Chapter 1 - Awakening
Awakening
1.Awakening
I am a non-awakened hunter.
In simpler terms, a 'porter.'
My main job is to follow awakened hunters, doing odd jobs and carrying their luggage.
The reason I do this kind of work, even though it's dangerous, is for two reasons:
Money and revenge.
For a middle school dropout and gate orphan, this was the only job where I could earn money and avenge my parents.
It was tough at first, but now I'm quite used to it. I've also gained some experience. I wouldn't call myself a veteran, but I'm confident I'm a useful porter.
Some awakened hunters even look for me first when entering a gate. Sort of like regular customers.
But...
None of that matters anymore.
"Sa- Save me!"
"Do-hoon!"
"Hey, mister! Are you crazy? Just run!"
Why?
Because a gate mutation occurred.
[The Red Dragon, who was asleep while incubating its egg, opens its eyes.]
A dragon is chasing us from the sky.
Dragons were monsters that had never been witnessed before. Whether it was an emission-type gate or an entry-type gate.
In contrast, the highest level among our team being chased by the dragon was 19.
That's right.
We're screwed.
.
.
.
When we entered the gate, I didn't expect the situation to turn out like this at all.
[Sancrea Forest]
-Recommended Level: 11~15
-Entry Limit: 5 people
The mission given inside the gate is unknown until you enter. Only the gate name, recommended level, and entry limit are revealed.
Nevertheless, gates with the name '□□ Forest' were famous.
This was because they were relatively easy and didn't have many risk factors.
It was a gate where monsters matching the recommended level appeared.
'The strongest guy here would be an awakened orc or a steel-horned deer at best, right?'
Our party consisted of a level 19 warrior, a level 17 mage, a level 16 healer, and two porters, including myself.
A 'safety-first' party that was higher than the recommended level. It meant that there was usually no danger.
[Sancrea Forest]
-Hunt 50 monsters.
And that's exactly how it was.
We hunted monsters and collected magic stones and byproducts.
-Oh, I learned the 'Ground Rumble' skill while leveling up. It's a C-grade?
-Ground Rumble? Never heard of it.
-Can I use it?
The problem arose when the mage leveled up. Ground Rumble was a skill like a weak earthquake.
The destructive power was considerable. Not only the monsters but even we staggered. Birds flew up too.
-Not bad?
-Right? The mana consumption is moderate too. Unless the vanguard is in close combat, we can just fire it off, right?
That's how it was when the mage used Ground Rumble about ten times.
Kugugugugung-!
A huge earthquake occurred in the forest.
And we realized that it wasn't an earthquake through the rising notification window.
It wasn't 'just' a disaster. A mutation had occurred in the gate.
[The dragon, who was asleep incubating its egg, awakens due to the continued Ground Rumble.]
[The gate is mutating.]
[Storm of the Sky]
-Recommended Level: 90 or higher
-Survive. Remaining time: 9 hours 59 minutes.
Everyone was speechless. Recommended level 90 or higher? A dragon? No one would have ever imagined it.
The highest-level awakened person on Earth right now was level 58. There was no way we could face a dragon.
No matter how much a gate mutates, the difficulty is only adjusted by about 10 levels...
I don't know. Maybe everyone died in gates that mutated this much, so there was no information.
-W-What is this?
-Are you seeing things?
However, there was no time to think deeply.
──────────────!
A roar that seemed to tear apart the sky, a huge size that I couldn't even dare to estimate...
It was a dragon.
A Red Dragon.
The brilliantly shining scales were like another sun rising. No, it was the sun itself.
The forest area melted with a light breath.
-C-Crazy!
-Run!
Resistance was meaningless. Everyone there could tell. Because the highest-level warrior was swallowed in one bite.
After that, even the memories were unclear. I just ran through the forest.
"Kkeuaek!"
The last thing I remember is tripping over something and hitting my head on the ground.
...And when I opened my eyes again.
I was inside the dragon's lair.
* * *
"Ugh..."
"Shh."
Uncle Deok-soo blocked my mouth as I groaned and tried to get up. I looked around with a dazed mind.
Only Uncle and I were left in the huge cavern.
