Chapter 2

The day I time-slipped into the distant past, into an empire I had never known, and possessed the body of an unfamiliar woman was truly the worst day of my life.

“Please, please…”

I clasped my hands together in the corner of the bar and prayed desperately. Only after swallowing hard did I 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?”

[You have acquired a bundle of Medonica Herbs (D-rank) from the ★B-rank Dark Underground Prison Dungeon★. +20]

My head felt numb, as though someone had struck me hard on the back of the skull.

‘Only twenty bundles of herbs? That’s all? Of course. No wonder they were so eager to get rid of me! I should’ve known!’

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

That was to say, before I had even gotten the chance to check the rewards distributed by the guild master.

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

“Yeah. You got your reward, so hurry up and get out. Stop hanging around in front of us.”

Because they kept rushing me, I had no choice but to leave the Gate in a hurry without even checking my reward.

Ah.

So that was why.

What a bunch of bastards.

“Even if I’m an F-rank, how can they give me nothing but D-rank herbs from a B-rank dungeon?! That’s way too unfair! Why the hell did I go through all that trouble, huh?!”

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

And yet they gave a healer herbs?

That was basically telling me to go screw myself.

My tightly clenched fist trembled with anger.

This dungeon expedition had only happened because I, an F-rank healer, had been brought along as a substitute to fill a vacant spot.

Apparently, one of the hunters who had originally been scheduled to go had to cancel for personal reasons.

Anyway, since each dungeon had a fixed number of participants, they had been looking for someone who could fill the empty position.

That was when I was introduced to this team by one of those so-called matchmakers who connected guilds with unaffiliated hunters, and I was hastily added to the party.

‘It’s not like I was completely useless to the team, either.’

Not only could I treat simple injuries and help people recover—

“Ebi, water! Hurry!”

“Yes, sir! Water coming right up!”

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

“Yes! I’ll clean you up right away!”

“Ebi, what are we having for lunch today?”

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

Thanks to all my efforts, they had been able to take on the dungeon comfortably while getting plenty of rest.

On top of that, when I hesitated after hearing that it was a B-rank dungeon, the matchmaker had assured me that it was an incredibly powerful team made up of a variety of A- and B-rank hunters.

He had even promised that they would definitely give me some good items that were worthy of the team.

“…I was an idiot for believing him.”

A sigh escaped between my lips.

“Even if I sell all of these, I’ll barely have enough to cover a few weeks of living expenses. Ah, no, wait. More importantly, I have to pay my overdue rent first…”

I counted my overdue rent by folding down my fingers one by one before grabbing both sides of my braided hair.

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

It was obvious that this had been a joint scheme between that worthless 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.

“Ugh, what a miserable world!”

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

The reason was simple.

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

In other words, lowly F-rank hunters like me were barely scraping by just to keep food in our mouths.

Damn it. Of course I’m the one getting screwed over again!

“Wilsuuun! Give me a beer!”

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

Wilson immediately poured me a glass of beer.

“I thought it had been a while since you came here, but what’s gotten into you? You never even drink when people offer you alcohol.”

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

“Well, you only live once. There’s nothing wrong with doing something crazy every now and then.”

Wilson laughed heartily as he headed off somewhere else.

Meanwhile, I gulped down the cold beer.

“Ahhh!”

The refreshing sensation was so good that it felt as though my insides had been blasted wide open.

So this is why everyone drinks.

Alcohol really was wonderful.

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

But wait.

I had no money.

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

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

How many more glasses did I drink like that?

Some time later, when I finally managed to regain a hazy grasp on my consciousness, my entire field of vision was filled by a portrait of an incredibly handsome man.

“Hic… Who’s this? Who’s this handsome fellow?”

My vision was blurry from the alcohol, but the man in the portrait appeared unusually clear, almost as though he were glowing.

I narrowed my eyes and stared at him more closely.

The young man had brilliantly golden-blond hair that looked as though someone had scattered gold dust over it. His handsome, youthful face still retained a trace of baby fat, and his ruby-colored eyes looked as though they had been painstakingly carved from precious stones.

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

He was really no ordinary person.

“Wow, you’re a rich kid!”

I stepped closer to the portrait, marveling at him.

Then I suddenly frowned.

Wait…

Where had I seen him before?

Where had I seen this guy?

“Oh! Right. Leo Astra!”

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

Naturally, a man of such status had portraits hanging everywhere.

Besides, his face had been plastered across the history books I had seen countless times.

So even while completely drunk, recognizing the person in the portrait right in front of me was easy.

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

“Do you know that everything being this messed up is all your fault, Your Majesty?”

