Chapter 6

Kang Hajin walked into the Hunter Association with a casual stride, even though his mind was still full of questions about the Corrupted Knight's armor fragment he had obtained.

The association's building looked modern and grand, with holographic screens displaying the latest news about the hunter world.

"The White Tiger Guild just cleared an A-rank dungeon in less than three hours!"

"The investigation regarding the dungeon break incident in District 5 is still ongoing."

Hajin ignored the news and headed straight to the item identification counter.

Behind the desk, a middle-aged woman wearing glasses and the association's uniform greeted him with a smile.

"Welcome to the Hunter Association. How can I help you?"

Hajin pulled out the armor fragment and placed it on the table.

"I want this analyzed," he said flatly.

The woman nodded, put on a special pair of gloves, and placed the fragment into a cube-shaped scanner that looked like it was made of glass.

The machine activated, emitting a rotating blue light around the item.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Then...

BZZTT...!

Suddenly, the analysis screen flickered, and the scanner started vibrating unnaturally.

The woman frowned.

"This is strange… There seems to be a problem."

"A problem?" Hajin stared at the screen, which now displayed lines of error codes.

[ERROR: Data not found]

[Item not registered in the database]

"...Huh?"

The woman tried restarting the system, but every time she attempted to reanalyze it, the result was the same.

"This doesn't make sense…" she muttered. "Even rare or ancient items should still have some form of data traceable. But this… it's like this item never existed."

Hajin raised an eyebrow.

"So, this isn't just some ordinary armor?"

The woman nodded. "I've never seen anything like this before. Normally, even unique items would leave at least some data. But this… it's like something that was never meant to exist."

Hajin stared at the armor fragment.

This thing came from the Corrupted Knight, a dungeon boss monster that supposedly wasn't in the association's database.

And now, the item itself couldn't be analyzed.

"...Could this be connected to the system of the gods?"

His heart started beating faster.

If this thing really came from outside the known system… then it could be the key to unlocking the secrets of the gods who created all this mess.

But before he could think any further...

TING!

A sudden notification from his system popped up.

[Warning: You have come into contact with an object unregistered in the system.]

[Further analysis required.]

[Initiating…]

Hajin's eyes widened.

"My system is reacting to this too?"

Suddenly, his vision went dark.

The world spun, and a loud noise filled his head.

WITH...

THIS POWER…

YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO…

Strange, unfamiliar voices echoed in his mind.

Hajin groaned, feeling a sharp pain piercing through his skull.

"W-what the hell…?"

He nearly collapsed, but quickly steadied himself against the table.

The woman at the counter looked at him with concern.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Hajin shook his head and quickly dismissed the system notification.

"No way… is this a warning from the gods?"

If that was the case… then he had just stepped into something incredibly dangerous.

The lingering discomfort in his head was still there, but he forced himself to stand straight.

The voices had disappeared, but something about this whole situation didn't sit right with him.

"I can't just ignore this."

He looked at the Corrupted Knight's armor fragment still lying on the analysis table.

An item that couldn't be detected by the association's system, yet triggered a response from his own…

If this really came from beyond the gods' control, then maybe he could dig deeper using his abilities.

Without hesitation, Hajin reached out and touched the armor fragment.

TING!

[Do you wish to use 'Reality Override (Lv. 1)' on this target?]

[Yes] / [No]

Hajin took a deep breath.

"Do it."

[Yes]

The moment he selected it...

ZRRRRT!

An invisible wave of energy pulsed from his hand, spreading into the armor fragment.

What once looked like an ordinary black metal shard now started glowing with a faint dark-purple light.

THE WORLD AROUND HIM TURNED DARK.

Suddenly, Hajin felt his body being pulled into something.

"............!!"

Strange images flooded his mind.

A towering black knight appeared before him, its body covered in cracked armor, its burning red eyes staring straight at him.

[I AM A MISTAKE.]

[I WAS NEVER MEANT TO EXIST.]

[I WAS CREATED TO BE ERASED.]

BOOM!

A massive explosion rang in his head, and the vision immediately disappeared.

Hajin gasped for breath, collapsing onto the floor.

Cold sweat trickled down his face.

[Additional information discovered.]

[Item: ???]

[Class: Unidentified]

[Description: A fragment of an entity that was meant to be erased by the gods' system. Contains traces of a power that cannot be defined by existing rules.]

[Effect: ???]

Hajin stared at the floating screen with wide eyes.

"An entity that was meant to be erased by the gods' system?"

Did that mean the Corrupted Knight was also something that was never supposed to exist?

And more importantly…

Why the hell could I see all this?

If the gods' system was truly perfect, no one should be able to learn about their mistakes.

But now, he didn't just see it he had a piece of that existence.

His fist clenched.

"I need to investigate this further."

