Mission: Hero of Our Era
Kim Jun couldn't sleep.
His mind was sharp as if he'd downed several cups of strong coffee in a row. After staring blankly at the ceiling for a while as he lay in bed, he opened the window, stepped outside, and climbed up the wall to the apartment rooftop.
'Feels just like Spider-Man. Except I can't shoot webs, that is.'
Compared to the cliffs on Yeongun Island, scaling the apartment was like a stroll in the park. There were plenty of handholds: the outdoor AC units on the balconies, exposed pipes on the exterior walls, and more.
He had absolute confidence he wouldn't fall.
Sitting on the rooftop railing with his legs dangling over the edge felt refreshing.
In that moment, Kim Jun was happy. He'd given it his all, and reaped rewards beyond his wildest dreams. It was the same satisfaction as devouring a hearty meal.
Kim Jun closed his eyes.
He could feel the particles.
Countless specks floated around his body, close enough to touch.
The instant one brushed his cheek, Kim Jun envisioned roaring flames. It was mana infused with the fire attribute.
A particle grazing his nape carried the chill of water, while one swirling between his legs held the wind attribute.
The air was filled with particles of yin-yang and the five elements, mingling freely. Awakened individuals were those who could attract particles matching their innate attributes and harness their power as their own.
Kim Jun reached out a hand.
A speck brimming with the fresh energy of the forest drifted toward his palm. He clenched his fist, trying to grasp the mana, but felt nothing.
The wood-attributed particle simply passed through his hand.
"You can do what you want."
It was as if the old man's voice echoed in his ears.
"Martial arts, magic... you'll be able to do whatever you desire."
It had only been two days ago, but sitting here now, it felt like months had passed.
He burst out laughing. The ordeal seemed like a dream.
Who would believe it even if he spilled the truth about what happened there?
"Time to move a bit."
Up and down he went until sleep finally tugged at him—he'd scaled the apartment rooftop a full ten times.
Still wide awake, Kim Jun returned to his room, lay on the bed, and opened his laptop. After pondering what to do, he logged into the Dungeon Association homepage and started reading their history.
How the Association began, who the current president was, its organizational structure, what it did—given recent events, he figured it was worth knowing.
Before he knew it, dawn was breaking.
Sleep still wouldn't come.
'Skipping one night won't kill me.'
Kim Jun leisurely browsed the site with a relaxed mind.
Early dawn.
Yang Hee-seon stepped out into the dimly lit garden as usual. The sky was still dark, with only a faint bluish glow on the eastern horizon.
She walked to the pondside gazebo in the corner and smiled faintly. Colorful koi fish were gathering.
Did even dumb creatures recognize their owner?
Or were they just reacting to the feed tossed in at this hour?
Yang Hee-seon rolled up her sleeves and scattered the feed. The plump koi jostled each other to gobble it up.
"You lot."
She sat in the gazebo. In the glow of the streetlamp, the pond looked like an abyss.
Footsteps approached.
Steady rhythm, powerful stride. Even one's gait reflected their personality.
"Ma'am."
"What is it?"
"Kim Jun is back in Seoul. Yoo Min-jeong has returned to the country as well."
"Is that so?"
"And we've prepared what you requested."
Choi Hee-kwon had served as her secretary for decades, handling tasks like a shadow at her side. With his round glasses, he was a man of few words but piercing insight.
He handed her the tablet he was holding.
Yang Hee-seon scanned the screen.
She pressed play. Even after watching it several times already, a sly smile crept onto her lips.
What chaos would erupt if these two videos went public? Just imagining it sent a thrill through her. The saying that age brings indifference didn't apply anymore.
"Well done. Picked the reporter to leak it to yet?"
Yang Hee-seon asked, eyeing the koi still milling about on the surface, bellies not yet full.
"We're looking. Anyone specific in mind?"
"Skyla from Daily Raider."
Choi Hee-kwon was visibly surprised.
"Skyla's on bad terms with not just the Association but major guilds too."
"That's why she's perfect."
"May I ask one thing?"
"Go ahead."
Yang Hee-seon gazed at her aging secretary.
"If this becomes news, Kim Jun will be in trouble. I'm sure you know that, ma'am."
"Uramata Guild will take a hit too."
"So, you're willing to shake Uramata just to snag him?"
As secretary, he had to read her intentions faster than anyone.
"If it comes to that."
"There's more to your goal."
"You know me well. I'm going to surround that kid with enemies. I'm dying to see how he reacts—whether he'll break, bend, or grow in some unexpected way."
"Understood."
The secretary took the tablet and vanished beyond the garden.
Yang Hee-seon pulled out another handful of feed.
The clever koi had already gathered behind the gazebo in the pond.
'Whichever way it goes, he'll grow.'
With the right timing, position, and bait, she could gather hundreds of koi in one spot like this.
Public opinion worked the same way.
Yang Hee-seon scattered the feed with a smile.
The Dungeon Association's annex building had a corner room for press: the reporters' lounge.
It was equipped with a faded water cooler, an old fridge, and a microwave that beeped incessantly when running. A long sofa sat there too, its center sagging deeply from countless occupants.
Reporters stopped by to rest and swap intel with colleagues. For Skyla, it was a handy crash pad.
"Hmm, not a drop left... gotta drink it all. That's not it. Finish it all, I said."
Even mumbling in her sleep, Skyla reached for her phone at the ringtone—a habit ingrained from years on the job.
She brought it to her ear and answered, still half-asleep.
"...If it's a scoop, spill it quick. If you even think it's not, hang up right now. I don't wanna hear bullshit."
"It's me, Choi Hyun-seop from Dungeon Management Division 1. Sorry to call so early."
