Chapter 2: The Source of Greed

Why must a person in the 'B' position bow their head to someone in the 'A' position?

It's because A holds the power over B's life and death.

In the capitalist world, money is power.

Those who can provide money naturally take the A position, and in this industry, foremen like Kim Cheolsu hold the power over the lives and deaths of the cleanup crew.

Company employees are evaluated once a month, and those who receive poor scores are dismissed. In this hunter society, there are always plenty of people who can replace the lower class.

Knowing this, the employees endure the foreman's tyranny.

Kim Cheolsu's bullying wasn't a one-time thing, and I was well-trained to endure any situation.

There was no need to cause unnecessary trouble.

Time was too precious for that.

Starting tomorrow, I had to begin the 'opportunity search.'

Especially the opportunity that led to Sword Saint's rise to power, I would snatch it for myself.

Time was money, so I could endure this level of tyranny with my well-trained character.

Tap. Tap.

Kim Cheolsu pushed my head with his baton.

The baton was soaked in the stench of blood.

Often, he used it to prod monster corpses, which had turned it black.

Naturally, being hit on the head with it felt disgusting, but compared to what I endured before the regression, it was nothing more than a minor annoyance. My life had been stained by such tyranny.

"Hey, kid. You know the Crown Guild is busy making a unique item, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"We are the guild's accessories. If we miss the deadline and the company goes bankrupt, will you take responsibility? What are you daydreaming about? Do you want to be fired?"

"I'm sorry."

I put on the most apologetic face I could.

Kim Cheolsu.

I remember your name.

I'll let it slide for now, but your name will be on my hit list.

"Do your best."

"Yes."

"And Eunha, you too."

"Foreman, why Eunha...?"

"You're not in the same group."

"Foreman, you called me?"

Eunha stood in front of the foreman.

Eunha gave me a look, telling me not to cause trouble. We had been through this before, so it was best to let it go.

I was immune to mental harassment and could ignore it, but it was annoying to see Eunha, who had done nothing wrong, being singled out.

"What are you doing? If a group member is spacing out, shouldn't you snap them out of it? Am I wrong?"

"You're right."

Tap. Tap.

The foreman poked Eunha's head.

I frowned but could endure this much.

We were both used to it.

But this time, something was different.

The foreman poked her shoulder, and then the baton slowly moved inward.

'This guy...'

I frowned.

The baton was poking her chest. He poked and pulled away, as if playing a game.

Eunha's expression was twisted with shame. The tears in her eyes clearly showed she perceived this as sexual harassment.

"Hmph. I didn't want to do this."

I grabbed the baton.

"What? You grabbed it?"

"This is a bit too much. I'm used to most tyranny, but poking a virgin's chest is a bit much, isn't it?"

Murmurs began to spread.

People started to gather.

The foreman, realizing I was calling him a pervert, flew into a rage.

"Is this kid crazy? When did I do that?"

"Stop acting like a pervert. Last time, you got into trouble with a minor and had to go to the police station. If you're so sexually frustrated, go to the bathroom with Yang. Don't do this here. It's disgusting."

"This is defamation! You, kid, do you want to lose your job!?"

"Defamation? You look like an orc and have the intelligence of one. You dirty bastard. Should I cut off your tiny thing? I was wondering why you carried it around when I saw you in the shower. It's a disgrace to men, smaller than a sparrow's dick."

"Such a piece of trash at the bottom of society! I took you in, and you show no gratitude!"

The foreman's eyes bulged.

In a world where it's taboo to call a bad person bad, we live.

I tried to let it go, but Eunha, my precious talent, was hurt, so I couldn't just stand by.

Eunha was shocked, her mouth agape, and the people around us were stunned.

In the midst of this, a mana-infused punch flew at me.

Normally, I wouldn't have been able to dodge it.

But I had experience.

Twenty years of living in hell.

After the world's collapse, S-rank skills were scattered everywhere. I practiced daily, even without mana, and reached a level where I could handle level 40 monsters alone.

Reaching that level with pure physical ability was impressive, but for a survivor of the cleanup crew, it was a basic skill.

Whoosh!

With years of combat experience, I easily dodged.

"Look at this kid?"

A glint appeared in Kim Cheolsu's eyes.

Thinking it was a fluke, he quickly followed up with rapid punches.

To a normal person, they looked incredibly fast due to the mana.

But to me, after 20 years in hell?

