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Chapter 02
Before I even had time to be flustered by the status window that appeared before my eyes—
Thud!
I slammed hard onto the ground that had suddenly appeared beneath me, landing on my backside.
“Ow…….”
Rubbing my lower back as I stood up, I had no choice but to doubt my own eyes.
“What the……?”
I was sure I was the only one who had fallen into the four-way intersection gate, yet hundreds—no, thousands—of people with pale faces were looking around in confusion.
“So it wasn’t just me?”
But all those people were staring up at the sky, murmuring among themselves.
Naturally, I followed their gaze upward.
“Uh……?”
A dumb sound slipped out of my mouth. I checked the sky again.
Above me wasn’t a wide, open sky—but curved ground.
I quickly realized.
This gate was a space like a gigantic hamster wheel.
As I looked around, feeling like a hamster trapped inside it, my impression was simple……
“I’m screwed.”
It had been 20 years since gates first appeared in the world. South Korea had achieved dazzling technological advancements, and during that time, many outstanding hunters had been born.
Therefore, if it were just some ordinary sudden gate, hunters would have already rushed in to rescue us.
However……
The reason I said I was screwed was because this gate was a… “Maze.”
And not just any maze—it was a rare gate that had only appeared once in the past 20 years since gates began, leaving barely any data behind.
You think we just need to find the exit?
Rumble—!
Easy to say. The five-meter-high maze walls shifted positions once every three minutes.
A gate with no proper strategy, and on top of that, a massive maze where the paths constantly changed.
Even if a top-ranked hunter came, without tracking or detection skills, the chances of starving to death while searching for the exit were higher.
“Hunters will come rescue us soon!”
“Everyone, calm down!”
The people who had fallen into the large clearing with me were encouraging and looking after one another.
If only I didn’t know anything about gates, maybe I could have held onto hope like them. But I knew too much.
“Why did I even graduate from the Hunter Training Institute…….”
At that moment, a man shouted loudly from among the murmuring crowd.
“Let’s all gather together and wait for the hunters to arrive!”
A wise decision. If you’re stranded, the safest thing to do is stay put and wait for rescuers.
Of course, that’s in normal circumstances.
“Everyone, get away!”
Unlike that man, I shouted for people to scatter and run.
Because in my eyes, I could see a swarm of winged monsters rushing toward us from afar.
“Winged monsters are coming!”
But people just looked around, saying, “Why?” “What is it?”
Since they couldn’t see them yet, it was hard to believe.
But my eyes and ears—far more developed than those of ordinary people—could sense them clearly!
“Flying-type monsters are about to attack! Run!”
At the speed they were flying, they would reach us in 30 seconds. In about 10 seconds, they’d be visible to the naked eye.
But by then, it would be too late to run. The clearing was too far from the maze entrance.
“Run into the maze! If you stay in this open space, you’ll be killed instantly!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs, grabbing at the clothes of people near me and repeating over and over for them to run with me.
But people seemed to feel safer staying clustered together. They had no intention of listening to me.
‘There’s nothing I can do.’
I bit my lip hard.
“If you want to live, run!”
In the end, I gave up persuading them and left those words behind as I turned and ran—hoping at least one person would follow me.
From afar, I heard voices shouting at me not to enter the maze.
But a few seconds later, horrific sounds began echoing from behind.
“Aaaah!”
“Help! Please!”
Clenching my teeth as if I couldn’t hear them, I ran forward without looking back.
Gasp! Gasp!
My breath rose to my throat as if I were about to die, but I couldn’t stop running.
If I stopped, I’d be torn apart by monsters!
‘Left! Straight!’
At least, thanks to my sensitive senses, I could choose paths where I didn’t detect any monster presence.
As time passed, I ventured deeper into the maze—but I was still alive.
If I had stayed in that clearing, I would probably already be dead.
‘Hah!’
After running for a long time, the moment I sensed no monster presence anywhere nearby, I hid behind a maze wall.
“Haah, haah. Status window.”
After sharpening my senses to the maximum so I could run at any moment, I called up the status window.
Earlier, I had been so flustered that I half thought I was hallucinating.
[Hidden Class: Beginner Owner of a Healing Therapy Shop]
[Skill: Absolute Sense (EX-grade)]
The moment I saw the neat rectangular box floating before my eyes, a hollow laugh escaped me.
‘Ha, what the hell is this unheard-of class…….’
Most hunters awaken in dangerous situations like this. And at the moment of awakening, they receive the skill or class they most need—that’s what we were taught at the Training Institute.
For example, if you need to protect your family, you awaken as a defensive class. If you need to heal your injured lover, you awaken as a healer class.
‘Then shouldn’t I, who fell into a Maze Gate, get something like a detection skill to find the way out!?’
Fine. Detection skills are extremely rare, so let’s say that’s asking too much.
Then at least my strength, agility, or stamina should be high enough to help me survive until I find the exit, shouldn’t it?
