The sky was still filled with thick black smoke. The once-grand city was now in ruins, sirens blaring and people's screams echoing through the air.
The stench of blood and dust mixed together, covering every inch of the shattered streets.
Hajin stood in the middle of a cracked road, his eyes scanning his surroundings. Giant monsters were still emerging from every corner, tearing apart buildings and devouring people who didn't escape in time.
"Araa..."
His heart pounded as he started running toward his home, his mind racing with all the worst possibilities.
She should be home… Right? She said she'd be back early today!
But when Hajin reached his apartment, all he found was destruction.
The building where he and Araa lived was now nothing more than debris. The walls had collapsed, small fires still flickering in several places. The lower floors were completely destroyed, as if
something massive had crashed into them.
Without hesitation, Hajin jumped into the wreckage, moving swiftly through the gaps. His hands pushed aside rubble, desperately hoping to find his sister hiding somewhere.
"Araa! If you can hear me, answer me!"
His voice echoed, but there was no response.
He gritted his teeth.
"Shit!"
His chest felt like it was about to explode. He tried to steady his breathing, forcing himself to stay calm.
Think, Hajin… If she's not here, she must've gone somewhere else.
But where?
Right at that moment, he heard a voice behind him.
"Help! Someone's here!"
A middle-aged man with cuts on his face was struggling to drag a woman whose leg was trapped under the debris. Hajin moved instantly.
In mere seconds, he was standing in front of them.
"Hold on."
Without wasting time, he activated [Reinforce] on his body and lifted the concrete slab pinning the woman's leg. With a single motion, he tossed it aside.
The woman burst into tears as the man hugged her tightly.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Hajin ignored them.
"Did you see a teenage girl? Long black hair, wearing a school uniform?"
The man frowned, then nodded.
"A few kids ran to the underground shelter at the metro station! She might be there!"
The metro station.
Hajin immediately stood up.
"Get to safety. Don't wander around here."
Without waiting for a reply, he dashed off.
On the way, he saw just how fucked up the world around him was. Collapsed buildings, burning cars, corpses scattered everywhere.
Monsters were still running wild, while the remaining hunters fought desperately to hold them back.
But it was obvious this was the end of the world.
The system that the gods had created for their "entertainment" had completely destroyed human civilization.
Hajin clenched his fists.
'This world isn't some fucking game, assholes!'
Suddenly, a massive explosion shook the street in front of him.
BOOM!
From within the smoke, a monstrous creature with multiple tentacles emerged. Its red eyes glowed menacingly, its body covered in disgusting black slime.
The monster growled, its tentacles lashing toward Hajin at insane speed.
But before they could reach him, its body suddenly froze.
[Weaken - Applied]
Hajin stared at it coldly.
Without hesitation, he dashed forward, gripping a sword he had picked up from a fallen hunter earlier.
With a single slash…
SLASH!
Black blood splattered everywhere, staining the already ruined streets.
The monster let out a horrifying shriek before collapsing to the ground, dead in an instant.
Hajin exhaled, but there was no time to rest. He had to find Araa.
After a few minutes of running, he finally arrived at the metro station.
But what he saw made his eyes widen.
The entrance to the station had completely collapsed, burying the main path inside.
Hajin's lips tightened
No… Don't tell me Araa's down there…
Without hesitation, he punched the rubble blocking the entrance.
"Araa! Are you in there?!"
No answer.
Hajin glared at the pile of debris.
If she's really inside, I need to find a way to get in.
And the only way was to make an entrance himself.
The sound of crumbling debris echoed through the narrow passage. Dust and shattered concrete filled the air as Hajin continued to break through the blockade burying the metro entrance.
His right hand burned from the repeated impact, but he ignored it.
'Araa… Please, just hold on a little longer…'
Several times, he had to pause to push aside larger chunks of rubble. His enhanced strength and speed from [Reinforce] made him far more efficient than an average human, but still, this wasn't an easy job.
Finally, after what felt like a goddamn eternity…
CRACK!
A large gap opened in the wreckage. From inside, panicked voices could be heard.
"Hey! There's someone outside!"
"Help! We're still alive!"
Hajin narrowed his eyes.
There are still a lot of people in there… But is Araa one of them?
With one last push, he removed the final large slab blocking the way, creating enough space for people to escape.
"Move it! Get out now!"
The trapped survivors rushed out, some crying, others looking completely dazed. Some were injured, others were just covered in dust and dirt.
But among them…
Araa wasn't there.
Hajin felt something tightening in his chest.
"Did you see a teenage girl inside? Long hair, wearing a school uniform?" he quickly asked a man who seemed to be leading the group.
The man frowned, as if trying to remember.
"There were some school kids earlier. But some of them got dragged deeper into the station by… something."
Hajin tensed.
"Something?"
The man swallowed hard.
"We didn't see it clearly… But there was something in the dark tunnels. Some kids screamed, and then nothing. They just vanished."
