In Korea Hunter's Association headquarters.
In the sterile, cool confines of the Korean Hunter's Association headquarters, Woo Jinchul felt the profound change in his life. He had spent his life surrounded by the rigid order of the police force, a legacy passed down by his father, police commissioner. His career was a clear path: cadet, officer, detective, and one day, commissioner himself. But the world had changed, and with the sudden, violent emergence of Gates and the bizarre power of Hunters, the path was no longer so clear.
His father, a man who believed in the law above all else, had watched the world's chaos with growing unease. "Go where the real power is," he had said, a rare note of genuine concern in his voice. "Learn how they operate and protect the people as we had done. You have the power as a hunter to make a change in this world"
As Jinchul contemplated the shifting foundations of his life a few years back, a deep, resonant voice cut through the murmur of the hall.
It was Go Gunhee, the president of the Korean Hunter Association, speaking directly to the new recruits
"Welcome Hunters of the Association. You have been given a great gift—one that comes with an even greater burden. You will face things that ordinary people can't even comprehend. You will be feared, revered, and misunderstood. But remember this: your purpose is not to seek glory or wealth. Your purpose is to protect. To protect the innocent, to protect your families, to protect this nation. You are the shield, and the future of humanity rests on your shoulders." says Go Gunhee, the president of the Korean Hunter Association and before leaving from the stage, "So go ahead and do your job well." The words, direct and simple, hung in the air, a final directive.
Jinchul took a moment to compose himself before stepping onto the brightly lit stage, his expression unreadable behind dark sunglasses.
"Hunters. I am Woo Jinchul, Chief Inspector of the Hunters Association's Surveillance Team. Your assignments await you in your respective departments and admin near the door will guide your way to it."
With a final, unwavering gaze over the sea of faces, Jinchul left the stage and walked toward the President's office.
"Not A or even powerful B-Ranks are willing to join us, are they?" Go Gunhee said, his voice a low rumble as Jinchul entered the room.
Jinchul slid off his dark sunglasses and placed them on his deep pocket while replying "President, Guilds offer more benefits than us. It's normal that they won't be joining us"
"It would be great if we have more people like you, but let nature take its course" replies Go Gunhee. "Is there anything you need to report"
"President,I think I had a reawakening" said Jinchul in a calm tone shocking Go Gunhee
The air in the office grew heavy, thick with a silence that spoke volumes. Go Gunhee, a man whose presence was as imposing as his power, didn't flinch.
He simply fixed his gaze on Jinchul, but the power in that reminds that he is still an S-Rank Hunter who kept the chaos in Korea controlled.
"Sit and Explain," he said, the single word a command. Jinchul nodded, his calm demeanor betraying nothing of the whirlwind of change he'd experienced. He pulled the chair and sat down opposite to the President. "It started last week. I was on a routine monitoring mission, tracking a pair of suspected rogue hunters. Their mana signatures were nothing special—a low B-Rank and a high C-Rank. But as I got closer, something…shifted inside me. The mana didn't just feel like a passive energy source anymore. It had a presence. A taste."
"A taste?" Go Gunhee repeated, a flicker of genuine curiosity in his expression.
"Yes. The C-Rank's mana was chaotic, like static on a radio. The B-Rank's was cleaner, but it had a bitter, aggressive undertone. It was as if I could not only feel their power but understand its nature, its intent." Jinchul leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping to a near whisper.
"Yesterday, during the raid on a gate by the Hunters Guild , I was monitoring the S-Rank raid team. I could sense Cha Hae-In's mana flowing like a river, immense and pure, but even more so, I could see the subtle ripples and eddies in her flow as she moved. Choi Jong-In's fire magic didn't just feel hot; it felt hungry. Like a wild animal."
Go Gunhee's posture became more rigid. He laced his fingers together, elbows on the armrests. "A qualitative change in perception. Not just quantity, but quality. What about your own mana?"
"That's the most difficult part to describe. My body feels….different. Stronger, yes, but not in the brute force way of a Tank-type. It's a precision. A control. I can channel my mana into my eyes, and for a moment, I can see the flow of mana in the world, the faint traces left by everyone who passes by. It's like seeing footprints in the snow." Jinchul's eyes, normally sharp and observant, now held a deeper, more complex layer. "I believe my A-Rank was my limit before. Now, I can feel the limit moving further away."
The President was silent for a long moment, processing the information. The concept of a reawakening for an A-Rank hunter was virtually unheard of. It was an anomaly of the highest order, a disruption to the established power dynamics that the Association had fought so hard to maintain.
"Have you told anyone else?" Go Gunhee asked, his voice now lower, a serious, private tone.
"No, President. You're the first," Jinchul replied without hesitation. "I wanted to confirm it with you before making any official report. I trust your judgment on how to handle this."
A ghost of a smile touched Go Gunhee's lips. It was a rare expression, one of both approval and a heavy sense of responsibility. "You've made the right decision, Jinchul. A public reawakening like this would cause an unprecedented stir. The guilds would try to poach you, and rival nations would want to know the cause. We must handle this with extreme caution."
He rose from his chair and walked to the large window overlooking Seoul. "The Guilds, with their ever-growing power and wealth, see us as nothing more than a bureaucratic hindrance. Their top hunters, the S-Ranks, are loyal to their paychecks and the prestige of their guild name, not to the Association."
Gunhee's gaze hardened as he looked out at the city below, its lights a sprawling map of humanity he was sworn to protect. "But you, Woo Jinchul, are different. You came here not for money or fame, but for duty. Your reawakening is not just a personal matter. A vital asset for the Association."
