Chapter Text
***Image is not mine, but inspired the fic, I think it's from emw.jpg's IG***
The dungeon’s air is thick and humid, pressing down on your skin like something alive. You take a slow breath, inhaling the scent of damp stone, the faint metallic tang of unnatural energy pulsing through the walls. Every footstep echoes in the cavern, swallowed by the sheer enormity of the underground space. The glow of mana-infused crystals casts eerie shadows against the jagged rock, stretching and warping in unnatural ways. This place doesn’t feel real.
And yet, it is.
You exhale, fingers twitching at your sides, unsure if it's from nerves or the unfamiliar sensations thrumming beneath your skin. Only days ago you had been a civilian, watching from the sidelines as hunters battled monsters, their existence something distant, exciting, but never personal. And now, you stand in the depths of a dungeon, surrounded by hunters far more experienced than you, forced to come to terms with the fact that you are no longer just an observer.
Awakened...
The word still feels foreign. Impossible. Yet it's why you’re here, standing shoulder to shoulder with trained fighters who belong in a world you’ve only just been thrust into.
A part of you is still waiting for panic to set in, for the crushing weight of realization to drag you under. But it never comes. Instead, there’s something else beneath the surface, something you shouldn’t feel.
Readiness.
Instinct.
The awareness of your own body, the way every muscle feels primed, as if you already know how to move, how to react. Like something inside you has simply remembered rather than learned.
It doesn’t make sense.
“First time?”
The voice is smooth, steady. You turn toward the source, already recognizing the name behind it before you meet his gaze.
Sung Jin-Woo.
The recent re-awakened S-rank.
Even without his reputation, the sheer presence of him would be enough to put anyone on edge. He carries himself differently from the other hunters - not just with confidence, but something more. A certainty in every movement, in every breath. Like he belongs in a way no one else here does.
You nod, forcing your voice to work. “Yeah. First dungeon.”
His dark eyes flick over you, sharp and assessing. “Nervous?”
You swallow, thinking for a moment before answering. “Not exactly.”
He hums in acknowledgment but doesn’t press the issue. “Stay close to the squad. Don’t rush in.”
You nod again, a little too quickly.
As the group moves deeper into the cavern, something shifts in the air. The mana thickens, pressing against your senses like an unseen force. You can feel it, pulsing like a living thing. It makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. And then...
The shadows around Jin-Woo move.
It’s subtle at first, a ripple in the darkness at his feet...
Figures rise from the void, forming into tangible shapes, their glowing eyes piercing through the dim light. The sight makes your breath hitch.
The rumors were true.
His shadows are unlike anything else.
Most of them are monstrous, their bodies twisted into things pulled from nightmares. But one, in particular, stands apart.
A knight clad in black armor, a tattered cape draped over his shoulders. His sword gleams under the faint dungeon light, resting at his side like an extension of himself.
Igris.
The name drifts to the surface of your mind, though you’ve never spoken it before.
You’ve heard whispers about him... But standing here, seeing him, is something else entirely. There’s something unsettling about the way he carries himself. Poised, disciplined, but still. Too still.
He catches you staring.
“You’ve heard of them.” Not a question.
You nod. “Only rumors.”
His lips quirk slightly. “Believe the good ones. Ignore the bad ones.”
That’s… not exactly comforting. But you don’t argue.
Igris doesn’t acknowledge you. He doesn’t move, doesn’t so much as twitch under your scrutiny. And yet, for reasons you can’t explain, you feel like his gaze lingers on you longer than it should when you aren't looking.
Before you can dwell on it, something shifts ahead.
A growl reverberates through the cavern, low and guttural. Then another. And another.
Red eyes flicker in the darkness, watching.
Waiting.
Your pulse jumps as a wave of monsters slithers forward, their bodies half-emerging from the shadows.
Then...
They attack.
The first creature lunges, and your body moves before your mind can catch up.
You sidestep effortlessly, twisting just out of reach. The motion feels practiced, controlled, like muscle memory rather than reaction. Before you can fully process it, your body adjusts, shifting into a stance that you shouldn’t know, striking forward before the monster can regain its balance.
Your fist connects...
And the force sends it flying.
The monster crashes into the cavern wall, its body crumpling on impact. The sheer strength behind your attack sends a shock through your system. You shouldn’t be this strong. You shouldn’t be this fast.
Another one lunges. You duck, spinning into a counterattack with terrifying precision. Every movement is seamless, instinctual. As if you’ve fought a hundred battles before.
But you haven’t.
