The First Past Life

"There's no settlement for you to take, so go back."

"What?"

I couldn't believe it. I had risked my life to clear the dungeon too, so why was I being treated like this?

At my question, the D-Class hunter who had been acting as the party leader spoke with an expression that looked like he was barely holding back disgust, as if he were looking at a pathetic pile of trash.

"You just got stabbed, stood there bleeding all over the place, and did nothing but cry and beg us to save you."

"Yeah. What exactly did Kang Hyun-jun do while we were clearing the dungeon?"

The support hunter, who seemed to be the party leader's girlfriend, chimed in with a nasty little laugh.

"Hah, but... this is illegal!"

"So what are you going to do about it? Snitch to the Hunter Association? My older brother's an executive there. Don't get cocky just because you're an F-Class hunter."

I had no answer. I knew all too well that in this insane world where dungeons and raids had appeared, F-Class hunters were treated like garbage. No one would listen to a word I said. It was filthy, but that was reality.

"I won't even charge you for the medicine we used on your wounds, so get lost..."

"Thanks for your hard work..."

I had always thought that everyone had some kind of outstanding talent of their own. I had talent too, I told myself, I just hadn't awakened to it yet. That was how I comforted myself.

Someday, I thought, the potential buried inside me would awaken. But today, the hope I had been clutching at felt faint.

"Let's just drink."

With that muttered to myself, I drank at the convenience store. A lot. Enough that passersby clicked their tongues at me. There was no way to ease this frustration except to drown it in alcohol. I drank two bottles of soju, got completely wasted, and staggered to my feet from the chair.

"Hunter-nim. You seem to have a lot of past lives."

On the way back to my shabby one-room apartment, a man stopped me. The words interested me.

"Past lives? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. You have a great many past lives, Hunter-nim. And they're not ordinary ones, either. Every single one of them bore the name of the strongest of the strong..."

"Let's stop there."

In my foul mood, the casual tone slipped out before I could stop it.

"If you don't believe me, then just go. My role ends here anyway."

The man shook his head and vanished. I didn't stop him. I just let the drunken haze carry me as I lurched home.

I ignored the strange voice drifting by my ear and kept hurrying my steps forward, never dreaming that the talent I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been searching for had awakened without my even knowing it.

*

Two men and women sat in a quiet cafe. The woman was smiling, but there was coldness seeping through it.

"Hye-jin. There's no dungeon-clearing schedule today?"

The man with the uneasy expression, Hyun-jun, asked. Something about the atmosphere felt off, but he forced it out of his mind. Every time a bad thought tried to rise, he shook his head away.

"There isn't any guild schedule today either."

Hye-jin answered. Unlike Hyun-jun, the incompetent F-Class combat hunter, she belonged to a guild. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It wasn't a top-tier guild, but it was fair to say she held a position worlds apart from his.

"I see. I'm really happy I get to see your face after so long. You've been so busy lately that we haven't even had time to meet, Hye-jin."

"Better than having nothing to do."

"That's true."

Hyun-jun answered in a powerless voice and lowered his head. Her cold words sounded as if they were mocking his own useless situation. It hurt.

"Hyun-jun. Did you know today marks one year since we started dating?"

Hye-jin's voice was cold as ice. He did know. There just hadn't been anything he could prepare. Maybe he had chosen to act ignorant because he wanted to look away from it.

"Ah... sorry... I didn't prepare anything..."

Hyun-jun bit his lip slightly. Even if he had wanted to do something for her, he had no money to do it with. An F-Class combat hunter didn't earn much more than an ordinary person. In some cases, he could make dramatically less than one.

"It's okay. We're breaking up now anyway."

"What?"

"I have a man now."

It felt as if he'd been struck hard on the back of the head. Hyun-jun couldn't find the words to respond. After letting out a short sigh, Hye-jin spoke again.

"I'm sorry. But I don't want to keep suffering anymore."

"Hah, but..."

"I know this sounds selfish, but listen carefully. I'm different from a year ago. Back then I was an F-Class too, but now I'm C-Class. And I'm a support hunter, too. I'm practically junior nobility, you know. We can't keep living like this forever, can we? You need to face reality now."

