Ch 1

The man shuffled around on the bed, sweat excreted through his skin, his bangs slicked onto his flushed face.

    Then he woke up. His heavy panting emanated in his ears, he had pushed his thick hair away from his face.

    "Is the air conditioning broken? Why is it so hot..?" He groggily sat up, kicking off the sheets and wobbling to the door. He turned the knob and looked around.

    'Did I accidentally sleep over at a friends place? I don't remember having such a rich friend... Is it a friend of a friend's place?'

    The room he walked around in seemed to be the lounge that had a huge window overseeing a city, the man overlooked the view with squinted eyes.

    "Wowww... I don't remember it being like this." He stood mesmerized at the unfamiliar city, in fact, it was completely new.

There were some buildings that had some kind of sci-fi net devices surrounding them, and there were advertisements about hunters or whatever.

The celebrities that used to cover the whole damn bill boards, were completely replaced with new unfamiliar faces.

    'Was there a new debut of celebrities that I didn't know of? Even then, they wouldn't take down well-known celebrities just for new ones.'

    The man felt a sense of strangeness about this new scenery.

'Just where am I?'

He began running around and checking every room possible in the large apartment. It wasn't until he got to the bathroom he stopped.

    'Just-' He blinked.

    "Just what the hell is going on?!" He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't crazy.

     'Who am I?' He tugged his hair and widened his eyes. Upon his unusual realization, he possessed silver cold eyes and raven slick hair, which adorned around his neck.

    'I'm not me. This isn't what I looked like at all! And what's with these weird eyes?..' He leaned closer to the mirror and tried poking at his eye. He blinked.

    '... They're real? I have such unique eyes...'

    The man slowly accepted his situation with a calm expression. Since there was nothing he could do about this sudden possession, as he had no way to undo it.

    'I should get dressed.' He went to his room and opened the door.

    When he opened it, there stood a large closet with mountains of clothes hanging by the sides and shoes propped up on the shelves.

    'Shit... I'm rich...' The man had an unusual smile closing the closet door behind him.

    Once the man came out, he wore a comfortable set of clothes.

    'There were barely any casual wear in there.' The man noticed a laptop sitting on the nightstand, he opened the laptop and was confronted with it's lock screen.

    —Welcome, Raven!

    "Eh?"

    'That's... My name? But never mind that, of course this would have a lock on it!' He clenched his fist in defeat.

    *Ding!*

    "Huh? How did that happen?" He looked down and found his thumb on the laptop's fingerprint reader.

    The man scratched his cheek,'I guess this had a fingerprint pad...' He stretched his arms and popped his fingers, laying himself on the bed by propping up a pillow for back support.

    "Time to research what the hell is going on."

    ***

    He wasted two days away, filling himself with new found information about the current time. He rubbed his red eyes that teared up slightly from looking at the screen too long. Yawning, he soon got up to get himself a snack in the kitchen.

    From the end of some quick google searches, this world has become the embodiment of a fantasy. Monsters that seem to be from another world, and creatures from myths and legends can either be a sign of good or bad fortune; they all come through portals that warp reality, and each monster or myth are varied depending in the country you're in.

    This all started two decades ago. The world went to shit because of an unknown cause, the fantasy we've all wished for has turned into a reality, now it is our biggest regret for these consequences.

    But we soon adapted as we humans do, a species made to evolve and use our intelligence for the better of human kind. Some how, we began to awaken powers and magic beyond the capabilities of the human body. This could be due to a genetic mutation from these powerful monsters affecting our environment, or they could be blessings from the myths that come to visit time to time.

    Despite two decades passing, science has yet to conclude those theories, they have not become facts, but they are indeed possible conclusions for our common sense. Due to the change in the world, our sense of perception has to broaden. To adapt, and to realize, we need to evolve for the peace of the future.

