Max Ranker

[System Notice: You Have Entered a Demon Gate for the First Time.]

[Demon Gate Detected: Rank D.]

Jin Hwan froze.

"Wait."

His heart slammed against his chest as he re-read the words.

Rank D?

His stomach dropped.

"No. No, no, no. This was supposed to be an E-Rank Gate."

He turned around—

But the gate behind him was gone.

The swirling black mass that had been there a second ago had vanished.

He was trapped.

For a moment, he just stood there, breathing.

Trying to process what just happened.

"This is why the Hunter Association exists. This is why they have scouts, analysts, professionals who measure the rank of a Demon Gate before anyone goes in."

He clenched his fists.

"If this were an official raid, a D-Rank Hunter squad would be the minimum requirement."

Not an E-Rank nobody like me.

He exhaled, slow and controlled.

"I walked straight into this one."

The air was thick.

Every breath felt heavy, like he was inhaling something wrong.

The sky above was an eternal shade of red, swirling clouds moving unnaturally fast. The ground beneath him was cracked, like an ancient wasteland, littered with jagged black rocks and dry, dead trees.

The landscape stretched on for miles.

No roads. No paths. Just a vast expanse of death.

Jin Hwan slowly moved forward.

Each step was careful, measured.

"Okay. Think. I'm here now. I can either panic, or I can figure this out."

He checked his dagger.

A D-Rank Weapon. Capable of killing E-Rank demons and damaging D-Rank ones.

"At least I have this."

He took a deep breath.

Then he started walking.

The further he walked, the worse the feeling got.

This place felt wrong.

Like he wasn't supposed to be here.

Every instinct screamed at him to turn back.

But there was no turning back.

"Was this a mistake?"

The thought hit him hard.

For the first time since he started hunting demons, a real sense of fear crawled up his spine.

Killing F-Rank and E-Rank demons in the city had been one thing.

He had chosen those fights.

He had controlled the battlefield.

But here?

Here, he had no idea what he was walking into.

"I've been pushing myself non-stop to rank up, but was I actually ready for this?"

His grip tightened around his dagger.

He had no choice now.

He had to be ready.

Jin Hwan kept walking.

Deeper into the Demon Gate.

And then—

A low growl echoed through the air.

He stopped.

His entire body went still.

Then he turned his head, slowly, towards the source of the sound.

And saw something watching him.

[System Alert: Hostile Entities Detected]

[Kornirates – Insectoid Demons]

Class: D-Rank

Traits: Thick Exoskeleton, Enhanced Speed, Venomous Mandibles

Count: 10

Jin Hwan's stomach twisted.

The creatures emerged from the shadows, their chitinous bodies gleaming under the blood-red sky. They were huge, standing at least two meters tall, their segmented limbs clicking against the cracked earth as they moved unnaturally fast.

Their eyes—black, soulless orbs—focused directly on him.

Then, they charged.

Jin Hwan barely had time to react before the first one lunged.

He threw himself to the side, but pain exploded in his ribs as a thick, barbed leg slammed into him, sending him flying across the ground.

He hit the dirt hard, skidding several feet before coming to a stop.

"Shit—"

His vision blurred.

The impact stung like hell, but he forced himself up, barely managing to lift his dagger before another Kornirate lunged at him.

Its mandibles snapped inches from his face.

Jin Hwan rolled out of the way just in time, but another demon was already on him.

A clawed leg raked across his shoulder, cutting through his hoodie and into his skin.

"Damn it!"

Blood dripped down his arm as he staggered back, panting.

His stealth skill activated instinctively, dulling his presence just enough to buy him a second of breathing room.

But the Kornirates were hunters.

They didn't need to see him.

They could smell him.

And they weren't letting him go.

The demons rushed him again.

Jin Hwan swung his dagger, aiming for one of their exposed joints—

CLANG!

His weapon bounced off the thick exoskeleton.

"Are you kidding me?!"

A Kornirate slammed into him from the side, sending him crashing into the ground.

Pain erupted through his back.

Before he could move, another one pinned him down, its mandibles opening wide.

Jin Hwan thrust his dagger upward, driving it into the soft flesh inside its mouth.

The demon shrieked, rearing back in pain.

He ripped the dagger free, black ichor splattering across his arm, and used the opening to roll away—

Only to get kicked in the stomach.

He gagged, his body lifting off the ground as he was sent flying again.

He hit the cracked earth so hard he felt something in his ribs snap.

A sharp pain shot through his chest.

"Is this… what it's like… to fight in a Demon Gate?"

His vision blurred, his body screaming in pain.

He tried to push himself up—

But his arms shook violently.

The Kornirates surrounded him.

Clicking. Watching.

Toying with him.

They weren't in a rush to kill him.

They were enjoying this.

"Damn it… I'm going to die like this?"

No.

No, he refused to go down like this.

Jin Hwan gritted his teeth.

He could barely breathe.

His entire body felt like it had been crushed.

But he wasn't done.

Not yet.

He forced himself to his feet.

Blood dripped from his wounds.

His ribs ached.

His vision swam.

But he lifted his dagger anyway.

The Kornirates clicked their mandibles, sensing his defiance.

Then they charged.

Jin Hwan exhaled sharply.

And this time—

He fought back.