The scent of warm stew filled the air, mingling with the soft crackle of the heater. Plates were set. The room, though small, felt alive with comfort—something Rover hadn't felt in years.
They sat around a short table: Ayaka in her loose hoodie and tired eyes, Mina with her ever-present notebook beside her, Vex slouched with earbuds dangling, and Professor Kuroda, calmly pouring tea into mismatched cups.
Professor Kuroda (smiling faintly):
"Alright, before we eat—let's do this properly."
Everyone looked at him.
Professor Kuroda:
"Rover's new. And I know you're all carrying your own weight, your own stories... but if we're going to live under one roof, let's not be strangers."
He looked at each of them in turn.
Professor Kuroda:
"Ayaka, Mina, Vex—tell Rover who you are. Not your résumé. The real stuff."
Ayaka let out a quiet sigh.
Ayaka (glancing at Rover):
"I'm Ayaka Tsukishiro. Martial arts major. I trained under my dad, a fourth-degree black belt. Everyone thought I'd inherit his school. Then the towers came."
Her voice softened.
Ayaka:
"He was one of the first to enter a gate… and never came back. I stopped waiting. I started fighting."
Mina nudged her glasses up, voice gentle.
Mina:
"I'm Mina. Research division. I'm not much of a fighter, but I study tower energy signatures and rift behavior."
She hesitated.
Mina:
"My little sister disappeared during a spike event three years ago. No trace. No explanation. I've been studying ever since… hoping to understand what stole her."
Vex shrugged.
Vex:
"Vex. I'm the tech rat. Hacked my way into half the country's hunter databases before I turned eighteen. Got caught."
He looked at Kuroda.
Vex:
"He offered me a place to build instead of destroy. So… here I am."
Kuroda gave them each a small nod, then turned to Rover.
Professor Kuroda (gently):
"Your turn, Rover. Only if you're ready."
Rover stared at his hands for a long moment.
Then he began.
Rover (softly):
"It happened twenty years ago. I was five."
---
[FLASHBACK – July 5, 2000 – Seoul]
The sky wasn't covered by clouds.
It was covered by wings.
A wyvern, massive and screeching, tore through a crimson rift in the sky and descended on the town like a curse. There were no hunters. No mana. Just people—terrified and unarmed.
The air burned.
Alarms wailed. Buildings crumbled. Screams echoed through narrow streets.
Rover's mother ran with him in her arms, breath ragged, dodging falling debris and raining fire.
Mother (desperately):
"Stay with me, baby. Don't look back!"
They turned a corner—only to find the wyvern landing before them, a living nightmare of scale and flame.
She froze.
And that's when he appeared.
A young soldier, face barely older than a teenager, sprinted down the road with a cracked rifle in his arms.
Soldier (yelling):
"Get down! I'll hold it off!"
He fired. The bullets barely slowed the beast—but he didn't stop.
He screamed at the monster. Drew its attention. He was shaking, bleeding from a previous wound—but still stood his ground.
The wyvern lashed out.
Its tail struck him like a battering ram—he flew into a wall with a crack that made Rover scream.
But the soldier got up.
Coughing blood, hands trembling, he raised the gun again.
Soldier (through blood):
"Run…!"
He bought them ten seconds.
Just ten.
Rover's mother grabbed him, dragged him behind a burned-out car, and held him close.
Mother (choking):
"Close your eyes. No matter what happens... don't open them."
She wrapped her body around his.
The fire came.
Everything turned white.
Her arms—her voice—her warmth—
Gone.
---
[FLASHBACK ENDS]
Silence.
Ayaka's fists trembled.
Mina stared at her untouched food.
Vex had lowered his head.
Even Kuroda's hands were still.
Rover inhaled shakily.
Rover:
"I never knew that soldier's name. But I remember his face. And my mother's last words."
He looked up, eyes harder than before.
Rover:
"I never awakened. I've been called trash, a failure, 'Unmarked.' But I trained anyway. With wooden blades, rusted knives. Slept in alleys. Hunted tower scraps for coins."
His voice was a whisper, but it burned.
Rover:
"One day… I'll become a hunter. And I'll find that wyvern—or whatever sent it. And I'll kill it."
A pause.
Then Kuroda reached into his coat and placed a white envelope on the table. The seal bore the emblem of the Kuroda Institute.
Professor Kuroda:
"Then let's begin that journey properly. You've got strength. Let me teach you how to sharpen it."
Ayaka smiled faintly.
Ayaka:
"Welcome to the madhouse."
Mina nodded.
Mina:
"We'll help you. No more streets."
Vex chuckled softly.
Vex:
"You break anything in the lab, I'm blaming you."
Rover blinked.
Then—he smiled.
Rover:
"thank you everyone."
---
To be continue…