Episode 13 – Worldbuilding
Episode 13 – Worldbuilding
The world hadn't always been like this.
There was a time when cities didn't tremble, and the skies didn't flicker with unknown lights. There were no rifts, no monsters, no burning craters in highways. People feared bills, not beasts. But then it happened—like a wound in the fabric of reality, the first portal cracked open above a mountain range in Nepal. Purple. Glowing. Silent.
Then the world screamed.
Out came things humanity didn't have names for. Spiked wolves with three eyes. Insects that walked on smoke. Giants with tree-bark skin and glowing veins. Civilization fell, city by city, like dominoes in a storm. Helicopters and tanks were useless. Science failed. Logic crumbled.
But as humanity neared the edge of extinction, the balance shifted.
Some people changed.
It didn't make sense at first. A high schooler punched through a rampaging bull demon with his bare fist. A nurse healed ten patients without touching them. A prisoner in Busan grew wings during an escape attempt and flew over the city like a phoenix.
These people became known as Awakeners.
And slowly, hope began to bloom like a stubborn weed in a field of ash. Hunters were born. Not just survivors—but fighters. Warriors. Heroes.
Now, decades later, the war had quieted. Portals were rare but not gone. Cities were rebuilt, reinforced with mana circuits, and patrolled by guilds. Technology merged with magic. Seoul had a floating market. Tokyo had a rail system that moved through dimensions. The world wasn't "normal," but it had stabilized.
Mostly.
Because danger still lurked. And some said something even bigger was coming.
Kim Do-hyun (김도현) stood in front of the Hunter Association building, staring at it like it was the gates to another planet. His backpack hung from one shoulder, his shirt slightly wrinkled, and under his skin buzzed a new kind of electricity. His Vitality stat was still tiny—barely a flicker—but he could feel it. Healing. Flowing.
Making him... different.
The building in front of him was a mix of ancient fortress and futuristic lab. Giant steel doors. Floating banners coded with runes. A glass dome on top with a swirling orb that pulsed softly like a heartbeat. A few people walked past—hunters mostly. Some in armor. Some in sleek suits. One guy had a glowing spear strapped to his back and was chewing bubblegum like it owed him money.
Do-hyun walked forward slowly, the entrance sliding open with a low hum.
And then he stepped into chaos.
The lobby was huge, like a shopping mall married a war bunker. High ceilings made of reinforced mana glass, walls lined with magic-suppressing materials, and soft ambient lights that glowed with shifting colors. A circular reception desk floated in the middle, with a holographic map of the building projected above it. But that wasn't the weird part.
The weird part was everything else.
First thing he saw?
A guy sitting on a bench—shaking, pale, his hair streaked with glowing blue threads of mana. His skin looked normal at first... until you noticed his veins. They pulsed black. Like ink trapped in glass. His eyes were open but empty, flickering red every few seconds.
People whispered.
"That guy tried a cleansing mission."
"Came back half-dead."
"He's not fully human anymore."
Do-hyun felt a chill crawl up his spine. He turned away... and saw more strangeness.
A nurse walked past him sipping tea like this was just another Tuesday. She wore pink scrubs and bunny slippers. But behind her, the wall had a huge claw mark carved into it. Like a bear had swiped through steel. The plaster was cracked. There was a faint smell of ozone and dried blood.
"That?" the nurse said brightly to someone nearby. "Last week. Don't worry, dear. We cleaned up the skin."
Do-hyun blinked.
This was not what he expected.
Then came the vendors.
A man in a trench coat waved at a crowd with both hands and shouted like he was in a street market.
"Demon-repellent socks! Only ten thousand won! Guaranteed to keep imps off your ankles!"
"Ghost-sticker charms! Put one on your car, it drives smoother through haunted zones!"
"Exploding clocks! Just throw and run!"
He opened his coat and revealed rows of ridiculous items. Gum that glowed. A necklace made from monster teeth. A wand carved from what looked like a femur.
A hunter next to Do-hyun haggled loudly for a bone sword.
Another bought a staff that vibrated every time someone lied nearby.
One dude wore sunglasses, flip-flops, and a full suit made of fox fur while casually loading twin Glocks with purple bullets.
Do-hyun just stared.
This place was... nuts.
It was like fantasy got drunk, had a fling with a war movie, and their kids opened a strip mall.
He walked further in, past a woman meditating while floating six inches above the ground, her shadow wriggling like it had its own opinion. A kid—couldn't be older than ten—stood by a vending machine punching in numbers like a hacker. When the machine dinged, out came a small glowing orb that floated above his hand. He giggled.
And through it all, there was noise.
Laughter. Shouts. Magic sparks.
Weapons being tested in a glass room to the left. Someone screamed, "It burns! Why is it wet and burning?!"
A hunter with cybernetic legs zoomed past Do-hyun, followed by a goblin in chains being dragged by a rope made of light.
Do-hyun inhaled deeply. The air smelled of sanitizer, metal, coffee, mana, and... was that cinnamon?
"I don't belong here," he muttered.
But the thought was quickly eaten by another.
Or maybe... I do.
After all, I'm changing. I've got a stat now. A real one. That means something.
He made his way to the information terminal and tapped on the glowing screen. The interface responded with a chirp and a polite AI voice.
[Welcome to the Korean Awakeners Association. Please select your inquiry.]
Do-hyun clicked on "Awakener Registration."
The screen opened a form asking for name, age, contact, Awakening type, and confirmed stat unlock. He filled it out quickly, tapping the line for "Vitality Unlocked."
The terminal beeped again and printed out a slip.
[Confirmed. Proceed to Testing Area – Basement Level One.]
He grabbed the slip and walked away, turning it over in his hand. He was still trying to figure out if he was excited or terrified.
He passed more hunters on the way down—some carrying relics, others holding mana cages filled with strange critters. One guy was arguing with his sword. Like actually arguing. The sword spoke back in a raspy voice, calling him a coward.
Basement Level One was down an elevator shaft reinforced with monster teeth and glowing runes. As the elevator lowered, Do-hyun's ears popped. The deeper you went in the Association building, the heavier the air got. Not just pressure, but mana density.
He could feel it.
Tingling against his skin like the whole building was holding its breath.
The elevator dinged.
He stepped out into a narrow hallway. The floor was stone, cold beneath his sneakers. There were small lights flickering along the ceiling, but half of them were broken. Shadows danced on the walls.
He swallowed.
A small voice echoed from up ahead.
"New guy?"
Do-hyun turned.
A girl stood there—short, maybe sixteen or seventeen. She had two short swords strapped to her back and wore a jacket with a dragon emblem on the sleeve. Her eyes were sharp, brown like earth after rain, and her hair was tied up in a tight bun.
She looked like she had already seen things that made sleep hard.
"Test's gonna be in basement level one," she said. "You've got twenty minutes to get ready."
Then she turned and walked away, steps quick and sure.
Do-hyun stared after her.
No smile. No greeting.
Just business.
He looked down at his slip again.
"Twenty minutes, huh?" he muttered.
His heart thudded a little harder.
Whatever was waiting down there... it wasn't going to be easy.
And somehow, that made him smile.
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