The White Order of the Eldorad Continent.
Aurel, the Supreme High Priest of the Order, was leading a group of high priests underground.
With each step down the stairs, darkness devoured every sense.
A chill felt from somewhere coiled around the air, bringing a biting cold, and the silence of death settled like a heavy weight.
That sensation persisted for some time.
Everyone remained silent, descending the stairs wordlessly for quite a while.
At the end of the underground passage they had reached before they knew it, there loomed a massive iron door.
In front of the iron door, iron padlocks were layered upon one another, blocking the way.
It was a clearly extraordinary space.
Heresy Inquisitors stood guard before the iron door.
“You have arrived, Supreme High Priest.”
As they bowed their heads, Aurel gently raised his hand.
“You always have it hard.”
After their greetings, the Heresy Inquisitors began to move in earnest.
“Supreme High Priest, we shall now open the iron door.”
At the Inquisitor's words, one of the high priests behind Aurel shouted.
“Everyone, surround yourselves with holy power! Weakness shall summon death, so may the sole Goddess protect us, that we may advance forward without fear!”
Faint light burst forth into the pitch-black space.
It felt almost warm.
But that warmth was short-lived.
The Heresy Inquisitors were undoing the seals on the iron door one by one.
The first lock was opened.
An indescribable sound began to shatter the terrifying stillness.
The second lock was opened.
A rotten stench mixed with slight humidity assaulted their noses.
The third lock was opened.
It brought to mind the absence of space itself; it felt as though time had stopped here.
The fourth lock was opened.
The scent of death pervaded the air. For some reason, one felt loneliness and helplessness, as though hope was being stolen away in the darkness.
Finally, as the last lock was released, the massive iron door slowly opened.
Only darkness existed.
At the same time, this must be death.
The fragrance of life had completely vanished; only the sensation of entering the embrace of death awakened their entire bodies.
“Steel your hearts, all of you.”
After Aurel the Supreme High Priest's brief exhortation, everyone began to pass through the iron door.
The interior was monotonous.
Various things shaped like stones were arranged in succession.
The priests familiar with this place walked forward with tense expressions, swallowing dryly, while those visiting for the first time looked around curiously as they advanced.
This place had the strictest security in the entire Order.
It was the place where beings that had once threatened the continent were sealed and monitored.
The objects that merely looked like stones were all sealing stones.
Should even one break, the repercussions would be considerable.
As such, the Order invested great effort in managing this place.
Beyond the sealing stones, another iron door appeared.
It was not as large as the previous one.
The priests following behind Aurel came forward and began to open the door.
The iron door opened with a loud noise.
And inside, there was an unexpected existence.
“Huk!”
Several priests who saw it for the first time stopped dead in their tracks, apparently shocked.
Grrr—
Inside yet another iron door was a monster.
But it was no mere monster.
A being never before seen in this world stood before their eyes.
It appeared to be a mixture of several monsters.
Graaack—
The being was truly grotesque in appearance.
Its head resembled that of a lion, but its distorted face looked bizarre. Protruding from it was a snout with vicious fangs.
Its reddish eyes gleamed with madness; it looked demonic.
As for its torso?
Rotting flesh had been crudely stitched onto bone, and it had multiple arms.
Maggots crawling between them was truly horrifying.
Behind its back, tattered wings displayed a warped sense of majesty.
But the two wings were different from each other.
One resembled a bat's wing, while the other was like a bird's wing covered in tightly packed black feathers.
Beneath its patchwork-like torso were legs—far too many.
Its dreadful appearance was reminiscent of a centipede.
Even the eyeball situated in its center carried an ominous feeling, as though one shouldn't keep looking at it.
Kyaaak—
The tail behind it took the form of a venomous serpent, harboring lethal poison.
Even now, that tail was threatening the priests.
If there was anything fortunate, it was that the being was bound to a pillar with chains.
“A Chimera...!”
A creation made by mixing various monsters.
It was the very existence of what was commonly called a Chimera.
Why was a Chimera here?
That question lasted but a moment before Aurel spoke.
“It is said that this creature was created by our Order after the appearance of the Dark Empress Salestria, a being who was a 7-star existence in the past.”
