Chapter 01: Prologue

Jung Yunho, who is 32 years old this year, is the guild leader of the Oryong Guild. He inherited his father's legacy and owns more than 80% of the guild's shares, making him the actual owner of the Oryong Guild. However, he had a very big problem. Despite being the guild leader, he was an F-class Hunter, which was fatal.

What good is being a guild leader? In the world of Hunters, where strength is the measure of everything, no matter how much one has, if one is weak, they are ignored. Who would follow the orders of an F-class Hunter?

Still, Yunho held on.

The Oryong Guild is considered just another guild in Daejeon. If it were a company, it would be a small-scale guild, even smaller than a small and medium-sized enterprise. The number of guild members is small, and they own only one dungeon.

However, there have been consistent offers to buy the guild. The amounts offered were quite substantial, but Yunho flatly refused.

Selling his shares and retiring early to live a carefree life would make everything easier, but he was a Hunter, after all. Wasn't an F-class Hunter still a Hunter? He didn't want to hand over his father's legacy to someone else.

He wanted to raise his Hunter rank and grow the guild. This was Yunho's simple wish.

However, even this modest wish was not fulfilled.

In a dungeon near Daejeon, Yunho was dying with a dagger plunged into his femoral artery.

"Shit, shit, ah, it hurts... it hurts!"

"Well, kid, wouldn't it hurt if you got stabbed?"

Jung Yunho's long-time friend and the Oryong Guild's deputy guild leader, B-class Hunter Kim Gyeong-il, sneered at the dying Yunho.

I can't believe this. Why is this happening?

They were friends since elementary school.

But to betray and stab him?

Yunho glared at Kim Gyeong-il with bloodshot eyes and screamed.

"You, you... bastard, do you think this will just go away? You, you will definitely... ."

"It's fine, the picture is complete. Want to hear it? Jung Yunho is the guild leader of the Oryong Guild but has always been an F-class Hunter. He was always pessimistic about his situation. So, while trying to level up by hunting in the dungeon, he met an orc warlord and met an unfortunate end. Neat, right?"

"Heh, pessimistic? Who would say that? ...Who would testify to that?"

"Your wife, Hyejeong, will testify."

"...What?"

Did I hear that wrong?

"Oh! Right. Hyejeong will also prove my alibi. If the dead man's wife testifies, who would doubt it?"

"...You, you can't be serious?"

"Surprised? Do you think I would do this without Hyejeong's permission? Anyway, when you die, all the guild shares will go to Hyejeong as your inheritance, right?"

My head is spinning. I've forgotten the pain. Hyejeong, my wife, Hyejeong?

"You, you can't be serious, Hyejeong? I... damn! Shit, so you two...? What a dirty trick!"

"Come on, two people wouldn't be enough. The Oryong Guild, though small, owns a dungeon. Swallowing such a big chunk without thinking will make you burst."

"Then who else...?"

Besides her, is there someone else behind this? Who could it be?

"Hehehe, you won't be able to imagine. I'll just tell you that a force you can't imagine is involved."

"A big force?"

"Who would have thought something would come out of the Oryong dungeon?"

What's wrong with the Oryong dungeon?

What came out of there?

Yunho looked at Kim Gyeong-il with eyes full of questions.

"Okay! That's it! Are all your questions answered?"

"No..."

Kim Gyeong-il pulled the dagger out of Yunho's thigh. Blood gushed out!

"Go in peace!"

"Ahh... shit! Save me..."

He screamed, but no one was there to hear.

Yunho shed tears of blood. He didn't have big ambitions in life. He didn't hold grudges against anyone. He lived within his means. But what is this now? It's unjust. It's unfair.

Life is fair. Once you die, it's over. There's no second chance. That's why Yunho's dream was to live a long and peaceful life.

'Damn, I should have just sold it and lived a luxurious life before dying.'

A tremendous amount of blood poured out of Yunho's body. His consciousness was fading, and his body was growing cold.

As he was dying, Yunho saw a powerful light that blinded his eyes.

A beam of light falling from the sky above the dungeon, slowly descending. Is it heaven? Or hell? Maybe it's aliens taking him away.

He had lost too much blood. Yunho lost consciousness. Death was right in front of him.

And the light touched his body.

Poof!

Yunho disappeared in an instant.

But he didn't realize that his body was enveloped in light and disappeared even as he was dying.

* * *

In the Barian Kingdom of the Aron Continent, Antre, a free city, is located at the midstream of the Negus River, which runs through the continent, serving as a logistics hub.

As a terminal for canal transportation, it is a large city where many individual merchants and large trading companies gather, making it a vibrant and prosperous free city.

In this city of Antre, there are headquarters and branches of many large trading companies on the continent.

Among them, the Goldenrian Trading Company is one of the most prominent. The Goldenrian Mercenary Guild, under the company, is about to raid a dungeon where 'paper' is a key item, and the dungeon is in the form of a rectangular 'tower'.