"You're alive?"
It was Uncle Deok-soo, who had been my partner for the past six months or so. Just like awakened people form teams, porters also tend to form teams.
I was glad, but Uncle was startled and put his finger to his lips.
"Shh. Hye-ya. Be quiet. We don't know when he'll come."
Uncle looked around cautiously.
In the middle of the cavern was a red egg. The dragon wasn't visible, maybe he had gone out for a while.
"This is the dragon's lair. He brought us here. The rest were all eaten."
"Huh?"
"That's right."
"Why us?"
"I don't know. Maybe we're emergency rations."
After saying that, Uncle pointed to the egg in the middle of the cavern with a nod.
"Or maybe, he left us for his baby."
"Baby? What baby?"
"That egg, it's twitching like it's about to hatch."
Come to think of it, when the gate mutated, it was said that the dragon was asleep incubating its egg.
"Maybe he's annoyed and hungry, so he ate the dangerous awakened people first for his baby?"
So...
Am I, or rather, are we going to become 'nutritional snacks for his child'? That damn lizard bastard.
"We're screwed."
"...No. Not yet."
I shook my head. Uncle smacked the back of my head. I felt pain along with a thud.
"What the hell..."
"Hey, why did you hit me? You told me to be quiet."
"Where did you learn to talk back?"
"Is that important in this situation?"
"What? Are you going to talk back to your parents when you're about to die?"
"I don't have parents, so I don't know."
"Ah."
Uncle Deok-soo opened his mouth for a moment at my words, then coughed and quickly changed the subject.
"Ahem. Anyway, what do you mean not yet?"
His skill at changing the subject was superb. Anyway, it was too early to give up like this. There was hope.
Who am I?
A gate orphan.
I'm someone who has desperately survived in this shitty world. It means that my survival instincts are quite good.
The clue to hope was in the form of the mutated gate.
[Storm of the Sky]
-Recommended Level: 90 or higher
-Survive. Remaining time: 7 hours 53 minutes.
As the gate mutated, it changed to a 'survival' type gate, which is known to be particularly difficult.
It's already ridiculously difficult, but...
Anyway, survival-type gates are difficult, so just surviving is enough to be recognized as clearing the gate.
I don't know when that egg will hatch, but when the time limit is up, it will be recognized as subjugation and we will be able to go outside.
So, it meant that we only had to hold out for 8 hours.
"Ah!"
Uncle finally opened his eyes wide when I explained it to him.
"You idiot..."
"How long have you been doing this that you didn't know that?"
"Do you want to get hit again?"
I quietly shut my mouth. The low-level gate has turned into a level 90 gate, and a dragon has appeared.
Even smart people can have narrowed vision and thinking.
"I hope the egg doesn't hatch within the time."
It was then that I heard the sound of wind from somewhere. It wasn't just wind, it was a flapping sound.
The dragon was coming.
"Oh, he's coming! Get down!"
And the Red Dragon, who I had seen just before fainting, arrived in the huge cavern. His mouth was red, as if he had eaten something.
I forgot to even swallow unconsciously, and saliva gathered in my mouth.
Gulp!
I swallowed quietly, but even that sound was too loud.
My heart rate was already at its limit.
'The heat...'
As the dragon entered the lair, the temperature of the space seemed to rise several degrees at once.
The dragon, who had entered the lair, looked at his egg for a moment.
Crack-.
At that time, the egg stirred slightly with a small sound. It wasn't broken.
The dragon let out a satisfied snort and turned his gaze to us.
The terrifying reptile's eyes looked back and forth between Uncle and me.
'Is he choosing his prey?'
That's how it felt. And it was a moment. A blue light appeared in front of the dragon and pierced Uncle. It was magic.
Fsssk-. I heard a strange sound from the side. When I turned my head, Uncle was frozen.
This is crazy.
So, the Red Dragon turned Uncle into frozen meat with magic.
The process was so simple.
There was no time for a will, and Uncle didn't even have time to scream. The light flashed and it was over. I got goosebumps.
'That bastard killed Uncle Deok-soo...!'
6 months. It was a short time, but Uncle was a good person. He taught me when I was inexperienced and bought me food.