The woman he had loved for a year was no longer sitting there. Only a stranger who had adapted to a cold world remained. The sadness vanished, and anger surged up in its place.

"Who is it?"

His voice trembled. He wanted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to deny reality.

"An A-Class hunter in our guild. Give it up. It's not a place you can reach."

Hye-jin drained the last of her iced tea. Hyun-jun's stomach was boiling, but she looked relieved, as though everything had finally been sorted out. That expression of hers made Hyun-jun's feelings even more complicated.

"Kang Hyun-jun. I'm leaving now, okay?"

He had no intention of standing up. Instead, he turned his head and looked at her back. Hye-jin sat in the passenger seat of an imported car parked in front of the cafe. Through the open window, he could see the two of them smiling together. Hyun-jun clenched his teeth.

"This is unbearable."

He had no strength and no money, so what was he supposed to do? There was nothing he could do right now. Irritably, he pulled out his smartphone and called Seok-gyu, his only friend.

"All the F-Class dungeon slots are full."

The moment he answered, Seok-gyu said it first. He worked for the Dungeon Management Bureau. So whenever Hyun-jun called him, he would usually ask him to arrange an F-Class ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dungeon schedule. But today was different.

"Got any parties looking for a porter?"

Hyun-jun asked. Porters didn't join the fighting; they only handled mana stone looting and transport. Usually, porter jobs were needed in parties clearing higher-ranked dungeons, so the risk was heavy. That was why Hyun-jun had never done the job before. But starting today, he had decided to change his mind.

He had learned the hard way that money was necessary to survive in this world.

"A porter? What's going on?"

"I need money."

"There's one C-Class dungeon-clearing party looking for a single porter... but they're not exactly quality material. Will that be okay?"

Concern colored Seok-gyu's voice. Still, Hyun-jun felt that the only person worried about him was his friend.

"As long as they pay properly, I'm fine."

"Then I'll connect you for now. Come to the Dungeon Management Bureau tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"We've known each other for years. Couldn't even do this much for you? Come back and buy me a meal. It sounds like the pay will be generous."

"Yeah."

The call with Seok-gyu ended. Hyun-jun let out a short sigh and stared at the empty seat where Hye-jin had been sitting only moments before. He really had loved her, a lot. It would be a lie to say he didn't feel regret, but he had no intention of clinging on in humiliation.

"Let's go home."

He muttered to himself and returned to his rented room. He wasn't empty-handed. He was carrying a plastic bag stuffed full of beer and soju he had bought at the convenience store.

He drank until he lost consciousness that day and fell asleep.

*

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in an unfamiliar corridor. At the end of the corridor was an ordinary iron door. It was a dream he had occasionally seen. He would always hover in front of the door and wake up, but today felt different.

What is behind that door?

For some reason, it was a question he had never thought to ask before. Hyun-jun swallowed dryly. He was curious. The suddenly ignited curiosity seized his whole body and stirred his brain.

I want to open that door!

Like someone under hypnosis, Hyun-jun was drawn by something he couldn't understand and moved toward the iron door. By the time he came to his senses, the door was already right in front of him. Any other day, he would have ignored it and turned back. But today was different.

Drawn not by the usual fear but by something far more intense, he grabbed the handle and swung the door open with force. And in that instant, the room soaked in darkness sucked Hyun-jun in like a vacuum cleaner. When he came back to himself, the door was shut, and the darkness had been erased by the light spilling down from the ceiling.

"W-what..."

He was bewildered. To make sense of the situation, he instinctively rolled his eyes around. Then he found one man sitting in the center of a wide stone chamber with nothing in it at all.

"Welcome, Kang Hyun-jun."

Had he sensed Hyun-jun's gaze? The man lifted his head and spoke in a calm voice. His straight-backed stare held a complicated mix of emotions.

"My name is Carthago, the righteous shield that guards the northern border of the empire. And..."

Carthago lifted the shield and spear lying on the floor.

"Kang Hyun-jun, I am your first past life. From now on, I will make you strong."

The meeting with his first past life came all at once.