The Price of a Home
Gate.
That was what people called the dimensional rifts connected to other worlds.
Most of the other dimensions beyond a Gate were Dungeons.
Fragments of shattered worlds rather than complete dimensions. Monsters lived inside those fractured realms, and they sometimes held deadly traps or hidden treasures.
They also contained resources, the most representative of which was the Mana Stone.
Mana Stones.
Stones formed from condensed mana, resources as essential to modern civilization as oil or electricity.
Among them were special Mana Stones that served to maintain a Dungeon. Those were called Dungeon Cores.
If a Dungeon lost its Core, it collapsed and vanished.
At the same time, the Gate, the dimensional rift itself, would close.
Normally, the proper way to handle things was to clear the Dungeon, mine everything worth mining, take the Dungeon Core, and close the Gate.
If a Gate, more precisely, a Dungeon Core, was left unattended, the Core would accumulate power and expand the Dungeon outward into the outside, creating a catastrophe known as a Dungeon Break.
The other dimension that had existed beyond the rift would spill into Earth, and the collision between dimensions would trigger an explosion that destroyed everything nearby.
And on top of that, the monsters inside would pour out onto Earth.
It was, in every sense of the word, a disaster.
Which was why a Gate absolutely had to be closed before a Dungeon Break occurred.
But very rarely.
There were cases where even after the Dungeon Core was removed, the Dungeon did not disappear.
The Gate remained as well, leaving the space of that other dimension connected to Earth just as it was.
Because of the ownership issues surrounding these lingering other dimensions, there had been long debates even in that chaotic era.
In the end, a conclusion had been reached.
Ownership was recognized as belonging to the one who had cleared it.
Countless interests had been tangled up in that decision, and among those who had pushed it toward that conclusion were some of the era's most powerful forces.
The giant corporations and hunter guilds that defined the age owned several such surviving other dimensions.
People commonly called them Landowners.
And Seonwoo's grandmother was one of them.
...
It wasn't anything grand.
A Landowner she might have been, but the other dimension his grandmother owned was nothing impressive.
It was an F-grade other dimension so pitiful it was embarrassing to even call it a Dungeon, with only a few worthless goblins wandering around inside.
It was a grassland about the size of a soccer field, with so few resources that it was hard to even make back labor costs, and even those had already been mined out.
And though it was connected, it was still a different dimension, which meant life beyond the Gate could not fully enjoy modern civilization.
That was why his grandmother, who had only been an E-grade hunter at the time, had been able to clear it and become its Landowner.
And now, more than forty years later.
"We've come because there's a business we'd like to run here, and we'd like to ask you to sell it to us."
A violent organization operating under the signboard of Beomho Development had come saying they wanted to buy it.
With the seasoned eye that came from long years of life, Grandmother recognized at once that they were a violent outfit.
But she couldn't understand why they had come here.
Because this place truly had nothing going for it.
The absolute size of the space itself was fairly large, but as land for some kind of business, it was far too small.
And even if it was connected to Earth, it was still an other dimension.
In practical terms, it was difficult to build the infrastructure necessary to comfortably enjoy the benefits of modern civilization.
So why had they come here?
...
Seonwoo, who knew the answer, had a dark look on his face.
There was no grand conspiracy here, no great hidden story.
No one had ever figured out what this place truly was until the protagonist learned the truth.
This was simply about some thug heir from a mid-sized guild looking for a place to indulge his hobby.
While searching for a place where he could do things that couldn't be seen by other people, he'd noticed the home where Seonwoo's family lived.
That was all it was.
For something that trivial.
A family was about to lose the foundation of their lives just because they had caught the eye of some rich punk.
And then.
"...How much are you offering?"
What?
"Ho?"
At the rough-looking man's words about buying the home layered with years of memories, Grandmother unexpectedly asked that question.
Since she had been consistently hostile until now, surprise appeared plainly on the man's face.
Seonwoo was just as shocked.
He had never once experienced the story unfolding this way.
And he was able to guess the reason soon enough.
I never became a hunter.
After the academy arc, the protagonist obtained a license at no lower than D-grade.
In other words, even as a student, he became at minimum a promising D-grade hunter.
But Seonwoo had not even reached that lowest level.
So he guessed the story had changed.
And he was right.
The state won't pay much for it anyway.
Grandmother was thinking of her grandchildren.
Only hunters could legally be Landowners.
The law recognized ownership of non-vanishing other dimensions, but only hunters were qualified to hold that ownership.
But in this family, Grandmother was the only hunter, and even that was about to end because the time to turn in her license due to age was fast approaching.
If that happened, then unless she sold it to another hunter, ownership would pass to the state and a fixed compensation amount would be paid out.
The problem was that if ownership passed to the government, they would never get its real value.
It wasn't that the country was cheating them.
The real issue was that when hunters traded among themselves, the rarity of a non-vanishing other dimension drove the premium absurdly high.
It had nothing now, but no one knew what it might become later, and that expectation inflated the price.
So if it had to be sold, it needed to be sold to an individual rather than surrendered to the state.
And if the rough-looking man standing before her named a price she could accept, Grandmother was willing to sell.
There wasn't much money left in the bank.
To search for Seonwoo after he had suddenly disappeared, Grandmother had not hesitated to spend the money that should have guaranteed her old age.
And it had been over a year since she had even been able to continue the hunter work that had barely kept them going.
There was no income anymore.
She herself could endure it.
What worried her were her grandchildren, whose futures still stretched wide ahead of them.
If things had come to this, then if they were offered a reasonable amount, she intended to make the deal and use that money to support their futures.
