* * *

Running the Danbaek Guild meant frequent encounters with the KAGANBU, which inevitably led to meeting Kang Yigeon.

From the start, Seohwa knew Kang Yigeon had feelings for him.

And knowing this, he teased him. Told him to quit his government job and join the guild.

“All right, I’ll come to Danbaek. But if I do, there’ll never be… another man for you.”

Seohwa still vividly remembered the strong grip, the fiery touch, and the amethyst eyes that burned with jealousy and anger, unhidden.

The idea that someone as cold and rational as the Northern Grand Duke from a novel could love him was initially puzzling.

But as time went on, he realized Kang Yigeon’s devotion was nothing short of pure and unyielding, which eventually became overwhelming.

There were times Seohwa wanted to tell him:

“I don’t believe in love, so I can’t return your feelings. Please, love someone else.”

He wanted Kang Yigeon, who was far warmer than he appeared, to enjoy a sweet, ordinary life with someone else.

But there was no need to say it—Kang Yigeon already knew.

“Why does he love me, knowing he’ll get nothing in return?”

“Why Kang Yigeon loves me” was one of two mysteries Seohwa could never solve in his lifetime.

Every time the timeline reset, Kang Yigeon would inevitably fall into this painful love.

At least this time, Seohwa felt things might turn out differently.

If so, one of the problems troubling him would finally disappear, leaving only the second to focus on:

“Why do we keep failing to clear the 6th-tier dungeon?”

At first, he thought it was arrogance.

During the first loop, they had breezed through 5th-tier dungeons and had the support of S-rank hunters worldwide, so he never expected failure.

From the second loop onward, he approached with humility.

Yet, they still failed repeatedly. It wasn’t due to lack of firepower or teamwork.

Somewhere, a tiny, imperceptible cog in the machine misaligned, leading to irreversible outcomes.

The only solace was that their progress improved with each loop.

In the last one, they failed by just a hair, barely missing the time limit.

If they’d had just two more hours, they would’ve succeeded.

“This is the last time.”

He always approached each loop as if it were the final chance, but this time, he was especially determined.

As his hatred for this endless cycle grew, Seohwa feared losing the ability to gather people’s cooperation altogether.

Strengthening himself alone wouldn’t solve this problem—it required the support of every hunter.

Now wasn’t the time to think about Kang Yigeon or love.

Seohwa pushed thoughts of him out of his mind.

His wrist tingled.

It was from the injury inflicted by a 6th-tier monster before the current regression.

Kang Yigeon from the fifth loop had wrapped it with bandages, but it hadn’t been properly treated.

Strangely, he always sustained severe injuries on his left arm.

There was no point in asking for help now—they wouldn’t heal him.

He decided to endure with his self-healing abilities.

Seohwa repeated his plans over and over in his mind.

The dates of major dungeon occurrences.

The awakened individuals he needed to recruit.

The items he had to secure. Upcoming weapon developments.

The minor mishaps that would pass unnoticed and the large-scale disasters that would claim tens of thousands of lives…

Three years.

That was all the time he had to prepare perfectly.

Not long at all.

This time, he had to make it to the end.

---

“Great work today. You really kept everyone in line as the Vice Guild Leader. They all behaved and left quietly.”

Danbaek Guild Leader Simjin approached, holding a champagne glass.

Kang Yigeon clinked glasses with him but didn’t drink, unlike Simjin, who finished what little was left in his.

Simjin switched to a fresh glass and squinted at Kang Yigeon.

“Something on your mind? You’ve been out of it since the event ended.”

“…No.”

“Don’t lie. I’m an A-rank awakener with a decent mental skill set. I can tell you’re not your usual, composed self.”

Simjin was right.

As soon as the event ended, Kang Yigeon lost focus.

His thoughts were consumed by the image of a man smiling and asking him to send regards to the Danbaek Guild Leader.

Just thinking about it filled him with rage.

Every nerve in his body screamed to run to the man and wring his neck.

He placed his champagne glass on the table to avoid breaking it in his grip.

Simjin raised an eyebrow.

“Must be something serious. Does it have anything to do with the HATE phenomenon?”

The “HATE phenomenon” referred to the mysterious wave of collective hatred that swept the world the night before.

Everyone inexplicably loathed an unknown individual—gender, age, or identity didn’t matter.

