"I-I'll be r-right back……. …Ngh!"
The Gate attendant finally apologized to Ji-woo No. 2 and headed toward a nearby building.
Good thing my hypnosis skill worked.
He scurried off in a half-crouched waddle, like he'd suddenly developed a very urgent need for the bathroom.
…He's not going to have an accident on the way there, is he?
That would be a little too much to feel sorry about.
"Hmm…."
She glanced around to confirm no one was nearby, then slowly approached the Gate.
She had one more thing to test with the clone, so she brought Ji-woo No. 2 along.
Before stepping through the Gate, though, there was still one thing left to do.
She needed to deactivate the bizarre S-rank passive that forcibly raised her encounter rate with Hidden Bosses.
—Ding.
【Would you like to deactivate ❮(P)Let's Be Friends : S❯?】
【Currently applied to: None】
"…Deactivate."
The Gate in front of her was a stabilized Gate — one whose dungeon core had been retrieved long ago.
The monsters inside were docile, and it was safe enough to be used as a training ground for rookie Hunters.
But the Haeinsa Dungeon Gate she'd visited before had been the exact same kind of stabilized Gate.
And the moment she'd stepped inside, her body had floated up and she'd been forcibly teleported straight to where Hwaran was.
【❮(P)Let's Be Friends : S❯ has been deactivated.】
"Phew."
There was no guarantee the same thing wouldn't happen in the Haetae Guild's training Gate.
Sure, it would be great to meet a new Hidden Boss and get a new Avatar Manifestation skill out of it.
But if she got forcibly teleported to some Hidden Boss's location again, she'd end up completely lost.
Today, she'd just run her experiments and head straight home.
That way Kim A-rin wouldn't find out.
"Let's go, Ji-woo No. 2."
She brought Ji-woo No. 2 along and walked straight into the training Gate.
A vast, open meadow spread out before her.
Fortunately, there wasn't a single Hunter training inside.
There were monsters, sure, but…
—Hop hop.
—Hop hop.
"…Why do those rabbits have horns."
Nothing but small rabbit monsters hopping around in the distance.
They didn't seem particularly interested in her.
Either way, it was the perfect spot for someone like her — someone who absolutely could not let anyone see what she was about to do.
"Alright then…. Let's play word chain."
"Word chain……."
"I'll go first. Mountain foothills."
"Word chain……don't know……."
Ji-woo No. 2 tilted her head blankly.
I made her, and she's still this dumb.
Compared to the clone Hwaran had made, this one clearly had a lot more bugs to work out.
But that was fine.
Because just now, she'd had a conversation with Ji-woo No. 2.
"Hit me."
"Hit………?"
"Hmm…. How do I explain this. Raise your fist up, then bring it down hard on my forehead."
"Fist……. Up……."
Ji-woo No. 2 slowly raised her fist, then brought it down in a flick against Ji-woo's forehead.
But.
[ You cannot attack during dialogue. ]
Her S-rank invincibility had activated again.
Which meant the idiotic little conversation she'd just had with Ji-woo No. 2 still counted as dialogue.
The detection range on this thing is seriously generous.
"Forehead……. Hit………."
—Whoosh whoosh.
—Whoosh whoosh.
No matter how many times Ji-woo No. 2 swung her fist, it stopped right in front of Ji-woo's forehead.
In other words, from now on, even if she entered a Dungeon alone, she could become invincible just by summoning a clone.
Hwaran probably never figured out you could use the clone skill this way.
"My creativity is incredible. My brain must be S-rank too."
"Forehead………. Hit………."
"You can stop now, dummy."
She made Ji-woo No. 2 stand at attention again, still swinging her useless fist.
It wasn't like it hurt anyway, but watching her keep at it was breaking Ji-woo's concentration.
—Glance.
"…Nobody's watching, right?"
She checked her surroundings one more time, then decided to run some experiments on the Assimilation skill.
There was still a lot she didn't know about it.
"Deactivate Assimilation."
【Assimilation with individual: Hwaran will be deactivated.】
First, she deactivated the Assimilation with Hwaran.
What she wanted to test this time was Fenrion's power, not Hwaran's.
After all, when she was around other Hunters, Fenrion's power was the only one she could use.
So it made sense to get a handle on Fenrion's abilities first.
"Hmm…. Fenrion Assimilation."
【Rank: F → S (Assimilation with individual: Fenrion in progress)】
【Currently assimilating with: Fenrion (23%)】
Where the pink fox ears had been just a moment ago, a pair of black wolf ears popped into existence.
The tail, too — no longer a fluffy pink fox tail, but a sleek black wolf's tail.
Her five senses felt noticeably sharper as well.