It has no name.
It was simply called the Chimera.
The 7-star existence that had appeared suddenly in the distant past had trampled the continent.
At that time, neither the Order nor the kingdoms possessed the strength they had now.
Unable to respond in any way, disaster had nearly befallen the entire continent.
Of course, everyone had combined their strength to barely seal the creature away.
The records clearly stated as much.
But no one knew when such a being might appear again.
Therefore, the Order sought to carry out a taboo act.
Aurel continued speaking.
“This is because it is a means to approach our Order's objective.”
He was saying that it was an experiment necessary for the Order to prepare for more situations in the future, and to obtain tremendous power.
That was why they were combining monsters to create grotesque lifeforms.
For an Order that worshipped only the Goddess, this was tantamount to touching a taboo.
“Wh... what in the world is this?”
One priest froze in shock.
To think they were not only experimenting on monsters within the Order but creating a single living being.
To anyone watching, Aurel's words and actions were closer to those of a heretic than of the Order.
Yet none of the Heresy Inquisitors nearby moved.
Even the priests who knew of this place merely nodded without any signs of discomfort.
Only the priests visiting this place for the first time today were briefly thrown into confusion.
They had expressions as though they had seen something they shouldn't have.
But Aurel continued doing what he needed to do with an expression that showed it didn't matter.
After all, the priests gathered here today were no ordinary priests.
They were so-called high priests.
They were those who would soon become archbishops.
Among them, a select few would climb even higher and aspire to become cardinals.
Therefore, it was all the more necessary for them to realize this reality in advance.
Since they would be the ones supporting the Order in the future, Aurel did not mind.
“The Goddess shall guide this humble being to the righteous path. Marvel at Her mercy, behold Her benevolent smile, and give thanks for Her grace.”
An immense light burst forth from Aurel's hand.
“......!”
The Chimera's movements, which had been thrashing wildly along with the light, began to slow gradually.
But that was all.
Soon after, it struggled to break free from its chains, showing even fiercer movements.
“Tsk, still not enough.”
Aurel clicked his tongue briefly and sighed.
What was the point of creating a Chimera right now?
They couldn't control it according to their will.
If they could truly get this Chimera under their control, the Order would gain tremendous power.
It was an absolutely necessary power for an Order whose goal was to use the Seil Kingdom as a bridgehead to conquer the Demon Realm.
‘If only we could control this creature....’
If they succeeded.
They planned to gradually expand to other high-grade monsters from there.
If the worst—or rather, the ultimate—monster were born, all nations would fall under the Order.
But that was still a distant story.
The Chimera before their eyes was immovable for now.
Moreover, the more other monsters were mixed in, the harder it seemed to become.
“Tsk, bring him in.”
At Aurel's command, two priests brought a man forward.
The man was bound.
“Mmph! Mmmph...!”
His mouth was gagged, so he couldn't speak.
“We captured him because he was a Hunter who entered the Order's territory.”
Not an adventurer, but a Hunter.
In other words, he was from Earth, another dimension, not the Eldorad Continent.
“Begin.”
At Aurel's command, the priests dragged the Hunter near the Chimera.
Though bound in chains, the Chimera could still move its head.
Therefore, it bit the man who approached.
“Mmph...!”
The man couldn't even cry out in pain.
Black blood began to gush from where the Chimera had bitten.
The man thrashed for a moment.
Then he fell silent.
He was dead.
But death granted by a Death Knight was another form of life.
The dead man rose with a strange sound.
“Just an ordinary ghoul.”
Aurel clicked his tongue just as before, witnessing this.
Among the beings fused into the Chimera was a Death Knight.
Thanks to that, the Chimera retained the skills and traits of the Death Knight.
Occasionally, those who met death at the hands of a Death Knight were reborn as powerful ghouls.
The most likely theory was that the greater one's pain and hatred, the more powerful a ghoul one became.
“We have been torturing him continuously until now.”
But perhaps his hatred had been insufficient.
Or was it because it was the Chimera, not a true Death Knight?
The man became an ordinary ghoul.
An ordinary ghoul was useless even if fused with the Chimera.
