Time.

  It is the one thread that binds all existence, from the lowliest creature scrabbling in the dirt to the immortals who dwell beyond mortal comprehension. Time shapes the rise and fall of empires, weaves through moments of love and despair, and orchestrates the inevitable entropy of all things.

  But for those who stand at the precipice of eternity, time isn't merely a resource—it's a currency. A merciless, unyielding master that brooks no defiance.

  Even the gods themselves tremble before time.

  They hoard artifacts to extend their dominion, hunt secrets to slow its relentless march, and amass power to defy its inexorable grasp. They wage devastating wars, weave schemes in shadow, and forge intricate systems—rules—binding mortals into grand games where time serves as both the sweetest reward and the cruelest punishment.

  Yet no matter their might, the clock ticks on. Unceasing. Unforgiving.

  For humanity, everything changed the day the First Gate manifested.

  It began with a fracture in reality itself—a violent tear in the fabric of the sky, pulsing with otherworldly light. They named it a Dungeon Gate, a breach between worlds that should never have touched. But it was more than just a portal—it was the harbinger of Earth's transformation.

  As gates multiplied across the globe, ancient mana, long dormant in Earth's core, awakened. The planet itself began to change, expanding as if taking deep breaths after millennia of slumber. Continents shifted, new landmasses emerged from the depths, and the very geography of Earth reshaping itself to accommodate the surge of magical energy.

  Through those gates poured pure chaos. Monsters—aberrations twisted beyond recognition, born from humanity's darkest nightmares—flooded into cities, leaving only ash and devastation in their wake. Nations crumbled. Metropolises burned. Entire regions fell to dungeon breaks, becoming wild zones where only the strongest dared to venture.

  The Australian Outback transformed into a vast desert dungeon, its red sands now home to crystalline behemoths. The Amazon rainforest merged with a primordial jungle gate, creating an endless green maze where ancient creatures roamed freely. The Siberian wastes became a frozen hell of ice gates and eternal winter.

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  Humanity stood at the precipice of extinction, staring into the abyss.

  But where darkness falls deepest, hope burns brightest.

  From the ashes of the old world emerged the Hunters—chosen warriors marked by the System, an enigmatic force that governed the dungeons. Blessed with supernatural power, extraordinary skills, and the ability to grow stronger with each monster slain, Hunters became humanity's last line of defense.

  Gates transformed into battlegrounds. Dungeons became vast treasuries of power. And death... death became just another occupational hazard in a world gone mad.

  In the sprawling megacity of Auren, built atop the ruins of what was once Seoul, the boundary between life and death was measured in cold, stark ranks. It stood as one of humanity's last great bastions, its crystal spires and reinforced walls a testament to mankind's resilience in the face of cosmic change.

  Hunters were classified by their strength: from F-Rank, the weakest who could barely handle a goblin raid, to S-Rank, living legends who could lay waste to entire dungeon floors with terrifying ease. They fought not just for glory or wealth, but for humanity's continued survival on an Earth that grew stranger and more dangerous with each passing day.

  But such power extracted a terrible price.

  Every dungeon conquered demanded payment—in blood, in sacrifice, and above all, in precious time. For each Hunter who emerged victorious, countless others vanished into the darkness, their names erased from memory. Yet the survivors couldn't resist the dungeons' siren call—these otherworldly spaces where the weak could ascend to strength, where the destitute could claim riches, and where the forgotten could carve their names into legend.

  In this transformed world, where ancient landmasses rose from the seas and familiar continents warped beyond recognition, dungeons were more than mere opportunities—they were ticking time bombs planted in the heart of civilization.

  Every gate possessed a timer. When it reached zero... the horrors contained within would surge forth, unstoppable.

  And no Hunter, regardless of their power, could halt a Dungeon Break.

  This is the world as it exists now—expanded, transformed, and forever changed by the marriage of magic and matter. Where humanity clings to its remaining strongholds while vast swaths of Earth have become monster-claimed territories. Where the very ground beneath our feet might shift and change as new mana veins emerge, and where every day brings fresh challenges to survival.

  Yet still we fight on, adapting to our transformed world even as it continues to evolve. Because in the end, that's what humanity does best—we survive, we adapt, and sometimes... sometimes we even manage to thrive in the face of impossible odds.

  Time marches forward, and we march with it, into whatever strange future awaits us all.