The only issue was—
—Blink blink.
—Blink blink.
"…Turn your head. Stop looking at me."
"Stop looking………."
Ji-woo No. 2 was still staring at her blankly, so she made her look away.
What she was about to do was pretty embarrassing.
Even if it was just a clone, having someone watch felt wrong.
—Slowly…
—Plop.
"…Okay."
She plopped down onto the meadow grass and recalled the memory of the Gangseo-gu Gate from before.
The memory of using the Assimilation skill for the very first time.
And the memory of pushing her Assimilation rate with Fenrion from 1% all the way to 23%.
"…Show me the Assimilation description."
—Ding.
【(A)Assimilation : F】
【You can assimilate with individuals stored in Lee Ji-woo's data.
Depending on the individual's traits, your body may partially change.
Depending on the assimilation rate, you can use skills possessed by the individual.
***
Current rank: F.
Upon meeting special conditions, this skill can evolve into ❮(A)Avatar Manifestation : S❯.】
"Hmm……."
If she remembered correctly, every time the assimilation rate went up, the Assimilation skill's performance went up with it.
Which meant if she could push the current 23% a little higher, she'd get that much stronger.
The problem was how she'd raised the assimilation rate in the first place.
'I am Ppoppi, I am Ppoppi, I am Ppoppi….'
Back at the Gangseo-gu Gate, she'd hypnotized herself to raise the assimilation rate.
She'd even imagined herself becoming Fenrion.
And it had actually worked — the assimilation rate with Fenrion had genuinely gone up.
But what if she didn't just imagine it, and actually acted like Fenrion? Wouldn't that be even more effective?
"A-Awoooo───!"
There was a reason behind her howling like a lone wolf in the middle of a meadow.
She figured that if she mimicked Fenrion not just mentally but physically, the assimilation rate would climb even faster.
—Ding.
[ Proficiency of 'Active: Assimilation (F)' increases slightly……… ]
【Currently assimilating with: Fenrion (24%)】
"Oh?"
It actually worked.
The Assimilation skill's proficiency and the assimilation rate with Fenrion both went up at the same time.
…Eureka.
"A-Awoooooooo─────!"
Emboldened, she howled even louder.
In the distance, the horned rabbit monsters flinched and scrambled away.
But she didn't care.
What mattered right now was raising the Assimilation skill's proficiency and the assimilation rate with Fenrion, even by a little.
—Pad pad.
—Pad pad.
She didn't just walk normally either.
She got down on all fours like Fenrion, and occasionally sniffed and licked at the grass.
Like a real wolf.
No — not like one.
Right now, she wasn't a person. She was a real wolf.
—Swish swish.
—Swish swish.
—Pause.
"…Woof."
"Grrrr……."
Wolves don't use their hands.
Setting aside her human dignity for the moment, she picked up a twig from the ground with her mouth.
A notification popped up as if to praise her for it.
[ Proficiency of 'Active: Assimilation (F)' increases greatly……… ]
[ Proficiency of 'Active: Assimilation (F)' increases greatly……… ]
【Currently assimilating with: Fenrion (37%)】
"…Grr…."
It was strange that it worked, but working was better than not working.
So the trick was just to act like a wolf.
Thanks to that, the assimilation rate had climbed to 37%.
Her senses were noticeably sharper.
Her body felt lighter, and a strange, exhilarating sense of power washed over her — like she'd genuinely become stronger.
'Good thing I came alone.'
If she'd done this in front of Kim A-rin, she would have died of shame on the spot.
Effective or not, there was no way she could pull this kind of embarrassing stunt in front of A-rin.
If anyone caught her doing this, her soul would simply cease to exist.
…Calling it "dog behavior" felt a little off, but wolves were technically canines, so it still counted.
Anyway, she crawled around on all fours with the twig in her mouth for quite a while, until—
"Grr…. …Ptoo, ptoo ptoo."
The taste of dirt finally got to her and she spat it out.
She wanted to push the assimilation rate higher, but it was almost time for Kim A-rin to get back.
She decided to leave the Gate.
She'd figured out a reliable method for raising the assimilation rate, so she could keep at it going forward.
—Pat pat.
—Pat pat.
"Failed as a human, certified as a beast…."
She brushed the dirt off her palms and evolved back into Homo sapiens.
She walked out on two legs.
—Perk.
—Perk perk.
"…Hmm."
There was one problem, though.
The Gate attendant she'd hypnotized earlier had come back and was sitting at his post again.
If she just walked out like this, he'd know she'd snuck into the Gate.
Was there any good way around this?
"Word chain………."
"Oh, right. You're still here."