A nearby Heresy Inquisitor drew his sword.
And swung it at the ghoul that had once been a Hunter.
“We shall continue searching for Hunters from Earth!”
Hunters from Earth.
Their numbers within the continent were very few.
But they possessed powers different from the continent's adventurers.
Because of that, they had hoped a completely different ghoul might be born, but they kept failing.
‘I shouldn't have sent that guy away back then....’
He had forgotten the name.
But it was well known that the Saintess had sent one Hunter back to Earth at the Order's request.
He had been from Earth but possessed no power whatsoever.
He had been evaluated as being equivalent to the lowest Iron grade among adventurers, so the Order hadn't paid him much attention.
Since he had stayed long in the Order, many knew him, making it awkward to kick him out, yet his lack of strength made him an ambiguous subject for experiments; thus, he had been sent back to Earth.
‘At the very least, I should have used Gim Suho as a test subject.’
Aurel let out a regretful groan.
Gim Suho, from Earth and the only one to become a Holy Knight of the Order.
Even Aurel, the Supreme High Priest, remembered his name.
However, the Order had refused to use him as a test subject, saying he had a separate purpose.
And so, he too had been sent back to Earth.
Aurel himself didn't know what that purpose was.
Perhaps only those above him—the Cardinals or His Holiness the Pope—knew.
“Well, there's no use regretting it now.”
It was already in the past.
Therefore, he focused his efforts on solving the problem before him.
Once again, he raised his hand toward the Chimera.
* * *
“Maru, go boil some ramen now.”
Maru, the skeleton black knight shining with a black light, nodded his head.
The one who had been 1-star had become 4-star in an instant.
It was practically no different from having a B-rank Hunter as my subordinate.
“Reliable.”
I, who had ordered Maru to boil ramen, looked at my smartphone.
Yeah, it was thanks to this game.
Thanks to it, the current me could exist.
Calling it a game was somewhat inaccurate in truth, but I just called it that for convenience.
“By the way, I should start running dungeons and making money soon.”
I had originally planned to buy a skill book, but now I had Maru.
At the same time, though I was F-rank, I also possessed a skill called the Goddess's Healing.
‘With just Maru, clearing dungeons will be easy.’
If I could command a skeleton of this caliber, getting into a party would be easy too.
“......”
I quietly stared at my smartphone.
I felt like a better idea might come to mind.
Currently, my dungeon within the game was established on the Eldorad Continent.
And it was structured so that I would obtain traits and skills whenever Celia offered me sacrifices. On top of that, I had obtained a demonic sword this time.
“If only I could obtain other items as well?”
The fact that he had obtained a demonic sword meant other items were possible as well.
For one thing, the Eldorad Continent was richer in mana than Earth.
Because of that, certain medicinal herbs, elixirs, and artifacts existed only there.
For that reason, each guild trained and educated its members in all sorts of things, not knowing when they might end up going to Eldorad.
Gim Suho was one such case.
Hadn’t he easily reached A-rank Hunter with nothing more than a mass-produced holy sword he had received from the Order?
“What if I seriously start bringing continental goods over and releasing them on Earth?”
Of course, I did not want a picture where everyone became stronger.
But if I released even luxury goods, it would bring in quite a tidy profit.
Money, of course, and even invisible power would follow.
If that happened, no one would be able to look down on me. Even those who had once tormented me would lower their heads.
Thinking that, I recalled Gang Jinsu’s expression at the Awakened Center.
From now on, my activities would increase.
Then naturally, stories about me would spread around.
Just because I had graduated from the Academy did not mean my ill-fated ties were over.
If my current self became known, those old ties would surely appear again, trying to drag me down.
No, it was certain.
The people I knew were not the kind to let things pass quietly.
“I’ll have to make even better use of this from now on.”
I gripped my smartphone tightly.
Of course, I had no intention of putting my goal into action right away.
This, too, was only possible with power.
Without power, I would simply be swept away by the pack of dogs rushing at me.
“Still, I should prepare little by little.”
* * *
Gang Jinsu.
In the past, he graduated from the Hunter Academy as part of the 14th class, and now he worked at the Awakened Center.
