Chapter 02

The day I time-slipped into the distant past of the Empire and possessed the body of an unfamiliar woman was, without a doubt, the worst day of my life.

“Please, please…”

I clasped my hands together and prayed desperately in the corner of a tavern. Only after swallowing hard did I finally press the button on the Inventory window with trembling fingers.

The Inventory window floated in midair, and at the same time, my eyes began shaking wildly.

“What the hell is this?”

[★B-Rank Dark Underground Prison Dungeon★]
Acquired: Medonica Herb (D-Rank) ×20

It felt as though someone had struck the back of my head with a blunt object.

‘Twenty measly bundles of herbs? That’s it? Figures. No wonder they were in such a hurry to kick me out!’

It had happened immediately after we finished subjugating the monsters in the dungeon.

In other words, it was before I had even had the chance to check the rewards distributed by the guild master.

“Hey, F-rank healer! You can leave now. You’re not even a member of our guild!”

“Yeah. If you’ve gotten your reward, hurry up and get out of here. Stop hanging around in front of us.”

With them constantly urging me to leave, I had no choice but to exit the Gate in a hurry without even checking my reward.

Ah.

So that’s why.

Those bastards.

“Even if it was only herbs, how could they give me nothing but D-rank herbs out of all the items farmed from a B-rank dungeon?! That’s way too cheap! Why do you think I went through all that hell, huh?!”

No matter how low my rank was, I was still a healer.

And yet they gave a healer herbs?

That was basically their way of telling me to go screw myself.

My clenched fist trembled with anger.

This dungeon expedition had been arranged because they needed an extra person to fill the quota, and I, an F-rank healer, had been dragged along as a substitute.

Apparently, one of the Hunters who was originally supposed to go had dropped out for personal reasons.

Anyway, because each dungeon had a fixed number of participants, they had been looking for someone to fill the empty spot.

That’s how I ended up joining this team at the last minute after being introduced by a so-called matchmaker—a broker who connected guilds with unaffiliated Hunters.

‘That doesn’t mean I was completely useless to the team.’

I could treat simple injuries and help them recover, of course.

“Ibi, water! Hurry!”

“Yes, sir! One water, coming right up.”

“Ugh, I’m covered in monster blood! Ibi!”

“Yes! I’ll wipe it off right away.”

“Ibi, what’s for lunch today?”

“Mushroom soup made from mushrooms we found in the dungeon, with bread spread with fig jam.”

Thanks to my efforts, they were able to take things easy and focus comfortably on conquering the dungeon.

Besides, when I’d hesitated at the mention of a B-rank dungeon, the matchmaker had assured me that it was an incredibly powerful team composed of a variety of A- and B-rank Hunters.

He’d even guaranteed that they’d definitely give me a decent item as my share of the rewards…!

“I guess I was the idiot for believing him.”

A sigh escaped between my lips.

“Even if I sell all of this, it’ll barely cover a few weeks’ worth of living expenses. Ah, no, wait. Before that, I need to pay my overdue rent…”

I folded my fingers one by one as I counted how much rent I owed.

Then I grabbed both sides of my braided pigtails.

‘Even if I sell all these herbs, I won’t have enough to pay off all my overdue rent!’

This was obviously the combined work of that lousy Hunter matchmaker and the guild master.

‘You damn scammers. With all the time I spent on this expedition, I could’ve cleared a low-rank dungeon ten times over.’

BANG!

I slammed my fist down on the table.

“Ha! What a rotten, unfair world!”

Ironically, this world had been destroyed because of the Gates, yet people had become completely incapable of living without them.

The reason was simple.

The items obtained from subjugating dungeon monsters were the only means of making a living in the modern world.

In other words, pathetic F-rank Hunters like me were barely scraping by.

Damn it. Why am I always the one getting screwed over?!

“Wiiillsooon! One beer, please!”

With tears welling up in the corners of my eyes, I raised my hand high.

Wilson immediately poured me a glass of beer.

“It’s been a while since you’ve come here. What’s gotten into you, asking for alcohol all of a sudden? You never drank even when other people offered it to you.”

“Today, I’m going to get completely wasted. I’m going to become the craziest woman in this neighborhood today, so don’t try to stop me, Wilson.”

“Sure. You only live once. There’s nothing wrong with living a little crazily every now and then.”

Wilson chuckled heartily as he walked away.

I immediately gulped down the cold beer.

“Ahhh!”

The refreshing sensation was so good that it felt like it cleared out my entire insides.

So this is why everyone drinks.

Alcohol really was wonderful.

And having enough money to buy as much of it as I wanted was even better.

But I had no money.

Ah, whatever. I’ll just run a few more dungeons and pay it back.

“Another glass, please. No, wait—two more!”

How many more glasses did I drink like that?

Some time later, when my consciousness had finally resurfaced from its drunken haze, the first thing that filled my vision was a portrait of an incredibly handsome man.

“Hic… Who’s this handsome guy?”

My vision was blurry from the alcohol, but for some reason, the man in the portrait was exceptionally clear, as though he alone were glowing.

I narrowed my eyes and examined him more closely.

The young man had bright golden-blond hair that looked as though someone had sprinkled it with gold dust.

His pretty, youthful face still retained some of its baby fat, and his ruby-colored eyes looked as though they had been meticulously carved from gemstones.

On top of that, he wore a red military uniform decorated with numerous golden medals and gold trim, giving him an imposing and dignified air.

He was really no ordinary person.

“Wow, you! You’re definitely born with a silver spoon in your mouth!”

I stepped closer to the portrait, marveling at him.

Then I suddenly frowned.

Wait…

Where have I seen this guy before?

“Ah! Right. Leo Astra!”

He was the one and only emperor in the history of the Empire to seize control of the entire nation at the young age of fourteen and become the first person to unify the continent.

