Episode 7
BOOM—
The ground trembled.
A massive figure collapsed, sending sand billowing in every direction.
It was the moment the dungeon’s master had fallen.
The creature was easily three times larger than the desert scorpions they had fought on the way here.
But before Kim Ji-soo’s ice spikes, it had stood no chance.
Even if it was the master of an F-grade dungeon, all that meant was that it was a bit tougher and stronger than average.
It was no match for Kim Ji-soo, who had an elemental advantage against fire-type monsters.
“This must be the reward.”
Kim Ji-soo spoke without the slightest trace of fatigue.
“Looks like it,” I replied indifferently.
We both stared at the iron chest that had appeared where the dungeon boss had fallen, like it was just a game.
‘Strange, isn’t it?’
What was the divine being who created dungeons thinking when they made this system?
If I had known I would regress, I would have asked Kwan more questions.
‘Since the start of sanctification was the dungeon, I guess it is the cause of the apocalypse…’
Maybe it was trying to maintain a balance between humans and monsters.
Perhaps it hoped humanity would grow stronger through this.
Whatever its intention, it must’ve had a reason.
‘Well, I’ll find out eventually by beating it out of those contract bastards.’
As I sorted out my thoughts, I looked at Kim Ji-soo, who reached toward the chest.
“This one’s mine, right?”
She asked.
Items from F-grade dungeons were usually nothing special anyway.
“Let’s see what it is first.”
Just in case, I put a foot on the box too.
At my shameless move, Kim Ji-soo chuckled faintly and said:
“You’re pretty greedy.”
“Like you’re not? President of Bukdu at 32? That’s a pretty big dream.”
“…I’m opening it.”
Click—
Kim Ji-soo bent over and opened the chest lid.
“It’s… a handkerchief.”
Huh?
What she pulled out was a beautifully embroidered blue handkerchief.
It looked familiar, but…
“What are its options?”
It was definitely an item I remembered.
“If you cover your mouth with it, you can breathe even in extreme heat.”
…Ha.
This thing came from an F-grade dungeon?
The option looked useless on the surface.
It had nothing to do with combat.
“You’re not gonna use it, right? Give it to me.”
“Sure.”
Kim Ji-soo handed it over without much fuss.
“It’s better for someone who actually needs it to have it.”
I took the handkerchief and checked its details.
[Noblewoman’s Handkerchief]
[A gift from a wandering mage to a noble lady trying to cross the desert.]
[If you cover your mouth with it, you can breathe anywhere.]
Yep, definitely what I thought it was.
‘This is an unexpected gain.’
The item from my memories.
“Let’s head out.”
Without hesitation, Kim Ji-soo crushed the dungeon core with her hand.
Psssshh—
The world changed the moment the core was destroyed.
We were back in a small alleyway in the town where the gate had first appeared.
A gate manager sat under a tent, fiddling with his phone.
“Huh?”
He looked up at the sound of our footsteps—and his eyes widened.
“There’s only two of you…?”
Kim Ji-soo cut him off.
“Don’t ask. Just delete all information related to this gate, as per the contract.”
“Well… I will follow the contract, but no one mentioned three people would die, did they?”
“So?”
Yeah, what of it?
‘You don’t care about the dead, do you?’
He just wanted more money.
“There’s gonna be extra danger pay. If an investigation starts because of this, we’ll both be in trouble. That kind of cover-up won’t come cheap.”
This was how rotten the Hunter Association had become.
Sure, not everyone in it had lost their minds, but…
‘This is the downside of a rapidly expanding organization.’
Unless you cut out the rot from top to bottom, even the good ones would eventually go down with the ship.
I watched Kim Ji-soo’s expression.
She simply replied:
“Fine. I’ll double the fee. Just erase everything cleanly.”
The manager grinned like he’d been waiting for that.
“Haha, no worries. This ain’t my first rodeo…”
In this world, a bit of cash could easily rewrite dungeon records.
It also meant the crazy Awakened and contract-bearers hadn’t started running wild yet.
“Well, we’ll be going then.”
“Thank you!”
We left the alley, ignoring the grinning manager behind us.
As soon as we were out, Kim Ji-soo said:
“I’ll give you the 100 million won in cash, not a transfer.”
She clearly intended to erase any trace connecting the money to her.
“When?”
“Follow me.”
On the way, I asked just in case:
“Are there any noisy constellations?”
From what I remembered before regressing, I’d never heard of a constellation that sent this many messages.
