Zero Precedes One
“Why are you killing me?”
What kind of bullshit is this now?
“I will die in one year.”
Leo White’s eyes were dead serious.
“And the one who kills me, Taepyeong...”
“...”
“...is you.”
His voice was filled with absolute certainty.
At this point, it didn’t seem like a joke.
“Your proof?”
When I asked,
“Here.”
Leo White pointed to his own purple eyes.
His ability was the Eye of Odin.
He had lost his sight in an accident during his youth, but upon awakening, he reportedly obtained the Eye of Odin trait.
The Eye of Odin was fundamentally similar to my Execution Eye.
However, while my Execution Eye only showed the target’s weaknesses,
the Eye of Odin supposedly showed not just weaknesses, but also the exact path the target would move.
...Or so I had heard.
In the end, wasn’t the Eye of Odin just a glorified combat assistance module?
How could he possibly know that I would “kill” him based on that?
As if reading my mind, Leo White grinned.
“What I am about to say is a secret.”
“...”
“You can keep it, yes?”
I nodded silently.
“The known ability of the Eye of Odin is only a part of it.”
“A part?”
“The true power of the Eye of Odin is...”
“...”
“...Future Sight.”
“...”
“Taepyeong. You are not surprised?”
Why would I be?
As someone who possessed the Execution Eye,
I already knew that simply knowing weaknesses and predicted trajectories wasn’t enough to make someone the world’s number one Hunter.
To utilize such an ability to its absolute limit,
one would need a trait like the Heavenly Slaughter Star and rely on overwhelming physical stats.
But from what I could see, Leo White didn’t possess that level of raw physical power.
So, did he reach the rank of world number one purely through traits and skills?
That was impossible.
I had suspected there was something more hidden up his sleeve.
If that hidden power was Future Sight, then everything made sense.
“Of course, even with Future Sight, I cannot see all of the future.”
“Then what?”
“What I can see is only a few seconds.”
“A few seconds?”
That was a lot stingier than I expected.
Still, in a battle where split seconds mattered,
those few seconds would decide victory or defeat.
Leo White undoubtedly understood that well.
But still.
“If your ability only foresees a few seconds into the future...”
“Yes?”
“Then how on earth do you know that I’m going to kill you a year from now?”
Exactly.
If his Future Sight only allowed him to peek a few seconds ahead,
how could Leo White possibly know about an event a year away?
“There was a revelation I received when I first obtained the Eye of Odin.”
Leo White explained that it was a sort of special perk.
The revelation had been attached to the skill description of the Eye of Odin from the very beginning.
“So, what exactly is this revelation?”
“The star of death appearing in the eastern sky shall steal your breath away.”
The eastern sky.
The star of death.
Korea, and the Heavenly Slaughter Star...
It lined up pretty well.
But then again, aren’t prophecies usually vague enough to be interpreted however one wants?
Unless it literally said, “Lee Taepyeong, a Korean man in his twenties, will kill you,” wasn’t it a bit too ambiguous?
“To be honest, I had forgotten about the revelation.”
“...”
“But recently, my girlfriend told me an interesting story.”
Leo White looked at me with a smile.
“She said an Asian man she met on a random floor slaughtered three dark elves in an instant.”
Instantly, the image of that masked girl flashed through my mind.
Damn it. She was Leo White’s girlfriend?
“A human killed dark elves...”
“...”
“That is something that has never happened before.”
“...”
“If it were anyone else, I would never have believed it.”
But because his girlfriend, the masked girl, said it, he believed it.
“Actually, even hearing it from Thalia, it was hard to believe.”
“Is that so?”
“Because there is no way a human could kill an elf.”
Elves.
And dark elves.
It was no exaggeration to call them the strongest races climbing the tower.
Only a dark elf could kill an elf, and only an elf could kill a dark elf.
They were considered that powerful.
Yet, three of them had been killed by a human?
Beyond being unprecedented, it was deemed impossible.
Well, for ordinary people, at least...
Honestly, it didn’t feel like a big deal to me.
A life was a life, regardless of the race it belonged to.
At least, that was how I saw it.
Whether it was an elf or a goblin, they all died the same.
So I hadn’t thought much of it, but...
It seems this served as the crucial clue for Leo White...
‘The star of death appearing in the eastern sky shall steal your breath away.’
The sudden appearance of an Asian Hunter who slaughtered three dark elves fit the prophecy perfectly.
“I heard you even wiped out the opposing team all by yourself?”
That masked girl.
She really spilled every single detail.
“So what? You could easily do the same, couldn’t you?”
“No, no, no.”
Leo White wagged his finger back and forth.
“Wiping them out is something I might try, but...”
“But?”
“I would never kill three dark elves.”
“...”
“If it were me, I would have paid the Contribution Points.”
Tsk.
I had no reply to that.
From a rational standpoint, he was right.
“After hearing Thalia’s story, I looked into you.”
