SWNOVELXO Chapter 2
Episode 2: The Evil Organization, Golden Rule
But what is the true nature of this system?
I stared at the entity claiming to be a system for a long time.
“How… am I supposed to operate this?”
I tried various methods to figure out how to manipulate the system.
As a result, I discovered three things.
First,
the system can be called forth not just through summoning, but also by thought.
Second,
this system provides me with various advantages and conveniences.
Lastly, the third point is,
I am the first person to possess the system.
‘System’
– Ding!
‘Check my information’
[Checking your information.]
[Information]
Name: Han Shiwoo (21)
Level: 10
Position: Dealer
Stats: 0
– Current Stats –
Strength: 2
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
Luck: 6
– Skills –
P. Blessing of the System (EX) LV.1 (Max)
P. Basic Swordsmanship (D) LV.3
Triple Attack (D) LV.3
P. Blessing of the Drug Addict (D) LV.2
==========
These stats are quite lacking.
But the existence of levels suggests that I have the potential to grow, right?
In this world, growth exists only through reawakening.
Unless I undergo reawakening, the initial rank I received must be carried with me until death.
In fact, reawakening only happens to low-level Hunters.
If that’s the case, I might be able to aim for the pinnacle of the Hunter world as well.
By the way…
Our D-class raid party ended up in an EX-class dungeon?
I’ve never even heard of an EX-class dungeon before.
Could it be that the association’s measurements were off?
No. There has never been such an incident until now.
No matter how much the higher-ups of the association think of Hunters as mere profit-making tools, they wouldn’t haphazardly measure the gates’ ranks.
And to think I’m the first person to possess this system?
The condition for the emergence of this system is ‘surviving in the only EX-class dungeon.’
It seems that if I left the dungeon partway, it wouldn’t count as surviving.
How could I have survived in the gate?
First, if a gate isn’t cleared within the time limit, the monsters inside will come out.
People inside the gate who fail to clear in time are automatically ejected outside.
So, it seems that the EX gate wasn’t cleared, but rather I endured for the time limit and gained the blessing of the system.
Yet, I must have fainted after hitting my head on the ground in the dungeon…
Did I somehow get caught on something and avoid the poison?
I can’t be sure about that…
It seems that all my stats being heavily invested in luck helped me.
I didn’t specifically allocate my stats this way, but… at this moment, I should be thankful for my good fortune.
But were there no monsters inside?
Even though the gate was closed, it doesn’t seem like any monsters came out.
If there were monsters from an EX-class dungeon, they would surely have caused quite a ruckus outside.
– Clack – Clack
Someone approached the room I was in.
From the sound of high heels, could it be a woman?
She knocked on the door, saying, “It sounds like you’re awake, may I come in?”
Without waiting for my answer, she opened the door.
“Ah, you’re indeed awake.”
“Where is this? And who are you…”
“Calm down, I’ll explain everything slowly.”
**********
To summarize what she said:
Her name is Kang Eun-byul.
The place I’m lying in is the hideout of the organization called “Golden Rule.”
It seems she is referred to as the boss of this Golden Rule hideout.
She asked me not to call her boss because it makes her feel old.
She clarified that it wasn’t her who rescued me while my clothes were in tatters.
The one who saved me is apparently outside.
She mentioned there’s a mirror and some clothes to change into, so I should change and come outside.
That was the gist of what she conveyed to me.
I changed clothes and looked in the mirror.
In my right hand was the Hunter gear… the clothes I had been wearing.
Seeing how badly torn the back of my clothes was, it seems like my assumption was correct; I must have gotten caught on something.
And she… Kang Eun-byul doesn’t seem to see this system.
How am I so sure?
Because the system was right in front of her face.
If she could see the system, wouldn’t she have complained about her eyes hurting?
I opened the door and went outside.
It was noisy outside.
“Kang Chaeyeon, you brought in another person who passed out outside? How many times have I told you not to do this?!”
“But Eun-byul unnie… she looked so pitiful!”
“You… this is really the last time. If you do this again…”
“Okay, I promise I won’t do it again!”
