The Death Walker's Seal

Chapter 1

The morning sun lit up the streets of Seoul as students rushed to their classes. Kim Baekho walked slowly, his hands in his pockets. His messy black hair fell over his eyes. His school uniform looked wrinkled and old.

"Move faster, you lazy bum!" A girl pushed past him. Her name was Kang Dami, and she was the top student in their class.

Baekho yawned. "Too early."

"The exam starts in five minutes!" Dami turned around and glared at him. "How are you so calm? This is the Hunter Academy entrance test!"

Baekho shrugged. "I will probably fail anyway."

Dami's face turned red. "You are impossible!"

She ran ahead, leaving Baekho behind. He smiled a little and kept walking at the same slow pace. Other students ran past him, their faces full of worry and excitement.

The Hunter Academy was the most important school in all of Korea. Only students who could awaken special powers could enter. These powers let people fight the monsters that came out of the Gates.

Gates were mysterious doors that appeared all over the world ten years ago. Behind each Gate was a dungeon full of dangerous monsters. If the Gates were not cleared in time, the monsters would come out and attack people.

Hunters were the only ones who could enter the Gates and kill the monsters. They were heroes. They were rich. They were respected by everyone.

And Kim Baekho wanted nothing to do with them.

He finally reached the academy grounds. The huge building stood in front of him like a mountain. Hundreds of students gathered in the courtyard. Teachers in dark suits walked around with tablets, checking names.

"Kim Baekho?" A teacher looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Yes."

"You are late."

"Sorry."

The teacher sighed. "Go to Testing Hall Three. Hurry up."

Baekho nodded and walked toward the building. As he went inside, he heard students whispering.

"Is that Kim Baekho?"

"The one who failed the awakening test three times?"

"Why does he keep trying?"

"I heard he has zero mana. Complete zero."

"Poor guy. He should just give up."

Baekho's expression did not change. He had heard these words so many times that they meant nothing anymore. He walked down the long hallway and entered Testing Hall Three.

The room was huge. About fifty students stood in rows, waiting. A woman in a white coat stood at the front. Her name tag said "Instructor Oh Bora."

"You are the last one." Instructor Oh looked at Baekho with cold eyes. "Stand in the back row."

Baekho walked to the back and found an empty spot. Next to him stood a nervous boy named Park Hwan.

"Hey," Park Hwan whispered. "Aren't you scared?"

"About what?"

"The test! If we fail, we can never become Hunters. This is our last chance."

Baekho looked at him. "Then do your best."

Park Hwan bit his lip. "Easy for you to say. You probably have powerful mana. Look at you, all calm and relaxed."

Before Baekho could answer, Instructor Oh clapped her hands.

"Listen carefully! Today's test has three parts. First, we measure your mana level. Second, we test your physical abilities. Third, we see if you can defeat a Grade F monster in combat."

The students whispered nervously.

"However," Instructor Oh continued, "there is something you should know. This year, we have a special test. The academy wants to find hidden talents. So we added a fourth part. A survival test inside a real Gate."

The room exploded with noise.

"A real Gate?!"

"Are they crazy?!"

"We could die!"

Instructor Oh raised her hand. "Silence! The Gate is Grade E, and you will enter in teams. Instructors will be watching through cameras. If you are in real danger, we will pull you out. But remember this. If you want to be a Hunter, you must face real danger sooner or later. Better to learn now while we can still save you."

Baekho's eyes grew cold for just a moment. Then his lazy expression returned.

Instructor Oh pointed at a crystal ball on a table. "We will start with the mana test. Form a line."

The students lined up. One by one, they touched the crystal ball. When a student with mana touched it, the ball glowed with colored light. The brighter the light, the stronger the mana.

Park Hwan went first. The ball glowed with a weak yellow light.

"Grade D mana," Instructor Oh said. "Acceptable. Next."

A girl named Choi Iseul went next. The ball exploded with blue light.

"Grade A mana! Excellent!"

The students gasped. Grade A was rare. Choi Iseul smiled proudly and walked away.

More students went. Most had Grade D or C mana. A few had Grade B. Only Choi Iseul had Grade A.

Finally, it was Baekho's turn.

