Chapter 11 - Future Foresight
Future Foresight
‘I didn’t expect this man to contact me first.’
Lee Jeon-seok looked at Kim Baek-dong.
They were acquainted—at least to some extent.
In the future.
More precisely, in his previous life.
Back when Lee Jeon-seok had been obsessed with revenge and relentlessly chasing the Dawn Society, he had crossed paths with Kim Baek-dong by chance. The two had exchanged information and gradually become familiar with one another.
‘I was planning to slowly raise my rank, but…’
There was no longer any need for that.
Because of Kim Baek-dong’s existence.
With the authority he possessed, even an F-rank hunter like Lee Jeon-seok could be brought into a team as a mercenary.
If that happened, he would be able to participate not only in higher-level villain suppressions and dungeons, but also in large-scale operations hosted by the Association.
That was why Lee Jeon-seok wrapped his existing knowledge in the term foresight and made a counterproposal to Kim Baek-dong.
※ ※ ※
“In the future I’ve seen, the Association conducts a villain suppression operation and suffers approximately 420 casualties. Naturally, civilians are included among them.”
“……”
At Lee Jeon-seok’s words, Kim Baek-dong pressed his lips shut.
The number of hunters scheduled to participate in the current operation was 254.
Which meant—
That nearly the same number of civilians would die.
“You lose one of your arms there as well, Kim Baek-dong.”
Kim Baek-dong instinctively rubbed his shoulder.
He shrank back slightly under Lee Jeon-seok’s gaze.
An SS-rank hunter—overwhelmed by someone who had only just become a hunter.
‘…This is ridiculous.’
Kim Baek-dong swallowed a hollow laugh.
He asked quietly.
“Do you have any proof that what you’re saying is true?”
“Not right now.”
Lee Jeon-seok continued calmly.
“But I can prove it.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Five minutes.”
Lee Jeon-seok spread five fingers.
“In exactly five minutes, the Meteorological Administration will issue an earthquake alert. Magnitude 5. Epicenter: Incheon.”
Kim Baek-dong stared straight at Lee Jeon-seok.
He met his clouded pupils.
Eyes that showed not the slightest hint of deceit.
That unwavering confidence instead made Kim Baek-dong uneasy.
“If that turns out to be false… I’ll have no choice but to detain you as a criminal and turn you over to the Association.”
Information had been leaked.
Confidential data that only top-level executives within the Association were aware of.
This was not something that could be brushed aside lightly.
“I don’t mind.”
Even so, Lee Jeon-seok remained utterly composed.
Five minutes passed.
Kim Baek-dong checked his phone—
Bzzzz—!
As if on cue, an alarm sounded.
A message from the Meteorological Administration.
The contents were exactly as Lee Jeon-seok had said.
‘Does he really have foresight?’
No matter how he thought about it, Kim Baek-dong couldn’t believe it.
He had seen countless abilities and awakened individuals, but never once had he encountered a trait related to time.
Let alone one that foresaw the future.
It felt stranger to believe it than not.
Yet regardless of Kim Baek-dong’s doubts, Lee Jeon-seok continued to reveal major future events—things anyone would eventually know—carefully packaged as foresight.
And every single one came true without a single discrepancy.
“In exactly three minutes, a villain with a gigantification trait will go on a rampage here.”
Lee Jeon-seok spoke quietly.
If his words—no, his foresight—were real…
‘The world’s balance will change.’
The conflict between villains and hunters.
The relationship between the government and the Association.
The power struggles among guilds, offices, and unaffiliated hunters.
Everything would change.
And it would all tilt in a direction favorable to Lee Jeon-seok—no, to the group he belonged to.
“……”
“……”
The two men fell silent.
Those around them were frozen as well, unable to move under the pressure radiating from Kim Baek-dong.
Only the ticking of a clock pierced the stillness.
How much time passed like that?
Kim Baek-dong checked his wristwatch.
‘Three minutes.’
The promised three minutes had passed.
“Lee Jeon-seok…”
Just as Kim Baek-dong opened his mouth—
KWAANG—!
