Evening descended, cloaking the surroundings in dusk.
A man wearing beige pants and a denim jacket stood at the entrance of a gate in Seoul Olympic Park, his cap pulled low over his face. His serious demeanor matched the calm ambiance of the area.
Yet, despite his composed aura, a disapproving voice clicked its tongue nearby.
"Click, click! Turning down an opportunity like that? You're unbelievably stubborn, Master."
Swallow, a swallow wearing sunglasses, shook his head in mock disappointment, scolding Kang Hyunsoo. His tone carried an air of disbelief, as if he couldn’t fathom Hyunsoo’s actions.
However, Hyunsoo remained unfazed.
“I had no choice. I don’t have time to waste right now.”
The young man under the cap, Kang Hyunsoo, spoke calmly.
After finishing their meal at the family restaurant, instead of heading to a café, Hyunsoo had gone to an item exchange shop to purchase potions before arriving here. He had declined Choi Jiwoo’s after-dinner invitation and come straight to the hunting grounds to participate in a raid.
Swallow mocked him for turning down a date, calling him a fool, but Hyunsoo had his reasons.
With Babylon operatives like Ji Wonhoon and Andy having slipped through his fingers, leisurely dating was out of the question. Moreover, he needed to make the most of his time before his rank reassessment to grow stronger.
The situation was so pressing that even though his suit—capable of increasing his Appearance Power by +5—was torn, he hadn’t replaced it. Instead, he wore clothes gifted to him by Han Sungbin. It was proof of how eager Hyunsoo was to jump into raids.
The reason for his urgency?
[Absolute Beauty Quest 7]
Clear a B-rank or higher dungeon solo without taking a single hit (0/1)
[Swordsmanship Quest 19]
Defeat a boss monster of Level 300 or higher (0/1)
By entering a B-rank dungeon, he could fulfill both quests at once.
The Absolute Beauty Quest 7 didn’t require auxiliary Beauty Quests this time and could be completed directly. Similarly, clearing the B-rank dungeon would automatically satisfy Swordsmanship Quest 19.
It was a perfect double-win scenario.
The reward for Swordsmanship Quest 19 was already known, but the reward for Absolute Beauty Quest 7 remained a mystery, adding an extra layer of excitement. It was like ordering half-and-half fried chicken—guaranteed satisfaction with a touch of surprise. The anticipation of both the known and unknown rewards filled Hyunsoo with a surge of dopamine.
Spending time with Choi Jiwoo was enjoyable, but...
‘What’s in front of me now is more important. How quickly I accomplish this will decide my future.’
Growth was the priority.
The betrayal he suffered in love and friendship had erased any lingering expectations of human relationships. Having confirmed that his efforts directly influenced his future, Hyunsoo couldn’t afford not to strive for strength.
“If you’re unhappy, stay here. I can handle the dungeon alone.”
Ignoring Swallow, who grumbled about missing out on entertaining drama, Hyunsoo strode confidently toward the gate.
[Entering a B-rank Dungeon]
Defeat the boss monster to clear the dungeon (0/1).
Drawing his Flame Sword and Choi Taehun’s blade, Hyunsoo plunged into the portal without hesitation.
The moment he entered, his vision blurred as the environment shifted.
Whoooosh!
“Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll assist you in finishing this quest quickly so you can get back to dating, Master!” Swallow’s cheerful voice followed after him.
***
Darkness cloaked the rural landscape, enveloping a large mansion devoid of any light.
"Huff, huff... Ugh, ugh!"
Ji Wonhoon, sitting in a corner of the moonlit living room, struggled to catch his breath. His face was drenched in cold sweat, and his clothes were soaked with blood.
Clutching his shoulder where his left arm had once been, he groaned in pain, unable to endure the agony on his own. Fortunately, he was not entirely alone.
Beep-beep, beep-beep-beep!
The front door creaked open, and a man in a tattered suit stepped inside. It was Andy, his appearance no less battered than Ji Wonhoon's.
"I brought a top-tier potion. Let’s start with emergency treatment, Headmaster."
"...What happened to the ceremony team preparing for the anointment?"
Even as Andy offered the potion, Ji Wonhoon—seated on the blood-stained floor—didn’t spare it a glance, his focus on the situation at hand.
"The ceremony team has been captured. Jaewon University is now under the control of the Hunter Bureau agents investigating the scene. I’ve instructed Babylon operatives in other regions to go into hiding and prepare for reorganization. For now, we’ll need to lay low and regroup, Headmaster."
"Ugh, Kang Hyunsoo... To think I was bested by a hunter not even Level 200!"
Boom! Crack!
Despite having only one arm left, Ji Wonhoon slammed his remaining fist into the floor, leaving deep cracks and fissures in the living room.
Andy, his face equally twisted with frustration, mirrored his superior's anger.
