The Haeinsa Dungeon Gate was an E-rank Gate whose conquest had been completed long ago.
The dungeon stone had already been retrieved back in the day, and the guild's Hunters conducted regular sweeps to keep the monster population inside at a manageable level.
Bluntly put, it was a harmless dungeon where even an unawakened civilian could walk in without much risk of getting hurt or killed.
The Haeinsa Dungeon Gate had since been repurposed as a training ground for the Haetae Guild's rookie Hunters and a modest source of magic stone income.
Tucked deep in the mountains, it was also a place with relatively little risk of exposure to outside civilians.
In other words.
"Damn it, why is Kim A-rin here……"
The Haeinsa Dungeon was the perfect spot for doing things that couldn't afford to be seen.
Unlike the outside world, there were no CCTVs inside a dungeon, and the monsters showed little interest in humans as long as they weren't attacked first.
As long as you had the Hunters dispatched for the regular sweeps in your pocket, nothing that happened inside the dungeon would ever leak out.
And yet, an S-rank Hunter named Kim A-rin had suddenly shown up at that very place — with some girl in tow.
"Boss, what do we do? Aren't we totally screwed?"
"……Hold on. If we'd been fully found out, the cops would've come with her."
"But who's that girl with her, Boss? Never seen her face before."
"How would I know? Shut up for a second."
That was why the men watching the Haeinsa Dungeon Gate from a distance were rattled.
An S-rank Hunter had suddenly appeared at a place they'd been quietly using as a secret hideout.
If Kim A-rin found out what they'd been doing inside that dungeon, they were all dead men.
An S-rank Hunter was a monster in every sense of the word.
No matter how many of them there were, they were no match for an S-rank.
The best they could hope for was that the unfamiliar girl and Kim A-rin would just turn around and leave.
"Oh— oh no. They went in. She went inside with the girl, Boss."
But in the end, the unfamiliar girl and Kim A-rin disappeared into the Haeinsa Dungeon Gate.
The biggest wild card in the men's "plan" had finally materialized.
"Tch, everyone up! We're going in too!"
"B-but it's Kim A-rin, Boss! Wouldn't it be better to just wait until they come back out—?!"
"If we don't get the goods out by evening, we're dead! Shut up and follow me!"
And so the men had no choice but to charge into the dungeon themselves.
Whether Kim A-rin exposed their crimes or they failed to deliver what was hidden inside to the meeting point — either way, they were dead.
It was literally do or die.
"…Wait! Who are you people!"
"Shut your mouth, kid."
-Thwack!
"Ugh."
The leader of the men knocked out the guild member who had just guided the girl and Kim A-rin inside, then stepped straight through the Gate.
There was exactly one thing worth pinning his hopes on.
The unfamiliar girl who had come with Kim A-rin.
"You two go get the goods. The rest of you wait here with me."
If they could somehow take the white-haired girl hostage, they'd have a way out from under Kim A-rin.
Compared to Kim A-rin, that girl had so little mana it was barely detectable.
F-rank at the absolute most generous estimate.
He'd count himself lucky if she didn't burst into tears the moment she laid eyes on a bunch of rough-looking men.
-Mutter.
"Damn it……"
Forcing down the rising anxiety, the leader of the men refined his plan over and over again.
He thought of nothing else but how to capture that white-haired girl and use her as a hostage.
And at that very moment, the white-haired girl herself was—
"Boing boing."
—putting on every silly act she could think of in front of the dungeon's Hidden Boss, not Kim A-rin.
All to raise the Hidden Boss's affection and earn a new skill.
Just as she had done with Fenrion the day before.
[ Individual: Hwaran's Affection has increased slightly. (60 → 65) ]
"Hmph, child. How could you call that seductive, looking like that. Adorable, I'll grant you that much."
'I am so completely done………'
***
"My sides ache — I can't watch any more. That's enough, child."
Hwaran, who had just been doubled over in genuine, full-bodied laughter, told her to stop.
She then patted the wooden floor beside her, as if beckoning me to come sit next to her.
And once again, I had no choice but to meekly make my way over to Hwaran's side.
Because Hwaran's affection toward me was still only at 65.
【Phantom Dream Hwaran】
【Affection: 65】
【Remaining Affection until ❮(A) Avatar Manifestation: Paradise Lost in a Daze❯ condition is met: 35】
【I want to hear again the ■■■ that ■■■ told me, in ■■■ ■■■……(Insufficient Authorization)】
Just like Fenrion, whom I'd met yesterday, there was a skill I could obtain from Hwaran as well.
Another Avatar Manifestation skill — Paradise Lost in a Daze.
I had no idea exactly what kind of skill it was, but it was clearly going to be useful. That much was certain.
For one thing, the Avatar Manifestation skill I'd gotten from Fenrion yesterday had made me incredibly powerful.
I could only use it for ten minutes, but regardless — if I could get another Avatar Manifestation skill, I had to get it.
