A dungeon raid was supposed to be easy.
You go in. You kill some monsters. You loot their corpses. You go home richer.
But when Kai Ren watched Jung Yoon-Soo push open the ancient stone door, an unnatural, howling wind surged through the cave, twisting the very air around them.
And then—
The world changed.
The Red Gate had been activated.
And now, there was no way out.
The Red Gate – A Death Trap
The moment Kai stepped through, the air itself felt wrong.
A crimson glow pulsed in the sky above—a blood-red eclipse casting eerie shadows across the landscape. The cave behind them was gone—replaced by an endless field of cracked black stone, stretching far beyond what the eye could see.
Something about this place felt unnatural—as if it didn't belong in the real world.
The others tensed, realizing the gravity of what had just happened.
"Wait… what the hell is this?" Choi Hana, their healer, whispered, gripping her staff.
"It's a Red Gate," Min-Jae, their mage, said, his voice unusually shaken. "I've heard about these before."
Kai clenched his fists.
Everyone in Korea had heard about Red Gates.
Unlike normal dungeons, which followed strict ranking systems, Red Gates were anomalies—mysterious sub-dimensions that couldn't be classified.
The Hunter Association had only one rule about them:
If you enter a Red Gate, you're already dead.
No one had ever escaped one.
And now, they were trapped inside one.
Panic and Realization
"No, no, no—this can't be happening."
Dae-Ho, their tank, pounded his fist against the invisible barrier where the dungeon's entrance had been.
🔹 [SYSTEM NOTICE: RED GATE DETECTED] 🔹
⚠ WARNING! Escape is impossible until the dungeon is cleared!
A heavy silence fell over them.
Hana stepped back, her breath quickening. "We… we're gonna die here."
Min-Jae cursed, running a shaking hand through his hair. "No. There's got to be a way out."
Yoon-Soo, however, didn't seem worried.
He crossed his arms, smirking.
"Relax," he said. "It just means we have to clear the dungeon to get out."
He turned to Kai, eyes gleaming with arrogance. "Hey, genius. Any insights?"
Kai clenched his jaw.
He hated the way Yoon-Soo looked down on him.
But this wasn't the time to argue.
Kai knelt on the cracked black stone, running his fingers along the surface. It was smooth, cold, like it had been melted into shape.
The atmosphere felt wrong—the air too thin, the pressure unnatural.
"Something about this place… feels alive."
Then—
A low, guttural growl echoed from the distance.
And Kai realized—
They weren't alone.
The First Attack – The Watchers
From the horizon, black figures emerged.
They were humanoid, but twisted—grotesque creatures with elongated limbs, eyeless obsidian faces, and jagged mouths filled with rows of blackened teeth. Their bodies were emaciated, their skin stretched too thin, their movements unnatural—as if their bones bent in ways they shouldn't.
And they were fast.
"Positions!" Yoon-Soo barked.
Dae-Ho raised his shield as the creatures rushed forward, their movements jerky and chaotic.
🔹 [Shield Wall!]
The first creature slammed against the barrier, its clawed hands screeching against the metal.
"TAKE THEM DOWN!"
🔹 [Fireball!]
Min-Jae's flames surged forward, engulfing two creatures, but instead of screaming—they simply twitched, their bodies absorbing the fire before lunging forward again.
"They're resistant to magic?!"
Kai's blood ran cold.
Hana barely had time to cast a healing spell before another creature clawed at her leg, ripping through her armor.
"AHHH!"
Dae-Ho roared, slamming his shield forward, but the creatures were relentless.
For the first time, Yoon-Soo's smirk disappeared.
"…Shit."
Kai's Struggle – No Power, No Options
Kai staggered back, his breath ragged.
He was useless here.
His Scrivener class had no combat skills. No weapons. Nothing but observation and note-taking.
The others fought for their lives, but Kai?
Kai could only watch.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he hissed, gripping his notebook. He had nothing to offer them.
But he refused to be deadweight.
"Think, Ren. Think."
🔹 [Eidetic Memory: Activated]
His mind replayed everything—their movements, their attacks, their weaknesses.
He noticed something.
The creatures moved erratically, their limbs bending unnaturally—but for a split second, right before they attacked, their torso stiffened.
"That's it!"
Kai shouted. "They pause before attacking! That's your opening!"
Yoon-Soo's eyes widened.
Then—he reacted.
The next time a creature lunged, he dodged sideways, his dagger slicing across its neck.
It collapsed instantly.
"It worked!"
Dae-Ho followed, slamming his shield against another creature's head, crushing its skull.
"Target their necks! They drop instantly!"
Min-Jae adjusted his casting. "If I focus my magic on their heads—"
🔹 [Lightning Lance!]
A bolt of energy surged forward, piercing straight through a creature's skull. It convulsed once, then fell lifelessly.
The battle turned.
And all because of Kai's analysis.
The last creature collapsed, its body dissolving into black mist.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then—
🔹 [SYSTEM MESSAGE] 🔹
⚠ Warning! Boss Presence Detected!
The ground beneath them rumbled.
Kai's heart pounded as a massive shadow loomed in the distance.
Something huge was watching them from the horizon.
And it was coming for them.