Early in the morning, a little later than usual because I had overslept, I was rushing to school with my bag slung over one shoulder.
As I passed by a busy intersection, my eyes were caught by the giant digital billboard perched atop one of the tall buildings lining the street.
The screen was broadcasting a news report on loop, and the headline flashed in bold, bright letters: “Yeon Hyeong-gwang Breaks Dungeon Solo, Gains Nationwide Fame!”
The camera zoomed in on a video clip of Yeon Hyeong-gwang, the younger brother of the famous Yeon Ha-yeon, who was ranked number one nationwide.
His graceful movements and radiant appearance captivated viewers.
Even from a distance, his charisma was undeniable.
The report detailed how just days after his awakening, Yeon Hyeong-gwang had taken down a dungeon in Gwanak-gu all by himself, something that had baffled many guild experts.
Naturally, his accomplishments made him an instant star among Awakened, and he was swiftly inducted into the Blood Fragrance Guild—the same guild his older brother led as master.
After a short highlight reel, the news segment showed a clip of Yeon Hyeong-gwang and Yeon Ha-yeon fighting side by side, perfectly synchronized like a duo destined for greatness.
The broadcast ended with a tease about their future guild missions together, which, unsurprisingly, ignited a wave of excitement online.
“That makes sense,” I murmured to myself, recalling how quickly the fan club for Yeon Ha-yeon had skyrocketed after his awakening.
I’d heard it was actually created by Galaxy’s girlfriend.
Now, with Yeon Hyeong-gwang’s sudden rise, it wasn’t surprising that a new fan club had already sprung up for him as well.
The level of devotion from some people was intense—bordering on obsessive.
Arriving at the school, I walked into the classroom and dropped my bag by my desk.
I greeted the few classmates already seated with a bright, “Hey guys, hello.”
But the atmosphere was… different today.
Almost everyone who had come before me sat silently, eyes fixed on something I couldn’t immediately see.
Their expressions were pale, wary, and tense.
My heart skipped a beat as I followed their gaze.
Near the back door stood Shin Sena, her posture rigid and crossed arms betraying her scowl.
Her eyes locked onto me with unmistakable displeasure, and the room seemed to shrink around her intimidating presence.
Everyone else was holding their breath, watching cautiously, waiting for what might happen.
The Four Heavenly Kings—the school’s most powerful and popular group—hadn’t arrived yet.
And Yeon Ha-yeon himself was supposed to be absent all day due to guild business.
That meant Shin Sena had no one from her own support circle nearby to back her up or deflect attention.
Yet here she was, acting as if she owned the place, like some dark cloud hovering over the classroom.
It had been a while since she’d stirred up trouble.
I remembered that her family was powerful enough that the school administration warned her off causing disturbances.
Yet, her glare was clearly meant for me.
‘Why now?’
I thought.
‘Why act like this again?’
Beside me, Nabi’s voice was barely a whisper, trembling with worry.
“Dana… what if she calls you out again like last time?”
I forced a small smile, trying to sound confident, even though my heart was pounding.
“It’s okay.”
If she wanted to pick a fight like last time, I wasn’t going to be the one to back down.
Still, I could tell Nabi wasn’t convinced.
Her face remained pale.
At that moment, the tense silence was broken by the arrival of one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Ban Eunhyeol pushed the door open and stepped inside, a frown creasing his forehead.
His eyes immediately locked onto Shin Sena.
“Is this your class?” he asked, his tone cold and sharp.
The room’s tension instantly intensified, thickening until it felt like the air itself might crack.
Shin Sena’s posture stiffened as if she’d been caught off guard.
“N-no, I’m just going!” she stammered, backing away hurriedly toward her own classroom.
The scowl on her face didn’t fade, but she wisely chose to retreat rather than escalate.
The tension in the classroom finally eased, and relieved sighs fluttered around like butterflies released from a cage.
Ban Eunhyeol relaxed, his usual calm returning as he casually began chatting with Eunbada nearby.
“Phew, I thought I was going to suffocate in here,” he joked lightly.
One of my classmates shook their head in disbelief.
“Why is she acting like that all of a sudden? I thought she had been quiet recently.”
Someone else nodded and asked me directly, “Dana, what happened between you and Shin Sena?”
The question made me swallow hard.
After the last time she scared me, I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with this again.
But deep down, I had a rough idea of why she was acting this way.
Before I could answer, a sharp voice cut through the room.
It was a girl who had calmly asked me about being caught at the gate with Ban Eunhyeol earlier. Her smirk was filled with malicious delight.
“No one to protect you today either. What should we do?”
She glanced over at Yeon Ha-yeon’s seat with a wicked grin, as if relishing the thought of what might happen to me now that his absence was known.
The rest of my friends looked confused by the comment, but Nabi’s face darkened instantly.
She tightened her grip on my hand and muttered with quiet urgency, “Let’s just stay in the classroom all day today.”
I nodded silently, thankful for her steady presence.
But Nabi’s suggestion was never realized.
It was easy to find out online that Yeon Ha-yeon wouldn’t be coming to school that day, and the students who had been quietly targeting me seemed to have been waiting for just this moment.
Their objective was clear: to bring down the fox who had been bold enough to want not only the Four Heavenly Kings but also the handsome first-year.
