The White Lotus Guild Headquarters was unlike any other. While the other Great Guilds had constructed towers of steel and glass, symbols of power and modernity, the White Lotus Guild stood as a sanctuary of tradition and serenity, resembling a Buddhist monastery more than a base for some of Korea's most powerful Hunters.

Stone pathways wove through the estate, lined with bamboo groves and carefully cultivated gardens. Manicured trees cast dappled shadows over koi ponds, their still waters mirroring the sky. The gentle rustling of leaves, the distant toll of a temple bell, and the occasional murmur of wind chimes filled the air, a harmony of peace and discipline.

It was a place where burdens were meant to be lifted.

And yet, for Han Seo-yeon, no such relief came.

She sat in a small wooden pavilion, the scent of incense lingering in the warm afternoon air. The open-air structure overlooked a Zen sand garden, where a lone monk raked careful, deliberate patterns into the earth.

Seo-yeon barely noticed.

Across from her, Im Seong-ho, the Guildmaster of White Lotus, sat in perfect stillness. Clad in simple gray robes, the middle-aged man radiated an aura of wisdom, his presence as calm and unshaken as a mountain. His face, weathered by years of experience, bore a quiet kindness that put many at ease.

Between them, a tea set lay neatly arranged atop a low wooden table, steam rising in delicate wisps from the ceramic teapot. The traditional tea ceremony was an act of focus, discipline, and mindfulness, an exercise in being fully present.

Seo-yeon poured the amber liquid, her hands steady as she filled Seong-ho's cup first before her own. The soft trickle of tea was the only sound that accompanied them.

Seong-ho observed her movements.

There was a pause. A hesitation so slight that most would have overlooked it.

But he noticed.

Seo-yeon never hesitated.

He did not ask her what was wrong. Instead, he lifted his cup, savoring the bitterness blooming on his tongue before it melted into delicate floral notes.

Finally, he spoke.

"The mind is much like this tea, Seo-yeon-ah."

Her gaze flickered upward, momentarily pulled from her thoughts by the gentle weight of his voice.

Seong-ho swirled the tea lightly in his cup, his expression unreadable.

"If one lingers too long on the past, the tea grows cold."

He took another slow sip.

"If one worries too much about the future, the taste is lost in distraction."

Seo-yeon said nothing.

Her fingers tightened slightly around her cup.

The words struck too deeply for her to ignore.

The past.

The future.

She had spent too much time in both lately.

The Abyssal Gate.

Him.

A soft breeze swept through the pavilion, causing the paper lanterns overhead to sway slightly.

Her lips parted as if she wanted to speak.

But she hesitated.

Instead, she took a slow sip of tea.

The warmth spread across her tongue, but she barely registered the taste.

Seong-ho watched her in silence, his gaze neither pressing nor impatient.

He knew.

He had guided her since she Awakened as a Hunter. Trained her. Watched her grow into the woman she was today.

And so, he knew when something troubled her.

But wisdom was knowing when not to ask.

Instead, he lifted the teapot once more, carefully refilling her cup.

The warm steam rose between them, an unspoken reminder.

Seo-yeon stared at the tea swirling inside her cup, her reflection barely visible on its golden surface.

The mind is like tea…

She took a slow breath, exhaling softly.

"I know," she murmured at last.

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried enough weight to acknowledge his words.

Seong-ho gave a faint, knowing smile before taking another sip.

"Then drink," he said. "And let the world wait."

Seo-yeon exhaled, feeling some of the weight she carried settle into the stillness of the moment.

Right now, there was no need for burdens.

No need for answers.

No need for anything but the present.

She lifted her cup once more.

And together, in the quiet sanctuary of the White Lotus, they continued the tea ceremony.

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

The team had entered the dungeon, facing the monsters lurking in its depths. Goblins, wolves, and kobolds emerged from the shadows, snarling and screeching, only to be swiftly cut down.

At the forefront of the carnage was Go Min-kyung, the Amazon, and the appointed leader of the team.

She was a sight to behold.

Her toned yet shapely body was the result of relentless training, a perfect blend of raw power and feminine allure. Her battle uniform, which was a form-fitting, fur-trimmed top that left her shoulders and midriff bare, only accentuated her taut muscles and golden skin, glistening slightly from the exertion of battle.

Her skirt, short with twin slits at the sides, showcased her powerful, well-defined thighs, built for speed and strength. She radiated raw physicality, a woman who had mastered her own body as a weapon. Yet, for all her ferocity, there was something dangerously alluring about her, the way she moved, the confidence in her smirk as she tore through enemies like a whirlwind of steel.

With a fierce battle cry, Min-kyung launched herself into the fray, her massive battle axe seemed like an extension of her own body.

