In Front of him spread the city, a flawed beautiful machine, towering buildings, narrow alley ways bathed in neon light or dark shadows. There was a thick layer of damp pavement, burnt fuel and something metallic in the air — blood.
His bare feet smacked the cracked concrete as he ran down the alley, heart hammering. The faraway shouts of the landlord grew distant and were lost amid the city's restless sound. He had escaped—for now.
But now was the real trouble.
Where the hell am I?
Everything was wrong. The architecture, the technology, the atmosphere. He'd seen mention of strange alchemical machines in books in his previous life, but nothing like these glowing signs, moving metal carts (called cars), these gigantic screen projections plastered on the side of skyscrapers.
This was no mere other kingdom.
This isn't even the same world.
And yet…
Asher took a deep breath to ease his spiraling thoughts. This wasn't a completely foreign place.
There was something in the air—not magic per se, but something present. Not something he had felt when deep in the dungeons of Eldoria.[海]
A dungeon core.
That was impossible.
Dungeons were shards of insanity, fractures in which mana poured freely. They weren't supposed to exist in nature — they were supposed to be the unique province of his old world. So why would he feel them here?
He needed answers.
And to find them, he needed a site to collect data.
The Streets of New Vale
Afterconfirming he was not being followed, Asher slowed his speed and treated this portion of the trip like the one all fell apart on. The people here wore funny clothes — thick jackets, metal accoutrements, glowing wristbands. He cut a lamb among wolves, his own ragged clothes earning him wary glances.
And he noticed one other thing.
There were symbols all around. Posters, screens, even muraled on buildings. They all had their own variation on a single motif—a golden crest in the shape of a dragon's eye, encircled by a ring of swords.
And underneath them printed in big letters:
"Obey the Hunters. They Keep Us Safe."
Hunters?
His mind went back to the battles, the beast-slaying, the dungeon diving, the war against the abyss. In Eldoria, the role of an adventurer had been similar. But here?
The way people viewed those symbols, the reverence, the fear, it was beyond respect.
The Hunters weren't simply fighters.
They were rulers.
"Out of the way!"
A gale-force of wind nearly knocked Asher off his feet when something massive hit the street in front of him.
A figure in black and silver combat armor stood above the corpse of a twisted, bestial thing. Beneath its gargantuan, deformed body, blood pooled; its insectile, multiple eyes were frozen in death.
The folks on the street didn't freak out.
They clapped.
"Praise the Hunters!"
"Another one down!"
"Glory to the guilds!"
Asher's breath caught when he finally glimpsed it.
A rift — a real live dungeon portal— crackling like a broken mirror right behind the corpse. It throbbed with dark energy, its edges warping reality.
This was not a kingdom that had recently discovered dungeons.
Everything in this world circled around them.
The Hunter System
A legion of armored figures approached, each of them wearing insignia from multiple factions. A woman in a slick black coat and a glowing gauntlet was one of the first to notice, raising her hand toward the rift.
"Seal it."
A bolt of blue energy fired from her gauntlet, the dungeon portal collapsing inwardly before vanishing with a crackling hum.
Asher watched closely, his mind racing.
They had sealed a dungeon portal — no core required.
Dungeons, in Eldoria, existed as chaotic, uncontrollable phenomena. But here they were being contained. Controlled.
Was this reason he was reborn here?
Before he could think much more, a loud beeping sounded from a holographic billboard nearby. A news report played featuring a stern-looking man dressed like military armor.
"Attention Hunters of the Great Guilds: A new Category-4 Rift has been detected in Sector 12. C-Rank Hunters and above, report immediately. Civilians, keep your distance.'
Category-4? Ranks?
It was an entire system.
Dungeons were not just a problem — they were an industry, a government, a way of life. The citizens of this world had learned to live with it.
And the Hunters?
They were its masters.
Asher clenched his fists.
If dungeons had been governed by the rulers of this world, they were the only ones who could answer his questions.
But first he had to survive.
His belly grumbled loudly as if to say, despite his knowledge and past power, he was just a hungry, weak boy in the slums.
The First Step
Over the next few hours Asher was learning.
He listened to conversations, memorized signs, watched how people moved and interacted. He soon figured out three things:
Money ruled everything. Even the lowest-ranking Hunters earned enough to live well, while those unblessed by the system barely scraped by.
Guilds controlled the city. The "Great Guilds" were more than unions; they were the government, the military, the law.
Strength was everything. Without power, you were nothing here.
It was almost too familiar.
And that meant he already knew what to do.
He had to become a Hunter.
A New Name, A New Path
By night, Asher had discovered an old, empty supply crate to hide in, tucked away behind an alley. He sat with his back against the cold metal, hands folded as he reviewed all he had learned.
To get into this world's system, he wanted:
Money (to survive).
A Guild (requires a guild to enter dungeons).
The power (to fight, to discover the truth).
But he also needed a name.
The landlord had referred to him as "kid" or "brat." That meant this body had probably had a name in its former life here. But Asher Velmont, Sorcerer of Eldoria?
That name was dead.
In this world, he was a different person.
He took a deep breath. A new beginning. A new identity.
His eyes were silver and had fire in them.
"My name is…"
He hesitated briefly.
Then, softly, he said what he felt.
"Asher Vale."
And then for the first time since waking in this strange world, he smiled.
This wasn't his kingdom. This wasn't his magic.
But it was his second life.
And he was going to seize it for himself.