….
Jin-Woo's brow twitched. "A bit?"
"Yeah… just a bit." Jin-Ho replied with mock innocence, though the smirk tugging at his lips said otherwise.
And then, without explaining himself, Jin-Ho took the empty seat beside Jin-Woo, ignoring the ripple of confusion it sent through the room.
….
Soon after a minute, the door creaked open, and entered through it was a man with slick dirty blonde hair.
Supposedly, an instructor responsible for today's session.
He steps onto the padded floor, and halts while examining the newbie Hunter across the room with a stoic expression.
Jin-Ho's gaze flicked up - recognizing the man from the show.
Woo Jinchul.
Clearly, he is not yet the Chief Inspector of the Hunters Association's Surveillance Team. Or yet the man who would later shoulder the aftermath of the first Double Dungeon Incident.
Right now, just another official of the Association, technically. But even then, he carried himself like someone demanded command.
Jinchul finished his examination of the Hunters, locked his eyes on Jin-Ho.
Something subtle shifted.
It wasn't much, a faint irritation oozing around the eyes.
Jin-Ho caught it instantly.
Ah, the dude was definitely dissatisfied with the preponement of orientation class.
Jin-Ho matched Jinchul's gaze evenly for half a second before turning back to the front, letting it go.
If Woo Jinchul had expected him to squirm, he would be disappointed.
In truth, Jin-Ho didn't even care enough to squirm.
Tsk, another spoiled boy, Meanwhile, in Jinchul's mind, the thought landed like a pebble in a pond.
They had to reschedule the monthly orientation yet again because some rich newbie couldn't wait their turn.
The brief said: Yoo Jin-Ho, scion of the Yoo Group, newly awakened B-rank, insists on immediate orientation to expedite overseas transfer permissions.
He hated seeing people bend rules wilfully using their power.
People who put their own selfishness ahead of the structure that was meant to keep unskilled awakeners alive.
But orders were orders.
He pushed the thought away, face hardening back into its usual stoicism as he reached the center of the room and addressed them at last.
His voice easily reached the farthest row. "Congratulations on your awakenings–
"If you are sitting here today, it means you survived your Awakening and chose to stand on the front lines for humanity. That is no small thing, but let me be blunt. Mana may have given you power, but that doesn't make you invincible. One slip, one moment of arrogance, and you will die. Worse, your mistake could trigger a dungeon break and cost hundreds of lives. So, pay attention.
"First, let's talk about Gates, these rifts don't open randomly. They are classified, from E-rank to S-rank."
….
And just like that, the lecture began.
If Woo Jinchul still held any irritation toward Jin-Ho, he buried it beneath the iron discipline he wore like skin.
Jin-Ho sat back in his chair, utterly unbothered, as though none of it had ever brushed him in the first place.
Jinchul rattled through the standard protocol - safety regulations, emergency beacons, the requirement to accept team assignments if requested, how to file for gate entry permits, and how death waivers worked.
It was meant to sound reassuring, but it didn't.
….
As the class was getting moving–
Jinchul couldn't help but notice the Hunters slouch lower by the minute, doodling on the papers they would have been given or covertly fiddling with their phones.
Unassumingly, Jin-Ho stayed straight-backed, unattentive, yet eerily still.
Beside him, Jin-Woo listened just enough to look like he was listening, for his part. He was mostly interested in the salary part, and the conversion rate of mana stones.
Cha Hae-In, at front, might be the few who hadn't lost her focus throughout the session.
It should have been over, Jin-Ho couldn't wait to get away.
An hour later, the orientation finally limped toward its end.
"Lastly, a warning. Not all monsters are mindless beasts, some think, some plan, and some mimic us. If you notice anything strange: a Gate that doesn't match its rank, a dungeon with two bosses, or a comrade acting wrong. You report it. Immediately.
"Remember this oath, Hunters: your strength is not just for yourself. It is a shield for humanity. You are the line between order and chaos. You fail, and everything we know can collapse.
"Take that seriously… and maybe, you will live long enough to walk out of your next Gate alive."
Jinchul finished with a serious expression even though he had recited a hundred times.
But then, just as people began to stir, Jinchul spoke again.
"Before we wrap up–
"How many of you have ever wondered why these dungeons began appearing in our world at all? Or why did some people awaken?"
For a moment, silence reigned.
?...?Eyebrows rose.
Most of the newbies couldn't help but roll their eyes, wondering if it was supposed to be a trick question.
For them, it was so… basic.
So obvious, and yet it landed like something no one had dared to think.
One guy at the back gave a nervous laugh. "Uh… maybe, like… radiation leaks or something? You know, mutation stuff."
"Yeah." Another added quickly, almost relieved to have an excuse to talk. "Or some kind of secret military experiment gone wrong. Governments cover things up all the time."
