If “Belief” != True: Break

A week had passed since the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunters' level up notifications appeared.

Even to Seoya's eyes, the people of Earth were showing a starkly different side from before. They were closing the anomaly dungeons one by one—ones they'd kept tightly controlled—and handling any tough new dungeons on their own without her intervention. No new S-rank dungeons had appeared since the last six she'd sealed herself.

As new hunters kept awakening and existing ones grew stronger, the broadcasts chattered about it nonstop all day. The hunters who'd been suffering from overwork were finally finding some stability.

Their growth also meant higher skill levels and more new skills acquired, but the most noteworthy part was...

"Their mental strength seems to have tripled or something."

Baek Yena answered Seoya's question about how much it had increased.

"It used to be 143, now it's 382. Not exactly three times, but close."

"Around two hundred increase for most people?"

"Yeah, plus or minus two hundred, depending on their previous mental strength."

Hunters no longer struggled in A-rank or B-rank dungeons like they used to, even after long stays. They could face the bizarre ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠new monsters spilling out while keeping their sanity intact. They weren't suffering the same mental exhaustion anymore.

"Gayeon unnie was at 341, Haejun oppa at 293, and Sein unnie exactly 300."

"Yeah."

"Everyone's shot up so much..."

Seoya tilted her head, murmuring the word mental strength.

"But what exactly is mental strength, anyway?"

"Huh? You've known about it fine until now."

"No, I just don't get how you can manipulate someone's mental strength. Is it like willpower or mental health...?"

"Nah, that's not it. Think of mental strength as a special power the System assigns."

Baek Yena began explaining calmly.

"Having high System mental strength doesn't mean you're actually mentally healthy, diligent, or strong-willed in real life. It's just the resource you burn fighting monsters or entering dungeons."

"Hmm, got it."

"Right. You could have sky-high mental strength on the System and still be fragile or battling depression."

Seoya nodded readily and opened her mouth to summon her own status window.

"System window."

It was a status window with numbers that would make anyone gasp and rub their eyes in disbelief.

The hunters' System level up—and its changes—had applied to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seoya too. Where her MP, HP, mental strength, and skills had once been blank, values now filled them.

The System—or rather, the higher world—didn't seem to have boosted her power; it just quantified her original abilities. Seoya hadn't felt any change in herself.

MP and HP were probably always around that level...

Seoya had never once felt physically exhausted or depleted of mana.

Plus, when Ibin first designed the System, she'd calibrated it so the total MP and HP of all Earth hunters combined was less than Seoya's. By that math, those numbers fit.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skills are just labels for my innate abilities.

Her unique language magic—mastering any tongue after hearing three words—had earned it 'Language Master'.

'Mana Control' covered every way she wielded mana.

'Surroundings Detection' named her habit of spreading mana to sense life forces nearby. 'Five Senses Enhancement' was self-explanatory. And 'Warning' probably referred to when she glared with yellowed eyes, radiating killing intent.

But 'fluid' mental strength... no idea what that means.

Fluid meant variable, right? Could it go up and down? She pondered but found no answer, so she closed the window.

It wasn't a pressing issue anyway.

"I'm heading out."

"Yeah, take care."

Seoya, lounging on the sofa, waved to Baek Yena as she headed to work. But before stepping out, Yena paused with an "Ah," peeking back inside as if remembering something.

"Oh yeah, you need to watch out for something lately."

"What?"

"Avoid meeting other hunters for a bit, keep contact minimal. Just steer clear of entanglements altogether."

"Why? Something up?"

It was an unexpected warning, so Seoya sat up on the sofa.

"Things are a mess right now."

"A mess? Aren't they stabilizing?"

Only Seoya knew the higher world was dragging Earth into peril. To everyone else, with hunters growing stronger, this was a peaceful era. The news droned daily about rising national safety levels.

Baek Yena's expression turned thoughtful.

"...The hunters you know are all top-rankers from major guilds."

"Yeah."

"The big guilds are tense with each other right now."

Seoya blinked at the baffling statement.

"With all these new hunters flooding in, everyone's competing to snag the talented ones. Smaller guilds are getting greedy, trying to expand. The majors are watching each other like hawks."

Her face blank, Yena added, "It's too quiet. Calm before the storm. Something's about to blow."

"Got it... I'll lay low."

Seoya didn't grasp human power struggles, but she'd follow the advice and cut contact with other hunters for now.

"No one would dare touch you, obviously. Just don't get dragged into the hassle. Kwon Yooseok, Gwak Mansu... all of them, off-limits."

"Okay."

"Especially Na Seonghyeon—that creep worries me most."

Baek Yena grimaced.

After that, Seoya cut off contact as advised. The one annoyance?

"Th-this...?"

Seoya stared blankly at the paper scribbled with her math calculations.

No matter how I look, something's off...

Without Kwon Yooseok to help with equations, she was stumped on unknowns alone now.

"S-so... what did I do here? Maybe graph it to check...?"

She grabbed fresh paper and plotted her points on coordinates. Connecting them...

...Is this right?

It looked less like a graph and more like a five-year-old's scribble.

"I just wanna quit here..."

She flung the paper down and buried her face in the sofa cushions, groaning.

Lee Gayeon, just home from work and folding laundry, glanced over but didn't ask. She knew it tied to Seoya's secret she wouldn't share.

...Wait, maybe I am calculating right? That weird graph could be correct.

As Seoya rallied positively to pick up the paper, Ji Sein yawned hugely, shuffling out of her room.

"Yaaawn, Gayeon unnie's back?"

"You weren't seriously sleeping till now, were you?"

"Eh, just a nap?"

"Like I said last time, if you're holing up at home, how about helping with chores? We can't hire help anymore since Seoya's here."

"Ugh, chores, ah... yeah..."

"Move your body for once! Please!"

Grumbling at Gayeon's nagging, Ji Sein started picking up stray hairs from the floor.

"Fine... sweeping the floor's enough, right... huh?"

She snatched the paper Seoya had tossed, squinted at the bizarre graph, and frowned.

"What's this garbage?"

Silence blanketed the living room.

Gayeon finally stammered awkwardly, "That... Seoya was... calculating something..."

"Kyaaah! Princess, sorry! I'm sorry, so sorry!"

"...Nah, it's fine. Guess it was trash... just toss it."

"Princesssss! I'm the trash!"

As Ji Sein clung to Seoya in hysterics, the gloomy-faced girl thought,

Yeah, I'm the idiot after all...

Na Guild headquarters, in the guild master's office thick with sterile air.

Na Seonghyeon sat in his plush chair, phone to his ear, talking to someone.

"Yes, if that goes through, it'd be huge profit for Na Guild. The issue is whether it's feasible."

His face was darkly serious—something Seoya had never seen. Not because of the grim topic, but because he was at the company. Until clocking out, Na Seonghyeon always wore that "I'd rather die than work" look.

"Yes, yes... precisely, the problem is how the other guilds react... but they won't act decisively. Most lack the structure."

Something seemed to click; he smirked faintly.

"Understood. If so, even Neverending won't stand a chance. And I'll achieve my ultimate goal."

He ended the call, set the phone down, and stretched languidly. Regular stretching was essential—age was catching up, body creaking more each year.

Anyway, envisioning that big deal unfolding, Na Seonghyeon muttered,

"Well, sorry about that... but can't be helped."