Chapter 158

The man finally pulled out the chair and sat down.

Jin Haedo lowered his head slightly and covered his mouth with his hand.

“Why are you telling me about him?”

“I’ll explain.”

Answering with composure, the man leaned back in the chair and stared straight at Jin Haedo.

Was he this confident because he trusted his own ability? Jin Haedo slowly scanned the man’s expression.

“I need you, Lord Haedo.”

“In what sense?”

“Literally. To be exact, I need the believer group you lead. No matter the conditions, it isn’t easy for one person to gather this many Awakened.”

“You’re saying you need Awakened?”

“Yes.”

He answered at once, flicked his eyes to the window for a moment, then met Jin Haedo’s gaze again.

“A massive Gate is going to burst soon.”

“Hmm....”

A hint that the “future” he’d seen differed from the one the man saw. Jin Haedo said nothing, watching the man with an even face.

Judging truth from lies is doable even without an item. No matter how skilled the liar, small elements pile up and contradictions are inevitable.

The man went on in that same calm voice.

“A lot of people will die. High-rank hunters in the country will enter, but it won’t be enough.”

“Then the state should step up. Not me sending out my precious believers.”

“No.”

He denied it the instant Jin Haedo finished, and let out a small laugh.

“Lord Haedo, this is... an opportunity.”

“.......”

“It’s remarkable that you’ve drawn in so many people in such a ridiculous time frame, but to be honest, Cheonmyeonggyo’s image isn’t great among non-believers, right?”

Those sharply slanted eyes blinked under a mask of innocence. Even Jin Haedo was at a loss for words at such brazen rudeness.

“It’s a cult, and the doctrine is suspect. You said you awaken people’s abilities, and yet—well, right now one of your believers is flat-out unconscious in a room. Frankly, I don’t think the other believers could have failed to notice what the ‘blessing’ really is.... Still, that only proves how well you handle people.”

“.......”

“But if that Gate bursts, and you have losses among high-rank hunters... and many people die, then naturally more people will lean on religion. Honestly, it’s a really good chance.”

Jin Haedo still didn’t answer. Beyond whether it tempted him, the man’s objective remained unclear.

The man seemed to notice as much and let out a slow sigh.

“Ah....”

“.......”

“Is this too vague?”

Jin Haedo lifted a corner of his mouth as he looked at the man. He could summon believers right now to pick apart the gaps between the man’s words. Or threaten his life.

But he didn’t. He only moved the hand covering his mouth away and asked in an even tone:

“So, your purpose in saying you wanted to join hands with me?”

“Simple. I need people I can use to my liking. The purpose... ranges from basic protection to deployable manpower for dungeon entry.”

“Protection?”

Picking out the suspicious word, Jin Haedo asked back; the man’s brow narrowed ever so slightly.

“Well... living life, there are times you get threatened by high-rank hunters....”

“.......”

“Anyway, I’m not saying I want to surpass you, Lord Haedo. Just preserve my position so I can rally believers when needed.”

Jin Haedo slowly nodded at that. Not assent—just that he understood.

‘The proposal will be obvious, if he claims he sees the future.’

He had a hazy sense that his skill did not show him the “future.”

Too many things didn’t fit if he called it future-sight. And as the man said, Jin Haedo had plundered this skill after all, which made it tricky to hold and wield.

So the man’s offer would be to ask the future for Jin Haedo.

‘Not sure.’

But to Jin Haedo, it didn’t look like a stellar proposal. Seeing ahead certainly had merit, but even without that, Cheonmyeonggyo’s growth wasn’t bad. And as the man said—if misfortune stacked up, the religion would grow without him lifting a finger.

‘It is interesting, though.’

He wasn’t desperate. He wasn’t persuaded. The gains were clear in the man’s words, but the play was shallow and loose.

His mind leaned, with time, toward a slow refusal.

At last, Jin Haedo spoke.

“Even so, that alone is not reason enough for me to take you.”

“.......”

“The reason I called you here was because I saw something through my skill. Even if, as you say, it is not truly the ‘future,’ if there is a chance things flow that way.”

He did not need the man of “now.”

If, as the man said, it was another world and not the future, then what manifested here might differ.

However, if similar conditions drove a similar direction—

If the one he’d seen amidst that wholly uncertain vista grew akin to a god and became a “beyond-being”....

“I am willing to use you.”

The corners of Jin Haedo’s lips rose of their own accord.

