The world underwent a cataclysmic change.
One day, strange phenomena began appearing all over the globe, and at the same time, translucent screens appeared before the eyes of certain individuals. At first, everyone was bewildered. What was happening? What were these translucent screens? Why could some people see them while others couldn't? Before people could fully grasp the situation, monsters poured into the world, and society quickly crumbled.
During the initial dark period, which came to be known as the Apocalypse, some believed that the Earth was doomed, while others refused to give up hope. In the devastated world, people gradually began to understand the situation and gathered information on how to fight the monsters.
Those who could see the translucent screens, known as the 'Awakened', discovered they had special abilities. They learned that dungeons were appearing all the Earth, and if these dungeons weren't cleared in time, the monsters inside would overflow into the world, or the dungeon itself would explode, turning the surrounding area into a wasteland. This knowledge came at a great cost.
Using this information, a few capable individuals took the lead in rebuilding humanity. Nations that once opposed each other now joined forces, and people of all races and religion united to fight the monsters.
Just as people were beginning to nurture hope for a new era, a dungeon appeared in the Arctic. It was the most dangerous dungeon ever encountered, and if it wasn't cleared, the explosion's scale was estimated to rival the Permian-Triassic extinction event.
With an unprecedented catastrophe looming, humanity had no time to mourn. The Awakened volunteered to enter the mega-dungeon, and nations provided military support, including nuclear weapons, without hesitation.
The maximum number of people allowed to enter the mega-dungeon was 1,203. These 1,203 individuals were called 'Revengers'. The vanguard was a multinational team of the six strongest Awakened. Following them were eighty-two teams of Awakened, and the rear was held by non-Awakened volunteers who bravely stepped forward.
As the 1,203 heroes, the Revengers, embarked on their mission, the rest of the world could only wait and pray, unaware of what was happening inside the dungeon.
In the end, the dungeon was cleared the day before the explosion was set to occur, saving the world from destruction.
However, the cost was immense.
Out of the 1,203, only four emerged alive from the mega-dungeon. One of them was Seo Chaeyoon, known as the ace of the Revengers.
At the age of nineteen, Seo Chaeyoon was carried out of the dungeon unconscious and disappeared from the world from that day on.
Rumors abounde—he had died, lost his powers, or developed a mental illness—but no one knew the truth. Those who knew anything about Seo Chaeyoon kept silent, and he became a legend among the people.
And then, ten years later...
***
The sun was blazing today, and not a single breeze stirred the air. In the middle of July, standing on the rooftop of a mixed-use residential building with no shade for two hours, even Yoon Seo, who had above-average stamina, was starting to feel exhausted. Maybe he should have finished earlier. Yoon Seo fanned himself with his hand, exhaling hot breaths. His neck and face, exposed to the sunlight, were heating up.
"Hunter!"
The building owner, who had come to check on the progress, hurried over with a handheld fan.
"Hunter, please use this. It must be really hot."
"It's almost done, so it's fine. Please step back."
"Oh, okay."
The building owner, looking grateful, stepped back inside the rooftop door. Even though Yoon Seo belonged to an obscure guild, as an Awakened, he was always treated with respect wherever he went by non-Awakened civilians.
Yoon Seo finished the basic setup and directional calculations, then entered the numbers into his U-Pad, linking it to the address from the contract history. Finally, he touched the trap and injected a small amount of mana. With a pop, a blue sphere appeared in the air. Yoon Seo quickly sent the sphere upward. It floated upto three meters, gradually becoming transparent until it disappeared. In its place, a blue boundary line formed around the four-story old building. The shield was activated.
"Oh, wow, it's done."
The building owner marvelled, touching the blue boundary line. While Yoon Seo took certification photos and recorded a video of the completed installation, the boundary line gradually faded until it completely disappeared. It would remain inactive until it detected an impact.
Yoon Seo pulled up the translucent display from the U-Pad he always wore on his wrist and approached the still-amazed civilian with the contract.
"It's a B-grade shield. Please review it and sign here."
"Oh, okay."
The building owner grabbed the pen and scribbled his signature.
"It finished earlier than I expected. I heard it took six hours for the building over there."
"The time varies depending on the building's size and grade. Let me explain the contract details first."
"Oh, I already know them."
"Explaining the details is mandatory."
Yoon Seo put away the display and reattached the U-Pad to his wrist. The building owner's gaze followed the U-Pad. It looked like an ordinary smartwatch, but this Awakened-exclusive device could pull out a translucent display and project holograms, always drawing the interest of non-Awakened.
"The B-grade shield protects against explosions from B-grade or lower dungeons and equivalent impacts. According to the special terms you requested, the shield will remain active for three hours after the first impact. The contract period is one year, and it will automatically renew annually. Our guild will send someone for shield trap maintenance quarterly."
"Will you be the one coming?"
"Of course, a Hunter will come."
"No, I mean, will you be the one coming?"
"Oh... there's a high chance I'll be the one coming."
Large guilds usually have separate teams for shield trap installation and maintenance, but in small guilds like 'Nakyup,' these tasks are often lumped together under a single 'Civil Support Team'. Yoon Seo, who had been working on this team for ten years, was responsible for Seoul West Station, so he would likely be assigned here as well.
"I see."
The building owner nodded several times, looking reassured. Finally, Yoon Seo escaped the scorching rooftop and entered the building. The shaded stairwell was still hot, but it was better than the rooftop. As they descended the stairs, the building owner started rambling on about trivial matters.
"To be honest, this is my first time signing a shield contract, so I was really worried. I heard it takes a long time and Hunters can be quite demanding, making you cater to them for hours. But it finished quickly, and you're very kind. I realize now I had some unfair prejudices, haha."
"Our Nakyup guild members are different from those kinds of Hunters. Please continue to consider us in the future."
"Yes, yes. I'll definitely recommend you to others."
Even in this small Republic of Korea, anywhere from 30 to 100 dungeons appear daily. Korea has a well-established Hunter system, so the chances of failing to clear a dungeon are low. However, the problem is that the failure rate is not zero.
Even if there are ways to detect dungeon occurances, it's impossible to monitor the entire country. Sometimes, the dungeon's time limit is absurdly short, making it inevitable to fail the clear. Other times, the portal is too small to enter without miniaturization skills or items. As a result, monster outbreaks happens frequently, and small-scale explosions occur two or three times a week.
To mitigate these damages, a Hunter invented the shield trap, a device that blocks explosion impacts and monster attacks, ten years ago. He distributed the blueprints for free on the internet, and people began requesting guilds to install shield traps, much like taking out building insurance. Variations like explosion traps and teleportation traps were also developed, making the trap business one of the main operations for guilds.
For non-Awakened civilians, shield traps were practically the only lifeline against unpredictable disasters. Some unscrupulous Hunters exploited this by bullying civilians—lowering the shield's defense below contract standards or reducing the magic storage to wear out the durability faster.
The building owner seemed extremely satisfied that Yoon Seo was not one of those abusive Hunters.