CHAPTER 1: THE LAST NIGHT IN SEOUL

The rain was pouring relentlessly over Seoul that night. It wasn’t a gentle drizzle, but a heavy downpour that left the streets slick and shimmering under the glare of neon lights. Inside a small bar in Gangnam, the low hum of chatter almost drowned out the roar of the storm outside.

Kang Ji-hoon, a twenty-eight-year-old editor, sat at a table with several colleagues. They were a tight-knit group of editors and writers who frequently collaborated. That evening, their conversation revolved around the plot of a trending web novel.

“But if the protagonist gets the ultimate power right at the start, won’t it get boring?” asked Park Min-soo, a senior editor whose face was already flushed from the drinks.

“Readers nowadays want instant gratification,” replied Choi Yuna, a young writer. “They don’t want to wait too long.”

Ji-hoon listened in silence, idly swirling his empty glass. He had spent the entire day editing three different chapters, struggling to fix messy pacing and stiff dialogue. His mind was still cluttered with imperfect sentences, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him.

A few hours later, they decided to call it a night. The rain had subsided slightly. Declining a ride home, Ji-hoon chose to walk to the subway station, hoping the cold night air would clear his head.

As he walked along the deserted sidewalk, his thoughts remained fixed on a manuscript due the next day. He was mentally reworking a combat scene that he felt lacked tension.

The pedestrian light turned green as he reached a crosswalk. Ji-hoon stepped forward calmly, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

From his right, the roar of a high-revving engine suddenly tore through the air. Tires screeched against the wet asphalt. Ji-hoon turned his head, but the blinding glare of headlights was all he saw. He didn't even have time to react.

His body was thrown into the air as the car struck him with full force. He hit the asphalt hard. The deafening sound of the impact was followed by a brief, haunting silence as the world around him went still.

He lay there, helpless. Rain fell upon his face. Nearby sounds felt distant, muffled as if heard through deep water—shouts, frantic footsteps, and the voice of someone calling for help on a phone.

Pain began to radiate through his entire body, and his breath came in ragged gasps. He looked up at the dark, rain-streaked sky. His consciousness began to flicker, and darkness slowly crept into his vision.

But just before he slipped away entirely, a strange voice echoed inside his head. It was clear, flat, and utterly inhuman.

[Host condition: Critical. Soul shift detected. Suitable for experimentation.][Initiating forced transmigration.][Searching for a suitable vessel in Adjacent Dimension-7… Found.][Commencing transfer.]

Ji-hoon had no chance to protest. He felt a bizarre sensation, as if his very being was being violently pulled through a narrow tunnel. A blinding white light consumed his perception. Then, total darkness.

In a luxurious hospital suite, a young man lay still upon a bed. The room was quiet, save for the rhythmic beeping of the bedside monitor.The youth’s finger twitched. His eyelids flickered.

Then, Kang Ji-hoon opened his eyes.His first sensation was pure confusion. He stared up at a high, pristine ceiling. His head felt incredibly heavy. Slowly, he tried to turn his gaze.

The room around him was no ordinary hospital ward. There were leather sofas, a mahogany desk, and a vase of fresh flowers. Thick curtains draped over a large window.This isn't a public hospital, he thought. It's too grand.

He tried to sit up, but a wave of intense dizziness sent him reeling back onto the pillow. It was then that a chaotic flood of memories surged into his mind. Two distinct sets of lives were colliding.

One set was his own: Kang Ji-hoon, the editor from Seoul, the rain, and the car crash.

The other belonged to someone else: Kang Min-jae, eighteen years old, the son of a missing scientist, and a prospective student of the Hunter Academy whose life had been put on hold by an accident.

Who am I? The thought sent him into a panic.With a massive effort, he tried to sit up again. This time, he succeeded. Across the room sat a large mirror. Ji-hoon stared at his reflection.

The face staring back was not his own. It was younger, with a sharp jawline and wide eyes. Handsome, yet entirely foreign.“This… isn't me,” he muttered. His voice was hoarse and sounded alien to his own ears.

Gradually, Min-jae’s memories began to sharpen. He ‘remembered’ the accident—a black car clipping him. He ‘remembered’ being treated in this private family hospital. He ‘remembered’ his uncle, Dae-hyun, who had looked after him since his father’s disappearance.

