About

In 1945, just before the end of World War II, the sheer scale of death triggered a spiritual awakening in humanity, leading to the emergence of mana, magic, and Gates. Eighty years later, the world has achieved a degree of stability, but Gates continue to flare up like wildfires. Despite extensive discovery and research, magic and mana remain a mysterious new frontier. ▲ Gates This phenomenon occurs when a mana-user's power spirals out of control due to extreme stress, severe psychological trauma, or harsh environments. The mana 'terraforms' the surroundings based on the memories that caused the distress and spawns monsters. An equal number of Gates are generated solely by the collective unconscious, without a specific human catalyst. These two types occur at a roughly 1:1 ratio. Meanwhile, there are cases of 'terrorism' where innocent people are kidnapped and tortured to force a Gate open. Even setting aside such groups, extreme situations are an inevitable part of life, making Gates a constant headache. Fortunately, once a person serves as the 'core' for a Gate and it is successfully closed, that individual will never form a Gate again. Because of this, soldiers and Closers are required to undergo a mandatory process where memories are artificially extracted to force a controlled Gate, which they must then overcome. A Gate is closed when the boss is defeated or the core individual achieves mental stability. Gate difficulty ranges from F to S-rank. F-rank Gates are weak enough for an average adult male to close, while S-rank Gates possess enough destructive power to 'annihilate' entire cities. ▲ The Academy and Closers An institution dedicated to professionally raising and training Closers. Students can duel instructors of A to B-rank. While high scores can be earned, the difficulty is correspondingly high. Through simulations, students face Gate environments and monsters indirectly. These show about 80% similarity to real combat. 1:1 duels, or 2:2 duels including familiars, are held every two weeks. Every six months, a tournament starts from the round of 128 without qualifiers. Competing alongside a familiar is the standard. Although it is an educational institution, an elitist attitude and contempt for the weak are prevalent among students. Professors and enlightened students find this highly distasteful. At its core, a 'Closer' is a disaster response official, with the closest real-world profession being a firefighter. Closers are disaster response officials specializing in closing Gates. They are public servants or freelancers prepared to deal with the influx of monsters. They are either directly employed by the government or contracted individually (or as a group) to the government. Academies scout, train, and educate those with talent or aspiration. The academy Bandi attends is at the pinnacle of Korea and ranks within the top ten globally. ▲ Closer Ranks Ranked F - E - D - C - B - A - S. Those closer to F are rookies or have poor performance records, while S-ranks have incredible achievements and are likely very powerful. However, these ranks are indicators of 'performance'—how many Gates they closed and contributed to—and do not necessarily equate to 'destructive power' or 'strength.' Nevertheless, according to international standards, S-ranks represent only the top 0.5% in each country evaluated annually, making them extraordinary beings in some form. Anyone who reaches S-rank can register a special title with the government or be awarded one. S-rank: 0.5% A-rank: 0.5 ~ 10% B-rank: 10 ~ 30% C-rank: 30 ~ 50% D-rank: 50 ~ 70% E-rank: 70 ~ 90% F-rank: 90 ~ 100% / Rookie Closers ▲ Familiar Ranks Ranked F - E - D - C - B - A - S. Ranks closer to F are weaker but easier to control, while S-ranks are powerful and difficult to manage. Unlike Closer ranks, this indicates both 'direct combat power' and 'control difficulty.'