The sound of shuffling boots and the faint clink of gear echoed inside the dimly lit Gate antechamber.
Gilran Ahn crouched near a wall, tightening the strap on his C-rank leather chestplate. His dark, slightly unkempt hair caught the faint green glow from the Gate behind them, and his eyes calm but calculating swept over the other hunters.
He wasn't here for glory. He was here because bills didn't pay themselves, and because his sister's children still needed food on the table.
Especially Jinah… and Jin-Woo.
Speaking of which…
From across the room, Sung Jin-Woo, clad in mismatched and slightly dented gear, waved with a grin that was more sheepish than confident.
"You sure about this, hyung?" Jin-Woo asked, walking over with his worn shortsword hanging loosely at his side. "It's a C-rank Gate. You don't have to"
Gilran raised an eyebrow, cutting him off with a slight smirk.
"If you're going, I'm going. Someone's got to keep you from getting your head bitten off."
Jin-Woo chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Pretty sure I'm the one dragging you into danger half the time."
"That's family," Gilran replied simply, his tone both protective and teasing. "We look out for each other, even if we have to walk into hell to do it."
The raid party was led by a confident B-rank tank, with a healer and several damage dealers in the mix. On paper, it was a safe run.
But Gilran didn't trust paper.
His instincts sharpened from dozens of close calls kept him scanning for the details others missed.
The faint scratch marks near the entrance.
The stale, almost metallic smell in the air.
The way the Gate's green shimmer pulsed slightly off-rhythm.
Something felt… wrong.
As the party stepped into the Dungeon, Gilran stayed near Jin-Woo, deliberately positioning himself to cover his nephew's flanks.
The walls of the cave were damp and uneven, with water dripping into shallow pools that reflected their torchlight.
Shadows danced across jagged rock formations, making it easy to imagine movement where there was none.
It was then that the healer, a cheerful young woman, struck up a conversation.
"Gilran-ssi, you and Sung Jin-Woo… you seem close. Friends?"
"Family," Gilran corrected without hesitation. "And family is worth more than rank or rewards."
The first wave of monsters large, hound-like beasts with bone-plated skulls charged from the dark.
The frontliners clashed steel against claw, and Gilran moved with deliberate precision.
His C-rank stats weren't extraordinary, but his timing was flawless. Each swing, each dodge, each parry was calculated, avoiding unnecessary risks.
Beside him, Jin-Woo fought hard, but a beast nearly clipped his leg.
Gilran was there instantly, his shortsword intercepting the strike before delivering a clean stab to the creature's throat.
"Eyes up," Gilran said firmly, not unkindly. "You can breathe when they're all dead."
Jin-Woo nodded, regaining focus.
By the time they reached the inner chamber, the air grew colder.
The B-rank tank laughed confidently.
"Boss room. Let's finish this quick."
But Gilran's gut twisted. The chamber door bore carvings… symbols unlike anything he'd seen in a standard C-rank dungeon. His eyes lingered on faint, dried stains between the grooves blood, and not from beasts.
He almost spoke up…
Almost told them to slow down.
But before he could, the door creaked open.
Inside, a towering statue loomed in the shadows, its eyes faintly glowing.
The moment the last hunter stepped inside, the door slammed shut with a boom.
And the statue moved.
The massacre began.
Hunters screamed as stone blades cleaved through them.
The healer was split in two before she could cast a spell. The tank's shield shattered like glass.
Gilran shoved Jin-Woo behind him, deflecting a sweeping strike with sheer desperation.
They weren't going to win.
They weren't even going to survive.
But even as the room became a killing ground, Gilran's thoughts were razor-sharp: If I can get Jin-Woo to the door… if I can keep him breathing…
The statues closed in.
Pain exploded in his side as a spear punched through his armor, hot blood soaking his clothes.
He stumbled vision blurring and somewhere in the chaos, Jin-Woo's voice was screaming his name.
Then… everything stopped.
A screen appeared before his eyes, its words glowing in an otherworldly light:
> [You have been chosen.]
[Initializing… Unique Class Acquisition in Progress.]
[Title Granted: Absolute Blood Monarch]
His blood pooled around him, and yet… it stirred, like it was alive.
And for the first time in his life, Gilran realized death might not be the end but the beginning.