Chapter 1: Y

On the day Y set foot in this world, he found himself inside a cell drowned in darkness, buried deep within a dungeon reeking of rust, dampness, and the stench of blood and iron.

The walls were clad in rough black stone, where the flickering glow of pale blue flames swayed within ancient lanterns, casting trembling reflections across the surface.

He swept a sharp glance around, then spoke in a low voice, tinged with a spark of excitement:

“A dungeon…? Of all places? A dungeon? This might be interesting.”

He advanced cautiously through the shadowed corridors, facing monsters that lunged from the darkness without respite. Days passed as he roamed, fighting nearly a hundred battles against countless creatures. With every clash, his grasp of this world’s laws grew clearer.

“It seems this world follows a system much like an MMORPG… but far too real.”

He began jotting down mental notes:

“First: my body has changed… I feel lighter, stronger than ever.”

“Second: I can use magic, but it’s extremely weak. If Anna or Aris saw me now, they’d laugh at me. I was never good at magic, even in games.”

“Third: my senses have sharpened… I can sense monsters before they approach.”

His gaze shifted to his weapon — a double-edged dark blade that gave off a faint aura. A quiet smile touched his lips as he examined it.

“My favorite weapon… everything here fits me perfectly.”

Beside him lay an old book filled with sketches and notes about monsters. He lifted it with a faint smirk.

“Interesting… I’ll enjoy my time here.”

And after a full month of fighting and wandering within the dungeon, his search led him to a hidden passage that ended in a strange chamber. At its center stood a massive stone gate, glowing with ancient magical runes.

He sat before it for a moment, eyes reflecting the light streaming from it, then whispered with a confident smile:

“A random teleportation gate? Should I ignore it? Of course not. I have to force myself to evolve… chances like this don’t come often. Let’s try it.”

The moment he stepped through, Y found himself in a vast arena that resembled an ancient battlefield. Broken stones lay scattered everywhere, and the air was saturated with a heavy magic that threatened to choke every breath.

Y narrowed his eyes and muttered:

“I know the scent of a boss when I see it… something’s moving, but it’s hard to pinpoint.”

Suddenly, a faint voice drifted from the far end of the arena:

“I haven’t seen a human in two months…”

In the opposite corner stood an iron cage, and inside it sat a girl upon a throne drenched in blood.

Y approached with measured steps, his tone edged with cold sarcasm:

“A caged vampire… not something you see every day.”

The girl slowly opened her eyes. Her silver hair shimmered like strands of moonlight, swaying lightly despite the still air, and her crimson gaze glowed like frozen embers. She wore a black dress embroidered with red threads, her presence wrapped in a mysterious aura of power and sorcery.

Y asked quietly:

“Do you want out?”

Her tired voice replied:

“I’ve tried… many times. This prison was crafted specifically to suppress magic users.”

Y examined the cage’s design, then smiled faintly:

“A simple construction… all you need to do is break the inner supports with reversed force.”

He picked up an iron rod from the ground and added:

“But I have one condition… I want some information about this world later.”

The girl agreed without hesitation:

“Fine… can you do it with just one rod?”

Y’s calm reply carried quiet confidence:

“I could… but two would be better.”

Snapping the rod in half, he struck the cage’s supports with precise blows. As the door finally crashed to the ground, the girl suddenly shouted:

“Down! Behind you!”

Y dropped instantly, just as an unseen blade cut through the air where he had stood a heartbeat before.

The girl warned sharply:

“The monster is still here… watching.”

Y smirked as he steadied himself:

“Good thing my reflexes are fast.”

He asked her:

“Can you fight?”

Her weary voice trembled:

“Barely… my magic has been drained completely. I’ve been imprisoned here for two months.”

Y replied firmly:

“Then I’ll fight.”

The battle with the unseen creature began. Y muttered as he dodged an invisible strike:

“I’ve fought stealth monsters in games before… but here? It’s on a whole different level.”

He was clearly struggling, until the girl called out in concern:

“You can’t sense magic, can you?”

He dodged another blow and admitted:

“Magic was never one of my strengths.”

She steadied her voice:

“I see… then I’ll teach you another way.”

Amid the tension, Y chuckled:

“I learn fast… just give me five minutes.”

Her brows lifted in surprise:

“Five minutes then… it’s yours.”

As the monster charged again, she raised her hand, summoning a crimson circle that formed a fragile barrier around them.

“With this little magic left, all I can manage is a small shield.”

Y smiled:

“That’ll do.”

