Three hours had passed since the system's awakening, and Trent was still trying to process what had happened.
Every few minutes, he'd catch himself staring at the translucent blue screen that seemed to hover just at the edge of his vision.
His coworkers probably thought he was having some kind of breakdown—muttering to himself.
"Yo, Trent!" his manager, Mr. Kim, called from behind the counter. "Customer at register two!"
Trent snapped back to reality, wiping flour from his hands on his apron. A middle-aged businessman in an expensive suit stood impatiently at the counter, tapping his fingers on the glass display case.
"One large pepperoni and extra cheese," the man said without looking up from his phone. "And make it quick. I have a meeting in twenty minutes."
"Sure thing," Trent replied, punching the order into the register.
"That'll be 18,000 klen," Trent said, handing over the pizza.
The man paid with his card, grabbed his pizza, and left without a word.
"Trent, take out the trash when you get a chance," Mr. Kim called from the kitchen.
Nodding, Trent grabbed the heavy garbage bag and headed toward the back alley. The moment he stepped outside into the cool evening air the system notification flickered into view:
---
[Reward for new player: +5 EXP, +1 Stamina Point]
[Special Achievement Unlocked: "Mundane Persistence"]
[Bonus Reward Available: Mystery Gift Box]
---
Trent quickly tossed the garbage bag into the dumpster and looked around to make sure no one could see him talking to thin air.
"What the hell is a Mystery Gift Box?" he whispered to the empty alley.
---
Item Description: A mystical key that can unlock any locked gate from E-rank to A-rank. One-time use item. Duration: 24 hours.
Warning: This item will expire at tomorrow. Use wisely.
---
Trent stared at the notification, his mouth hanging open. "Gate Key? But gates are always locked after the hunters enter so how is it possible..."
The absurdity of it made him frown. Here he was, a pizza delivery guy with the worst awakening rank in recorded history, and the system was giving him the ability to break into restricted dungeon gates. It felt wrong, like the system was encouraging him to break the law.
"This has to be some kind of mistake," he muttered, closing the notification with a mental command.
By 6 PM, he had three delivery orders lined up, including one to the Black Phoenix Guild headquarters.
The guild headquarters occupied an entire city block in the Gangnam district, a gleaming tower of steel and glass that stretched thirty stories into the city sky.
He parked his delivery scooter in the visitor's area and grabbed the order: two large supreme pizzas and a dozen garlic knots. The security guard at the front desk—a tired-looking man in his fifties—barely glanced up as Trent approached.
"Pizza delivery for Phoenix Guild," Trent said.
"Opening section, level B2," the guard replied without looking up from his magazine. "They're expecting you."
The huge section open quietly. When the gates opened, Trent was greeted by the sight of organized chaos—guild members in combat gear moving equipment, support staff coordinating logistics, and in the center of it all, a swirling portal of crackling energy about three meters wide.
A gate. An active dungeon gate right here in the guild headquarters.
Trent had seen gates before—from a distance, usually blocked off by police and guild barriers. But never this close.
"Pizza guy!" One of the support staff waved him over. "Perfect timing. The raid team's been in there for six hours straight."
"Six hours?" Trent said. "That's... that's a long time, right?"
The woman—her name tag read 'Lisa'—signed the receipt. "Too long. This was supposed to be a routine E-rank gate. Three hours max." She glanced toward the portal, worry appearing her face. "We lost contact with the team leader an hour ago."
As if summoned by her words, a tall man in a hunter gear strode toward the portal.
"Director Park," Lisa called out. "The food's here."
Director Park barely glanced at Trent before turning to check a strange device in his hands—something that looked like a cross between a smartphone. The device was beeping frantically, its screen flashing red.
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind erupted from the portal, strong enough to knock them over. The blue light emanating from the gate began to flicker and pulse erratically.
"What the hell?" Director Park stared at his device in alarm. "The energy readings just spiked. This isn't behaving like a normal E-rank gate."
The wind intensified, and Trent had to grab onto something to keep from being blown over.
"Sir!" one of the workers shouted over the howling wind. "The pattern is shifting! This might be an evolution event!"
Director Park face went pale. "Evolution? From E-rank to what?"
"Unknown, sir! The readings are off the charts!"
"Emergency protocol!" Director Park barked into his radio. "I need all available A-rank hunters here immediately! We have a potential gate evolution in progress!"
---
[EMERGENCY QUEST TRIGGERED]
Quest: Gate Crisis Intervention
Objective: Enter the unstable gate and rescue trapped hunters
Current Status: 5 hunters entered 2 hours ago - No communication received
Threat Level: CRITICAL
Reward: Significant experience gain + Class evolution materials
Failure Penalty: System access permanently revoked + ???
Warning: This quest is beyond your current capabilities
Secondary Warning: Refusal will result in civilian casualties
Accept? [Y/N]
---
Trent's blood ran cold. The hunters had been inside for two hours without communication, the gate was evolving into something potentially catastrophic, and the system was asking him—an E-rank water mage who could barely create a cup of water—to go in and rescue them.
"This is suicide," he whispered.
Director Park ended his call with a curse. "Earliest ETA for A-rank support is forty-five minutes," he announced. "The gate won't last that long."
Trent looked at the system notification, his hand trembling as he reached toward the mental 'Accept' button.
'Guardian of the Broken Flame', he thought. I guess this is what that means.
---
[QUEST ACCEPTED]
[Emergency Gate Pass ACTIVATED]
[Good luck, Guardian. You'll need it.]
---
Taking a deep breath, Trent abandoned the pizza boxes and walked toward the chaotic portal. The wind whipped at his red delivery uniform as he approached the swirling blue energy.
"Hey!" Director Park shouted over the howling wind. "Civilian! Get back! This area is restricted!"
Trent ignored him, stepping up to the portal's edge. He pressed his hands against it, trying to force his way through, but the barrier held firm, sending small electric shocks up his arms.
"Damn it," he muttered, pushing harder. Nothing. The barrier was designed to keep out anyone.
Frustrated, Trent stepped back and stretched out his right hand toward the portal.
Suddenly, a brilliant blue orb materialized in his palm, pulsing with cold light.
'What the hell is this?' Trent thought, staring at the swirling energy in his hand. The blue light cast eerie shadows across his face as he considered his options.
After a moment's hesitation, he pointed the orb directly at the portal's barrier.
The effect was fast . Where the orb touched the blue barrier, it simply... dissolved.
Without looking back, Trent stepped through the dissolved barrier and into the swirling blue vortex of the gate.
"What the—" Director Park stared in shock. "How did he—? That's impossible!"