Crack!

"Ah!"

I dodged and struck his elbow.

The impact on his joints and ligaments made Kim Cheolsu grab his arm.

I had learned a martial art, probably the 'Tyrannosaurus Rex Martial Art,' which was an S-rank skill that everyone knew 20 years later.

It was almost second nature, and the moves flowed smoothly.

Thud! Thud!

I delivered rapid strikes to his knees, ankles, shoulders, and neck.

Kim Cheolsu staggered and fell, groaning.

He couldn't get up.

I had temporarily paralyzed the nerves connected to his joints, so he wouldn't be able to move for 30 minutes.

"..."

A hunter without mana had defeated a hunter with mana.

This was an unprecedented event in the current world.

I spat on the ground.

"Pervert. I'm hitting you because you disgust me. Don't let your lower parts control you. If I hear that again, I'll cut it off."

"Gr... Gr..."

"Eunha, let's go."

"Ah, y... Yes."

Eunha looked quite shocked.

She was led out of the workshop by me.

We couldn't walk around like this.

While showering in the makeshift shower, I replayed the events.

'It was nothing.'

Objectively, there was no way Kim Cheolsu could have beaten me in combat.

I had 20 years of experience.

The number of close calls I had survived was too numerous to remember.

I had hunted level 40 monsters with pure physical ability and training.

This meant that with daily practice, I could reach a certain level even without mana.

Of course, my goal was not so trivial.

The first thing I needed to do was to steal Sword Saint's abilities.

At a festival celebrating the defeat of Seoul's wave, Sword Saint, drunk, had given a speech.

"You, parasite. You live off the taxes I pay. Before the world became like this, you were the commoners who squandered the money the rich paid. Your birth can't be changed, then or now. Is it unfair to dismantle the scraps we leave behind? Hah. Since the world is like this, let me tell you a secret. Why are you cleaning up trash while I am the revered Sword Saint?"

At the time, I accepted Sword Saint's words as a given.

Calling commoners commoners.

Calling those with clay spoons, clay spoons.

Calling a trash can a trash can was natural.

We hyenas couldn't survive a day without hunters' help, and we never went against their wishes.

In a world where such treatment was normal.

As a weakling relying on the strong, the only way to survive was to clean their bottoms and boost their egos.

Living with neglect for so long, I didn't get angry at Sword Saint's words but saw it as an opportunity to learn the secret of his rise to the world's third-ranked hero.

I asked politely, and Sword Saint began to reveal a massive secret.

"This world is like a league the gods created out of boredom. They turned the entire Earth into a game and are gambling. But did you know? Besides natural Awakened, there are players directly sponsored by the gods. We call these gods 'Constellations' and revere them."

That's when I first learned.

The world's state was due to the gods' league, and we were mere pawns in their grand chess game.

"Our Awakened can use the Kaltz shop, extracted from monsters. It's a courtesy from the great ones. But there's a separate shop for the gods. What should we call it...? A cash shop, perhaps?"

"Huh."

The gods' shop.

I knew the world operated like a game.

After 20 years in this industry, I had heard many stories from hunters.

The Awakened's shops, quests, and status windows were things I hadn't experienced, but I could learn about them if I listened carefully.

But Sword Saint's story was different.

For 20 years, a separate world of the gods existed, and they operated character-like entities and a cash shop using coins, which I learned for the first time.

The reason for Sword Saint's rapid growth.

Why he was obsessed with gold and jewels.

Gold and jewels, useless in this world, were a form of currency for the gods' shop.

"This is the grace of the gods. So, untouchable commoner, you and I are fundamentally different. Like nobles and slaves. Serve until you die. Then you might survive."

After that, Sword Saint never mentioned the gods' world and shop, but I envied him and searched for opportunities madly.

According to Sword Saint, he discovered a dungeon by chance in Cheorwon, Gangwon-do, and obtained the authority.

In uncharted territories.

After hearing this, I began to thoroughly search such dungeons.

I died after being hit by a succubus and having my essence drained, but I returned to the past.

"Sword Saint hasn't obtained the cash shop authority yet."

I clenched my teeth.

Sword Saint, who committed countless unethical crimes, was revered as a hero of humanity.

The reason he was so strong was solely due to 'pay-to-win.'

"Tomorrow, I will definitely obtain the authority. Sword Saint will become a forgotten relic."

With this fierce resolve, I...