Chapter 1: Chosen by the Holy Relic (1)

Inside the pitch-black cave, only intermittent breathing echoed.

Then, suddenly—

Tap, tap!

A spark flew with the sound, and soon, a single torch illuminated the darkness.

Where the light reached, a man sat, tension written all over his face.

The man, Taehoo, stifled even his breath and cautiously extended the torch forward.

“……!”

As Taehoo checked what lay ahead, his eyes widened like lanterns.

Sixteen years.

That’s how long he had lived as a spy.

‘I always thought you had to be wary of unexpected variables…’

Taehoo swallowed dryly.

‘But this is just too sudden, isn’t it?’

[You have discovered the ‘Wounded Ancient Dragon’!]

Water.

As Taehoo assessed the situation, he habitually recalled the invisible messages before his eyes.

It was a habit born from his desperate wish to become a Hunter, more than anyone else.

‘Haa…’

Within arm’s reach, a dragon lay fast asleep.

‘It’s never once changed its sleeping spot all this time… Why now? Why today, of all days…?’

Taehoo steadied his breathing. It was unexpected, but not an insurmountable variable.

‘Stay calm.’

There was no room for mistakes.

‘……I have to move forward. The fact remains—it’s still asleep. Nothing’s changed.’

He braced himself.

There was no retreat left for Taehoo.

With sunken eyes, he scanned the sleeping dragon.

‘The calamity they called the Ancient Dragon…

The first dragon to ever appear in the world, the monster that claimed the lives of a hundred first-generation Hunters.

The Dragon of Sin.

That was its name.

And here I am, not even level one, standing before this thing…’

Perhaps it was the overwhelming presence before him.

Like the moments before death, memories flashed by in an instant.

Taehoo had been born the youngest of the Nam Clan, Korea’s foremost family devoted to the Sword God.

He was the first in the clan’s hundred-year history not to be chosen by the Holy Relic of the Sword God, and for that, he was abandoned by his family and father.

Thus began seven years of wasted life.

In a brief moment away from home, he was kidnapped by the Dantalion House, worshippers of demons.

From then on, he lived as a disposable pawn—a stray dog, no different from a spy.

‘On every mission, in every war, we were cannon fodder. Even in the war with the Belial House… Damn bastards.

It was a constant struggle, with death lurking like a shadow.

In that world, where stray dogs rarely survived two years, Taehoo endured for sixteen.

Was it the gods who finally gave him a chance?

—Sixteen years as a stray? You’re more like a loyal hound, aren’t you? I don’t care how long it takes. Bring me the Holy Relic, and I’ll grant you freedom—and make you a Hunter.

That was what the Dantalion Head had said to Taehoo himself.

‘It was that one promise that brought me here, searching for the Holy Relic!’

A long, aimless journey in pursuit of the Holy Relic.

By chance, he entered this cave to escape the rain in a remote wilderness, only to discover it was the lair of the Ancient Dragon—a moment of mixed joy and despair.

The Dantalion Head’s reasons for wanting the Holy Relic didn’t matter.

Nor did the question of why a legendary Ancient Dragon guarded it.

Freedom! The chance to become a Hunter! To seize what he had longed for all his life, Taehoo swore to return with the Holy Relic.

And when he returned, he would shout to the family that cast him out that he was not the worthless trash they believed.

‘The Holy Relic is definitely here. This is the last chance life will ever give me.’

So he investigated every inch of this place, pouring in everything he had.

Taehoo gripped the torch tighter.

‘Two hours from now. The Ancient Dragon almost never wakes up.’

It was for its wounds to heal.

‘I have to find the Holy Relic and get out within two hours.’

Without delay, Taehoo hurried past the dragon, heading deeper into the cave.

The deeper he went, the more bodies littered the ground, bumping against his feet.

Humans, animals, monsters—of all kinds. Some were half-eaten, rotting away.

This was a graveyard where countless things had died.

‘There are more corpses than I thought…’

The ominous feeling that had pressed on him since entering the cave must have been from the accumulation of all these deaths.

Taehoo forced himself to ignore it and soon reached the deepest part of the lair.

‘Here…!’

Piles of treasures and weapons were stacked everywhere.

It was like looking into a vault deep within the cave. Artifacts and weapons that would make any Hunter lose their mind if brought outside.

Among them, Taehoo’s eyes landed on a blood-red stone enshrined atop a stone pillar.

He was certain that was the Holy Relic.

It felt just like when he had once faced a Holy Relic in his family, long ago!

He dashed toward the blood-red stone.

Anyone else might have called it ominous.

But to Taehoo, it was not a cursed rock—it was a lifeline sent from the heavens.

‘Finally! Finally, I can escape the fate of being a half-blood who never received the blessing of the Constellation!’

He could finally say goodbye to the days spent fearing death, living without the Constellation’s power.

The price for living as a stray for so many years!

As Taehoo reached out and tucked the Holy Relic into his arms—

Kkiyut?

A sudden cry echoed.

He nearly dropped the stone he had just grabbed.

Stiff as a board, Taehoo turned his head toward the sound.

About five steps away, a dragon’s hatchling was gazing at him with innocent eyes.

‘Don’t tell me… the reason for all those corpses was…’

There wasn’t just one mouth in this lair.

The hatchling approached Taehoo slowly, wearing a guileless expression.

‘Don’t be fooled by that innocent face. It definitely sees me as food.’

Why else would it be drooling like that? The bodies underfoot were proof enough.

Taehoo’s mind spun rapidly.

Should he run?

He rolled his eyes, weighing his chances of shaking off the hatchling.

There were ways.

But if the Ancient Dragon woke at the hatchling’s cry? He couldn’t be sure of anything.

