Chapter 1

In front of a building on Gangnam-daero.

A man in his late twenties to early thirties stood there. He held a box of items and looked up at the building.

The building he was looking at was where he had just been fired from.

The company that had cut him off like a knife as soon as his internship ended. The disappointment was as great as the expectation that he would become a full-time employee.

During his internship, he worked tirelessly and even landed a significant contract at the end, thinking that this time he would surely become a full-time employee.

However, the contract he secured was credited to another intern, and his protests were ignored by the silence of the department.

With no connections, he couldn't compete with the other intern who had a board member's background.

'They'll just make him a full-time employee, why would they follow the rules and eliminate a capable person?'

In the end, the other intern became a full-time employee, and he was just fired and now looking up at the building.

'Now I won't be able to see this place again.'

It was a mid-sized company that used the fourth floor of a building in the heart of Gangnam, but it was no longer relevant to Kyunghoon.

'At least I gave them a final gift.'

Vvvvvv.

The emergency alarm sounded inside the building. It was a fire alarm.

The fire detector he tampered with before leaving the company seemed to be working properly.

Since the building's sprinkler system was connected to the detectors, everyone was sure to get drenched.

'Enjoy it.'

Kyunghoon turned his body and leisurely moved away from the building.

People started to rush out of the building in panic. Those from his company also came out, drenched in water.

"Hey? Why are you dry? There was a fire, right? The sprinklers were activated."

"We'll have to wait and see."

"Ah, is the computer okay?"

"How could it be? It was drenched in water."

"No! What do we do! All the documents related to the contract are in there."

"Didn't you print them out? Why are they on the computer!"

"Ah, they weren't fully confirmed yet…."

"Today is the day for the contract! You're responsible for this!"

With the emergency alarm as the background, the face of the man who just became a full-time employee turned pale.

That night, Kyunghoon sat in his studio apartment, looking out the window.

It was an old studio, but the view from the high floor was decent.

He held a can of beer in one hand, and his eyes, slightly tipsy, gazed out the window.

'Now, what should I do to earn a living?'

He had been rejected from dozens of job applications, and even the internship he barely got didn't lead to a full-time position.

An orphan with poor academic performance, not particularly good-looking, and lacking in social skills, his future was bleak.

'At least I have somewhere to go.'

Kyunghoon muttered to himself while opening a new can of beer.

There was still a place he could go.

The military.

Before his discharge, his company commander and senior sergeant had urged him to stay, and even now, years later, they still contacted him.

However, the thought of the military made him shudder. The rigid military life was not for him.

'But, civilian life wasn't much different.'

He had barely managed to endure, but the internship life didn't suit him either. He realized he wasn't cut out for the corporate world.

Kyunghoon sighed again. It was all over now.

"Ha... I'll have to start looking for part-time jobs again from tomorrow."

After finishing the last can of beer, he lay down on the bed.

The room's lights went out, and the city lights gradually dimmed.

***

The next morning.

Kyunghoon woke up and stared blankly at the ceiling.

It seemed he had woken up suddenly.

'Is this the part where I open my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling...?'

He was sure he had fallen asleep in his studio, but the ceiling he saw now was made of rusty metal plates instead of wallpaper.

Kyunghoon immediately got up.

The room was not small. The walls looked old, and there were broken machines and old electronic devices scattered around.

It had the atmosphere of a science lab abandoned after an accident.

It was an unexpected place.

"Is this a dream?"

It was a really unpleasant dream.

He sighed and slapped his face hard. He wouldn't feel pain, but it was a good way to wake up from a dream.

Slap!

"Ouch!"

However, contrary to his expectations, when he slapped his face, sparks flew from his eyes. It was excruciatingly painful.

It wasn't a dream.

Kyunghoon, holding his face, froze.

His body was covered in goosebumps. If it wasn't a dream, something was seriously wrong.

'Kidnapped? Hidden camera? Alien invasion?'

All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.

'Right, weapons, I need to find weapons first.'

Even in this chaotic situation, he remembered his priorities.

Fortunately, he found something usable. It looked like a metal pipe that had fallen out of a broken machine.

Indeed, holding something in his hand made him feel a bit more secure.

"Phew, let's stay calm."

Kyunghoon continued to take deep breaths. He needed to stay calm, no matter what the situation was.

His heart, which had been racing, gradually calmed down.

'Alright.'

He finally returned to his normal state. Although the tension hadn't completely disappeared, it was enough to move around.

Kyunghoon swung the metal pipe. It had been a while since his discharge, but his body felt surprisingly light.

'This is too good a condition. The metal pipe feels light too.'

His usual personality helped in such situations. As he calmed down, he could calmly observe his surroundings.

The personality that had been praised in the military was useful in moments like this.

'The room is about 10 meters wide and 7 meters long. The walls are rusty, so it's probably been abandoned for over 10 years. The broken equipment looks quite old, but I can't tell what it was used for.'

And there wasn't a single living thing in sight, not even a mouse.

Kyunghoon cautiously approached the iron door. If it was locked, the possibility of kidnapping increased; if not, he could just leave.

He pressed himself against the wall next to the door and carefully turned the handle.

Creak.

The door was rusty and made a lot of noise, but it wasn't locked.

He peeked outside without fully opening the door. A dark corridor stretched out.

'No windows? Is this underground? Wait a moment.'

Kyunghoon turned around again. There were no windows in the lab, and there was no light source inside.

Kyunghoon's expression darkened.

Without light, he shouldn't be able to see anything.

He tried closing one eye, then the other, and even covering his eyes with his hand, but nothing changed.

He could see objects even in complete darkness.

Cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

'Come to think of it, my physical condition is completely different from yesterday.'

It had been years since his discharge, and he had lost most of his muscle. Swinging a thick metal pipe so easily was impossible.

