the ant paintings you drew since your freshman year, we'd have enough to fill up a truck. Don't you think you should have chosen entomology instead of fine arts?"
"I thought about it, but there wasn't a separate department for ant studies," Suho replied.
"So, you're not into insects, just ants?"
"That's right. Strangely enough, I've liked ants since I was a kid. Whenever I spotted a line of marching ants, I would walk carefully, making sure not to accidentally step on them..."
"You've liked them since you were a child? Your taste sure has remained consistent." Chuckling, Dogyoon continued to observe Suho's artwork. Then, he curtly remarked, "This ant looks a bit different."
In front of them was a painting of a humanoid ant with a menacing dark aura.
"Hmm, it's dynamic and appealing. Is this some evil monster?"
"Evil monster? Not at all. It's an ant that appeared in a dream I had when I was younger."
"I see... Do you love ants so much that you dream about them? When was this?"
"It was before the Great Cataclysm."
The Great Cataclysm was a catastrophic event from two years ago. It referred to the sudden global crisis known as the "end of the world." Horrific monsters emerged out of mysterious gates that appeared all over Earth to invade the planet. Fortunately, a tiny fraction of humans awakened their supernatural abilities just in time, and humanity was able to narrowly escape the crisis.
That was just two years ago. At the time, Suho was barely twenty years old, a freshman, but his prime "ant dream" phase actually began back in middle and high school.
"Anyhow, you're quite the peculiar one." Dogyoon chuckled and attentively looked over Suho's artwork again. He was tired of seeing Suho's numerous ant paintings, but he couldn't deny their quality. "Nevertheless, you did a really good job. It feels like it could jump out of the picture at any moment. Wait, was that too much? But that's how vivid your artwork is."
Suho quietly chuckled to himself in response.
Of course, it is.
They weren't empty words—the ant in the painting was his worst nightmare. It was the very monster that would come unannounced into his dreams and try to kill him every now and then during his teenage years.
Looking back, those were truly dreadful dreams.
Suho took a moment and recalled the dream.
[Level up!]
In the dream, Suho had to battle for his life against various monsters without knowing why. An endless line of armored knights, ant soldiers, and later, massive dragons blocked his path. When he killed those monsters, he leveled up as though it was a game, or if he died, it would reset immediately. He'd had to start over from the beginning at level one, everything having been reset.
The only way to escape from that dream had been to somehow survive until he reached the final boss's room. After fighting tirelessly and making it to the final boss, to Suho's disbelief, the face of that final boss... Resembled my father.
Suho chuckled. It was typical of him to reminisce about the ant dreams from his adolescence. From some point on, he stopped those dreams. It was probably around the time... It was the summer of his first year in high school. After his parents went missing. The day Suho's peaceful life crumbled.
***
Something unusual was happening in a corner of the art gallery.
"Is it here?"
"Yes, the teaching assistant said that he stored them here."
Clank! The painting department students opened the storeroom door to retrieve the art displays. Once inside, their eyes widened in astonishment upon discovering something they didn't expect.
"Huh?"
A pitch-black hole hovered over the wall.
"Ahh! Isn't that a gate?!"
"Call for help, quickly!"
The terrified students backed away. Their shaking hands reached for their phones to report what they saw, but a fourth-year senior immediately stopped them.
"Calm down! It's clearly a closed gate!"
"Oh, I see. The blue mist hasn't started flowing out yet."
"Right. It's still a long way away from a dungeon break."
"Phew... It really got me."
The students late to comprehend the situation released a belated sigh of relief. The term "dungeon break" referred to the phenomenon of magic beasts pouring out of a gate. However, a dungeon break didn't occur immediately upon a gate's formation. Before that, a blue mist had to flow out from the gate, polluting the surroundings. Only then could the gate open, allowing magic beasts to emerge.
"So, for now, it's safe, you see." The senior student chuckled confidently.
"Hey, why are you laughing like that? It's making me nervous. Anyway, it's still dangerous, so shouldn't we report it right away?"
"You morons. Haven't you heard the rumor? That breathing in the blue mist can awaken abilities?"
"Oh!"
The other students' ears all perked up once they were told the rumor. There was still much uncertainty surrounding the blue mist's true nature, but at some point, a rumor began to spread furtively on the internet like some urban myth.
The rumor was that the mist was imbued with magic and that breathing it in could instantly awaken magical abilities, even in ordinary individuals.
"Isn't that just a baseless rumor?"
"It's never been disproved."
"Hmm."
"All right then, let's check it ourselves. Who knows? Maybe we'll have an S-rank hunter among us."
The hushed words of the fourth-year student changed the way the other students looked at one another. They couldn't help but think of the enormous earnings made by S-rank hunters.
With the emergence of magic beast remains and dungeon ores as new resources, hunters were in prime position to sweep up the new riches. The profession had become a symbol of wealth and prosperity..
But only two years had passed since the Great Cataclysm occurred, and there was still no clear understanding of how one could awaken their magic powers.
"Also, do you all know that teaching assistant Dogyoon is an E-rank hunter?"
"We've heard. He's always complaining about how being an E-rank hunter doesn't pay well. That's why he juggles teaching assistant duties during the semester, right?"
