After the Ogre lowered its axe upon his head, Jason was met with three words.
[You Have Died.]
Dumbfounded, he stared at those words. Jason knew he had died, but he couldn't exactly tell when.
The darkness he was basking in, the darkness he has been basking in, engulfed everything except those words. He couldn't even see his body.
How long he had spent in this darkness, he could not tell. It felt like seconds just as much as it did months, or years.
"I did." Jason answered.
With those words, he couldn't help but think about how he had died, and how he had lived.
Two words seemed to define the life he had lived. F Rank.
It was his Rank as a Hunter, and the Rank he would give to his own life.
Fs all around.
"I was naive, wasn't I?"
It was painful to admit, but so true he couldn't deny it.
"I gave my life to save those people. In the end, I'm not even sure they were saved."
Jason was an F Rank Hunter, and F Rank Hunters very rarely get to walk through Dungeon Gates.
F Ranks are nothing more than patrol guards, tasked with the mission to keep an eye on an assigned district.
"Keeping an eye out for Dungeon Gates…" He sighed. "What a boring life."
Because of their lack of strength, the job of an F Rank is fairly simple.
Patrol the assigned district and, if a Dungeon Gate were to appear, alert the authorities, the Guilds, the stronger Hunters, the one actually capable of doing something about it.
Dungeons held treasures desired by all. Clearing one brings riches and strength to Guilds, Hunters, and society in general.
"The rich get richer," He muttered through clenched teeth. "And the strong get stronger."
Still, Jason didn't have to die.
He didn't have to jump into a C Rank Dungeon.
Still, the Dungeon Gate had appeared in a very lively and populated neighbourhood.
"Just why…" Jason clenched his teeth. "Why did I jump in?"
Thinking back, he couldn't remember a single face of those civilians he wanted to save so much at the time and, in all probability, not one of them remembers his.
"I did my job. I called the Guild whose jurisdiction the area fell under."
But no one was available at the time. Even other Guilds couldn't spare a single Hunting Squad.
For some reason, too many Dungeon Gates had appeared at once.
"I was supposed… To start evacuation procedure…"
But Jason's voice was easily drowned out by the crowds and music.
He didn't have the aura that higher-Ranked Hunters have; he didn't have the strength to pull their attention to himself right away.
Underground Dungeon Gates are very troublesome.
"I just… Had to." Jason whispered to himself, remembering how defeated he felt, how powerless.
As all Hunters know, Dungeon Gates remain inactive for exactly 11 minutes and six seconds, awaiting challengers.
Beyond that time limit, a Dungeon Break occurs.
As the mental timer in his head approached the limit, as only a small portion of the civilians listened to him and left the area, Jason felt he had no choice at the time.
The Dungeon Gate demanded a Challenger. If none step up, then punishment ensues.
"It wanted a Challenger…" Jason chuckled dryly. "But all it got was a tribute. A sacrifice."
His gaze went back to the floating words in front of him.
"Did it work?" He asked, clear desperation shaking his voice. "Did I buy them enough time?"
Once the current Challengers fail, a new timer starts. A new 11-minute and 6-second cycle.
"Did… Someone make it in time?"
Having spent so much time in the darkness, Jason was somewhat worried to notice that he did not care whether or not the civilians who had refused to pay attention to him had lived or not. All he wanted to know was whether or not his sacrifice had been worth it, whether or not it had meant something, whether or not it had only been another failure added to the long list that gave his life a clear (Self-assigned) F Ranking.
[A Hunting Party entered the Dungeon Gate 663 seconds after your Death.]
"I see." Jason said with a nod. "Three seconds before the time limit. Just barely."
He felt no satisfaction from knowing that.
Jason didn't ask whether the Hunting Party had managed to Clear the Dungeon or not.
It did not matter.
Rather, it would have only made him feel worse.
Many will know of his sacrifice, but none will remember him.