Even though he had graduated from the Academy, his grades had been in the lower-middle range.
And the guilds Gang Jinsu wanted were all well-known, upper-tier ones.
If he entered one of those places, he could show off his abilities and lord it over others.
However, his ability was far too lacking for him to enter such a guild and work as a Hunter.
Becoming a government-affiliated Hunter with authority was even more impossible.
That said, small and medium-sized guilds had never been among his options to begin with.
His pride would not allow it.
In the end, what he chose was to become a civil servant Hunter.
Like the Awakened Center where he worked now, the workload might be overwhelming, but it was safe, and above all, he could lord it over others.
Of course.
“Oh my, you’re a Hunter from the Sacred Guild. Please, come this way!”
He could only lord it over those of a lower grade than himself.
Still, that was something.
If he had joined a small or medium-sized guild, he would have been the one lowering his head.
Gang Jinsu was satisfied with his current position.
‘Anyway, isn’t there anything interesting going on?’
Recently, his Academy classmate I Ganghyeon had come here for a mana test.
I Ganghyeon, who had never escaped last place at the Academy because he had no status window. Whenever Gang Jinsu saw him, he felt relatively superior.
But then, that bastard I Ganghyeon suddenly got a status window.
In truth, he knew I Ganghyeon was working as a porter.
He had thought the guy would die instantly somewhere while working as a porter, but to think he had actually gotten a status window…
Still, he did not pay it much mind.
Just because someone got a status window did not mean everyone became strong.
‘You dumb bastard. Getting a status window isn’t the end of it.’
If it were, everyone would be working as upper-class Hunters like B-ranks or A-ranks.
Gang Jinsu sneered.
I Ganghyeon, who had gained a status window, received an F-rank in the mana test.
Cadets who graduated from the Academy were automatically promoted to at least D-rank.
It meant that their efforts over four years were acknowledged, and at the same time, that they were considered high-quality personnel.
But I Ganghyeon?
Even after graduating from the Academy, he had no status window, so he had been judged F-rank.
Even when he gained a status window and underwent the mana test, he was still F-rank.
“At that point, just how much of a cripple are you?”
“Pardon?”
A junior beside him responded to Gang Jinsu’s muttered words, which had slipped out without him realizing.
“No, I was just talking to myself.”
He glossed over it roughly and looked around.
“Huh?”
Gang Jinsu wore a startled expression.
A familiar face had come to the Center.
‘Isn’t that I Ganghyeon?’
Why had he come here again?
It had not been long since his mana test.
But why?
Gang Jinsu stared at I Ganghyeon.
And he was able to spot one thing that was different.
‘A skeleton?’
It was a white skeleton!
And that skeleton was following I Ganghyeon.
I Ganghyeon was talking with another employee at the Center.
After a little time passed, I Ganghyeon left the Center again.
Gang Jinsu was curious.
What on earth had happened?
Fortunately, Gang Jinsu himself also worked at the Awakened Center.
He immediately looked through I Ganghyeon’s records.
There, shocking words were written.
‘I Ganghyeon is a necromancer?’
It stated that I Ganghyeon was a necromancer.
Although it said he could only summon a single skeleton.
It was clearly an insignificant ability, but Gang Jinsu was shocked.
I Ganghyeon had only just obtained a status window not long ago.
Yet how much time had passed for him to even acquire a new skill?
‘No way… He’s not going to catch up to me at this rate, is he?’
The idiot he had always thought would remain behind him had, before he knew it, come right up near him.
He grew anxious.
He absolutely could not tolerate falling behind that bastard.
And so, Gang Jinsu made a choice.
He found Gim Suho’s name saved in his smartphone contacts.
Then he sent a single message.
The one who had tormented I Ganghyeon the most during their Academy days had been none other than Gim Suho.
That was why Gang Jinsu expected it.
‘There’s bound to be some kind of reaction.’
Sure enough.
A short while later, Gim Suho contacted him.
“As expected!”
Gang Jinsu smiled viciously.
Gim Suho, that bastard was no gentleman either.
The time had come to torment I Ganghyeon again.