The industrial district smelled like rust and old machines. Abandoned factories stood like sleeping giants in the darkness. No one came here at night. It was too dangerous.But Baekho walked through the empty streets without fear.He knew exactly where to go. His body remembered this path even if his mind tried to forget. He turned left at the broken street lamp, then right at the old warehouse, then straight until he reached the fence with the hole in it.Beyond the fence was an empty lot. And in the middle of the lot was a Gate.It looked like a crack in reality itself. Purple light leaked from the edges. The air around it felt wrong, like it was too thick to breathe.Baekho climbed through the hole in the fence. As he got closer to the Gate, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and saw a message from an unknown number."The payment is ready. Clear the Gate and the money is yours. 50 million won."Baekho deleted the message. He did this kind of work three times a week. Illegal Gates a

The next morning, Baekho went to the academy like nothing happened. His eyes had dark circles under them. He yawned as he walked through the gates.Students gathered in the courtyard again. Today was the fourth test. The survival test in the real Gate.Instructor Oh Bora stood at the front with a tablet in her hands. Next to her was a tall man in a dark suit. His name was Professor Jung Beom, the head of the Combat Department."Listen carefully," Professor Jung Beom said. His voice was deep and commanding. "Today you will enter a Grade E Gate in teams of five. Your mission is simple. Survive for one hour and collect as many monster cores as possible. The team with the most cores passes the test."He looked at the students with sharp eyes. "But remember this. People die in Gates. Even Grade E Gates. If you are not ready to risk your life, leave now."No one moved."Good. I will announce the teams now."He started reading names from his tablet. Students grouped together as their names w

Baekho opened his eyes underwater. He could not breathe. His lungs burned. He tried to swim up, but something held his leg tight.He looked down and saw it. A water spirit. Its body was made of water, but its eyes were solid and blue. It stared at him with curiosity, like a child looking at a new toy.Water spirits were Grade C monsters. They were rare and dangerous. What was one doing in a Grade E Gate?Baekho pulled out his knife and tried to cut the spirit's hand. The knife passed through water and did nothing. You could not cut water. You could not hurt water.His vision started to blur. He was running out of air.[Warning: Death imminent.][Seal release recommended.]No. He refused in his mind. If he released the seal now, it would drop below 40%. And then things would start happening. Things he could not control.But what choice did he have?His body grew weak. His movements slowed. Death was fast approaching Fine.[Seal release authorized.][Current seal strength: 38%][Warni

Baekho burst through the hospital doors thirty minutes later. He was out of breath and sweating. The receptionist barely looked up."Room 304," she said automatically.He took the stairs instead of the elevator. It was faster. Third floor. Room 304. He pushed the door open.His sister lay in the hospital bed, pale and thin. Machines beeped around her. An IV drip fed medicine into her arm. She looked like a ghost.A doctor stood next to the bed, writing on a clipboard. His name tag said Dr. Cho Kyul."You are finally here," Dr. Cho said. "We called you five times.""What happened? Is she okay?""Her condition worsened this morning. We had to give her emergency treatment. The disease is progressing faster than expected."Baekho felt his chest tighten. "How much faster?""At this rate, she has maybe two months left. Three if she is lucky.""What about the surgery? You said if we had money for the surgery, she could be cured."Dr. Cho looked uncomfortable. "The surgery costs 200 million w

Park Hwan told them about the spider forest. About how Baekho killed the water spirits. About the red light and the black marks."That sounds like dark magic," Ryu Heewon said quietly. "My grandmother told me stories about people who use death energy. They are called Reapers. They can absorb life from others and make it their own.""Reapers are just myths," Jung Beom said."Are they? Then how do you explain what he did?"No one had an answer."We should follow him," Park Hwan finally said. "We cannot get out of this Gate without clearing it. And we definitely cannot clear it ourselves. He is our best chance."The others agreed. They followed Baekho deeper into the bone cave.The cave got darker as they went. Strange sounds echoed from the shadows. Whispers. Crying. Laughter. None of it was human."What is this place?" Kwon Dahye whispered."A graveyard," Baekho said. "A very old graveyard. These bones belong to people who died a long time ago. Hundreds of years, maybe thousands.""How