--Earth, 15 years after the Dungeons opened--
Kai let out a sigh. He had been working nonstop recently since hunters have been visiting their equipment shop as of late.
He assumed it was because of the Scarlet Spider Guild's recent announcement about raiding a Yellow Dungeon and recruiting unaffiliated hunters.
Kai slumped on the glass counter with a sigh, wondering how amazing it would be if he awakened as a hunter too. Maybe he'd be out there in the field as well, fighting monsters and finding treasure. He'd be rich and famous by now.
Of course, these were all just surface-level reasons of why he wanted to become a hunter. When Kai Touma was young, at least 6 years old, he became an orphan. His parents died due to a dungeon break, where a swarm of monsters came out of the dungeon due to it not being cleared fast enough. As the monsters were swarming, he heard the sound of people screaming, metal twisting, and bones shattering. Kai and his parents were inside a car but they couldn't get out fast enough, and then it was flipped, the monsters trampling it down. His parents covered him with their own body, so that he would be able to get out with minimal injuries.
Kai grew up with his grandparents instead, of course, he did, at one point, want revenge. He swore that he'll kill the monsters who took his parents. But, to him, it became a very far off dream. He never did awaken any powers like those of the hunters, and so he resigned to his faith. He went to school, finished college and got a pretty good job at sales.
He worked tirelessly to provide for himself, since his grandparents had passed away due to old age. The fact that he never managed to get his revenge never really bothered him that much, he was living a good life after all, and he knew that living a life of revenge never ended well. He has read novels about those before.
He admired the hunters, maybe envied them sometimes. He wanted to be one as well, that's for sure, whenever he would see them on TV or on the internet he would instinctively feel a sense of longing and regret. He'd clench his hand, thinking to himself that that was awesome and then he'd be pacing around his apartment due to his excitement when watching the hunters.
He watched customers enter the shop, some asking for specific weapons, while others, clearly newbies, just blurted out whatever came to mind. He'd learned how to handle 'tough' customers over the years. He'd worked in the shop ever since he was 20, so nothing was new to him.
A young woman, looking at least only 20 years old, approached the counter asking for a weapon which Kai quickly attended to.
"Good day to you Ma'am, how may I help you today" he says cheerfully, with a wide smile that could easily trick even those who are experienced.
"Umm...I was just looking for a staff, maybe something just above my height" the woman replied, quite nervously at that
"A pleasure ma'am, follow me, towards the Staves Aisle"
They quickly make their way towards the staves, where they kept the staves of such quality that you'd think it was made with legendary grade materials. Kai expertly explained each staff to the woman, detailing its benefits to her, as well as a staff that would fit her budget.
When the woman finally decided on which staff she wanted, they returned to the counter to finish this transaction.
The day passed uneventfully, just another shift in the same routine he'd followed for six years.
He clocked out and went home eventually to his apartment. It wasn't a big apartment, just good enough for one person, the seats also good enough for two in case someone visited but no one ever has. He made his way to the kitchen and whipped up a scrambled egg, ate, and then went to bed.
As he was on the bed, he pondered about the world. He thought of what might happen if he one day awakened, but that too unrealistic, he was already 27 years old. And so, he drifted into sleep.
A few hours pass, and Kai was woken up by a sudden shake in the surroundings. He got up groggily, still unable to shake the dizziness off.
Immediately after, a massive Dungeon Gate opened up inside his apartment, and it's color was Red. The most dangerous one of all, there have only been 3 recorded Red Gates in the world. In USA, in Russia, and in France. This would be the fourth one. The air turned thick, pressing against him like deep water, his feet felt shackled by invisible weights. He trembled and his breath was cold, his eyes widened in disbelief.
Kai rushed towards his phone to dial the Emergency Services, but before he could, the whole building shook and a loud explosion could be heard which rang through his ears with much intensity that it almost burst his eardrum and then he was pulled by such great force, that he couldn't hold on to anything and was forcefully pulled inside the gate.
Once inside, Kai sees the surroundings, it was in the mountains, but everything was in hues and shades of Red. The sky was red, the ground was red, even the mountains were red.
He looked up and there were numerous thunderstorms, red thunderstorms, forming upon the entire expanse of the land within the gate. He looked further and he beheld a great building, much like Rome's Colloseum, miles away. Along with the building, was a loud and terrifying roar that shaked the earth beneath Kai. The ground shook, thunders cracked, the red of the surroundings glared at him. Lightning crashed in several places, breaking stones and leaving fire in its wake. The wind mighty, as it made Kai unable to press onward properly.
The acrid stench of burnt flesh wafted through the air, and a searing heat pricked Kai as though he was being licked by the intense heat.
His legs refused to move. Each breath was like inhaling fire, and a crushing force weighed down on his chest, as if something was trying to rip him apart from the inside. Another roar was heard throughout the entire Dungeon and it shook Kai to his core. He was frozen in place, time seemed to stretch out, his breath became ragged and he felt sluggish. By the time he regained composure, a few minutes had already passed within the Dungeon.
He wondered if he was dreaming, but the pain, the heat, the sheer terror—everything felt too real. He was terrified, he knew he could not survive inside a Dungeon, let alone a Red one.
Terrified for his life, he ran and found a cave, there he hid. He waited inside the cave, he thought that this might be the time when he becomes an awakened and joining the ranks of the hunters. He waited for the Dungeon System that would eventually come out once a person becomes awakened. But it never did appear.
He waited and waited but there really wasn't anything. Kai stared blankly at the cave's rocky walls, his breath shallow. No system. No powers. No way out. A bitter laugh escaped his lips. "I'm so fucking dead."