The eleventh day at Gate Post 11-B started like the last ten: quietly, with the sharp sting of early morning frost in the air and the faint hum of the unstable dungeon portal. The gate itself had started pulsing irregularly, flickering brighter every few minutes like it was about to cough up something it shouldn't.
The higher-ups hadn't closed it yet.They never did until it was almost too late.
Jin Hwan arrived in his usual gear—yellow vest, rubber gloves, and a bucket of tools strapped to his back. His white hair glowed faintly under the gate lights, and his rabbit ears twitched from the cold.
He was early. He was always early.
"Still alive, bunny boy?" a familiar voice barked from the tent flap.
It was Supervisor Jang, the grizzled D-rank in charge of the gate cleaners. A man who smelled of old cigarettes and monster guts. He respected work ethic but mocked weakness relentlessly.
Jin Hwan nodded. "Still hopping."
Jang actually chuckled at that one. "You've got some stones, I'll give you that."
Inside the camp, things felt different today. Tense. Sharp.
There were more hunters than usual, and they were all on edge.
Even Jin Hwan's ears picked up the whispers.
"Gate instability's climbing.""Did you see the mana flare at 2 a.m.? Thing almost exploded.""They're calling in a gate scout team just in case…"
Jin Hwan's heart thudded.
"Exploding gates," they said.
If a gate exploded, monsters would flood into the world. Hunters had to stop them fast—or civilians would die. Cities would fall. That's how Seoul's Southern District lost two boroughs last year.
Jin Hwan kept his head down.
He wasn't a hunter. Not really.Just a cleaner.Just a rabbit.
[SYSTEM INTERFACE — PASSIVE SCAN ACTIVE]
Gate Instability: 67%
System Comment:
"A storm stirs in silence. Prepare."
Suddenly, the ground trembled. Just once.
Then again.
A low growl echoed from within the gate.
And before anyone could blink—the portal pulsed, hard, vomiting out a flash of blue mana.
A monster followed.
[Field Dungeon Breach Detected]
It wasn't huge.
But it was fast.
A hulking quadruped beast burst through the portal—skin like cracked obsidian, eyes glowing red. Its claws scraped against the floor as it sprinted into the camp.
"BREACH!" someone screamed.
Hunters scrambled.
Weapons clashed. Shields raised. But the beast leapt—straight into the outer tents, where non-combat staff were stationed.
Right toward Jin Hwan.
He froze.
For one horrifying moment, he saw the creature's jaw open, lined with serrated black teeth, the air sizzling with acidic drool.
[SYSTEM INTERFACE ACTIVE]
Combat Mode: Emergency Override Initiated
Evade Recommendation: Trigger Skill - Hop (Level 1)
He didn't think.
He just moved.
"Hop!"
A burst of mana surged through his legs, and Jin Hwan launched backward in a perfectly arcing jump, dodging just as the beast smashed into his former position.
The monster snarled and whipped around, pissed.
Jin Hwan hit the ground hard, rolling once before scrambling to his feet.
"Think, think, THINK—"
He had no weapon. No real combat skill.Just… rubber gloves.
And a system that was still mostly sleeping.
But he wasn't alone.
A figure dropped from the sky like a streak of moonlight, slicing down across the monster's flank with a gleaming glaive. Blood exploded into the air as the creature howled.
"Get back, civilian!" the hunter shouted—her voice sharp, commanding, female.
Jin Hwan stumbled back.
The woman turned, and for a moment, time slowed.
She was… beautiful.Tall, silver-haired, wearing a violet coat embroidered with celestial runes. Her glaive shimmered with runes, and her badge flashed: A-Rank Hunter — Lee Ha-yoon.
She moved like water—graceful and deadly.
"One of the elite," Jin Hwan thought, staring.
In three perfect motions, she severed the monster's legs and buried her glaive in its throat.
It collapsed, dead before it could scream.
The camp was already sealing the gate. Mana suppression towers powered on, humming like angry hornets. Medics rushed forward. Staff began taking count.
Ha-yoon turned to Jin Hwan, panting only slightly. Her violet eyes narrowed.
"You. Name?"
"…Jin Hwan," he said, still breathless.
"Why are you even near a breach zone? You're F-rank."
"I'm the janitor."
She stared. Then blinked.
"…You dodged a mid-tier gate beast with a basic movement skill?"
He nodded.
She frowned. "Weird. You shouldn't be that fast."
He shrugged, trying to act dumb. "Guess the ears help?"
She stared at the rabbit ears, then… snorted.
That snort turned into a small, amused smile. "You're strange."
And with that, she turned and walked away, calling for cleanup.
Jin Hwan sat back on the ground, heart pounding.He felt sweat dripping down his neck.
He opened his system window, breath shaky.
[SYSTEM INTERFACE UPDATE]
Hidden Growth: +8.0%
New Skill Unlocked:
Quick Hop (Active – Level 1)Short-range blink-like movement with low mana cost. Can be chained with "Hop."
Condition Met: First Monster Encounter — Survived Without Weapon
Title Unlocked: "Cowardly Courage"
You ran and lived. That's more than most F-ranks can say.
Jin Hwan laughed.
It wasn't bitter.It wasn't proud.
It was… real.
He was still weak.Still the laughingstock of the tower.Still the rabbit with a mop.
But now, he had a new thought:
"Even a rabbit can bleed… and survive."