Episode 13 – Worldbuilding
The world wasn't always cracked like this.
There was a time when cities stood still. When skies stayed blue. No rifts. No beasts. No deep holes swallowing cars off highways. People used to stress over late bills and missed deadlines, not monsters. But all that changed the day the sky split open over a mountain in Nepal.
A strange light. Purple, glowing, silent.
Then came the screaming.
Through that tear in the sky crawled creatures no book had ever described. Wolves with eyes that blinked sideways. Bugs made of smoke. Giants with bark for skin and light pouring from their veins. City after city collapsed. Helicopters got torn from the sky. Tanks melted. Science useless.
Then people changed.
No warning. Just... sudden. A high schooler knocked out a demon with a bare punch. A nurse healed the dying without lifting a finger. A prisoner in Busan sprouted wings and flew right out of his cell.
They were the first Awakeners.
And somehow, from the wreckage, hope began clawing its way back.
Hunters followed. They weren't just survivors anymore. They were the fight. They pushed back.
Now, years later, the chaos had slowed. Portals were fewer. Cities had been rebuilt with magic woven into concrete. Seoul floated a market above its skyline. Tokyo ran a train line through thin air. Things weren't back to normal, but they weren't falling apart either.
Not yet.
Because there were still whispers. Something worse might be coming.
Do-hyun stood in front of the Hunter Association like it was the door to another world. His shirt wrinkled, his bag slung over one shoulder. Under his skin, something buzzed faintly. Vitality tiny but real.
He wasn't just himself anymore.
The building looked like a blend of ancient ruin and sci-fi base. Steel doors. Floating signs etched with symbols. A glowing orb hovering in a glass dome like it was watching the city breathe.
Hunters walked by some in robes, others in tech gear. One guy chewed gum while carrying a spear taller than he was.
Do-hyun stepped inside.
It was chaos.
Huge lobby. High ceilings. Magic-proof walls. A floating desk with a holographic map spinning above it. But that wasn't the odd part.
The odd part? Everything else.
A man sat nearby. Pale. Shaking. Mana glowing in blue lines across his scalp. His veins, dark like ink frozen in glass. His eyes glowed red, flickering like a dying lightbulb.
People whispered:
"Cleansing mission."
"He came back wrong."
"Not all human now."
Do-hyun looked away.
A nurse walked past in bunny slippers, sipping tea. Behind her, a wall had a claw mark the size of a car door.
"That?" she chirped. "Last week. We cleaned the skin off."
He blinked. Tried to keep walking.
Then came the vendors.
A man opened his trench coat like a street magician.
"Demon socks! Ten thousand won! No more ankle bites!"
"Ghost stickers stick one on your car, glide through haunted zones!"
"Exploding clocks! Just toss 'em!"
Relic gum. Teeth jewelry. Wands carved from bones.
Someone next to him haggled for a sword made of bone. Another bought a staff that buzzed whenever someone lied. A guy in fox fur loaded twin Glocks with violet ammo like it was normal.
Do-hyun just watched.
This place felt like a fever dream wrapped in steel.
Further in, a woman floated midair, deep in meditation. Her shadow moved like it had opinions. A kid no older than ten got a glowing orb out of a vending machine and started giggling.
Noise came from everywhere.
Sparks. Yelling. Weapons testing in a glass room nearby.
"It burns! Why is it wet and burning?!"
A hunter zipped by on cyber legs, dragging a cursing goblin behind him with a rope of light.
Do-hyun took it all in. Smelled metal, mana, coffee... cinnamon?
"I don't belong here," he said quietly.
But then...
Maybe he did.
He had a stat now. That meant something.
He stepped up to a glowing screen. It chirped to life.
[Welcome to the Korean Awakeners Association. Please select your inquiry.]
He clicked "Awakener Registration."
Typed in his info. Checked the box: Vitality unlocked.
A slip printed out.
[Confirmed. Proceed to Testing Area - Basement Level One.]
He stared at the paper, turned it over in his hand. Excited? Nervous? He couldn't tell.
He walked past more strange things. Hunters carrying caged beasts. Someone arguing with a sword. The sword argued back. Loudly.
The elevator to the basement had teeth embedded in its frame and glowing symbols painted on the doors. As it dropped, his ears popped. The deeper it went, the denser the mana felt. Like breathing in warm fog.
Ding.
He stepped into a hallway made of stone. Cold. Lit by broken lights. Shadows danced across the walls.
Then a voice.
"New guy?"
He turned.
A girl stood there. Looked young. Swords on her back. A dragon patch on her sleeve. Her bun was tight, eyes sharp, face unreadable.
"Test's in B1," she said. "You've got twenty minutes."
She turned. Walked away. No smile. No welcome.
Just the facts.
Do-hyun looked at his slip again.
"Twenty minutes," he whispered.
His pulse quickened.
Whatever waited down there wasn't friendly.
And for the first time...
He was okay with that.
⭐
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