Chapter: 1

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[Translator – Minstrel]

[Proofreader – Minstrel]

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"Do you really like ants that much?"

Korea University of Art and Gallery.

Assistant Professor Lim Dogyun, who saw Suho's paintings, looked bored.

The wall of the exhibition hall was filled with ant paintings.

Various paintings, including oil paintings and watercolors.

The types were diverse, and the appearance of the drawn ants was also varied.

Assistant Lim attached the name tag he brought below one of them.

"Korea University of Fine Arts Department Exhibition"

"3rd year, Sung Suho"

"Even if you only gather the ants you've drawn since you were a freshman, it would fill a whole truck. If you like them so much, shouldn't you have studied entomology instead of fine arts?"

"I thought about it, but there is no separate department for ants."

"So, you only like ants, not insects in general?"

"Yes. Strangely, I've liked ants since I was a child. When I found a line of marching ants, I used to walk carefully, making sure not to accidentally step on them…"

"You've liked them since you were a child? Your tastes are consistent."

Assistant Lim smirked and continued to look around Suho's paintings.

Then, he noticed one painting.

"This ant looks different."

In front of him was a humanoid ant with black energy swirling around it.

"Hmm, it looks dynamic and good. Did you draw a monster?"

"No, it's just an ant that appeared in my dreams when I was young."

"Haha, you're quite something. How much do you have to like ants to dream about them? When were you a child?"

"Before the Cataclysm."

The Cataclysm.

It referred to the crisis of the end that suddenly arrived on Earth two years ago.

The mysterious gates appeared all over the Earth.

And the dreadful monsters that poured out of them, invading the Earth.

Fortunately, a tiny fraction of humans awakened supernatural abilities just in time, and humanity barely survived the crisis.

It happened merely two years ago.

At that time, Suho was just 20 years old, a freshman in college.

However, the time when Suho dreamed about ants was much earlier, back in middle and high school.

"Anyway, you're quite a unique guy."

Assistant Lim chuckled and carefully examined Suho's painting again.

"But you really drew it well. The ants in the painting seem like they're about to jump out at any moment. Oops, did I go overboard? Your paintings are just that vivid."

Suho smiled inwardly at his words.

"I can't help it."

It wasn't just a casual comment; the ants in his painting were his nightmares themselves.

During his adolescence, they would leap out of his dreams and chase him to kill him.

"…Looking back, it was really a dreadful dream."

Suho recalled that dream.

"Level up!"

"Level up!"

In that dream, Suho had to fight against monsters without knowing any language.

Endlessly fighting armored knights, ant armies, and later, even giant dragons.

By defeating those monsters, he would level up like in a game.

But if he died, it would reset.

He had to start all over again from level 1, like a new game.

The only way to escape from that dream was to somehow survive and make it to the final boss's room.

After battling tirelessly, Suho finally reached the front of the final boss, but to his surprise, the final boss's face… "resembled his

father." He smirked, acknowledging that it was a dream from his adolescence.

However, at some point, he stopped having that dream. "Probably around that time…" Yes, during the summer of his first year in high school, after his parents went missing, Suho's peaceful life crumbled.

Around that time, peculiar signs were appearing in a corner of the art gallery building.

"Did you place it here?"

"Yes, senior. The assistant professor said she stored it here."

Creak…

Painting students opened the warehouse door to retrieve the exhibits, and their eyes widened when they found "it" inside.

"Huh?"

Squeak! Squeak!

A pitch-black hole appeared on the wall.

"Ack! It's a gate?!"

"Report it quickly!"

The frightened students stepped back. They were about to call for help with trembling hands, but a fourth-year senior urgently stopped them.

"Calm down! It's clearly a closed gate!"

"Oh, right. The blue fog hasn't started flowing out yet."

"Yeah. We're still far from the dungeon break."

"Hah, that was really scary."

The students, who belatedly understood the situation, let out a sigh of relief. Dungeon break referred to the phenomenon where monsters poured out of the gate. However, the dungeon break didn't occur immediately after the gate was created. First, the "blue fog" had to flow out from the gate, contaminating the surroundings, and only then would the gate open, allowing monsters to come out.

"So, it means we're still safe. Hehe."

"S-Senior, why are you nervously laughing? It's still dangerous, so let's report it quickly, right?"

"You fools. Haven't you heard the rumors? They say that if you drink the blue fog, you can awaken your abilities."

"Ah!"

The juniors' ears perked up at the senior's words. The true nature of the blue fog hadn't been clearly identified yet. However, a rumor had been quietly spreading on the internet, like an urban legend. It claimed that the fog was actually magical power, and if you drank it, even an ordinary person could awaken their abilities instantly.

"Isn't that just a baseless rumor?"

"It's not even proven to be a baseless rumor."

"Hmm."

"Hehe. That's why we want to check it out this time. Do any of us have an S-rank hunter among us?"

"….!"

The junior's eyes quickly changed at the senior's secretive voice. Thoughts of astronomical earnings an S-rank hunter could make came to mind. Since the remains of monsters and dungeon ores had become valuable new materials, the profession of a hunter, who could gather all those resources, became a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

But it had only been two years since the Great Cataclysm occurred. How to awaken magical abilities was still not clearly known.

"Besides, do you guys know that Assistant Professor Lim is also an E-rank Awakener?"

"We've heard. She's always complaining about not making much money as an E-rank hunter, so she's also working as an assistant during the semester."