She explained:

“To sense magic, you must first feel your own. But since your magic is weak… there’s another method: sensing auras.”

Then she added:

“Not many people use it… but it will serve you well.”

Extending her hand toward him, she said:

“Begin by feeling the aura… take my hand.”

Y stepped closer and grasped her hand. She smiled faintly:

“Remember that moment when you dodged the attacks by instinct? Hold onto that feeling, and now—look at my hand. What do you see?”

Focusing, Y waited. Slowly, a crimson aura seeped from her body.

He whispered in surprise:

“Red…”

She smiled softly:

“That’s my aura.”

She continued:

“Sensing magic is difficult in a place like this, since the air is saturated with it… but aura follows the body directly. That makes it sharper, more precise.”

Y closed his eyes, concentrating. After a few moments, a faint white aura shimmered around him.

Her voice trembled with awe as her eyes lit up:

“It seems… you’re ready.”

Y stepped out of the protective circle, standing firm, arms slightly apart, eyes closed as though he were part of the heavy silence blanketing the chamber.

L watched him quietly, her silver hair swaying lightly in the breeze laced with magic.

The monster lunged suddenly, but Y moved at the very last moment—his body already a step ahead of the attack, his blade flashing in a sharp arc.

A white gleam—then the creature’s head was severed from its body. The entity dissolved entirely, leaving the room drowning in a profound silence.

L stared at him in astonishment:

“I never knew humans could be this precise…”

But her strength gave out from exhaustion, and she stumbled. Y moved swiftly, catching her before she fell, and lifted her onto his back without hesitation.

He spoke calmly, his breath steady:

“They can… if they have an excellent teacher.”

Her weak voice whispered:

“What’s your name?”

Without looking back, he replied:

“Y.”

She murmured faintly:

“I… am L.”

Lifting her gaze toward him with hesitation, she whispered in a low voice:

“Can I… drink a little of your blood?”

He answered simply, as though it were nothing unusual:

“I don’t mind… but make sure you leave me some.”

Then he asked:

“What were you doing here?”

Her expression darkened with bitterness as she confessed:

“I was part of a team… but they betrayed me. One pretended to be injured, so I entered the prison to help him—then they locked me inside. They planned to sell me… but the monster got to them first.”

She smirked bitterly:

“I’ve never seen humans so clumsy at using magic before.”

Y returned the smirk:

“And I’ve never seen a vampire fall for a trick that easily.”

Their quiet laughter echoed faintly amidst the surrounding ruin, as though the world itself had vanished for a moment, leaving them a narrow space of light.

Then Y’s eyes fixed forward, steady and unwavering, as he asked:

“What is your goal now?”

Her voice was honest, stripped bare:

“I wanted to raise my hunter rank… but instead, I ended up imprisoned for two months.”

Y spoke softly:

“Then how about joining me? I don’t have a clear goal… but perhaps we can help each other.”

She gazed at him, her crimson eyes glimmering with both weakness and resolve, before whispering:

“Very well… for now.”

—————————

Two months later, in a hidden chamber deep within the dungeon,

the crystals scattered across the walls cast a faint silver glow, their light reflecting on the surface of a small pond like a second moon.

At the center of the garden, L sat silently, her long silver hair cascading over her shoulders, eyes fixed on Y’s back as he sat on a rock near the water. His blue eyes shimmered in the darkness as he gazed at the distant moon.

L’s hands rested quietly in the cold water as she thought:

“It’s been two months since I joined Y… two months filled with battles, training, and progress. We faced deadly beasts, passed through lethal traps… and now we’ve found this ancient hidden castle, far away from monsters, with this pond that’s become our place of rest every day.”

She lifted her gaze to him for a moment, studying his medium-length ash-gray hair, his lean frame built for combat, his simple clothes tailored for movement. On his right eye was a mark resembling a dragon, and on his left hand a sigil shaped like the letter Y.

She smiled faintly to herself: “He’s someone I can rely on… and that’s all I need now to save my clan.”

Y spoke suddenly, without turning:

“It’s been two months, hasn’t it?”

She replied:

“Yes. We’ve sparred twenty times in that span. My only advantage was magic… but with every fight, you kept evolving so quickly, until you reached the point of matching me.”

Y allowed himself a faint smile:

“All thanks to your guidance… and aura sensing.”

She shook her head:

“No, your instincts are incredibly sharp. Blending them with aura sensing has made you capable of facing mages head-on. As for me… in close combat I can barely keep up with you. Even my magic improved because of your insight and analysis, though your own magic is still terribly weak.”

