HACKED 82

The ‘Library District’ was, literally, a giant library situated inside the Pantheon. Even at a first glance, the disparity between it and other locations within the Pantheon was vast in many ways.

The Pantheon generally felt like a mix between a space battleship and a corporate headquarters. However, the Library District alone featured a classic, modern-European-style interior that didn’t suit it at all. This is what it might look like if two completely different worlds were chopped off and grafted together.

The structure itself was also peculiar.

The Library District is on the 5th floor. There are other facilities on the 4th and 6th floors. Therefore, this library should naturally be a single-story space, but the interior of the Library District, as seen upon entering, was much larger than that. Since it was shaped like a hall with a very high open ceiling and mezzanine stairs, it seemed like it would be five stories high, or at least three stories, based on height alone. It was never a size that could be crammed into a single floor.

“What kind of structure is this? It doesn’t make sense.”

The S-rank Hunter walking down the library corridor grumbled. The young man walking behind him replied.

“The first possibility is ‘dimension merging.’ If two completely different dimensions are forced together by a compelling force, they can take on this kind of chimera-like form as much as they want.”

“Huh? Mr. Divine Punishment, you even know the word chimera?”

“A chimera is the child of Typhon and Echidna. Wouldn’t it be natural for me to know that…”

To ask an Incarnation of Greek and Roman mythological origin a question like ‘You even know the word chimera?’. No matter how much an S-rank Hunter lacks interest in things other than himself, wasn’t this a bit much? The young man continued speaking while feeling a sense of self-deprecation and skepticism.

“Anyway, the second is the possibility that the Compiler intentionally made it like this. The Pantheon is a space manifested based on the Compiler’s will, after all. There could be any number of parts that cannot be explained by common sense.”

“Does that mean the Compiler uses skills or something, like the Incarnations?”

“It’s not quite that… it means that if the Compiler has a rich imagination and the belief to support that imagination, they can create a space that twists the laws of reality. Do you know the ‘Labyrinth of Daedalus’?”

“The Labyrinth of Daedalus? What’s that? Is it a newly appeared dungeon?”

“Daedalus is a person’s name. He was Icarus’s father and the architect who built the labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur…”

“Ah, Greek and Roman mythology? That cartoon where the art style changed halfway through.”

“……”

The young man, <The Hunter Hunted by Divine Punishment>, shut his mouth with a troubled face. It seemed there was no point in speaking further.

“Mr. Divine Punishment, do you feel the presence of the other unit members? Do you know where they went?”

“No, I do not know. Everyone moved so quickly…”

“Stupid bastards. I told them to just stay still and follow because I’d give them a carry, but they’re trolling in this situation?”

The S-rank Hunter grit his teeth. Then he suddenly turned toward the young man and asked.

“But why did you stay, Mr. Divine Punishment? Wasn’t it that you disliked me as well?”

‘Ah, so you had at least that much intuition. That’s a relief. I thought you didn’t even have that.’

The young man smiled, swallowing the words that had risen to the tip of his chin. The reason he stayed by the S-rank Hunter’s side was simple.

Passive Skill: ‘Tragoidia (τραγῳδία)’

: He who struggles to avoid fate shall instead become entangled in that fate.

The words spoken by the caster become a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ with a very low probability. No one knows when, where, or how that prophecy will be realized.

‘Tragoidia’ was a passive skill commonly attached to Incarnations of Greek and Roman mythological origin. It was a skill befitting those from the age of oracles and prophecies.

The biggest problem with this skill is that one does not know which of the words they spoke will become a prophecy, or how that prophecy will be realized.

In such a situation, just a moment ago, the skill had been activated, breaking through the very low probability.

‘Aren’t we being too complacent? Everything could end in an instant due to a single moment’s mistake.’

It was a comment he had made earlier without much thought. Neither <The Hunter Hunted by Divine Punishment> nor the other unit members knew that those words would become a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy.’

However, as long as the skill was activated, the future was as good as decided. For a prophecy would be fulfilled one way or another.

One might say, what is the use of this skill if one cannot avoid the future no matter how much one struggles to avoid it? But this skill can be very useful if used well.

For example, let’s say the words ‘I will be stabbed by a blade’ received a self-fulfilling prophecy judgment. What if the caster wore armor over their entire body every day to prepare for this prophecy? What if they were extremely careful and paid close attention to all sharp objects?