Suddenly, a loud thud echoed from within the station.
"GRAAAAAHH!!"
The roar sounded massive. Dangerous.
The survivors who had just escaped screamed in fear.
Hajin didn't have time to hesitate.
He stepped into the darkness.
Elsewhere, a man in a suit stood atop one of the few remaining skyscrapers in the ruined city.
He gazed down at the chaos below with an unreadable expression.
"Hmph. So the apocalypse has finally begun?" he muttered, letting the wind carry his words.
Behind him, a woman dressed in all black bowed her head.
"Sir, should we start moving?"
The man smirked.
"Not yet. Let's see how they handle things first."
His gaze shifted toward the distant ruins of the metro station.
"Kang Hajin… I wonder, are you really just an ordinary hunter?"
Hajin kept walking through the dimly lit underground tunnels.
The emergency lights flickered weakly, casting eerie shadows along the empty train tracks.
Suddenly, his system window beeped.
DING!
[Administrator (Lv. 1)] detected the presence of a high-class creature in this area.
Hajin narrowed his eyes.
'A high-class creature? Don't tell me this is...'
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed from the darkness.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Hajin gripped his sword tighter.
From the shadows, a massive figure emerged with glowing red eyes.
The monster was tall, its body covered in bone-like armor.
And in one of its huge claws...
There was a blood-soaked school uniform.
Hajin didn't waste a second.
The moment his eyes locked onto the bloodied uniform hanging from the monster's claw, something inside him snapped.
Without thinking, he shot forward.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he unleashed his full strength. With a single, explosive leap, he was right in front of the monster, his sword already slashing toward its neck.
CLANG!
The monster raised its claw, blocking Hajin's strike with its bony shield. Sparks flew between them.
"GRRROAAAAHHH!!"
The beast roared and shoved Hajin back with monstrous force.
But Hajin only shifted his stance slightly to stabilize himself.
Big and strong but slow.
Without hesitation, Hajin activated [Shadow Step], his body vanishing in an instant and reappearing behind the monster.
SLASH!
Black blood sprayed into the air. His sword found a weak spot between the creature's bone armor.
But before he could push deeper...
"?!?"
The monster turned faster than he expected.
WHAM!
Its massive claw smashed into Hajin with brutal force, sending him flying into the station wall.
CRASH!
Dust exploded as the impact cracked the concrete. Hajin coughed, tasting iron in his mouth.
But now wasn't the time to feel pain.
He immediately used [Reinforce] on his body, speeding up his recovery and suppressing the pain.
The monster crouched, its glowing red eyes locked onto him, ready to pounce.
'Can't let this drag on.'
Hajin took a deep breath. If normal attacks weren't enough...
He had to push his power further.
His system window popped up.
[Edit Parameter (Lv. 2)] activated.
Select attribute to modify.
'Agility.'
[Agility increased from 140 → 200.]
DING!
At the same time, Hajin activated [Weaken (Lv. 1)] on the monster.
[Target's defense reduced by 20%.]
The creature had no idea what just happened.
But Hajin knew this was enough.
"Your turn to hit the floor."
In an instant, he vanished.
FWOOOSH!
With his agility boosted, Hajin's speed now far outmatched the monster's.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared above its head...
And swung his sword down with full force.
SLASH!!
The blade cleaved straight through the monster's skull, splitting it down to its jaw.
"GRUUUAAAGHHH...!!"
The creature convulsed violently before dropping to its knees. Thick, black blood gushed from its head, pooling onto the cold concrete floor.
Hajin leaped away just as the massive corpse crashed to the ground.
DING!
[You have defeated a Lesser Abyssal Devourer.]
EXP gained!
[Edit Parameter (Lv. 2)] has increased in efficiency.
Hajin ignored the system messages.
He immediately stepped toward the shredded school uniform still clutched in the monster's claw and grabbed it.
His eyes narrowed.
It was the same uniform Araa wore... But inside the fabric, there was a different name tag.
"...So this isn't Araa's?"
Relief and anxiety clashed in his mind.
If this wasn't hers, then she was still alive. But where the hell was she?
Hajin clenched his fists.
'I need to find her before something else does.'
Without hesitation, he moved deeper into the station, leaving the monster's corpse behind.
Meanwhile, inside a divine group chat, an interesting conversation was unfolding.
[Zeus]: "Void King has been eliminated. Now the event can proceed as planned."
[Anubis]: "I wonder... Did we make this event too easy for them? I mean, this is still the opening and not even the tutorial yet."
[Odin]: "Don't underestimate them, Anubis. Humans have a way of evolving in situations like this."
[Shiva]: "Hmm... But I kinda agree. Maybe we should spice things up a little."
[Unknown God]: "...Are you guys not noticing something weird?"
The chat went silent for a moment.
[Zeus]: "What do you mean?"
[Unknown God]: "There's... something in the system that's not going as planned."