Kang Jae-hyun had the reputation of being Gate City's weakest hunter. An E-rank—"Trash E," "Dead Weight," they jeered—he failed more missions than he completed and barely scraped together enough gold each month to cover his cramped apartment and his mother's medical bills. Every dawn, he trained until his muscles burned, but nothing changed.
Everything changed the morning the solo dungeon appeared.
The Hunter Association's bulletin blazed across every holo-board: a "Shadow Corridor" dungeon, for one hunter only. Legendary rewards—rare items, piles of gold, and a special bonus just for clearing Floor 1—promised a life-altering windfall. Most dismissed it as a trap; a few high-ranked hunters went in and staggered out, broken and bleeding, insisting the corridor's difficulty scaled to crush the unprepared. No one dared try.
But Jae-hyun had nothing left to lose. If he died, at least he wouldn't drag a team down. If he survived…maybe the city would finally see him as more than "Trash E." He signed the discharge forms without a second thought.
That night, moonlight slanted through shattered warehouse windows at the city's edge as he approached the gate. His gear was meager—a dented short sword, a chipped dagger, a threadbare leather vest, and two healing potions—but it was all he could afford.
He pressed his palm to the gate's surface and recoiled at the living pulse beneath his fingertips. He closed his eyes, counted to three, then stepped forward.
The world snapped away. Torches flared to life along stone walls. Jae-hyun's heart thundered as a line of text appeared before him:
SYSTEM ACTIVATED
Name: Shadow Walker
Level: 1
HP: 100 / 100
MP: 50 / 50
STR: 10
AGI: 10
INT: 10
Quest: Clear Floor 1
Reward: Level Up, Unlock Skill Slot
His breath caught. He tapped the "Quest" line—and felt power pulse through his veins. Ahead, a stone door slid open with a mournful groan.
---
Corridor 1 was silent but for his boots on the rough flagstones. Twenty cautious steps later, thorny vines blocked his path. His vision flickered with:
Use Item?
[1] Sword
[2] Dagger
[3] Do Nothing
He chose the sword. With a single slash, the vines fell away—and a soft chime echoed in his chest:
Quest Progress: Thorns Cleared (1/1)
Reward: +10 XP
---
He pressed on. The corridor opened into a chamber bathed in sickly green light. Three shadow orbs hovered at its center, pulsing like dark hearts. His HUD warned:
Enemies Detected: Shadow Orbs x3
Recommended Level: 1+
Jae-hyun charged, sword raised. His blade passed through the first orb, which retaliated with a bolt of cold darkness, grazing his arm.
HP: 85 / 100
With no magic and an empty skill slate, he fought with raw determination—dodging, slashing, dodging again—until on his fifth strike, the orb flickered and vanished.
Enemy Defeated: Shadow Orb
Reward: +20 XP, +5 Gold
Two orbs remained. He backed against the wall, adrenaline sharpening every sense. After a frantic dance of attack and retreat, the second orb died. The third struck him with a deafening blast—he hit the ground—but rolled free and buried his sword in its shifting form. Darkness swallowed it.
The chamber quaked as the final orb dissipated in a swirl of mist:
Quest Complete: Defeat Shadow Orbs
Reward: +30 XP, +10 Gold
Level Up! Level 2
HP +20, MP +10
Stat Points: 5
Skill Slot Unlocked
He rattled with newfound strength: HP 120/120, MP 60/60. Four points to STR, one to AGI. His arms trembled with power.
A door creaked open, revealing a spiraling stairwell. He descended into darkness.
---
At the bottom lay a circular room crowned by a stone pedestal. Resting on it was a black crystal, humming with latent power:
Item Detected: Shadow Crystal
Rarity: Rare
Effects: +10 All Stats (Temporary)
Pick Up Item? [Y/N]
He pocketed the crystal and felt warmth flood his limbs: STR 20, AGI 11, INT 10.
A thunderous crack split the silence as the stairwell collapsed overhead. The only exit lay back through the gate. His HUD blared:
Floor Boss Incoming: Shadow Golem
Recommended Level: 3+
Sub-Quest: Survive 60 Seconds
Reward: +2 Levels
Level 2 against a Level 3+ boss. He squared his shoulders; there was no turning back.
The chamber walls slid away. A hulking golem of living shadow materialized, its voice a grinding growl: "Intruder…you will perish."
He dashed forward as the golem's fist crashed down. Sparks flew as metal met shadow. He darted between its legs, slashing at cracks in its form. Each blow chipped away darkness.
Time Remaining: 60 seconds
He looped around the giant, healing potions in hand. At 30 seconds, its movements slowed. At 10 seconds, he unleashed a desperate, upward slash that cleaved its torso in half. The golem howled and imploded into mist.
Sub-Quest Complete
Reward: +2 Levels
Level 4 Achieved
Stat points auto-assigned. His blood pounded with triumph. A new gate slid open.
---
He stepped back into the moonlit warehouse, hands shaking and pockets jingling with 15 gold and two rare items. He wiped sweat and grime from his vest and felt something he'd never known: confidence.