Too many possibilities, none certain.

Taehoo caressed the Holy Relic tucked in his clothes.

‘I can’t back down. I have to settle this.’

He set the torch down on the ground. He grabbed a dagger lying nearby, carelessly discarded.

As a trained stray, the dagger was the weapon he was most used to. It fit perfectly in his hand.

‘I’ll give it flesh, and take the bone.’

Taehoo waved his left arm, making it look as tempting as possible—a message that said, ‘If you’re going to bite, bite here.’

‘It worked!’

The hatchling, approaching with naive curiosity, bit down on Taehoo’s left forearm.

“Khk!”

He clenched his teeth so hard his gums bled, suppressing the urge to scream.

Enduring the pain, he shoved his arm deeper into the hatchling’s mouth, blocking it.

And then—

‘Die!’

He drove the dagger in his hand straight into the hatchling’s jaw.

The blade, dormant in the cave, pierced the hatchling’s tough skull like tofu.

The creature went limp, its head caved in.

[Your level has increased!]

If Taehoo were a Hunter, such a message would have rung out.

‘I’ll listen to all the messages I want once I get out.’

He grit his teeth.

‘I’ve memorized every path. Time to go.’

There was no time to tidy up. He’d already spent too long.

He tore a piece of clothing to wrap his wound, leaving torch and dagger behind as he moved.

He hurried out of the cave.

As the light came into view—

A message he shouldn’t be able to see rang out. He felt the hairs on his arms rise with the power of the dragonkin.

[‘Wounded Ancient Dragon’ has awakened!]

[‘Wounded Ancient Dragon’ senses the death of its hatchling!]

KRUOOOOR!

A monstrous roar echoed from deep within the cave.

[‘Wounded Ancient Dragon’ is pursuing you!]

‘Damn!’

It was time to run for his life.

Korea, on a night when even the moon was shrouded by clouds.

Gugugugung!

Like the doors of a giant temple opening, the rusted doors of an abandoned factory creaked open. Taehoo stood before them.

He looked as tense as he had when entering the dragon’s lair.

‘Truly alone.’

Taehoo’s gaze was fixed on a single spot as he opened the doors.

At the center of the factory stood the Dantalion Head.

“You’ve come…”

The old man’s voice pierced Taehoo’s ears.

It was the very voice that had promised him the power of a Hunter.

“Show me what you promised.”

At Taehoo’s resolute words, the Head, who had been staring at the broken ventilation fan, turned his body.

When arranging this meeting, the Head had listed the things he would give Taehoo.

That was what Taehoo was now demanding. The Head smirked coldly.

“Why are you so desperate?”

In this moment, the strong one was not Taehoo, but the Head. He had no intention of understanding the weak.

He simply said,

“You haven’t even checked the goods. I came here alone—surely that’s enough courtesy? Stick to the order.”

He reminded Taehoo of their respective places.

Taehoo grit his teeth, gripping the Holy Relic in his arms.

He had poured everything—time and strength—into obtaining it.

‘It has to be genuine.’

With trembling hands, Taehoo showed the Holy Relic to the Head.

“It’s real, right?”

A strange glint flickered in the Head’s eyes.

“Yes, it’s genuine.”

“If it’s real, then give me what you promised. Now.”

All Taehoo had left was stubborn desperation.

The Dantalion Head savored the moment, then drew a crimson parchment from his robe.

‘That’s…!’

It was an item that could transfer enough of the Holy Relic’s power to awaken a single Hunter.

The Holy Relic.

A treasure that, by the power of the Constellation, bestowed supernatural abilities upon humans, awakening them as Players.

The Dantalion House’s ability was Blood Manipulation. It was the very power Taehoo had longed for with all his heart.

His heart leapt, as if he had already gained that power. The desperation on his face was slowly replaced by hope.

“Yes, I like that look. I never tire of moments like this.”

The Head was smiling brightly.

“To achieve what you desire—how beautiful it is…”

As the Head extended his hand, the parchment seemed to come alive, floating into Taehoo’s grasp.

Taehoo’s expression was that of a man who had gained the world.

“How fleeting it is.”

The Head’s words ended with Taehoo’s beaming face between them.

At the same time—

Armed forces of the Dantalion House, concealed all around, revealed themselves.

In each of their hands, a spear of blood formed by their abilities.

‘What? Why?’

The Head grinned coldly at Taehoo’s confusion.

‘Why? I checked everything around here. When—?’

Before the thought could finish—

Pupupupuk!

Blood spears flew from every direction, pinning Taehoo in place.

Only the Holy Relic in his hand remained intact, impaled along with his body.

“Yes, I enjoy moments like this. When hope is utterly crushed by despair.”

The Dantalion Head approached, his expression chilling, and snatched the Holy Relic.

Pazizik!

The Head’s hand crushed the Holy Relic at last.

“Khk!”

Taehoo, his body pinned by dozens of spears, could only watch.

Despite being pierced all over, he felt no pain.

The groan that escaped him was not from agony, but from the rage leaking through his clenched lips.

He glared at the Head with murderous intent.

‘Even if I die, I’ll never forget. I swear it.’

At that moment, a searing pain flared from his shoulder.

[Yes, even as you die, that stubbornness is impressive. I didn’t particularly want to choose you, but with things as they are, I have no choice, do I?]

A child’s voice whispered in his ear.

At the same time—

The shattered Holy Relic began to glow.

[You have been chosen by the Holy Relic!]

‘What…? Is this a hallucination?’

Before he could make sense of it—

[You will regress!]

A brief message, and—

“Impossible, the Holy Relic…!”

The Head’s voice of shock rang out.

Taehoo’s consciousness faded away.