Leveling With Clones

(Submissive)1 – The Portal..

Kim Do-hyun (김도현) sat low in his chair, back slightly curved, hands shoved between his knees.

Overhead, the lights were harsh. The auditorium stretched wide like a giant bowl, packed with students sitting in near silence. Some whispered. A few looked eager. Most looked scared.

Do-hyun just sat. Still. Quiet. Trying not to let his thoughts spiral. His heart beat a steady rhythm, not fast, not slow, but just enough to remind him it was there. His palms felt sticky.

He hated places like this. Too big. Too many eyes.

He wasn’t anybody special. Second-year college student. Known more for his soft baby face than any sort of ability. He liked late-night gaming, instant noodles, anime. He didn’t work out. Didn’t even run.

But sometimes, when he lay in bed at 3 a.m., staring at the ceiling, he let his thoughts wander.

What if life was different? What if he was stronger? Bolder? What if he could break out of the same boring loop study, sleep, eat, repeat?

Those thoughts didn’t last. Real life didn’t make room for fantasies.

Except maybe today.

Today was the Awakened Program.

A national event. Wildly popular. Basically a ritual now. Once a year, colleges sent students to test if they had mana buried inside them. If they did, it came alive. If not, they walked away the same.

The world had shifted since mana first showed up. Dungeons, monsters, magic normal now. If you had power, you lived a different kind of life.

Do-hyun glanced at his belly. His shirt hugged a bit too tight. He hadn’t exercised in a long time. Still, when the invitation to participate showed up, he didn’t say no.

He couldn’t. Something deep inside him had been waiting.

Onstage, a tall man in a glittering black suit held the mic. Baek Min-jae (백민재), top-tier hunter, famous everywhere. His voice was smooth, but somehow still cut through the crowd.

“Welcome to the tenth episode of the Awakened Program,” he said.

Applause followed. Loud. Uniform.

Do-hyun didn’t move.

Baek Min-jae kept going:

“This is where we bring out what’s inside. If there’s mana in your blood, we’ll find it. If you’re meant for more, you’ll step into it. If not no gain, no loss.”

The air got heavy. Like something was pressing down from the ceiling.

Then the center of the stage lit up.

A ring appeared bright blue mist swirling around it. Symbols floated along its edges, pulsing with soft gold.

The portal.

Baek Min-jae raised his hand.

“Eleventh candidate. Step forward.”

Do-hyun blinked. Waited a second. Counted. That was him.

A few heads turned.

He stood, slow and unsure. His chair scraped loud across the floor. Too loud.

He didn’t look at anyone.

His feet felt wrong. Heavy. Like someone filled his shoes with cement. He took the steps to the stage, one at a time. Every sound echoed.

His chest tightened. His throat, dry.

Baek Min-jae watched him. Calm. unreadable.

Do-hyun took a breath. Then another.

The portal glowed in his eyes.

He stepped closer.

Heat rose to his face. The crowd behind him faded.

He reached out.

As soon as his foot met the edge, something shifted.

The air twisted.

Wind spun around him.

Vision blurred. Light bled into his eyes like sunlight hitting water. Cold. Then warm. Then cold again.

Ears ringing.

Weightless.

The floor vanished.

And then he dropped.