"…Did we get them?"
Shifting her gaze to the plain stretching out before her, Ji-woo spotted a cluster of men standing there with blank, vacant eyes.
Honestly? It was a little creepy.
The way they all just stood there in a daze, muttering weird things to themselves — it was like something straight out of a horror movie.
…Never mind that she was the one who'd put them in that state.
"See that, Kim A-rin? This is how strong your big sis is."
Ji-woo puffed out her chest and bragged to Kim A-rin, who had watched the whole thing unfold.
Hunters who could dominate this many people's minds all at once were probably countable on one hand.
If she still doubted Ji-woo was an S-rank awakener after all this, she had a serious case of paranoia.
Strictly speaking, it was Hwaran's Avatar Manifestation skill — *Paradise Lost in a Daze*, or whatever it was called — that had done the heavy lifting.
But hey, she was the one who'd used it, so it counted as her being strong. No objections.
"……You're not supposed to use skills on people."
"Oh come on, don't be such a buzzkill. And nobody died, did they?"
Kim A-rin looked like something was weighing on her conscience, but Ji-woo held her ground without a hint of guilt.
The skill she'd just used was a hallucination ability with an attack power of essentially zero.
Being a Hidden Boss skill, the hallucination's duration was absurdly long, and the aftereffects probably weren't mild either.
But flip it around — they'd taken a Hidden Boss's skill head-on and still weren't dead.
Wasn't that basically a lucky break?
"…Hey."
"Nope, nope, nope! No lectures! La la la, not listening, la la la."
Not that Kim A-rin was entirely wrong, of course.
That was only true under the assumption that those men were innocent, law-abiding citizens — which they weren't.
"You saw it yourself just now. They had me in a headlock and were threatening me with those scary faces."
Kim A-rin had seen it with her own eyes, same as Ji-woo.
The way they'd taken the fake Ji-woo Hwaran had conjured as a hostage, and what they'd been about to do to Kim A-rin.
Why they'd done something so stupid was still a question — one that needed answering.
"So, why did they do it?"
"Ask them. They will answer."
*Smack.* Hwaran gave one of the men a light slap on the cheek, and his slack jaw began to mumble away diligently.
They had been storing illegal drugs inside the Dungeon.
Today was the day those drugs were supposed to be traded.
They'd planned to hold Kim A-rin hostage to buy time while they moved the drugs as far away as possible.
It even came out as a neat three-point summary, easy to follow.
Either way, it was clear these were bad people.
Ji-woo's use of the hallucination skill was now fully justified.
"Satisfied?"
"Hwaran, you're the best."
"What's so impressive about this. This is nothing to me."
Ji-woo gave a double thumbs-up, and Hwaran's mood visibly lifted.
Her ears and tail twitched at the same time.
[ Entity: Hwaran's Favorability increases slightly. (100 → 105) ]
She hadn't expected the favorability to go up on top of everything else.
Come to think of it — favorability could go above 100?
She'd pushed it to 100 earlier to learn the Avatar Manifestation skill, so she'd assumed there was nowhere left for it to climb.
…Were there maybe additional skills unlocked at higher levels?
Like, hit 150 favorability and learn a second-tier Avatar Manifestation, hit 200 and get a third-tier one.
"Second tier? Third tier? What are you talking about?"
"Ah… just thinking out loud."
Researching whether other Avatar Manifestation skills existed was still a ways off.
She barely understood the skills she already had.
Right now, reporting those criminals to the police came first.
"A-rin, what do we do now?"
"……We'll have them investigated more thoroughly. Including how long they've been using this Dungeon as a storage site."
"No, I mean — how are we supposed to haul all these people out of here?"
When all was said and done, they were still inside a Dungeon.
Whether it was an investigation or an arrest, they needed to get everyone outside first — but with those men standing around in a stupor, even that was going to be a challenge.
And leaving them inside the Dungeon wasn't an option either, since the monsters in here would happily make a meal of them.
"That's… don't worry about it. I'll contact the Guild and they'll handle it——"
"Be gone."
Hwaran cut in before Kim A-rin could even finish her sentence.
The moment Hwaran spoke, the men fell into formation as if possessed and began marching away in perfect rows.
"…Satisfied?"
"Hwaran, you're genuinely the greatest. The GOAT of all living beings. There's truly nothing you can't do. You're incredible."
"Hmph."
[ Entity: Hwaran's Favorability increases slightly. (105 → 110) ]
The favorability went up again.
Hwaran was a remarkably easy-to-read Hidden Boss.
Not that Ji-woo was complaining — she'd gotten plenty of help out of it.
She'd ended up with a new Avatar Manifestation skill.
She'd proven her strength as a Hunter to Kim A-rin.
