Maybe I should just pretend I didn't see it.
The urge to ignore Karma entirely just as he always had flared up, sweet and tempting. For a brief moment, Sayoon hesitated, tapping the status window with his fingertips.
Humans are creatures of curiosity.
And honestly? He wascurious.
What kind of shop could possibly be so incredible that it required ten million Karma to unlock?
If the entry fee alone was ten million, then the items inside had to be things you couldn't get from gate rewards or at least, something incredibly rare and valuable.
If he could sell or use them, the benefits would be enormous.
"...Tch."
Yeah, I won't be satisfied until I see it.
Even if he wanted to give up, his curiosity wouldn't let him.
Was this how fish felt, biting a tempting bait even when they knew it meant death?
Steeling himself, Sayoon checked his Infamy stat. If he wanted to minimize pointless Karma loss from now on, he needed to start managing it.
Reputation: 10,390,091 (Infamy)
"...The hell?"
Over ten million.
"Just tell me to give up already."
He didn't know whether to be impressed or furious that he'd somehow racked up that much Karma. What did I even do to deserve this much Infamy? The injustice burned.
A quick check revealed that Karma stopped being deducted only if his Infamy stayed below seven million.
Meaning I need to erase three million through "good deeds."
The sheer absurdity of it made his vision swim.
A villain forced to do good just to preserve his Karma?
Was there anything more contradictory?
His temper flared, and for a moment, he wanted to scream curses at the system and be done with it. But with great effort, he forced himself to take deep breaths and prioritize.
First things first, the Karma Shop was a problem for far in the future. He hadn't even hit half of ten million yet. Getting hung up on it now would only frustrate him.
The immediate goal was unlocking Eyes of Calamity.
That came first.
Regaining his composure, Sayoon turned his attention back to the status window.
True to its decade-long absence, every part of it was packed with surprises. So far, he'd only checked Traits, Locked Skills, and Karma, plenty remained unexplored. His gaze drifted downward, landing on the Titles section, where something odd stood out.
['The One Watched by Gods (?)']
['Perhaps a Divine Progeny? (?)']
['Follower of the Malevolent Deity (?)']
Unlike most of his titles, he had no memory of earning these. The common thread? They all mentioned gods
Tapping them yielded nothing [Access Denied] just like always. Suppressing his irritation, he forced himself to stay calm.
It's not like I didn't already know I was a puppet for those bastards.
He'd lived it.
His eyes flicked to the Perks sectionspecifically, the one he'd been avoiding.
['Forced Execution (?)']
A cold smirk twisted his lips.
Of course this is listed as one of my perks.
He tapped it, but like the others marked with a (?), details were blocked.
If they're hiding it, it's because they don't want me to see it.
The gods who'd shoved him into this cursed fate were still messing with him, even in his own status window.
Rage burned in his chest, but he swallowed it. Giving in was exactly what they wanted.
But his restraint shattered when he saw another L-rank Perk.
['To the Unluckiest You (L)']
The name alone was infuriating.
['To the Unluckiest You (L)']
- For you, born under an unlucky fate, the gods have shown mercy. Your Luck stat is permanently fixed at A-.
For a second, he thought he'd misread.
What kind of insane perk is this?
Then he checked his stats.
Luck: A- (F-)
According to Eyes of Calamity's description, the value in parentheses was his maximum growth potential.
Not his current stat—his ceiling.
"...Hah."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Then another. And another.
Soon, he was shaking silently, shoulders trembling, an observer might've thought he was crying.
Then, abruptly, his expression hardened.
CRASH!
He kicked the bedside table, sending the decorative vase atop it shattering to the floor. If Jongsik had seen it, he'd have wept blood, but Sayoon didn't stop there. He kept kicking, the table splintering under his rage.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The room filled with the sound of destruction.
Even after reducing the furniture to wreckage, his fury remained. He exhaled sharply, breath searing with anger.
An E-rank Luck stat was already a death sentencepeople with that level of misfortune faced life-threatening dangers eight times a day and financial ruin twice.
But his Luck?
F-.
Not just F. F-minus.*
And the worst part?
This wasn't something he was born with.
Before the gates appeared, Sayoon had lived a normal life. A happy family, financial stability—nothing resembling misfortune.
This Luck stat wasn't innate.
It was the system's doing.
No—the gods' doing.
They'd rigged it when they branded him the True Evil of Humanity.
And now they had the audacityto call it "mercy"?
If their goal was to destroy any shred of faith he might've had, they'd succeeded spectacularly.
What's next? Telling me to be grateful?
More furious than he'd been even upon realizing Eyes of Calamity cost Karma, Sayoon forced himself to use the breathing exercises Jongsik had taught him.
In. Out. In. Out.
Slowly, the heat in his veins cooled.
With a final disgusted flick of his wrist, he dismissed the status window.
If they'd given me the option to transfer the system to someone else instead of this, I might've cried tears of joy.
Hell, he might've even started praising the gods he'd spent years cursing.
But "what ifs" were just fantasies, and fantasies rarely came true.
Given that his decade-long wish to "go back to before all this" had never been granted, the idea of transferring the system was equally hopeless.
Exhausted, he collapsed onto the bed.
It felt like the system had slapped a giant label on his forehead: "Unlucky Bastard."
What a fantastic feeling .
"...Guess I was unlucky as hell."
Ever since becoming a Hunter, his luck had been so bad that walking through a minefield would've guaranteed stepping on every mine.
Just as he was sinking into that bleak thought—
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Something knocked on his window.
Frowning, Sayoon pulled back the blackout curtains.
A crow.
Perched elegantly on the windowsill, wings neatly folded, it rapped its beak against the glass again. When their eyes met, the bird's irises flashed red.
"...Jongsik?"
Given that it was a crow, it could've been sent by any of his subordinates. But to be sure, he needed to let it in.
Unlocking the window, he opened it—only for the previously dignified bird to flap wildly into his face, rubbing against him like an overexcited dog.
"Hey—hey!"
*CAW! CAW!*
"Did you even bathe?"
Caw?
"...I'm losing my mind."
This was one of the cleaner crows under his care—it had to have been groomed before being sent. But the sensation of feathers smearing against his face was still deeply unpleasant.
Grabbing the bird by the neck, he held it at arm's length. It wagged its wings happily.
"Stop squawking and report."
The crow stilled.
Lifting it to eye level, Sayoon locked gazes with it.
The crow's eyes turned red.
A sharp pain lanced through his skull—and suddenly, the crow's memories flooded into his mind.
The name Bamjwi (Night Mouse) hadn't been chosen at random.
Just as mice listened at night, crows watched during the day.
His ability to communicate with and share vision through crows (and snakes) was what had propelled Bamjwi to the top of the information guild hierarchy.
The crow's memories showed Bamjwi members abducting a Chinese guild member and dragging him to an interrogation villa. The last thing it saw was the members handing it a message: "Report to the Guild Leader."
Sayoon closed his eyes.
A mild headache pulsed, a side effect of the skill but it was manageable. After a few blinks, he stroked the crow's head.
"Good job. Go get a treat."
CAW!
Pointing to the door, he watched as the crow obediently flew off toward the snack stash.
Once alone, he sat back on the bed—just as a notification popped up.
- Current Karma: 1,000,089
He'd crossed one million.
The earlier frustration faded as anticipation took over. Taking a deep breath, he tapped [Unlock Skill].
Without hesitation, he accepted.
The pain hit instantly.
"Ghk—!"
Sayoon crumpled.
Drip. Drip.
Blood—thick and red—streamed from his right eye, soaking the bedsheet.