The 10th S-Rank Hunter
[WSA 2025 ENTRY]
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The year is 2025. Dungeon portals have become a grim reality, gateways to monstrous realms that bleed into our world. Hunters, individuals awakened with extraordinary abilities, are humanity's shield against the encroaching darkness. Min Si-Woo is not one of them. Branded a "Resonance Failure" after his awakening ceremony yielded nothing but a faint, mocking echo, he's relegated to the dangerous and demeaning world of dungeon maintenance, risking his life clearing out low-level threats to earn meager pay.
Si-Woo isn't driven by dreams of glory or power. His motivation is far simpler: his younger sister, So-hee. Orphaned at a young age, they rely on each other completely. So-hee suffers from a rare and debilitating illness, a cruel twist of fate that threatens to steal her away. Si-Woo pushes his body to its limits in the dungeons, desperate to afford the increasingly expensive treatments she needs. He endures the scorn of elite Hunters and the dangers of the portals, all for her sake.
His desperate struggle takes a dramatic turn during a routine portal sweep. Caught in a chaotic surge of dimensional energy, Si-Woo is on the verge of being consumed when a fractured, ethereal voice echoes in his mind. It's the Chronos Echo, a unique system that resonates within him, granting him a power unlike any other. Unlike other Hunters whose abilities are fixed after awakening, Si-Woo discovers he can level up. He is the only human with a dynamic power progression system.
The Chronos Echo manifests in a unique way: Monster Domination. Each time Si-Woo eliminates a creature of comparable level to his own, he gains the ability to Dominate it. The defeated monster's essence is absorbed, allowing Si-Woo to summon it as a loyal servant. These Dominated creatures retain their personalities and memories, but are bound to Si-Woo's will, forming a unique and ever-evolving army.
The Chronos Echo is both a blessing and a curse. While it offers the potential for incredible power, it also makes Si-Woo a target. Hunter guilds see him as a potential weapon, while shadowy figures seek to exploit the Echo's power for their own ends. He must strategically manage his "Echo Points" earned through defeating monsters to enhance his own abilities and strengthen his Dominated creatures. The system also reveals fragmented glimpses of a forgotten past, hinting that the dungeon portals are not random occurrences, but echoes of a forgotten conflict, a cosmic war that shattered time itself.