    We humans have dominated many questions in the past, to conquer our thirsts of curiosity, we take the risk and leave the meaning of our lives second to truth. Though we may have answers, those kind of things lead to many possible questions. We are test subjects unknowingly, to test our reasoning and curiosity, we come to conclusions but different perceptions. That is what we are, that is what a society is.

    The man finished making his sandwich and and had a glass of water in his other hand. All the research he did was definitely confusing, but it seemed familiar to him. He munched away at his sandwich and thought about his past life; his family and friends, the one's he could trust,

    'Are they missing me?' He snickered.

    —Bam!

    As he was gulping his water, someone kicked down the front door to his apartment.

    "Wha- *Cough*" He began choking on his water that came through his nose, he covered up his mouth and his other hand—that slammed the glass onto the table—was raised to the two intruders, he looked at them with fierce eyes.

    'Am I about to get robbed? Shit! It hasn't been long since I've been here!' The two guests rushed over to him, one pulling his hands down, and the other holding his chin up and had a napkin wiping his mouth.

    "Seong-nim, are you ok?" The one with the napkin had a fierce worried look on her face.

    "Seong-nim! You didn't come out of your apartment at all, we were worried something might've happened..." And the other had an almost crying look on his face.

    'What? Are they not here to rob me? Hold on , they called me something.' Seong pulled himself out of the man's grasps and tried standing up, the other two tried to balance him.

    Seong walked over to the couches in the lounge in front of the kitchen and sat down, the other two followed but stood standing up.

    Seong sighed as he crossed his arms,'Now who are these two? Considering that I'm rich, could they be bodyguards here to protect me? They said they were worried about me.' Seong held his chin in thought.

    The bodyguards stared, waiting for a response, but there was none. The woman spoke,"Seong-nim. We mustn't be late today, we have yet to catch the serial assaulters. We need to hurry."

She bowed her head slightly as she spoke, her straight black bangs hovered over her maroon dark, cat like eyes. Seong lifted his chin and looked at the window.

    The other bodyguard spoke quickly,"Should we do it instead, Seong-nim?" He tilted his head side ways, his bright blue eyes focused on Seong, his messy black hair shifted.

    'They also have unique eyes. It looks like I have some pets under my roof.' Seong clicked his tongue while looking back, he flapped his hand at them.

    "No, I'll be going, let me change my set of clothes." Seong was both worried and excited; excited, because he wanted to see how this fantasy world functioned, and worried, because that means there will be more dangers he needs to be aware of. But why not take the risk?

***

    "Hmmm..." Seong looked at the newly built world, it didn't seem much different. He looked at the front of the car, the male bodyguard was driving while the female bodyguard protected Seong.

    They soon arrived to a pub, despite being quite trashy and rundown, it was booming in business.

    'A typical bar.' Seong squinted his eyes at the neon sign.

    —Mosnovixxy

    'What a familiar name.' Seong thought hard about where this bar was from, but nothing came to mind.

    "Seong-nim, we'll set things up, you can go inside." The woman bowed.

    "Alright."

    Seong walked in the bar and immediately felt something was off. It was too quiet despite the amount of people inside, he glanced around, and some people looked away from him with worry and uncertainty in their eyes.

Even when Seong asked the host for a private area and paid, the host couldn't look at his eyes.

    'What's with this uneasiness?..' Seong clenched his hands, wary of the eyes set on his back.

•••

    The person waited until the Seong was gone. Then she pressed the communication device in her glasses,"The target has come to the bar, Mosnovixxy."

•••

    The waitress led Seong to a sound proof booth, Seong pulled the curtains and looked inside.

    "S-Sir..." She trembled while gesturing Seong to sit,"W-What would you like to d-drink, sir?" She couldn't plaster her usual sweet smile on her face anymore.

    "Bring some red wine and soju-"

    "Yes sir! I'll bring some right away!" As she was about to turn, she felt a sharp pain in her neck.

    "What are you doing?"

    "H-Huh?.." As she turned, she stared into Seong's cold eyes. It felt like she was going to freeze to death if she doesn't run away now.

