"So, where exactly am I……?"
I looked around in bewilderment, and stretching out before me was a vast, sweeping grassland unlike anything I'd ever seen — not even on the internet.
*Wild.* That single word rose to mind on its own.
I'd definitely fallen through a crosswalk, but when I looked up, all I could see was a clear blue sky.
"…Please don't tell me this is a Dungeon."
No matter how hard I tried to deny reality, there was only one conclusion I could reach.
The only thing in this world that could make something this absurd happen was a Dungeon Gate.
The other option was that I'd died and gone to the afterlife — but I'd just confirmed I was still alive.
Which meant I was currently inside a Dungeon.
"Why?"
Of course, I had no idea why.
It's not like I'd ever fallen into a sinkhole before.
What I knew for certain was that I was late for my convenience store shift, and I had absolutely no idea how to get out of here.
And also — I had somehow become an incredibly pretty little girl.
Just those three things.
Everything else was one giant question mark.
"…Status…."
I looked around carefully and started walking.
Whether it was suddenly falling through a sinkhole in the middle of the street.
Or suddenly turning into a girl.
These were all things I'd never experienced before, and I couldn't get my head straight.
But then, at some point, a single possibility flashed through my mind.
Awakening.
"Status. To rise up."
This place wasn't reality — it was a Dungeon.
A place non-Awakened people could barely catch a glimpse of, accessible only to Hunters.
In other words, anyone inside a Dungeon was almost certainly a Hunter.
Which meant there was a very good chance that I, being inside a Dungeon, had already Awakened.
After all, my body had already changed from head to toe into something completely different.
Maybe turning into this girl was some kind of Awakening side effect, or something like that?
As far as I knew, no Hunter in history had ever had their gender change during Awakening — but hey, I could just be the first.
Maybe when I got to the Hunter Association later, they'd give me some cool title like "The First" or whatever.
"…Status Window! Status Window!"
Clinging to the hope that I'd finally Awakened, I carefully called out the classic line.
Given that my whole body had changed like this — unlike any normal Awakening — I must have gotten some kind of special ability.
But I got ghosted.
Not a Status Window, not even a tiny ant appeared.
"What do you mean it's not showing up. This isn't right!"
Normally, the first thing a Hunter sees after Awakening is their Status Window.
Through that Status Window, they can immediately find out what ability they've Awakened.
Meaning — since no Status Window had appeared, I was still a non-Awakened.
This was the most spectacularly rotten luck in the history of rotten luck.
How was a non-Awakened supposed to survive in a Dungeon?
And they'd gone and turned my body into this little girl's, on top of everything.
"Sta──! tus──! Win──dow─────!"
At this point, I was beyond exasperated.
I, who had never desperately called out to anyone in my life, was now screaming my lungs out for a Status Window.
Begging for anything to show up.
"Status! Window! Sta-tus, Win-dow!!! Ugh, cough…."
And then.
— *Thud─────────!*
"Grrrr………."
"…!…!!"
A massive figure burst out and blocked my path right in front of me.
I was so startled my heart felt like it stopped — I couldn't even scream properly.
A giant wolf, still snarling in my direction, glaring at me with ferocious eyes.
It radiated something deeply unsettling in all directions, making me stumble backward.
And still, as if intent on devouring me, the wolf's jaws opened wide.
— *Crack.*
"…Ah…."
The moment I came face to face with teeth far larger than my own face, every thought in my head went blank.
With legs this short, running would be pointless — I'd be caught in seconds.
*So this is how I die.*
That was the only thought I had.
"……Please spare me…."
When the shadow finally lunged toward me, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Bracing for the sharp fangs that would sink into my shoulder any moment now.
— *Yelp──!*
[ You cannot attack during dialogue. ] [ You cannot attack during dialogue. ] [ You cannot attack during dialogue. ] [ You cannot attack during dialogue. ] [ You cannot attack during dialogue. ] [ You cannot attack during dialogue. ] [ You cannot attack during dialogue. ] [ You cannot attack during dialogue. ] [ You cannot attack during dialogue. ]
The sound of the wolf's teeth clashing against something hard rang out.
Had my shoulder bones always been that solid?
With the wolf's breath still audible right in front of me, I couldn't even open my eyes — I just kept trembling.
