There was exactly one reason the Haetae Guild's senior staff had gathered at headquarters today.
To get a clearer picture of everything that had happened at the Gangseo-gu Gate two days ago.
"……Could the initial reading have just been wrong? How does a C-rank Dungeon suddenly turn into an S-rank?"
"Right. Not even A-rank or B-rank, but straight to S."
"A three-tier jump in a single go — that makes no sense. What on earth happened in there……"
Two days ago, a new Dungeon Gate had torn open in the middle of a Gangseo-gu intersection, swallowing the road into a massive sinkhole.
The Gate had been unusual from the moment it appeared, and it was riddled with questions from top to bottom.
Because when the Dungeon's rank was first measured, it had clearly registered as C-rank.
Yet the final confirmed rank after the Dungeon was cleared — S-rank.
"If it had been an S-rank Dungeon from the start, there's no way the reading could've been wrong. S-rank Gates have a completely different color."
"You think the Association sent blind people?"
"…I'll take that as a joke."
At first, they'd suspected the Association might have botched the measurement.
But that didn't hold up either.
An S-rank Dungeon Gate was something even a non-Awakened person could identify by color alone, as long as they had eyes.
Mistaking an S-rank Gate for a C-rank simply wasn't something that could happen in reality.
The Gate's color was entirely different to begin with, and on top of that, S-rank Dungeon Gates radiated mana in all directions.
"If it had been S-rank from the start, the Rudders team would've known something was off."
"…That's true too. The Rudders Hunters said it was clearly C-rank when they first went in."
"But if that's the case……"
"It means the Dungeon's rank jumped to S-rank in the middle of the raid."
After a brief discussion, they arrived at a single conclusion.
A Dungeon that had clearly started as C-rank had suddenly transformed into an S-rank Dungeon.
"This is a serious problem. We might have to reassign the Hunters responsible for Dungeons from scratch."
Every one of the Haetae Guild's senior staff gathered in that meeting room was a seasoned Hunter.
They understood immediately what it meant for a Dungeon's rank to spike like that.
"It's not a temporary spike either. It's permanently become an S-rank Dungeon."
One of the senior staff said as much, wearing an expression that said this was giving them a headache.
The screen in the meeting room then pulled up the data from inside the Gangseo-gu Dungeon Gate.
"The monsters, the magic stones — everything in there is stuff you'd only see in an S-rank Dungeon. The Dungeon Core the Rudders retrieved is S-rank too, naturally."
"…Finance is going to be thrilled. Revenue just went up a notch."
"Hey, is that really what matters right now? What if other C-rank Dungeons start flipping to S-rank too?"
When a C-rank Dungeon transforms into an S-rank, the quality of magic stones you can harvest improves dramatically.
But naturally, the monsters become incomparably stronger than before as well.
That was precisely what the Haetae Guild's senior staff feared most.
There was no guarantee this anomaly — a Dungeon's rank suddenly rising — wouldn't happen again.
"If we can't figure out why, Korea — no, the whole world could be finished. We need to find something out before every Dungeon flips to S-rank."
"Oh, come on, don't be so dramatic."
"Does this one need to die before they get it?"
"…Enough."
Yoo Do-a, the Haetae Guild's Guild Master, raised a hand to cut off the steadily rising volume.
She hadn't called them here to bicker.
What mattered right now was getting a clear answer on the cause of the anomaly that had occurred two days ago.
"Kim A-rin. What's your take?"
Guild Master Yoo Do-a asked for Kim A-rin's opinion.
That was because A-rin was the only one among the senior staff who had brought back anything meaningful related to the Gangseo-gu Gate.
Well, to be precise, it wasn't so much information as it was finding the Hunter who had actually cleared the Gangseo-gu Gate.
Either way, Kim A-rin was the person in this room who knew the most about that unregistered Hunter — Lee Ji-woo.
That was why Do-a had asked her.
"…………"
"…A-rin?"
But she said nothing.
As if she didn't know anything at all, she just quietly shook her head.
