The train pulled in right on schedule. I boarded and took an empty seat near the back, dropping my bag to the floor.
A screen mounted at the front flickered with urgent news. A sudden Gate break had occurred in the southern district, but an unidentified female hunter had intervened and prevented civilian casualties.
No surprise. This was only the beginning. Gate incidents would keep rising as time passed, and the casualties would climb with them—infighting between guilds, slow coordination, stupid mistakes. All of it piling up, just like in the story.
There was nothing I could do about any of it.
Not until I became powerful enough.
The train rattled through the darkness, and I leaned back against the seat, watching the stars blur past the window.
Two hours later, the train screeched to a halt at Virelia station. This one was nothing like the one I'd left behind in Sera. No fancy lighting, no crowds, no holographic ads. Just a concrete platform, a rusted ticket booth, and a single flickering mana-powered lamp.
I stepped off the train, and the cold mountain air hit me immediately. The village itself was small, a dozen buildings clustered together; there was an inn, a general store, and a tiny shrine at the edge of town.
This was a frontier town. A place for hunters to rest before heading into unregulated zones, or for those too broke to afford the cities. Beyond this, there was nothing but wilderness and monsters.
I adjusted my backpack and started walking. The paved road ended about fifty meters past the last building, giving way to a dirt trail that led toward the mountains. But before the wilderness began, there was a checkpoint, a metal gate stretched across the path with a small guard booth beside it.
A faded sign hung above: UNREGULATED ZONE - LICENSED HUNTERS ONLY - HUNTER ID REQUIRED.
The gate was closed. A single guard sat inside the booth, head down, probably half-asleep. A scanner was mounted beside the gate entrance, probably for checking valid Hunter IDs.
Shit.
I'd forgotten about this. Technically, I was a registered hunter, awakened individuals got automatic provisional licenses at 18, but mine was flagged as "Academy Student." If I scanned it here, the system would log my entry into an unregulated zone, and the academy would get an automated alert within minutes.
I can't let that happen.
I backed away from the main path, the checkpoint only covered the official road, but the fence on either side was just chain-link, maybe two meters tall. It extended about thirty meters into the forest on both sides before ending abruptly where the terrain got too rocky to bother with.
Classic bureaucratic half-measure. They put up a gate to say they did something, but didn't actually secure the perimeter.
I circled around to the left, moving quietly through the trees. The guard didn't even look up. After about a minute of walking, I found a metal post driven into the ground, where the fence ended.
I stepped past it into the unregulated zone, sound of wind rustling through the trees and the faint chirping of insects.
As the sun began to rise, the mountain silhouettes sharpened into view. I checked the map on my phone, my destination was the central peak, the tallest of the range.
A tingling sensation ran through me, probably from my passive skill, [Mana Sense], as I drew closer to the mountain.
The trail grew steeper, roots and rocks jutting out in uneven patterns. I had to be careful with every step, or risk twisting an ankle. The forest thickened around me, shadows stretching long as the sun climbed higher, and the air grew cooler with every meter of elevation.
Then, my [Danger Sense] flared.
I froze mid-step, hand instinctively going to the knife in my pocket. The sensation wasn't overwhelming, definitely not a high-rank threat I couldn't handle.
The bushes to my left rustled. I turned slowly, keeping my breath steady and my grip tight around the dagger.
The bushes shook again, and then a large dog-like creature, with gray fur, oversized front teeth, red eyes, stepped out.
[Fanged Hare - Rank: E] I almost laughed. This was beginner-level monster such that it was a compliment to even call that. There wasn't much difference between a stray dog and this thing.
It let out a low growl. Then it crouched low and lunged. I barely had time to throw myself to the side, hitting the dirt hard as the thing flashed past me, teeth snapping where my throat had been a second ago.
"Shit—!"
I scrambled to my feet, dirt clinging to my jacket. The monster skidded to a stop a few meters away, its claws digging into the ground as it spun back toward me. Red eyes locked onto mine, saliva dripping from its oversized teeth.
I tightened my grip on the dagger. It lunged again. This time, I didn't dodge. I stepped forward, slashing down with the knife. The blade caught its shoulder, drawing blood, but the momentum of it slammed into me.
I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of my lungs. The monster was on top of me, snapping and clawing, and I barely got my arm up in time to block its teeth.
Pain exploded through my forearm as its fangs sank in.
[HP: 150 → 125]
"Fuck, get off!"
I drove the knife into its side, once, twice, three times. The monster screeched, thrashing, but it didn't let go.
Blood, mine and the monster soaked into the dirt. My HP kept dropping.
[HP: 125 → 110]
I tried to trigger [Basic Heal], but a prompt flashed sharply:
[Self-healing with personal mana may cause internal harm.]
[HP: 110 → 95]
What?!
Panic surged through me as the Fanged Hare's jaws clamped down harder, grinding against bone. I couldn't heal myself, that was the one advantage I thought I had.
Think! THINK!
The knife was still in my hand, buried in the creature's side. I twisted the blade with everything I had left.
It shrieked, finally releasing my arm. Blood poured from multiple stab wounds across its body. The creature staggered backward, red eyes flickering.
It turned and bolted into the bushes, limping heavily, leaving a trail of blood behind. I collapsed onto my knees, gasping for air. My arm throbbed, hot pain radiating up to my shoulder. Blood soaked through my sleeve, dripping onto the dirt.
[HP: 95/150]
That thing almost killed me.
I fumbled for my backpack with my good hand, pulling out a water bottle. My fingers shook as I unscrewed the cap and poured water over the wound, hissing through my teeth as it stung.
The bite marks were deep. I tore a strip of fabric from the bottom of my shirt, wrapping it tightly around my forearm.
The makeshift bandage turned red almost immediately.
Shit.
I leaned back against a tree, chest heaving, staring at the blood-soaked cloth. Then turned toward the mountain ahead. The central peak loomed in the distance, still hours away. I wasn't even halfway there.
At this pace, I wouldn't make it to the peak. Definitely not in one piece.
I needed to move more discreetly. No more charging through the forest like an idiot. No more assuming I could handle "beginner-level" monsters just because they were weak in the novel.
This wasn't a story anymore.
I forced myself to stand, legs trembling, and veered off the main trail. The dense bushes and overgrown foliage would make the climb harder, but it was safer.
I can do this.