A crowd of spectators clustered around the tear in the middle of the road, splitting the air like a jagged wound. Darkness churned within it, violent and alive, until a figure emerged—a young woman with long, silken white hair that cascaded over her shoulders like moonlight.

Despite her slender build, she moved with predatory grace, her golden eye glinting faintly in the dim glow of twilight. The light framed her like an ethereal painting, but the deadly aura she carried was anything but angelic.

As her boots met the pavement, the swirling blackness behind her began to stitch itself shut. The tear folded into nothingness, vanishing into the ether as if it had never existed.

The street murmured gossip as she passed. 

“Look, she has an eyepatch. It must be her—the Angel of Death!”

“I heard she clears entire domains without breaking a sweat.”

“She’s an S-Class Raider. Which guild do you think she’ll end up joining?”

The white-haired woman tilted her head ever so slightly, her calm, detached expression betraying none of the amusement bubbling inside her. Raider. That’s right, she thought, savoring the word. Ten beautiful, fruitful years of the greatest deception known to mankind!

Her chest swelled with satisfaction, though she kept her face schooled in a mask of cool indifference. She almost chuckled aloud.

Her gaze flickered to her phone as she slipped it from her pocket. A line of text lit up the screen: Domain Cleared. Status: Verified. Her thumb moved swiftly, marking the mission complete. Her mind was already on the payout. Three thousand bucks for a Level 3 Domain? Took a bit longer than my average, but still profitable.

It had been nearly twenty years since the first Domain entrance appeared, a swirling gateway that connected Earth to a volatile, monster-filled dimension. The first was a Level 2 Domain, and within two months, it had become unstable. The moment Domains turned volatile, monsters spilled into the human world, wreaking havoc. Shortly after, it was discovered that a select few individuals could enter these portals. These individuals were called Raiders.

Every Raider possessed unique abilities that enhanced their combat skills, making them invaluable for clearing Domains and destroying the cores that stabilized the rifts. 

Another group of special individuals awakened as well–Healers. Their role was purely supportive as they were the only ones capable of neutralizing the injuries sustained from monster attacks.

Elara Max, was special in a way that nobody could even dream possible, because not only was she a Raider, but an S-Class Healer as well. And she could never reveal it, at least that’s the last thing her mother made her swear not to do.

So for the past ten years, Elara was known as the only S-Class Raider unaffiliated with one of the three major guilds—Pearl, Diamond, and Crystal.

The soft chime of her phone halted her in her tracks. Flipping it open, her heart skipped a beat at the notification. Her lips curled into a genuine smile.

$3000 received. Payment successful.

She let out a small, satisfied breath and slid the phone back into her pocket. Whoever said money can’t buy happiness clearly didn’t make enough.

Turning to walk down the cleared road, she eyed three men standing familiarly near the crowd's edge. They were dressed in immaculate suits with irritatingly happy faces.

Ugh. These pests never get the hint even when I spell it out for them…!

One of them stepped forward as she approached, his polite smile tinged with a hopefulness that bordered on naive. Clearly, the man hadn’t been briefed on her reputation.

“Miss Max,” he began smoothly, extending a crisp, white business card toward her. “I represent the Crystal Guild. We’d like to formally—”

Elara snatched the card with two fingers, her face an unreadable mask. Her thumb brushed over the embossed gold lettering. Crystal Guild recruiters. Again. How many times do I have to swat these dung flies away before they get the picture?

Without a word, with the card between two fingers she held up a third in front of the man’s face.

Confused, he hesitated. “I’m sorry, I don’t—”

She folded down her ring finger. “One. I only clear domains solo.”

“Two. I don’t profit-share with anyone.” When the index finger followed, the card slipped and fluttered to the ground. 

The last finger—her middle—wagged ever so slightly. “And three… well, I think you can figure that one out.”

The man froze, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. His two colleagues exchanged awkward glances, but neither dared to speak. Elara brushed past them, her boots clicking on the pavement with sharp finality.

I swear, the next one of you to try and recruit me will be returned in a body bag, she thought, annoyance simmering.