‘But it’s uncertain whether this man is that being.’

He did not dither once he’d decided. He immediately summoned Gyeon Taeri.

A moment later, the parlor door opened and a long-haired woman in a mask entered. Jin Haedo gave a curt order.

“Take him to the entrance.”

“Yes.”

Once the confirmation was done, he was prepared to use the man as much as needed.

“Ah, before that.”

“.......”

“Your name? I don’t believe I heard it.”

Just as Gyeon Taeri was about to lead him out, Jin Haedo turned the man back.

The man answered coolly.

“I don’t write my surname as ‘Choi.’”

With that, he voluntarily stepped through the door.

Now that he’d seen the face, learning the name would be no trouble—but the ambiguous answer was not pleasant.

Jin Haedo stood in place, thinking for quite some time, then hurried into another room connected to the parlor.

***

‘There really are a lot of crazy people.’

Walking behind Gyeon Taeri, I marveled in pure sincerity.

“I’ll bring your companions as well.”

“Will you bring the guy who was sleeping on the floor, too?”

“Yes.”

Had they taken measures after I left? With Do Yehyun there, his life shouldn’t be in danger.

Following her words, I waited for a bit at the place called the “entrance.”

“Status window.”

B-rank Gate (Maze of Desire)

Wander the maze and face the deepest desires within the human heart.

Dungeon Boss — Moros

Other dungeon lifeforms’ info.... See more

‘Would you like to view information on “Moros”?’

For real... they made it like this.

Leaning against the wall, I slowly organized my thoughts. According to what Joo Seowon told me, Fate-Tongue is one of Buddhism’s supernatural powers, an ability to see through past lives.

‘I knew the status window borrows terminology from religion.’

Buddhism, huh. For a cult that looks closer to shamanism, this is almost wholesome.

And the moment I learned that, a few things were naturally confirmed.

First, that skill wasn’t originally Jin Haedo’s. The way he couldn’t be sure of his own skill—unstable. A skill overly high for his rank and thin on realization.

‘Textbook plunder.’

Evidence that Jin Haedo was a Plunderer was hidden in the text as well. Though to be fair, he avoided plundering skills he couldn’t handle in the first place.

‘Then is this... a coincidence?’

If this pattern appears uniquely in this iteration, odds are high I’m the cause. I don’t know when or how the butterfly effect spread, but—

I dropped the plan to pry into what he saw, and as soon as I finished with Joo Seowon I reconnected to Im Haekyung.

—You sure take a long time in the bathroom.

‘I was actually talking with Seowon.’

—Mr. Seowon. Hm, I see.

‘Nothing big, I just had a favor to ask.’

—Information gathering? You could’ve asked me.

What kind of nonsensical kindness was that?

He didn’t stop there and fired off another line of crap.

—Do you trust Mr. Seowon more than me?

‘Naturally.’

—Hmm....

‘Anyway, I’m thinking of negotiating with Jin Haedo.’

—Negotiations are good. He’s the type that doesn’t respond to pleas. With someone who has clear desires, negotiation always works.

‘As negotiation terms....’

—Ah, Mr. Jehyun.

He cut me off and made a gentle request.

—Can you tap the window for me?

‘......?’

I humored him and did as asked, and he promptly told me to walk the corridor and tap here and there.

‘You’re not even on-site; you can’t sense mana.’

After repeating that a few times, he sounded like he’d gotten it.

—It looks less like pure space expansion and more like an outright modification. And the way each corridor’s structure differs slightly.

‘That’d be on purpose.’

—Yes. It seems they dressed it up as a maze, just enough that it doesn’t show. To keep people from getting in....

‘Because it leads to the dungeon?’

—Likely. It won’t be right behind a ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) door, though.

I was honestly impressed. To deduce this much without being here.

And he was right.

—It’s dug like an anthill. All converging to one place.

“Yeah.”

Confirming Gyeon Taeri was gone, he spoke to me again. I answered briefly and examined the entrance.

—Had you planned the negotiation from the start? You sounded smooth.

“I figured that’s the minimum to get him to talk.”

—Were you planning to enter the dungeon like this?

“No. I was going to find a separate way. This is a bit...”

—You got lucky?

Depending on the outcome, it could be misfortune.

I affirmed him with silence.

A moment later, I saw Do Yehyun and Ryu Taejun coming from afar with Gyeon Taeri.