A recruit declared with a self-satisfied grin, declared. "Aliens. Must be them right?"
Others would scoff or smirk, whispering under their breath. "Who cares why? As long as I get paid."
Those were the cocky types, treating hunting as a game or a job, not a war.
One or two recruits might stiffen, their faces pale, because the question touched on the exact fear gnawing at them: that maybe there was no reason at all - that it was just doom that fell from nowhere.
You would also hear some chuckles out of nervousness from people who suddenly realized they had wondered about it in private but didn't expect it to be voiced here.
And there would definitely be silence from the majority.
Silent, wary eyes locked on the officer, waiting for him to reveal some hidden truth they weren't ready to hear yet.
However, not everyone played along.
Cha Hae-In, who isn't keen on making uncertain speculation, or Jin-Woo, who just doesn't like attention, stayed put - but they at least acted as if thinking.
Jin-Ho, on the other hand, had turned completely unbothered - the moment he heard the question.
He didn't care to join the speculation circus.
Alas, Jinchul couldn't ignore his behaviour. In truth, he had noticed him from the start - the way he never seemed bored to the point one would assume he was sleeping.
"Mr. Yoo–" Jinchul's expression hardened. "Care to share your thoughts with the rest of the class?"
The room seemed to pause, like someone had pressed a mute button.
Hands stopped rising, as the dozens of eyes swung toward Jin-Ho.
He sat there for a second, blinking lazily at Jinchul, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back, jaw like stone.
Jin-Ho didn't look offended for being singled out. If anything, the corners of his lips curled faintly, as though he found it amusing that this stoic man had gone out of his way to jab at him.
He already knew Jinchul wasn't a malicious type. He was just the type who hated people who wasted everyone's time, and probably hated him a little more so because of his ridiculous request.
Still, the way he was glaring made it almost… Funny.
With a soft exhale, Jin-Ho rose from his chair.
He rolled his shoulders, glancing around at the sea of expectant faces.
In his head, the knowledge of the world from Manhwa and the Light Novel is bright as day.
Undoubtedly, he did know the answer - in fact more than they are even ready for.
The real reason behind the appearance of Mana and Dungeons is because two primordial entities needed a playground to fight it out.
And just so happens that playground is:
Earth.
Wishlist, the two primordial entities are called 'Rulers' and 'Monarchs' - and they are the beings that under 'The Absolute Being' who created everything.
However, 'The Absolute Being' being bored out of his mind, forced both sides to fight endlessly just to entertain itself, not caring about their suffering.
Alas, not long after the 'Rulers' discovered this truth - and they rebelled in result killing 'The Absolute Being'.
But here is where it gets complicated.
Not all Rulers joined the rebellion.
Ashborn, originally a 'Ruler,' stayed fiercely loyal to 'The Absolute Being'. When his fellow 'Rulers' turned traitor, Ashborn switched sides to help the 'Monarchs', hoping to fulfill 'The Absolute Being's' wish for eternal war.
However, the other 'Monarchs' didn't trust him.
They feared his power.
So they betrayed Ashborn, turning him into the Shadow Monarch, a being of pure darkness, neither fully 'Ruler' nor 'Monarch', but something else entirely.
Ashborn became the Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light and the strongest Monarch, feared by both sides.
Unfortunately, 'The Absolute Being's' death didn't bring the peace the 'Rulers' had hoped for.
If anything, it made things worse.
The 'Monarchs' still wanted to annihilate life, while the 'Rulers' wanted to protect it, leading to their war spilling into other worlds.
In the end, to prepare Earth as a battlefield, the Rulers:
-Infused the planet with mana, awakening humans as Hunters so they could survive the coming war.
-Opened Dungeons as controlled leaks of otherworld mana and monsters to gradually acclimate humanity instead of wiping them out at once.
But 'Ashborn' has his own plans.
Initially, he wanted to create a vessel - a human host he could possess to continue the war.
He worked with the Architect to create the System, supposedly to find a suitable vessel for him to inhabit.
But 'Ashborn' changed…
After eons of endless violence, 'Ashborn' grew weary of the ceaseless bloodshed. His true intention evolved: he wanted to create a successor, not a vessel.
And in the end, his plan succeeded beyond his wildest expectations.
…as that successor became Sung Jin-Woo.
So… The Shadow Monarch wasn't actually born from darkness.
He was a fallen angel of light who chose loyalty over rebellion, was betrayed by those he tried to help, and ultimately found redemption by creating the strongest being in existence.
In short, Earth gained mana and dungeons because the 'Rulers' transformed it into a training ground to create a human strong enough to end the ancient war between 'Monarchs' and 'Rulers'.
….
A wild thought flickered across his mind, wicked and brief.
Should I just… tell them everything?
He almost smiled.
….
.
[To be continued…]
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