When Kim A-rin finally opened her mouth, what she said was only tangentially related to the Gangseo-gu Gate.
"Senior. Ji-woo — my unnie……. …What do you think of her?"
"That girl from earlier?"
"Yeah."
Around that point, Yoo Do-a's heart began to beat just a little faster.
The kid who had followed Kim A-rin into the meeting room.
Obviously not an adult — she'd looked like a fourth-grader at most.
And then.
"Give me my money."
The most adorable creature Do-a had ever laid eyes on in her life.
It had taken every ounce of willpower she had to resist the urge to pet those soft, fluffy ears.
A girl whose cheeks looked so squishy that Do-a had immediately wanted to squish them someday.
"…Didn't Lee Ji-woo also say she doesn't know why the Dungeon rank went up?"
"Yeah. Unnie doesn't know either. She said all she did was retrieve the Dungeon Core."
Strictly speaking, Lee Ji-woo didn't have any information about the anomaly that had occurred this time.
She'd simply used some transformation-type skill she'd just awakened to take down the boss monster and retrieve the Dungeon Core.
Of course, that in itself was quite the achievement.
By the time Ji-woo had taken down the boss, the Dungeon had already become S-rank.
In other words, that little girl had solo-cleared an S-rank Dungeon boss.
All by herself.
"For someone who just awakened to solo an S-rank Dungeon boss…. She's clearly not ordinary."
"That's fair. When Yoo Do-a was eleven, she was probably just at home watching cartoons."
"…Keep irrelevant comments to yourself."
"Anyway, that girl's got guts, doesn't she? Walking right up to our Guild Master Yoo Do-a and demanding money on the spot. Fearless, I tell you~."
The other senior staff mostly felt the same way.
It was clear she'd awakened some seriously powerful skills, so the consensus was to win Ji-woo over gently and, eventually, develop her into another key asset for the Haetae Guild.
"She wants to join our guild anyway, right? No problem then~."
"Still, she's scary for a little kid. What kind of person transforms and immediately sends mana spiking like that?"
"……Everyone's in favor, right?"
"Better to keep her with us than let another guild snatch her up."
"By the way, why does she keep calling her 'unnie'? She's obviously way younger than you."
"…There's a reason. I'll explain later."
The discussion about Lee Ji-woo, the unregistered Hunter Kim A-rin had brought in, wrapped up there.
From the Haetae Guild's perspective, there was no reason to turn away a powerful newly-Awakened.
Ji-woo herself had already said she'd made up her mind about joining Haetae.
"So then, this Lee Ji-woo — what do we do about her status?"
"…Protected Awakened."
The Protected Awakened system — a program where Hunter guilds, rather than the government, looked after newly-Awakened individuals who were still unstable.
Since someone who had just awakened their skills could lose control, there was a system in place for fellow Awakened to provide care until they could manage their own power.
This was especially important when the skills in question were powerful ones like S-rank abilities, which required particularly close monitoring and management.
The people commonly called trainee Hunters were exactly these Protected Awakened individuals under a guild's care.
"Huh? She already cleared an S-rank Dungeon. Seems like she could go straight into active duty."
"……Imagine the headlines if it came out we sent an elementary schooler into a Dungeon. How do you think that would go?"
"We could just sneak her in~."
"If you don't want us all going to prison, I'm against it."
"Right, not yet. I'm against it too."
"Wait, even Do-a……? What is this. Am I the only one in favor?"
"Trash."
"Child abuser."
"Psychopath."
"I'm genuinely amazed you can even conceive of taking a little kid into a Dungeon."
Under the continued barrage of insults from the other senior staff, even the lone voice in favor of sending Ji-woo into Dungeons finally raised the white flag.
It was around then that Guild Master Yoo Do-a delivered the final verdict for the day's meeting.
"Alright then — Lee Ji-woo joins our guild, that's decided. And we'll put together our own investigation team for the Gangseo-gu Dungeon Gate."
