The Handsomer You Are, the Stronger You Become-Chapter 151: Friends (12)

‘I want to succeed. I want to be as insanely famous as those hunters!’

The early days of the Great Cataclysm.

Joo Ho-seong sat in a chair, nervously chewing on his thumbnail as he stared at his monitor.

<The Hunter Alliance, led by Kyle Dusk, successfully clears the Infinite Dungeon.>

<World leaders praise the heroic efforts of the Hunter Alliance.>

<Celebrities worldwide choose hunters as their ideal type.>

After the Great Cataclysm, the world had become a hunter’s era.

Dungeons appeared everywhere, and hunters rose as humanity’s last hope.

Standing at the brink of extinction, humankind managed to survive thanks to awakened hunters.

And so.

Hunters became the most admired profession in existence.

CEOs, celebrities, sports stars—once revered figures—began losing their relevance as famous hunters took their place.

But not every hunter shared in the glory.

“Damn it, why am I...!!”

Bang!!

Joo Ho-seong slammed his desk in frustration, his eyes burning as he scrolled through the latest headlines.

He was a hunter too.

His talent? Magic.

A specialization in spatial magic, allowing him to move quickly and create storage spaces larger than any inventory skill.

A unique ability compared to typical hunters.

And yet.

He was never the protagonist.

People only cared about hunters who single-handedly slaughtered monsters.

But all he could do was provide support—speed boosts, teleportation, extra storage.

A talent that was useless on its own.

Because of that, his level-up speed was abysmally slow.

He couldn’t hunt monsters alone and was forced to rely on party play, limiting his ability to farm experience points effectively.

“I thought becoming a hunter would make me rich, so why the hell...!!”

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It was unfair.

When he first awakened his magic talent, he had dreamed of being like Kyle Dusk or Go Kyungseok—a legendary, world-famous hunter.

Power over people.

Money flowing in from every direction.

A luxurious penthouse with a panoramic view of the Han River, a beautiful woman laughing beside him!

Even after becoming a hunter, he had worked tirelessly to achieve that success.

But as time passed, he realized that nothing was falling into place.

And so, Joo Ho-seong...

Crackle—! Zzzt—!!

[The Sealed Lords of the Abyss have recognized your talent and have reached out to you.]

[The Sealed Lords of the Abyss offer you a contract.]

[Will you accept the Apostle of the Abyss proposal?]

[Yes / No]

[The Sealed Lords of the Abyss claim that becoming an Apostle of the Abyss will make you the strongest being in humanity.]

“The... strongest in humanity?”

As a black portal formed in the middle of his one-room apartment, a message appeared before him.

It was suspicious, sure.

But the promise of ultimate strength enthralled him.

And so, he accepted without hesitation.

The moment he did—

Crackle—!!

“Gah...!!”

Black lightning surged through his entire body.

[You have become an Apostle of the Abyss.]

[Your Apostle status has fused with your talent, granting you new skills.]

[Apostle Trait: Monster Command (SS) acquired.]

[Apostle Skill: Dungeon Creation (SS) °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° acquired.]

[Apostle Skill: Abyssal Link (SS) acquired.]

[Apostle Skill: Dungeon Entry (S) acquired.]

[Skill: Portal Generation (SS) acquired.]

[......]

New power flooded into him.

A force beyond anything he had ever known.

Maybe the claim about becoming the strongest wasn’t a lie after all.

But then.

“Huh...?”

Something was wrong.

After the lightning subsided, he checked the messages.

All of his Apostle skills were related to monsters, dungeons, and the Abyss.

And then.

[Abyssal Apostle Quest has been assigned.]

[Abyssal Apostle Fate Quest 1]

[Eliminate one non-awakened human (0/1)]

[Abyssal Lord Unsealing Quest]

[Obtain the Seven Deadly Sins Relics (0/7)]

A quest had been assigned.

And its content was... disturbing.

"Eliminate one non-awakened human"?

Did they expect him to commit murder?

And what were the "Seven Deadly Sins Relics"?

That wasn’t all.

—At last, an Apostle who meets our expectations.

—It took long enough.

—But they’re far too weak. It’ll take time before they’re ready to complete their fate.

Three distinct voices echoed in his mind as he read the messages.

But there was no one else in his room.

Joo Ho-seong looked around, panic rising.

“W-Who are you...?”

—We are the rulers of the Abyss.

—The ones who bestowed upon you the title of Apostle.

—Your desires are strong. Complete the missions we assign you, fulfill your fate, and in return... we will grant you everything you have ever wished for, along with eternal life.

“...You’ll give me everything I want?”

—Indeed. Though we are currently sealed away, if you grow strong enough to break our seals...

—Power, women, eternal life... You can have it all.

—Complete your duty as an Apostle. Retrieve the Seven Deadly Sins relics stolen from us, and free us from our chains!

The three voices thundered in Joo Ho-seong’s mind, bombarding him with knowledge of the Abyss.

The Abyss—often called Hell—was once connected to Earth but had been severed for unknown reasons. It was a world teeming with demons and monsters.

Joo Ho-seong realized the gravity of his decision.