And somehow, she'd also managed to round up a bunch of criminals who'd been running an illegal operation inside a Dungeon.
"Once again, I've gone and done something amazing. Someone give me a pat on the back."
At this point, even Ji-woo herself had to admit it.
Was she maybe a little too capable?
She was only two days into her awakening. Was this really okay?
Even she found herself a little intimidated by herself……
*Whoosh.*
"…Hey. Let's go."
Kim A-rin, who had been nervously watching Hwaran this whole time, carefully placed a hand on Ji-woo's shoulder.
She still couldn't quite believe Ji-woo was chatting with a Hidden Boss like they were old friends.
Ji-woo could explain how it was possible, but using the Avatar Manifestation skill had left her feeling pretty drained.
"Um, well then. Hwaran."
"…You're leaving?"
"Yes. But I'll come back."
Hwaran looked a little crestfallen, so Ji-woo promised to visit again.
She'd also promised to bring Hwaran the complete Lord of the Rings set.
And more than anything — she needed to take photos.
A Dungeon's Hidden Boss surrounded by a full stack of Lord of the Rings books, reading them?
Could a photo like that even exist in this world?
She absolutely had to capture it.
It would take over the Gallery, no question — and probably get attention overseas too.
"Heheh."
"…………"
"What. Why are you looking at me like that."
"……Nothing."
Kim A-rin shot a quick glance toward Hwaran, then guided Ji-woo out of the Dungeon.
Hwaran's figure grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
From far away, Hwaran stood watching Ji-woo in silence. Ji-woo gave a light wave goodbye.
Like Fenrion before her, Hwaran hadn't struck Ji-woo as particularly frightening for a Hidden Boss.
Nothing like the news reports that had painted her as some world-ending monster.
***
"…She's gone."
Silence had settled back over the plain.
Gazing at the spot where the girl had disappeared — a girl she hadn't seen in so very long — Hwaran murmured softly to herself.
How long had it been since things were this lively?
She walked alone through the quiet plain, turning over the day's conversations in her mind one by one.
Even that much was a kind of story for Hwaran.
"I ask once more, child. May I dispose of those men?"
"W-well, killing them is a bit……"
It had always irked her, the way this girl defended those who meant her harm. But that was nothing new.
From the very first time they'd met, long, long ago, she had always been a foolish girl.
And wasn't that precisely why Hwaran had given her heart away?
"…Even after all this time, you're still as exasperating as ever."
[ Entity: Hwaran's Favorability increases greatly. (85 → 100) ]
[ All conditions to learn 'Avatar Manifestation: Paradise Lost in a Daze' have been met. ]
"And yet… that is what makes you who you are. I find it endearing, child. Unchanging as ever."
"Th-thank you?"
"That was an insult just now. How naive."
"Eek."
Turning the conversation over piece by piece, Hwaran eventually conjured a phantom, as she always did.
Because this place had always been lonely — then as now.
【 …'■■■■■' manifests temporarily within the Dungeon 】
*Tap.* Soft footsteps descended gently to Hwaran's side.
She turned toward the presence, and found a face she knew all too well.
『Hello, Hwaran. Have you been well?』
"……Yes."
『Hehe, I'm glad. What story shall I tell you today?』
"No, not today. Today, I want to talk with you."
Walking in step with the phantom she had conjured from memory, Hwaran made her way back into the depths of her barrier.
A place so deep that no one in the world could enter without her permission.
"Your clothes look quite different from when I last saw you. And you seem to have gained a new little sibling."
『Oh my, is that so?』
"Yes. One who trembled with fear yet still stood up for you — quite an amusing little sibling, I thought."
And so, for the first time, Hwaran told a story instead of listening to one.
Deep into the night, for a very long time.
A warm, fond story about a girl who had returned — looking a little different from the face she remembered.
"…By the way, child. Do you know of a book called The Lord of the Rings?"
『Hmm…. I've never heard of it. What kind of story does it tell?』
"Hehe, I'll tell you later. She said she'd bring it soon……"
***
*Nom nom.*
*Nom nom.*
"Wanna bite?"
A pizza place near the Haeinsa Dungeon Gate.
Ji-woo was happily chomping away when she offered a slice, and Kim A-rin reluctantly picked one up.
Her mind, however, was still a mess.
All because of one person — Lee Ji-woo.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
Chatting with a Hidden Boss like they were old friends.
And on top of that, actually borrowing and using a Hidden Boss's skill.
Where did she even begin?
Every single thing that had happened today was jaw-dropping on its own.
"So… yesterday too……. You really did meet a Hidden Boss?"
"I showed you the photos."
"……I didn't think it was actually a Hidden Boss."
"You and your paranoia."