While most dungeons are public, the paper production dungeon is exclusively accessible to the Goldenrian Mercenary Guild.

And now is the time to collect items once a day. If not at this time, it's impossible to obtain paper.

The white paper, smoother and more durable than parchment, is a treasure.

Although one side is covered with unknown symbols, the other side is completely clean.

Writing with ink on the white side is so clear and smooth that it can't be compared to parchment. It's a top-quality item.

Therefore, the paper is one of the main sources of income for the Goldenrian Trading Company, a product that nobles go crazy for.

Occasionally, paper with both sides white appears, and it is always delivered to the royal family of the Barian Kingdom.

Goldenrian Mercenary Captain Mason carefully stepped on the stairs leading to the third floor.

"Wait a moment!"

He peeked and saw someone sitting at a desk, tapping a square black board with his fingers. Why is it Kim? The name 'Kim' appears in red above his head.

Every time, I wonder why he's doing that. I want to steal and analyze the items they have, but since they are not items, it's impossible.

Only items can be taken out of the dungeon.

"Gerard, you take care of ."

"What about me?"

"Of course, it's you. As always, be careful. If Park overdoes it and draws too much aggro, the undead will go wild. They follow Park's orders better than the mid-boss Kim. Then no more paper will come out!"

"Understood!"

Mason then asked the old man with white beard next to him.

"Magician Kals, please send your familiar. Let us know immediately if Kim enters a berserk state."

"Understood."

Kals, the magician, soon cast a spell and summoned a small fly.

When the undead mobs enter berserk mode, they enter a hyper-focused state, ignoring even the presence of the Aison party.

The fly flew stealthily toward the room where the mid-boss Kim is located.

After a while.

"It's now. Berserk mode."

Mason gave the order.

"Everyone, enter!"

When the dungeon first opened and the mercenaries reached the mid-boss room to raid, the boss launched a strange attack. They immediately recognized his value!

"Kyaah!"

"Kuh, kuh!"

"Kah! Kyaah!"

"Uuuuuu."

As soon as they entered the room, the berserk Kim was visible.

The eyes of the other undead monsters were focused on Kim. Therefore, they didn't notice the mercenaries entering the room.

"Not yet... not yet. Everyone, don't move a finger!"

The mercenaries were tense, waiting for Kim's next phase.

Finally, the second phase of berserk mode.

"Done!"

Kim let out an incomprehensible roar and started throwing the stack of paper on the desk at Park and Oh.

"Kraaaaaa!"

Kim's special skill is Paper Scatter. Each time the paper hits Park and Oh, they flinch and bow their heads.

This is the moment when the dungeon paper, which cannot be touched, becomes a usable item.

The Goldenrian Mercenary Guild never completes the dungeon.

By placing a sturdy tank in front of the boss Kim and enduring his Paper Scatter with their bodies, they end up with hundreds of A4 papers.

"Tanks, switch roles!"

Four tanks are needed. Two of them lure Park and Oh to the other side, while the other tanks take over their roles.

The trick is obvious, but the mindless undead fall for it.

The power of the paper is not to be underestimated. Even a slight cut is excruciatingly painful. The pain lasts for a long time even after healing. That's why the tanks hate it.

"Kuaah! Turn Park's head! You lure Oh to the other side!"

"What about Kim?"

"He's still fine. Tank! Tank! Don't use your shield! Endure with your body, keep your head up! Pretend to resist! That way, more paper will come."

If the timing is right, the dungeon raid is easy. Getting cut by paper is just a minor inconvenience. Now it's time to collect the items.

"Deploy the item collection team!"

"Hurry up!"

The official name of the item is . The Goldenrian mercenaries collected the dozens of A4 papers scattered on the floor.

"Be careful not to tear them!"

And at that moment!

One of the mercenaries, who was diligently collecting the paper, suddenly stopped, looking bewildered. He was a new mercenary named Uno, who was participating in the dungeon raid for the first time.

Uno, with a bewildered look, couldn't understand the situation.

'What? Suddenly... what?'

He thought he was dead, closed his eyes, and opened them again, but where was he? It was utterly bewildering.

'Why am I collecting paper?'

"Hey! Uno! Why are you just standing there?"

'Uno? My name is Jung Yunho...'

They call him that, as if they've known him for a long time.

Phonetically similar, but his name is Jung Yunho.

"Hurry up and collect!"

Yunho hurriedly bent down to collect the paper. He felt he had to. But the paper...

'Copy paper?'

No doubt. Reading the text on the back, it was a typical company report.

'4th Quarter Sales Report? What is this!'

Who am I, and where am I?

'Is this the afterlife?'

Then the memories started flooding back.

The memories of the three years Yunho lived in the Barian Kingdom of the Aron Continent, in the free city of Antre.

Three years, three years have passed since he died.

Right then!

'What is this?'