He had signed a contract that threatened humanity itself.

“You want me... to be your pawn?”

—Didn’t you say you’d do anything to succeed?

—You will stand above all. You will reign over humanity for eternity!

—You have already signed the contract. You know our words are no empty promises...!!

They weren’t lying.

If he completed the missions assigned to him as an Apostle of the Abyss, he could truly become the strongest being in the world, with everything he had ever desired at his fingertips.

The power they had given him so far was just a fragment of what they could provide, yet it was already overwhelming.

But.

It wouldn’t be easy.

To unseal the Lords of the Abyss, he needed to retrieve the Seven Deadly Sins relics hidden within the Infinite Dungeon.

Yet those relics had already been found and scattered.

And worse.

Murder, assault, arson, kidnapping...

Most of the Apostle’s missions involved harming humans.

Not just awakened hunters but ordinary, non-awakened civilians as well.

Even just glancing at the quest list told him everything he needed to know.

The moment he carried out these tasks, there would be no turning back.

But.

“Damn it... First, I need to rob your treasure hoard.”

—Good, you understand quickly. You are wise.

—Yes, our first Apostle.

—For the sake of the new world...!

Joo Ho-seong entered a portal to the Abyss and began looting gold, diamonds, and artifacts hidden away by the Lords of the Abyss.

The reason was simple.

[Special Clause: If a mission is failed or the contract is violated, the Curse of the Abyss will activate, resulting in death.]

If he didn’t fulfill the contract, he would die.

And it wouldn’t be a painless death.

He had considered breaking the contract, but the Lords of the Abyss wouldn’t allow it.

They were not merciful beings.

Joo Ho-seong recalled the saying, Never sign a contract lightly.

But it was too late for regrets.

So.

He worked diligently.

Using the Abyss Lords’ treasures, he built up his finances.

Following his missions, he kidnapped and brainwashed hunters, forming the organization known as Frontier.

He grew stronger as an Apostle while searching for leads on the Seven Deadly Sins relics.

He made progress.

In one dungeon, he found a Fragment of Beauty, which allowed him to turn Ji Wonhoon into a Follower of Lust and establish the organization Babylon.

However, his progress was slow.

The work of an Apostle was inherently illegal and inhumane. If the Hunter Bureau caught wind of it, they would interfere, and that would delay everything further.

It was frustrating.

Eventually, Joo Ho-seong suggested,

"Why don’t we just connect the Abyss to Earth and wipe everything out in one go?"

Rather than wasting time completing missions and searching for relics, why not just unleash the Abyss’ monsters and take control of everything in an instant?

But the suggestion was met with little enthusiasm.

—Do you think we haven’t considered that? We poured everything into the first invasion.

—All we managed was connecting dimensions. We couldn’t send our full forces.

—Many of our higher-ranked entities are still partially sealed. If we release them prematurely, we will only weaken ourselves. For now, creating dungeons and eliminating select hunters is the best course.

Even the Lords of the Abyss had their limitations.

Many of their strongest entities still required time and power to fully unseal.

If they connected dimensions now, they would only lose valuable forces.

But when Babylon collapsed and the Inheritor of Lust appeared, things started spiraling out of control.

Frustrated, Joo Ho-seong finally struck a deal with the Abyss Lords.

They agreed to fully connect the Abyss to Earth, triggering a Forced SS-Grade Dungeon Break.

They spent time carefully selecting an invasion force of monsters at level 700 or higher.

The only problem was that, as an Apostle, Joo Ho-seong’s powers were still incomplete.

He couldn’t create more than fifty dungeons at once.

But then, a miracle happened.

As he established the main dungeon in Seoul and chanted the incantation to open additional portals worldwide—

「Gatekeeper of Dimensions, I shall grant you the power you seek. Open a path to my domain as well.」

A voice he had never heard before whispered through his mind.

And in the next instant—

Fwoooosh—!!

A brilliant light engulfed Joo Ho-seong as he held his staff, chanting the final incantation.

That was the last thing he remembered.

Then.

The memories ended.

***

Whooosh—!!

“Huff...!”

As his vision returned to normal, Kang Hyunsoo exhaled heavily.

Then.

“Hunter Kang Hyunsoo!!”

Go Kyungseok and Choi Jiwoo rushed to support him.

His vision swam.

Hyunsoo steadied himself and looked around.

The interrogation room.

He was back.

It hadn’t been long.

"Are... are you alright, Hunter Kang Hyunsoo? You were hit by the light that came from Joo Ho-seong," Choi Jiwoo said anxiously.

Judging by her words, it had all happened in the blink of an eye.

Smoke still rose from the spot where Joo Ho-seong had sat.

Hyunsoo let go of their support, planting his feet firmly on the ground.

"I'm fine. I just saw Joo Ho-seong's memories."

“...You what?”

“You saw his memories? What did you—?”

Choi Jiwoo and Go Kyungseok exchanged puzzled looks.

“That’s...”

But Hyunsoo didn’t answer right away.

The information he had gained was massive.

He now knew what the Lords of the Abyss were.

He knew what they were searching for.

He knew how Frontier had been created.

But...

What the hell was that being at the end?