What the hell are these stats—vision, sense of smell……? I’ve never even heard of such stats in my life.
‘This is insane…….’
I roughly wiped the sweat off my face and forced myself to focus.
That system window is fairer than it looks. It’s very clear about give and take.
Even if the class and skill look shabby and useless, they must have some purpose.
I tried to think as calmly as possible.
Remaining stat points: 2.
So far, I’ve been running by hearing monsters approach, so investing in hearing—
My fingertip hesitated as I was about to touch the hearing stat.
Because I wasn’t sure if choosing something just for “running away” was the right decision.
After graduating from the Training Institute, I had completely stopped exercising. How much longer could I realistically keep outrunning monsters?
Even if I could hear them better, what use would that be if I didn’t have the stamina?
Thud. Thud.
Overlapping with my racing heartbeat, I heard the heavy sound of monsters landing on the ground in the distance.
A way to end the running. I had to figure that out.
‘Eighteen years ago, the hunter who cleared a Maze Gate said in an interview…….’
A Maze Gate isn’t cleared by defeating a boss. Once you find the exit, all monsters disappear and the gate is automatically cleared.
Not avoiding monsters—finding the exit.
Once I reached that conclusion, there was only one stat I could choose.
The way to “find” the exit.
That was vision.
Tap.
The moment I pressed the vision stat, a strange sound effect played and a new window appeared.
[Error Occurred]
[Skill level too low for the caster to use directly. A medium is required.]
A medium?
I quickly searched my pockets, and the oil bottle I always carried brushed against my fingertips.
The moment I pulled it out, the previously transparent oil glowed blue and began to swirl—like it was asking to be released from the bottle.
Carefully, I opened the cap. The oil turned into a hazy mist and stretched out in one direction.
As if guiding the way to the exit.
Wiiiiing—!
Beep—!
February 19th, Year 26. 6:06 PM.
An emergency alert was issued across all of South Korea.
[Sudden gates occurring throughout Seoul. Exercise caution. February 19th, 6:06 PM.]
[Disaster-level Maze Gates have appeared. All hunters deploy immediately. Dongjak-gu, Mapo-gu, Songpa-gu……. February 19th, 6:07 PM.]
“Eleven sudden gates at the same time? Is that even possible?! And what? All of them are mazes?”
The president of the Korean Hunter Association, Maeng Seokwoo, stared in shock at the eleven red dots blinking across a map of Seoul.
“Because it occurred during rush hour, tens of thousands of civilians have been sucked into the eleven gates……!”
“Multiple Maze Gates have also appeared in capital cities around the world!”
“They range from a minimum radius of 3 meters to a maximum of 1 kilometer!”
Damn it! Damn it!
Maeng Seokwoo slammed his thick hand down on the desk.
Not only had eleven sudden gates appeared at once, but they were Maze Gates—the type that had appeared only once in 20 years!
And this, just one week after he took office……!
“The Maze Gate strategy! Distribute it to every hunter in South Korea!”
“T-there isn’t enough information to even call it a strategy! The only method is to accompany a hunter with detection or search skills and find the exit……!”
“Detection skills, my ass!”
It was the rarest awakening skill in the world!
“The last hunter who had that skill disappeared years ago! Isn’t there even an F-rank hunter registered with a detection skill?”
“……There isn’t one in Korea. Including the missing hunter, there are only three in the entire world.”
“Damn it!”
Chairman Maeng wiped the sweat from his face, trying to shake off the worst-case scenarios forming in his mind.
Maze Gates. In the 20 years since gates appeared in Korea, they had caused the highest number of casualties.
He vividly remembered the chaos of that day.
“……No. No.”
He swallowed dryly and shook his head.
Eighteen years ago is different from now.
Haven’t four S-rank hunters emerged in Korea since then?
If it’s an S-rank hunter—called an irregular awakener—clearing it without detection skills should be possible.
But one S-rank hunter is half-paralyzed, one is a healer, and another was unfortunately dispatched to support a gate in Japan…….
Tsk.
There was only one card Chairman Maeng could rely on.
South Korea’s first S-rank hunter, Korea’s Rank 1, World Rank 5 hunter—
“Kang Jinseo! Where is Hunter Kang right now?!”
“Currently solo-playing an AA-rank dungeon……!”
“What? How long until he comes out?!”
“He’s been inside for three hours, but how long the clear will take…….”
“Even if it’s solo play, he’s S-rank! Shouldn’t he be coming out by now?!”
“Th-that is…….”
Sweating nervously at Chairman Maeng’s shrill shout, the staff member answered.
“H-Hunter Kang Jinseo is severely…… directionally challenged, so he usually takes a bit longer to clear gates……!”
That’s right!
Hunter Kang Jinseo, who shines as Korea’s Rank 1, was severely directionally challenged.
The top-ranked hunter’s top-secret weakness had just been revealed.
