“If you’re not going to do that, just ignore and live. With a population of 7 billion, there must be someone who likes you. Live properly, persistently holding onto righteous thoughts…”

“Those words are draining. It’s just a mental victory.”

The man, who seemed to be pondering something, sighed and then grabbed the boy’s arm, helping him stand up. The boy, lifted up unexpectedly, looked down at the man.

“People who say there’s something wrong with others, ironically, they have it themselves. But they label themselves as ‘different,’ and me as ‘flawed.’ Does that make sense? Humans aren’t products of a factory system; they’re all defective or genuine according to their own standards.”
The man’s eyes stared into the empty space. As if reminiscing, he wrinkled his forehead and casually murmured.

“Listening to your words, it seems like you’re treated annoyingly by others for no significant reason. I’m saying this because there are more people who don’t know me than those who do. Among 7 billion, don’t let your life be dictated by the words of a few dozen people. Yes, just the words of a few dozen…”

The man’s teeth gritted sharply. Anger seemed to be simmering in his eyes, but then, as if realizing it, he regained composure.

“…Thanks for the words. But even with that, I haven’t found a reason to live.”

“That’s not something I can figure out.”

In a chilly and indifferent tone, the boy expressed discontent with a grunt. Thinking it was just useless conversation and a mere verbal consolation, he put on a disgruntled expression and slung his bag over his shoulder.

“Yeah, right. In reality, I don’t care much, you know? I just want to go home. My mood has soured.”

“I also don’t know why I’m living. But I’ve decided not to think about it.”

The boy, who was about to leave, looked down at the man. The man was wetting the sleeves of his coat, checking his wrist.

“…If you think about each and every thing, there’s no other way than to die.”

But now, the man, who seemed scary, laughed ironically, lowered his hand, and turned around. A dimensional gate opened in front of the boy. In front of the school, an empty subway station came into view.
“Go home, too. And just live without any thoughts. That’s much better.”

“The atmosphere was so different.”

Rood clenched his fist while recalling the memories of that time. After roughly sending Min Jaewon, the hunter, away, he thought about it and realized that he couldn’t remember it because it felt too different.

[Your face is the same, why couldn’t I remember? The ruler of chaos looks at you with confusion.]

“Who would think that a low-esteem gloomy guy would turn into a kind and gentle cheerful guy overnight? You didn’t know either, right?”

[No, I knew? The ruler of chaos sticks out his tongue as if resentful.]

“No, if you knew, you should’ve said something! Do you really enjoy this kind of thing, secretly?!”

Rood, who stood up all of a sudden, grumbled. Seeing the ruler of chaos chuckle, he cleared the indirect message with his finger.

While they were in the midst of grumbling, the office door suddenly opened with a bang.

“Rood!”

“Oh, surprised! Did you enjoy the train wreck?! Why are you so late?!”

Kang Yihyun, whose face was brightened, opened the door with a tumbler in both hands.

As the partner entered, Rood began to subtly show off that he had been working hard until now. Without paying attention, Kang Yihyun shouted with joy.

“We passed!! The guild leader just called a while ago and said we passed!!”

“What?!”
Rood quickly stood up. Upon hearing the news that the extremely troublesome report that needed to be submitted to a government agency had been approved, the 1st and 2nd ranked hunters in the country embraced each other and began to rejoice.

“Let’s go home. Rood. We’re changing shifts tomorrow afternoon. Let’s catch up at home!”

“Yeah, let’s go home. Let’s go home…!”

Now, the new graduates who felt the utmost pleasure that they could leave work on time from tomorrow began to prepare to leave the office.

After stamping their leave cards, saving their journals, and turning off their computers and multi-taps, they finally turned off the lights in the office.

“Rood, then I’ll be going now. See you tomorrow!”

“Yeah, tomorrow afternoon.”

Rood opened a rift in dimensions, and Kang Yihyun went down to the parking lot. In the dark office where the lights were off, Rood, who had opened a rift in dimensions, froze with the same smile as before.

It didn’t make any sense, but the memory of what had happened clearly passed through Nari’s mind. Rood turned around just like that, looking at the corridor where Kang Yihyun had disappeared.

[Nari, did you finally catch on? The ruler of chaos chuckles.]

“…What.”

Anyone, especially an ordinary person, would be mentally shaken upon witnessing their own skill. Except for Kang Yihyun, who had ‘Evil Inclination Immunity’ due to the influence of the ‘Throne of Thorns.’

Black-haired Kang Yihyun witnessed Rood’s skill with his naked eyes without any impact at that time.

And Kang Yihyun said he turned blond when he made a contract with the throne, Raphael.
So, how was it possible for Kang Yihyun before making a contract with Raphael to directly face Nari’s skill and still come out unharmed?

⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Who is this person…?’

Dimensional travel is not something anyone can do. Moreover, there was not a single hunter, as far as Yihyun knew, who could casually open a warp gate like this.

The seventeen-year-old boy, black-haired Kang Yihyun, stared at the black-haired man.

If he was this strong, Yihyun should definitely know about it. After all, Kang Yihyun was the person with the most connections among hunters in the country.

Feeling curious, he asked the black man, “Hey, what’s your name?”

“I don’t have one yet. I’m still thinking. I’m terrible at naming things.”

‘He hasn’t registered yet.’

Understanding that, Kang Yihyun looked at the man. Among hunters, there were occasionally those who created identification cards with aliases.

Even though in this information society, one’s real name could easily be found with a little investigation, it was done for impact. The man in front of him seemed to be part of that category, thought Kang Yihyun, and said, “Usually, it’s related to your abilities. What’s your ability?”

“Lucid Dreamer.”

“Then, intuitively, what about Rood?”

“Rood?”

The man scratched his chin and seemed to be deep in thought. Acting like whispering to someone and expressing irritation, it seemed like he had a throne.
Indeed, with that level of skill, Kang Yihyun, who guessed that there must be a throne, continued to gaze at him.

Seeming to lean towards the evil inclination attribute, and thinking that his grandfather would probably make a fuss again when he found out that a new S-rank hunter with an evil inclination had appeared, Yihyun heard the man’s cheerful voice.

“Nice, Rood. Let’s go with that.”

The man, or rather ‘Rood,’ turned his head briskly and looked at Kang Yihyun. Then, he smiled slightly. Yihyun blinked.

It was only 10 minutes. In Yihyun’s 17 years of life, a conversation that lasted exactly 10 minutes.

Among countless laughs he had seen, only that laugh, in just 10 minutes, changed Yihyun’s life. Looking at him, Yihyun, as if enchanted, said,

“Can I see you again?”

“Maybe, I won’t ask for it next time.”

“Yes, then I’ll make sure there’s no need for that.”

Smiling brightly, Yihyun headed towards the dimensional gap, looking at Rood who muttered something about being a peculiar guy.

A few months later, ‘Rood,’ who seemed to have registered as an Awakener, rightfully secured the top spot in the domestic rankings, surpassing even the world rankings.

And soon after, Kang Yihyun followed suit, directly ascending to the 2nd place in the domestic rankings.

From that day on, Rood was in 1st place, and Yihyun was in 2nd place. Always and forever.