Chapter 002
Even before I had time to process the status window floating before my eyes—
Thump!
My backside hit a floor that had suddenly materialized beneath me.
“Ouch….”
As I stood up while rubbing my lower back, I couldn’t help but doubt my own eyes.
“What is…?”
I was certain I was the only one who had fallen into the intersection Gate, but hundreds, no, thousands of people—who knows where they came from—were looking around with pale, terrified faces.
“I wasn’t the only one?”
But all those people were looking up at the sky, murmuring in confusion. Naturally, I followed their gaze.
“U-uh…?”
A stupid sound escaped my lips. I checked the sky once more.
Looking up, I didn’t see a vast expanse of sky, but rather ground that curved in a steep arc. I realized it instantly. This Gate was a space shaped like a giant hamster wheel.
Taking in my surroundings, feeling like a single hamster trapped inside, my only thought was….
“Well, I’m screwed.”
It’s been twenty years since Gates first appeared in the world. In that time, South Korea has achieved dazzling technological progress and produced several outstanding Hunters. Normally, if it were just an average ‘Sudden Gate,’ Hunters would have arrived swiftly to rescue everyone.
However….
The reason I used the word ‘screwed’ was because this Gate was none other than… a ‘Labyrinth.’ A rare type of Gate that had appeared only once in the twenty years of Gate history—so rare that there wasn’t even any data accumulated on it.
Think you can just find the exit?
Rumble….
Easier said than done. These five-meter-high labyrinth walls change positions every three minutes. In a Gate with no established strategy, a giant maze where the paths constantly shift is a nightmare.
Even if a top-tier Ranker came in, unless they possessed tracking or exploration skills, they were more likely to starve to death while looking for the exit.
“Hunters will be here to rescue us soon.”
“Everyone, stay calm!”
The people who had dropped into the large open space with me were encouraging each other. If I knew nothing about Gates, I might have held onto hope like them. But unfortunately, I knew too much.
“Why did I even bother graduating from a Hunter Academy….”
Just then, a man among the bustling crowd shouted loudly.
“For now, let’s all gather together and wait until the Hunters arrive!”
It was a wise judgment—normally. If you’re stranded, staying put until rescuers arrive is the safest bet. Of course, that only applies to normal situations.
“Everyone, get away!”
Unlike that man, I shouted for people to scatter and run. Through my eyes, I could see a swarm of winged monsters approaching from the distance.
“Flying monsters are coming!”
But the people only looked around, asking, “Why?” or “What are you talking about?” Since they couldn’t see anything yet, it was hard for them to believe me.
But my eyes and ears, developed to a degree incomparable to a civilian’s, could feel them!
“Aerial monsters will attack soon! Run!”
Judging by their flight speed, they would be here in thirty seconds. They would become visible to the naked eye in about ten seconds. But by then, the distance from this open area to the labyrinth would be too great to cover.
“Run into the labyrinth! If you stay in this open space, you’ll be picked off instantly!”
I screamed until my throat was raw, grabbing the clothes of those near me and repeating that we had to run together. However, people seemed to feel safer huddling together; they had no intention of listening to me.
‘There’s nothing more I can do.’
I bit my lip hard.
“Run if you want to live!”
Giving up on persuasion, I left them with those final words and turned to run. I desperately hoped at least one person would follow me.
From behind, I heard voices trying to stop me from entering the maze. But a few seconds later, horrific sounds began to echo from that direction.
“Aaaaakh!”
“Agggh! Help me!”
I gritted my teeth and ran forward, acting as if I couldn’t hear those sounds.
Pant! Pant!
My breath felt like it was catching in my throat, making me feel like I might die, but I couldn’t stop my legs. If I stopped, I’d be torn apart by monsters!
‘Left! Straight ahead!’
The only saving grace was that, thanks to my hypersensitive senses, I could pick paths where I couldn’t hear the presence of monsters. As time passed, I went deeper into the labyrinth, yet I remained alive. If I had stayed in that open plaza, I’d probably be seeing the afterlife by now.
‘Hah!’
After running for a long while, the moment I sensed the monsters’ presence had vanished, I ducked behind a labyrinth wall.
“Pant, pant. Status Window.”
After sharpening my senses as much as possible so I could flee at a moment’s notice, I called up the window. I had wondered if I was seeing things earlier because I was so flustered, but.
[Hidden Class: Novice Owner of a Healing Therapy Shop]
[Skill: Absolute Senses (EX-rank)]
As soon as I saw the neat square box floating before me, a hollow laugh escaped.
‘Ha, what even is this “heard-of-nowhere” class….’
Most Hunters awaken when they are in danger, like I was. And I learned at the Academy that one usually awakens with the skills or class most needed at the moment of awakening. For example, if you need to protect your family, you get a Defense-type class; if you need to heal an injured lover, a Healer-type.
‘Then shouldn’t I, trapped in a Labyrinth Gate, be given an Exploration skill to find the way?!’
Fine, let’s say Exploration skills are too rare. Then at least my Strength, Agility, or Stamina should be high enough to survive until I find the exit, right?
