Raien Jihoon had lived a colorless life—like a shadow passing by, leaving no mark. In his world, where gates had torn into reality twenty-six years ago and monsters became part of everyday life, Raien was nothing more than an F-rank hunter. Thin, unremarkable, and frail, his face vanished easily in a crowd, and his scrawny body inspired no confidence in strength or skill.
Yet, despite his outward weakness, Raien Jihoon was neither lazy nor resigned. He was determined, endlessly striving to change his fate, but he never managed to rise beyond his pitiful F-rank. He entered F-rank gates again and again—not seeking glory, but meticulously studying monsters: their weaknesses, their patterns, their behavior. It was survival through observation. Because of his frailty, he needed to know everything to avoid dying in those dangerous worlds. He had finished his university studies and thrown himself into the brutal world of hunters, fighting to stay alive.
One rainy night, after completing a gate-clearing mission with a group of C-rank hunters, Raien was exhausted. The mission had been arduous, but they had succeeded. Just as they were about to exit the gate, a sudden sharp pain struck his right arm. He looked down to see a gleaming sword pierce through the darkness—stabbing straight through his limb before slicing it clean off.
He dropped to his knees, blood gushing from the stump.
"Why…?" Raien muttered, eyes widening in disbelief at the C-rank hunters he had always trusted. They now surrounded him, sneering with cold disdain.
One of them stepped forward—a hulking man with a scar across his cheek and a chilling smile.
"Why?" he repeated mockingly. "Don't you know you're worthless, you weakling? You're nothing but a burden. Your existence is meaningless."
Raien's heart sank. It wasn't about the loot—it was about contempt. He had been a tool, and once his purpose was fulfilled, he became disposable. The scarred hunter raised his blade high as Raien stared at his own pale reflection in the sword's polished edge.
"Goodbye, failure."
In an instant, his head was severed from his body.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
Raien Jihoon died at the age of twenty-six.
---
When he opened his eyes, it wasn't to the shadows of the gate. He found himself in a blindingly white room—windowless, doorless. The walls were bare, and the ceiling soared impossibly high. He tried to sit up, but his body was limp, drained of all energy.
"What is this? Am I dreaming?" he muttered, unable to believe what he saw.
Then, a translucent blue screen appeared before him, floating in midair. It pulsed with a soft glow, almost alive.
[System: Skill "Return" has been activated.]
Raien shuddered.
"Return?" he whispered. He remembered the only skill he'd ever possessed in his first life—a skill he could never activate no matter how hard he tried.
It had triggered at the moment of his death.
Another screen appeared, displaying personal data. This one was different from the familiar system interface of his past life. It was more detailed, more vivid—but it lacked the basic stat fields he once knew.
[Name: Raien Jihoon]
[Level: 1 (Novice)]
"I… came back…" he whispered, his eyes wide. "I've returned to when I was twenty."
Six years ago.
Six years of knowledge.
Six years of opportunity.
Suddenly, the room quaked violently. A glowing black crack split across one wall, expanding rapidly to reveal a dark corridor. From within came a piercing screech—like the wailing of distant monsters.
[Main Quest 1: Survive. Entrance to the First Tower is now open. Good luck.]
"Wait! What tower? What quest?!" Raien cried out—but the screens vanished. The corridor yawned wider, as if ready to devour him.
His heart pounded wildly. Was this his fate now? To become a pawn in some deadly game?
Yet beneath the fear, something stirred—something strange. A flicker of exhilaration. A sense of possibility.
He remembered everything he had learned in his first life. Every tactic. Every weakness of the monsters he had painstakingly studied inside F-rank gates. He may have been physically weak, but he had another strength now: knowledge. Knowledge earned through blood, failure, and observation.
"This isn't a dream… and it's not a trick…" Raien whispered to himself, eyes gleaming with a quiet fire.
"This is my new reality.
And maybe—just maybe—this time, I won't be just a shadow."