The small girl dashed back into the room.
“Um… Eun-byul, what’s going on?”
“Ah… that girl is Chaeyeon, my younger sister.”
“Your younger sister?”
“Yes. By the way, I didn’t catch your name; what is it?”
“I’m Han Shiwoo.”
“.. Shiwoo, do you happen to know what our organization does?”
“Are you referring to Golden Rule?”
“Yes.”
“No… could you explain what the organization does?”
**********
Once again, I listened to her lengthy explanation.
To summarize, Golden Rule means “treat others as you wish to be treated,” which emphasizes the importance of ‘equality.’
The Hunter world is currently corrupt.
Golden Rule is her means to counter that.
Golden Rule is widely known as a villain organization in the world.
The reason she created this Golden Rule is for revenge against her family.
The trigger for her vow of vengeance occurred seven years ago when a gate appeared near her residence.
That gate was a D-class gate.
However, no one entered the gate.
The reason was simple.
It didn’t pay off.
At that time, she was active as an S-class Hunter.
And her residence was in Seoul.
But her family was in a faraway province, and coincidentally, she was on a work trip abroad.
She had no choice but to go on a business trip abroad due to pressure from the association.
Before going abroad, she naturally requested that the association ensure her family’s safety.
The association brushed her off, saying they would handle it.
However, even as time passed, the association didn’t send help and neglected the situation.
Who would go raid the countryside?
Perhaps because of that, no one came to help, leading to the result.
No one challenged the gate in time, and monsters ended up coming out.
Her family could do nothing.
Upon hearing that news, she rushed back home, but it was already too late.
Her house was burned, and all that remained were her family’s cold corpses.
Amidst the ruins, she found her only surviving blood relative, her younger sister.
She hurriedly carried her sister and escaped from the collapsing house.
Since that day, she has come to despise Hunters and the association.
To bring down the scum blinded by greed for money, fame, and power.
**********
“And that’s how this organization was formed.”
“You must have gone through a lot, Eun-byul.”
“Yes… it was tough. But since there’s not much age difference between us, should we drop the formalities?”
“Then let’s do that.”
“Okay, then Shiwoo, welcome to the Golden Rule from this moment on.”
“What? I never said I wanted to join.”
“Are you really going to let someone who knows all our organization’s secrets walk away just like that?”
“…”
“And what if you report our hideout’s location? Haven’t I mentioned before that the world calls us villains?”
Yes, she did say that.
“Okay, then I guess I’m joining. Should we find out more about you, Shiwoo?”
Eun-byul and I said that and entered the most secluded room.
On the door of that room, a sign reading “No Entry” was clearly displayed.
Once inside, someone was sitting at a computer.
Before Eun-byul could say anything, the person sitting started to speak.
“Wha… who keeps barging in like this…?”
“Seoyoon, we need this man’s information.”
“Name… is?”
“His name is Han Shiwoo, a D-class Hunter.”
The girl… called Seoyoon quickly began searching for me on the computer.
It seemed that she possessed exceptional hacking skills.
“You’re pretty amazing at computers for someone so small!”
“I-I’m not small… I’m an adult…”
An adult? With this tiny stature?
She’s such a stark contrast to Eun-byul…
“Shiwoo, you’re not having any strange thoughts right now, are you?”
Does Eun-byul have mind-reading abilities?
“The investigation is done… Han Shiwoo, 21 years old. One year younger than me… how dare you call me a kid?”
“Sorry. I didn’t know you were an adult.”
“Shiwoo, do you realize that saying that hurts even more?”
Is that so?
I felt a bit sorry for Seoyoon.
No, actually, I’m not sorry at all.
I just evaluated her based on what I saw!
“D, D-class Hunter instead of military service… will be active for two years…”
But why is she stuttering and speaking so slowly?
If a situation arises where I’m left alone with her later, I’ll need to ask her about it. For now, Seoyoon’s expression seems off.
“Um… Shiwoo, do you know… you’ve been declared deceased?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
What kind of nonsense is this?