"…Status Window."
-Ding.
【Status Window】
【Name: null (Female)】
【Age: 11】
【Rank: F → S (Entity: Assimilation with Fenrion in progress)】
【Skills: ❮(P)No Attacks During Dialogue: S❯, ❮(P)Let's Be Friends: S❯, ❮(A)Assimilation: F❯, ❮(A)Data Viewing: F❯】
"Hmm…."
I'd spent my whole life as a non-Awakened, but I'd finally done it.
The proof was right there in front of me, clear as day.
Two S-rank skills — the kind where even one would be enough to make someone an S-rank Hunter.
And two F-rank skills.
*Rolled a terrible skill build.*
Two incredible skills and two absolutely garbage skills, coexisting in perfect harmony. My first reaction was: what is this?
And my rank — why did it show F transitioning to S instead of just being S outright?
Still, I decided to check the clearly S-rank skill first: No Attacks During Dialogue.
The P next to it suggested it was a passive, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.
【(P)No Attacks During Dialogue: S】
【Entity: null cannot be attacked while in a dialogue state.】
"…What is this."
For an S-rank skill, the description was painfully sparse.
I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do with this.
"Hmm."
But after thinking it over, I realized something.
If I'm invincible as long as I'm talking, couldn't I just… keep talking?
Hunters and monsters having a conversation is normally impossible — but right now, I can do exactly that.
So theoretically, I'm just permanently invincible?
Even if a Gate shock triggered a full rampage from an S-rank Dungeon boss, as long as I could hold a conversation with it, I'd be untouchable.
This is broken.
Eureka.
"Um, Mr. Puppy…? …No, no — Mr. Wolf?"
"Yes."
I asked the enormous puppy still gazing down at me to give me a moment.
My Status Window had just appeared, and I needed time to go through my skills.
It'd be pretty tragic to finally Awaken and then get chomped before I even got to check them.
Plus, I had two S-rank skills — if I played this right, I could become an S-rank Hunter.
Actually, it was basically guaranteed.
Thinking about how revered S-rank Hunters were in this world, my heart started pounding faster and faster.
"Please don't eat me. I'll just sit quietly over there."
"Heh. Very well."
I kept emphasizing that I had no intention of attacking, and slowly crawled to the side.
Once I'd put a bit of distance between us, I opened my Status Window again and went through the skills.
I'd already checked No Attacks During Dialogue, so — on to the other S-rank skill.
【(P)Let's Be Friends: S】
【The probability of encountering entities of sufficient standing increases dramatically.
Gain the favor of entities of sufficient standing.】
"Hmm……."
Let's Be Friends, huh.
Kind of an adorable name for a skill.
Did it change to something girly because I turned into a little girl?
If I'd been a guy, it might've been called something like *You. My Ally. Now.* or whatever.
Anyway, the P tag meant it was passive — meaning it activated automatically.
-Glance.
"Hmm……."
Running into a massive puppy like that the moment I entered the Dungeon — that was probably this skill's doing.
The skill's effect boosted the chance of encountering entities of sufficient standing.
So instead of running into normal monsters, I ended up face-to-face with something like that.
On the surface, that sounded like a massive downside.
A skill that's worse than useless.
But the key was the second part.
"Gain the favor of entities of sufficient standing……."
The reason Puppy was being friendly with me right now — that was this skill too.
Nothing else explained it.
When it first saw me, it had been growling and ready to eat me.
"S-rank really does hit different, huh?"
Even a creature that was clearly no ordinary monster had been turned friendly in an instant.
For a little girl with a body that looked like it'd snap if you flicked it, this skill was genuinely useful.
If I could earn the goodwill of Dungeon monsters, I wouldn't have to fight them at all.
How was I supposed to fight anything with this body anyway?
"Alright, now… the F-rank skills."
It stung a little, sure, but having them was still better than not.
I'd already gotten two S-rank skills, so I couldn't exactly complain about the others being low-rank…
【(A)Assimilation: F】
【Entity: null can assimilate with entities stored in null's data.
The body may partially transform depending on the entity's traits.
Skills possessed by entities can be used according to the assimilation rate.
***
Current Rank: F.
Upon fulfilling special conditions, this skill can evolve into ❮(A)Avatar Manifestation: S❯.】
【Currently assimilating with: Fenrion (1%)】
"W-wait… it can evolve? Into S-rank?"
My first active skill was F-rank, but it wasn't really F-rank.
It could evolve into a higher rank.
The fact that it even spelled out the S-rank skill it could become — Avatar Manifestation — told me this thing had insane potential.
"So there's already an entity I'm assimilating with, which means the skill already activated…."
Swish, swish.
A tail I hadn't noticed until now was swaying gently from side to side.
On a hunch, I reached up to feel my head — and sure enough, something like dog ears was there.
That had to be Assimilation at work.
It seemed like a transformation-type skill.
Which meant I was currently transforming into the monster called "Fenrion."
The reason I only had ears and a tail was probably because the transformation was only at one percent.
Right. Got it.
-Swipe.
"…Hm."
I pulled out my phone and took another look at myself.
I looked like exactly the kind of thing that would be very popular with people who had suspiciously large amounts of money.
Just in case, I took a photo and saved it.
Something to post when I wanted to go viral later.
Anyway — could I turn this off?
Living the rest of my life looking like this after leaving the Dungeon would be a little embarrassing…
【Would you like to cancel Assimilation?】
【Warning: Smooth communication with the currently assimilated entity will become unavailable.】
"Oh."
