Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: A World Where Only Women Awaken
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“You’re familiar with yin and yang, right?”
Something I, a senior on the verge of graduating from the Hunter Administration department, could never not know.
Is she testing me?
“If you’re asking about the relationship between gates and hunters, then yes, I know it.”
I was sitting in the consultation room of the Hunter Agency’s Intelligence Bureau.
I had no idea why I was having this kind of conversation with the Intelligence Bureau Chief.
“Your major makes it obvious you would. There’s no better word to describe gates and hunters.”
Why ask if you already know?
A tight blouse.
A jacket that perfectly accentuated her curves.
A body-hugging H-line skirt.
And sheer stockings wrapping her long, straight legs.
She was an attractive woman in picture-perfect office lady attire.
“But why are you asking me about it?”
“Because it’s related to you, Woojin.”
“Me?”
Men without yin energy can’t enter gates.
Why is it related to me?
“Why do you think only women can enter gates?”
She was asking something even a three-year-old would know.
“Because only women awaken. Gates can only be entered by hunters, hunters have to be Awakened, and so far, all Awakened have been women.”
That’s why all the hunters operating in gates are women.
Countless scientists have thrown themselves at uncovering the reason, but so far, it’s just a mess of theories and hypotheses.
They come from a dimension where only women exist.
It’s a giant womb that only accepts beings with wombs.
It’s a gift from aliens to boost women’s rights.
Ridiculous claims like that—and people who actually believe them.
“What’s certain is that some kind of energy flows inside gates, and it repels men.”
The mysterious energy flowing from gates is called yang energy.
Taken from the Eastern philosophical concept meaning life force.
“Where there’s yang energy, there must be yin energy too, right? When women awaken, their bodies gain an energy the gates love. That’s ‘yin energy.’ It’s not exactly the same as the yin and yang we know, but it’s a familiar term, so we just use it.”
She kept explaining the basics of basics, like something out of an elementary school lesson.
I was too lazy to nitpick, so I just listened.
They’d promised to pay me by the hour attended, so this was still a win for me.
“The moment a hunter with yin energy enters a gate, it starts sucking it up. It regenerates a little, but not fast enough, so they can’t last long. Once a hunter’s yin energy is fully depleted, they get ejected from the gate.”
This sucked-up yin energy refills naturally during everyday life outside.
“The amount of yin energy varies by hunter rank, but even the highest S-Rank hunters can only manage 30 minutes. That’s barely enough to clear a Navy Gate.”
Gates are classified by color, with difficulty scaling accordingly.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, navy, purple—gates bizarrely appear in rainbow hues.
Purple gates are the easiest, while blue gates and above are uncharted territory.
Humanity’s limit so far is the navy-colored Navy Gate.
“That’s only possible because we figured out how to increase yin energy amounts.”
“You mean managers. Semi-Awakened.”
There are women who awaken without gaining ‘skills’ to fight gate monsters.
These Semi-Awakened can enter gates and serve as support for hunters.
No skills, but since they’ve awakened, they have yin energy just like hunters.
Managers were created to pair with hunters and tackle gates.
“They used to just handle support roles, but once we learned they could transfer yin energy, everything changed.”
Through physical contact, a manager can pass her yin energy to a hunter.
They move together, but since managers lose yin energy quickly too, they wait in safe zones and transfer when called, then exit.
Transferring yin energy strains the hunter’s body too, so it can only be done once per gate dive.
Like a one-use auxiliary battery.
‘That’s why there are so many lesbians among hunters.’
The closer the bond between hunter and manager, the more yin energy transfers—and the faster.
Sticking together like that often leads to romantic relationships.
Even just holding hands transfers some, but closeness leads to bolder skinship... and crossing lines.
Since arts and athletics fields awaken a lot, some go into pure managerial roles handling general duties.
“So what does that have to do with me? I’m a guy.”
“Not just any guy. You’re humanity’s first male Semi-Awakened.”
She leaned toward me as she spoke.
The swell of her breasts between the blouse gaps was overwhelming.
‘She hasn’t figured it out yet.’
The truth is, I’m not your average Semi-Awakened.