"Tsk, tsk. You guys are talking nonsense. It's all a deception, my friend. Don't you know how much she earns just by entering the dungeon as part of the excavation team?"

"How much does she earn?"

The senior spoke in a whisper as if revealing a great secret, and the junior's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really? She earns that much even as an E-rank?"

"Yeah, my friend. Even if you manage to become the lowest-ranked hunter, it's still a considerable amount. So, why would you miss such a great opportunity? Huh?"

"Wow, hunters are amazing. No, why is Assistant Lim still attached to the school if she earns that much?"

"She makes money in the dungeon and spends it generously on her art. Working in the assistant's office also gives her many exhibition opportunities."

"Really amazing."

The E-rank earnings were far more convincing than the extremely rare S-rank awakening, and with the senior's continuous persuasion, the juniors finally put down their phones hesitantly.

"Well, ahem. They say it's somewhat safe until the blue fog flows out, right…?"

"Th-Then, shall we wait a bit and see? Just for a short while?"

"You brats. Now you understand. It's just one shot at life. When the fog comes out, just take one sip and report it immediately. There won't be any danger."

And a while later, the sapphire fog finally started to seep out from the gate.

Thud!

Suddenly, the building shook.

"Huh?"

Suho, who was in the exhibition hall, raised his head.

"What's happening? An earthquake?"

Something felt strange.

The sensation of the entire space trembling.

But Suho was the only one who noticed the anomaly. No one else in the exhibition hall seemed to be aware of it.

Then, it happened.

Thump.

"Ugh."

One student was walking slowly into the exhibition hall.

Assistant Professor Lim, who happened to be near the entrance, approached him and spoke.

"Young Chul, I told you to go to the warehouse, why are you so late…?"

"I-I, I was, stopped."

"…Young Chul?"

"I-I saw a monster."

"Park Young Chul?"

"It attacked me."

Chills ran down Suho's spine.

"Something's wrong."

Assistant Professor Lim's expression stiffened as she checked Young Chul's condition up close.

His pupils were trembling and dilated, and he kept mumbling incomprehensible words.

"Park Young Chul? What's in your mouth?"

In response to Assistant Professor Lim's question, Young Chul finally realized his condition. Suddenly, blue smoke started to seep out from his mouth and nose. Panicking, he tried to cover his mouth with his hand, but even more smoke escaped between his fingers. Then, with a rush of heat, the blue smoke engulfed Young Chul's body.

"Professor!"

Suho, who ran up from behind, grabbed Assistant Professor Lim's body firmly.

"It's hot! H-h-hot…"

However, it was too late. Young Chul's body was consumed by the blue smoke and caught fire.

"Kyaaaah!"

"What is that!"

Nearby students witnessed the horrifying sight and screamed in terror.

But then, the school's speakers blared a chilling siren.

"Emergency situation!"

The unexpected announcement sent the students into confusion.

"A gate has appeared on the campus!"

"What? A gate?"

"The location of the detected gate is the Art Gallery building!"

"Damn! That's here!"

"Aaah!"

"Kyaaah!"

The chaos intensified. Students ran wildly in all directions. The sight of a person burning to death before their eyes was unimaginably terrifying.

But there was one problem. To escape outside, they had to pass by Young Chul's burning body, which was right in the middle of the entrance.

Rushing ahead, one student stumbled upon the intense heat.

"Are there any other exits…?"

They frantically looked around, but there was none. There was only one exit.

While students were trembling in fear and hesitating, the unimaginable happened.

"What? That person?"

Young Chul's charred body stood up again, covered in the blue smoke.

"Ah, wait. Is that…?"

Assistant Professor Lim's eyes widened in disbelief.

"It's a monster! Get away from there right now!"

Assistant Professor Lim urgently shouted.

But it was too late. The monster formed from the blue smoke that had engulfed Young Chul swung its arm like a whip.

Crack!

"Aaah!" Students collapsed to the ground, spewing blood. As the blue smoke stuck to their clothes, their bodies also began to burn fiercely.

"Aaah! Fire! Fire!"

"Kyaaah!"

The students scattered in all directions, in a state of chaos and fear. The cries of desperation filled the air.

"Oh my goodness. It was really the Mistborn…."

Assistant Professor Lim quickly took out his phone. The Mistborn was not something he, an E-ranked hunter, could handle alone. He urgently sent a request for support.

Curious, Suho asked, "The Mistborn? What kind of monster is that?"

"If we get caught by it…." Assistant Professor Lim hesitated before continuing, "We'll also turn into the same kind of monster."

[Roaaar!]

Just then, the bodies of the students who were attacked by the Mistborn rose again, engulfed in blue smoke.

The situation was dire. The students were not only facing a dangerous monster, but they also had to contend with the possibility of being transformed into one themselves. The fear and panic grew, and they were trapped between escaping the building and the horrifying threat before them.

Meanwhile, the Mistborn continued its relentless assault, not showing any signs of stopping. Assistant Professor Lim knew they had to find a way to defeat it quickly, or more lives would be at risk.

As the blue smoke spread, the scene became even more chaotic. Suho and Assistant Professor Lim tried to lead the students to safety, but the situation was rapidly deteriorating.

Suddenly, a voice came over the speakers again, this time it was from the school's security team.

[Attention! Attention! The Hunter Association has been notified, and reinforcements are on their way. Please remain calm and try to stay away from the Mistborn.]