The entire world buzzed with confusion over this phenomenon.

Even the internet talked about it.

[The “Hate Phenomenon” must definitely be some sort of mind-control skill.]

└ A hundred percent a mental-type skill, right? Otherwise, how would over seven billion people simultaneously hate someone they don’t even know?
└ With this level of psychic ability, they could probably take over the world. What the hell did that guy do to earn the ire of a psychic?
└└ He must’ve done something to deserve it.
└ This is practically terrorism. If you hate someone, just go kill them or something, damn it. Why do I have to be overwhelmed with these negative emotions? 😭

[I want to know who it is… People around them must know. Are they hiding it on purpose?]

└ There’s a rumor that the Department of National Security knows something.
└└ The Department of National Security? Like, South Korea’s?
└└ Yep, they even had an emergency ministerial meeting last night.
└└ Could it be that an awakened individual used some curse-like skill on a civilian criminal…?
└└ Nah, guys, other countries have also called emergency meetings for their hunter divisions. It’s not just us.

[For the entire world to hate a single person at the same time… There must be a legitimate reason. We need to find them and execute them.]

└ I agree. The root cause must be with the “Hate” person. They must’ve done something terrible. We need to track them down and eliminate them.

[What if it’s not a skill but a system-wide mission?

The fusion system always sides with humanity, right? Maybe it’s informing us to deal with humanity’s enemy.]

└ But if it’s a hidden mission, it’s weird that non-awakened people are also affected. Non-awakened individuals usually don’t even get system windows.
└└ That’s true. What the hell is going on?

[At this point, I’m not even sure if the one being manipulated by a mental-type skill is “Hate” or us.]

└ For real. Honestly, “Hate” could just hide somewhere out of sight, and they’d be fine. But what about us? What did we do to deserve this torment?
└ “Hate” is the one who did something wrong, but why are we the ones suffering?
└ I didn’t realize how stressful it is to harbor such intense negative emotions toward someone. Can someone, anyone, just do something about this already? 😭😭
└ I feel like I’m going crazy…
└ It’s only been a day, but my head already feels like it’s going to explode.
└└ The pharmacy in my neighborhood ran out of headache medicine. I’ve never seen painkillers sell out before.
└└ The pharmaceutical companies must be thrilled.

[The Department of National Security has hung up the phone.]

└ Classic Korean National Security Department handling things as usual. 🙃
└└ Everyone’s hanging up, though, even hunter divisions in other countries. 😂
└└ I’m not a fan of nationalism, but I don’t get why some people love to drag their own country down.

[I work at the Department of National Security… and, yeah, they definitely know something. The atmosphere here is intense.]

└ Could this be the result of an experiment gone wrong on the 5th underground floor or something?
└└ I don’t know the details, but it’s clear that the department knows something.
└└ Please don’t let “Hate” be Korean.
└└ No way, right?
└└ If they are, Korea will become a global pariah…
└└ Oh, please, no.
└└ Don’t worry. If they’re Korean, we can just revoke their citizenship.

[Isn’t there a chance that “Hate” is an awakened individual?]

└ That’s impossible.
└ They must’ve done something bad to become “Hate,” lol. Awakened individuals don’t do bad things. Memorize this, folks.

---

The sentiment among the general public has already been observed.

Rumors are spreading even among civilians that Korea’s Department of National Security knows something, so it’s only natural that hunter organizations in other countries are now suspecting us.

If that entity’s prophecy turns out to be false, there’s no issue.

We can keep it hidden and wait for the situation to blow over.

But if it proves true, we’ll have no choice but to reveal its existence to the world.

Currently, South Korea has the most capable pool of awakened individuals, but if it’s a 6th-grade dungeon, there’s no way Korea can handle it alone.

Besides, the gate’s predicted location is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

This is a matter of global survival—it’ll require everyone working together.

But revealing its existence to the world…

Logically, the entity isn’t at fault and is, in fact, a victim of the skill’s side effects.

Rationally, we should cooperate fully.

But emotionally, people won’t be able to accept it. Their hatred and anger could be twisted into hostility toward Korea itself.

Cults like the New Humanity Sect and Entetera will also exploit the skill’s side effects for their own agendas.

This is truly a troublesome existence—no matter how we handle it.

* * *