“...”
“And the more I investigated...”
“...”
“...the more certain I became.”
Leo White’s eyes were dead serious.
“Wiping out the foreign races in the tutorial.”
“Hmm.”
“Killing the Sullae in the Hide-and-Seek Map.”
“Did I do that...?”
“And even having an elf offer you their sword?”
“They didn’t offer it, it was just a gift.”
“Haha. You are very humble, Taepyeong.”
Seeing how detailed his knowledge was, he really must have dug deep into my background.
“People only noticed you because of the clear of the Chinese special floor.”
“...”
“But my thoughts are different.”
“...”
“You are already the best Hunter in Asia, Taepyeong.”
Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?
I opened my mouth to correct him, but Leo White didn’t give me the chance.
“The one who will kill me is definitely you.”
“...That makes no sense.”
I let out a dry laugh.
“You’re the world’s number one. How could I, someone who isn’t even in the top one hundred, kill you?”
Leo White shook his head once more.
“No, no, no.”
“...”
“You will kill me in one year.”
“I told you, it’s not me.”
“Why in one year?”
“If I knew that—”
“Because in one year, you will surpass me.”
Leo White was already completely convinced.
“Taepyeong.”
His purple eyes stared at me as if trying to pierce through my soul.
“You just haven’t been measured yet.”
“...”
“In other words, you are a zero.”
“...”
“And zero always precedes one.”
His voice was so filled with conviction that I let out a deep sigh.
“So?”
“Yes?”
“Since you know I’m going to kill you in a year...”
“...”
“...are you planning to kill me right now?”
In an instant, the air froze.
Leo White and I were both leaning back comfortably on our respective sofas.
Yet, we both knew.
That even right now, we could kill each other.
Tension hung thick in the air.
I was already prepared to pull Jeoldanchamgeuk out of my inventory at a moment’s notice.
The same was likely true for Leo White.
Since he said he could foresee the future a few seconds ahead, he might have already seen a future where I slit his throat.
I wondered.
Would that really become the future?
“...Pwahahaha!”
Just then, Leo White’s laughter shattered the silence.
“There is no way I would do that.”
Huh?
“...Didn’t you say you know I’ll kill you in a year?”
“Yes, I know.”
“But you’re not going to kill me now?”
“No. To be precise...”
Leo White paused for a moment, then raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
“...I can’t kill you.”
Not that he won’t, but he *can’t*?
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“No matter which future I read...”
“...”
“...there is no future where I can kill you.”
In short, there was no way for Leo White to kill me using his Future Sight.
Did that even make sense? He was the world’s number one Hunter.
“Let me give you an example.”
As I stared at him in disbelief, Leo White slightly parted his jacket to reveal a gun tucked inside.
Wait, a gun? In South Korea?
Whether I was shocked or not, Leo White continued his explanation.
“If I were to pull out this gun right now and shoot you in the head, what do you think would happen?”
“I’d die.”
“No. The barrel would suddenly rupture, and I would die from the shrapnel.”
Huh?
As I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, Leo White showed me a knife on the other side of his jacket.
“Then, what if I tried to stab you with a knife?”
“...I’d die?”
“No, no. I would trip over this table, fall, and stab myself in the heart.”
What is this, some kind of Final Destination?
I was too flabbergasted to speak. As I stared at him,
“It sounds like a lie, but the Eye of Odin is accurate.”
Leo White replied in a bitter tone.
“Right now, there is no way for me to kill you, Taepyeong.”
“So, you’re just going to let me kill you in a year?”
Leo White grinned at my question.
“No, no, no.”
“...”
“I came here precisely so I won’t die.”
“How?”
He had literally just said he had no way of killing me.
“It's simple.”
“...”
“I just need to find out why you want to kill me.”
“...”
“If I know the reason, I might be able to change the future.”
Leo White offered me his hand with a bright smile.
“So, Taepyeong. Let me ask you directly.”
“...”
“Will you join my guild?”
Leo White’s guild, Light.
Currently the top guild in the United States and the entire world, housing the high-rankers conquering the highest floors of Earth’s tower.
“I promise you the best treatment.”
The best, huh...
“Money, fame, power...”
*I’m not exactly lacking in those right now.*
“Not to mention becoming the world’s greatest Hunter.”
“...”
“I have already finished talks with the government. They promised full support. You can have whatever you want.”
“...”
No matter what he offered, I didn’t even bat an eye.
Realizing things weren’t going as planned, the confidence on Leo White’s face slowly gave way to anxiety.
“If you are with me, Taepyeong, you will reach a height that no one else has ever reached.”
Despite his grand pitch, I merely scratched the back of my head.
“T-Taepyeong...?”
“...”
“You are listening to me, right?”
I nodded.
At that, Leo White’s face brightened up again as he looked at me.
“T-Then, you will join me?”
I stared blankly at Leo White for a moment before giving a three-word reply.
“Why should I?”