He walked forward slowly. The other students watched with curious eyes. Baekho placed his hand on the crystal ball.

Nothing happened.

The ball stayed completely dark.

Instructor Oh frowned. She tapped the ball. "Strange. Try again."

Baekho touched it again.

Still nothing.

The students started laughing.

"Zero mana! Just like the rumors!"

"Why is he even here?"

"What a waste of time!"

Instructor Oh looked at Baekho with pity. "I am sorry, but you cannot continue the test. You need at least Grade F mana to enter the academy."

Baekho looked at the ball. Then he looked at the instructor. "Can I still try the other tests?"

"What is the point? You have no mana. You cannot become a Hunter."

"I want to try."

Instructor Oh stared at him. Something in his eyes made her pause. They were not the eyes of a disappointed boy. They were cold. Empty. Like he was looking at something far away.

"Fine," she said. "But do not blame me when you fail."

Baekho nodded and walked back to his spot.

Park Hwan looked at him with sympathy. "I am sorry, man. That is really unlucky."

"It is okay."

"How can you be so calm? I would be crying."

Baekho smiled a little. "Crying will not change anything."

The second test was physical abilities. Students had to run, jump, and lift weights. Most of them did okay, but nothing special. Their bodies were weak because they relied on mana to make them strong.

When it was Baekho's turn, something strange happened.

He ran faster than everyone else. He jumped higher. He lifted weights that even Grade B students struggled with.

Instructor Oh stared at her tablet in confusion. "These scores do not make sense. You have no mana, but your body is stronger than most awakened people."

Baekho just shrugged. "I exercise a lot."

"Exercise does not explain this."

But she had no proof of cheating, so she marked down his scores.

The third test was combat. Each student entered a small arena where a Grade F monster waited. It was a goblin, short and ugly with green skin.

Most students struggled. They used their mana to cast weak spells or enhance their weapons. Some won. Some lost and had to be rescued by instructors.

Choi Iseul defeated her goblin in ten seconds with a powerful fire spell. Everyone clapped.

Then it was Baekho's turn.

He walked into the arena with empty hands. No weapon. No armor. Nothing.

The goblin screeched and charged at him with a rusty knife.

Baekho dodged to the left. The goblin's knife cut through empty air. Baekho grabbed the goblin's arm, twisted it, and threw the creature into the wall.

The goblin hit the wall hard and fell down, unconscious.

Five seconds. That was all it took.

The room went silent.

Instructor Oh stood up. "How did you do that?"

"I told you. I exercise a lot."

"That was not exercise! That was technique! Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Baekho did not answer. He just walked out of the arena.

The students whispered again, but this time it was different.

"Did you see that?"

"He has no mana but he is so strong!"

"Maybe he is hiding something?"

Kang Dami stared at Baekho with suspicious eyes.

Instructor Oh checked her tablet again. She made a note: "Kim Baekho. Zero mana. Abnormal physical abilities. Recommend further investigation."

The fourth test would begin tomorrow. The survival test inside a real Gate.

But that night, something happened that changed everything.

Baekho walked home alone through the dark streets. He lived in a small apartment in a cheap neighborhood. As he walked, he felt something. A presence. Something was watching him.

He turned around.

Nothing.

He kept walking.

The feeling grew stronger.

Suddenly, a voice spoke in his head. It was cold and mechanical.

[System Alert: Your seal is weakening.]

Baekho stopped walking.

[Warning: If the seal breaks completely, your memories will return.]

[Current Seal Strength: 47%]

[Estimated time until complete unsealing: 72 hours.]

Baekho clenched his fists. His lazy expression disappeared. For a moment, his eyes glowed with a strange red light.

"Not yet," he whispered. "I am not ready yet."

[You cannot stop it. The seal was always meant to break.]

[When it does, everyone will remember what you truly are.]

Baekho looked up at the dark sky. "Then I need to finish this before that happens."

He turned and walked toward the old industrial district. That was where the illegal Gates appeared. The ones that the government did not know about. The ones that only criminals and desperate people entered.

Tonight, Kim Baekho would hunt again.

And when he hunted, he was not weak.

He was something else entirely.