It would be better if this were a dream. A dream where he became a hero and defeated the enemy.

But if it were reality, it would be a different story.

Was he kidnapped and his body modified?

"That's not possible. Definitely not."

Kyunghoon immediately dismissed the thought. It was absurd.

At that moment.

Rumble.

His stomach growled. Even in this situation, his body was demanding food.

There was nothing edible in this place.

'Move.'

No one seemed to be coming soon. He needed to move regardless.

Kyunghoon gripped the metal pipe and cautiously opened the iron door.

Creak.

The old hinges creaked again, echoing through the corridor.

Kyunghoon kept the door open and carefully examined the corridor.

'The walls, ceiling, and floor are all made of steel. This isn't a lab, but some kind of secret base?'

The steel walls and ceiling were old but very sturdy. The problem was that they were torn and dented.

'Did a battle take place here?'

It was eerie. Kyunghoon's movements became even more cautious.

Fortunately, it seemed the battle had taken place a long time ago. The broken walls and ceiling were covered in dust and rust.

His heart, which had been racing, calmed down again. He relaxed and cautiously moved down the corridor.

Thud. Thud.

As he moved, dust rose and his footsteps echoed through the corridor.

'Dark bloodstains. Bullet marks. There was definitely a fight. Hmm. What kind of marks are these? They look like they were scratched by a trident.'

If the walls were made of tofu, it would make sense, but they were made of steel.

The three deep scratches on the steel wall were unlike any other marks.

'Was there a monster with blades on its arms or a modified human?'

Kyunghoon sighed. It was an absurd thought, but considering his own body, it wasn't entirely baseless.

Kyunghoon moved a bit faster.

There were battle marks, but they were all old. There was no need to be overly cautious.

There were doors on both sides of the corridor. They were all made of sturdy steel. Dusty signs were visible above the doors.

It seemed this place was indeed a research facility.

Some doors wouldn't open, but most were easily opened or broken.

Inside, there were broken machines and electronic devices of unknown purpose, just like in the first room.

As he examined each door, he stopped in front of an iron door at the end of the corridor.

This iron door was so badly damaged that it had lost its shape. The area around the door was also more damaged than the rest.

It seemed a big battle had taken place here.

However, Kyunghoon stopped for a different reason.

'Skeletons, not just bodies.'

There were skeletons scattered inside the lab.

He had already anticipated the situation inside based on the marks on the door, so he wasn't as surprised this time.

After a moment of thought, Kyunghoon entered the lab.

The skeletons didn't look like they had died normally. The bones were scattered, and many were missing.

The clothes they wore were also in tatters, as if torn by force.

'They were wearing white lab coats and black bulletproof vests.'

Checking the number of clothes and skeletons, it seemed there were two or three researchers and two soldiers.

And there was a broken rifle next to the bulletproof vest.

'There's no way security guards in Korea would have firearms.'

Although it was a type of rifle he had never seen before, the skeleton was definitely from the military or a similar place.

"This must be a military secret base... Why am I here?"

Kyunghoon couldn't understand. He sighed again and started examining the scattered equipment next to the skeletons.

He had no interest in touching dead bodies, but he needed to find something.

Unfortunately, the rifles were all broken and useless. The magazines in the ammo belts were also useless without the rifles.

'The bullets are interesting. They have patterns all over them. Are they homemade bullets?'

After examining the bullets, he threw the magazine away with a disappointed look.

Drawing patterns on bullets. He didn't know which military the dead soldier belonged to, but if it was the Korean military, he would definitely be in trouble. Still, he managed to find an ID card, a lighter, a dagger, and a functional bulletproof vest.

"Hey, what's this? Could it still be working?"

He found an old mobile phone that was still lit.

It looked like a sturdy phone from a Finnish company known for making phones as durable as hammers.

The problem was the blinking light in the corner.

The phone, which had been abandoned for at least 10 years, was still functioning.

A 10-year battery? It wasn't a solar-powered phone, and there was no light here for solar charging.

"Well, let's see how far it goes."

If someone could see in the dark, a 10-year battery might be possible.

He was now prepared for anything, even if a dragon appeared and roared.

It was clearly an old phone. It didn't have a touch screen, and you had to press buttons to operate it.

Fortunately, it had both English and Korean letters. He started pressing the buttons one by one.

Beep!

Ding.

The screen turned on. He didn't expect it, but the screen actually turned on. It might provide some information.

As the screen turned on with a sound, four stars started spinning. It was a loading screen.

"Surely, it can't be that company?"

The most famous company in Korea came to mind, but the logo on the screen was slightly different.

After a moment, the loading finished, and the screen changed.

A sentence appeared on the screen, and below it, a fingerprint icon.

It was absurd. Now, over-the-top technology was appearing. A fingerprint scanner on a phone that looked over 10 years old.

'Come to think of it, the 10-year battery is even more over-the-top.'

But the 10-year battery was so absurd that it didn't even seem like a new technology.

Kyunghoon squinted and looked at the phone. With such an absurd phone, it might electrocute him if he touched it with his thumb.

Now, all sorts of wild thoughts were running through his mind. He sighed and lightly placed his finger on the screen.

Fortunately, no electricity flowed.

Instead, a strange pattern appeared on the screen. Fortunately, it was within his understanding.

After a moment, the pattern, which looked like a magic circle, disappeared, and text appeared.

[New Awakened Individual Confirmed.]

[Mana Level F]

[Special Ability: Dimensional Traveler]

[Congratulations. An S-level special ability has been detected. We have immediately contacted the Awakened Individuals Department.]

'Wait, what? Contacting without my permission?'

[Connecting... Connecting... Connection failed. Please visit the Awakened Individuals Department.]

Kyunghoon stared blankly at the phone. This was definitely a bad dream.