Much to my irritation, there were still believers who worshiped him as though he were a god.

I was definitely not one of them.

No.

To be perfectly honest, I despised him.

He was the emperor who had been admired and revered by everyone, but at the same time, he was the culprit who had opened the very first Gate and caused monsters to flood into this world.

I spoke with all the resentment I could muster, as though I wanted him to hear every word.

“If it weren’t for you, Your Majesty, the world wouldn’t have become this crappy. You’re a guilty human being! A guilty. Human. Being! Hic!”

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

Nature that had once been destroyed became contaminated by demonic energy, leaving it permanently impossible to purify.

But they say heroes are born in times of crisis.

As vast quantities of mana buried beneath the earth burst forth, people began awakening supernatural abilities.

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

However, once those who had awakened their powers began fighting against the Monster Breaks, the world that had been on the verge of destruction managed to barely survive.

And eventually, the world of today was born.

Ordinary people disappeared, and a world ruled by hunters emerged.

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

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

People were divided into ranks just as they had once been divided into nobles and commoners.

And as the higher-ranked hunters began praising the long-forgotten emperor once again, things eventually became this way.

Because I found this situation so unfair, I often indulged in the meaningless fantasy of—

‘What if Leo Astra had never opened the Gates?’

‘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.

Yes.

The reason my life had become like this was all because of Leo.

Because of you.

“Why are you silent when you have a mouth? At least try to make an excuse, you damned Leo Astra!”

Suddenly, I grabbed the portrait tightly and raised my voice.

Just as the other patrons began shooting irritated looks at the drunken woman—

Wooooong—!

A tremendous sound tore through the air.

A gigantic black, swirling Gate suddenly appeared, large enough to blow the roof off the bar.

The people inside immediately began murmuring in confusion.

A Gate appearing suddenly in a completely unexpected location meant that an emergency had occurred.

Then someone pushed back their chair and shouted,

“It’s a Monster Break!”

At the man’s cry, everyone drew their weapons as though they had come to the same conclusion.

But their expectations were completely wrong.

[System: Emergency Alert! A Gate explosion has been detected for an unknown reason. All hunters, please take care to ensure your own safety.]

A Gate… explosion?!

This was a situation none of us had ever experienced before.

Everyone began running around in confusion.

“Then we’re all finished!”

Even the hunters who would normally have remained calm were thrown into a panic.

“Finally, it’s time for me to step up! I’ll stop the explosion, so everyone run!”

“You crazy bastard! 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 is accumulated inside that thing?! Even if we evacuate, there’s no guarantee we’ll survive!”

“What are you all doing?! Hurry up and evacuate!”

After arguing for a short while, the hunters ultimately gave up on trying to stop the Gate explosion and began moving frantically.

Watching the chaos, I sneered inwardly.

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

Even highly ranked hunters were nothing more than cowards.

Seeing them panic like this, perhaps they weren’t all that impressive after all.

And yet, knowing that the world was actually going to end like this made an inexplicable emptiness well up inside me.

Who was going to compensate me for all the effort and all the years of my life that I had spent desperately struggling to survive?

‘Sometimes I thought that maybe it would be better if the world simply ended and we all died 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 had lived flashed before me like a revolving lantern.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

[Dear Sister Iverta,

I’m sorry I left without being able to tell you.

I was afraid you wouldn’t give me permission.

I promise I’ll come back safe and sound.

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

Okay? You have to.

—Your younger brother, who loves you the most]

At that moment, I suddenly remembered the letter my deceased younger brother had left behind.

Without realizing it, I hugged the Emperor’s portrait tightly against my chest.

Overcome with emotion, tears spilled from my eyes and ran down my cheeks.

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

After that, everything happened incredibly quickly, leaving no room for anything else.

[System: Error code detected. —01—–5041-362. Danger detected. We wish all hunters good luck.]

Bzzzt—!

Pop!

The system window disappeared along with the error message.

Then—

KUUUUAANG!!

A deafening roar unlike anything I had ever heard in my life erupted.

A powerful tremor surged up from the ground.

I lost my balance while still clutching the portrait and was sent tumbling onto the floor, violently striking my head against something.

And then—

Through my blurred vision, I saw the face of a young man with brilliantly golden hair.

Of all things, was that bastard’s face really the last thing I had to see before dying?

I looked at the Emperor’s portrait, now soaked in my blood, and murmured softly,

“I really do hate you, Leo Astra…”

At the same moment, an ear-splitting roar shook the world.

A blinding flash erupted.

Bzzzt—.

[System: Beginning system recovery.]

As my consciousness slowly faded away, a system window floated gently before my eyes.