And most importantly, he ‘remembered’ that this was not the world he knew.In this reality, twenty years ago, things called "Gates" had appeared—portals to other dimensions filled with monsters and magical resources.

Humans with special abilities, known as "Hunters," were tasked with entering these Gates to face the dangers within. The entire social order had shifted because of their existence.

Ji-hoon felt a wave of nausea. Transmigration? This was a plot he had read and edited countless times. But now, it was happening to him. Truly.

The door to the room opened.A well-dressed, middle-aged man walked in. His features were stern, but his eyes betrayed a deep-seated exhaustion and worry. This was Dae-hyun, Min-jae’s uncle and a high-ranking official in a Hunter guild called “Chrono Vanguard.”“Min-jae? You’re awake?” The man’s voice was deep and steady.

Ji-hoon hesitated for a moment, the two identities within him pulling in different directions. Finally, Min-jae’s memories took the lead.

“Uncle…” he said, his voice still gravelly.Dae-hyun approached and sat at the edge of the bed. “The doctor said you’d make a full recovery. Your head injury has healed, but you were in a coma for three days. We were very worried.”

“Where… am I?” Ji-hoon asked, trying to stick to safe questions.“In the family hospital, as usual. All the expenses have been taken care of.” Dae-hyun took a breath. “Min-jae, about the academy…”

The Hunter Academy. Ji-hoon recalled that Min-jae was supposed to enter the academy six months ago, but the accident had delayed him. His family held high hopes for him to become a successful Hunter, especially after his father’s mysterious disappearance.

But Ji-hoon, the man now inhabiting this body, was no Hunter. He was just an editor. He had no combat skills.“I… need time,” he whispered, the conflict within him feeling like a brewing storm.

Dae-hyun nodded, though his eyes remained sharp. “I understand. But remember, the re-enrollment deadline is next week. If you miss it, you’ll have to wait another year. And given your father’s current situation, it’s best if you hold a strong position among the Hunters.”

His father’s situation. Memories of Dr. Kang Min-soo surfaced—a passionate scientist always buried in research regarding "dimensional resonance." A year ago, he had vanished following an incident at the Ouroboros Research Division. Official reports called it an experimental accident, but no body was ever found. Whispers of conspiracy were everywhere.

Ji-hoon felt his headache returning. Too much information, too much pressure.“I understand, Uncle,” he said, trying to mimic Min-jae’s submissive demeanor. “I’ll think about it.”

Dae-hyun seemed satisfied, or at least unwilling to push further. He stood up. “Rest for now. We can talk more tomorrow.” As he reached the door, he paused. “And Min-jae… welcome back.”

After the door closed, Ji-hoon looked back at the mirror. The stranger’s face was still staring back.So, this is real, he thought. I died. Then I was moved here. I’ve become someone else in a world of monsters and Hunters.

Panic began to rise again. He wanted to scream, to deny it all. But he knew it was impossible.Then, his old editor instincts kicked in. His trained mind began to analyze the situation.

If this were a story, this would be Chapter 1. The protagonist has just arrived in a new world. He’s confused and afraid. Conflict is already waiting: family pressure, the mystery of a missing father, and a dangerous Hunter academy.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Ji-hoon might have been just an editor, but he was also a survivor of a crash and a strange transmigration process. Now, he had to survive here.

He glanced toward the window. The curtains were drawn tight, but he could imagine the world outside—a world alien and brimming with Gates and Hunters. A world where he, Kang Ji-hoon in the body of Kang Min-jae, had to find his place.

First, I must learn, he thought. Understand this world. Understand the role I must play. Then, decide my own path.

But behind his budding resolve, one question continued to haunt him:Where did that voice he heard before the transmigration come from? And why did it choose him?

Ji-hoon felt thirsty. His eyes landed on a glass of water on the bedside table. With great effort, he reached for it.But before his hand could even touch the glass, something strange happened.

The glass moved on its own.It shifted just a bit, about a centimeter across the table.Ji-hoon frowned. He thought it was just a hallucination or his hand trembling. He focused on the glass once more.

The glass moved again. This time, it was unmistakable.His heart raced. This was not the power of the Kang Min-jae he remembered. In Min-jae's memories, he had no special talent as a Hunter.

Then, what is this power?And somewhere deep within his mind, he felt as if someone was watching. An alien consciousness observing his every reaction.

The battle for survival might have already begun, and he didn't even know the rules yet.