He had seen it countless times. The casualties are forgotten within the hour, and all focus on those that cleared the Dungeon, those that walked back out of the Gate.
"The winners are all that people care about."
And an F Rank can never be among them.
"Still," Jason whispered. "I survived for longer than I thought I would."
No one will remember his sacrifice, and no one will know of his struggle within that Dungeon.
"I've been training my body for close to ten years now. Since I was twelve years old." He muttered. "It came in handy," Jason chuckled dryly. "Finally."
Physical training means next to nothing when it comes to one's Hunter Rank. It's all decided on the amount of Mana permeating through one's body. While ways of increasing one's Mana exist, whether Available Mana ready to be used in the case of Mages, or Ingrained Mana stocked within one's muscles in the case of Tanks, all of them required either amounts of wealth that Jason could never attain with an F Rank's pay which, as one might guess, is F Ranked as well, or the obtainment of Items through Dungeon Clearing, something that F Ranks do not have the strength or right to do.
"In the end, I lived as an F Rank, and died as one. There truly was… No other way, no other fate, no other possibility for me."
[Wasn't there?]
[Couldn't you have at least survived?]
"..."
[You could still be alive.]
[All you had to do was abandon those people.]
"Even if it meant letting them all die?"
[Did those people ever do anything for you?]
[Do they not laugh and snicker behind your back?]
[Do they not ridicule you and your fellow F Rank so-called Hunters?]
"I wanted…" Jason clenched his fists. "In the end, I wanted to prove them wrong. I wanted to prove that even F Ranks… That even F Ranks…"
Dungeon Gates remained inactive for 666 seconds.
Jason had survived inside the Dungeon for close to 25 minutes.
After his death, another 666-second timer started.
All in all, he had gained the Red Owl Guild over 35 minutes, enough for them to Challenge the Gate before the Break. Realistically, it was an incredible feat.
[In the end, you proved nothing.]
[You sacrificed yourself, fought, and struggled, yet obtained nothing in return.]
"Story of my life, huh?" Jason chuckled. "I always thought that working hard would take me somewhere. I didn't even let myself enjoy life. Just how many parties and women did I turn down to focus on my so-called grind?"
He couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it was.
"I was… So incredibly naive."
[If you could do it all again, would you do it any differently?]
The words immediately made dark thoughts rise inside Jason's mind.
If he were to be given the chance to do it all over again, he wouldn't sacrifice himself, he wouldn't live for others, and he wouldn't have tried to become a Hunter.
The world and society simply did not give F Ranks any chance of growing.
Jason could already see it. The path he should have taken.
A thief making his way through the underground black market on his way to becoming a Reaper.
[Would you betray the Humanity you died for to obtain everything you have ever desired?]
Unlike Hunters, Reapers use their powers for self-gain solely, caring only about themselves, their wealth, and their power.
"What… Has my Humanity ever done for me?"
The floating words remained the same for a moment, as if stunned by the darkness that had seeped into his voice.
"If I could do it all over again, I would only think about myself. I wouldn't focus on anything else. I would take what I want, and do everything I need to obtain what I want." Jason declared. "I would betray the Humanity I fought for… In an instant."
[Let's set aside your betrayal of Humanity for now.]
Jason raised an eyebrow.
The next second, words that shone golden appeared in front of him.
[Leave your Humanity behind, and enter a new World.]
[Do you accept?]
[Yes.] [No.]
Jason stared silently for a moment.
[With some luck, if you prove worthy, you will be able to see your original World again.]
"Ha." He chuckled at how foolish those words were. "Why would I…" Jason reached forward. "Even want to go back?"
[Yes.]
[Your choice has been recorded.]
In a moment, the darkness surrounding him disappeared.
Jason blinked, and a clear sky appeared in front of him.
It took a moment for him to realise that he was lying on his back, a moment more to notice how green his skin was, and another for the life-threatening wound in his stomach to shoot pain signal fireworks to his brain.