?"Haha, what a good boy! Such a good little boy!" Max mocks, laughing out loud as he forces Wren to strip. In one hand, Max gathers up a pile of Wren’s expensive, designer clothes, carrying them away like a trophy.
?Left standing in the middle of the crowded hall, Wren is wearing nothing at all except his underwear, shivering from humiliation and shock.
?Shit... you bastard. Just wait. The next time I ever lay eyes on you will be your absolute last day alive, Wren carves the threat deep into his own mind, his teeth grinding together until they bleed.
?Suddenly, a strange noise fills the air.
?Click. Click. Click.
?Wren’s head snaps up. All around him, students are holding up their communication devices, flashing pictures and recording every single second of his disgrace. Within moments, the footage is being broadcast live across the global network.
?On every social platform and digital screen, only one headline is trending at lightning speed:
?[ Extenguard Family’s First Failure in Underwear ]
?Thousands of likes begin flooding in every single minute, paired with an endless wave of cruel, laughing comments spreading across the internet in real-time.
Inside the luxurious backseat of a speeding luxury car, a young man leans forward, tapping his driver’s shoulder and turning the screen of his device toward him.
?"Look at this. Take a look at who our precious little young master has become," he says, a twisted grin spreading across his face as he starts to chuckle.
?Glancing back at the screen, the driver watches the footage and joins in with a quiet, knowing laugh.
?"I always figured it would end up like this, Young Master Groad. I knew deep down that young master Wren wasn’t cut out for it."
?Groad’s smile widens into a smirk. "That wretched kid was bound to crash and burn like this eventually."
?Hearing Groad’s remark, the driver chuckles again. "Spot on, sir. Though I never would have imagined I’d actually live to see the day when your prideful little brother ended up in a video like this."
?"Right? Exactly," Groad replies, his eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction.
?Without wasting another second, Groad taps his screen, quickly forwarding the humiliating video to every single family chat, elite group, and social circle he belongs to.
?Enjoy it while it lasts, Wren, Groad thinks to himself, watching the video upload across the network. This is the absolute end of your little fairy tale as an Extenguard.
Unable to bear another second of the mocking stares and the flashing cameras, Wren turns and sprints away from the crowd as fast as his legs can carry him.
?Fuck... fuck, fuck! I don’t even want to live anymore!
?Tears burning in his eyes, he runs blindly through the streets, dodging past confused pedestrians and taking random turns just to escape the sea of laughter.
?"Hey, look! It’s the Underwear King running away!"
?"Where are you going in such a rush, Underwear King?!"
?Jeers and catcalls echo behind him. For the very first time in his life, Wren is experiencing an emotion so foreign, so overwhelmingly agonizing, that he doesn’t even have a name for it. It chokes his throat and blurs his vision until his eyes are completely flooded with hot, burning tears.
?He dashes blindly into a narrow, deserted alleyway, stumbling between the towering stone walls.
?Panicked, he whips his head around to check if anyone is still chasing him or trying to record his shame.
?When he sees the alley is completely empty, a ragged, broken sigh escapes his lips.
?Haah...
?His legs finally give out beneath him. He slides down the damp brick wall, collapsing hard onto the ground.
?All the pain, shock, and bottled-up terror crash down on him at once, breaking his emotional dam wide open.
?"Why... what did I do? Why did this happen to me...?"
?He clutches his head, his voice cracking into a desperate, wretched sob.
?"Dad... Dad, why wouldn’t you pick up...?"
?He curls into himself on the cold ground, completely lost and unable to understand why his family, his future, and his entire world had just vanished in a single afternoon.
Amidst his despair, something catches his eye—a faint, steady glow leaking from deeper within the alley. In his panicked sprint earlier, he hadn’t noticed it at all.
?Wren quickly wipes his face, pushing himself up to his feet, and takes a few hesitant steps closer.
?He blinks, unable to believe what his eyes are showing him.
?Right there, standing in the middle of a dead-end pocket of the alley, is a gate.
?Though it is his first time seeing one in person, he has studied them extensively in books. He stares at the shimmering boundary, studying its color closely.
?A soft, pale green.
?An E-rank gate...
?A huge wave of relief washes over him, and a ragged sigh escapes his lips.
?Haah...
?"I need to report this to the higher-ups immediately," he mutters to himself. "Who knows how long it’s been sitting here hidden. If it opens up and beasts start pouring out into the city—"
?The very thought makes his blood run cold. If a breakout happens here, the ordinary people living in this district won’t stand a chance. Turning on his heel, Wren immediately resolves to head back and sound the alarm.
?But suddenly, he freezes dead in his tracks.
?A wild, desperate thought flashes through his mind.
?Wait.
?He had read about extreme cases in rare historical records—people who weren’t born with powers, non-awakened individuals who threw themselves into gates, fighting tooth and nail at death’s door to push their bodies to absolute breaking points, managing to forcefully awaken a power against all odds.
?The idea hits him like a lightning bolt, shaking his entire soul.
?What if... what if I go in there? What if I manage to awaken right now?
?A manic, bitter chuckle escapes his lips.
?Heh...
?Yet, for all his desperation, Wren isn’t completely stupid. Even though he knows this is only an E-rank gate, he is well aware of how lethal and unforgiving monsters can be to someone with zero combat power. He isn’t a fool.
?The only reason he is even considering stepping inside is simple:
?He doesn’t want to live his life as a laughingstock, stripped of his dignity and abandoned by his own blood. If he goes in there, either he dies a miserable death, or he breaks through and awakens.
?Before taking a single step forward, Wren pulls out his device and quickly sends an emergency distress and location report to the Hunters Association.
?He isn’t arrogant enough to think he’s invincible. If he doesn’t make it back out, and this gate eventually suffers a dungeon break, at least the authorities will have a warning.
?With his heart hammering against his ribs, Wren takes a deep, steadying breath, turns away from the exit, and steps straight through the shimmering green veil of the gate.
Gate Rank:-
Green= E-Rank
Yellow= D-Rank
Orange= C-Rank
Blue= B-Rank
Red= A-Rank
Purple= S-Rank