"Hello?"
"Midnight Sons, how can we help you?"
"It's Ethan. I’m accepting the job. Send a ride to the market… and uhh please bring some clothes."
Yeah, clothes. Because if I had to keep wearing this rotting excuse of an outfit, I was going to set myself on fire.
The line went silent for half a second.
Then—
"WHAT?!"
Jesus Christ. My eardrum damn near exploded.
"Yeah, yeah, I’m here," I said, pulling the phone away slightly. Raine was way too hyped for this.
"Did I hear that right? You… accepted?"
I nodded, forgetting she couldn’t see me. "Uh, yeah."
"That’s great! Uhm—okay, I’ll send Kai. Just wait there, alright?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Raine."
I hung up.
Hah. Guess I was doing this.
The place was packed. Not surprising. People had places to be—work, school, whatever kept them on the hamster wheel.
I watched them pass by, their faces telling on them. Rush. Excitement. Exhaustion. A few looked like they’d rather step in front of a moving truck than clock in for another shift.
And me? If anyone actually stopped to look, they’d see some disheveled guy in reeking clothes, sitting on a public bench like he belonged there. I should not be here.
I shifted, trying not to breathe too deeply. The stench of my own damn sweatshirt was starting to offend me.
Should I just leave if someone sits next to me? Ha. Maybe if I glare hard enough, they’ll just know not to.
But a shower—that’s what I needed. Hot or cold, didn’t matter. Just something to scrub this dungeon filth off me before I start blending into the pavement.
"Oh shit, I’m late!"
"We’ll buy it later, stop crying!"
"The evil is all around us! They’re slowly invading!"
Murmurs. Background noise. A kid wailing because his parents wouldn’t buy him something. Some street preacher ranting about apocalyptic doom.
"Evil is invading"? Buddy, they’re already here. They just learned how to wear suits.
My thoughts scattered the second the massive LED screen flickered to life.
A man appeared—snow-white buzz cut, neck thick as a goddamn tree trunk, tattoos crawling up to his jawline.
The crowd murmured, the noise sharpening into words.
"Oh shit, that’s Gideon Holt!"
"The S-rank awakener?"
"First time seeing him on a broadcast!"
An S-rank? Damn. My muscles tensed on instinct. I’d never even seen one on a screen before, let alone in real life.
And this guy? Looked like he could punch a building in half and barely feel it.
The camera pulled back slightly, revealing him standing against a dark backdrop, a logo flashing beside him—a bull’s head, an axe splitting it down the middle.
Warborn Guild.
Figures. The most ruthless, battle-hungry guild out there.
Gideon exhaled through his nose, his stare heavy even through the screen.
"Some of you might be wondering why an S-rank like me is showing up on a news outlet today."
No shit. S-rankers didn’t do public addresses. They weren’t politicians or news anchors—they were walking weapons, too busy razing dungeons or cracking skulls to bother with interviews.
"I’m here to deliver a critical announcement about recent dungeon appearances."
Gideon’s voice cut through the murmur of the crowd. For a split second, it felt like he was staring directly at me. Which was stupid, obviously, but my spine still locked up like a damn idiot.
More murmurs.
"Dungeons? Again?"
"What a waste of time."
Most people didn’t care. Most people weren’t walking into dungeons and hoping they’d make it out. I ignored the noise and kept my eyes on the screen. Whether this was truth or propaganda didn’t matter. Information was power.
"Recently, a new phenomenon has been recorded inside dungeons. We’re calling it ‘The Hollowing.’"
Silence.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Even the doubters shut up.
Gideon continued, his voice heavy. "According to eyewitness reports from multiple raids, The Hollowing can occur in any dungeon—any rank, any location. The danger lies in its unpredictability. Once inside, awakeners won’t realize they’ve stepped into one until it’s too late."
I leaned forward.
"The Hollowing swallows the dungeon whole—a void, a black maw that consumes everything inside. Any team caught within it… vanishes."
A slow chill crawled up my spine.
"For the first time in recorded history, we are designating an X-Rank threat. This classification surpasses all known dungeon ranks." He paused, letting that sink in. "While The Hollowing appears more frequently in high-rank dungeons, it has been confirmed to occur at all levels. No one is safe."
X-rank? What the hell was that?
The highest rank had always been S. That was the peak, the god-tier, the walking disasters in human form. Now there was something beyond that?
Gideon continued, but my mind was racing.
"The Awakener Guild will be releasing frequent updates as we investigate this phenomenon. Until then, we urge all awakeners to exercise extreme caution when entering dungeons."
I exhaled slowly, my fingers tapping against my leg.
This wasn’t just bad.
This was "someone definitely f*cked with something they shouldn’t have" bad.
And if this was some kind of experiment gone wrong?
Then we were already screwed.
image [https://static.vecteezy.com/system/resources/thumbnails/034/487/737/small_2x/gold-frame-page-divider-free-png.png]
Several hours later, I made my way back to the market. In the daytime, the place was a ghost of itself—just empty stalls and faded tarps, nothing like the chaos it became at night. This was where Kai, the human embodiment of "just in case," was supposed to pick me up.