I wanted to run to the dragon right away, cursing at him.
'...Damn it.'
That's just what I wanted. I can't just give in to anger and run to the dragon. That was suicide.
A very big and strong lizard was glaring at me.
'Why did he spare me? Am I going to be eaten?'
Fortunately, that wasn't the case. The dragon hesitated for a moment, looking at me, then lay down on the egg and closed his eyes. Soon, I heard regular breathing.
Is he going to eat me later? I don't know. I'm alive for now. As I felt relieved, my thoughts started to return little by little.
'Run?'
I could see the big entrance where the dragon came in. Let's go there and run away. That's all I could think of.
It was the moment I was about to get up slightly.
"...!"
As soon as I stirred slightly, the dragon opened his eyes. Those intense eyes pierced me.
I couldn't even move. I sat down in my place, watching his reaction.
'Damn it.'
I was in a dilemma.
* * *
It was a painful 2 hours.
I did all sorts of thinking without even moving.
Since I'm going to be eaten anyway, should I just close my eyes and run away? Wouldn't it be more comfortable to melt in his breath than to be eaten by those teeth?
Especially when I thought about being eaten by his baby.
'It's better to be eaten in one bite. A small mouth biting my body in real time...'
However, my thoughts couldn't continue. Because the sleeping dragon opened his eyes and got up.
He seemed to be thinking for a long time while looking at me. As if he was thinking about whether to eat me or not.
'Phew.'
Fortunately, the dragon moved out of the lair after thinking about it. Did he think I wasn't an awakened person, so I couldn't break the egg?
However, one thing was certain.
That this moment would be my last chance.
I hurriedly headed to the entrance where the dragon had left.
"Shit."
But escape was impossible. Because a steep cliff was unfolding in front of me.
The dragon's lair was high in the mountains.
It's suicide to grab that cliff and climb down. I thought about jumping off for a moment, then returned to the nest.
I sighed involuntarily.
'Break the egg? No.'
Uncle became frozen meat, but I might not be eaten. If I break the egg, I'll die right away.
And I didn't have any weapons. Could I break that hard-looking egg with my bare hands?
"Ha."
About 6 hours left.
If the dragon's baby comes out in the meantime, or if the dragon gets hungry and annoyed, I'm dead.
'If only there was a place to hide...'
I quickly looked around the dragon's nest, desperately hoping.
That there would be a place to hide somewhere.
Or that I could escape.
I think I hoped more desperately than ever.
Even though I knew it was an impossible answer.
Because I couldn't just die like this without living a life of misery and without avenging my parents.
Ding-.
Surprisingly, at that moment, I heard a sound for the first time. As if responding to my wish, I felt an energy that I had never felt before entering my body.
It was my first time experiencing it, but I knew what it was.
Awakening.
The thing I had been hoping for so much since my parents died had happened. I hurriedly checked the status window.
[Lv1 Empty Ruler, Han Hye]
Strength: 4
Agility: 3
Stamina: 5
Spirit: 3
Mana: 5
Remaining Points: 3
Skills: Subspace (S-grade) lv1, Swordsmanship (F-grade) lv1
...Empty Ruler?
I was flustered by the name I saw for the first time.
From far away, I heard the flapping wind sound again.
Oh no.
It seemed like the dragon was back. I hurriedly checked my abilities.
'Subspace?'
It was a skill that I didn't know exactly what it meant. It's S-grade, but...
Will this ability help me now?
The sound of the wind got closer. There was no time to hesitate anymore.
Whoosh-
As soon as I decided to activate the ability, a space the size of a door appeared in front of me.
I was about to move my foot there without hesitation.
...No, wait a minute.
Is it okay to just run away? That lizard bastard killed Uncle Deok-soo?
Whoosh-
I held the dragon's egg in my chest. The dragon had already appeared at the entrance of the lair.
And he saw me holding the egg. I instinctively threw myself into the subspace.
─────────!
A roar full of rage seemed to ring not in my body but in my mind. My body stiffened for a moment and I couldn't move.
But my mind remained. Close, please close. I prayed desperately.
And...
The door to the subspace closed.