The alarm rang sharply, cutting through the predawn quiet of the apartment building. Jin Kael groaned, rolling onto his side and staring at the cracked ceiling above him. The early morning light barely touched the city streets below, but he could already hear the faint rumble of hunters leaving for their daily raids.
Another day. Another E-rank dungeon. Another reminder that he was the weakest hunter alive.
Kael swung his legs over the edge of the thin mattress he shared with two roommates and rubbed his eyes. His body ached in all the familiar ways: stiff shoulders from carrying gear, bruised arms from yesterday's skirmishes, and legs that refused to move as quickly as his mind wanted.
He glanced at the small, faded hunter badge pinned to the wall above his bed. It was the cheapest model, a dull bronze with scratches everywhere, but it was all he had earned in the years since passing the minimum hunter test. Even after surviving dozens of E-rank raids, he had yet to be promoted. No one took him seriously. No guild wanted him. He was invisible.
"Breakfast's cold again," muttered one of his roommates, poking at a burned egg with a fork.
Kael didn't respond. He wasn't hungry. He had learned long ago that food was a background concern, one of the many inconveniences of being at the bottom of the hierarchy.
He dressed quickly, sliding into his worn jacket and checking the small pouch of coins in his pocket. Not enough to save him from another week of ramen noodles and stale bread. But enough to get through the next dungeon—barely.
Today's dungeon was labeled "routine," an E-rank with low-level monsters. Nothing exciting, nothing worth fame or money. But it was the only work he could reliably get.
---
The streets of the city were quiet. Other hunters were already leaving in groups, chattering and joking as if life outside the dungeon was ordinary. Kael kept his head down, letting the more confident hunters lead. He had learned the hard way that attention never helped. People noticed weakness, and most hunters preferred to ignore it—or worse, exploit it.
The guild had warned them: "E-rank dungeons are easy. Keep your wits, stay together, don't die."
Easy, they said.
Kael's stomach twisted as he stepped through the dungeon gate. The air was damp, the smell of dust and mold sharp in his nose. He had entered hundreds of dungeons like this, and yet the weight of anticipation never faded. He knew he could survive, barely, but the nagging sense of being expendable always followed him.
The other hunters moved ahead, torches flickering against the walls, leaving Kael at the back. He liked it that way. It gave him space to observe, to notice things no one else would. Every crack in the stone, every shift in shadow, every subtle movement of the monsters—he watched. He learned.
The monsters in this dungeon were weak, predictable. Goblin-like creatures with jagged teeth, weak claws, and a tendency to swarm in small groups. Kael had killed countless numbers of them before. They were easy, almost mundane, yet he treated each carefully. One misstep could still cost him his life.
But as he passed a narrow corridor, a faint flicker of golden light caught his eye.
He froze.
Nothing moved. No monsters, no traps, just the shadows along the walls. Yet the light pulsed faintly, almost like a heartbeat.
Kael leaned closer, squinting. "What…?" he whispered.
It vanished. Just dust. Just shadows. Nothing that should have been there.
He shook his head. Probably a trick of the torchlight, he thought. But a small part of him shivered. Something was watching. Something unusual.
---
The raid continued without incident. Kael followed the others, stepping carefully to avoid traps and hazards. He was always careful, always cautious. Every misstep reminded him of his weakness, of all the times he had been left behind or underestimated.
At the end of the dungeon, the monsters were minimal, and the reward tiny. The other hunters grabbed their loot quickly, joking about the "easy job." Kael lingered behind, hands brushing along the walls, noticing the smallest details—the scratches of claws, faint scorch marks, tiny piles of ash.
One stone in particular felt warmer than it should have. He touched it. It tingled faintly in his fingers, a vibration almost alive. A shiver ran through him.
[Unknown Presence Detected.]
He froze. There was no system interface, no glowing text, nothing he could see—only a faint pulse in his chest. His heartbeat echoed strangely in his ears.
Kael pulled his hand back slowly, glancing around. No one had noticed. No one had seen. That was how he liked it. Some things were better left unknown.
---
On the way out, the city seemed quieter than usual. Perhaps the early morning had scared people indoors. Kael adjusted his jacket and stepped onto the cobblestone street. Sunlight reflected off the buildings, and for a moment, he allowed himself to forget the dungeon entirely.
Yet the feeling remained: something had changed. Something inside him.
He felt a pull, subtle but undeniable, a warmth under his skin that had not been there before. Not enough to hurt, not enough to burn—but a warning, a whisper.
Kael shook his head. "It's nothing," he muttered aloud.
But as he walked toward his apartment, he noticed the faint golden glow again, just at the corner of his vision. Gone the next instant.
A soft wind brushed past him, carrying the faint scent of something metallic, alive. His fingers tingled.
He didn't know it yet, but this was only the beginning.
Something had chosen him. Something ancient.
And one day soon, he would understand.