I waited. For three hours.
Just as I was considering throwing myself into traffic for entertainment, a black car finally pulled up. The window rolled down, and there he was—Kai, in the driver’s seat, looking vaguely apologetic as he waved me over.
"Sorry, uhmm... it took longer."
I climbed in, slamming the door harder than necessary. "It's fine, Kai."
I glanced at him. "You bring the spare clothes?"
"Oh yeah, yeah—backseat. Uh… I didn’t know if my size would fit you, but you can borrow more if it doesn’t."
I reached back, pulling out a white T-shirt and a hoodie. The guy had packed layers. Thick ones. I looked over at him—and sure enough, he was wearing about six jackets himself.
Where the hell did he think we were going? Antarctica?
"You good if we stop by my apartment?" Kai asked. "Raine told me to let you shower first before you change."
I looked at him again, squinting. "Then why the did you bring—" I stopped. Nope. Not worth it.
"Yeah, yeah, that’d be great, thanks." I muttered, shoving the clothes into my lap.
Kai drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, nodding to the beat of the hip-hop track blasting through the speakers. Didn’t peg him as the type.
“You into this kinda music?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” he said, grinning. “This track? Absolute...fire.”
I leaned back, letting the bass pulse through me. “Yeah… the beat’s solid.”
He pointed at me without taking his eyes off the road. “It’s kinda vibey also...you know what I mean?"
I settled in, arms crossed, watching the city lights streak past. My thoughts drifted to the raid, to the team. To what the hell I’d just signed up for.
“Hey,” I said, glancing at his belt, where rows of potion pouches clinked softly against each other. “Noticed those yesterday. What class are you?”
He scratched the back of his head with one hand, the other still steady on the wheel. “Uhm.. a mage,” he said. “Well, more of a healer, actually. I focus on support magic.”
“A support?” I said, eyeing him. “Hmm.”
He nodded. A support. Most people thought it was a weak class. Hell, I used to think that too. But the more I accepted this whole awakener thing, the more I realized every class had its own kind of power.
Summoners? Considered useless. A class destined for failure. But only by people who’d never been one. Same for healers. Everyone assumes they’re dead weight—until they’re the only thing keeping your ass alive. And if a healer trained in combat too? Yeah, that’d be something terrifying.
I wasn’t there yet. I still relied on Ruk more than I wanted. But at some point, I needed to stop hiding behind my summon and get strong on my own. I had to.
I glanced at Kai. “You raided dungeons before?”
He nodded, tapping his fingers on the wheel. “Yeah… four times?” He lifted a hand, counting off. “Yeah, four.”
“And what rank?”
“Mostly F-rank, but we hit an E-rank once.”
I frowned. “You guys are all F-rankers, though, right?”
Kai snorted. “Absolutely not. You can’t raid an E-rank dungeon without at least one E-rank member. That’d be suicide.”
“I didn’t know that until now,” I admitted.
Kai blinked. “Wait… you’ve never studied the system before?”
“I’ve been in a dungeon,” I said. “Doesn’t mean I ever sat down and read the fine print.”
He let out a soft laugh. “What a badass.” Then he shrugged. “Honestly, though? It’s boring... But if you actually learn it, it is worth it.”
For once, I agreed. I hadn’t bothered with the details, mostly because I was too busy not dying. But if I wanted to survive long-term, I needed to get ahead. And knowledge meant advantage.
“Hey, Kai,” I said after a beat. “This is random, but I’m curious.”
“Yeah?”
I tapped my fingers on the car door. “Do you… actually enjoy this life? This whole ‘new world’ thing?”
For a moment, he didn’t answer. Just kept his eyes on the road, chewing over the question.
“At first? No....uhm..no but yeah,” he said finally. “Dungeons are terrifying. Monsters are even worse. First raid, I thought I was gonna actually piss.... myself.” He chuckled, but it faded fast. “But then… I got my first paycheck. Which was way better than any job I had before.”
“So, it’s about the money?”
“Not just...that.” He hesitated, then exhaled. “I needed it... For my sister. She’s been in the hospital a long time. And before I awakened? I had no clue how I was gonna keep paying her bills.”
I stared at him. I don’t know what I expected him to say, but it wasn’t that.
For the first time in a while, I didn’t have some snarky comment lined up.
I just nodded.
“Not that I’m making a ton, I..I apologize for sounding boastful,” Kai added, rubbing the back of his neck. “But compared to what I used to get? It’s more than enough.”
I had no clue how much an awakener actually made. Maybe it depended on rank, maybe on the quality of loot. Either way, I knew dungeon drops could be sold for cash. The real question was—why the hell didn’t the dungeon I got thrown into have anything worthwhile?
Weapons, sure. But no real loot. No gold. No fancy artifacts. Nothing that screamed, Hey, congrats on surviving hell, here’s your reward. Just scraps. Like someone had already looted the place before I even got there.
Bullshit.