She made eye contact with Ji-woo No. 2, who had been standing quietly beside her.
The clone's body was starting to flicker and fade — the duration was almost up.
And at the same time, her S-rank brain produced a solution.
A way to slip out without the attendant noticing.
"Ji-woo No. 2."
"Mountain……foothills………."
"Foothills-bear-paw."
"………!"
"Anyway — go. Run up to that guy and ask him to hug you."
She ordered Ji-woo No. 2 to run toward the Gate attendant.
True to form as a still-dumb clone, she faithfully carried out the final command.
—Dash!
"Hug……me………!"
"Wh-Who are you?!"
Ji-woo No. 2 spread her arms wide and ran toward the Gate attendant with a blank expression.
While the attendant was thrown into a panic, Ji-woo sprinted out of the Gate at full speed.
Whether it was thanks to the assimilation rate climbing to 37%, her already-fast running speed had gotten even faster.
—Zoom─────!
"W-Wait! Who's that now! Stop─!"
As her body shot out like the wind, the attendant's frantic voice faded rapidly into the distance.
A short while later, she was back inside the Haetae Guild's dormitory building.
She felt like one of those battery-commercial sprinters. That was fast.
—Beep, beep, beep, beep.
—Ding dong♪
"I have arrived."
She flung the front door open and slid casually into the living room like nothing had happened.
Good — Kim A-rin didn't seem to be back yet.
Even with her noticeably sharpened senses, she couldn't detect A-rin's presence anywhere.
The perfect crime, executed flawlessly.
"As expected, I'm amazing."
She was busy congratulating herself when—
—Beep.
[ …Unnie. ]
"Wh-What?"
Kim A-rin's voice came from somewhere in the apartment.
But no matter where she looked, A-rin was nowhere to be seen.
Where on earth was that coming from?
[ …Where did you go. I told you to stay home. ]
"A g-ghost─!"
[ Not a ghost. ]
"Ghost pretending to be Kim A-rin! Explain exactly how you achieved a fixed horizontal coordinate system!"
[ …Come back down to the first floor. ]
Ding dong. The clear chime cut off along with Kim A-rin's voice.
Only then did Ji-woo notice the intercom that had been broadcasting A-rin's voice this whole time.
Turns out A-rin had called her through the intercom.
She hadn't known intercoms could make calls.
Fancy apartments really are something else….
—Sheepish shuffle.
—Sheepish shuffle.
"I have arrived…again……."
"…Where did you go. You didn't even leave a message."
"J-Just a walk?"
"…………."
Kim A-rin stared down at her in silence.
Ji-woo, for her part, had nothing to feel guilty about.
She'd literally just come back from a walk across a vast meadow as a wolf.
She hadn't done anything dangerous.
There was no reason to be nervous.
"W-We're moving today, right. Let's go already."
"…………."
Before A-rin could start lecturing her, Ji-woo made a preemptive move and dashed toward A-rin's car.
Kim A-rin, who had been standing there with her arms crossed, eventually followed and got in.
—Vroooom───!
"Ahh, nice breeze~."
She deliberately rolled the window all the way down and let the wind rush over her.
If the wind was loud enough, she could pretend not to hear whatever A-rin said.
—Whirrrr───.
"Bleugh."
She'd momentarily forgotten that the passenger window could be controlled from the driver's seat.
As the window rolled up, it took her cheek with it.
"Breathing in fine dust isn't good for you."
"…I'm invincible, you know."
"…Does invincible block fine dust too?"
Good question. She honestly wasn't sure.
Was fine dust classified as damage?
She shrugged and admitted she didn't know.
"…Huh?"
While watching the scenery pass outside, a familiar intersection came into view.
Or rather, what used to be an intersection.
Now it was where the Gangseo-gu Gate had opened.
—Murmur murmur.
—Murmur murmur.
A massive sinkhole had formed around the Gate, with tents set up alongside it.
The Haetae Guild's emblem was visible on the tent walls.
It looked like Haetae Guild Hunters were investigating the Gangseo-gu Gate.
But Ji-woo's gaze had drifted somewhere else.
"Hold on, A-rin."
"What?"
"Pull over."
A convenience store a short distance from the Gangseo-gu Gate, packed with Haetae Guild Hunters.
The place that had once been her workplace caught her eye.
—Hop.
"…Mm."
Getting out of the car, she could see the inside of the convenience store more clearly.
Including the familiar face standing behind the counter.
She figured she should at least say hello to the store manager.
She might never see him again.
"Hey, Kim A-rin…."
"?"
"Can you come with me?"
Suppressing the odd flutter of nerves she felt—
She walked toward the convenience store with Kim A-rin beside her.
