The One Who Defies Fate
When he came to, he was in the Hall of Past Lives. He had no memory of falling asleep, but it felt as though he had lost consciousness the moment an immense amount of mana had been forced into him.
“Who is it this time...?”
He thought he’d heard a voice at the end, but he couldn’t remember the details. The door directly in front of him was locked with a padlock. Hyun-jun calmly turned his head and surveyed the surroundings. Before long, he found an unlocked door and walked toward it.
“The One Who Defies Fate...”
Hyun-jun read the epithet carved into the red leather-covered door aloud.
Let’s go in.
If there was one thing he had learned from meeting all his past lives so far, it was that lingering in front of their doors accomplished nothing. What mattered was summoning the courage to open the door and step inside. He didn’t let the thought drag on. Hyun-jun gripped the knob and pulled the door open hard.
He was met by an abyss of pitch-black darkness. Yet it wasn’t simply dark. As he walked deeper inside, faint light seeped out from here and there. It was like the glow of brilliant starlight.
“Damn...”
On a hunch, he lowered his gaze. Far beneath his feet, tiny specks of light shimmered like grains of salt scattered from some distant place. There was no floor. It felt as though he were floating in a void. The dazzling sight was so mesmerizing that for a moment he couldn’t look away.
-Beautiful, is it not?
He lifted his head, roused by a voice that rang out low and deep, yet strangely gentle. Someone stood before him in a red cloak. Hyun-jun shifted his gaze toward the face, but black shadow obscured it completely.
“Yeah. It is beautiful.”
-And yet, it is something that no longer exists.
As he finished speaking, the figure swept a blackened hand through the air, and all the starlight vanished. It was as if the blackness itself had swallowed it whole.
-My name is Deus. I am the absolute will that represents 990,000 past lives. Before I intervene in your fate, I came to confirm one last thing.
“I’d like an explanation.”
-I am confirming your intent before beginning the interference of fate.
“Interference of fate? What is that?”
Hyun-jun asked the question. He needed to know what it meant to interfere with fate.
-Exactly what it sounds like. A minor interference in your fate, carried out through the intense and absolute will of 990,000 past lives.
“That’s possible?”
He had heard that one of the four SSS-Class Hunters, Erina the Tremor, could use a buff called Luck Explosion, but he had never even heard of a power that could interfere with fate itself.
-With the will of 990,000 past lives and my authority, there is nothing impossible. Of course, it is not absolute interference. It is merely the granting of a very small hope in preparation for the absolute despair that will come for you.
“What is this absolute despair?”
One day, out of nowhere, he had begun to draw the attention of 990,000 past lives. From that day on, everything had changed, and the F-Class Hunter had become an A-Class Hunter. He had expected there would be a price to pay, but he had never imagined it would come in the form of such a heavy phrase as “absolute despair.”
-They are coming.
Deus spoke in a low, subdued voice. Hyun-jun waited for more, but he remained silent.
“Who are they?”
In the end, Hyun-jun couldn’t hold back and asked again.
-I cannot answer that yet. But if you do not receive my blessing, it is certain that they will be a calamity so great you will have virtually no chance of winning against them.
Deus paused for a moment, then took a few steps toward Hyun-jun.
-If you receive my blessing, at least a one-percent chance will exist. But in that case, they will also come to know of your existence.
“What happens if they learn I exist?”
-They will send scouts. By the standards of your world, they will be powerhouses at minimum above S-Class, so they will not be easy opponents.
“What if I don’t receive the blessing?”
-Then the scouts will not come. But one day, the day of destruction will arrive. I cannot say when, but if you become a fugitive, you will buy time.
That was Deus’s answer. Hyun-jun frowned. In truth, there was no choice at all.
“I only have one question, Deus.”
-Speak.
“If I receive your blessing, will I become stronger than I am now?”
-Do not underestimate the power of interference in fate. Though I call it a minor interference, it will change everything far beyond anything you have seen so far.
At Deus’s words, Hyun-jun’s mouth curved faintly upward. Maybe the answer had been decided from the beginning.
“Grant me the blessing. I won’t become a fugitive.”
Deus spread both arms wide.
-Congratulations on becoming our true comrade.
The low voice reverberated.
-Since the interference of fate has begun... you will have good news within a few days.
*
Deus had said he would have good news within a few days, but a full week passed in nothing but the continuation of an ordinary routine. The only difference from before was that, immediately after the guild’s promotion to Silver Tier, the workload had increased so much that he could no longer continue dungeon clears on his own.
“Guild Leader. Paldal District in Suwon City has been designated as our raid zone.”
A raid zone was an area where the guild could exercise its priority claim if a raid broke out. Usually, such zones were assigned within the guild’s primary area of activity. Priority claim was the right to move first if a raid was detected in advance; it allowed them to deploy before other guilds and gave them first rights to loot the magic stones.
“Of all places, they picked one with fierce competition.”
Hyun-jun shook his head after hearing Tae-min’s report. If many guilds were assigned to the same zone, the number of people who could be deployed first through priority claim increased, and competition became intense. Even when it came time to settle the loot, the benefits were reduced compared to a zone with fewer claimants.