She twisted mid-air, bringing the axe down in a lethal arc, bisecting a wolf in one clean stroke. Blood sprayed across her exposed skin, but she barely flinched, already pivoting into her next attack. A goblin lunged at her, but she sidestepped effortlessly, twisting her hips in a way that sent the fabric of her skirt fluttering, a momentary flash of her firm, muscular legs before she slammed her knee into the creature's gut.

With one final flourish, she spun her axe in a dazzling display of precision and savagery, cleaving through three kobolds simultaneously. Their dying shrieks barely lasted a second before they collapsed into lifeless heaps.

Despite the violence, she fought with an almost predatory elegance, a warrior both ruthless and mesmerizing.

Despite the life-or-death nature of the raid, several of the male Hunters couldn't help but stare.

"Damn…" Ji-hoon muttered under his breath as he let loose an arrow into a kobold's skull. "Look at her."

"Shouldn't we be focusing on clearing the dungeon?" Tae-woo grumbled, cutting down an incoming wolf with a swift strike of his longsword.

Ji-hoon let out a low whistle, still watching Min-kyung in action. "I mean, you gotta admit, she's sexy as hell doing that." Then, a grin spread across his face as he shot a knowing look at Tae-woo. "Then again, we all know your type is [The Saintess]."

Tae-woo glared at him. "Want me to slash the tires of your bike?"

Ji-hoon snorted but took the hint.

Meanwhile, the team continued forward after harvesting magic crystals from the slain monsters' corpses.

After a moment of silence, Ji-hoon spoke up. "Now that I think about it, I've seen her before…"

"Who?" Tae-woo asked, adjusting his grip on his sword.

"Min-kyung," Ji-hoon replied. "I think she's the daughter of a billionaire or something."

Tae-woo raised an eyebrow. "A billionaire?"

Ji-hoon nodded. "Go Haneul, the CEO of Gojin Group. The guy's been making waves in the Hunter industry for a while now."

Tae-woo listened, intrigued despite himself.

"Gojin Group has been trying to establish a major guild, something big enough to compete with the Six Great Guilds," Ji-hoon continued, keeping his voice low as they walked. "They're saying the Six Great Guilds have too much control over the dungeon industry. You know, monopolizing resources, dominating contracts, setting the rules for everyone else."

Tae-woo frowned. "So, they want to break the monopoly?"

Ji-hoon shrugged. "Something like that. They've been pouring ridiculous amounts of money into recruiting top-tier Hunters. They're even offering better contracts than some of the Great Guilds, but the problem is, well…" He glanced around, lowering his voice. "A lot of people don't take them seriously. They're new money trying to muscle into an old game."

Tae-woo exhaled. He wasn't particularly interested in guild politics, but he understood the weight of what Ji-hoon was saying. A new player trying to challenge the established powerhouses of the Hunter world?

That was bound to stir things up.

"You sure know a lot about that kind of stuff," Tae-woo commented.

Ji-hoon smirked. "Hey, someone's gotta keep up with the drama. Besides, you never know when it might come in handy."

Tae-woo shook his head but said nothing more. For now, they had a dungeon to clear.

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

Kong Jae-sik was seething.

It wasn't just irritation or mild frustration. This was pure, unfiltered rage, boiling beneath his skin like molten iron. His fingers twitched, itching for something to break, something to hurt, something to destroy. Every fiber of his being recoiled at the sight before him, at the sheer audacity of the situation he had been forced to endure.

Go Min-kyung, a woman, was leading them.

Not only had she been chosen to command their team, but she had also taken complete control of the battlefield, dictating their movements, deciding their tactics, and, worst of all, proving herself indispensable.

She wasn't just leading. She was excelling.

With her battle prowess, she tore through their enemies like a force of nature, her powerful swings carving goblins and kobolds in half with ease. Her every move was precise, brutal, and efficient. Her body, toned and shapely, moved with a grace that only made her overwhelming strength even more infuriating. And the worst part? The men around her couldn't stop watching.

Some were enamored by her beauty. Others admired her skill. But all of them, in one way or another, respected her.

Jae-sik despised it.

He despised her.

He despised women.

Women were meant to be lesser. Meant to be guided, meant to be controlled, meant to be put in their place.

But instead, they flaunted their looks, wielded their charm like weapons, and manipulated their way through life. They pouted their lips, batted their lashes, and wrapped men around their delicate little fingers. They pretended to be weak, but the moment they were given power, they stomped all over the ones who had lifted them up in the first place.

Women didn't earn respect. They tricked people into giving it to them.

Jae-sik had seen it too many times. He had watched women climb to high positions without effort, benefiting from the admiration of naive men who mistook beauty for competence. He had seen strong men grovel and debase themselves just for the approval of some pretty face.

He never entertained their games. Never played into their hands. Never let himself be fooled by their smiles, their sweet words, their false humility. To him, women were nothing but parasites, leeching off of men, using their softness to justify their failures while expecting men to pick up the pieces.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

And yet here he was.