What on earth is this stat window with ‘Visual’ and ‘Olfactory’? These are stats I’ve never heard of or seen in my life.
‘This is driving me crazy….’
I wiped the sweat from my face and pulled myself together. That system window is a lot fairer and more ‘give-and-take’ than one might think. Even if a class or skill seems pathetic and useless, it must have been given because it serves a purpose somewhere.
I tried to think as calmly as possible. I had 2 Stat Points remaining. Since I had survived by hearing the monsters approach and running, investing in Auditory….
My fingertip hesitated as I moved to touch the Auditory stat. I wasn’t sure if choosing a path solely for ‘escape’ was right. How much longer could I, someone who hadn’t exercised since graduating from the Academy, keep running from monsters? Even if I could hear them better, what use was it without stamina?
Thump, thump.
Overlapping with the sound of my racing heart, I heard the heavy thud of a monster’s footstep far away. I had to find a way to end this escape.
‘Eighteen years ago, a Hunter who cleared a Labyrinth Gate said in an interview….’
He said that in a Labyrinth Gate, you don’t find a Boss; you find the exit, and then all monsters vanish and the Gate is automatically cleared. I shouldn’t be avoiding monsters; I should be finding the exit.
Once I reached that conclusion, there was only one stat to choose. The way to ‘find’ the exit.
It was Visual.
Tap.
When I pressed the Visual stat, a status window appeared with a strange sound effect.
[error occurred]
[Skill level is too low for the caster to use directly. A medium is required.]
A medium?
I quickly rummaged through my pockets, and my fingertips brushed against an oil bottle I carried out of habit. As soon as I pulled it out, the transparent oil began to glow blue and swirl, as if pleading to be let out of the bottle.
When I carefully opened the cap, the oil turned into a hazy mist and began to stretch out in one direction. It was as if it were guiding me toward the exit.
* * *
Wiiiiing—!
Beeeee—!
February 19th, 2026, 6:06 PM.
An emergency alert was issued across South Korea.
[Sudden Gates appearing throughout the Seoul area. Please prioritize safety. Feb 19, 6:06 PM.]
[Calamity-grade Labyrinth Gates occurred. All Hunters requested for emergency mobilization. Dongjak-gu, Mapo-gu, Songpa-gu…. Feb 19, 6:07 PM.]
“Eleven Sudden Gates at once? Does that make sense?! And what? All of them are Labyrinths?”
Maeng Seok-woo, the Chairman of the Korean Hunter Association, was in shock as he looked at the eleven flashing red dots on the map of Seoul.
“Because they occurred during rush hour, the number of civilians sucked into the eleven Gates reaches into the tens of thousands…!”
“They say multiple Labyrinth Gates have appeared in capitals all over the world, just like in Seoul!”
“The measured radiuses range from 3 meters to a maximum of 1 kilometer!”
Damn it! Damn it! Maeng Seok-woo slammed his desk hard with his fleshy hand. Not only did eleven Sudden Gates appear simultaneously, but they were Labyrinth Gates, which had only occurred once in twenty years! What a disaster to happen only a week after his appointment…!
“The Labyrinth Gate strategy! Distribute it to every Hunter in Korea!”
“T-there is no information that could be called a strategy! The only known method is to accompany a Hunter with Detection or Exploration skills to find the exit.”
“Stop talking about Exploration skills!”
Isn’t that the rarest awakening skill in the world?
“The last Hunter with that skill disappeared years ago! Even an F-rank is fine—is there no Hunter registered with an Exploration skill?”
“…There are none in Korea. There are only three in the entire world, including that missing Hunter.”
“Augh! For heaven’s sake!”
Chairman Maeng wiped his streaming sweat, trying to shake off the worst-case scenarios flooding his mind. The Labyrinth Gate—the worst kind of Gate that had caused the most casualties in the twenty years since Gates began appearing in Korea. He remembered the chaos of that day vividly.
“…No, it’s not like that.”
He swallowed hard and shook his head vigorously. Today is different from eighteen years ago. Hasn’t South Korea produced four S-rank Hunters since then? S-rank Hunters, known as out-of-spec Awakened, should be able to clear it even without Exploration skills.
However, one S-rank Hunter is currently paralyzed, one is a Healer, and the other was sent to support a Japanese Gate at the worst possible timing….
Tsk.
There was only one card Chairman Maeng could trust. South Korea’s first S-rank Hunter, the #1 Ranker in Korea, and #5 in the world.
“Kang Jin-seo! Where is Hunter Kang right now!”
“He is currently solo-playing an AA-rank Dungeon…!”
“What? How long until he comes out!”
“It’s been three hours since he entered, but as for how long it will take him to clear it….”
“Even if he’s solo, shouldn’t an S-rank be due to come out by now?!”
“That is….”
At Chairman Maeng’s shrill shout, the employee replied while breaking into a cold sweat.
“H-Hunter Kang Jin-seo has a severe… lack of sense of direction, so it originally takes him a bit of time to clear Gates…!”
That was it! The brilliant Kang Jin-seo, Korea’s #1 Ranker, had a terrible sense of direction. It was the moment the top-secret weakness of the #1 Hunter was revealed.