But he knew, with his current level, there was no way he could understand everything right away.

One thing was clear, though this was dangerous.

And if the gods found out he had this…

He might be the next one to be erased.

For now, I'll keep this hidden.

Hajin quickly stored the armor fragment into his inventory and got back on his feet.

The woman at the counter still looked confused.

"Sir… are you really okay?"

Hajin flashed a small smile.

"Yeah, no problem."

She still seemed unsure, but eventually nodded.

"Alright… if you need any further assistance, please let us know."

Hajin just nodded, then turned and walked out of the association building.

The sky was already getting dark.

He stared at the sky, his mind still full of unanswered questions.

But one thing was certain…

He just found something he wasn't supposed to know.

And that meant…

The gods might soon realize his existence.

After leaving the Hunter Association, Hajin walked toward his apartment.

The night felt colder than usual, but not because of the weather because of the fact that he had just found something that shouldn't exist.

The fragment of the Corrupted Knight's armor, now stored in his inventory…

"An entity that was supposed to be erased by the gods' system…"

Out of all the things he could've found, this was something completely beyond his current understanding.

But there was one thing that made him curious.

This system… Just how far can I modify it?

Back in the dungeon, Edit Parameter had already proven its usefulness. But the skill was still at Level 2.

What happens if I push it to the max?

The moment he stepped into his room, Hajin sat down at his desk and opened the system window in front of him.

His stats were still the same.

Name: Kang Hajin

Class: Programmer

Level: 6

Strength: 150

Agility: 140

Vitality: 60

Mana: 50

Skills:

[Edit Parameter (Lv. 2)]

[Reinforce (Lv. 1)]

[Reality Override (Lv. 1)]

[Shadow Step (Lv. 1)]

Edit Parameter had leveled up to 2.

That meant there was a chance this skill could be used in a much broader way than before.

Without hesitation, Hajin selected Edit Parameter and tried targeting the system window itself.

TING!

[Warning! You are attempting to access a feature unavailable to normal users.]

[Bypassing the system…]

"Oh?"

Hajin raised an eyebrow.

This system wasn't supposed to be editable by a normal hunter, but since Edit Parameter had leveled up, now he could force his way in deeper.

Transparent lines of code started appearing before his eyes.

Hajin could now see the structure of the system window something that no normal hunter should ever be able to access.

And then, in the middle of his exploration…

He found something weird.

[Hidden Feature Discovered: Administrator Access]

[Would you like to activate it?]

"Administrator?"

Hajin narrowed his eyes.

That name sounded like high-level clearance, something only the ones controlling this system would have.

If he could get his hands on it…

Without hesitation, he selected [Yes].

TING!

[You have created a new skill: Administrator (Lv. 1)]

Now, in his skill list, there was a new addition:

[Administrator (Lv. 1)]

The moment that skill appeared…

TING!

[You have unlocked access to the 'Divine Communication Network'.]

[Verifying user identity…]

[User status not registered as an official entity.]

[Bypassing the system…]

[Successfully entered the network.]

Suddenly, a different transparent screen popped up in front of him.

A chat window.

And inside it…

[Zeus has joined.]

[Odin has joined.]

[Anubis has joined.]

[Susanoo has joined.]

[Shiva has joined.]

[Thor has joined.]

"…"

Hajin's eyes widened.

This…

A fucking group chat of the gods?!

They… actually exist?!

Hajin held his breath, trying to process what he just stumbled upon.

So everything that's been happening dungeons, monsters, the system window was all because of them?!

He stared at the chat, seeing the list of names he recognized from mythologies all over the world.

Conversations started popping up.

[Zeus]: Hahaha! That new dungeon was pretty entertaining! I love watching the hunters struggle, only to die in the end. So satisfying!

[Odin]: Hmph, you just enjoy watching them die for nothing. I prefer seeing the ones who actually manage to defy their fate.

[Anubis]: I like the judgment part more. Watching their souls descend into hell… quite amusing.

[Susanoo]: Tsk, when are we gonna start another big event? I'm getting bored.

[Shiva]: Relax. We just witnessed a guild war in an S-rank dungeon. Let them breathe a little.

[Thor]: I wanna see more hunters challenge the gods directly. That would be more fun.

Hajin felt his blood boil.

So all of this… was just entertainment to them?!

All the suffering, all the deaths, all the dungeon breaks that destroyed entire cities…

It was just a fucking game to them?!

Hajin clenched his fists.

Bastards.

If he could, he'd punch them in their smug, divine faces right now.

But he knew that was impossible.

He was still too weak.

If he wanted to do something… he had to be smart about it.

And for now…

He needed to blend in.

Quickly, Hajin changed his name in the chat.

[??? has joined.]

[Username: ???]

Without a clear identity, no one would suspect he wasn't a god.

Now…

What can I learn from them?