Standing in a dungeon.

Under the command of a woman.

Forced to listen to her orders, to acknowledge her strength, to watch as she outshined him in every possible way.

Jae-sik could feel it, the scorn burning inside him, the anger twisting his gut. He despised her confidence, the way she carried herself with that air of superiority. He hated how effortless it all seemed for her. He despised the way the other men looked at her, the unspoken admiration in their eyes.

She hadn't done anything special. She had just been lucky.

Lucky to have been born pretty. Lucky to have gotten whatever privileges had propelled her forward. Lucky that people didn't question her skills as much as they should have.

He clenched his fists.

Go Min-kyung was no leader. She was just another arrogant woman playing hero.

And the worst part? She was getting away with it.

As his fury festered, something unnatural stirred in the depths of his mind.

A whisper.

[Such anger…]

Jae-sik's breath hitched.

It wasn't from anyone around him.

It came from somewhere else.

Something else.

But he was too angry to care.

[I see that you think it's wrong for her to be all high and mighty.]

Jae-sik gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching so tightly it ached.

[I can give you a tool. Right this wrong.]

He didn't even have to think.

Didn't even have to hesitate.

"Yes," he whispered, his voice almost trembling with the weight of his hatred.

A dark chuckle echoed in his mind.

[If anything, you'll make quite a hearty feast for my Master.]

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

"Abyssal Corruption?"

Im Seong-ho nodded at Han Seo-yeon's inquisitive tone. The two remained seated in the wooden pavilion, the quiet rustling of leaves and the gentle patterns of the sand garden before them adding to the tranquility of their surroundings.

"Indeed," Seong-ho said, his voice carrying the weight of understanding that only came with years of meditation and insight. "Every portal leading to the dungeons across the world is inextricably linked to the Abyssal Gate. This is the result of a phenomenon we call Abyssal Corruption."

Slowly, the monk stood up, his hands clasped behind his back as he stepped toward the edge of the pavilion. A lone leaf drifted from a nearby tree, its gentle descent unnoticed by the world around it, except by him. With an effortless motion, he caught it between his fingers.

"Dungeons," he continued, "are not merely places filled with monsters. They are distortions of reality, reflections of something much deeper, much darker. They fuel our economy and provide us with power, yet they are little more than wounds upon our world, manifestations of something far beyond our understanding."

He lifted the leaf, turning it over in his palm.

"Tell me, Seo-yeon," he said, his voice calm, measured. "What happens to a leaf once it falls from the tree?"

"It withers," Seo-yeon answered after a moment.

Seong-ho nodded.

"When we, the Hunters, step into the dungeons, we are akin to these fallen leaves. Cut off from the natural order, from the world that sustains us, we are adrift in a place not meant for us. A fallen leaf is destined to wither and crumble, and so too are we, should we linger for too long in these places of unnatural abundance."

Seo-yeon frowned slightly. "But aren't we, as Hunters, resilient enough to withstand whatever corruption the dungeons may have?"

The monk turned to her with a small smile.

"Resilience is not permanence, Seo-yeon," he said. "True, our Awakening grants us a resistance, an armor against the corruption. Our bodies are tempered by mana, our spirits fortified. But resistance is not the same as immunity."

His fingers brushed over the delicate veins of the leaf in his hand.

"It is not only the dungeons that test us," he continued. "It is the weight of our emotions, the turbulence of our hearts. Those who carry fear, hatred, greed, or despair… these emotions make them vulnerable. Corruption does not force its way in. It seeps, like water into cracks, like whispers into an unguarded mind."

Seo-yeon slowly nodded, her gaze thoughtful.

"So that's why you always emphasize the importance of mental discipline among Hunters," she said. "To ensure the Abyssal Corruption doesn't take root."

Seong-ho's smile was gentle, his expression kind, yet touched with something deeper.

Something sorrowful.

"Partly," he admitted. "But even that is only a temporary measure."

His thumb ran along the leaf's surface once more, and Seo-yeon saw that in the short time he had held it, the edges had begun to curl, its color fading.

"We are standing against something far greater than we can comprehend," Seong-ho murmured. "Combating corruption is not merely about survival. It is a preparation, a discipline that may one day allow us to stand against whatever lies beyond the Abyssal Gate."

He exhaled softly.

"At my current level, I doubt I could even stand a chance against it. The last time…"

A shadow passed over his face, his usual serenity disrupted by something Seo-yeon had rarely seen in him. An old, buried fear. A memory unspoken.

"Master," Seo-yeon spoke carefully, watching him. "Are you saying that even you could succumb to the corruption?"

For a moment, Seong-ho said nothing.

Then, with the same calm grace he always carried, he smiled.

"I am still but a man," he said, voice gentle yet firm in its truth. "And it is a man's lot to struggle against corruption. We may seek enlightenment, but we are still tethered to desire, to suffering."

