Chapter 174 – Aura of the Ruler

-Deliveryman Lee Hyunbin, the first in the world to succeed in a 6-star hunt!

-Heralding a seismic shift in the hunter world.

-America’s top guild, ‘Buffalo,’ makes an offer to Hunter Lee Hyunbin.

Right now, the Hero was the hottest person on the planet.

Turn on the TV, open the internet—it was all filled with stories about the Hero.

He had literally become a hunter in the global spotlight.

‘As if that’s a surprise.’

Kim Min-ah, assistant manager to the Hanul Guild’s director—no, Olivier—scoffed at the public’s interest.

As a specialist in exploration and intelligence, Olivier monitored the Hero’s every move for the Demon King.

Normally, as an Elder Succubus, she should have seduced him with her sensuality, but for some reason, it just didn’t work.

She had tried wearing outfits recommended by her succubus seniors, showing off a captivating and fatal charm, but instead of falling for her seduction, that crazy Hero had just smashed her over the head with the dumbbell he was holding.

He had to be impotent.

If he wasn’t, it made no sense for him to have no reaction to her.

Seeing that, her seniors had once chided her, suggesting it was due to her lack of experience.

Olivier scoffed at their words.

Even without any experience with men, she could toy with them as she pleased.

Even now, men were captivated by the sight of her in her office attire, their gazes stolen at least once.

An Elder Succubus.

Olivier had charmed many men with just a single smiling glance.

Look even now. Just by walking, men were preparing lines, wanting to strike up a conversation.

“Excuse me, Assistant Manager Kim. Have you eaten yet?”

“I don’t eat with coworkers.”

“Ah… but I’m quitting soon.”

“I don’t eat with the unemployed.”

“Uh…”

The beauty mark by her left eye. It had a strange charm that drew people’s gazes. But she didn’t smile.

The man stared blankly as she disappeared with a short, artificial smile on her lips and a cold look in her eyes.

*Click, clack.*

Having charmed another man today, Olivier walked away haughtily.

She was heading to the Hero’s private training facility.

The Hero was so violent that they had built him a personal training room.

She wasn’t going there specifically to see the Hero.

As a high-ranking officer of the Demon King’s army from the other side, she needed to keep an eye on the Hero, who could turn into an enemy at any moment.

It wasn’t something the Demon King had ordered. She simply considered it her natural duty.

As she approached the training facility, Olivier sensed that the Hero and the Demon King were together.

‘When did he get here?’

In the other world, the two had been on opposing sides.

But here in the modern world, they seemed as close as old friends.

Perhaps there was something that only those who had walked the path of supremacy could understand.

Lately, the Demon King—no, the CEO—had been incredibly busy.

After taking over as the head of the group, he was changing many things.

He had the qualities of a wise king.

After all, even in the other world, he had been a hero who united the oppressed to overthrow the establishment.

And yet, that same Demon King had joined hands with the Hero who had brought about his downfall.

When he should be seeking revenge.

No, in a way, this might be the right thing to do.

Olivier had felt it several times in the other world.

The Hero had strived to protect his people.

While being checked by the kingdom he belonged to, his fight against the Demon King’s army to protect his own people had even seemed tragic.

Unable to kill him, Olivier couldn’t launch a surprise attack and instead watched him from afar.

The Seven Kingdoms had joined hands because of their common enemy, the Demon King’s army, but they wanted to minimize their own sacrifices.

A kingdom that suffered damage from the Demon King’s army would become prey for other nations.

In that dog-eat-dog struggle, the only one who shone was the Hero.

After suffering a defeat from the previous day’s grueling battle, the Hero had lost many comrades.

It wasn’t that the Hero had forced them to sacrifice themselves.

The defeat itself wasn’t the Hero’s fault but a result of the infighting among the Seven Kingdoms’ alliance.

Seeing the Hero’s human side as he wailed, remembering his comrades who had risked their lives to protect him, Olivier felt her heart waver.

On the battlefield, he was such a terrifying monster, but away from the war, he was such a pure person.

