ALMOST four years ago, during Navi's prime, she reached transcendence.
She became the first Hunter in the world to become a Transcendent— a being who had reached a high level of power beyond what was typically capable of a Hunter, equal to that of a System God without actually becoming one.
Sola System, the System God that was in charge of this world, explained that there were other worlds in the universe.
Each world was assigned to a different god.
But all System Gods had the same goal: to protect the world they were in charge of from getting destroyed by dungeons and monsters.
In order to do that, a System God would choose and awaken individuals to become Hunters.
But among all the Hunters that a System God awakened, the first batch would always be the most special ones.
They would be the natural S-Class Hunters— aka Sola's Favored Children.
And the first Hunter that the Sola System awakened was Navi.
Hence, she also had the privilege to be the first Transcendent.
It was short-lived, though.
Navi became a Transcendent when she faced the First Calamity— the 'FallenGoddess of Vanity.'
We don't know much about those Calamities yet—we just know that they are god-like beings "programmed" to destroy the world. Each Calamity could easily erase a country from the map. And Calamities are attracted to Hunters with overflowing Mana.
Hence, it wasn't a surprise when the First Calamity arrived in South Korea.
At the time, Navi was the only natural S-Class Hunter available in the country because the others were raiding dungeons.
Her enemy was the Fallen Goddess of Vanity, a beautiful goddess-like creature the size of a mountain. The Calamity's beauty was literally blinding. Anyone below S-Class would have gone blind had they looked at the goddess.
Had a Civilian looked at the Calamity's form, they wouldn't have only gone blind— they would have combusted.
Hence, Navi had to contain the fallen goddess inside her Special Grade Terrarium.
In that space, my imagination is my greatest weapon.
And that made her almost equal to the Calamity.
Because, inside the Special Grade Terrarium, Navi was a god who could make everything happen through her ultimate skill— the 'Fortress of God.'
But to be honest, I don't remember how I fought and beat the Calamity back then. I remember that it took me a week to bring her down, though. And, during that entire week, I ascended as a Transcendent. Unfortunately, I wasn't myself back then so I don't recall how I killed the goddess.
[You must consume the heart of the Fallen Goddess of Vanity, my child.]
That was what the Sola System said to Navi after she killed the Calamity.
When she returned to her senses, she was already holding a beautiful and sparkling gem the size of a basketball.
Yes, that was the heart of the Fall Goddess of Vanity.
Navi remembered crying to the Sola System because she didn't want to eat that thing.
Not only because it looked like it would break her teeth, but also because she knew the consequences of eating the heart of the Calamity.
"If I eat that goddess ahjumma's heart, I'll literally lose my face. She may be a fallen goddess, but she was still the Goddess of Vanity. And she hated pretty girls like me. So, she put a curse in her heart. If I consume this, people will never see my face again."
[Hunter Ahn Navi, is your physical appearance more important than the safety of the world?]
"Of course, it is! My pretty face is my only saving grace! I don't have a good personality. How else am I supposed to make Won Yiwon fall for me if I lose the only attractive thing about me? I want Won Yiwon to see me as a girl, so I don't want to lose my face!"
[The second strongest Hunter in this country is Hunter Won Yiwon. If you don't consume the Calamity's heart, I will ask Hunter Won Yiwon to do it. Hunter Ahn Navi, you know him more than anyone else in this world. I'm sure you know what choice he'll make.]
Navi instantly stopped whining after hearing that.
She didn't like that option, after all.
"Fine— I'll eat this heart. Don't you even dare offer it to Won Yiwon. I'd rather lose my face than never see his face again."
[Hunter Ahn Navi, consuming the Calamity's heart won't only make people unable to see your face again— doing so will also make you responsible for keeping it under control. The Calamity's heart is alive, and we don't have the power to kill it yet. None of the current natural S-Class Hunters are capable of completely eradicating a Calamity's heart, so we need a living host to make sure that it won't fall into the hands of the wrong person.]
"What will happen to me after I consume this heart?"
[Once you consume the Calamity's heart, I will gather its Essence and place it in your Core. It will corrupt half of your Core, so you won't be able to use most of your skills as a Hunter.]
"What?! But why?!"
[Because you must use half of your Core to stop the heart of the Calamity from growing. Hence, you can't risk damaging your remaining Core. Moreover, high-ranking S-Class Hunters like you lose your mind when your bloodlust takes over. If you end up in that state, then the heart of the Calamity might possess you. We need to avoid that.]
"Are you saying that the heart of the Calamity will actively try to take over my body?"
[Yes, because the heart is alive. That's why after you consume the heart, you have to co-exist with it. Hence, we can't put you at risk by making you fight.]
"But what will happen to me if I can't fight anymore? I'm a Hunter."
[Don't worry, my child. You can still use your defensive skills. And you may use your attack skills if absolutely necessary. However, when you're not in danger, I will seal your fighting abilities.]