The car ride was quiet after that. Kai didn’t seem like the type to push conversation, which I appreciated. It was another hour before we finally pulled up to his apartment.
His place? Small. But organized as hell. Books stacked neatly on shelves, potion vials arranged in rows, bags lined up like he was ready to pack and leave at a moment’s notice. Guy had a system. I could respect that.
The best part? He let me shower.
I needed it. Badly.
The second I stepped in front of the bathroom mirror, I barely recognized myself. My face wasn’t caked in dirt or anything, but I looked like someone who hadn’t showered in weeks. My black hair was dry as hell, like it had given up on life.
And my body? There were changes.
Subtle, but noticeable. My arms weren’t as thin as before—muscles had started to show, nothing crazy, but enough to prove I wasn’t the same guy who got tossed into that dungeon.
Still, I was scrawny. And short.
I looked more like some half-starved street kid than a twenty-something awakener.
I let out a low chuckle. What the hell was I even expecting? Some dramatic transformation? A new body, forged by hardship and survival? Yeah, no. I survived that F-rank dungeon, barely, and all I had to show for it was a few more muscle fibers and the same tired face staring back at me.
But progress was progress. Funny how pain fades, but the results stick.
image [https://static.vecteezy.com/system/resources/thumbnails/034/487/737/small_2x/gold-frame-page-divider-free-png.png]
Kai pulled up in front of a plain, two-story white building—the so-called Midnight Sons Guild.
If I hadn’t been told otherwise, I’d have guessed it was a clinic. Or maybe some back-alley accounting firm. A guild? Not so much. Where were the giant banners? The ominous skull insignias? The blatant overcompensation?
Kai must’ve noticed my expression because he grinned. “Surprised?”
I shook my head. "Nah. It’s fine."
What did I care? Big, small—it didn’t matter. I wasn’t here to be impressed. I was here to raid, to get stronger, and, frankly, to get paid. If my new “teammates” hated me, so be it. I wasn’t looking for friends.
Kai led me inside.
The first floor looked more like a waiting room than a guild base. A few tables, some chairs. Cozy. Two doors led to separate rooms, and a staircase wound up to the second floor.
"This where the whole team hangs out?" I asked, scanning the space.
Kai scratched the back of his head. “Uh… maybe? Not sure. They might be upstairs.”
Oh, fantastic. Even their own members didn’t know where the hell anyone was.
He laughed awkwardly, then pushed open one of the doors. A meeting room.
The door swung open, and Kai stepped inside first. We were about the same height, so I could see past him easily. My eyes landed on someone immediately—a guy with messy silver hair, sprawled out in his chair like he was halfway to sleep.
"Hey, guys," Kai said, raising a hand in greeting.
I stepped in behind him, keeping my hands shoved into the hoodie pocket, suddenly hyperaware of how stiff I felt.
Three people sat around the medium-length table. Seven chairs. Did that mean they’d been waiting for me? Hell no. I prayed they hadn’t. But as their gazes locked onto me, I got the distinct feeling they had. Shit.
The silver-haired guy barely reacted. Loose black shirt, some kind of cloth sash tied lazily around his waist. Lazy golden eyes. One earring.
Next to him was a petite woman—long, wavy blonde hair, bright sky-blue eyes. Her clothes looked handmade, layered with way too many accessories—necklaces, bracelets, the works.
And then there was the last one.
Short, spiky jet-black hair with streaks of red. Messy, but intentionally so. Amber eyes, sharp and focused. She wore a sleeveless jacket with a fur-trimmed collar, and around her neck—a tooth. A whole-ass tooth necklace.
The three of them stared. Sizing me up.
And I, like an idiot, stared right back.
Nope. Don’t meet their eyes. Don’t make this any more awkward than it already is.
I forced myself to raise a hand, mirroring Kai’s half-assed greeting. Even managed to slap on a smile—though I was pretty sure it landed somewhere between awkward and please-don’t-kill-me.
Nothing. Just blank stares.
The silver-haired guy yawned. Actually yawned.
"Aren’t you the new recruit the manager’s been talking about?" The blonde spoke up first, voice bright, almost excited.
At least someone here had energy.
I nodded. "Yeah, that’s me." I pulled out a chair, sat down next to Kai.
She seemed mildly interested. The other two? Not so much.
"Yo, Kai, where the hell is the manager? How long’s she gonna keep me waiting?" The black-and-red-haired one grumbled, voice sharp, brash—like patience wasn’t something she ever bothered with.
"Gonna keep it down, Renna? I'm trying to get some sleep here." The silver-haired guy barely lifted his head, words dripping with exhaustion.
"You lazy bastard, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Renna?"
Kai clapped his hands together before things escalated. Did… did he just stop a fight with a golf clap?
"Guys, uhm… the manager’s probably on her way with Jace," he said, smiling like he’d rather be anywhere else. One hand still awkwardly raised like he was in a classroom.
I exhaled slowly, leaning back.
What the hell was this place?
I’d walked into what I thought was a guild. Instead, it felt like a lunatic asylum where everyone just happened to carry weapons.