Maybe. Just maybe, the Hero and the Demon King could walk toward the same goal.

Olivier closed the distance to the Hero. She dropped her stealth and appeared before him.

Her eyes met the Hero’s, who had been sobbing over the deaths of his comrades.

“Excuse me…”

Olivier mustered her courage and opened her mouth.

The Hero seemed to stand up, then quickly approached Olivier.

*Crack!*

Olivier’s head was smashed in.

The memory of losing one of her clones made Olivier frown.

Come to think of it, she had died at the Hero’s hands several times.

When someone is talking, you should listen, not just start swinging.

Even if she was an enemy, was it really acceptable to throw the first punch when such a beautiful woman was trying to speak?

‘Definitely impotent.’

Olivier was about to enter the training room, recalling that unfair moment, when she heard something.

“I need to borrow Olivier for a bit.”

Hearing the Hero’s voice, Olivier stopped in her tracks.

“Is she absolutely necessary?”

“Yeah. She is.”

“Can’t it be someone else?”

She had felt a strange pang of jealousy seeing the man, who claimed to be busy to death, come to see the Hero.

But now, hearing the two of them talking in a private place, Olivier began to feel flustered.

“Yeah. It has to be Olivier.”

The moment she heard those words, Olivier’s lips parted unconsciously.

That psychopathic Hero, who had been so indifferent to her, who had been so quick to beat her to death whenever they met.

He was saying he needed her. And that it had to be *her*.

She felt her mind go blank. She had never thought of it this way before.

She had just assumed he was impotent.

A triumphant smile spread across Olivier’s lips.

Of course. It was only natural.

With a stunning beauty like herself around, there was no way the Hero wouldn’t be interested.

‘Hmph, how troublesome.’

Even though this was the modern world, Olivier felt a sense of depravity at the thought of her, a former high-ranking officer of the Demon King’s army, getting involved with the Hero.

Honestly, the Hero was a decent man.

Those body muscles that looked like an overturned cockroach weren’t so scary once you got used to them.

No, they were actually nice.

His face was quite handsome too. Though he looked a little wicked when he smiled.

He tormented his comrades a bit, but that was just his sadistic streak, so it was fine. And most importantly, he was the strongest man in this world.

‘This won’t do.’

Unable to control the corners of her mouth, Olivier grinned as she imagined her wedding with the Hero, then having a boy and a girl, and even gave them names.

“What’s she doing out there?”

Olivier snapped out of her future fantasies at the sound of the Hero’s voice, cleared her throat, and walked inside.

She then greeted CEO Im Jae-joon with a haughty and chic expression.

“CEO, if I had known you were coming, I would have prepared some tea.”

“No, it’s fine. I have to leave soon. By the way, Olivier. This friend here has something to say to you.”

“Eh…”

She hadn’t expected him to set the stage so openly.

A warmth instantly spread across Olivier’s cool face.

“I need you to do me a favor.”

“A favor…?”

“Yeah. It’s really important. Life-or-death important.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s go on a trip.”

“A trip?”

The people here in the modern world go on a honeymoon after they get married.

Olivier felt a sense of manliness in the Hero’s debauchery, wanting to skip all the preliminaries and get straight to the important part.

“Uh, where to?”

“Bali, for starters?”

“That sounds… nice.”

Bali.

Clear, emerald-green seawater and pristine white sand beaches.

A top-tier resort destination, it was also a popular spot for honeymoons.

“How about Hawaii after that?”

“Cynthia would be a good name.”

“What would?”

“Ah, nothing.”

For a moment, Olivier had blurted out the name of her future child.

She haughtily crossed her legs and enjoyed the Hero’s lustful gaze, which seemed to be begging for her.

Wanting to go on two honeymoons. The Hero’s schedule was certainly on another level.

“After that, China and Japan. Oh right, I’m thinking about North Korea too.”

“North Korea…?”

Hearing the names of various countries, Olivier felt a momentary hesitation.

“By the way, how many clones can you make?”