Naturally, portraits of him were displayed everywhere, befitting his status as an emperor.

Besides, his face had been plastered across the history books I’d read countless times.

So even in my drunken state, it was easy to recognize the man in the portrait right in front of me.

But I glared at the portrait with a deeply displeased expression.

“Do you know that this whole world ended up like this because of you, Your Majesty?”

Annoyingly, there were still believers who worshipped him as a divine figure.

I wasn’t one of them.

No.

To be perfectly honest, I despised him.

He was not only an emperor who had been admired and envied by everyone—

He was also the culprit who had opened the First Gate and caused monsters to run rampant throughout the world.

As though I wanted him to hear me, I spoke with all the resentment I could muster.

“If it weren’t for you, Your Majesty, the world wouldn’t have become such a dump! You’re guilty, Your Majesty. G-U-I-L-T-Y! Hic!”

When hordes of monsters poured out of the Gates, people had been utterly helpless against them.

And once nature had been destroyed, it became contaminated by demonic energy and could never be purified again.

But they say heroes are born in times of crisis.

A vast amount of mana buried beneath the earth began bursting forth, and people who awakened supernatural abilities started appearing.

As a result, all the magic stones on the surface of the earth were eventually depleted.

But once those who had awakened their powers began fighting against the Monster Breaks, the dying world managed to barely continue existing.

Eventually, the world we lived in today was born—a world where ordinary people had disappeared and Hunters ruled everything.

‘But human greed has no end. And arrogance and selfishness always follow it like shadows.’

Those who now ruled at the very top of society like nobles were all A- to S-rank Hunters.

Just as society had once been divided into nobles and commoners, people were now divided by rank.

The higher-ranked Hunters began worshipping the emperor who had long since faded into history.

And that was how the world had ended up in this mess.

Because I found the whole situation so unfair, I would sometimes indulge in a pointless thought:

‘What would the world have been like if Leo Astra had never opened the Gate?’

‘It would’ve been better than this. Much better.’

Once that thought entered my mind, the more I dwelled on it, the angrier I became.

That’s right.

Everything that had happened to me was because of Leo.

“You have a mouth, so why aren’t you saying anything? At least try to make an excuse, you damn Leo Astra!”

I suddenly grabbed the portrait and raised my voice.

The people around me began casting uncomfortable glances at the drunken woman making a scene.

And then—

WHOOOOOM—!

With an enormous sound that tore through the air, a gigantic black, swirling Gate appeared, large enough to blow the roof off the tavern.

Everyone began murmuring in confusion.

A Gate suddenly appearing somewhere completely unexpected could only mean one thing:

A crisis had occurred.

At that moment, someone shoved their chair aside and jumped to their feet.

“It’s a Monster Break!”

At the man’s shout, everyone drew their weapons, apparently thinking the same thing.

But their expectations were completely wrong.

[System: Emergency Alert! A Gate explosion has been detected due to an unknown cause. All Hunters are advised to prioritize their own safety.]

“A-An explosion?!”

Faced with a situation they’d never experienced before, everyone began running around in confusion.

“We’re all doomed, then!”

Even the Hunters who would normally have remained calm were thrown into complete turmoil.

“Finally, the time has come for me to shine! I’ll stop the explosion, so hurry up and run!”

“You idiot! You’re only B-rank! Have you lost your mind?! This isn’t the time for us to interfere! It’s a Gate explosion! Do you have any idea how much mana must have accumulated inside that thing?! Even if we evacuate, there’s no guarantee we’ll survive!”

“What are you all doing?! Why aren’t you evacuating already?!”

After arguing for a while, the Hunters eventually gave up on trying to stop the Gate explosion and began frantically moving toward safety.

Watching the commotion, I scoffed inwardly.

‘Idiots. There probably isn’t a safe place anywhere in this world.’

Even the high-ranking Hunters were nothing more than cowards.

Maybe they really weren’t anything special after all.

And yet, realizing that the world was actually going to end like this made an inexplicable emptiness wash over me.

Who would reward me for all the effort and all the years I’d spent desperately struggling to survive?

‘Sometimes I’d wished the world would just end and we’d all die together…’

‘But the truth was, I wanted to live.’

‘More desperately than anyone.’

Perhaps because death was now right before my eyes, memories of the rough and miserable life I’d lived flashed before me like a revolving lantern.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Iverta, noona.

I’m sorry I left without telling you.

I was afraid you wouldn’t let me go.

I’ll definitely come back alive and well.

If I die, noona, you have to survive for me too.

Okay? You have to.

—From the little brother who loves you the most.

At that moment, the letter left behind by my deceased younger brother came to mind.

Without realizing it, I tightly hugged the emperor’s portrait I was holding.

Tears filled with overwhelming emotion rolled down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry. I tried my best too, but… I guess I won’t be able to keep my promise.”

After that, everything happened with almost no time to spare.

[System: Error code detected. —01—–5041-362. Danger detected. Good luck, Hunters.]

Bzzzt—Pop!

The system window disappeared along with the error message.

Then—

KUUUAAAAANG!!

A tremendous roar I’d never heard in my life erupted.

A powerful tremor surged up from the ground.

I lost my balance and went tumbling to the floor while still clutching the portrait.

My head slammed violently against something.

And then—

Through my blurry vision, I saw the face of the bright golden-haired young man.

Of all things, why was the last face I had to see before dying his?

I looked at the emperor’s portrait, now stained with my blood, and murmured weakly,

“I still hate you… Leo Astra.”

At that exact moment, a blinding flash erupted along with a roar loud enough to make my ears feel as though they would burst.

Bzzzt—

[System: Beginning system recovery.]

As my consciousness slowly faded away, a system window floated gently into view.