The message arrived the next morning.
Not through the guild.
Not through a hunter association notice.
Through the system itself.
---
[ Hidden Protocol Notification ]
[ Special Hunt Available ]
[ Location: Sector 19 — Eastern Ruins ]
[ Recommended Participants: 2 ]
[ Status: Unregistered Dungeon ]
---
Sera stared at the screen in silence for several seconds.
"…Unregistered?"
---
Suho nodded once.
---
"That alone is already bad."
---
Because every dungeon was supposed to be tracked.
Every gate recorded.
Every abnormality monitored.
---
But this—
Existed outside that structure.
---
"…This is his doing," Sera said quietly.
---
"Yes."
---
The Boundary Walker.
---
Testing them.
Or preparing them.
---
Possibly both.
---
Suho stood from the bench near the training grounds, adjusting the sleeve of his jacket slightly before opening his own system interface.
---
[ Hunter: Suho ]
[ Lv: 77 (C-Rank) ]
[ Trait: System Administrator (EX-Rank) — Hidden ]
[ Current State: Stable ]
[ Trait Evolution: 37% ]
---
Still incomplete.
---
But progressing.
---
Sera noticed the percentage immediately. "…It increased."
---
"After the trial."
---
"…You think this dungeon will increase it again?"
---
"Yes."
---
That answer came too quickly.
Too confidently.
---
Because Suho already felt it.
That same faint pull from before.
The same strange recognition lingering behind the system notifications.
---
"…Then this isn't a normal hunt," Sera muttered.
---
"No."
---
But they still went.
---
— Eastern Ruins, Sector 19 —
The place had once been part of the old industrial district before gates became common. Now it was mostly abandoned—broken roads, half-collapsed buildings, rusted structures left untouched after repeated dungeon activity drove civilians away.
Perfect place for something hidden.
---
The gate stood at the center of the ruins.
Silent.
Black.
---
Not purple like ordinary dungeons.
Not red like emergency-class gates.
---
Black.
---
Sera stopped walking the moment she saw it.
"…That's wrong."
---
"Yes."
---
Even the air around it felt distorted, faint static spreading outward in irregular pulses as if reality itself rejected its existence.
---
[ Dungeon Detected ]
[ Status: Undefined ]
[ Classification: Error ]
---
"…Error?" Sera whispered.
---
That was new.
---
Suho stepped closer.
The gate reacted immediately.
---
The surface rippled once—
Then stabilized.
---
Like it recognized him.
---
[ Legacy Compatibility Confirmed ]
---
Sera looked at him sharply. "…Suho."
---
"I know."
---
The Boundary Walker wasn't testing random strength.
He was showing them something connected to the system itself.
---
Suho reached toward the gate.
---
The moment his hand touched it—
The dungeon opened instantly.
---
No delay.
No loading effect.
---
Just—
Acceptance.
---
— Inside the Distorted Gate —
The first thing they noticed—
Was silence.
---
Not ordinary silence.
Absolute silence.
---
No wind.
No monster sounds.
No environmental movement.
---
Nothing.
---
The dungeon looked like a ruined city frozen in time, massive structures stretching into a gray horizon beneath a dim sky that never fully brightened. Buildings stood broken but unmoving, streets cracked open with fragments of system structures growing through them like roots.
---
[ Dungeon: Distorted Gate ]
[ Classification: Unknown ]
[ Recommended Level: ??? ]
[ Recommended Party: ??? ]
---
"…No information," Sera muttered.
---
Suho's eyes narrowed slightly.
---
"…Stay close."
---
Because this place—
Didn't feel like a dungeon.
---
It felt—
Constructed.
---
They moved carefully through the empty streets, every step echoing faintly despite the absence of sound. The deeper they went, the stranger the environment became. Parts of buildings flickered briefly between damaged and restored states, as if the dungeon couldn't decide what version of itself should exist.
---
"…It's unstable," Sera whispered.
---
"No."
---
Suho looked upward.
---
"…It's overlapping."
---
Reality.
System space.
Something else.
---
All layered together.
---
Then—
The system flickered violently.
---
[ Warning ]
[ Boundary Distortion Detected ]
[ Authority Interference: Active ]
---
The ground beneath them shifted.
---
Not breaking—
Changing.
---
The street dissolved into dark stone instantly, system patterns spreading outward across the environment like veins. The ruined city around them dimmed further as something massive moved in the distance.
---
Sera's hand moved toward her bow immediately.
"…Contact."
---
Suho already saw it.
---
A figure stepped out from between the distorted buildings.
Tall.
Armored.
Not fully human.
---
Its body looked as though it had been partially overwritten by system structures, black lines moving across silver armor like corrupted code.
---
Then the system identified it.
---
[ Entity: Fallen Executor ]
[ Rank: B+ ]
[ Status: Corrupted Legacy Unit ]
---
"…Legacy Unit?" Sera repeated.
---
The monster raised its head slowly.
Its eyes—
Empty.
---
Then—
It attacked.
---
Fast.
Far faster than ordinary B-Rank monsters.
---
The distance between them vanished instantly as the Executor appeared directly in front of Suho, blade descending with overwhelming force.
---
[ Skill Activation: Modifier ]
---
The space shifted.
---
But—
Not fully.
---
The strike still connected partially, forcing Suho backward several meters as the impact shattered the stone beneath his feet.
---
Sera's eyes widened. "…It resisted your control?!"
---
"Yes."
---
That alone—
Was dangerous.
---
The Executor moved again.
---
[ Entity: Fallen Executor ]
[ Combat State: Active ]
[ Synchronization Resistance: High ]
---
"…It's connected to the system," Suho realized.
---
Not a normal monster.
Not biological.
---
A failed construct.
---
Sera released an arrow instantly.
---
[ Skill: Piercing Shot ]
---
The arrow struck cleanly—
Then deflected.
---
"…Armor reinforcement?" she muttered.
---
"No."
---
Suho's gaze sharpened.
---
"…Authority shielding."
---
The Executor raised its blade again.
System structures spread across the ground beneath it, patterns expanding rapidly as if trying to establish control over the battlefield itself.
---
[ Territory Function: Expanding ]
---
"…It's copying the trial," Sera said.
---
"No."
---
Suho stepped forward slowly.
---
"…It survived the trial."
---
Silence.
---
Then—
The Executor spoke.
---
"…alignment… incomplete…"
---
Sera froze slightly.
"…It can talk?"
---
The voice wasn't natural.
Broken.
Distorted.
---
Like a system notification trying to become human.
---
The Executor lunged again.
This time—
Suho met it directly.
---
[ Skill Activation: Modifier — Output Increased ]
---
The battlefield distorted violently.
The Executor's movement slowed—
But not enough.
---
Their attacks collided.
---
The impact shook the entire street.
---
Suho's eyes narrowed.
---
"…This thing…"
---
Because now he understood.
---
The Boundary Walker hadn't brought them here to hunt.
---
He brought them here—
To show what happens when someone fails Phase Four.
---
The Executor's body glitched violently for a moment, black system patterns spreading further across its armor as fragments of its original form flickered beneath the corruption.
---
Hunter.
---
It used to be human.
---
Sera realized it too.
"…No way…"
---
The Executor raised its blade again.
---
"…return… authority…"
---
Then—
It unleashed its full power.
---
The distorted city trembled.
System structures erupted across the battlefield.
And for the first time since entering—
Suho felt genuine danger.