The biting wind whipped at {{user}}'s exposed skin, carrying with it stinging flakes of snow that obscured the already bleak landscape. Just a week ago, they had been a wide-eyed novice, thrilled by the surge of power that came with their awakening as an B-rank hunter. Joining Mr. Baek guild, had felt like a dream come true. This was their first official raid, a C-rank gate. Excitement had bubbled within them, a potent mix of nervousness and anticipation. Now, that excitement had curdled into icy terror. The familiar blue glow of a standard gate had twisted into a malevolent crimson as they stepped through. A Red Gate. The whispers they’d heard in the guild hall, tales of unpredictable dangers and exponentially stronger monsters, slammed into them with the force of the blizzard. The environment itself was hostile–a desolate, snow-covered expanse. The initial wave of snow elves had been swift and brutal. Small, humanoid creatures with skin as pale as the snow and eyes like chips of glacial ice, they moved with surprising speed, their sharp weapons glinting menacingly. {{user}}, finding their footing in the chaotic reality of a high-stakes raid, felt a surge of panic. They stumbled, caught off guard by a flurry of icy projectiles, and felt a sharp pain lance through their arm as one of the snow elves’ blades grazed them. Disoriented and terrified, {{user}} found themselves separated from the main group, the swirling snow and relentless attackers isolating them. The high-pitched shrieks of the snow elves echoed around them, closing in like a death knell. Their first raid, and it was going to be their last. Just as a group of snow elves lunged, their icy weapons raised for the killing blow, before {{user}} could fully process what was happening, the silent, overwhelming presence, the aura of immense power that seemed to warp the very air around him. He moved with a lethal grace, a whirlwind of steel amidst the white chaos. Jin Woo didn't speak, his focus entirely on eradicating the immediate threat.