FTE 000 – Prologue

At age seventeen, you stood at the site where a dungeon had erupted just before my high school entrance ceremony. It was also the burial place for my family members, except me. We held a joint funeral here.

Although I still lived temporarily in this city, I purposely avoided coming here. Despite knowing that people visited annually to pay their respects, I never once returned.

Yet, because of you, I find myself standing here now.

Our relationship should have naturally ended with the contract’s expiration. After our one-year agreement wasn’t renewed and prematurely terminated, I never expected our connection to continue like this.

Naturally, I missed you. Despite my disappointment, I still hoped that you were doing well. You were young, so despite your difficult physiology, I believed you would find a suitable guide eventually.

I wanted you to forget about me… but…

Seeing the red dots aimed at your face and body, I clenched my hands tightly. It helped reduce their trembling slightly. My cold fingers felt clammy with sweat.

Behind you, numerous building debris and scattered monster corpses were visible. In our time apart, it seemed you pierced your ears, and you appeared taller as well. Even during the brief period we spent together, you had shown remarkable growth, so it was natural for you to have continued developing since then.

Due to the fierce battle, the cherry blossom trees planted along the street had their flowers prematurely fallen, leaving only bare branches behind. Every time the wind blew, petals fluttered on the ground. It was a beautiful landscape that didn’t fit this reunion. How nice would it be if we could drink warm beer and laugh at boring jokes like before?

“Hyung.”

After staring at me for a while, you called out to me, “Let’s go back. You might die.”

It was possible. The necklace item you gave me was already broken, and I had used up the extra life bonus given to me.

Blood continuously spurted from the monster’s carcass, and water flowed steadily from broken pipes. With this much moisture, you could kill all the people gathered here. You wouldn’t care if your rampaging power killed yourself as well.

Excess mana was being emitted, causing the purple flesh on your hand to burst open, dripping with blood. It didn’t seem to cause you any pain.

“Let’s go back now. And live an ordinary life.”

“Ordinary?”

“…..”

“You know it’s not possible. This is our everyday reality.”

This was a truth I had spent my entire life denying and trying to escape from. I vowed to save money and leave this place behind. My sole purpose in life became achieving that goal, so I avoided forming close bonds with other hunters. You were supposed to be just another temporary experience for me.

People say not to make plans because you never know what life will throw at you. They were right.

Because of this unpredictable variable called ‘you’, my entire world changed completely.

“Hyung?”

Your expression had been cold and hard until now, but your lips suddenly twitched slightly. I could see them trembling.

“I’m sorry. Truly… I didn’t want any of this.”

As I was about to respond with reassurance, we heard something burst nearby. It was the sound of a broken pipe rupturing further and spraying water everywhere.

With a desperate look on your face, you reached out towards me. My body moved before I could even think. As I ran toward you, a command to fire came down like a sharp blade from behind us.