Tomorrow, he'd report his success. Tomorrow, they would see him differently.
For the first time, the weakest hunter felt unstoppable.
Absolutely! Here's an enhanced and refined version of Chapter 2: Report of a Nobody, keeping the tone immersive and tight while improving flow, clarity, and emotional impact.
The first light of dawn bled across the rooftops as Kang Jae-hyun walked through the glass doors of the Hunter Association. The building stood like a silver spear in the heart of Gate City, gleaming and cold. Inside, everything smelled like disinfectant and ambition. Sleek-armored hunters laughed and shouted across the lobby. None of them noticed the boy with worn boots and a leather vest frayed at the edges.
That was normal.
He walked to the front desk. The receptionist, a young woman with bubblegum-pink hair, didn't glance up from her keyboard.
"Name and rank?"
"Kang Jae-hyun. E-rank. I signed up for the solo dungeon yesterday."
Her fingers paused mid-typing. She looked up sharply. "Wait—the Shadow Corridor? You're... alive?"
He nodded.
She stared, blinking once. "No one's cleared that dungeon's first room before. And you're..."
Her eyes skimmed his gear—scratched sword, cracked armor, a half-healed burn on his arm.
"You're kidding," she muttered, then exhaled and resumed typing. "Alright. Your profile hasn't updated yet. I'll need to verify dungeon logs manually."
Jae-hyun said nothing, waiting.
After a few clicks, her eyes narrowed. "This can't be right. It says you completed Floor 1. Cleared the orb chamber. Survived the golem event."
He nodded again. "I got lucky."
She didn't believe him, but she also didn't argue. Instead, she stood up and motioned.
"Come with me. You've triggered a system-level flag inside a classified dungeon. That means Evaluation gets involved."
They rode an elevator to the 17th floor in silence. She left him at a plain steel door labeled:
Special Evaluations – Rank Adjustments
He took a breath and stepped inside.
The room was sterile—white walls, a steel desk, and a glowing wall display flickering with dungeon data. Behind the desk sat a man in a gray suit. Late forties, no-nonsense demeanor, eyes sharp as a blade. A hunter's badge glinted on his lapel.
"Kang Jae-hyun," the man said without looking at a file. "Sit."
Jae-hyun obeyed.
"I'm Do Gyu-hwan. Chief of Special Evaluations. You're here because your record just made a lot of people very curious."
He slid a tablet across the table. "Tell me everything that happened inside the dungeon."
Jae-hyun hesitated, then recounted everything—awakening the system, the combat log, the Shadow Orbs, the boss fight, the crystal, the interface, the level-ups.
Do Gyu-hwan didn't interrupt once. When the story ended, he leaned back, eyes unreadable.
"There are whispers in this industry. Rumors of individuals chosen by something outside our standard system. Hunters who gain personal interfaces. Private quests. Organic stat growth."
"System-bound hunters," Jae-hyun said softly.
"Exactly. Rare. Dangerous. Some become legends. Others lose themselves. The system gives—but it's never free."
"So what happens now?"
"We test you," Gyu-hwan replied. "Stat validation, growth potential, and skill registration."
He stood and pointed to a sliding door. "Through there."
The testing chamber hummed with mana lines etched into the floor. Jae-hyun stepped into the scanning ring. Blue light pulsed across his body as the system evaluated him.
The screen filled with results:
Name: Kang Jae-hyun
Official Rank: E
Recommended Reassessment: C
Level: 4
Strength: 22
Agility: 12
Intelligence: 10
Skills: [Locked]
Growth Potential: High (Unknown ceiling)
Gyu-hwan let out a quiet whistle.
"Two ranks in a single day. That's rare."
"I didn't do anything special," Jae-hyun said. "I just didn't stop."
"That's what makes you dangerous."
He tapped his tablet and handed Jae-hyun a temporary badge. "You're provisionally reassigned as Rank C. We'll monitor your next few missions. Your future rank depends on them."
Jae-hyun looked at the badge but didn't take it. "I want to go back."
Gyu-hwan raised a brow. "To the Shadow Corridor?"
"I'm not done yet."
There was a long pause.
"You do realize that dungeon changes each time. Floor 2 won't be anything like Floor 1."
"I know," Jae-hyun said.
"The system will test you harder. That's the trade."
"I'm ready."
Gyu-hwan gave a grim smile. "No. You're not. But go anyway. The ones who wait until they're ready usually die waiting."
That night, Jae-hyun returned to the ruined warehouse. The black gate stood still, pulsing softly in the dark like a heartbeat. The same gate—but he was no longer the same hunter.
He opened his stat menu and allocated his unused points:
+2 Strength
+1 Agility
A new message blinked into existence.
New Skill Slot Unlocked
Skill Acquired: Shadow Step
Dash up to 5 meters instantly. Cooldown: 15 seconds.
A jolt of energy ran through his veins. His muscles tensed, not with fear—but with power. With hunger.
He reached out and placed his hand on the gate again.
This time, he wasn't a weakling struggling to survive.
This time, he was a hunter ready to conquer.