Chapter 1
“Again…?”
The National Hunter Agency—the special state organization in charge of managing South Korea’s hunters. The director of the Agency’s Suwon Branch was currently facing a rather massive headache.
“Yes, sir. The agent dispatched to that bakery a week ago submitted their resignation.”
“Making this the third one, then…”
The branch director closed his exhaustion-laden eyes tightly before opening them again.
It was all because of a bakery that had appeared out of nowhere recently, whipping up a complete frenzy among bread lovers across the entire country. The business was keeping the branch director awake at night.
The place was profoundly suspicious. Sweeping up money out of the blue was weird enough, but its location right next to the ‘Dungeon of Beginning’ was equally dubious. On top of that, rumors circulated that the customers coming and going were somewhat off, too.
The branch director smelled a rat.
‘Something about this bakery is very wrong.’
At first, he had dispatched agents out of simple curiosity, but…
‘They all either took sudden long-term leaves of absence or turned in their resignations.’
Every agent in the Agency was an Awakener. Assigned to covert missions, they were the elite of the elite, hiding their true identities even from their own families. For operatives like them to vanish out of nowhere was deeply alarming.
At this point, he had concluded that this bakery was a genuine threat.
“This won’t do. I’ll go inspect it myself.”
Thump, thump.
His heart was beating so fast. With a pulse like this, this bakery was undoubtedly a menace to human peace!
Jingle!
“Welcome!”
Heading straight to the bakery, the branch director was only able to step inside after waiting in a long line due to the sheer crowd.
The bakery owner, who possessed quite a pretty face, was putting freshly baked bread onto the display stand. A relaxed demeanor oozed from his easy, bright smile.
‘Strange. There are only two employees visible—the owner and a part-timer—so why do they look so unbothered?’
Pulling his hat down low to blend in as naturally as possible, the branch director headed toward a table in the corner of the bakery. But halfway there, he froze, gasping under his breath.
‘Huh? That person is…!’
Sitting at a table in the corner, strategically hiding his face from the bakery owner’s sight, was a man who shouldn’t have been there.
Even as a high-ranking branch director, the person sitting right in front of him nibbling on a piece of bread was an authority he rarely had the chance to meet in person.
It was Baek Kijun, Director of the National Hunter Agency.
‘What on earth is Director Baek doing here…?’
The supreme leader of the National Hunter Agency, Baek Kijun.
Just entering his late 40s, Baek Kijun was a living legend within the organization.
It seemed Baek Kijun had spotted the branch director moments ago. The director could tell because the man—whose remarkably handsome face defied his late 40s—was currently glaring at him with a murderous glint in his eyes.
‘Eek! Why is the Director looking at me like that?’
The branch director barely managed to straighten his instinctually hunched shoulders.
Could that look be a silent reprimand, asking why it took him so long to discover this dangerous bakery? Interpreting the glare entirely on his own terms, the branch director scuttled over and whispered softly.
“I-I am so sorry, sir. I will investigate every nook and cranny of this bakery as soon as possible to prepare for potential threats—”
“…Get out.”
“Pardon?”
“Get the hell out of here right now. And forget everything about this bakery once you leave. That includes the owner, too.”
The startled branch director blinked in utter confusion. In short, the Director was telling him not to pry into the bakery or its owner.
Just who was that owner for him to act like this?
The moment the branch director turned his head to re-examine the owner’s face—
“Don’t look. You’re going to wear out her face.”
A chilly voice echoed right behind him. There hadn’t been a single trace of presence. Blown away, the branch director—who secretly prided himself on his own skills—spun around in shock.
A man stood there slouching, staring down at him. The branch director’s eyes widened upon seeing the mask covering half the man’s face.
“Fath—No, Director. I know you put up a stealth barrier to exclude this old guy, but we’ll get caught if we stay like this. You know what happens then, right? Let’s get out of here.”
The hunter currently breaking every youngest-record title in real-time across the globe, and the star hunter of the rank #1 guild, ‘Legend’: Baek Ho.
The mask engraved with a black-and-white Taegeuk* pattern was his trademark.
[T/N: Symbol on the Korean flag. A philosophy meaning supreme ultimate]
“Of course, that goes for you too, old man. Get out. As for this bakery… you heard what to do, right?”
Baek Kijun chimed in right behind him.
“I’ll give you time to wipe everything from your memory. Go take a break. Oh, taking a permanent break is fine, too. I’ll make sure your severance package is generous.”
The moment the branch director met the two men’s chilling gazes, he finally understood why his agents had quietly gone off the grid. They had all been threatened like this—or something very close to it.
Nodding furiously, the branch director swallowed hard and bolted out of the shop. His heart had been pounding wildly the entire time.
‘For Director Baek and Baek Ho to protect someone like this… Just who is that shop owner?’
Rushing frantically back to his office, the branch director couldn’t contain his curiosity. He logged into Another, the networked space exclusively built for hunters.