Kim Ji-soo tilted her head.
“Noisy? Like, chatty constellations?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm… Mine didn’t say anything except when choosing me as its agent. Most are like that, I think.”
Yeah.
That’s normal.
[Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ is angry you ignored him.]
[Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ says it’s only because he’s special that he can communicate like this.]
[Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ shrugs, saying he’s just built different.]
…Unlike this damn guy who won’t shut up.
“Why do you ask?”
“I read online that there’s a hunter with a chatty constellation. Just curious. It’s not like I know anyone I can ask stuff like this.”
“What a silly post.”
We arrived at a small parking lot.
Kim Ji-soo opened her trunk and pulled out a paper bag, which she handed over.
“100 million won.”
I took it and asked calmly,
“You just assumed I’d accept?”
She answered without a smile.
“If you’re working as a porter the day after getting injured, there’s only one reason.”
“Desperate for money?”
“Yes.”
If that’s how I looked to outsiders, then yeah—being a porter while feeding on powers was the right move for now.
“So when’s the job start?”
“I need to prepare first.”
“Alright. I’ll send you the info on the phone I gave you.”
“Got it.”
Whirr—Thunk.
The trunk closed automatically.
“I’ll be going now.”
She drove off, leaving the lot behind.
Huh.
‘She’s a bit cocky, but things are going smoothly.’
Everything was falling into place.
My “Live Well, Save the World” Project was off to a good start.
‘It begins there, I suppose.’
I checked the bundles of cash again and started walking.
In the middle of a bustling district—
A grand cathedral came into view.
An elegant stone building.
A massive cross loomed at the top of the chapel.
It was the place where my vengeance began in the previous life.
‘It’s a bit early, but whatever.’
As I stared blankly at the cathedral, a nun standing at the entrance noticed me and approached.
“It’s not service time right now. What brings you…?”
“I’d like to make a confession. Is that possible?”
She glanced at my dust-covered, disheveled appearance—straight from the dungeon.
After a brief hesitation, she nodded.
“Of course. Just wait in the confessional. The priest will be with you shortly.”
As expected of someone who treats all equally.
“Thank you.”
I slowly walked inside the cathedral.
It was quiet—weekday morning, after all.
Only the massive crucifix welcomed me.
‘Did the people who came here cling to God, even at death’s door?’
I wondered.
All I’d done in this place was curse Him, really.
Still, considering I’d been given another chance… it could only mean one of two things:
Either God was more forgiving than I thought,
Or… not as omniscient as people believed.
Well, judging by the behavior of these constellations, I had a pretty good idea.
I opened the confessional booth door.
Creaaak…
It closed behind me.
Thump.
I placed the paper bag filled with 100 million won on the floor.
A moment later, I heard the other door open.
Click—
Someone entered.
“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
A calm, steady voice—one I knew very well.
“Trusting in God’s mercy, confess your sins honestly.”
I smiled and murmured quietly.
“Father… do you believe in God?”
Not really something to say in a confessional booth.
“I am a servant of the Lord.”
But this was something I had to say right now.
“Yet you are not a vessel for sainthood, are you?”
It was both a code phrase—
“And that is correct. He has never given me an answer.”
—and a confession to justify abandoning God.
“…What do you need?”
“Grade 1. Worth 100 million.”
Currently, the distribution of cores was tightly regulated by the government and the Hunter Association.
Giving or selling a core to an unregistered Awakened could land you 10 years in prison—minimum.
“Eleven units is the most I can offer.”
Meaning, without a strong reason, you had to go through official channels.
‘Grade 1 still has about a 2x premium.’
As the grades went higher and demand rose, prices would skyrocket.
So I had no other choice right now, even if it was expensive.
The black market hadn’t fully formed yet.
‘Later on, I can just gather them myself.’
Or have someone like Kim Ji-soo create the black market.
Either way, the reason the government and Association tightly controlled cores was simple:
‘Because of unregistered Awakened like me.’
And most of them… weren’t exactly good people.
They were villains.
Like I had been in my past life.
‘Well, not now.’
That’s all that matters.
Anyway, the reason I came here was clear.
This was where I’d obtained cores before.
“I’ll buy them.”
Back then, despite not being chosen as a constellation’s proxy, I’d eaten cores, fully prepared to have my body explode.
Thanks to that, I’d forcibly awakened.
Pure human strength—no reliance on divine power.
This time, I didn’t need to go that far.