Getting one more skill meant I'd be that much stronger.
-Squish squish.
-Squish squish.
-Streeetch───.
"Your cheeks are like rice cakes. They stretch so nicely — quite amusing."
"Mmmph."
Even now, with Hwaran kneading both my cheeks between her fingers, I sat still and took it.
To raise Hwaran's affection all the way to 100, I needed to make the best possible impression on her.
I was honestly pretty curious whether other Hunters got their skills this way too.
But anyway — if I could get one more Avatar Manifestation skill, it was absolutely worth it.
Hang in there, me.
Think of the future where I'm living large as a Hunter…!
"Um, Hwaran."
"What is it?"
"Would you mind if I took one more photo?"
"A photo……? That sorcery again?"
"It's, it's a memento too. This time together with me."
"Must I hold up two fingers again?"
"Oh, that would actually be even better."
Whatever the circumstances, being held in a Hidden Boss's arms was a rare experience.
Who else in the world had ever sat on a Hidden Boss's lap?
I immediately pulled out my phone and held it up high.
Ready to attempt a feat no Hunter in the world had ever pulled off — a couple selfie with a Hidden Boss.
-Click!
"……Yes."
It succeeded with almost embarrassing ease.
I must be a pretty exceptional Hunter, all things considered.
Even the number-one ranked Hunter, supposedly so incredibly powerful, probably never managed a selfie with a Hidden Boss.
Meaning that just now, I had effortlessly accomplished something even the rank-one Hunter couldn't.
What a broken character I was.
"……Heh heh."
On top of that, I'd gained another guaranteed hot-post cheat code.
A photo of a Hidden Boss in human form and some cute girl both throwing up peace signs together?
How could that possibly not make the front page.
"So then, child."
"Yes?"
"What of the promise you made to me? You said you would bring something new the next time you came."
"Ah……"
"You came back because you found something new, did you not? Come now, let me hear it."
Hwaran stroked my hair while looking at the selfie on my phone and said something I couldn't make sense of.
I was meeting her for the first time today, yet she was suddenly bringing up some promise.
She seemed to be confusing me with someone else.
-Glance.
I looked up at Hwaran with a puzzled expression and caught the look in her eyes — she was clearly expecting something.
The eyes of someone who had no doubt whatsoever that I was carrying exactly what she wanted.
Right then, I had no choice but to trust my gut.
If I couldn't give Hwaran what she was hoping for right now, raising her affection to 100 was going to be a genuinely difficult task.
This wasn't some dating sim — what was going on.
"Um, Hwaran!"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry, but could I just confirm something first!"
"Confirm?"
"I might have brought the wrong thing by mistake. Could you tell me one more time what it is you want?"
I played it as cool as I could and brazened my way through it.
Drawing on the experience of dealing with countless difficult customers during my convenience store days.
In situations like this, the move was always to act like you knew what was going on and get the other person to spell out what they wanted themselves.
If they wanted cigarettes, you pulled out cigarettes right away. If they wanted soju, you went and got it yourself.
A little groveling in the moment was far better than the alternative — because if you didn't, things could get genuinely ugly.
"A story, of course. A story."
"Oh, a story…. …A story?"
"It is so terribly lonely here, unlike the outside world."
It was a slightly different answer from what I'd expected.
My plan had been to have Hwaran tell me what gift she wanted, then make up an excuse that I'd brought the wrong one.
Then ask her to let me out of the dungeon so I could go get the right thing right away.
If I brought back what she wanted, I'd be able to push her affection up to 100 in no time.
But it wasn't a physical object she wanted — it was a story.
"The stories you brought me all this time — listening to them has been my only joy. Was that not the very reason I permitted you entry in the first place?"
"Ah, of course. I remembered all of it."
"Then tell me quickly. What story have you brought this time?"
It seemed Hwaran had been quite bored here on her own for a long time.
I had no idea who she was mistaking me for, but the way she was eagerly pressing me for a story made that much clear.
I needed to think carefully.
At any rate, if I told her a story that suited her tastes, I could definitely raise her affection.
Hmm…. What kind of story would work best.
She was wearing a hanbok, so she was from the old days.
Well, an old-days monster, technically — so maybe I should tell her an old-fashioned story?
But what old stories did I actually know. All I had were childish folk tales.
…Wait.
"Hwaran."
"Yes."
"Have you ever heard of…. Cheongnyeongpo, located deep in Gwangcheon Valley?"
"Gwangcheon Valley? Cheongnyeongpo?"
Come to think of it, there was one old story I knew quite well.
One whose entertainment value had already been proven.
And at the same time, one that a Hidden Boss living inside a dungeon could never possibly know.
"In winter, a chill sweeps in off the river— and cold air comes pouring down from the cliffs—!"
"Oh my……"
"That's exactly what Cheongnyeongpo is like. And yet, it was to that harsh and remote place that a certain king was exiled……!"
I knew that story. I knew it for certain.
