Forsaken Hunter

Chapter 1 – The Unforgivable Past

Inside the Red Gate – The Youngest S-Rank

A thunderous roar tore through the dungeon. The obsidian-scaled serpent, a creature of nightmares, coiled its massive body, its gleaming fangs dripping venom that hissed against the cold stone. The air crackled with pressure, suffocating, as if the entire world was bracing for impact.

But Renzo Mark stood unmoving.

His silver hair shimmered under the dungeon’s crimson glow, his ice-blue eyes locked onto the monster with an expression colder than death itself. The moment the serpent lunged—fangs bared, tail whipping like a battering ram—Renzo moved.

A blur. A flash of steel. A violent burst of flames.

Blue fire erupted from his sword, carving a searing arc through the darkness. The serpent’s body twisted mid-air, but it was too late. A single downward slash—BOOM!

A firestorm exploded upon impact. The dungeon walls shook, embers dancing in the air like dying stars. The serpent shrieked in agony, its colossal form splitting apart, scales crumbling to ash as the flames devoured it whole.

Then, silence.

The boss had fallen.

Renzo, standing amidst the charred remains, exhaled. His sword flicked once, the blood sizzling off the blade before he sheathed it in one smooth motion.

Behind him, the Red Gate flickered—its signal clear.

Dungeon… cleared.

Outside the Dungeon – The Legend Rises

The moment Renzo stepped out, chaos erupted.

Cameras flashed. Microphones shoved forward. Reporters yelling over each other.

“Renzo Mark! You just solo-cleared a Red Gate! At only 18, you’re the youngest S-Rank hunter in Lebius Country—how does it feel?!”

A crowd of fans and onlookers stood behind the reporters, their eyes filled with awe, murmuring his name like a prayer.

Renzo’s expression remained unreadable.

He barely spared the cameras a glance, his cold gaze like ice against fire. Then, in a voice low and detached, he muttered:

“This is nothing.”

Without another word, he walked past them. Uninterested. Unshaken. Unstoppable.

The world saw a legend in the making.

But somewhere, in a forgotten corner of the same country, someone else watched the same broadcast—someone who knew the real Renzo Mark.

A Small Restaurant in Vano City

The flickering television in the corner of a dimly lit restaurant displayed Renzo’s face. His silver hair. His cold, piercing eyes. The youngest S-Rank hunter in history.

At the counter, a young man sat, his fingers frozen mid-wipe on a ragged dishcloth.

He had the black hair. The same red eyes. But his reflection on the glass counter was nothing like the man on TV.

Where Renzo stood in the spotlight, he was here.

Scrubbing dishes in a dingy restaurant.

A bitter chuckle escaped his lips.

Then—

SMACK!

A metal pan slammed against the back of his head.

“Quit gawking at the damn TV and wash the dishes!" his boss, a grumpy middle-aged man, barked.

Beno Mark winced, rubbing the sore spot.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it...” he muttered.

His gaze drifted back to the screen.

Renzo Mark. The genius. The prodigy. The perfect son.

Beno Mark. The dropout. The nobody. The forgotten one.

A small smirk tugged at his lips, but his fingers clenched around the rag.

My name is Beno Mark.I’m 22 years old.And yes—Renzo Mark is my younger brother.

But we are no longer family.

---

Flashback – A Brother’s Burden

There was a time when Renzo and I were just brothers.

No hunters. No awakenings. No tragedies.

Just two kids running barefoot through golden fields, our laughter carried by the wind, our mother’s soft voice calling us home as the sun dipped below the horizon. Our father stood by the doorway, arms crossed, pretending to be stern even as a small, amused smile tugged at his lips.

“A family should stand together, no matter what,” he often said, ruffling our hair as we raced past him, too caught up in our childish games to understand the weight of those words.

Back then, I believed him.

I believed in those words more than anything.

But childhood doesn’t last forever.

The day Renzo awakened, everything changed.

He was only ten. I remember the way his body trembled, the air around him shimmering as if responding to his very presence. A soft blue glow radiated from his fingertips, flickering like candlelight before solidifying into something more powerful—more terrifying. The wooden floor beneath him cracked slightly, reacting to the force of his awakening.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, our parents’ stunned expressions broke into overwhelming joy.

“My son is a hunter! He has a gift!”