He paused, his fingers tightening ever so slightly around the leaf.

"The allure… the whispers…" He looked down at the small thing in his hand, now brittle and lifeless. "Even I can crumble."

With that, he released it.

The withered leaf drifted downward, landing amidst the soft patterns of the sand garden.

The two remained in silence for a while, watching as the wind slowly erased its imprint from the sand.

Then, without another word, they returned to their tea ceremony.

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

Something felt wrong.

Tae-woo's instincts screamed at him as the group continued deeper into the dungeon tunnel. The air grew thick and heavy with something unseen, something sinister.

Then, he noticed it.

Kong Jae-sik had stopped moving.

He stood motionless, his back slightly hunched, his sword dangling limply at his side. His head was bowed low, his gaze fixed on the ground beneath his feet.

"Hey, Jae-sik," one of his lackeys called out, stepping closer. "What's wrong?"

There was no response.

"You've been acting weird this whole time," another one added, sounding uneasy.

Still, Jae-sik did not move.

Then, in a low, guttural whisper, he spoke.

"Kill."

The word sent a ripple of discomfort through the group.

"What's up with him?" Jang Woo-bin, the Castellan, muttered as he stepped next to Jae-sik, his brow furrowed in concern. Yoo Sena, the Druid, was right beside him, clutching her wooden staff tightly.

Min-kyung, who was leading the group, turned her head back, sensing the shift in the atmosphere. "Something happening back there?" Even she sounded puzzled.

"Kill."

The word came again, sharper this time like steel scraping against stone.

Before anyone could react, Jae-sik moved.

In a single, impossibly fast motion, his sword arced through the air.

Three heads hit the ground.

Blood sprayed across the tunnel walls.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence.

Then, a delayed gasp.

A strangled scream.

"Eh?"

The three men who had been standing closest to Jae-sik were now dead, their bodies slumping forward as their severed heads rolled across the dirt floor, eyes wide in eternal shock.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"JAE-SIK, YOU-"

"KILL!"

Jae-sik's voice roared through the tunnel, a maddened, guttural screech.

His body trembled violently, muscles twisting beneath his skin as something inhuman began to take shape. His flesh darkened into a deep, sickly purple, veins bulging unnaturally across his arms and neck.

A horn, twisted, jagged, and yellowed like aged bone, burst from the left side of his forehead.

When he lifted his head, his eyes were wrong.

The whites of his sclera had turned pitch-black, his irises a sickly, glowing yellow.

Then, he grinned.

A jagged, unsettling smile stretched across his face, showing rows of sharp, unnatural teeth.

"Kill you all."

He lunged.

His sword swung wildly, carving through the air as the group erupted into chaos.

"H-HOLY SHIT!"

"WHAT THE FUCK, JAE-SIK?!"

Screams filled the tunnel as the team scrambled in different directions, barely dodging his relentless assault.

One of the Hunters, a C-Rank Swordsman, tried to react, only for Jae-sik's blade to cleave through his shoulder, nearly bisecting him in a single, monstrous swing.

More blood splattered onto the stone walls.

"He's gone berserk!" Woo-bin shouted, yanking up his shield and slamming it forward just in time to block another wild slash. The impact sent vibrations up his arm, forcing him to grit his teeth.

Yoo Sena raised her staff, chanting a quick incantation. "Restrain him!"

Vines shot from the ground, wrapping around Jae-sik's arms and legs, but with a monstrous snarl, he ripped through them as if they were paper.

"FUCK! He's too strong!"

Min-kyung had already moved, her axe gleaming as she charged in. She weaved through the battlefield with impossible grace, her shapely, toned body a blur of speed and power. She closed the gap in an instant, her axe carving through the air with savage precision.

CLANG!

Jae-sik blocked her strike, meeting her attack head-on with an unnatural amount of strength.

Her eyes widened. What the hell?!

He shouldn't have been able to stop her so easily.

"Back the fuck up!" Min-kyung growled, twisting her body with an athletic, almost predatory grace before launching a spinning kick at Jae-sik's head.

He grinned through the impact.

Then, he lashed out.

Min-kyung barely managed to twist out of the way, but the tip of Jae-sik's blade caught her exposed thigh, drawing a thin line of crimson.

Tae-woo stood frozen for a brief moment, watching the scene unfold in horrified realization.

Jae-sik… wasn't human anymore.

"What the fuck happened to him?"

His grip on his sword tightened as the battle raged around him.

Chaos.

Screams.

Blood.

And through it all, one thing became clear.

Tae-woo's stomach twisted.

His fingers trembled.

Hunger.

It clawed at his insides, deep and primal, far stronger than before.

He could smell it.

The blood in the air.

The bodies on the ground.

His own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

His lips parted slightly.

His breath came out slow.

Tae-woo swallowed hard.

"Why am I so hungry?"