"Tsk, tsk. You don't know what you're talking about. That's deception, buddy. He earns so much for just going into dungeons with the mining team, even though he's not part of the combat squad?"
"How much does he make?"
The fourth-year student spoke as if he was revealing a great secret, and once his whispers reached the other students' ears, their eyes widened in curiosity.
"Really? He makes that much?"
"Even as an E-rank?"
"Yeah, kid. Even if you're lucky enough to be the lowest-ranked hunter, it's still that much. So, are you going to let such a good opportunity slip through your fingers? Come on."
"Wow, hunters really are amazing. Then, why is Dogyoon still a teaching assistant at our school if he earns so much?"
"He makes his money from the dungeons then splashes out when it comes to studying art. Besides, working in the teaching assistant's office provides plenty of exhibition opportunities."
"That's the way to live."
The chances of an S-rank awakening were even rarer than winning the lottery, so it was more convincing to share what E-rank individuals earned to motivate the other students.
The students eventually cracked under the senior's persistent persuasion and set aside their phones.
"Well, they say the first few moments when the blue mist starts flowing is relatively safe..."
"Then, should we wait a little longer? Just a few seconds or so?"
"You punks, now you're talking sense. You only live once. Take a small sip of the mist as it comes out, then report it. It won't kill you."
A few moments later, a deep blue mist began to slowly seep out of the gate.
***
Thud! Suddenly, the building shook.
Huh? Suho, who was in the exhibition hall, raised his head. What was that? An earthquake? He felt that something was off, the space itself felt unhinged. However, he was the only person to notice the disturbance. No one else took any notice.
At that moment, a figure slowly approached the entrance.
"Ugh..."
A student limped into the exhibition hall.
Dogyoon happened to be near the entrance and approached him to ask, "Youngcheol, what took you so long? I only asked you to go to the storage room..."
"I tried to stop them..."
"Youngcheol?"
"The senior kept..."
"What's going on?"
"The smoke..."
Chills ran down everyone's spines.
Something's gone wrong. Dogyoon's expression stiffened significantly as he closely examined Youngcheol's condition. His student's eyes shook uncontrollably as he continuously mumbled something indecipherable.
"Youngcheol, what's in your mouth?"
Dogyoon's question broke Youngcheol's confusion, bringing him back to his senses.
"Aaargh!"
Before he knew it, puffs of blue mist began to leak out of his nose and mouth.
"Uh, th-this shouldn't be happening. Ugh..."
Panicking, Youngcheol covered his mouth with his hand. But the more he tried, the more smoke escaped through his fingers. Then in a flash, scorching heat and blue smoke engulfed Youngcheol's body.
"Dogyoon!" Just in time, Suho rushed from behind and firmly pulled his teaching assistant toward him.
Youngcheol screamed, "It's h-h-hot!"
Dogyoon couldn't believe what was unfolding before him.
He saw that Youngcheol's body was beginning to burn as the blue smoke began to swallow him whole.
"Ahhh!"
"Wh-what is that?!"
The students nearby witnessed the ghastly scene and screamed in horror.
Suddenly, a wailing siren echoed from the school's loudspeakers.
"This is an emergency!"
The students were startled by the unexpected alarm and crowded around the loudspeaker.
"A gate has spawned on campus!"
There was a shocked silence.
"G-gate?"
"The current location of the detected gate is within the art gallery building..."
"F*ck! That's here!"
"Uwaaah!"
"Ahhh!"
The chaos inside the hall intensified. The students, now in a state of panic, began to run frantically. The indescribable horror of seeing a person burn to death right before their eyes had undoubtedly triggered the panic.
Unfortunately, there was a major hurdle when it came to going outside—Youngcheol's burning body was right in the middle of the exit. They had no choice but to pass by the corpse to leave.
One of the students who had been running ahead hesitated in surprise at the intense heat.
"Is there another exit somewhere?"
The student frantically looked around but there was none to be found. It was becoming clearer by the second that there was only one way out. Frightened, everyone inside the hall was clueless about what to do next.
"Grr..."
Amid the chaos, an unbelievable sight was beginning to transpire.
"Huh?"
"Th-that person?"
Youngcheol's charred corpse, consumed by the blue smoke, slowly began to rise once more.
"W-wait... Is that?"
Dogyoon's eyes couldn't hide his disbelief. "It's a magic beast! Get away from there right now!" he shouted frantically.
"Aaargh!"
But it was already too late, the blue mist had taken control of Yoongcheol's corpse, and the magic beast lashed its arms out like whips.
Crack!
Some students screamed while others convulsed on the floor, spewing blood. As the blue mist clung to their clothes, their bodies also began to burn fiercely.
"Uwaaah! Fire! Fire!"
"No!"
In utter chaos, the students scattered in all directions as their desperate screams filled the air.
"Good heavens. It's a real mist burn..."
Dogyoon urgently took out his cell phone. A mist burn wasn't something an E-ranked person like himself could handle alone.
Suho urgently asked Dogyoon, who was sending a request for help, "A mist burn? What kind of magic beast is this, exactly?"
"If that creature defeats us..." Dogyoon bit his lip, "we'll turn into the exact same thing."
"Krrraaaah!"
As the beast screamed, Suho and Dogyoon saw the fallen students afflicted with mist burn begin to rise again, with blue smoke emitting from their bodies.