    "I was going to say more."

    "I-I was too hasty, I apologize." She bowed down to show sincerity.

    Seong clicked his tongue in annoyance as he palmed his face,"Its fine. Just listen, tell the host that I have a two friends outside, if they ask for me, lead them here."

    "Yes sir..." She stood still bowing, she didn't move.

    "Agh, it's fine. Go."

    "T-thank you!" She then scurried away.

    'Just how much do I terrify people? I don't think I look that scary.' At first, Seong was going to be respectful and nice, but after he saw the atmosphere and all the stares, he decided against it. He sat there annoyed.

***

    "Ah, you're finally here."

    "Yes."

    Seong sipped on his red wine as the other two sat down.

    They looked at the mass of soju and wine on the table,"Drink, if it's not to your liking, order something else."

    Seong chucked a remote for orders onto the table. They looked at it, then him.

    "No, we're fine with soju." The male bodyguard grabbed a glass and poured in some soju while trying to smile, Seong quietly looked at the other bodyguard.

    Her catlike eyes pierced him," Sorry Seong-nim, but we need to be alert."

    "Then make sure you don't drink too much, I bought a lot because I wanted to spend time with you guys." Seong began to gulp down his wine as the other two were surprised.

    The actual reason why was to gain information, he needed at least one of them drunk enough to spill the beans. So he smiled as the male bodyguard began downing some soju while smiling, Seong's smile became more crooked as the bodyguard's face was becoming more red.

Though it was a time consuming process, they had nothing to do in the meantime anyway.

    Seong looked at the woman, she sat still. He narrowed his silver cold eyes, but she still didn't budge.

    'I need to talk to him alone since he seems drunk enough.'

Seong cleared his throat,"Hey."

    The woman spoke instantly like a robot,"Yes, Seong-nim."

    "Go check out the area, just in case."

    "Yes, Seong-nim" She sat up and left, the curtains enclosing from behind.

    'Now...' Seong smiled,"Hey."

    "Ahhh... Y-yess..?" The body guard smiled with his gaping mouth. He truly looked like a puppy.

    "Who are you?"

    "What do you mean, don't you know? Haha!"

    Seong didn't like to waste time, so he spoke straightforwardly,"Tell me now, that's an order."

    "M-Myung Dae-Jung..."

    "The woman with us?"

    "Kim Hyun..."

    Seong pointed to himself,"Now me."

    Dae-Jung hesitated,"Di-Did you forget somehow?"

    Seong slammed the table, making Dae-Jung flinch.

    "Y-You are Han Seong, Seong-nim..." Dae-Jung lowered his head and Seong's eyes flickered. No way right?

     Seong kept asking questions about the world, how hunters used their abilities, and what today was.

    Also, just in case,"Do you know someone by the name Lee Woo-Jin?" Seong's face hardened as his snake-like eyes narrowed further into his prey's soul.

  "L-Lee Woo-Jin... Y-yes, he has been bothering you since." Dae-Jung finally looked at Seong in the eyes. But he was still not in the right mind, because his tolerance for alcohol was low.

Seong scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning back. Then, the curtains flew open.

    "Nothing to report, Seong-nim."

•••

    Kim Hyun was still suffering from the cold sweat Seong gave her earlier. From when she stood still staring at Han Seong's eyes, she felt it instinctively, he did not want her there.

Though she doesn't know what she did, she wanted to fix her mistake right away. So when Han Seong gave her a task, she did as he said with the calmest tone.

But even if that did mask her true feelings, the damage from those eyes are still gnawing at the back of her mind.

•••

    "That's good." By the time Kim Hyun came back, the bottles were emptied by Dae-Jung.

Seong watched Kim Hyun with careful eyes, he noticed that Kim Hyun was a bit more nervous than usual. The sweat sliding down her head, her disheveled hair, and her eyes slightly trembling; something was wrong.