His low voice snapped her eyes wide open. Sleep vanished in an instant.
Pushing up from the sofa, she winced as her back hit the sag, but gritted through the pain and sat up.
"What's up?"
"Got something to show you."
"Where?"
"You've got killer instincts, as always. There's a 24-hour cafe midway across Gwangjin Bridge. Meet me there."
'Damn... way out of the way.'
Skyla swallowed her gripe and replied.
"On my way now. Wait up."
She splashed water on her face at the sink by the cooler, gathered her frizzy hair spilling past her shoulders, and tied it back with a rubber band.
She checked her bag: notepad, recorder, laptop. All set.
She flashed a grin.
Battle ready.
Heading out, Skyla bypassed the Association entrance unusually, slipping into the parking lot.
She didn't want to run into colleagues.
'My gut's screaming. This is a scoop.'
No intention of sharing the vibe.
When she first started as a reporter in the US, they called her "Big Ear"—like a radar antenna sniffing out scoops with her massive ears. For a rookie like Skyla, it was an honor.
In Korea, it became "Dog-Nose Scribe." Dog nose for her scoop-sniffing prowess, tweaking her "S" sound to "Seo" for easier pronunciation, making her "Seo-gija."
She had a knack for discerning in a few words whether something was newsworthy or mundane.
"Let's go."
Skyla hopped on her trusty Harley Davidson, donned her pitch-black helmet. The engine roared to life, startling pigeons on the wall into a frantic flutter skyward.
On the still-empty roads, she gunned it. Motorcycles always got her there on time, traffic be damned.
She blew through red lights.
Heart racing.
At the destination, Skyla parked her bike in front of the cafe and strode in.
Only Choi Hyun-seop was there.
She approached, yawned dramatically, and sat. Hide the excitement—act disinterested.
The source-reporter tug-of-war had begun.
"What the hell at this hour? You know how bad it is for your skin waking up early?"
"You were crashed out in the Association press room."
"How'd you know?"
"Cut back on the booze."
"Spit it out already. If it's nothing, I'm heading back to sleep. Getting old—can't shake the fatigue no matter how much I rest."
"You're not even thirty. It's the drinking."
"You didn't drag me out here to nag about that, right?"
"Course not."
Choi Hyun-seop glanced around, pulled out a USB drive, and slid it over.
"What's this?"
"You helped me out last time. Paying my debt."
"Not trying to bait me with crap?"
"Think what you want, Scribe."
He finished paying and vanished outside.
The USB sat alone on the table.
'Damn it, tug-of-war my ass... he got the drop on me.'
Skyla glared at it long after he left.
"Bastard."
She plugged it into her laptop from her bag.
Two video files and one text file.
One looked like official raid footage; the other, unpublished Dungeon Association simulator video.
Tilting her head, Skyla opened the official raid video first.
The dim background was all too familiar.
As an Association beat reporter, she'd seen countless Optitarakum reconstructions.
This was definitely inside a dungeon.
Her nails dug into her palm. Known as "raid movies" among Association insiders and press, just watching one made her chest tighten, breath catch in tension.
She hit spacebar to pause, took a sip of water.
'My first raid movie. Someone got ripped apart right in front of me.'
Steeling herself, Skyla resumed, eyes narrowed like watching a horror flick.
Her eyes widened.
Her mouth fell open.
After scrutinizing both videos three times in a row, Skyla caught the scent of a scoop. Not your average one—this was the kind that dropped once every few years.
The issue was the fallout.
Satisfying the public's right to know might come at... one person's ruin? Or the birth of a mega-star? The masses might hail a new star, but certain powers tied to it would push for destruction.
So, no article.
Even if other reporters broke it, she'd play dumb to the end.
But journalistic curiosity set her chest ablaze.
How could a mere carrier exist like that? She was dying to know how he could charge into that terrifying darkness alone to pull aggro.
'Just an interview. Meet this Kim Jun guy, that's all.'
Mind made up, Skyla left the cafe.
After showering, Kim Jun stood before the mirror.
"Not a single scratch."
A weird feeling. Joy mixed with vague disappointment. A couple scars as badges would've made him look more manly.
Drying his hair with a towel as he stepped out, he spotted his sister emerging from her room, yawning hugely into the living room.
She didn't exude qi or mana like an Awakened, but healthy vitality radiated from her, saturating the air.
Bright and energetic, just like her personality.
Towel over his shoulder, Kim Jun approached and pinched her cheek as she rubbed her eyes.
"Ow, that hurts."
"My cute little Ji-hyun."
"Bro, what's with you? You're acting weird lately."
Her speech was muffled with her cheek grabbed. Kim Jun cracked up.
"Been a while since I saw you—you got even cuter. Cheeks got plumper too."
"You're dead."
"…"
Sensing the killing intent, Kim Jun backed off quick. Post-bone transformation, others' emotions hit his skin vividly.
Glare from his sister as she yawned once more and retreated to her room.
"Eat breakfast."
It was Mom.
"Yeah."
Kim Jun tossed the towel in the hamper and sat at the table. Unable to resist, he plucked a corner of the egg roll with his fingers and popped it in.
Heavenly. Nothing beat home cooking.
"Said you were training, but you didn't tan a bit."
Mom set the bubbling soybean paste stew in the center.
"Did it indoors."
His lips itched. Explain what really happened? She'd barely believe half, and worry herself sleepless over the rest.
His sister joined, hair tied up high, and started eating. Knowing how precious this cozy routine was, Kim Jun grinned at them both.
"Mom, bro's being weird."
"Jun, something wrong?"
Mom's eyes held concern.