Chapter 1: The Weakest Hunter

Raon Veras sat on the cold marble floor of the dungeon, his breath ragged. His hands trembled as he clutched the hilt of a rusted dagger, its edge chipped from overuse. Around him, the bodies of lesser-ranked hunters lay sprawled, groaning in pain or unconscious. The battle had barely begun, and they were already falling apart.

"Damn it... Why did I even come here?"

The answer was simple: money.

As an E-Rank Hunter—the lowest rank possible—Raon barely made enough to survive. Every raid he joined was a gamble, and today was no different.

"Raon! Get up, you idiot!"

A familiar voice snapped him out of his daze. He turned to see Jae-Hyun, a C-Rank hunter, standing over him with an irritated expression.

"The hell are you doing? We're fighting for our lives here!"

Raon forced himself to stand, ignoring the searing pain in his leg. He had been thrown against the wall by a goblin's club earlier, and it felt like something had cracked.

The dungeon they had entered was supposed to be a D-Rank, manageable for a group like theirs. But something was wrong.

The monsters were stronger than expected. Faster. More vicious.

"Shit... it's a Dungeon Outbreak," Jae-Hyun muttered under his breath. His usual bravado had disappeared, replaced by grim realization.

Raon's heart sank. A Dungeon Outbreak meant the dungeon's magic had gone unstable, letting in creatures far beyond its normal difficulty.

And in that moment, the air shifted.

A deep growl echoed through the cavern, sending a shiver down Raon's spine. From the shadows, something huge emerged—a monster that had no place in a low-ranked dungeon.

A Knight Ogre.

It towered over them, its crimson armor cracked and scarred from past battles. Its eyes, burning like molten gold, locked onto the group.

"...Run," someone whispered.

But it was too late.

With terrifying speed, the Ogre moved.

One hunter was crushed in an instant. Another was sent flying, slamming against the dungeon wall with a sickening crunch.

Raon barely had time to react before the Ogre's massive blade came swinging toward him.

"I'm going to die."

Time seemed to slow. Every mistake he had made, every weakness that had held him back—it all led to this.

But just as the blade was about to cleave him in two— A system notification appeared before his eyes.