The raid was supposed to be simple.  

A standard **D-rank dungeon**, nothing special. For hunters like Sai—low-rank, barely scraping by—it was the best kind of job. Just another day of staying on the fringes, collecting scraps, and avoiding death.  

Sai wasn’t a warrior. He wasn’t a frontline fighter who could cleave monsters apart with brute strength. He wasn’t a powerful mage who could hurl fireballs and call down storms. He was a **scout**—a weak, nimble hunter who specialized in **running away**.  

And right now, his instincts were screaming at him to run.  

"Hey, Sai! Stay sharp, man!"  

Sai blinked, snapping back to reality as a hand clamped onto his shoulder. His teammate, **Kenji**, grinned at him—tall, broad-shouldered, and confident. Unlike Sai, Kenji had **actual** combat skills, his C-rank spear always at the ready.  

"Don’t zone out in a dungeon," Kenji said, adjusting his grip on his weapon. "You look like you saw a ghost."  

Sai exhaled. "I don’t know, man. Something feels… off."  

Kenji chuckled. "Dungeon nerves? Come on, it’s just another routine job. The boss team already went ahead, so we just need to mop up the small fry. Easy cash."  

Sai nodded absently, but his unease didn’t fade. He adjusted his **daggers** at his waist, his fingers tightening around the hilts. It wasn’t nerves. He’d been in dozens of raids before, and this was **different**.  

The deeper they went, the more **wrong** everything felt.  

The air was **thick**, almost **heavy**, like walking through unseen pressure. The cavern walls seemed darker, the usual **buzz of mana** in the air was warped—like an out-of-tune instrument humming in the background.  

And then—**the pulse hit.**  

A sharp, unnatural **shockwave** rippled through the dungeon.  

Sai stumbled, his heart slamming against his ribs. The walls **shuddered**. The ground beneath them trembled. It felt like reality itself had been **ripped apart** for a fraction of a second.  

Then—**silence.**  

The torches on the walls **flickered** and died. The air went **cold**.  

And in the next breath—**the entire dungeon vanished.**  

### **2**  

One moment, Sai had been standing in a stone corridor with his team.  

The next, **nothing**.  

No walls. No monsters. No teammates. No dungeon.  

Only **darkness.**  

Sai spun around, his pulse hammering in his ears. "Kenji?" he called. His voice sounded **muffled**, like he was speaking into a void. "Kenji! Say something!"  

No response.  

His breath quickened. This wasn’t normal. **Dungeons didn’t just disappear.** They either **closed when cleared** or collapsed when the time limit ran out. But this—this was something else.  

Then, suddenly—**a light.**  

Sai tensed as glowing **blue letters** appeared in the darkness before him.  

**[Lost Gate Detected.]**  

**[Initiating Forced Entry.]**  

"What the hell—?"  

Before he could react, the world **tilted**.  

A crushing force wrapped around his body, pulling him **downward**. It was as if gravity itself had shifted. Sai let out a strangled cry as he was yanked into the abyss.  

And then—**pain.**  

A searing, burning **heat** flooded his senses. His vision blurred. His body felt like it was being **torn apart and rebuilt at the same time**.  

Then—**light.**  

### **3**  

Sai gasped as he hit solid ground.  

The **stone floor** beneath him was **cracked** and **ancient**, covered in dust. Strange, glowing symbols pulsed faintly along the walls, their **blue light casting eerie shadows** across the chamber.  

He wasn’t in the dungeon anymore.  

Sai pushed himself up, wincing. His entire body ached. "Where… am I?"  

A low, unnatural **growl** echoed in the distance.  

Sai’s breath hitched. He wasn’t alone.  

Something was **watching him.**  

Slowly, he turned his head—and **froze.**  

A **monster** loomed in the darkness.  

It wasn’t like anything he’d seen before. A hulking, **twisted beast**, its body covered in **ashen-black scales**, eyes glowing a **sickly gold**.  

And the worst part?  

It wasn’t listed in any hunter guidebooks.  

This thing **shouldn’t exist.**  

The beast stepped forward, claws scraping against the stone. Sai’s instincts **screamed** at him to run, but before he could react—  

**[Lost Gate System Activated.]**  

The blue text flashed across his vision, and suddenly—**time slowed.**  

His breath steadied. His thoughts sharpened. **A new sensation flooded his body—something powerful. Something dangerous.**  

And just like that—Sai wasn’t just a weak, low-rank hunter anymore.