In the bustling streets of modern-day London, the year 2026 marked the tenth anniversary of the portals. These enigmatic gateways to other worlds had bestowed superpowers on select individuals, who became known as hunters. Ranked from E to S, hunters were the heroes and protectors—or sometimes, the scourges—of this new age.
Jin Park, a nineteen-year-old with short brown hair, dark brown eyes, and an average build, had always dreamed of becoming more than a nobody. Working at McDonald's to support his family, his aspirations seemed miles away. His father had died ten years ago, pulled into a portal's explosive force, leaving Jin, his mother, and his twelve-year-old sister to fend for themselves.
Today, however, Jin's luck was at its nadir. He had just been fired by his irritable, bald manager, a man who relished in bullying those weaker than himself. As Jin sat at the bus stop, staring at his phone, the weight of his failures pressed heavily upon him.
Suddenly, a violent burst of energy disrupted the quiet evening. A portal to a dungeon opened nearby with a force that knocked Jin to the ground. Disoriented and with blurred vision, he struggled to comprehend what had happened. Memories of the portal's eruption flooded back as he regained his senses.
He found himself in a cold, dark expanse, stumbling forward with trepidation. The oppressive silence was broken only by his anxious breaths. His heart raced when he spotted a goblin with red eyes, a creature small in stature but exuding a deadly aura. Jin tried to back away silently, but fate was unkind—he tripped on a rock. The goblin turned, its killing intent unmistakable.
Panicked, Jin ran, narrowly escaping the goblin's vicious slashes but sustaining several cuts, including a deep gash on his arm. He reached a river, where he hastily washed his wounds. The cold water stung, but it was a temporary relief. As he looked up, his blood ran cold—an enormous water dragon emerged from the depths, its eyes locked onto him.
The dragon's tail struck with terrifying speed and power. Jin dodged, but the onslaught was relentless. Exhausted and terrified, he could barely keep up. A water bullet from the dragon struck him, sending him crashing to the ground, his vision dimming once more.
In the haze of pain and fear, a holographic interface appeared before him, offering a lifeline: "Would you like a second chance?" Two buttons hovered in the air—accept or decline. With tears streaming down his face, Jin's desperation reached its peak.
"I want to be strong!" he screamed, pressing the accept button with every ounce of his remaining strength.
In an instant, a surge of power coursed through him. His wounds healed, his fatigue vanished, and a newfound strength radiated from within. Jin stood, no longer the scared, ordinary boy he once was. He was ready to face whatever came next.
And so, Jin's journey began, not as a worker struggling to make ends meet, but as a newly awakened hunter in a world where the strong thrived and the weak perished.