But Grandmother's thought was shattered by the man's offer.
"A wise decision. How about this much?"
"......"
The amount he named did not even come close to what they would receive if the property was handed over to the state.
It was a figure so absurd it didn't even look like he had come with any intention of making a proper deal.
And in fact, he hadn't.
The trouble fee and errand money he'd received from that thug heir were meant for them.
Not for Grandmother.
The man grinned.
"That's the best price you're going to get. Selling now, at this amount, would be the smartest move for you."
The threat in it was completely naked.
"Please leave."
Grandmother flatly refused the deal.
The amount was so ridiculous there was no way she could accept it.
The two men with vicious faces let out short laughs and rose from their seats.
"You'll regret this."
Still grinning, they left behind that threat and walked out.
"Grandma..."
Eunseo's face was pale with anxiety, and Grandmother pulled her into a tight embrace.
"It's okay, Eunseo."
Suppressing her own fear, she told her it was all right.
Watching that, Seonwoo clenched the hand hidden behind his back so hard it turned white.
Seonwoo and Eunseo had lost their parents at far too young an age.
After that, their paternal grandmother had taken their parents' place and cared for them.
She had become their only guardian and raised the two of them herself.
Yes.
Grandmother was Seonwoo and Eunseo's only guardian.
Which meant she couldn't afford to show fear.
Even though in truth she, too, was just an ordinary person with her own clumsiness and limits.
To protect her two grandchildren, she was not allowed to be ordinary or weak.
So.
I have to do something.
But Seonwoo couldn't think of a way.
He knew the content.
He knew how the story would unfold.
The thugs from Beomho Development would torment Seonwoo's family with dirty tricks.
Because they lived inside a Gate rather than on Earth, the various devices they needed would be secretly destroyed.
They would throw every possible obstacle in the way of the protagonist, who was only just beginning his life as a hunter.
In the end, worn down by those schemes, Grandmother would give up and hand this place over to Beomho Development.
She would sign a contract for less than half the amount they had first offered.
And she would sign.
That was the fixed story.
Goddess Saga was praised for its vast story and huge cast of characters, but it had never offered choices.
Seonwoo had hoped that now that it had become reality, maybe the story could be changed.
But now, when he couldn't even enroll in Hunter Academy because he couldn't sense mana, there was almost nothing he could do.
...Should I just follow the story for now?
There was no way he could face them head-on.
That was all the more true because he knew what stood behind Beomho Development.
In a situation like this, the best he could do was minimize the damage, persuade Grandmother, and make her sell this place.
Crack.
His fists clenched so tightly at the thought that his skin went white, but that was all he could come up with right now.
But even that thought.
...Ah.
"E-Eunseo!"
"Gran... dma..."
It was far too soft.
The next day, when Eunseo came home from school, she was a mess.
Her shoes had been torn to shreds, and her uniform was smeared with filth.
But those things didn't even register at first.
"Who. Who did this to you!"
"Waaah..."
What filled Seonwoo's vision and turned his head white-hot was Eunseo's ruined face.
Her lip had split open, and bruises darkened her eye.
Who.
Who had done this to such a young girl?
He couldn't stop the fist he had clenched from trembling with rage.
For the first time in his life, he felt a fury so massive he couldn't control it.
And then, at that exact moment.
"Aigoo. Guess we came at the wrong time?"
"No. We came at just the right time."
The two men from Beomho Development stepped inside, speaking loudly enough to make sure they were heard.
No explanation was needed.
No reading the room was needed.
Instinct alone told him they were the culprits.
And Seonwoo finally exploded.
"Why did you do it?!"
He shouted as he lunged at them.
He had never thrown violence in his life, so he didn't lead with a punch, but the force of his charge already carried enough fury to strike.
But the two men only smirked.
Because to them, he truly wasn't threatening in the slightest.
They sneered at him.
"Aigoo, what are you talking about? We just came again today to diligently persuade you to sell us this land."
"Maybe the land itself is bad luck. If you keep living here, your luck might keep getting worse."
They threatened him.
"Your grandson here might even get hurt in an unfortunate accident, you know?"
...!
Thump.
His heart jolted violently.
So violently it felt as though the rest of his body might lift off the ground with it.
It began as fear.
The warmth he had felt when he first came here.
Then the rage he had felt just now.
And now, the naked killing intent in their eyes, the open certainty of men who could take a life without hesitation, made Seonwoo feel fear.
Thump.
But then rage swallowed that fear whole and burned away the last thread of his reason.
It drove him to throw a real punch.
You are attempting to alter the story.
Success Rate: 0.00003%
The system recommends following the story.
[Y/N]
Though it lasted only an instant, Seonwoo could still perceive that familiar guidance as if it were being projected directly onto his soul.
But his fist was already in motion, and it could no longer stop.
Wham!
...!
The next instant, a tremendous shock washed his vision and mind white.
Seonwoo never even realized that his own punch had failed to land, and that the other man's fist had buried itself in his solar plexus instead.
All he knew was this.
Thud.
Failed.
As he fell backward, his head happened to strike a jutting rock, and in that moment of death, he saw himself from a third-person perspective.
...
It was a death that was hard to accept.
It was obviously strange, and even more than that, unbearably empty.
As though some backlash had occurred in response to his attempt to alter the story.
Seonwoo ground his teeth.
He didn't want it to end like this.
He couldn't let it end like this.
He still hadn't done anything.
And above all else.
"Seonwoo!"
"Oppaaaaa!!"
He could never accept dying like this and leaving Grandmother and Eunseo to grieve.
And before him then appeared:
Would you like to start again?
[Y/N]