He turned back to his desk, pressing a button on the intercom. "Chief Park, prepare a solo permit for a C-Rank dungeon, immediate dispatch. And clear my schedule for the next hour."
Go Gunhee ended the call and met Jinchul's gaze, his expression unreadable. "This conversation never happened. You are going to test your new abilities for me, and for the Association. You will enter a C-Rank dungeon alone. Report everything you find, everything you feel."
Jinchul stepped out of the President's office, the weight of his new mission settling on him like a physical cloak. He felt the curious glances of his colleagues as he walked down the pristine hallways, his dark suit and stoic expression a familiar sight. They didn't know. They couldn't.
His secret was now buried in the silence of that office, shared only with the one man in Korea who truly understood the gravity of such a power shift. A solo C-Rank dungeon. An insignificant mission for an A-Rank, a simple formality to test his new abilities in a controlled, isolated environment. But for Jinchul, it was a test of something far greater. A test of his control, his understanding, and his purpose.
He headed to the logistics department to retrieve his gear. The officer at the counter, barely looked up from his terminal. "Solo C-Rank permit for Chief Woo Jinchul, immediate dispatch. Location XXX, Gate 25."
"Confirmed," Jinchul said, the words coming out in a low, even tone. The officer, still not looking at him, slid a small tablet across the counter. Jinchul's gaze lingered on the digital map of the city, the red dot marking the gate a stark reminder of the mission ahead.
The gates, once an inexplicable phenomenon, were now a part of life. He picked up his standard gear—a pair of reinforced gloves,his armour tailored for combat, and a small pouch of mana recovery potions. No sword or weapons. He had always relied on his brute strength and disciplined fighting style, a testament to his police training.
As he walked toward the exit, his thoughts drifted back to the moment it all started. A week ago. A routine stakeout. The two rogue hunters. The inexplicable "taste" of their mana. He had told the President what he perceived, the change in his senses, the new ability to see mana's flow. But he hadn't told him everything. He couldn't. The truth was too strange, too personal, too dangerous.
The truth was, his reawakening wasn't an accident. It was a fusion.
Jinchul recalled the day clearly. He had been tailing the two rogues through a narrow alleyway, the humid summer air clinging to him. He was about to make his move when a sudden, blinding flash of light from a nearby gate nearly knocked him off his feet. It wasn't a gate bursting open, but something else entirely—a pulse of energy that felt like a shockwave of foreign mana.
In that instant, he felt a consciousness slam into his own. It was a chaotic, foreign presence, a torrent of memories and information that wasn't his. He saw images of a different world, a place without gates, without hunters, a world where the concept of mana was a fantasy. He felt the soul's terror, its desperation, its final, quiet surrender.
He had fallen to his knees, clutching his head as the memories integrated into his own. The world had gone silent for a moment, and when it returned, it was different. He saw the world not just with his eyes, but with this new, internal sense.
He had seen the mana traces left by people who had walked the alley hours ago. He had felt the residue of an argument in the air, a clash of emotions and mana signatures. The presence was gone, but it had left a mark.
A fragment of a soul. A soul from a world called Earth and a memory
The idea was preposterous. He had never heard of such a thing. But the memory, the feelings, the knowledge—they were undeniable. He saw it all in a flash, a sudden, brutal memory not his own. A convenience store. The bright lights illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. He stood at the counter, a pack of gum in his hand, as he was talking animatedly to his dad who was wearing a police uniform about a new manga named Solo Leveling. A heavy voice cut through the mundane quiet. "Look what we have here.The cop who put my brother away."
He saw a second man emerge from the shadows, grabbing him, who screamed and struggled against his grip. The first gunman's lips curled into a cruel smile. "I lost my brother, now you will lose your son."
In that instant, the world looked like it went into slow motion. He saw the gun barrel raise. His father lunged forward, not to save himself, but to protect his son. His fist shot out, aiming for the man's face. The gun muzzle flashed in the sudden, deafening roar. In that same instant, he felt the sharp pain of two impacts, a flash of white-hot agony as he saw his father's face contorted in terror, his eyes wide and his body went limp as he fell. He was also shot while he was in shock seeing his father.
The soul's essence had resonated with Jinchul's own and in its final moments, it had given Jinchul its knowledge and he felt the soul didn't want to live.
This was the truth he had hidden from Go Gunhee. The reawakening wasn't a natural process. It was an infusion, a transfer of power from one world to another, a cosmic accident that had chosen him.
The car ride to the gate was silent. His driver, a D-Rank hunter, kept his eyes on the road, a low hum of mana radiating from him. Jinchul observed him with his new senses. The low hum of mana radiating from the driver felt steady, like the gentle flow of a small creek, confirming his peak D-rank.
The car stopped signaling Jinchul that he had reached the destination. He stepped out of the car in front of the gate, a shimmering, swirling vortex of dark energy in the middle of an abandoned lot.
The area was cordoned off with bright yellow tape. The two guards at the gate, both low-rank hunters from a local guild, saluted him as he approached. Jinchul gave a slight nod in return.
He could feel the raw, untamed power pouring out of the gate, a sensation that would have caused most B-Ranks to feel a sense of unease. But to Jinchul, it was different.
He felt the mana of the monsters inside. He could almost sense their species, their raw power, and the specific nature of their magic. It was like a book, and he could read its contents just by standing outside.