    He stood up next to the exit,"Kim Hyun-"

    "Yes sir!"

    "..." Seong narrowed his eyes at her, and again, the same thing happened with the waitress, she was trembling.

    "Help him sober up." He slightly opened the curtains and looked back.

    "Yes..." She lowered her gaze.

    "And," She tensed up and pricked up her ears,"Am I really that scary?" She looked up confused.

    "Answer that when we get back to the apartment." Seong sighed and waved goodbye to them, closing the curtain.

    As Seong was coming out, he saw the waitress again,"Hey."

    "Y-Yes?!"

    "Can I pay for another private booth?"

    "I-I can take you to one."

    Seong pointed behind him,"If they come looking for me, tell them where I am."

    The waitress nodded while leading the way.

    Seong sat in the booth alone, thinking about how to activate his abilities. From what Myung Dae-Jung said, he needs to feel the mana fluctuate within him.

And the internet said that it would first feel like a sting in the body as the surge of mana flows through your veins.

    'They said it'd feel like a sting, but why am I getting a bad feeling?..'

    As Seong tried to find his mana, he also thought about what Dae-Jung said about his abilities,

    "Your abilities?.. Ah, you're a D-rank so far, but your strength and stamina is incredible. But your abilities? I've actually never seen it... I guess you freeze up the room, because you're kinda scary-"

    'Scary? How!?' Seong's concentration stopped as his frustration rised,'And my abilities??? Have they really not seen me use it? Do I even have any?'

    The reason everything seems to be a fantasy, is because it is! This whole damn world is just a fantasy book I read half way!

The reason I know who Lee Woo-Jin is, is because he's the main character of this book! The book that had a long title that even I didn't bother to remember it!

    'What's even worse is, I've already started conflict with that bastard!'

    —Stab!

    Seong unconsciously stabbed the table, but then he started to regain his senses.

    'I shouldn't curse at him, he's actually doing some good in the world.' Seong lowered his gaze,

    "Huh?"

    'I stabbed the table? Stab??? What's this weird thing on my hand?' Seong began flexing his left hand, and the blue gas started flowing along with his movements.

    'Is this?..' Seong began using it as a yo-yo, it changed shapes and condensed, then it kept bouncing back and forth into his hand and wherever else he threw it.

Then he brought all his fingers together, and the gas took the shape of a knife at the end point of his fingers.

    "Hoh..."

    'This is mana?..' Seong smiled awkwardly,

'But I didn't feel any sting in my arms, is it because Han Seong was used to it?'

Unfortunately, timing couldn't be any worse, because when he said that, Seong felt an acute pain crawling back up is arm.

    "AGHH!" Seong rushed to clasp his wrist as he jolted, his heartbeat quickened as his breathing became deeper. Cold sweat laid on his forehead and back.

    "What the hell..." Seong did not want to feel that again.

    —Sshhhikk

    Bad timing again. Kim Hyun and Myung Dae-Jung both stood at the entrance,

    "Seong-nim, we've detected the suspects."

    Seong looked at them with tired eyes,'Fuck...'

***

    As the three of them quickened their pace, the two bodyguards were able to leave quicker than Han Seong, and there was a flood of people coming through. Han Seong cursed at himself internally, his hand was still numb and his vision was woozy.

    But due to him wobbling from time to time, he accidentally knocked himself into someone. That someone began to fall backwards as they tripped on their own feet, but then they felt someone pull them into an embrace.

    "Hey...*pant* Sorry about that..." Seong tried to catch his breath by hanging onto that person in a hoodie that covered their face, but he had to go, so he let go and patted them on their shoulder.

    As that person looked at Han Seong leave, they lifted their head slightly and rubbed their ear,"Why would he..."

That person's face got exposed due to the light reaching his light face: Dark brown hair hovering over his dark eyes, and a mole under his right eye. His face was contorted with disgust as he kept rubbing his hot ear.