Soo-yeon's Past
She was born in spring.
Her mother named her Soo-yeon, a name meant to bring warmth and grace.
But her mother died a few days after giving birth.
Her father was never the same.
Cold. Distant. He stopped speaking to her like a daughter and more like a duty. Then he remarried—and things got worse.
No matter what Soo-yeon did, it was never enough.
She studied until her eyes blurred, until nosebleeds stained her notebooks, until her fingers ached from writing page after page of equations and essays.
Still, he never said "Good job."
Eventually, when her presence became too much for him, he sent her away to live with her grandmother.
And for the first time... she felt free.
She became a reporter. She fought for airtime. Then at age twenty, she awakened.
But the fear of the Tower, the system, the fights—she couldn't do it.
She turned away from the world of hunters.
Instead, she became a reporter who interviewed them.
Until the company made her do boring puff pieces, treated her like a tool, and overworked her to the bone.
So she left.
She tried her luck on MeTube.
Interviews, field reports, livestreams from danger zones—anything to build a following.
And even though she struggled—she never gave up.
She prayed, every night, to be famous. Not for vanity, but so she could prove to the world—and herself—that she mattered.
And now?
"Now my grandma won't see me again," she whispered.
"Min-jae won't know what happened. I didn't even get to hit 100K subs..."
But something snapped inside her.
A thread.
Or maybe... the last chain.
She stood up, fists clenched.
"No."
She turned to Joon-seok, who stood calmly beside her, unreadable as ever.
"I'll protect you. I'm so tired of being told what I can and can't do!"
Her voice rose into a scream.
"I won't die like a side character—I'll fight back!"
She grabbed the nearest thing at her feet—Joon-seok's kitchen knife.
Held it up toward the massive orc approaching them.
"Don't come any closer!" she shouted.
The orc stopped.
Soo-yeon blinked.
"Wait... did... did it obey me?"
She looked down at the knife in her hand.
"No way. I must be awakening again. Maybe I was just a late bloomer. Or—"
Her eyes widened.
"Maybe I'm the main character after all!"
She let out a laugh. Wild. Unhinged. Hopeful.
But what she didn't know—
Was that the orc wasn't reacting to her.
It was reacting to him.
The orc's blood ran cold.
Its beast mind, primitive and instinctual, screamed warnings only monsters understood.
It looked past the woman.
At Joon-seok.
And saw him for what he truly was.
The boss of Floor One.
The devourer. The mouth beneath the world.
The one even flies avoided.
And then the orc stepped back.
What the hell is he doing here?!
The orc's thoughts were clear for once—not bloodlust, not rage. Fear.
It stared at the quiet boy standing beside the shouting human woman.
That's must definitely be him.That's the boss. The thing in human skin.
Its thick hands trembled around the handle of its axe.
He's not supposed to leave the tower—he was never supposed to leave!
The orc's beast brain was screaming: Tell the others. Tell everyone. Before he eats us all.
But first...
It looked at the woman.
It's seems the boss friend and he must be protecting her.
Fine. I'll play along.
Meanwhile, Soo-yeon pointed the knife at the massive creature, practically glowing with misplaced confidence.
"See that? Big sis will take care of you, kid!"
She turned and flashed a bright smile at Joon-seok.
He smiled back and nodded.
"Yes. I can see that you're strong."
Then he glanced—just barely—at the orc.
The orc froze. Looked down. Trembled.
Shit ! Did I anger him,he thought.
Joon-seok turned back to Soo-yeon, casually nodding toward the blade in her hand.
"But you should be careful with that knife."
She snorted.
"It's just a kitchen knife," she said, lifting it with a cocky little flourish.
And then—
SHING!
The orc split clean in half.
Not like something slashed by steel.
Like it had been dissected by a divine scalpel.
The top half of its body hit the ground with a thud.
Then the lower half fell forward with a crunch.
Blood sprayed against the alley wall behind them.
Soo-yeon stood frozen, the blade still in her hand.
"...Huh?"
She stared at the twitching corpse.
"What... what just happened? I didn't even swing—did I black out? Am I that strong?"
She turned to Joon-seok slowly.
"Where did you get this knife...?"
He shrugged.
"It's mine. I stole it."
She opened her mouth, ready to demand a full explanation—
But then screams echoed from the street.
More monsters.
More civilians.
And the Peace Guild was still in the middle of containment.
"Later," she muttered. "First—civilians."
She sprinted down the alley at full speed, back toward the chaos.
Joon-seok stayed a moment longer.
He looked down at the bisected orc.
Its eyes were still wide. Even in death... they looked like they had died terrified.
He turned his head slightly, he remembered his mother was still sleeping inside the food stall.
Back to her, then.
And with that, he followed after Soo-yeon.
Soo-yeon sprinted into the open street, her heels skidding across broken pavement, breath ragged. She was no fighter. She knew that. But she couldn't sit and watch from the shadows anymore.
If someone doesn't act now, people will die.
But as she reached the middle of the road—
She saw it.
The Peace Guild was being overrun.
Seo Nari, the Shockbolt Witch, screamed as she raised her arms, eyes glowing yellow with panic.
"Lifting Bolt!"
Arcs of electricity crackled from her fingers and burst outward, slamming into the nearest monsters. The shock pushed several goblins off balance and fried a few insects—but it wasn't enough.
It's not working! she thought. My lightning isn't like the leader's... I'm not strong enough!
Her fear made her power flare, wild and unstable.
And still, the monsters kept coming.
Go Min-jae, the Iron Fortress, stood in the center of the chaos, massive shield absorbing wave after wave of claws, fangs, and spells. Blood streaked down his arm.
"We can't hold much longer!"
Shi-woo summoned shadows to claw down a group of orcs, but more spilled out from the crack like ants from a nest.
"This isn't a wave," he muttered. "This is a purge."
Ryu Ha-na was healing faster than she could breathe. Her body shook. Her mana was nearly gone.
Jin Tae-woon exhaled slowly, brushing his fogged glasses with the back of his hand.
Then—he took them off.
The air around him shifted.
"I guess I'll use my full power, then."
Ryu Ha-na turned, wide-eyed.
"No! You'll drain all your mana—!"
"I'm out of potions!" he snapped.
And just as he prepared to summon the storm of swords—
The sky burned.
A massive, blinding fireball blazed above them and crashed into the enemy line, exploding in a wave of flame that turned dozens of monsters into instant ash.
BOOM.
The ground shook.
Smoke and heat blasted through the street.
Every Peace Guild member turned.
From the opposite side of the street, a group of six hunters emerged from the flames, walking in perfect stride.
At the center—
Kang Hwa-rin, leader of the Phoenix Guild, tiny frame wrapped in a cracked flame aura, one hand still smoldering with embers.
She popped her knuckles with a grin.
"Tch. What a mess."
Jin Tae-woon narrowed his eyes.
"She's here..." he muttered. "Just perfect."