She paused, then asked softly:

“How did you end up here in the first place?”

He tilted his head slightly:

“Do you mean this place… or this world?”

Her crimson eyes narrowed in confusion:

“This world? What do you mean by that?”

Y lifted his gaze toward the sky, his tone calm:

“If you’re asking how I found you—through a teleportation spell.

But if you’re asking about the world itself… I came from another one. The last thing I remember, we were at a special event for a new game… and then I found myself here.”

Suddenly, a powerful aura surged through the place—then vanished just as quickly, leaving behind a tense silence.

Y rose to his feet:

“Looks like we’ll have to postpone this talk.”

L nodded:

“Agreed.”

But before they could move, the ground shook beneath them, and a heavy shadow stretched across their path.

From the mist emerged a massive creature clad in ancient armor, its ashen eyes glowing like smothered embers. Behind it, four more beasts took shape, surrounding Y and L from every side.

The armored one stepped forward, its coarse voice cutting through the silence:

“Our leader wishes to speak with you.”

Y asked coldly:

“Is your leader the one behind the hunters’ disappearances?”

The beast answered with equal coldness:

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Y turned to L, his eyes gleaming with confidence:

“I’ll leave them to you.”

She raised her hand, and he responded with the same gesture—then in the blink of an eye, they split apart, each taking their own path.

L sat calmly upon a throne woven from crimson blood, currents of her scarlet energy swirling around her, curling like tongues of cold flame. She did not even glance at the four beasts, yet she could sense them with perfect clarity, their heavy breaths betraying their positions.

They lunged at her in unison, claws gleaming under the dim light. With nothing but a lift of her right hand, a blazing crimson vortex burst forth, devouring two of them in an instant. Their screams crumbled into drifting ash.

The third tried to flank her, its claws just inches from tearing her face apart—yet suddenly, its arm was severed without warning. The spattered blood never touched the ground; instead, it gathered midair, twisting into scarlet threads that writhed like living serpents, wrapping tight around its neck until its head hit the floor.

The fourth, seeing the fate of its kin, turned to flee. But L appeared before it like a shadow given form, wielding a scythe forged of frozen blood, gleaming under the crimson glow. Her red eyes blazed with merciless chill as she raised the weapon and drove it straight through its body, leaving it to collapse in silence.

With steady, unhurried steps, she returned to her throne and sat once more, gazing indifferently at the torn corpses strewn around her.

But it was not over. The souls she had just reaped began to twist together, fusing into a single monstrous form—larger, faster, more savage.

It melted into the shadows, slithering down from above in an attempt to strike from a blind spot. Yet L raised her left hand before it could reach her, as though she had anticipated it all along.

Her voice was cold, her eyes gleaming like frozen blood:

“When you’ve fought someone like Y for two months… you all look like children.”

With a single motion, she ripped the creature apart as if it were paper, its fragments raining silently upon the bloodstained ground.

———————————

In a vast field drenched in blood and ash, Y stood in heavy silence, surrounded by the corpses of hunters who had fallen in a meaningless battle.

Atop a small rise stood the armored beast, and beside it a gaunt man—his face hollow, his eyes faded: a sorcerer.

Y advanced toward him with steady steps, his voice low, as though rising from the ruins of the world.

Y: “Are you the one who did all this?”

The sorcerer rasped, his tone cracked:

Sorcerer: “No… I wasn’t the one who killed them.”

Y: “Then the beast?”

The sorcerer nodded faintly.

Sorcerer: “Yes… but I only gather the remains.”

Y arched a brow.

Y: “Don’t tell me these monsters aren’t yours.”

The sorcerer shook his head, a cold smile tugging at his lips.

Sorcerer: “They’re not mine… They belong to another conjurer, one far stronger than I. He placed them here to watch me.”

Y: “So the goal was simply to keep you under surveillance.”

The sorcerer lowered his gaze, his voice fracturing as though his soul itself cracked with it.

Sorcerer: “All I wanted… was to see my family again. Even for a moment.

To be at the mercy of a power you cannot resist… to have your life stolen away—that pain is unbearable.”

Y’s reply was sharp, unyielding:

Y: “Perhaps… but that was your decision from the start. I can’t justify what you’ve done.”

The sorcerer raised his head, a sick hope glittering in his eyes.

Sorcerer: “I clung to hope… I thought you’d understand. Someone like you, with such weak magic—you must know how I feel.”