"Do we, uh, need to check with Rudders? It's technically their assigned Dungeon, as far as we know."
"Idiot, Rudders is the one who asked us for help. How is a mid-sized guild with an A-rank Guild Master supposed to manage an S-rank Dungeon?"
"I was asking Do-a, not you."
After that, leaving the senior staff to start growling at each other again, Do-a stepped out of the meeting room.
She figured she'd make a quick trip to the restroom.
After that, she'd call the Rudders Guild Hunters and Ji-woo back into the meeting room to deliver the Haetae Guild's official position.
—Click.
"Good grief, what on earth is going on……"
Her head was still a mess, but this was the role of a major guild's Guild Master.
Not to panic in the middle of chaos, but to lead everyone through it.
At least the situation wasn't completely dire — that was something to be grateful for.
The Gangseo-gu Gate that had appeared out of nowhere had ultimately stabilized, and no Hunters had died or been seriously injured.
"…To think I'd end up owing a debt to a little kid."
In the end, it was all Ji-woo's doing.
If Ji-woo hadn't retrieved the Dungeon Core, an S-rank Gate shock could have erupted right in the middle of Seoul.
Earlier, with everyone watching, she hadn't been able to show it — but if she were being honest, she'd wanted to pat the girl on the head.
Hadn't she accomplished something even seasoned adult Hunters would struggle with?
An already adorable kid who'd gone and done something that incredible — Ji-woo had completely won Do-a over.
"……I really want to touch those ears. Would she get mad? Actually, maybe if I offered her some pocket money and asked nicely……"
For now, she intended to honor whatever Ji-woo had asked for — the Dungeon clear reward, guild membership, all of it.
That way, Ji-woo would naturally become a member of Do-a's Haetae Guild, and Do-a, as Guild Master, would be able to teach her all sorts of things.
Like how to get more comfortable with her own skills as a Hunter.
Special training to use her newly-awakened abilities more powerfully and flexibly.
Or maybe she could show her around the equipment stored in Haetae's vault.
"She's a transformation-type, so bladed weapons are probably less useful — better to show her the protective gear first, right? But seriously, how did she take down monsters with hands that tiny?"
Either way, Ji-woo was a newly-Awakened — a so-called newbie Hunter.
Which meant that Do-a, a veteran Hunter through and through, felt an overwhelming urge to do everything for that adorably precious newbie.
In gaming terms, it was what you'd call carrying a new player.
More than anything.
"I really, really want to touch those cheeks. Is there any way……? I hope I didn't make a bad impression. You idiot, fix your tone. Talking all stiff to a little kid. So proud of being Guild Master, aren't you, you absolute disaster……!"
Regardless of the incredible things Ji-woo had done on the very day of her awakening, she was just plain cute to look at.
Just gazing at Ji-woo's young face had been enough to make a helpless smile keep threatening to break through, which meant Do-a had been working overtime to keep the corners of her mouth under control.
She'd deliberately kept her tone stiff and formal to maintain her dignity as Guild Master, but inside, it had been tearing her apart.
Do-a learned today, for the first time, just how hard it was to separate personal feelings from professional ones.
"Okay, first thing — call her aside and apologize. …Actually, now that I think about it, I never even said thank you? What kind of awful adult am I."
Overwhelmed by the guilt that kept welling up, Do-a gave her own head a light tug.
They say a position shapes a person — and sure enough, Do-a had somewhere along the way become stiff and authoritarian without realizing it.
Well, what was done was done.
Resolving to speak more warmly from here on out, Do-a stepped out of the restroom.
And there, in the distance — a fluffy, bobbing tail.
"…Huh?"
She had no idea how long Ji-woo had been near the restroom, but the girl was now bolting away at full speed.
The thought that maybe Ji-woo had heard every word of her muttering hit Do-a like a punch to the chest.
She immediately sprinted after her, but —
"Stop right there. Senior."
Kim A-rin had already tucked Ji-woo behind her back and was looking at Do-a like she was something scraped off the bottom of a shoe.
