Date: May 17, 2046

The World After the Towers

It started with a single tower.

A massive, unnatural structure that appeared overnight in the middle of city. People treated it like some strange phenomenon—an unexplained mystery of the world. Scientists studied it. The media milked it. Conspiracy theorists called it a sign of the end times.

But then the countdown clock reached zero.

The tower opened, and the monsters inside poured out.

The first city fell in three hours. Governments scrambled to react, but guns and bombs barely slowed the creatures down. When the second and third towers opened, entire countries were lost. Humanity teetered on the edge of extinction.

Then, something unexpected happened.

People who entered the towers and survived came back… changed.

They called them Raiders—humans who gained skills, classes, and inhuman abilities after clearing floors. These Raiders became the only line of defense against the towers.

Society adapted. The strongest Raiders became celebrities, gods among men. Guilds formed, politics shifted, and entire economies were built around tower expeditions. The world was no longer ruled by nations, but by the ones strong enough to survive.

And yet, not everyone was fit to be a Raider.

Some people, like Izumi, had no choice but to take whatever job they could get.

Izumi – The Guide

Izumi had no power. No class. No future.

While others awakened to powerful abilities, his awakening test came back as "Classless." A death sentence in this new world.

But he still needed to eat and provide expenses in her sister. So when a high-ranking guild offered him a job as a guide, he took it without question.

Why would elite raiders need a guide? It didn't make sense. But the money was good, and he wasn't in a position to ask questions.

Now, standing inside the Obsidian Gate, one of the many towers scattered across the world, he was starting to regret it.

Izumi adjusted his oversized uniform and glanced at the team ahead of him—Black Sun, an elite guild led by the smiling swordsman Raikou.

"First time working with a high-ranked guild?" Raikou asked, his voice calm, almost friendly.

Izumi nodded. "Yeah."

Raikou grinned. "Relax. Just don't overdo yourself."

It was a strange thing to say.

And yet, for some reason, Izumi felt a chill run down his spine.

They moved deeper into the tower, where the torches burned an unnatural blue and the walls pulsed as if alive. The air was thick, heavy, like the tower itself was watching them.

Izumi focused. His job was simple—warn them of dangers, describe enemies, and shut up otherwise.

A low growl echoed from the darkness.

"Ahead," Izumi whispered. "Gloom Hound. Hunts in pairs. Weak to—"

Before he could finish, Raikou moved.

A single slash. The monster's head hit the floor before its body even realized it was dead.

Raikou turned back with that same relaxed smile. "Good eye, Izumi."

Izumi swallowed. Why did they need him? These people were monsters themselves. They didn't need a guide.

But the money was good.

They reached a massive stone door covered in ancient symbols. Izumi's heart pounded.

"This is the boss room," he said.

Raikou stepped forward and pushed the doors open.

But something was wrong.

The room was empty.

No monsters. No movement. Just an eerie silence that made Izumi's skin crawl.

A dungeon boss room without a boss? Impossible.

His heartbeat quickened. His instincts screamed at him. Something isn't right.

And then—

SHING!

Pain exploded in his wrists.

His hands were gone.

Izumi stumbled back, breath stolen by the sheer agony. His severed hands hit the cold stone floor, blood pooling beneath them. His body shook as his mind struggled to process what had just happened.

Raikou's sword was dripping with his blood.

Izumi looked up in shock. Raikou was smiling.

Not the kind smile from before. This one was different.

It was the smile of a devil.

"Sorry, kid," Raikou said. "This was always your role."

A fist grabbed Izumi by the hair. The tank of the party, a brute of a man, lifted him like a ragdoll.

Izumi gasped, struggling, his blood-soaked arms too weak to fight back.

Then, he saw it.

To the left of the boss room.

A hole.

It was deep. Too deep. A bottomless abyss.

Izumi barely had a second to understand what was happening before the tank threw him in.

Darkness swallowed him whole.