Walking toward the evacuation center, Raven saw families huddled together, their faces heavy with sadness and unease. The air was thick with grief, an invisible weight pressing down on everyone.
Fear and worry were etched onto their faces, and Raven understood why. A dungeon break was not just about monstrous creatures roaming the streets, slaughtering everything in their path. The aftermath left behind scars that ran deeper than destruction alone. Homes were reduced to rubble, livelihoods vanished overnight, and even the most impoverished had to find new ways to survive—scraping for food, water, and shelter in the chaos that followed.
Not everyone could simply return to their previous lives after facing such tragedy. Some people would never fully recover.
Some might crumble completely after losing everything they had worked so hard for—homes, properties, businesses, jobs. Families. No one could truly grasp the full extent of loss from a single dungeon break.
Raven sighed, staring at the wreckage around him. The cruelty of this world was something he had long accepted. In the manhwa, cases like this weren't rare—they were just part of the story. But now, after stepping into this world himself, he was finally forced to experience the true depth of its devastation.
---
Hours passed before an announcement was finally made. A of relief swept through the crowd, the weight of uncertainty slowly lifting from people's hearts.
The four-day lockdown had been brutal. Businesses had collapsed, jobs had disappeared, and now, countless people found themselves starting over from nothing.
Sadness lingered in their eyes—not only mourning the dead but grieving for the pieces of their lives they could never get back.
Among them, Raven moved toward his apartment. He had just witnessed so much pain, yet his heart felt only a faint sympathy. The people here were pitiful, but fully empathizing with them was difficult.
After all, it had barely been a week since he transmigrated into this world. He still struggled to see these individuals as real, living people. Not long ago, they had been nothing more than nameless extras—mere side characters in a story he once read. They weren't even mentioned in the original plot.
His perspective remained that of an outsider. He wasn't on the side of good, nor did he consider himself like them.
All he could do was lament how easy it was to suffer and die for the weak in this ruthless world.
---
As he approached his apartment building, Raven noticed something different.
Unlike before, when this place had felt like a ghost town, now familiar faces had returned.
A small gathering of tenants had formed near the entrance, the group steadily growing as more people joined. Curious, Raven decided to take a look.
Among the murmurs and hushed conversations, an old man stood at the center of the crowd, addressing them. His voice was steady, carrying both authority and weariness.
Raven's eyes narrowed as he recognized him—the original owner of the building. His landlord.
He listened carefully, trying to piece together what was happening. Soon, he understood why some people looked so grim.
In Raven's final memories before coming here, he had seen hunters battling monsters near this building. And despite their human appearances, hunters were monsters themselves.
Even the weakest of them possessed overwhelming strength—enough to make an ordinary adult look as fragile as a child in comparison.
A fight between two opposing forces inside the building meant inevitable destruction in its wake.
And he had already confirmed it earlier when he checked his own apartment.
The building had sustained heavy damage. Repairs needed to happen immediately.
Though frustration flickered through the tenants' faces, there was also relief. At least reconstruction would begin early.
The landlord advised several tenants to temporarily vacate their rooms so that construction crews could start fixing the damage—especially those whose apartments had been hit the hardest.
A sense of urgency spread among the residents as they prepared to rebuild their homes, salvage whatever valuable possessions they could find, and, for many, figure out how to return to work—or search for new jobs.
---
Another day passed, and truthfully, Raven found it mind-numbingly dull.
Other than completing his daily quest, he had nothing else to do.
With little else occupying his time, he decided to visit the nearest hunter shop. It was only a short ride away from his apartment, but still, the trip took forty minutes.
Upon arriving, Raven stepped inside, immediately greeted by the sight of high-quality equipment displayed behind transparent glass cases.
Armors, weapons, accessories—all meticulously arranged. But there was something about these artifacts that unsettled him.
They oozed an unexplainable presence, a faint yet undeniable sense of dread.
Raven observed each piece carefully, trying to decipher what it was about them that made his instincts sharpen.
His thoughts, however, were interrupted.
One of the employees had noticed him and whispered something to a colleague. A moment later, a man dressed in a simple uniform—his store's logo embroidered on his chest—approached Raven with a practiced, friendly smile.
"Hello, customer! Is there anything you need?"
Caught off guard, Raven blinked, momentarily disoriented before quickly regaining composure.
"Ah… Yes. May I ask if you buy these?"
Not bothering with small talk, he got straight to the point.
While the magical artifacts intrigued him, they weren't the reason he had come.
Raven needed to sell his mana crystals. This shop was the first place that came to mind.
Selling them to strangers online was too risky. If the buyer had malicious intent, the transaction could become troublesome—not to mention, if they possessed powers themselves, things could turn dangerous quickly.
**Not every awakened individual was a hero.**
Despite what the media portrayed—glorifying hunters as defenders of humanity—Raven knew the truth.
Some used their abilities not to protect, but to prey on others.
The number of criminals who had awakened was proof of that fact.
Raven had no interest in encountering one so soon. That's why he had chosen to sell through a legitimate store rather than making shady deals with unknown people on the internet.