“Just a moment.”
At the sudden ring of his phone, Hyun-jun cut off the conversation and picked up his smartphone.
Raid Situation Bureau. Am I speaking with Kang Hyun-jun of Wraith Guild?
It was a call from the Raid Situation Bureau, one of the few places guild leaders were both glad to hear from and eager to avoid.
“Yes. This is Kang Hyun-jun.”
You will need to report to the Suwon branch now.
“Has a raid situation been detected in advance?”
Raids could happen suddenly, but they could also creep in slowly, preceded by several signs. In that case, they could be detected and responded to in advance. Priority claim could only be used when a raid had been detected ahead of time.
Yes. Please report to the Suwon branch first.
“I’ll head there right now.”
Was this the “change” Deus had spoken of? Hyun-jun silently exulted as he ended the call. It was a nuisance when a raid situation arose in a designated zone, but since priority claim could be activated, if the guild had the capability, they could settle the magic-stone proceeds to their advantage.
Hyun-jun took a car to the Raid Situation Bureau’s Suwon branch. A staff member was waiting in the lobby on the first floor. Guided by him, Hyun-jun entered one of the meeting rooms. Several people had already gathered inside.
“They’re employees from the Raid Situation Bureau, along with guild leaders or representatives from the Paldal District. There are a few escorts mixed in as well.”
Tae-min followed close behind and delivered the report in a low whisper. Hyun-jun gave a small nod instead of replying, then took his seat where the staff member directed.
“It doesn’t look like everyone’s here yet.”
Once the last attendee from the district assigned to Paldal - the only Gold Tier guild there, Great Demon - had arrived, the Raid Situation Bureau employee turned on the monitor and began explaining the situation.
“I’m Park Si-jun, head of Observation Team 2 at the Suwon branch. We don’t have much time, so I’ll keep this brief. Signs of a raid situation have been detected in Paldal District. The expected clear difficulty is upper-A rank. The scale is small to medium.”
As he finished, Si-jun pressed the remote, and the screen on the wall lit up with a brief video. It summarized the detected raid and listed the guilds currently designated as the responsible zone holders who could declare priority.
“As you all know, a raid is similar to Dungeon Out, but not quite the same. It means a gate has opened outside. Unlike Dungeon Out, it’s hard to catch in advance, but this time we did detect it early, and now we need a swift response to prevent damage.”
“What? Wraith was assigned our zone too?”
It was a sharp female voice. Hyun-jun turned toward the direction it had come from. There, a short-haired woman in a vivid red robe sat with her legs crossed. Her hair was red as well, matching the robe.
“That’s Ju Hye-ri, vice guild leader of Great Demon,” Tae-min whispered beside him.
Hyun-jun nodded without speaking. His gaze remained fixed on Hye-ri. He had seen forum posts about Great Demon being a Gold Tier guild with strong influence in Suwon.
“Wraith, having been promoted to Silver Tier this time, has earned the qualification to oversee one raid zone,” Si-jun explained.
Then Hye-ri spoke up.
“Is that so? Then I’ll ask the Wraith Guild leader directly. Are you going to declare priority claim?”
“Of course. It’s a right lawfully granted to our guild.”
It was rare not to declare priority claim when a raid broke out in a designated zone, except in a few special cases.
“Is that right?”
Hye-ri’s mouth curled.
“Then our guild won’t claim priority.”
As she smiled with her eyes, Hyun-jun felt a revulsion as if he were watching a devil beckon him with a hand.
So this is territorial pressure.
He had thought that after climbing over the small mountain called Andersen, they would finally be on flat ground. He had been wrong. A much larger mountain called Great Demon was waiting for him. It was possible the people behind the scenes had also been involved.
“In that case, our Blade will also forgo priority.”
“The same goes for Hellfire.”
“We’re out as well.”
Great Demon was only the beginning. Once they fired the signal flare, the other guilds followed one after another and declared they would not exercise priority claim. Great Demon’s faction acted first, and even the guild leaders who had been taking a neutral stance started gauging the room and gave up their priority rights.
“They seem to be trying to keep us under control.”
Tae-min said.
“Ms. Ju Hye-ri. Are you planning to toy with people’s lives right now?”
Si-jun said one line.
“I have no such intention at all... I’m just saying we don’t intend to be the first deployed. I never said we won’t stop the raid. And if the Wraith Guild leader gives up priority claim, then we’ll deploy too. Don’t worry.”
“Mr. Kang Hyun-jun?”
This time, Si-jun turned his head toward Hyun-jun. In his eyes lay a silent pressure, urging him to give up priority claim.
The old him would have yielded before this force and bowed his head. But now was different. He had sworn not to become a cowardly fugitive. So he could not lower his head. Hyun-jun wore a faint smile as he spoke.
“I will not declare priority claim.”
Mocking laughter drifted through the room here and there. Hye-ri looked at Hyun-jun with an expression that said, As expected, and nodded.
“Instead, I’ll activate monopoly rights.”