"I'm going to be a weakling, then…?"
[This is for the greater good, Hunter Ahn Navi. But I won't force you to carry this burden alone. We can always ask Hunter Won Yiwon—]
"No— I won't share this burden with Won Yiwon."
["Are you sure about that?]
"I have to protect Won Yiwon."
[Why would you protect someone who is almost as strong as you are?]
"Won Yiwon is my future husband."
[Ah, before I forget, you'll have mood swings once you consume the heart of the Calamity. It will try to turn you into a Calamity by killing your positive emotions first. Hence, you might start losing your empathy little by little. In other words, the heart of the Calamity will affect your emotions negatively— so try not to get influenced.]
"Okay, but did you just change the topic?"
[My child, stopping the heart of the Calamity from possessing you is easier than winning Won Yiwon's heart.]
"Yah!"
"Ahn Navi, have you come to your senses?"
Oh.
Navi blinked, suddenly confused when she realized that she was already out of the dungeon.
Did I snap?
She only used her ability to create Terrarium, a skill considered to be on the defense side.
And, yet, it seemed like she was slightly out of it?
"Ahn Navi, look at me properly."
Navi raised her head because she would never miss a chance to stare at Won Yiwon's handsome face.
But her "view" was obscured.
A transparent shield was blocking her from admiring Won Yiwon's good looks in HD.
"Yah," Navi complained to Won Yiwon after she realized what that shield was for. "Why did you lock me up here, huh?"
Won Yiwon scoffed at her complaint. "You showed signs of getting possessed by the heart of the Calamity, Ahn Navi."
"What signs are you talking about?"
"You tried to feed a Civilian to the Vesperos."
Ah, that?
"Won Yiwon, that's not me being possessed by the heart of the Calamity," Ahn Navi denied while waving her hand dismissively. "That's just me being a jerk."
***
ONCE THE dungeon boss was eliminated, the Sinkhole would "spit out" all the survivors.
That was how Navi found herself back in the grocery store.
Of course, the entire floor had already collapsed.
But the Hunters who responded to the Sinkhole had already covered the surface with a Safety Net.
It's an Item used as a lid to close a recently raided Sinkhole.
And that Item was invented by Cha Hyein when she debuted as a natural S-Class Hunter three years ago, making the lives of Hunters easier since then.
Tsk.
"Ahn Navi, you'll be under quarantine in the meantime."
Oh.
Navi was starting to wonder why the Hunters were in a hurry while evacuating the Civilians.
I didn't even get to say goodbye to the nosy kid.
After all, when she returned to her senses earlier, she was already alone in the grocery store with Won Yiwon.
I like being alone with him, but not when I'm inside a Prison Cube.
A Prison Cube was a giant transparent cube meant to apprehend A-Class Hunters and above, and it was an Item that was exclusive to Won Yiwon.
That's how he got the 'Grim Reaper' title in the Hunter World.
"Ahn Navi, the amount of Corrupted Mana in your Core has spiked sharply. It was only for a moment, but it still reached a dangerous level," Won Yiwon explained indifferently, raising his arm to show her his watch. That posh-looking watch around his wrist was an Item and not just a mere accessory. It had a feature that could detect the amount of Corrupted Mana in Navi's Core. "Are you trying to turn into a Calamity?"
The Elite Team and the select few in the Hunters Association were aware that she consumed the First Calamity's heart, and that it corrupted half of her Core as a result.
I had to tell them why I couldn't be active as a Hunter in the meantime.
Once the necessary people had been informed of her current state, they immediately hatched a plan to keep an eye on Navi and check the level of her Corrupted Mana regularly using different methods.
After all, if my Core gets corrupted completely, I'll turn into a Calamity.
That was why Navi had been under strict surveillance for the past few years.
"Are you not going to defend yourself, Ahn Navi?"
"I'm still in control of myself, Won Yiwon."
Won Yiwon frowned, obviously finding her response ridiculous. "You endangered a Civilian. I don't need a witness account to know that you locked that person out of your Terrarium on purpose."
"That ahjussi survived, didn't he?"
The grumpy man fell from the sky after Won Yiwon killed the Vespero that snatched him, but that person didn't hit the ground since Won Yiwon used a skill to catch the Civilian in mid-air.
"Ahn Navi, that kind of response will only make the Hunters' Association doubt whether you're still in control or not," Won Yiwon said, sighing while shaking his head. "If someone pisses you off, just tell me— I'll get rid of that person for you."
Pfft.
"Won Yiwon, your job is not to kill the people I want gone— your job is to stay alive and well. If you die, only then will I allow the Calamity to take over me and destroy the world," Navi said, smiling while closing her eyes because she could feel the darkness pulling her consciousness away. "Because a world without you is a world I don't care about."
In hindsight, maybe Navi should have opened her eyes after that indirect confession.
Then maybe she would have realized what Won Yiwon truly felt for her before it was too late.
***
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