“Just what kind of play are you planning…”

“Play? What play? Ah… you figured it out. I just had a hidden awakening. But I need to collect achievements. These achievements are scattered across different countries, so they’re hard to find. The location the system gave me is approximate, so I don’t know the exact spot.”

Cracks began to form in her happy future.

She could see her children waving goodbye.

“I need to go to each country to search and gather information. This is how important it is… Are you listening? What’s with the sudden kitchen knife? Why are you muttering to yourself? Wait, don’t come over here. Hey, Demon King! Stop her!”

Olivier let out a hissing sound as she threatened the Hero with a kitchen knife.

* * *

“Is she for real? Hey. Stop laughing your ass off and manage your subordinate properly. You think this is funny?”

Despite my words, Im Jae-joon was just cracking up, for whatever reason.

He’s so annoying, I’m tempted to split him in half.

I had acquired another status window called ‘Ruler’.

-You have become a candidate for the ruler of this dimension.

-The one who acquires the most achievements will gain system admin authority.

According to the manual the goddess left me, over a hundred dimensions were currently at war with each other.

The method to become the ruler of a dimension was very simple.

One could gain faith in the name of religion, or be revered by the people as a legendary hero.

Or one could be branded as a ruthless slaughterer, ruling through fear.

By gaining the support of many people, one becomes the ruler of that dimension.

In other words, a god-like being.

All of this becomes possible by acquiring achievements.

Apparently, I used to be an Immortal. A resident of the goddess’s country. Something like that.

Honestly, they say that’s what I was, but I have no clear memory of it.

And I’m not particularly interested in gaining divinity and becoming a transcendent being.

I’m strong enough as I am now.

-Aura of a Ruler Lv. 1 [Mythic Grade]

-All stats increased by 100%

-All skill levels +1

-Command effect greatly increased

-The aura effect can make beings of a lower class submit.

-You will not be harmed by weapons made by humans.

It’s a bit disappointing that the third status window has no stats, but it can be strengthened by absorbing and acquiring achievements.

My current strength stat is 191. But when the Aura of a Ruler is active, my strength stat becomes 382.

Currently, there are fewer than 30 people in the entire world who have reached 99 in a single stat.

And 99 is the maximum value for a stat in a single status window.

“Th-that’s cheating! Not taking damage from a kitchen knife is…!”

Hey, I wouldn’t get hurt by a kitchen knife even without a skill like this. You… you succubus.

And the thing you should be focusing on isn’t the kitchen knife, but the fact that my stats are getting ridiculously inflated.

“Incredible. Making beings of a lower class submit… All those noisy shareholders…”

The Demon King and the succubus. Both of them are focusing on the wrong things.

In any case, I need their help. I can’t just wander around the world by myself looking for achievements.

“But how am I supposed to recognize an achievement? No matter how good my search ability is, that’s impossible, you know?”

“Ah, that. It’s not hard.”

I activated the Aura of a Ruler.

“…!”

“…!”

There is a being known as Cthulhu.

An unknown horror that humans dare not approach.

Before it, humans were nothing but tiny creatures, beings they could not even dare to look upon.

“After the recent epic-grade gate, there will be things with a similar aura to this.”

It could be a monster, or it could be an object.

Fragments of myths from other dimensions are buried all over the world.

After this epic-grade gate incident, sleeping monsters and treasures will awaken.

“Only you will be able to find them.”

I was being a little sincere with that statement.

Olivier might have a personality problem, but her search ability was the real deal.

In the first place, an epic-grade gate is a trial set by the system to create a ruler for another dimension.

It selects the most brilliant individual, gives them quests, and chooses a ruler.

“My fee will be extremely high. Can you afford it?”

Olivier crossed her arms haughtily, scoffed, and tossed her hair back.

It’s an overseas business trip, so I should pay her well. Of course, of course.

“Yeah, got it. Triple her salary.”

“Why don’t you just be the CEO instead?”

I already know he’ll do it.

“Cynthia’s mom, please do your best.”

“…Ah… ah.”

It’s fun watching Olivier get flustered and mumble.

Tormenting people really is the best.