‘Keyword search: Dungeon of Beginning, Bakery, Owner.’
An hourglass icon popped up, indicating the keywords he entered were being processed. Just as he felt it was taking unusually long—
Every window suddenly shut down, and a system message popped up out of nowhere.
<System: ‘Involved Party’ has prohibited searches for these keywords at their request. Entering a prohibited keyword one more time will result in a one-month suspension from Another.>
An Involved Party? What on earth was an Involved Party?
The branch director stood there dumbfounded. In all his life, he had never seen information protected directly by the system itself.
‘Just what is the true identity of that bakery owner?!’
***
A few months before the branch director fell into a state of total panic.
Baek Seol blinked, staring at the building in front of her. She had come here following a real estate agent’s tip to secure a rent-free place.
“It’s a place that doesn’t charge rent. Go check it out.”
“A place like that actually exists?”
“I heard the landlord offers temporary housing for graduate students. Why? You don’t want it? If not, hand it back. You only got this premium tip because one of your students is such a good kid…”
“No, no! Thank you! I’ll head over right now!”
After failing to get into the graduate school dorms, she had scoured the area for cheap rent until she finally ended up here. Baek Seol swallowed hard.
Grey bricks, a grey door, and grey windows.
The building gave off the distinct vibe of a failed, run-down shop.
Could there really be a room for her to live in here?
“Um, is anyone inside?”
Knock, knock.
She knocked cautiously on the door, but not a single sound came from within. Instead, as if inviting her in, the door slowly creaked open on its own.
Goosebumps erupted across the back of Baek Seol’s neck.
Hieek.
What was that just now? It looked like the door opened all by itself. Scrambling back, Baek Seol peeked inside before cautiously easing her tense shoulders.
‘…Did I knock too hard?’
Baek Seol bit her lip tightly and pushed the door open.
“Excuse me, I came here after being referred by the real estate agent.”
She spoke softly as she stepped inside.
For a fleeting second, she thought she caught a glimpse of interior decor that looked like something straight out of a bakery.
And right at that moment—
A strange window suddenly popped up in front of her eyes out of nowhere.
<System: To enter, you must agree to the following terms. Do you agree to the following? Y/N>
What is this?
Baek Seol stared blankly at the window floating in midair. She was thoroughly stunned. The sudden appearance of the window was surprising enough, but…
‘Why is it so tacky?’
More than anything, the design of the window was atrociously outdated. She had seen windows like this a long time ago. It looked like an old, ancient Windows OS pop-up—a bland grey screen with a hideous font.
She tried to figure out what this tacky window was, but no clear answer came to mind. Instead of wasting time over thinking it, she carefully began to read the content on the screen.
‘Let’s see. So I have to press Y to go in?’
It certainly seemed that way. Baek Seol rolled her eyes to check the “following terms” mentioned in the message.
A arrow as tiny as an ant’s nostril appeared at the bottom of the window. It seemed clicking it would display the terms requiring her consent. Just as Baek Seol blinked and instinctively aimed her index finger at the arrow, an additional message popped up.
<System: The time limit is about to expire. If you do not agree, access will be automatically denied.>
At the same time, numbers appeared beside the window and began counting down one by one.
5…… 4…… 3…… 2…….
“Argh! Wait, wait a second!”
Nobody said anything about a time limit! Having suffered under the tyrannical whims of her advisor, Professor Kim, Baek Seol’s reflexes were top-tier. She snapped her index finger away from the arrow and poked the Y button right on the mark.
‘If it’s to get a free room…!’
She had to put the suspicious nature of the tacky window behind her for now. Baek Seol absolutely had to get inside this shop. She needed to meet the landlord first to get anything done, after all.
Immediately, the next window popped up.
<System: You have agreed to all of the following terms and conditions required for use.>
Huh? While Baek Seol blinked in confusion, text began scrolling up at an incomprehensibly fast speed.
<☑ Dungeon Bakery Terms of Use (Required)
Welcome to Dungeon Bakery. These terms and conditions… (omitted)… Thank you for your cooperation.
☑ Consent to the Collection and Use of Personal Information (Required)
In accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act… (omitted)…
☑ Location Information Terms of Use (Required)
Required for entry into the bakery…
☑ Dungeon Bakery Purchase Loan Agreement (Required)
If you do not have enough points…
☑ Supporter Terms of Use (Required)
☑ ….
☑ ….>
Wait, what is all this?
Baek Seol was overwhelmed by the sudden barrage of scrolling text. She rubbed her eyes and stared intently at the screen.
There were countless clauses, but only one single term managed to catch Baek Seol’s eye.
It was impossible not to notice it, considering it was sparkling brightly.
<☑ Consent to Awakening as the Owner of Dungeon Bakery ☆ (Required)>
The moment Baek Seol’s mouth fell wide open, another strange window popped up out of nowhere right in front of her.
<System: Congratulations on your Awakening! You have awakened as the Owner of Dungeon Bakery.>
