The Seoul of the future — a rotting empire concealed behind the glass facades of skyscrapers. On the outside — the gleam of progress and the sweet lie of technology. On the inside — despair, a hunger for power, and the eternal struggle for a place beneath the bloodstained sun.
And in this city, where every inch of land is sold for a crumb of hope, a young man walked through filthy alleys, carrying a vow:
"I will devour this world."
Kim Yeon Woo moved without haste. His movements were sharp and deliberate, like a blade freshly forged on the anvil of hell.
At first glance, he looked like any other trash-tier F-rank Hunter — worn-out jacket, dark jeans, cheap boots. But every step, every flicker in his eyes screamed one thing to the world: danger.
People instinctively stepped aside. Something about this boy was... wrong.
He was approaching the old Guild Center building — a slum-level branch reserved for society's rejects. They accepted everyone here: the crippled, the nameless, the dreamers, the desperate, and the cursed.
And this is where he would begin.
The rusted door creaked open, letting him into a smoke-filled room that stank of sweat, metal, and cheap alcohol. Behind the counter sat a middle-aged woman with lifeless eyes — like everyone here, just another cog in the machine of despair.
"Newbie registration," Yeon Woo said coldly, tossing a crumpled document onto the counter.
The woman glanced at him, her eyes sweeping over his thin frame, faded clothes, and scar — as if already filing him under "soon-to-be casualty."
"Physical scan," she said mechanically.
The old, scarred registration machine groaned to life, scanning his parameters.
Beep.
The screen flickered with data:
Name: Kim Yeon Woo. Rank: F. Level: 1. Potential: Low.
The woman sneered.
"Trash."
But he said nothing. There was no point in explaining to a rat in a cage that the beast was already on its way.
He took the token for the beginner raid and stepped deeper into the building.
Raid: Zone C-12. Threat Level: Low. Mutated Rats.
"Rats," Yeon Woo scoffed silently, gripping the cheap knife he'd been issued. "Fitting. Vermin like these are always the first step up."
A dozen newcomers had gathered in the filthy changing room. They chatted, bragged about stolen gear, and exchanged foul jokes. All of them believed this would be a walk in the park.
None of them knew that today, one of them wouldn't return.
And Yeon Woo hadn't picked this raid by chance.
He needed his first kill.
Zone C-12 was an abandoned warehouse: rusted containers, scattered planks, wet stains on the floor — as if the ground itself was weeping blood.
The moment the gates slammed shut behind the hunters, a vile squeal echoed.
The first rat — massive, dog-sized — leapt from the shadows. More followed. Glowing eyes, claws scraping concrete, shrieks that clawed at the nerves.
"Charge!" the raid leader shouted, brandishing a spear.
And then all hell broke loose.
The rookies flailed in panic, screaming and swinging their weapons blindly. The rats bit, leapt, clawed, and tore into flesh.
And amidst the chaos, Yeon Woo moved differently:
Silently.
Predatorily.
With purpose.
He spotted his first target — a lone rookie, trembling as he backed into a wall, two rats closing in on him.
They pounced, and the boy screamed.
Yeon Woo lunged like a shadow. He drove his knife into one rat's neck, slashed the other's leg clean off. Blood gushed — thick, sticky, reeking.
The rookie turned to him, eyes wide with fear and gratitude.
He didn't get to speak.
Yeon Woo's blade plunged into his chest.
"S-sorry," the boy croaked, collapsing to the floor.
In Yeon Woo's ears, a long-awaited voice finally rang out:
Passive skill "Greed" activated. Gained: 20 EXP. Acquired skill: 'Precision Strike (Basic)'.
The world froze.
Yeon Woo stood over the corpse, soaked in blood, breathing hard — but steady.
And this was only the beginning.
The rats kept coming. Bodies fell. The screeching grew unbearable.
Yeon Woo waded through the living sea of death like a blade in the hands of an executioner.
Every strike was more precise now. The "Precision Strike" skill guided his hand to arteries, joints, eyes. With each kill, he grew sharper, faster, deadlier.
And each time a beast collapsed at his feet, a little window flickered in his mind:
+10 EXP.
+8 EXP.
+12 EXP.
The growth was tangible. Sweet — like the taste of first blood on a young killer's lips.
When the last squeal died, and only corpses remained — rat and human alike — Yeon Woo stood at the center of the carnage.
His breath rasped in his chest. His hands trembled from the exertion. And in his head, one word pounded:
More.
He needed more.
More blood. More strength. More skills.
"I'll consume this world," Yeon Woo whispered, gripping his knife so tightly his knuckles turned white. "And it won't even have time to scream."
System Update.
Level Up: Level 3 Achieved.
Gained: 6 Free Stat Points.
Yeon Woo distributed the points without hesitation: three into Strength, three into Agility.
He felt it — muscles filling with new power. Tendons tightening like fresh strings on a war harp.
He didn't walk out of that Guild Center building as a rookie.
Not as trash.
He walked out a predator — one who had tasted flesh for the first time.
And Seoul — this rotten, treacherous Seoul — shuddered in anticipation of the coming storm.