It seemed Ji-woo had not only heard every word of Do-a's muttering but had gone straight to Kim A-rin to report it.
"W-wait. Just a second. There's been a misunderstanding——!"
"…Don't come any closer, Senior. Talk from there."
"Ugh!"
***
"Earlier — that was — what I mean is…. …I just really like animals. Rabbits and things like that are cute, you know."
"I'm a person."
"N-no. What I meant was, that's not——!"
The Guild Master looked utterly flustered at my flat expression.
Her ears had gone slightly red for some reason.
But I'd already made up my mind.
Whatever excuse the Guild Master gave, I was going to look for a different guild to join.
Or even if I did join Haetae for now, I'd make my escape to another guild as soon as possible.
"Please transfer my Dungeon clear payment to Kim A-rin. I'll collect it from her later."
"W-wait. Just a moment, Ji-woo."
"Well then, goodbye."
As the Guild Master slowly started closing the distance, I slowly started backing away.
I had no intention of letting someone who hadn't even given me the Avatar Manifestation skill poke at my cheeks.
Honestly, when Hwaran touched my cheeks yesterday, I was already pretty embarrassed about it.
What kind of man in this world lets a woman mess with his cheeks?
Even if you're in a relationship, that's a no.
"Unnie, just hear me out for a second. I can explain everything, Ji-woo."
"The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and try again……"
"Wh-what is that even——. …Ugh!"
The Guild Master seemed to make a decision and reached out toward me.
I didn't bother defending myself, though.
Either way, we were in the middle of a conversation.
No matter what skill the Guild Master used, it would all be blocked by my S-rank invincibility ability.
【❮(A) Foresight❯: Activated!】
[ Entity: Yoo Do-a is reading the future that Entity: Lee Ji-woo desires most……… ]
…Didn't see that coming.
"J-Ji-woo, you…. You want to be famous! Super famous, like getting posts trending and everything——!"
"Nononononono——"
I lunged forward in a panic to clap my hand over the Guild Master's mouth before she could say another word.
She absolutely could not find out my username.
I'd been secretly uploading photos of Kim A-rin to the Hunter Wannabe Gallery this whole time……!
Reality destruction, stop right there.
—Flail flail.
—Flail flail.
The problem was that the Guild Master was a bit too tall.
No matter how high I jumped, I couldn't reach her mouth.
"Hey…unnie's got you, Ji-woo. Unnie's actually kind of famous, you know? Like, tens of millions of Instagram followers and everything……!"
"Okay, I get it. Stop. Please stop."
"You want spam too…… Unnie will buy you a whole case of spam. Actually, I'll order it right now!"
The Guild Master had started going completely off the rails in real time.
Watching her, Kim A-rin covered her face and hung her head like she was the one who should be embarrassed.
No, I'm the most embarrassed one here, actually.
Please, someone stop this mouth.
"And also, and also……!"
—Flinch.
The Guild Master's mouth suddenly stopped.
Seizing the opening, I pushed off the ground and jumped.
This time, I used Fenrion's power too.
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (23%)】
—Thwap!
"Mmph, mmph mmph."
S…success.
I finally got my hand over the Guild Master's mouth.
But for some reason.
The Guild Master's eyes weren't looking at me right in front of her — they were fixed on empty air, and she was flinching.
"…What are you staring at, Senior. You're the one who brought someone who said they were fine."
"Huh……huh?"
And then — thud.
The Guild Master's knees buckled and she sank to the floor.
I had no idea what she'd seen with that Foresight skill or whatever it was, but either way, this worked out fine.
—Whisper whisper.
"If you don't keep quiet, I'm going to tip off every newspaper and website I can find. Understood?"
"Mm…yeah. Got…it."
I gave her a firm warning that if she pulled another reality-destruction stunt, there would be consequences.
The Guild Master slowly nodded at my words, but even after that, she just stayed slumped on the floor with a completely vacant look on her face.
Good grief, what on earth did she see.