The fate of ‘being stabbed by a blade’ does not change. However, depending on how much effort the caster puts in, the stabbed area could become the limbs instead of the chest or neck, or if they are very lucky, it could end at about a finger.

That is why, even while knowing the prophecy will eventually be fulfilled, one cannot help but struggle to reduce the damage even a little bit.

‘Everything ends due to a single moment’s mistake, huh…’

What exactly would that ‘single moment’s mistake’ be? Is it the S-rank Hunter’s self-righteousness? Is it the betrayal of the comrades? Or if it’s neither of those, is it his own choice that will be made in a situation where the unit has split?

The subject of ‘everything ends’ was also ambiguous. It could be himself, the S-rank Hunter, or the other comrades. Of course, there was also the possibility that the side where everything ends would be the enemy.

Because nothing could be certain, every single step was cautious.

He trusted the judgment of the other comrades. However, the strength of the S-rank Hunter, who was the commander of this unit and the only 5-star, was also a reality.

Whether to defy the commander’s orders and join the comrades, or to ignore the comrades and follow the commander’s orders. There were risks either way.

He retraced the memories of numerous adventures engraved in his mind. How was it when he was with the journey of Jason and Heracles? What about when he participated in Dionysus’s expedition? Hadn’t numerous deceptions and traps blocked their path even then?

Judging by those experiences, the results were generally good when following the strongest hero and the leader of the expedition.

In a situation where one cannot tell what is what, one has no choice but to move forward on the path they believe is right. Therefore, <The Hunter Hunted by Divine Punishment> stayed by the S-rank Hunter’s side.

“What about you, Mr. Hunter? Why did you follow the other unit members into this place? Technically, they were the ones who first defied the commander’s orders and acted independently.”

“If it were up to me, I would have abandoned them all and left. But what can I do? Since I’m the raid leader, I have to take care of the raid members.”

For once, the S-rank Hunter made a sensible remark. It seemed that even that man possessed a sense of responsibility as a leader. The young man slightly raised his evaluation of the S-rank Hunter in his mind.

“Because no matter how strong I am, I don’t do crazy things like charging in alone. I’m a dealer, not a tank. I need at least one meat shield.”

…He was wrong. There was no such thing as responsibility. He just didn’t want to get hit by attacks himself.

“I’ll ask a few things I’m curious about too. Why did the unit members suddenly all run over here? Saying things like ‘It’s not the upper floor, it’s here.’”

The S-rank Hunter threw a question back. The young man toyed with his thick curly hair and thought for a moment before responding.

“Because the flow of power is heading this way.”

“So, what exactly does that mean. I’m telling you the power source is on the upper floor? We have to go up further from here. You guys all agreed at first too.”

“We did at first. We knew intuitively that the power source was somewhere above, but it was ambiguous whether that ‘above’ was exactly the 5th floor, the 7th floor, or even higher. In that situation, we followed along because Mr. Hunter confidently said to go up.”

“……”

“But right here, when we reached the 5th floor… we finally realized. That there is no need to go any higher than this. Even right now, a flow of powerful energy can be felt from inside there.”

“No, what on earth does that mean? Mr. Divine Punishment, you know my skill well too. The skill that tells me the ‘shortest route for the clear.’ Even now, it says ‘Move to the upper floor’ on the status window!”

The S-rank Hunter, perhaps significantly frustrated, pounded his chest and got angry. The young man gave a bitter smile.

“As the others pointed out, you could have conveyed the contents of the status window differently, Mr. Hunter.”

“Why would I do such a thing!”

“Even if it wasn’t done intentionally with malice, there is the possibility that your senses were distorted or your judgment was impaired by being caught in an enemy’s skill.”

“Fuck. I’m going to die of frustration. Does your head not work? If someone got caught in a skill, it would be you guys, not me. I’m a 5-star and you guys are 3-stars, at most 4-stars! The level of my mental resistance is different from the likes of you, the level!”

The S-rank Hunter’s verbal abuse went beyond the limit after being tolerated. Even the formal speech he had been using as a formality vanished. The young man let out a short sigh and hardened his expression.

“Mr. Hunter. I understand that you are upset, but please watch your words.”