"According to his profile, he shouldn’t even be Level 200. But his strength... it felt like he was at least Level 500 or beyond."
"That makes no sense. How could that be possible?"
"I’ll need more time to investigate, but... if my memory serves, there was a brief moment during the fight when his appearance reached an absolutely stunning level."
"Stunning appearance? What do you mean?"
"It was less than a minute, but I saw it clearly. His beauty became so overwhelming it was almost mesmerizing, and his combat power skyrocketed to an unmanageable level."
"If that’s true..."
"Yes, it’s possible he might be the successor of the Absolute Beauty talent we’ve been searching for."
"......!"
Ji Wonhoon’s eyes widened in shock. Even though Andy’s observation was speculative, the mere possibility made his pulse race.
But the excitement was short-lived.
"Ugh, damn it."
Ji Wonhoon grimaced in despair.
While discovering this clue was a breakthrough, the loss of his left arm, a key element of achieving full beauty, plunged him into despair. Even if he managed to steal the Absolute Beauty talent from Kang Hyunsoo, completing it without his arm was impossible.
Worse yet, his arm hadn’t just been severed—it was utterly crushed, leaving no remains to retrieve or reattach.
As Ji Wonhoon bit his lip in frustration, a sudden phenomenon unfolded.
Shhhrrriiip!
In the darkened living room, a portal formed out of nowhere, and from it emerged a woman.
She appeared to be in her early thirties, clad in a tight-fitting black dress with a veil-adorned hat.
As she approached Ji Wonhoon and Andy, she covered her mouth with a fan, smiling slyly.
"My, my. They said you were injured, but I wasn’t expecting this much damage."
She chuckled, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she glanced at Ji Wonhoon—missing an arm—and Andy, who was covered in wounds.
Ji Wonhoon, however, scowled in discomfort at the sight of her.
"Ha, Hayuri? How did you...!"
"I summoned her, Headmaster. No one else possesses the ability to regenerate your arm right now."
Andy explained, his tone deferential.
"You brought her? A rival walking the path of another deadly sin?"
Even in his state of desperation, Ji Wonhoon was far from pleased.
The seven deadly sins: Lust, Greed, Pride, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, and Sloth.
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
As the potential successor of Lust, Ji Wonhoon sought to claim the Absolute Beauty talent to cement his status. On the other hand, Hayuri, the woman before him, was pursuing the talent of Consumption, aiming to become the successor of Greed.
To succeed as a deadly sin’s heir, one needed to awaken their talent. Most, lacking the required talent, resorted to exploiting their latent potential by any means necessary, often engaging in fierce competition to achieve this.
As rivals chasing similar goals, Hayuri’s presence was unwelcome.
Yet, the reality of his missing arm forced Ji Wonhoon to confront his predicament.
"The arm must be treated within three days, or regeneration will become impossible. You should decide quickly," Hayuri teased, her tone light but pointed.
"Tch! Flaunting your regeneration ability now, are you?"
"Oh dear, is your pride more important than your left arm? Shall I leave, then? I don’t really mind either way."
"No, wait! Hayuri, I’ll give you anything you want. Please, save our Headmaster’s arm!"
Andy intervened, bowing low to prevent Hayuri from walking away. Ji Wonhoon, seeing his pride crumbling further, knew he had no choice.
"What do you want?" he growled through gritted teeth.
"The core techniques of Babylon’s Life Absorption Arts and a vow of allegiance to me."
"That’s outrageous!"
Ji Wonhoon snapped. The first demand was tolerable, but the second—pledging allegiance—was unthinkable.
But Hayuri was unfazed, her attitude indifferent.
"No? Then I’ll be on my way."
For her, the stakes were low. It was Ji Wonhoon who would lose everything.
He hesitated, grappling with the blow to his pride.
‘Is this revenge for breaking up with her?’
Not only as Babylon’s leader but also as Hayuri’s former lover, bowing to her was a bitter pill to swallow.
Grind
Clenching his teeth so hard they almost cracked, Ji Wonhoon finally spoke.
"...Fine. I accept your terms."
"Thank you for making such a difficult decision, Headmaster."
Andy, sensing the weight of the choice, bowed deeply, acknowledging the gravity ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) of Ji Wonhoon’s concession.
Meanwhile, Ji Wonhoon’s insides churned with resentment.
Kang Hyunsoo... I will repay you for this humiliation a thousandfold!
If not for Kang Hyunsoo, none of this would have happened.
As Hayuri approached, snapping her fan shut, her voice turned playful.
"Now then, let’s begin. Bite down hard—it’s going to hurt more than you think."
With a flick of her fan, a violet aura coalesced around its edge.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Ji Wonhoon’s screams echoed through the darkened mansion, the ominous glow of the aura illuminating the room.