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Chapter 8
After the recent dungeon incident, one fundamental question began to bother me.
…
It was a simple one.
Had all of my power really disappeared?
Something about it feels off.
At the time, I hadn’t thought too deeply about it.
The fact that I had been able to temporarily summon a Halloween Knight inside the dungeon…
The fact that a single one had effortlessly wiped out the Devourer, the Revenant, and the Skeleton Archers…
I’d simply assumed it was because I was just that skilled.
It wasn’t an unreasonable conclusion. As a necromancer, my abilities had genuinely been exceptional.
But looking back now, something still didn’t add up.
No matter how talented I was, could a handful of death energy gathered by a novice necromancer really accomplish something like that?
The problem wasn’t skill.
It was resources.
Thinking about it rationally, it made more sense that there had been another factor involved.
And so, I formed a hypothesis.
“What if… my power never actually disappeared?”
What if it simply existed in a state where I couldn’t perceive or use it?
…
Imagine a canvas completely painted white.
Let’s say that white paint represents my power.
Now imagine someone covering the entire canvas with black paint, making the white impossible to see or even recognize.
I believed something similar had happened to me.
Of course, it could just be wild speculation.
But I couldn’t dismiss the possibility entirely.
Honestly, it’s stranger to think power on that scale simply vanished.
That had always been the part I couldn’t accept.
Whatever the reason, could someone really erase such overwhelming power in a single instant?
Absolutely not.
If that was impossible, then perhaps some sort of trick…
…or shortcut…
…or deception had been used instead.
Once I reached that point, the conclusion came easily.
…That actually makes sense.
Wrapped up like a burrito in my blanket, I nodded to myself.
The idea had come to me while suffering the emotional damage of failing my Grandmaster promotion match, but the theory was surprisingly convincing.
Once I realized that, what I had to do was obvious.
Roll…
“Though… even if that’s true, it doesn’t really change anything.”
Even if my original power still existed beneath that “coat of paint,” it meant nothing unless I found a way to remove it.
With a gloomy expression, I turned my computer back on.
Click.
Whirr…
Still…
There was one thing I was now certain of.
If I awaken someday…
Then at the very least… I’ll probably be able to perceive what’s hidden beneath that layer.
* * *
“Great work today!”
“You’re seriously amazing. I’ve never cleared a dungeon this comfortably before.”
“Hehe. It was nothing.”
My online disciple, Song Hayeon, had become quite famous lately.
Murmur… Murmur…
“That’s her.”
“Wow, another clear in just four hours?”
“At this rate she’ll be doing B-rank dungeons soon…”
Only three months after becoming a trainee hunter, she had already reached C-rank.
Rumor had it that the Hunter Association already considered her to be effectively B-rank, with only a lack of official achievements preventing the promotion.
On top of that, necromancer-type Awakened were extremely rare in Korea, making her an even hotter topic.
[C-Rank Hunter Song Hayeon Surpasses 50 Dungeon Clears!]
[Terrifying Growth Rate—Something Extraordinary Is Happening.]
[How Does She Compare to Today’s S-Rank Hunters at the Same Stage?]
Some overeager experts had already begun declaring that she would someday surpass A-rank…
…and even reach S-rank.
That’s definitely an overestimate…
Song Hayeon herself found all the attention surreal.
She couldn’t honestly believe she possessed the genius or talent everyone talked about.
It’s all thanks to that person.
The teachings of HellLord12 had been incredible.
After studying under him for so long, she had finally begun to understand just how high his level truly was.
He must possess completely unbelievable skill.
The more she learned about necromancy…
…the more convinced she became that he was a being beyond imagination.
To be honest…
She was now certain of HellLord12’s true identity.
“S-Rank Hunter Helena.”
The woman nicknamed Hel, after the Norse goddess of the underworld.
She had to be HellLord12.
Someone with this level of necromancy can only be her.
Which was exactly why Song Hayeon was utterly stunned.
♪ Ding-dong!
[Helena has donated ₩80,000,000!]
“W-Wow! Thank you—…huh?”
The following day, while casually streaming during her day off…
…someone who appeared to be Helena herself suddenly showed up.
“W-Wait… h-how much is that…? More importantly… is it really you?”
At first she couldn’t believe it.
But while she sat there frozen, viewers quickly confirmed that the donor really was Helena.