Jin-Woo is watching. You can feel his gaze, assessing, curious. But more than that—
You feel another presence.
Igris.
Your eyes flick to him between movements, but he isn’t moving. He isn’t fighting. He’s watching.
The realization unsettles you, but you don’t have time to process it. Another monster moves toward your blind spot.
And before you can react, Igris moves.
His sword slices through the creature in one clean stroke, black mist evaporating from its form before it can even fall. His posture never wavers. He doesn’t so much as glance at Jin-Woo for confirmation.
You exhale sharply, your heart hammering as he steps in front of you, positioning himself between you and the remaining monsters.
Protecting you.
Jin-Woo must have ordered his strongest knight to keep an eye on the rookie.
It makes sense. You’re an unknown factor, someone untested in battle. Of course, he’d want to make sure you didn’t die on your first run.
He steps forward, his gaze flickering between you and Igris. His expression remains unreadable. “You weren’t lying about this being your first dungeon, were you?”
You shake your head, still catching your breath. “No. I don’t… I don’t know how I’m moving like this.”
He studies you for a long moment before nodding slightly. “It happens.”
That doesn’t sound like an explanation, but you’re too shaken to argue.
The battle ends, the monsters reduced to lifeless corpses. The squad regroups, and yet, Igris doesn’t move.
He remains at your side, his sword still drawn, his stance unwavering.
The dungeon settles into an eerie stillness after the battle, the only sounds remaining are the distant trickle of water from unseen cracks in the cavern walls and the slow, controlled breathing of the hunters around you. Your pulse is still racing from the fight, but your body feels loose, ready in a way you can’t explain.
You shouldn’t feel this comfortable in a battlefield, not after your first real encounter with monsters. But even now, standing among the fallen creatures, your muscles don’t ache with exhaustion, and there’s no shaking in your limbs like you’d expect.
It’s unsettling.
Jin-Woo turns toward the group, his expression unreadable as he scans the area. “We keep moving,” he says. “No one wander off.”
You nod, falling into step with the rest of the squad as they start forward again. Only…
Igris moves with you.
Not just with the squad.
With you.
You glance at him from the corner of your eye. He doesn’t react, doesn’t acknowledge your irritation at having a walking suit of armor shadowing your every step. He remains silent, steady, always positioned just a little too close.
You sigh through your nose, pressing your lips together to keep yourself from saying something stupid. Of course, Jin-Woo had ordered him to stay close. That much was obvious.
You’re new. You’re untested. Of course, you need a babysitter.
A very large, very intimidating babysitter.
You tell yourself you shouldn’t be annoyed. You should be grateful. Most rookies wouldn’t get this kind of protection, and Jin-Woo himself hadn’t even hesitated in assigning his strongest shadow to keep an eye on you. That means he wants to keep you alive.
But still, seriously?
You press your lips together, trying to shake the irritation bubbling beneath your skin. Maybe you’d be less bothered if Igris didn’t feel so… looming. He’s not obnoxious about it - he’s not breathing down your neck or physically pulling you away from anything... but he’s always there.
Step for step, movement for movement.
It makes your skin itch.
Finally, you glance over at Jin-Woo, who’s leading the squad without a care in the world. You clear your throat. “Is this really necessary?”
He barely spares you a glance. “Is what necessary?”
You gesture vaguely at Igris. “This. Having him follow me around like a personal bodyguard.”
Jin-Woo slows his pace just a fraction, finally looking at you properly. His gaze flickers toward Igris, then back to you. “You think I ordered him to do that?”
You frown. “Didn’t you?”
He tilts his head slightly, studying you for a long moment before letting out a short breath. “No.”
You blink.
His expression is unreadable as he shrugs. “Igris has his own instincts. I didn’t tell him to stick to you.”
You stop in your tracks, frustration bubbling to the surface. “So you’re saying he just decided to follow me around?”
Jin-Woo watches you for a beat, and for the first time, he looks like he might actually be curious about something. “Looks like it.”
You glance back at Igris, expecting some sort of reaction, but he remains the same - silent, still, unreadable. As if this is all completely normal.
With a groan, you rub your hand down over your face. “Great. Now he's just following me around?”
Jin-Woo’s mouth twitches, just slightly. “Would you rather he didn’t?”
You narrow your eyes at him. “That’s not the point.”
He chuckles under his breath but doesn’t argue. If anything, he seems even more interested now, like he’s cataloging this moment for later.
You huff, turning away from him and facing forward again, resigned to your fate.
Fine.
If you’re stuck with a silent bodyguard, so be it.
But that doesn’t mean you have to like it.