Father rushed forward, gripping Renzo’s shoulders, his eyes shining with something I had never seen before—pure, unfiltered pride.

I stood in the corner, forgotten.

At first, I told myself it was just excitement. That they would turn to me next, pull me into the celebration, tell me that I was important too. But they didn’t. The night stretched on with talk of potential, training, and the bright future Renzo had ahead of him.

That was the first time I felt invisible.

At first, I tried to push the feelings aside. He was my brother. I was happy for him. But over time, things only got worse.

“Renzo, you must train hard! With your talent, you’ll rise fast!”

“Renzo, the guilds will fight to have you! Just imagine what you can become!”

Their voices were filled with warmth whenever they spoke to him. The same warmth that used to be mine.

I became the shadow of a rising star.

One night, I overheard them talking in hushed voices just outside my room.

“Beno… he’s different from Renzo. We can’t expect much from him.”

“He’ll have to find his own way.”

Their words dug into me like jagged glass.

I wasn’t jealous of Renzo’s power. I was jealous of the way they looked at him. The way they spoke to him. The way he had taken my place without even realizing it.

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore.

At sixteen, I packed my things and left.

I didn’t tell Renzo.

I thought, maybe if I disappeared, they would finally notice my absence. Maybe they would come looking for me. Maybe I mattered enough for that.

But they didn’t.

Two years passed.

Then I got the news.

The Night Everything Fell Apart

When I returned home, the air smelled of rain and ashes.

The house stood exactly as I remembered—small, worn, familiar. But something was wrong. The warmth was gone. The light from the windows flickered like a dying ember, casting long shadows that made the place feel hollow.

Father was dead.

Killed in an unknown accident. No details, no answers. Just gone.

Mother was missing.

No notes, no traces, just an empty space where she should have been.

And Renzo…

I found him standing in the dimly lit hallway, his back to me, his head tilted slightly downward as if he was listening to something only he could hear.

“Renzo?”

He didn’t move.

Slowly, he turned. And when I saw his face, my breath caught in my throat.

His eyes—once so full of life—were empty.

The Renzo I had known was gone.

“You left.”

His voice was quiet, but the accusation in it cut deeper than a blade.

“You weren’t here.”

Guilt swallowed me whole. I opened my mouth to explain, to apologize, but the words died before they could escape. What excuse could I give? That I had felt unwanted? That I had been selfish? None of it mattered now.

I tried to make up for it. I took on multiple jobs to support him, even when he refused to acknowledge me. I made sure he had food, that he had a place to sleep, that he never had to suffer alone.

But he never looked at me the same way again.

He threw himself into training. He stopped speaking to me altogether. I watched from a distance as he grew into a prodigy.

At fifteen, he received a sponsorship from Rose Guild.

At seventeen, he became an A-Rank hunter.

At eighteen, he was an S-Rank—the youngest in the country.

The day he left home, I waited by the door, hoping—praying—that he would say something to me.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he stopped at the threshold, his silhouette outlined against the cold morning light. For the first time in years, he turned to face me.

And when he spoke, his voice was laced with ice.

“I will never forgive you for what you did to our parents.”

His words hit me harder than any blow.

He took a step forward, his expression unreadable.

“If you ever try to contact me again…”

A small, cruel smile tugged at his lips.

“I will kill you.”

Then he walked away.

Leaving me standing in the dark.

Alone.

---

Present Day – The Forgotten Brother

Beno’s hands trembled as he gripped the dirty rag, his knuckles turning white.

The worn-out cloth was damp, soaked in greasy dishwater, but he barely noticed. His mind was elsewhere—trapped in a memory that wouldn’t fade.

A familiar voice—calm, collected, untouchable—echoed through the flickering television above the counter.

His eyes flicked up.

There he was. Renzo Mark.

Silver hair gleaming under the camera lights.Sharp blue eyes colder than ice.A posture that screamed power, dominance… perfection.

The youngest S-Rank hunter in Lebius Country.

A legend. A hero. A man everyone admired.

But to him…

Beno felt his throat tighten.

I was nothing.

He gritted his teeth.

The camera zoomed in on Renzo’s face as he spoke, his voice steady, unwavering.

“I’m living only for my younger brother.”

A weight slammed into Beno’s chest. His breath hitched.

For a moment, his grip on the rag loosened.

Those words—they should’ve meant something. They should’ve felt comforting.

