Prologue: The Day the World Turned Upside Down
One day, the world flipped upside down. No—a new world opened up.
Gates began ripping open, spilling out all manner of monsters, beasts, and demonic creatures—collectively dubbed "otherworldly abominations." It happened simultaneously and randomly in major cities across the globe. That peaceful day five years ago, when the first Gates appeared, became a pivotal turning point etched into history.
But humanity wasn't doomed to just take it lying down. Among the civilians, individuals awakened as Hunters with superhuman abilities, flipping the board once more. Neither side held an overwhelming advantage—at least, it wasn't hopelessly one-sided. When that precarious balance finally brought a semblance of stability to everyone...
"Gate rank?!"
"At—at least S-rank…!"
"…What?"
"Estimated S-rank or higher…!"
An unprecedented Gate tore open smack in the middle of Seoul. With the tech of the time, accurately gauging its rank was nearly impossible. It obliterated hundreds of Hunters who charged inside. A situation unseen anywhere else on Earth, drawing the eyes of the entire world.
The Korean government, short on high-rank Hunters, urgently requested deployments of A-rank and above from abroad.
"S-save me!"
"Healer! We need healer support! Got a critical here!"
"Move him quick—stretcher!"
Before reinforcements could arrive, the outlook was grim. How long could they hold?
Vrrrrmmm…
"…Wh-what the hell?"
"The Gate's…"
The Gate started to quiet down. In the midst of this inexplicable turn, everyone on site held their breath. Then, someone emerged from within.
Thud. Thud.
Sneakers caked in silvery monster blood. Baggy tracksuit pants and a hoodie zip-up. Her eyes were wrapped tight in bandages, hiding her face. Dragging a silver baseball bat along the ground with one hand, she exuded an aura no one could approach.
Overwhelmed by her presence, someone muttered without thinking.
"A… Hunter…?"
"Was there a Hunter like that?"
"No, wait—that right hand… Gasp…!"
One Hunter gulped. All eyes shifted to the hand not gripping the bat. Gasps erupted from all around once more.
Whoosh. She casually tossed what she held.
Splat.
Something slime- and dust-covered tumbled across the asphalt. Lifeless eyes, an indescribable form, flesh drenched in gore. A head several times larger than a human's.
"Th-the boss!"
It was the boss's head. As screams like battle cries rang out, every Hunter there, every camera from the press, and every gaze from the military and government officials locked onto her.
Shhh…
The mysterious Hunter stood with the slowly closing Gate at her back. A comet who solo-cleared the world's first S-rank Dungeon, rocketing straight to Korea's—and the world's—Number 1 ranking. It was the debut of the S-rank (presumed higher) Hunter, 'SeatAlreadyTakenKiller'.
The whole world adores her. It's been 288 days since the world's top-ranked Hunter and ranker, 'SeatAlreadyTakenKiller', vanished from the public eye. Netizens on Hunter boards and fan cafes are desperately searching for our immovable Number 1...
Beep. The announcer's voice cut off from the TV.
The woman who set down the remote grimaced.
"Tried to catch up on the world for once… and they say that on the news? They're nuts."
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' grumbles that even the UN Secretary-General wouldn't be enough to interview our Yul.
"I wouldn't take it even if they offered."
The woman called Yul gave a soulless smile. Kwon Yul glanced briefly at the now-familiar translucent blue status window. She rose from the sofa and pulled a banana milk from the fridge.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' is thrilled that the banana milk is running out.
Suggests going out to buy one more pack!
Yul shook her head indifferently. No thanks.
"You'd just say to close a Gate while I'm out. I'm lazy."
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' is feeling down.
"Just drop one pack here while you're at it."
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' perks up, asking if you'll shout "Star-nim is so cool" then.
…This Star-nim, seriously.
Yul smirked crookedly at the sparkling assault from the bright blue status window.
"Gift me twenty albums, and I'll do a finger heart."
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' screeches in happiness: "Just wait a bit!"
"Agh, enough, enough. That's not it."
Yul waved her hands frantically. Fangirling's with my money. Using the Constellation felt like cheating… but the real reason was she wanted her beloved boys to get the cash directly. Plus, guilt toward regular folks without Constellations.
If I didn't care about that, I'd buy out the whole concert venue.
Chewing noisily on the straw, Yul shuffled to her computer as usual.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' nags that Yul will grow mold if she doesn't go for a walk.
"Thanks to you, my body's not that frail."
Awakened Hunters had tough bodies. Especially hers.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' wiped away tears of emotion. “As expected of Yul!"
Yul eyed the status window with cold indifference. Well, still.
She scratched her head sheepishly.
"Truth is, I do have to head out today…"
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' claps, remembering it's ticketing day today.
Grumbles that Yul is a hundred times cooler than those boys.
"Hey now. Watch your mouth."
Ignoring the Constellation's frantic apologies, Yul pulled up her hoodie as usual.
Ticketing's at the PC bang. Following the unspoken national rule she didn't have to, she opened the front door.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' cheers that the day has come to show off Yul's nickname.
[Kill him, SeatTaken!]
"Don't call me that!!"
The usually laid-back Yul shrieked.
Kwon Yul, age 24. Female. 164cm tall, black bob with bangs. Hunter nickname 'SeatAlreadyTakenKiller'. Korea's sole S-rank (presumed higher) Hunter. Unshakable world rank 1, star of that flashy debut four years ago. The pride of the nation the world and her country wept for was currently on her one-year hiatus.
"I'm off, boys!"
…All for idol fangirling.
Kwon Yul. Bearer of all sorts of flashy titles, yet ironically, no one knew her face. The answer came from a question posted on the boards after 'SeatAlreadyTakenKiller' appeared.
After heaps of speculation, a definitive answer came from a Hunter who was there.
Yul's already skyrocketing popularity exploded further with the "mysterious" vibe.
Top idols, actors—even politicians—showered her with love calls and affection. But age unknown, gender unknown, real name unknown—everything unknown. That mystique pointed to one more thing.
"…We need her personal info, damn it—personal info!!"
Even the Hunter Bureau Chief couldn't dig it up completely. Thanks to that—or because of it—Yul lived the perfect freelancer life, stealth-mode bliss.
Yul stared at the bite-marked straw.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' worries you'll misalign your jaw and teeth.
Yul's Constellation was 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky'. She'd asked what the name meant, but it cried "secret" and sobbed apologies, so she'd let it slide four years ago.
It wasn't this level at first… or was it?
She seemed more charismatic back then, maybe. Yul recalled her first meeting with this status window.