Chapter 1

Prologue (1)

"It's finally here," the man with the sword said in an echoing whisper.

"The Tower of Choice, the last floor!"

The band of five exclaimed together in response.

Countless undefined emotions flowed through everyone's faces and reflected in their eyes. Passion, regret, sorrow, and joy mingled together in their countenance.

"Nate, put all the skulls in now! Please assist him."

The man pulled everyone's attention to him each time he spoke. Most of the companions had known each other for a long time, united by a common goal. Since their first meeting, they hadn't aged a day.

Their expectations appeared bound to my actions. A colossal door remained closed before us. It was said that the ordeal, which was prepared on the 100th Floor of Choice, could only be undertaken behind that gilded door. Lady Angelica emerged from it, our eyes meeting for but a moment as I smiled slightly.

Angelica, too, didn't age, having the appearance of a woman in her twenties. In all the passing years, not a single mark or tear marred her body. Both of her eyes were filled with splendor, as a slight shy red tinge adorned her cheeks.

"The moment is finally here," she said, walking towards me.

I could still recall the first day we met; her walk and laugh were still the same. Past or present did not matter; she was still pure, still noble, and still beautiful.

"Thank you, Seong-hyun, our guide. Thanks to you, I found my way here."

Angelica placed both her hands on my shoulders and graced me with a soft kiss on my wrinkled forehead.

" No! Humanity would have met its destruction if not for your [Future Foresight]."

My voice sounded shaky and anxious even to myself. Her advice had never resulted in failure. Hunters were presented with a 'seal' on their bodies upon their awakening. Each seal possessed a 'unique skill.' No hunter had been found to have more than one, and every awakened hunter had one. Angelica proclaimed her skill to humanity early on and had proved herself many times.

'Foretelling the collapse of the most important SSS-rated dungeon.'

Without Angelica, humanity would have been driven to annihilation. Her achievements were what persuaded the elite hunters and leaders of the other nations, and it was her prophecy that foresaw the conquest of the hundred floors of the Tower of Choice.

"Start."

With age, my voice had become shrill and annoying. As I approached, the door's surface reflected my face, that of a man in his eighties.

Vwooom!

There was no need to mobilize my weak mana. Partnered with Angelica's [Future Foresight], mine was the only other EX-rank skill known in the long line of hunters to date.

[The Successor's Eye (Rank: EX, Passive)]

Blue particles revolving around the lock appeared to my eyes. They looked like dots, joined together in a linear sequence and continuously flowing in a determined pattern. It wasn't easy to memorize, but I was able to understand and recall it with a simple glance completely.

"I knew it."

Hibiki, the title-holder of Tsushima, moved up. I frowned wearily and tried to ignore her.

"It's still damn complicated!" She grumbled and raised her mana. I looked around, surrounded by bitter regret. As I witnessed the powerful storm generated by Hibiki's mana, I despaired at the state of my own frail mana. The mana inherent in me is what the hunters could recognize. It was common knowledge that mana in other people or objects cannot be felt. Yet, I was different.

Any mana appeared somewhat translucent. But, I had to entrust offensive elements to a 'hunter' like Hibiki. My happiness had been unimaginable when, decades ago, I checked my skills immediately after my awakening. The skill effect described by the system message was bewildering.

-You can visualize the mana.

-Never forget what you perceive through vision.

-The target's system message can be read while in contact with the effects of objects and skills.

Each one had unheard of. Besides, a passive skill without mana utility meant that the number of uses was unlimited. I was too impassioned to be calm, yet those moments of happiness had to pass. My seal's still satisfied me. But then, I checked my potential mana...

Active Mana: 9/9

Potential Mana: 1

The message meant that the active mana that was in my current limit was 9. The passive mana meant that if I spent even my whole life in training and extending my limits, I could only increase it by 1. I was exasperated. The maximum potential I could ever hope to achieve was bound to 10 active mana. It was so inadequate that Academia started using my mana to scale the minimum awakening level. To add to my burden, ten meant that no amount of F-class skill cards could help my mana's state.

A semi-pseudo-hunter who wasn't capable of defending himself. While I was traversing memory lane, Hibiki continued pouring tremendous amounts of mana into the lock, according to the pattern she was given.

Some time passed. Then, click! It opened. I pushed through my thoughts and trudged through the door with the rest. There was a small altar before us.

"That's it!" Randy's voice trembled with excitement. He was the 'Sword King.'

"It's the Egg of the Dimensional Bird."

Angelica finished the thought. The egg was situated in the center of the altar.

"We need to break the Egg to prevent it from hatching," said Randy.

"All dungeons that were open so far are now closed."

My aged voice drifted to my own ears. Earth had undergone a terrible tribulation, with too many of our hunters dying after the SSS-grade dungeon collapse a year ago. So, before entering the tower, we had made a pact.

"If this prevails, Earth will not withstand. It doesn't have the strength to endure it."

The hunters had significantly dwindled over time, but they were crucial in preventing and managing the dungeon collapse. Therefore, humankind had closed all the gates to restore civilization. The tutorial ended upon reaching the hundredth floor. Yet, instead of fulfilling the primary quest and returning the Earth to its previous self, we were contemplating a shift to the past where there were no hunters, gates, dungeons, or quests.

"Then?"

Everyone's gaze was fixed on Angelica. She gave a subtle nod and opened a subspace. The sky violently shook as she produced an unadorned dagger.

"This dagger is the only hope we have of destroying the Egg."

Bearing the weapon, Angelica approached the altar with silent, serene footsteps. Our hearts were in our throats as we watched motionlessly.

How many sacrifices were made to reach this point? How many more were demanded?

The reality was that my heart was weaker than anyone else's. Hibiki silently muttered the names of people she presumed dead.

"Everyone, it was a difficult journey," Angelica spoke as she drew closer to the altar.

Nate struggled to smile, but his hands, which were thin and boney, shuddered a bit.

"Now, back to the original Earth."

"Yes."

Back to the land of my childhood. I had some memories of how it used to be before the laws collapsed and the world turned upside-down. I could see the mana's movement around us with [The Successor's Eye]. My vision recognized that the dagger she was using wasn't real. Extremely condensed blue mana was slowly waving along with the dagger, red mana around it.

"No!"

I froze. I didn't understand what was before me.

Nate, puzzled, looked toward me in confusion.

"What is it?"

I couldn't answer coherently, so I swiftly turned my head in the other direction. The mana I witnessed was usually blue. But, there were some rare exceptions. One instance would be if a hunter cast their unique skill, and if the skill were an active one that used mana, the mana looked red.

"However," I spoke in a quivering voice, "Angelica's unique skill is [Future Foresight], a passive skill that does not use mana, right?"

Therefore, Angelica emitting red mana shouldn't be possible. It should have been impossible, unless...

"No way!"

Angelica looked at me and smiled.

It was a smile I had never witnessed before.