[ Entity identified: Fenrion, Mad Dog of the Mountain Range. ]
[ You have encountered a Hidden entity. ]
[ Saving biometric data for entity: Fenrion, Mad Dog of the Mountain Range……. ]
[ Save complete. ]
[ Total data saved: 1 ]
Something flashed in front of me even as I kept my eyes squeezed shut.
Or rather — something was moving.
[ Effect of Passive: *Let's Be Friends* — Boss hostility adjusted to 0. ]
[ Effect of Passive: *Let's Be Friends* — Boss affinity adjusted to 50. ]
[ Entity: Fenrion, Mad Dog of the Mountain Range, requests dialogue with entity: null. ]
I needed to open my eyes to check, but I couldn't quite muster the courage.
Because I could still feel that giant wolf standing right in front of me.
[ Entity: Fenrion, Mad Dog of the Mountain Range, requests dialogue with entity: null…. ]
[ For smooth communication, entity: null's body will be automatically converted……… ]
[ Conversion complete. ]
And then, suddenly — *flop.*
"Whoa?!"
My center of gravity lurched backward without warning.
I snapped my eyes open in surprise, and there was the giant wolf — somehow not nearly as terrifying as before.
Even looking it directly in the eyes, I didn't feel that heart-dropping dread from moments ago.
And it didn't seem to have any intention of attacking… thankfully.
[ Entity: Fenrion, Mad Dog of the Mountain Range's aura affects surrounding entities. ]
[ Entity: null assumes a posture of submission before the Ruler of the Mountain Range. ]
"…Huh?"
*Swish.* My arms and legs moved on their own.
Something soft at my tailbone and the top of my head twitched and wiggled.
The giant wolf continued to look down at me in silence.
Just as the message that had appeared in the air said — it waited until I had fully assumed a posture of submission.
Simply watching, as if observing something it found rather interesting.
"…Woof."
I wagged the tail that had sprouted without my knowledge and silently begged the wolf to at least not eat me.
I wasn't sure if my words were getting through, but I'd stay as still as possible.
Making any sudden noise or startling movement might set the wolf off again.
*That's just the neighbor's dog Ppoppi. It's just Ppoppi.*
I worked furiously at mental conditioning, trying to stay as calm as I could.
And as a result.
"You……. Who are you?"
I had reached a state of enlightenment where I could hear Ppoppi's voice!
Well, it was less like hearing it with my ears and more like it was being transmitted directly into my head, but….
"……Can you not hear me?"
It wasn't the natural sensation of hearing through my ears — it was something different, something alien.
If I hadn't gone crazy and started talking to myself, then this voice belonged to Ppoppi.
Just, you know. A very large and terrifying-looking Ppoppi.
"P-please spare me!!"
"!"
Having a Dungeon monster speak to a person was something unheard of.
But it was at least better than being eaten alive.
"I have absolutely no intention of harming you! I swear on my parents! Please believe me…!"
"…A vow sworn on your very origins. Is there truly such an extreme oath in this world."
I went all-in on the old proverb — *even in a tiger's jaws, keep your wits and you'll survive.*
At least it didn't seem like it was going to bite me to death right this second, so let's settle this through dialogue.
"Child."
"Y-yes."
"Am I… truly that frightening to you?"
The words *what kind of question is that* shot up to the tip of my tongue before I barely managed to swallow them back down.
Whatever Ppoppi said, I had to survive first.
Getting my life guaranteed was the priority.
"I see you've even curled your tail. I did not treat you so harshly……. Heh."
"I'm… sorry…?"
I agreed with everything Ppoppi said as best I could.
I wasn't sure what it meant by "not treating me harshly" when it had literally just tried to eat me moments ago — but still.
However.
— *Ding.*
【Status Window】
【Name: null (Female)】
【Age: 11】
【Rank: F → S (Assimilation with entity: Fenrion in progress)】
【Skills: ❮(P) No Attacks During Dialogue: S❯ , ❮(P) Let's Be Friends: S❯ , ❮(A) Assimilation: F❯ , ❮(A) Data Viewing: F❯】
"…Null? My name isn't Null."
The Status Window that had refused to appear no matter how desperately I'd called for it finally showed up.
Along with skills that were all over the place in rank.