Parallel Earth, Year 2500.
Five hundred years have passed since the first appearance of dungeons and otherworldly portals.
Dungeons are places where humans can defeat monsters to gain experience points, level up, and become stronger.
Otherworldly portals function exactly as their name suggests—gateways that connect Earth to other worlds existing in different universes.
Both dungeons and otherworldly portals have brought blessings to Earth, while at the same time becoming curses capable of destroying it.
Humans can grow stronger by leveling up in dungeons, obtain limitless energy from crystals dropped by monsters, and if they are lucky, acquire artifacts capable of killing gods.
Sounds interesting, right?
However, dungeons are extremely dangerous. From their first appearance until now, more than one hundred million humans have died inside dungeons, and ten million more have died due to Monster Outbreaks caused by dungeons.
A Monster Outbreak is a rare and unpredictable event in which a dungeon releases hundreds to tens of thousands of monsters onto the surface.
If not handled quickly, the lives of billions of humans could be threatened.
At first, humanity struggled to deal with Monster Outbreaks, but after several adjustments, humans managed to minimize casualties whenever such events occurred.
That is why the number of deaths outside dungeons is far lower compared to deaths inside them.
Even now, human deaths inside dungeons still occur frequently and constantly appear in daily news.
Unfortunately, news like this fails to reduce humanity's enthusiasm for entering dungeons.
Especially with all the miracles that can be obtained from within dungeons, no human can resist the temptation.
Alright, now let's talk about otherworldly portals. As explained earlier, otherworldly portals connect Earth with other worlds in different universes.
Sometimes humans encounter intelligent life forms from other worlds, but not a few portals connect to dangerous worlds filled with monsters.
At times, monsters from other worlds sneak through and wreak havoc on Earth. That is why portals are also considered bringers of curses to Earth.
Even so, thanks to the existence of portals, human civilization has advanced far beyond what it should have.
As a result of interactions with intelligent civilizations from other worlds, humanity is now capable of exploring the universe, although they do not dare to venture too far. After all, dungeons and otherworldly portals appear in every corner of the universe as well.
Ordinary monsters will die if they cannot breathe air, but sometimes there are monsters that can survive even in the vacuum of space, turning what was once a safe region to explore into an extremely dangerous area.
It can be said that Earth is humanity's last fortress. If Earth were to be taken over, humanity could be wiped out due to having no place left to live.
.....
Central Java, Indonesia.
"Rega, are you sure you want to become a Hunter?" asked a blond-haired young man to the black-haired youth.
"Yes, this has been my dream for a long time," the black-haired youth replied seriously.
"You could die! The mortality rate of new Hunters has reached 75%!"
"I know, but I have to do this, Jeki."
Jeki gave a bitter smile and asked hesitantly, "Why?"
Rega smiled faintly, making a gesture as if grasping the sky, and answered in a serious tone, "To chase after them."
"... I've already warned you. Just don't haunt me if you die in a dungeon!" Jeki left with an irritated expression.
Rega chuckled softly and nodded, a gentle smile on his face.
He clenched his fist, stared straight at the sky, and raised it high.
"Just wait. I will definitely fulfill our promise."
.....
Ten years ago, in a kindergarten, ten small children were playing together in a cheerful atmosphere.
Their laughter filled the kindergarten, making the teacher constantly smile as she watched their behavior.
Young Rega was one of those ten children. On almost every occasion, he became their leader until the time of parting arrived.
Before separating, they swore to reunite at the age of twenty, after becoming great Hunters.
Young Rega led the oath, brimming with enthusiasm like a hero destined to defeat the Demon King.
.....
Back in the present, Rega had grown up and still remembered the promise he made with his nine friends.
You might think Rega was being excessive, but he had no intention of breaking that promise.
Especially after learning that one of his friends was still holding onto the vow they made back then.
Her name was Sekar, a rising young Hunter who gained fame thanks to her main career as an actress.
Sekar was considered a promising young Hunter due to her astonishing leveling speed.
On top of that, Sekar possessed extraordinary beauty capable of captivating any man, so it was no surprise that many eyes were drawn to her debut as a Hunter.
As time passed, Sekar earned the nickname Rainbow Flower thanks to her remarkable achievements as a Hunter.
About a month ago, Sekar was interviewed by reporters regarding her reason for debuting as a Hunter.
Her answer was shocking—she said it was to fulfill a promise she made with her nine friends in kindergarten.
When Sekar heard one reporter doubt that her nine friends might have already forgotten their promise, she did not get angry but simply said, "At least I don't want to betray them."
Her short answer immediately caused an uproar across the internet.
Millions of people became curious about Sekar's nine friends, but no one knew who they were or where they were now.
After hearing Sekar's statement, how could Rega possibly ignore it?
Since Sekar was fighting to fulfill their childhood promise, Rega had to do the same—even if his life was on the line!
Rega stood before a beginner dungeon, the lowest-difficulty dungeon said to be conquerable even by novice Hunters.
He carried a longsword, a small bag, and several potions purchased with all of his savings.
"Alright, let's begin!"
The moment he entered the dungeon, Rega's body felt slightly heavy, as if an invisible pressure was pressing down on him from all directions.
"Is this what they call magical power?" Rega muttered softly, feeling better once he got used to it.
... .. .
To be continued...