Y’s voice hardened.

Y: “I don’t fully understand your feelings… but as a human, it’s my duty to stop you.”

The sorcerer’s words sank into grief.

Sorcerer: “Then it’s a shame… you’ll be the last.”

Y charged forward, but the armored beast intercepted him, forcing him back a step with a crushing blow.

Y (snapping): “Do you really think this will bring your family back?”

Sorcerer (breaking): “He promised me… I saw them, if only for moments.”

Y: “And you truly believe such a spell exists? Who’s responsible for this?”

The sorcerer’s breath came ragged, desperate.

Sorcerer: “I don’t know his name… He gave me a book, said it contained the spell to see them again.

But I needed one hundred corpses to activate it.

And you… are the final piece.”

Y whispered, his face unreadable.

Y: “One hundred corpses…”

The beast lunged again, but Y slipped past with lethal grace, driving his fist straight into the sorcerer’s chest and knocking him to the ground.

The sorcerer cried out in shock:

Sorcerer: “The beast was supposed to protect me!”

Y: “Your beast died moments ago.”

The sorcerer turned wildly—only to see its head lying severed from its body.

At that moment, L arrived, standing silently behind Y.

The sorcerer gave a sick, broken smile.

Sorcerer: “It’s over.”

But then, a cold voice cut through the air, sharp enough to pierce bone:

Voice: “You’ve broken the contract… and you know the price.”

The sorcerer screamed as his body twisted and tore apart, reshaping into a monstrous abomination. It hurled itself toward Y in frenzy, but Y stepped forward without hesitation and drove his blade into its heart.

He whispered as he withdrew the steel:

Y: “I’m sorry… but I can’t let you suffer any longer.”

The sorcerer collapsed, blood seeping from his body. Words trembled from his lips:

Sorcerer: “A hundred people… I saw them die, one by one… like they were my family… I lived with them… with every death…”

He lifted his glassy eyes toward the heavens.

Sorcerer: “Will… I see them now?”

Y: “I don’t know… but I hope you find peace.”

The sorcerer’s body crumbled, his ashes scattering into the wind.

L approached quietly and asked in a hushed voice:

L: “Do you think he deserved to die?”

Y: “No one deserves it… But sometimes, we’re left with no other choice.”

Y raised his head toward the sky, as though addressing some hidden power.

Y: “Why?”

The voice answered, cruel and amused:

Voice: “Because it’s entertaining… The brighter the hope, the deeper the despair. And I enjoy that.

In this world, the weak exist to be used, and the strong decide how they’re used.”

The laughter faded into nothingness.

Y spoke calmly:

Y: “Then be ready. One day… we’ll meet.”

He lit the field aflame, the fire slowly consuming the corpses.

L stepped closer, her voice soft with concern:

L: “Are you alright?”

Y: “Yes, don’t worry… I just killed someone. I don’t want to do it again, but in this world… everything has a price.

I don’t regret my choices… This is my way.

I thought this world would be better than my own… but it isn’t.

The difference is… here, I have the power to change it.”

L smiled faintly and said:

L: “As expected of you… Let’s go, partner.”

They walked on together, shoulder to shoulder, sharing a silent bond.

————————

The next morning,

a thin ray of sunlight slipped through the cracks in the stone walls, revealing the dust motes suspended in the air.

The light stretched along the somber corridor, where the traces of last night’s battle still scarred the walls and floor.

Y stood before a massive stone gate, his hand resting on a cold metal handle, corroded by the passage of time.

Beside him, L leaned one hand against her hip, her silver hair swaying gently with the morning breeze, her crimson eyes watching him with quiet contemplation.

With a voice tinged with curiosity, she asked:

“Before we leave… Y, have you thought about your goal?”

Y turned toward her, his eyes reflecting that familiar coldness, yet behind them flickered a spark of earnest thought.

He answered calmly:

“I don’t have a clear goal…”

He paused for a moment, as though searching for the right words, before continuing in a steadier tone, his gaze shifting toward the opposite wall:

“But lately… there’s been one thing I can’t let go of: my sisters.

Not only my sisters… but many others as well.

I don’t know how—or why—we were brought into this world… but I’m determined to find them.”

A brief silence followed, before L nodded with a resolute smile.

“Then… we have a goal now.”

Y pushed the stone door, its deep creak echoing like the groan of time itself.

Beyond it, the wide blue sky opened before them—

as though inviting them into a new chapter of their journey.