1 PROLOGUE

"Ugh..."

I extended my hand towards the dungeon, but my assailant stepped on it mercilessly.

"No one's gonna come to save you."

A muffled voice said as pain seared my insides.

"AAAAAGHHHH!"

I screamed, but no one came.

"Work's work. I don't like doing this either you know."

The voice of my attacker reached my ears once again, but my mind hardly recognized who it was.

"W-why... Why are you doing this?!"

I cried out, but they didn't reply. Instead, the blade plunged itself into my back.

My vision was getting blurry, as my body curled up trying to defend itself.

"..."

The attacker crouched down before me. As I stared at them with my blurry vision, I realized that it was a woman. Her face was hidden behind a mask so I couldn't see who it was.

"Tsk, not enough despair."

She took out something from her pocket, which glowed with a dim blue hue. With a sigh, she turned towards me.

"I guess you're in for more pain."

"... !"

Alarm bells started ringing in my mind as I stared at her with fear, frustration, anger.

She pulled out the knife from my back and placed the tip right under my right eye. I tried to squirm and move, but her other hand held my face strongly.

My legs had been cut off, so I couldn't escape either.

"N-no!"

I cried out once again... But the knife mercilessly went into my eye socket.

And with unbearable pain, my eye was scooped out.

My entire vision went red. Tears fell down my other eye.

Just what did I do to deserve this?

I was just a lowly Hunter. I was just an E-rank hunter, barely scraping by.

I was just trying to get my ends meet.

Yet, why was I here, being tortured and dismembered alive?!

Why?!

Why?!

Just why?!

"Hoh, the meter is filled. I guess I can kill you now... Sorry about this, 'kay? I don't like this either, but I'm getting big money for this."

The gjrl said in an indifferent tone before turning my writhing body over.

She held the knife over my heart and then with a sigh, stabbed it into my heart.

Once, twice, thrice.

"Guh-"

Blood came out of my mouth as my heart slowly bled out.

My body curled up instinctively, trying to remember its mother's womb, where it was protected from everything.

As my vision darkened, I watched her leave.

"See ya... Or not."

With a light chuckle, she was gone.

Anger rushed through my veins.

She took my life for money.

She took my-

-------------------------------------

The next day, a corpse was found inside the beginner level dungeon of Death Flower, with a strange symbol drawn with blood underneath it.

It was identified to be the corpse of Axel Martinz, an E-rank Hunter.

The reason for his death was stab wounds... Yet, for some reason, it would be recorded as a monster attack.

In just mere three days, the people of the town forgot about the incident.

And in five days, the other Hunters started visiting the dungeon normally.

The death was soon lost in the turbulence of time... After all, who would remember a lowly E-rank?