A massive explosion echoed.
“No way…”
Kim Baek-dong looked out the window with a shaken expression.
A street in Yeongdeungpo.
A gigantic man—five meters tall—was rampaging wildly, like a monster.
Judging by his massive frame, his ability was likely gigantification.
Exactly as Lee Jeon-seok had said.
Situation.
Individual.
Ability.
Everything matched.
‘…Absurd.’
Kim Baek-dong scanned Lee Jeon-seok.
It was still hard to believe.
But he had no choice but to accept it.
Lee Jeon-seok had shown undeniable proof.
“I believe this should be sufficient proof of my foresight ability, and…”
Suddenly.
Lee Jeon-seok sprang to his feet.
He pulled a single blade from within his clothes.
A gray dagger with a blunt edge.
“May I consider the interview to be subduing that guy?”
He asked quietly, as if seeking permission.
Kim Baek-dong nodded without realizing it.
Perhaps he had been overwhelmed by Lee Jeon-seok’s presence.
His aura was undeniably oppressive.
Eyes that looked as if black blood had been condensed and poured into them.
So alien and grotesque that it couldn’t be explained as a mere side effect of a trait.
However—
That wasn’t the only reason Kim Baek-dong nodded.
Clearing a C-rank dungeon solo.
Being recommended by Anya Ivanov.
He wanted to see that talent with his own eyes.
‘Future foresight and exceptional combat ability…’
If all of this was real—
‘I must secure him.’
He couldn’t let him slip away.
Not just talent.
A gem.
No—
A diamond, the most brilliant of them all.
“Then.”
Lee Jeon-seok sliced his palm with the blade and walked out of the café.
Soon after—
Kim Baek-dong would witness Lee Jeon-seok’s true worth with his own eyes.
※ ※ ※
The middle of Yeongdeungpo street.
A five-meter giant was rampaging madly.
“P-please save me!”
“Kyaaah!”
Screams erupted everywhere.
Lee Jeon-seok ran the crimson dagger across his palm.
Blood scattered, and the dagger transformed.
The once blunt edge sharpened, dyed in a deep, dark red.
Gripping it in one hand, Lee Jeon-seok stood in the villain’s path.
“What are you supposed to beee!”
A voice as crude and massive as his body.
Lee Jeon-seok didn’t answer.
He simply took his stance, gripping the crimson dagger.
“HUNTER!”
The villain let out a monstrous howl.
At the same time, he swung both arms wide.
“DIEEE!!”
Perhaps due to his trait, his speech had become sluggish.
Whooong—!
Lee Jeon-seok swiftly evaded the attack.
Two fists coming down diagonally from above.
He slipped beneath them, passing between the villain’s legs.
Not slow—but…
‘His size makes his openings obvious.’
Had his intelligence dropped along with his speech?
Lee Jeon-seok moved behind him.
TAP—.
He kicked off the ground and leapt high.
His body rotated smoothly, 180 degrees.
As if standing upside down on the air itself, he planted his left hand on the villain’s head.
And then—
Fwoosh—.
Flames erupted.
“KRAAAAH!!”
A scream tore through the air.
From head to toe.
The ignition consumed the villain in an instant.
“It hurts! It HURTS!!”
The villain writhed in agony.
Whooong—.
A violent gust followed.
His massive body lost balance and toppled.
Lee Jeon-seok calmly adjusted his angle midair.
Front.
Their gazes met.
A fleeting moment, as if time had stopped.
Lee Jeon-seok moved his right arm.
Left to right.
Slash—.
The crimson dagger cut across the villain’s neck.
A scarlet line carved through the air.
Blood exploded outward.
Lee Jeon-seok brushed aside the blood pouring from the flames and landed smoothly.
He immediately widened the distance.
But then—
‘…Something’s off.’
Lee Jeon-seok frowned.
The reason was simple.
The villain.
“It hurts! IT HURTS!!”
The villain began rampaging even more violently.
He smashed everything around him.
The asphalt flipped over, and the corpse of a stray cat was crushed beyond recognition.