So canceling it was an option.
Still, it seemed smarter to keep it active until I escaped the Dungeon.
Having two extra ears on top of my head meant I could hear things more clearly, and my body felt lighter too.
Better to maintain the Assimilation until I made it back home.
A werewolf girl had better survival odds than a plain ordinary girl.
There was a reason some S-rank Hunters had transformation-type skills.
It was common knowledge that transforming into a non-human species boosted your physical capabilities.
"Hmm, I wonder why this is F-rank… maybe because the transformation is still too weak at this stage."
Anyway — if I evolved the skill later and got Avatar Manifestation, that'd be three S-rank skills total.
The most powerful S-rank Hunter right now happened to have exactly three S-rank skills.
In other words, I could become just as powerful and famous as them.
Me — a lifelong non-Awakened — becoming an S-rank Hunter overnight?
The strongest in the world, at that?
"…Huh?!"
Just imagining it made my whole body shiver.
I may have peed a little.
…I didn't, for the record.
Saying it twice. I did not pee.
"Okay, last one…."
-Ding.
【(A)Data Viewing: F】
【Entity: null can view data stored within null.
Number of data currently stored: 1
***
Would you like to view the data?】
I checked the last skill — Data Viewing.
Not a direct attack skill either, but it looked interesting.
"…Data Viewing."
There was already one piece of stored data, so I decided to take a look.
The moment I said it, a semi-transparent info window floated up in the air.
【Fenrion, the Mad Hound of the Mountain Range】
【Favorability: 50】
【Favorability remaining until ❮(A)Avatar Manifestation: Calamity Unhinged❯ condition is met: 50】
【Waiting for ■■■ who parted at ■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■……(Insufficient permissions)】
"Huh?"
The skill was a little strange, though.
The name and appearance came through fine, but the actual description of what kind of monster this was had been censored out.
What I could gather was that Puppy's real name was Fenrion.
And that I needed fifty more points of favorability to unlock an additional skill.
Beyond that, no matter how many times I read it, I couldn't make heads or tails of it, so I closed the window.
Being F-rank meant the skill had some rough edges.
Assimilation was F-rank too and it didn't have this problem.
Well, I guess this was just what F-rank looked like normally.
Assimilation was the weird one for being able to evolve into S-rank…
"I hope this one can evolve eventually too."
Three out of four skills were winners — statistically, one being a dud made sense.
Landing even one good skill was enough to make a living as a Hunter, and I'd hit on three.
My body shivered again with joy.
"…Still, escaping comes first."
With all my skills confirmed, I decided to run a little experiment.
Something related to No Attacks During Dialogue — currently my most useful skill.
If I really had gotten a genuine S-rank invincibility skill, there was no way I'd die in this Dungeon.
And if it really was invincibility, there was one thing I'd been dying to try.
Still scary, so I'd be as careful as possible…
"Um, Fenrion… sir?"
"…You just called my name?"
"Well, um…."
For now, Fenrion was in a favorable state toward me.
Which meant it might just grant a small, simple request.
"Could you give me a little push? With your finger… actually, your toe."
"Why?"
"There's something I want to verify."
One nudge from that enormous paw and I'd obviously topple right over.
Which meant my backside would hurt, right?
In other words, damage would be dealt to my rear end.
So technically, even a light shove counted as an attack.
If even that got blocked, then this really was a genuine S-rank invincibility skill.
"…You really are alike. You really, truly are."
Fenrion muttered something incomprehensible under its breath, then slowly extended one of its front legs.
And then, just as I'd asked, it pushed me gently back——
-Halt.
[ You cannot attack during dialogue. ]
"…!"
Eureka.
I was right.
Even a simple push was classified as an attack.
That enormous mass had tried to nudge me backward, and I hadn't moved an inch.
Fenrion's toe had stopped right in front of me, unable to push me any further.
Which meant I had genuinely obtained an S-rank invincibility skill.
"YOOOO——! LEGIT——! AN ACTUAL S-RANK——!"
"Child, you really are…."
"Oops."
Joy welled up from somewhere deep inside me and I screamed before I could stop myself — then belatedly remembered Fenrion was right there and snapped my mouth shut.
Fenrion, who had been gazing down at me steadily, said something cryptic once more.
"…No. It would be too hasty to say so yet."
Thankfully, screaming at the top of my lungs didn't seem to make it angry.
But now that I'd proven the absurdity of my S-rank invincibility skill beyond any doubt —
I had to act on it.
The thing I'd only imagined in my head until now.
"Um, Fenrion?"
"Yes."
"There's one more thing I'd like to ask."
"One more?"
I kept talking to Fenrion while quietly slipping my phone out of my pocket.
"Would it be alright if I took a photo?"
"A photo… what is that?"
"Oh, a photo is, um… it's like a magic spell that records what something looks like right now! Kind of. …Do you know what magic is?"
"Magic… yes. I know of it."
I kept emphasizing that it wasn't some weird attack spell.
If I just suddenly pointed the thing at it, it might think I was trying to attack.
-Click.
"See, look…? This is what I just recorded — my appearance, using that magic."
"A curious spell."
I took a photo of myself first to show it was harmless, then slowly raised the phone.
And then — click. Fenrion's face.
"Did it work?"
"Yes, it did."
Success.
Fenrion's massive, ferocious face was now preserved clearly in my phone's photo album.
Which meant —
"……Hehehe."
I had one more trump card for going viral.
And one more reason I absolutely had to make it out of this Dungeon alive.