Suddenly, the nickname “the fox” wasn’t just a joke—it was something they used to stalk and isolate me.
Every break, mysterious students showed up in the hallways, standing in that same threatening pose—arms crossed, one leg bent, eyes cold and piercing—glaring directly at me.
I felt completely drained, both physically and emotionally.
The only relief was that none of them had yet made a direct move to harm me.
“All right, class for today ends here… huh?”
As soon as the bell rang, I bolted from my seat and headed straight for the bathroom.
Just thinking about who might come during this break was enough to sap whatever energy I had left.
They all had the same stance—crossed arms, one leg casually bent—glaring with a fierceness that made me want to scream.
Before the hallways flooded with students for the break, I slipped quickly into one of the stalls at the very end of the bathroom and locked the door behind me.
The echoes of the previous break’s threats still rang in my ears: the “Jisamo”—the group fervently admiring Ji Ganghan—had now officially designated me as their public enemy.
I sank down against the cool wall and closed my eyes.
[Master, your complexion doesn’t look good.]
A familiar voice emerged from the shadows beside me. Shahin, my spirit companion, had appeared silently as always.
The strange, gentle touch of his ethereal hand on my cheek was oddly comforting, even though the world outside was anything but.
Right now, I’d rather be with a spirit than face any human.
[You think so too? Maybe I should just pretend to be sick and leave early today.]
I sighed heavily.
Whenever situations like this came up, the mask I wore threatened to crack.
Despite all my acting, my true nature—the part that belonged to a dimension outsider—threatened to break free.
I could feel the tension building inside me, and my patience fraying.
I never imagined I’d end up hiding in a bathroom stall just to avoid people.
If it weren’t for this “dimension outsider possession” status window constantly reminding me who I was supposed to be, I might have just flipped everything upside down and lived honestly by now.
‘Should I just stop pretending to be Yeon Ha-yeon and show my true self?’
I wondered.
Since the story said I wasn’t originally from this neighborhood but transferred here, maybe I could bluff that my personality had changed—that the quiet, shy girl everyone knew had vanished.
Just as the impulse to let everything go and live freely surged, a sudden blue flicker danced before my eyes.
The status window appeared again.
[!New Feature Added!]
I blinked, startled.
‘What now?’
A cold chill ran down my spine.
Didn’t a similar status window appear before, only to bring up the chat window that always caused trouble?
This time, the screen glittered with fireworks effects—a taunting display that only doubled the ominous feeling.
“Please, just don’t malfunction, you damn system!” I muttered under my breath.
Why did these new features keep popping up out of nowhere?
I had no idea why functions that didn’t exist before were suddenly appearing here, but whatever it was, it was definitely going to mess with my mental health.
The status window paused, as if savoring the moment, before a new message popped up explaining the feature.
[Awakening: A rank list has been created so you can easily check your rank relative to others. Try it now! ▷ click]
‘What did they make now?’
That annoying emoji in the corner felt like it was mocking me, its little eyes gleaming with mischief.
I was about to click when another window instantly appeared.
[Who can view the rank list? Everyone!]
Everyone?
Even non-awakened people could now check the ranks of the Awakened?
I hesitated, heart thudding.
Hurriedly, I clicked the button, and the status window expanded into a glowing blue screen.
At the very top, my nickname was inscribed.
[0. Me]
Below it, the nicknames of the top 10 ranked players appeared, displayed like a chat list.
[Try scrolling >_<]
I’d never seen a scroll bar in a status window before.
Curious and anxious, I moved my finger downward.
Rankings starting from 11th began to appear sequentially.
I scrolled down, and down—but it never seemed to end.
Apparently, there were no limits like only showing the top 100—it showed every rank from 0 all the way to the last.
‘Ah, no…’
I felt a cold dread creeping into my chest.
Until now, the rankings could only be seen through each Awakened’s respective chat window, meaning you could only view others ranked close to you.
I only knew the rankings from 0th to 10th place, but I didn’t know beyond that—and I was sure the other Awakened were just as clueless.
Fortunately, no one had publicly talked about the ranking list in the chatrooms until now, so my existence hadn’t been exposed.
But if everyone could see the rankings now, then the entire nation would learn who the 0th place was.
From now on, the Hunter Association, every guild, and every Awakened would be on fire trying to find out who the 0th place was.
“Hey! The rankings just got released!”
“Turn on the news, quick! Looks like even non-Awakened can see the rankings now?”
“Seriously? The ranking list just popped up right in front of me!”
“What’s this? 0th place?”
I winced.
From the shouting outside the bathroom, I could clearly picture the scene unfolding in every classroom and dorm room across the city.
Everyone would be crowded around monitors watching the news.
Broadcasters must have already picked up the story and were covering the breaking news extensively.
By now, everyone would have learned who the 0th place was.
I quickly made my way back to the classroom, dreading the reactions I would find.
The moment I stepped inside, I realized the entire class had just turned on their monitors.
The news about the new rank list and the revelation of the 0th place was dominating the screens. Whispers, gasps, and stunned silence filled the room.
Everyone’s eyes were locked on me, as if I were the main character of this unwanted drama.Yeon Ha-yeon’s older brother might be absent, but I knew I was about to face a new type of attention—one far worse than the petty rivalry and bullying from before.
And so the game began, in a place that felt less and less like a safe school and more like a battlefield.