“Please wait a moment.”
Whirr—Click—Thud!
A mechanical sound echoed.
‘Is he seriously opening it right in front of me?’
It was the sound of a hidden safe inside the confessional.
Trying to steal the contents?
‘You’d die. That’s why.’
The priest’s trait was “Godslayer.”
A proxy of a constellation known for killing gods.
‘Don’t know his current level. At least D-rank, maybe higher.’
In the future, he would go on to kill quite a few divine contractors.
‘No need to mess with this guy. He’ll do his part just fine.’
For now, he would use illegally earned money to build his own faction.
Slide—
A small hatch opened at the base of the partition.
All transactions here were cash-only—no trace.
I passed the paper bag through.
In return, a luxurious pouch slid back my way.
Thud.
“Please check the contents.”
I opened the pouch.
Eleven gray orbs.
No need to carry them around.
I picked them up and swallowed them one by one.
Gulp!
The cores melted instantly as they slid down my throat.
[Core consumed.]
[Stat +1]
[Select a stat to enhance.]
.
.
.
I chose agility for all of them.
[Name: Lee Woon]
[Trait: Lord of Apostasy]
[Unique Skill: Kin Devourer (1/5)]
[Devoured Skill: Black Wolf Summon]
[Strength: 5 | Health: 10 | Agility: 28 | Mana: 5]
My body felt noticeably lighter.
It wasn’t just the numbers.
There was a deep, internal transformation.
I hadn’t invested in strength or stamina, so bone durability didn’t change.
But my muscle fibers tightened, and even my bones felt dense like refined metal.
‘My reaction speed just got a serious boost.’
That’s why agility was my top priority.
“But how did you know about this place?”
Huh?
“No one knows about this spot except for people I trust personally. And it’s a well-guarded secret.”
Ah.
I came too early, huh?
Before he even properly started his business?
Still, I had a response ready.
“Father, do you really think they can keep everything secret?”
The people he trusted.
“Are you saying one of them told you?”
“Could be. Or maybe I tracked them.”
It was a subtle hint.
A reminder not to trust too easily.
“I’ll be coming here often. Remember me.”
I stood up and added,
“If you look into it, you’ll see I’m not one of the villains you’re worried about.”
Yeah.
I wasn’t a villain anymore.
Not a good citizen either, but hey.
“We’ll make a good team, I’m sure.”
He wouldn’t find anything on me.
Because right now, I was a blank slate.
And this priest… wouldn’t dig too hard if he didn’t need to.
Creak—
I stepped out of the booth.
Bzzz—Bzzz—
My phone vibrated.
Kim Ji-soo?
No. It was the phone she gave me.
I checked it and walked out of the cathedral.
‘Interesting.’
What she sent were profiles of the family I had to kill.
‘So each one enjoys killing in their own twisted way.’
I scrolled through the faces.
Familiar.
I’d already taken down two of them in my past life.
‘Hmm.’
I sat on the church steps, thinking.
Who should be first?
‘One of them has to go soon.’
Right now, I needed 500 million won.
For cores?
No.
That money would get me access to the person with the Omega Skill.
Before they died.
‘If they’re gonna die anyway, it might as well be by my hand.’
It’s what’s best for the world.
In that case—
‘Alright. You’ll be the first.’
A regular person, easy to kill and devour a single skill from.
Kim Tae-sung’s second grandson.
Bukdu’s executive director, Kim Woo-seok.
The next morning.
I arrived at a department store.
‘Can’t recall the exact time.’
In my past life, I woke up two days after losing an arm.
But one memory was burned into my brain.
A major news story—an officer had been killed.
‘Guess I’ll camp out.’
The incident had taken place right here.
I sat on a bench outside and scanned the area slowly.
No way the culprit—or the cops—would just appear inside the store.
[Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ asks what the hell you’re doing.]
[Constellation ‘Lord of Apostasy’ says you should be killing humans and getting stronger.]
You noisy bastard.
So chatty again today.
‘Are all constellations like this?’
Maybe the apocalypse was just the natural course of things.
That’s when I heard it.
“After him!”
“Stop right there!”
“You bastard, freeze!”
I turned my head.
A man with a buzz cut was running, chased by men who looked like detectives.
He charged straight toward the department store.
‘There you are.’
I stood from the bench.
This man would be my stepping stone—
Toward Kim Woo-seok.
★☆☆☆☆
Only one star, but a piece I absolutely needed.
A piece of the puzzle.