Then Helena spoke.
Helena: I’m interested.
“Huh?”
Helena: I’ll be visiting Korea next week.
Would you be willing to meet me?
In every sense of the phrase…
A massive bomb had just been dropped.
* * *
“…A party?”
“Yeah. It’s a little different, but that’s basically what it is.”
Apparently, some major international gathering of important figures was going to be held in Korea.
“You’re going too?”
“I didn’t really want to leave the house at a time like this, but they insisted that I come…”
“…”
It looked like another trial was about to descend upon me.
It was already midsummer.
The garbage had to be taken out constantly.
Just thinking about being left home alone made my future seem bleak.
Perhaps noticing the gloomy look on my face, Seoha hesitated before speaking.
“O-Or… would you like to come with me?”
“…Me?”
Absolutely impossible.
If I went somewhere packed with people, I’d probably collapse from the pressure.
“You could just stay at the hotel the whole time. Wouldn’t that be okay?”
“…A hotel.”
Now that she mentioned it…
That actually didn’t sound bad.
Relaxing in a luxury hotel with air conditioning…
As long as I had my computer and smartphone, it sounded surprisingly comfortable.
“…Should I go?”
“Yeah! I’ll take care of everything, so let’s go together.”
Seoha looked genuinely excited, as if she’d never expected me to agree.
And so…
For the first time in quite a while…
I left the house.
Dragged along by Seoha’s hand.
Murmur… Murmur…
“…Why are we at a place like this?”
“Even if you’re not attending the event itself, you can’t exactly show up dressed like an unemployed shut-in.”
Thankfully, it wasn’t a department store.
I’d sensed where she was trying to take me and refused with every fiber of my being.
Still, even a clothing shop in a busy shopping district was packed with people.
Unable to do anything else, I buried my face against Seoha’s shoulder as she led me inside.
For some reason…
She seemed incredibly happy.
Probably just my imagination.
“We won’t stay long. We’ll buy what we need and leave. That’s okay, right?”
“…I’m not wearing anything flashy.”
Without even raising my head, I picked out clothes.
I barely listened to the clerk’s explanations and simply tried on whatever Seoha handed me.
The shopping trip ended in less than forty minutes.
Feeling guilty that I’d been so unresponsive, I glanced at Seoha.
She looked completely satisfied anyway.
“Ah, there’s the car.”
Seoha said she had something to take care of and sent me ahead to rest in the car.
Overprotective as ever.
Feeling slightly dissatisfied, I pulled out my phone.
Ding.
JP: Look at this. Doesn’t it look delicious?
A message notification.
My contacts mostly consisted of Seoha and hospital staff…
But I did have online friends.
Opening the message revealed an absurdly luxurious parfait.
Just the usual food bragging friends exchanged.
Tap. Tap.
I lazily typed a half-hearted reply.
Then…
An ice cream shop caught my eye through the window.
…
I was kind of craving something sweet.
After a brief moment of consideration, I stepped out of the car, pulled my cap down low, and headed toward the shop.
One ice cream for me.
One for Seoha, after all her hard work.
That much should be manageable.
It was technically my own fault…
But my little sister worried far too much.
Confidently, I walked over and placed my order.
“P-Pistachio… a-and… one strawberry…”
“Certainly! Your order’s been received.”
The cashier seemed to chuckle for some reason.
Surely…
That was just my imagination.
Completely exhausted, I began walking back toward the car.
My cap blocked part of my vision…
…and I accidentally bumped into a passerby.
“Ah.”
The collision wasn’t hard…
But I lost my balance and dropped the ice cream in my right hand.
My pistachio!
At that exact moment…
A slender, beautiful white hand shot out, catching the ice cream while simultaneously steadying me.
“Are you alright?”
The sudden foreign language left me speechless.
The woman immediately switched languages.
“Your appearance caught my attention… Are you Korean?”
“…Yes.”
Blue-green hair.
Eyes of a similar shade.
A young yet refined beauty.
The instant our eyes met…
I knew.
This woman was dangerous.
She’s… different.
As I’d said before, I could no longer sense death energy.
Or anything of the sort.
But there were things that transcended such abilities.
Things you simply knew at first glance.
This was one of them.
From the woman standing before me…
…I could sense the lingering echoes of countless lost souls.
And not just faintly.
They clung to her with overwhelming intensity.