The salesman's eyebrows lifted slightly as he eyed the mana crystal in Raven's hand. He hadn't expected the young man to come here to sell instead of buy.
Still, it wasn't his place to ask questions.
Without hesitation, he led Raven to the counter and handed him off to the store manager.
The manager examined the crystal carefully before requesting an identification ID.
Raven showed his national ID, prompting another raised brow.
But since this was just a small transaction, the manager accepted it as sufficient proof.
Unbeknownst to Raven, both the salesman and the manager were awakened individuals themselves.
At first glance, Raven had seemed completely ordinary—but as they interacted, they started to realize their mistake.
Hunters, awakened beings, and magical artifacts all emitted faint traces of energy. The stronger the entity, the more powerful the aura they subconsciously radiated.
Before, Raven had been standing far away, and the overwhelming energy of the artifacts had masked his own presence.
But now, with him standing directly in front of them, they detected the faint magical fluctuations around him.
Yet Raven remained oblivious to their realization.
Unlike them, he was just a rookie—someone unfamiliar with the sensation of magical energy.
For these two, however, identifying such things was second nature.
They encountered it every day.
And since they were of a higher rank than Raven, it was easier for them to conceal their magical energy from him.
Still, the store manager assumed Raven was a hunter. After all, where would an ordinary person get a mana crystal like this? The faint traces of magical energy surrounding him only reinforced that assumption.
However, when Raven handed over a "national ID" instead of a "Hunter's License", the manager found it unusual.
Even so, he didn't press the issue. He wasn't particularly interested in digging deeper, especially since Raven had only brought out five mana crystals—hardly a noteworthy amount.
After verifying their authenticity, the store manager handed Raven **62,475 pesos** in exchange for the crystals.
Raven's eyes widened. He hadn't expected five mana crystals to be worth so much.
Immediately, his thoughts drifted to his hospital bill. Despite his short stay, the total had reached a staggering **28,750 pesos**—an expensive but understandable amount, given his condition when he had been admitted.
But with this money, he could finally settle his debt.
A sense of relief washed over him.
Feeling good about his earnings, Raven decided to treat himself before heading to the hospital.
He stopped by the nearest food court and indulged in a proper meal—a rare luxury since arriving in this world.
That afternoon, with his stomach full and his mood lightened, he made his way to the hospital to settle his bill.
---
**Two days passed.**
Life had been uneventful but peaceful.
Each morning, Raven diligently completed his daily tasks, then spent the rest of the day enjoying whatever simple pleasures he could find.
For the first time since transmigrating here, he allowed himself to savor the quiet.
But just as he was getting used to the calm—something unexpected happened.
For the first time ever, Raven was issued a mandatory quest. And not just any quest—one where failure meant death.
---
[ Ding! ]
[ Weekly Quest: Monster Hunt Fest! ]
Goal: Survive the Hunt Fest!
Time Limit: 24 hours
Location: Forest of Death
Mission Starts In: 59 minutes, 45 seconds
Failure Condition: Death
Rewards:
- +5 Attribute Points
- Mana Crystal [E] x1
- Random Loot Bag
---
Raven stared at the screen before him, his face turning pale. His mind raced. A "forced mission"? And the consequence was "death"?
His hands trembled slightly as he reread the details. What was the Hunt Fest?
The uncertainty gnawed at him. Every ticking second weighed heavier on his chest. His face darkened, his pulse quickened—he hadn't expected something this intense.
For now, he had no plan. With each passing moment, the countdown in the corner of his vision reminded him that time was slipping away.
Realizing he couldn't afford to panic, he took a deep breath.
'Based on the rewards, it doesn't seem "too" difficult,' he reasoned. Other than the loot bag and attribute points, the rewards weren't drastically different from his daily quests.
The thought eased his nerves slightly. His breathing steadied, and the fear gripping him loosened its hold. But he remained wary—this quest had "hunt" in its name. That alone meant he needed to prepare himself.
If he was right, this mission would involve combat. That alone was enough to keep him on edge.
"I guess it's time for me to face a monster," Raven muttered under his breath as he summoned his Status Panel.
His stats had grown significantly since his first quest. The attribute points he had earned had propelled his abilities beyond what any ordinary human could achieve—no amount of training, no matter how rigorous, could replicate his rapid progression.
---
[ Name: Raven Alarcon ]
Age: 23
Title: N/A
Job: N/A
---
Health: 375/375
Mana: 10/10
Fatigue: 0%
Level: 01
---
Stats:
Strength: 17
Agility: 16
Vitality: 20
Intelligence: 10
Sense: 10
Allocatable Points: 0
---
Skills:
- Mana Coating (D)
- Pain Tolerance (E) – You've grown accustomed to pain and have begun accepting it. Your Pain Tolerance increases by 5%.
- Minor Recovery Enhancement (D) – Your muscles have adapted to minor injuries and recovery. Muscle recovery speed increases by 20%, consuming stamina to sustain passive recovery.