He had clearly severed the neck.
And the artery at that.
He should have died instantly.
Yet he showed no sign of collapsing.
He was alive.
More than that—
‘He’s healing.’
Hair reduced to ash by flames.
Torn muscles and charred skin.
They began regenerating slowly.
A villain who refused to die, endlessly regenerating within the flames.
The sight was grotesque beyond measure.
Like a sinner cast into Avīci Hell.
Was this also an effect of gigantification?
Not quite on an ogre’s level, but his regeneration was still remarkably fast.
However—
‘Doesn’t matter.’
[The Crimson Dagger absorbs blood.]
[Crimson Dagger’s attack power increases by ‘100’.]
The blade sharpened further.
Lee Jeon-seok layered ignition on top of it.
Heat and edge intertwined, amplifying lethality.
“People…! I have to kill people! Then this pain will…!!”
The villain muttered incoherently while scanning his surroundings.
His sanity was clearly slipping.
Of course, not to Lee Jeon-seok’s extent.
He wasn’t that far gone.
It seemed he was trying to forget something else through the act of killing.
But who in this world lived without a story?
Only one thing mattered.
He had killed people.
To Lee Jeon-seok, he was nothing more than prey.
Slash—.
Lee Jeon-seok cut into the writhing villain’s leg.
Flames scorched the wound, slowing regeneration.
The other leg.
Arms and abdomen.
Countless slashes carved into him.
“KRAAAH!!”
Screams echoed with the wind.
The villain began to weaken.
Naturally.
A trait was still an ability.
A mana-based skill.
It had limits.
Infinite regeneration was impossible.
Meanwhile, the crimson dagger only grew redder and sharper with every cut.
[The Crimson Dagger absorbs a large amount of blood.]
[Crimson Dagger’s attack power increases by ‘200’.]
Its attack power surpassed a thousand.
Slash—.
A single strike split muscle and bone.
Lee Jeon-seok severed both of the villain’s ankles.
It happened in an instant.
The villain couldn’t even respond.
BOOM—!
The massive body crashed down.
The impact felt like an earthquake.
Blood pooled in the shattered ground.
“Ghh… ugh…”
The giant body shrank back to its original size.
His ability had finally reached its limit.
Shhhh—.
Just then—
Rain began pouring from the sky.
Ignition was not a special flame.
It merely left behind the curse of burns.
Meeting the downpour, the fire extinguished easily.
And the villain’s charred face was revealed.
“S-spare me…”
Perhaps his reason had returned.
The villain wept as he begged.
“Please…! I—I didn’t want this… I didn’t choose to do this…!”
“Sorry, but—”
Lee Jeon-seok adjusted his grip on the crimson dagger.
The blade still burned dark red.
He brought it toward the villain.
“I’m not that good of a person.”
He shrugged.
Then—
Thunk.
The dagger plunged forward.
The blade pierced the throat.
Blood burst forth.
The pupils widened—only briefly.
Soon, the light faded from his eyes…
[You have claimed a life.]
[You acquire one random trait.]
[Gigantification (C) acquired!]
[Villain hunted.]
[You have saved many people.]
[You gain ‘3000’ Good Karma.]
[Evil Karma slightly decreases.]
The system messages appeared one after another, certifying the villain’s death.
Lee Jeon-seok looked at the corpse, soaked by rain and rapidly cooling, beyond the blue window.
━ I’m not that good of a person.
An ironic statement, if there ever was one.
After all, Lee Jeon-seok’s goal was to go to heaven after death.
But—
Good or evil.
None of that mattered.
Because the underworld valued only results.
How much evil and how much good one accumulated.
People were judged solely by visible numbers.
If all evil was erased and enough good was accumulated, the underworld would acknowledge Lee Jeon-seok as the most righteous of all.
That was why only visible results mattered to him.
And while he was lost in thought—
“Hunter Lee Jeon-seok.”
Someone suddenly approached from the side.
Lee Jeon-seok turned his head.
The voice belonged to none other than Kim Baek-dong.