But the sad truth was…

Renzo wasn’t talking about him.

No. That version of Renzo—the boy who used to laugh with him, who used to cry on his shoulder, who used to look up to him—was gone.

The man on that screen didn’t want him in his life anymore.

The realization settled like a stone in his stomach.

Beno lowered his gaze. His hands curled into fists, the rag crushed between his fingers.

The restaurant buzzed around him—plates clattering, orders being yelled, the distant sound of rain tapping against the window.

But inside his chest, there was only silence.

---

Vano City – A Sudden Disaster

Beno sighed as he stepped outside, wiping the sweat off his forehead. The evening breeze kissed his skin, a fleeting moment of peace in the chaos that was his life.

His gaze drifted to the old bicycle leaning against the restaurant wall—the only possession he truly had.

It wasn’t just a bike.

It was a gift.

A gift he had once bought for Renzo, believing his younger brother would love it.

But Renzo had thrown it back at him.

“I don’t want anything from you.”

The words had been cold, final—like a blade slicing through whatever bond they once had.

Beno’s grip on the handlebars tightened.

Old memories were like ghosts—unwanted, but impossible to shake off.

He pushed forward, pedaling through the streets of Vano City, the neon lights blurring into streaks of color as he tried to outrun the past.

And then—

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shattered the night.

The ground rumbled beneath him.

Beno’s head snapped up.

Above him, the sky—cracking.

It splintered like fragile glass, glowing fissures spreading outward, releasing a deep, guttural hum.

A Gate was breaking open.

E-Rank Gate Disaster

[Emergency Alert: E-Rank Gate has opened near Vano City’s main road. Citizens, take cover immediately.]

The city plunged into chaos.

Screams. Running footsteps. Car horns blaring.

And then—they emerged.

Dozens of goblins spilled out from the swirling abyss. Their twisted grins gleamed under the flickering streetlights, jagged weapons clutched in their gnarled hands—bats, rusted axes, crude daggers stained with old blood.

Beno’s stomach turned cold.

“Shit!”

He yanked his bike around, his heart hammering in his chest. He had to get away.

But before he could even move—

THUD!

Something slammed into his back.

Air rushed out of his lungs as he was thrown forward, his body twisting midair before hitting the pavement.

Pain. Sharp, blinding, real.

His bicycle crashed somewhere behind him, metal screeching against asphalt. His ribs ached, the impact reverberating through his bones.

No time to process. No time to breathe.

A shadow loomed over him.

A goblin.

Yellow eyes gleamed with raw hunger. It raised a bloodstained bat, lips curling into a cruel grin.

MOVE.

Beno rolled just in time—

CRACK!

The bat smashed into the concrete where his head had been seconds ago. Tiny shards of stone cut into his cheek.

His pulse screamed.

He scrambled to his feet, gasping.

He wasn’t a hunter. He had no powers.

He was just an ordinary man.

And right now…

He was going to die.

Underground Chase

Beno ran.

The goblins shrieked behind him, their claws scraping against the pavement as they gave chase.

His legs burned, his lungs screamed for air, but he couldn’t stop. Stopping meant death.

Up ahead—a subway entrance.

He lunged toward it, leaping down the stairs two at a time.

But—

A goblin cut him off.

With no time to think, Beno threw his shoulder forward—

WHAM!

The goblin yelped as it was sent tumbling down the stairs, its body smacking against the steps.

Beno followed after, landing hard, pain jolting up his knees.

No time.

No time to stop.

More goblins poured in, dozens of them, their grotesque forms filling the tunnel like a living nightmare.

Beno ran through the dim corridor, shadows stretching across the walls.

Then—

Dead end.

He skidded to a halt, chest heaving.

Behind him—cackling laughter.

Weapons tapped against the ground, a taunting rhythm that made his skin crawl.

Then—silence.

A massive shadow stepped forward.

The Goblin Giant.

It stood nearly ten feet tall, hunched under the subway ceiling, its grotesque muscles rippling beneath scarred green flesh.

In its hands—a battle axe, its edges jagged and dark with dried blood. The weapon scraped against the floor, sending sparks flying.

Beno’s breath turned shallow.

His hands shook.

There was no escape.

The goblin horde charged.

The Goblin Giant raised its axe high—

And then—

SLASH!

---

[End of Chapter 1]