The rift in the alleyway wasn't stable yet. It looked like a jagged tear in reality, pulsing with a sick, purple light. A low, guttural growl drifted out from the darkness, vibrating in Min-ho's chest. He looked back toward the street. People were still walking by, laughing and checking their phones.
'If those things get out, it's a massacre,' Min-ho thought.
He didn't have time to call the Association. He didn't even have time to think. He gripped the straps of his bag and ran. He dived into the rift just as the edges started to solidify.
The transition felt like being dunked in ice water. When he tumbled out the other side, the air was heavy. It smelled like wet stone and iron. The portal behind him hissed, and the purple hue shifted into a deep, bruised crimson.
'The difficulty is scaling,' he realized.
He'd read about this. Some gates read the power of the first person to enter. Because his hidden stats were high, the rift was currently beefing up its monsters to match him. His stomach did a slow roll.
"Who the hell is that?" a voice barked.
Min-ho jumped, scrambling to his feet. A few yards away, a small group of hunters stood in a defensive circle. There were four of them.
The leader was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, wearing a scuffed chestplate that looked two sizes too small. Next to him was a woman in a green trackpipe suit clutching a wooden staff. The other two were younger guys, maybe college students, holding basic iron spears. They looked like they'd been dragged through a gravel pit.
"A kid?" the leader asked, lowering his shield. "Did you get sucked in when the rift expanded?"
Min-ho looked at their worn-out gear and their trembling hands. He realized he couldn't show off. If he acted like a pro, the gate might scale even higher, and these people were already on the edge.
"I... I think so," Min-ho said. He let his voice crack and slumped his shoulders. "I was just in the alley and then everything went black. Is this a rift? Are we going to die?"
The woman with the staff softened. "Stay behind us, kid. We're a Rank E scouting team. We weren't supposed to be in here, but we'll get you out."
'They're terrified too,' Min-ho thought, following them.
The first floor was a series of winding stone corridors. It wasn't long before the "Lesser Gargoyles" showed up. They were gray, bat-like creatures with skin that looked like cracked granite. They screeched and dived from the shadows.
The hunters fought desperately. The leader, Sang-woo, took the brunt of the hits on his shield. The spear-users poked blindly into the dark. It was messy. There was no coordination. They were screaming, cursing, and bleeding.
Min-ho stayed in the back, acting like he was cowering. Every time a gargoyle got close, he'd "accidentally" trip or swing his bag to knock it away, making sure it looked like luck. In reality, he was watching their movements, his heart hammering. This wasn't like the snake. These things were fast.
"Almost there," Sang-woo panted, his face covered in sweat and gray dust. "The boss room is just ahead. Once we clear it, the exit opens."
They reached a massive set of stone doors. The air coming from the cracks was freezing. When they pushed the doors open, Min-ho felt a weight settle on his shoulders.
The boss wasn't a "lesser" anything. It was a Greater Gargoyle, nearly ten feet tall, perched on a pile of bones. Its eyes weren't white like the others; they were glowing red.
The hunters froze. The sheer pressure coming off the monster made the air feel like thick syrup.
"That's... that's not Rank E," the girl with the staff whispered. Her teeth were chattering.
The monster roared.
It was too fast for them. In a blur of gray stone, the gargoyle reached the leader. A massive clawed hand swiped horizontally.
Min-ho's breath hitched. He saw it happen in slow motion. Sang-woo's head was simply gone. There was a wet sound, a spray of red, and then the body slumped forward.
"No!" one of the spear-users screamed.
He didn't get a second word out. The gargoyle's tail whipped around like a jagged mace, crushing the two younger hunters into the stone wall. They hit the floor like broken dolls.
Min-ho stood there, paralyzed. He had never seen someone die before. The smell of the blood was overwhelming. It wasn't like a game. It was loud, and it was horrifying. His vision blurred as hot tears started to sting his eyes.
'Move,' his brain whispered. 'You have to move.'
But his legs felt like lead. The gargoyle turned its red eyes toward him. It stepped over the bodies, its claws clicking on the stone. It knew he was the real target.
'Move! Now!'
The monster leaped.
At the last split second, Min-ho's survival instinct kicked in. He dove to the right, the wind from the monster's claws whistling past his ear. He rolled on the rough floor, his skin tearing against the rock.
He tried to scramble up, but the gargoyle was already swinging its tail again.
Min-ho didn't have time to guard. The heavy, stone-like tail slammed into his side. The force was like being hit by a car. He felt his ribs groan under the pressure as he was launched through the air.
He hit a thick stone pillar with a sickening thud.
His head snapped back against the rock. Pain exploded behind his eyes, sharp and blinding. He slumped to the base of the pillar, the world spinning in nauseating circles.
He reached up, feeling something warm and wet running down his forehead. His hand came away red. His vision started to flicker, the edges of the room turning black. The gargoyle loomed over him, a massive shadow blocking out the dim light of the room. Min-ho tried to lift his arm, but his body wouldn't listen. Everything felt heavy.
'I'm... I'm going to die here!'
His eyes fluttered as the monster raised its claw for the final strike.