[Year 2056]
Kael, now fifteen, had been living a fulfilling life ever since the fortune he earned from publishing books and novels three years ago. With stable income and growing success, he began investing heavily in himself—though always carefully, making sure not to draw unwanted attention.
He regularly bought mana-infused fruits and edible monster meat from a local monster vendor, each costing tens of thousands of dollars to strengthen his cultivation. But as he examined the carcasses laid out for sale, something tugged at him. His thoughts began to wander.
"Should I start exploring the Mountain Fang Gate?" Kael wondered.
Mountain Fang— the Gate that appeared sixteen years ago in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal—lay more than a hundred kilometers away from Kathmandu, where he lived. It was the very same Gate responsible for the monster outbreak fifteen years ago, the tragedy that turned him into an orphan. After that disaster, a colossal defensive wall had been constructed: thirty meters tall and stretching more than eighty kilometers around Kathmandu. Built from special materials harvested inside the Gate and powered by eight massive mana stones spaced ten kilometers apart, it stood as the city's strongest barrier against future invasions.
The name Mountain Fang came from the endless mountain ranges discovered within its depths—territories crawling with shadow wolves, goblins, orcs, trolls… creatures that swarmed the harsh ridges in overwhelming numbers.
Just as he started seriously considering the idea of exploring the Gate, a memory surfaced—one from a WGDA report.
According to the report, a wolf-type monster known as 'Fenrir' and a huge thunder-emitting bird called 'Electro-dactyl' had been sighted clashing violently nearly a thousand kilometers deeper inside Mountain Fang. Both monsters reportedly emitted mana signatures equivalent to Stage Seven or higher.
Recalling that information splashed cold water over his wandering thoughts. With a heavy sigh, Kael dismissed the idea of venturing into any Gate—at least for now.
Aside from buying mana-infused fruits and monster meat, Kael also wanted to purchase elixirs and high-end potions. Unfortunately, he couldn't access the powerful elixirs extracted from Gates. Those were never sold on the open market. Only government personnel or elites with deep connections to the transcendent guilds could obtain them.
As for the guilds themselves, they would occasionally sell low-grade potions through exclusive private channels—each costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Kael felt those prices were simply not worth it.
Still, with the help of mana-rich food and endless hours of cultivation, he had already reached 3rd Stage Aura Master and 2nd Stage Mage in just a few years. A few months ago, he even registered with the World Gate Defense Authority (WGDA) as a 1st Stage Aura Master.
Normally, registration required a full evaluation using high-end machines to measure physical strength, mana capacity, and aura core level. But Kael had bribed several staff members with a hefty sum to conceal both his 3rd Stage Aura Core and his Mana Heart. Because of that, he was only asked to privately demonstrate the basics—channeling mana throughout his body and forming aura around his fist, then punching an iron bar hard enough to bend it.
Once the staff confirmed it, WGDA issued him an iron badge marked with crossed swords, the emblem of a 1st Stage Aura Master. The badge for mages, on the other hand, bore a hexagram—six-pointed star—set inside an eye.
Kael had trained in hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship at a reputable local dojo for over two years, sharpening both skill and instinct. The dojo's owner, Furuki Fumitaka, was a retired Japanese 5th Stage Aura Master who lost his dominant hand inside a Gate during a battle with an Earth Dragon. His sword style came from generations of refinement, further perfected for aura users.
His hand-to-hand combat was taught by a transcendent couple from Dagestan, Leyla and Zaur, professionals in MMA and wrestling. Both were active Bronze-Rank Aura Masters. Throughout his training, Kael always made sure to display only the abilities of an average 1st Stage Aura Master.
As for magic, Kael bought spell books at steep prices from the market. But to keep his identity as a mage hidden, he rarely practiced them, avoiding anything that might expose his true capabilities.
Everything was going smoothly.
Life was productive.
Safe.
Almost peaceful.
"I should probably make myself some momos today." Kael murmured, shifting the grocery bag to his other hand.
With his purchases settled, he began the familiar walk back home.
But he could never have foreseen what was coming.
# # #
It was two in the morning when the world outside shattered.
Kael was asleep in his apartment when the monster horde broke through the Gate under the cover of night, slaughtering every human in their path.
He woke to evacuation orders booming from loudspeakers. Sirens wailed across the city. Emergency alerts vibrated violently through every phone.
But it was already too late.
From his bedroom window, Kael saw them—nearly a dozen 'Forest Giants', towering so high their massive shoulders rose above the thirty-meter defensive wall. Even at a glance, he could tell they were somewhere between thirty-eight to forty-five meters tall.
And behind those colossal figures surged a tide of monsters—savage, the familiar, vicious creatures native to the Mountain Fang Gate—pouring forward in overwhelming numbers.
# # #
[Half an hour earlier]
A shifting shadow, roughly two meters tall, crept toward the northern wall of Kathmandu. Had any transcendent seen it, they would have recognized it instantly: a 'Shadow Arachne'—one of the rarest and most troublesome predators born from Mountain Fang.
Half-spider, half-humanoid, its body was draped in matte black, blending seamlessly into darkness. Six crimson eyes glimmered faintly, the only warning of its presence. With the intelligence of a child and the instincts of a seasoned predator, it moved with eerie purpose.
Gifted with shadow magic and an unnaturally faint presence, the Shadow Arachne was the perfect assassin. Even high-stage transcendents had fallen victim to its silent ambush—most never realizing they were being hunted until their final breath. This particular Shadow Arachne had undergone five evolutions, making its strength comparable to a fifth stage transcendent.
The Shadow Arachne disappeared into the shadows of the wall itself, cast under the moonlight. Most defenders in the walls were at most bronze rank transcendent and after years without major invasions, complacency had settled in. The Arachne exploited that carelessness effortlessly.
It climbed the wall while avoiding traps, suppressing its presence to the lowest possible level, and masking its mana signature to evade detection by the magic sensors embedded in the defenses.
After successfully reaching the top, it probed its surroundings—seeking heat signatures and dense mana concentrations.
Within minutes, it found exactly what it sought, one of the eight mana stones embedded inside the wall, guarded by four Bronze-Rank transcendents.
It descended silently through the shadows.
The guards were casually chatting, sipping alcohol, completely oblivious to the predator creeping up behind them.