One week ago—
With time to kill before returning for my final semester, I picked up some part-time work.
Hunter-related majors get priority for gigs around gates.
It’s like practical training for jobs at the Hunter Agency, guilds, or private companies.
Of course, I, a senior in Hunter Administration, applied for one too.
Near Suwon Tollgate, Navy Gate (N-21)—
The hot gate lately, with multiple guilds pushing hard to clear it.
The more Navy Gates a guild clears, the higher their prestige.
“Which guild’s coming today?”
My senior worker, a dispatched official from the Hunter Agency, asked while checking the ledger on her tablet.
“Black Tortoise Guild. They said 30 minutes.”
One of Korea’s top four guilds, named after the Four Symbols: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.
“Black Tortoise? Wait, Cherry Blossom?”
“No idea. They don’t give hunter lists.”
Cherry Blossom is a breakout rookie girl group right now.
Three of their five members are A-Rank and S-Rank hunters.
Arts and athletics awaken frequently, so hunters among singers, actresses, and models are common.
A-Rank and above are assault teams, so balancing entertainment careers is tough.
Still, Cherry Blossom members shine in both, riding high on popularity.
Han Chaewon, one of the country’s rare S-Rank hunters, belongs to the group.
“Seeing Chaewon’s face up close would make my dreams come true, heh.”
My senior worker was totally smitten with Han Chaewon lately.
She showed me a bikini pic saved on her phone.
Golden blonde dye suits no celeb better.
Her fiery red eyes aren’t lenses—they changed color upon awakening, apparently.
Eye color aside, those national-treasure tits... how do I even?
That size, that perfect shape—kneading them would melt my hands like cotton candy.
“Here they come.”
A car with the Black Tortoise Guild logo pulled up.
Minus the logo, it was just like any celebrity van.
The senior worker went to check personnel and promptly collapsed on the spot.
Because the first one out the door was her fave, Han Chaewon.
‘Gahhh, it’s really Han Chaewon!’
We both screamed silently.
Anywhere else, we’d rush for autographs, but right now, she was a hunter, not an idol.
Mention signatures here, and the guild complains to the Agency—we’d both lose our gigs.
A lean swordsman—Han Chaewon—a woman with a massive axe, and a healer. A compact party.
Navy Gates might warrant more hunters, but this one caps at six.
Three hunters, three managers max—higher difficulty than most.
Failed last raid, so they went all-in with an S-Rank this time.
As the six entered, I asked my senior worker.
“Wouldn’t six hunters be better than three plus managers? Honestly, managers don’t add to combat power.”
“All guilds share raid records. Think they didn’t try six? That’s the optimal comp after tons of trial and error. Keeping elite hunters topped up on yin energy is more important than you’d think.”
If an Agency staffer says so, it must be true.
Still couldn’t buy managers boosting combat power.
Better to slay one more monster in recharge time.
About 30 minutes later, the three managers got ejected from the gate.
They’d recharged the hunters, apparently.
“Haa… haa…”
Drained so bad they couldn’t even stand, sprawled on the ground.
Black Tortoise staff rushed over, checked them, and carted them to the van.
“Think they got the boss yet?”
My senior worker checked her watch.
Heard even with manager recharges, 15 minutes is the max endurance.
S-Ranks last a bit longer, but still just minutes.
Staring at the gate, the thin membrane over the entrance rippled, color shifting.
Never heard of that in gate properties lectures.
First time seeing it since starting this job.
‘What the?’
“What’re you staring at?”
Senior worker behind me asked.
“The entrance is rippling. Color’s changing too. Do Navy Gates normally do that?”
“What’re you talking about?”
She grabbed a detector and poked around.
“Nothing wrong here.”
Suddenly, blinding light burst from the gate entrance.
Too bright to keep eyes open.
Tried to run, but my feet wouldn’t move.
Something invisible dragged me toward the entrance.
A terrifying force no human—no, no hunter—could resist.
‘Gahhh, what is this—!!’
Passing through the entrance slammed my body with massive shock.
In my fading consciousness, a voice trickled in.
[Found you.]