Ji-woo stared back at her with a flat, unamused expression.
But before Kim A-rin could say anything more, Ji-woo spoke first.
"Can I be a Hunter?"
That was what mattered most to Ji-woo right now.
Whether there had been smugglers hiding inside the Haeinsa Dungeon, or whether she'd made friends with a new Hidden Boss.
Whether there were still plenty of things she didn't know about her own skills.
What mattered most, right this moment, was whether Ji-woo could walk the path of a Hunter.
"If you say no, I'm posting every embarrassing photo of you from when you were little all over the internet."
"Wh-what?"
"Oh— I mean it. You know I will, right?"
Kim A-rin let out a quiet sigh at the slightly unhinged threat.
Ji-woo seemed to have no real grasp of what it meant to be an S-rank Hunter.
"…Fine. Okay."
"!"
"But let's talk it through tomorrow. It's getting late today."
The strangeness of the strength Ji-woo had displayed today only made Kim A-rin's thoughts more tangled.
Strange was the right word for it.
It was a kind of strength Kim A-rin had never once encountered in all her years as a Hunter.
"If you say no tomorrow, I'm plastering your photos all over the Guild building."
"…Haah."
Did Ji-woo even understand what it meant to wield the power of a Hidden Boss?
No — she clearly didn't, which was why she could be so carefree about it.
Honestly, it wouldn't be strange at all if someone showed up right now to kidnap her.
Ji-woo's power was that dangerous — and that coveted.
A kid who could hold conversations with Hidden Bosses and use their skills. Did she really think the world would just leave her alone?
"For now."
"For now?"
"Promise me. Don't tell anyone but me. Not a single person."
"Huh? Why?"
"If you won't promise, I can't promise either. I'll make sure you never set foot in our Guild."
"Hmm, I was kind of thinking I'd let word get out a little, see what my market value comes out to…"
"…Base pay of ■ hundred million a month. Hazard pay and Dungeon clear bonuses are all separate. In exchange for keeping quiet about your skills."
"I pledge my undying loyalty."
The way Ji-woo worshipped her like some kind of deity gave Kim A-rin cause for concern on multiple levels.
Ji-woo had always been like this — an unpredictable person who could go off in any direction at any moment.
And yet whenever Kim A-rin had tried to do something nice for her over the years, Ji-woo would refuse with a vengeance.
What was it about money that made her put up such a wall?
Between the two of them, of all people.
"…I'll come pick you up in the morning. Don't go anywhere."
Time passed, and they finally arrived in front of Ji-woo's rooftop apartment late at night.
Kim A-rin told her she'd be back in the morning, and that Ji-woo should wait at home.
"Morning? How early?"
"Eight o'clock."
"Eight in the morning is the middle of the night."
"……Do you not want to get paid?"
A casual mention of the reward for Ji-woo's Gangseo-gu Gate clear, and Ji-woo immediately declared she would stay home like a corpse until then.
Ji-woo still had plenty of questions she hadn't gotten to ask Kim A-rin yet, anyway.
Things like the S-rank passive skills she hadn't even known had an on/off function.
Or the Hunter rank assessment process. Stuff like that.
"I'll be here first thing in the morning."
"Okay."
"…Actually, do you just want to sleep at my place?"
"Absolutely not!"
What kind of girl who lived alone would just invite a stranger into her home like that.
Muttering something along those lines, Ji-woo scrambled out of the car and bolted.
She came back a moment later, though.
"Um, A-rin."
"…Are you coming to my place after all?"
"No, it's not that. There are packages here……"
They were kind of really heavy.
Could she just help move them and then go?
Ji-woo scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.
The heavy delivery boxes were blocking the door and she couldn't get inside.
*Heave!*
"W-with one hand?"
"…I'm a Hunter, you know."
"Oh, right, I forgot."
Once Kim A-rin had moved all the boxes, though, Ji-woo found herself surprised all over again.
[Spinach] / [Dried Anchovies] / [Minari Greens] / [Kkakdugi] / [Bracken] / [Potato Salad] / [Braised Short Ribs]………
"…What is this. Am I dreaming?"
Side dishes. A whole delivery box full of them.
Not store-bought — the kind made with someone's careful, loving hands.
[ To Ji-woo,
An empty stomach makes your health worse, so please stop skipping meals and take care of yourself..^^
I snuck in some cooking oil, sesame oil, and a few cans of Spam without telling the wife..^^
I put in a few boxes of instant rice too, so let me know if you need more..^^ ]
"…?……??"
Having read every last word of the letter tucked inside the delivery box, Ji-woo turned to stone.
The convenience store manager she had been so sure she'd quit on — turned out to be unsettlingly sweet.
