An indescribable sense of betrayal welled up inside her.
No, seriously — if Fenrion could transform into a human form this whole time, why didn't she do it sooner?
A photo of a boss monster transforming into a human would've gotten way more traction than just a regular boss monster photo…!
And she was absolutely stunning, too.
The kind of beauty that would send an Instagram account's follower count rocketing straight into orbit.
A photo of Fenrion in human form could've dominated not just the Hunter Wannabe Gallery's top posts, but every major online community out there.
"Me, throwing away the ultimate viral cheat code. I'm gonna be thinking about this until I fall asleep…."
…Well, to be fair, today was also the first time she'd ever learned that monsters could transform into humans at all.
Then again, there were transformation-type Hunters who were human but could shift into monsters to fight — so the reverse wasn't entirely out of the question.
Anyway, now that Fenrion had vanished, there was nothing to do but hope for another chance someday.
It'd be weird to call Fenrion back just because she hadn't gotten a photo, and she didn't even know how to call Fenrion in the first place.
-Rustle, rustle.
-Rustle, rustle.
"…Mmm……."
"Oh."
The Hunters who'd been unconscious were starting to come to one by one, so Ji-woo decided to focus on them for now.
Honestly, at this point, viral cheat codes or not, she was starting to really want to just go home.
She had to survive first before she could post anything, after all.
"Are you feeling okay? …Wait, no — are you feeling okay, sir?"
"W-who… who are you?"
She approached one of the Hunters who'd been injured fighting the wolf monster earlier — the one who looked the least banged up.
Back when she worked part-time at the convenience store, she used to tear up a little because people scared her. Now she was tearing up a little because she was so glad to see one.
How long had it been since she'd heard another human voice?
"I'm just a part-timer who happened to be passing by."
"……?"
"I'm serious."
The female Hunter — who looked like a swordsman — stared at her with an expression that had completely given up on making sense of the situation.
Still, she didn't seem particularly wary of Ji-woo.
Well, what was there to be wary of from a cute little girl like this, anyway.
In any case, Ji-woo begged the Hunter to please take her out of the Dungeon.
Unlike the Hunters here, she'd just been sucked in through a Gate that had randomly opened up.
"I'm late for my shift. I might actually get fired."
"You… how old are you, exactly? Old enough to have a part-time job?"
"I'm an adult, for the record. I have my ID and everything."
"Stop lying."
Was that really what mattered right now?
The conversation was veering off track, so Ji-woo suggested they talk about it after getting out of the Dungeon first.
Only then did the Hunter seem to fully come to her senses, and she nodded in agreement.
-Perk.
-Perk, perk.
"Hey, Jin-hyeok — isn't that the girl from earlier?"
"With the white hair, yeah, looks like it…. Why is a little kid in a Dungeon?"
From a distance, she could clearly hear other Hunters murmuring about her.
Must be thanks to the new ears she'd grown.
Crunch, crunch. A moment later, she could distinctly hear footsteps heading her way.
She looked up, and was met with a row of thoroughly bewildered faces.
"Excuse me, little one. Is there an adult with you? Your parents?"
"No."
"What?"
Yeah, no mom, no dad. What's it to you.
She looked at the Hunters with roughly that expression, and a series of flustered looks followed in quick succession.
Like, was that really what was important right now?
Honestly, so frustrating.
"I'd like to get out of this Dungeon. Is there anyone who can take me?"
Introductions could wait — Ji-woo made her intentions clear: she wanted out.
Unlike the Hunters who'd come here to work, she'd just been walking down the street when a Gate swallowed her whole.
"Well, about that, little one……."
Glancing over at the healers tending to the injured in the distance, the lead Hunter continued.
"We can't leave right now. I can't take you out of the Dungeon."
"What? Why not?"
"We haven't found the Dungeon Stone yet. Until we do, the Gate will stay closed. If you try to force your way out, you'll definitely get hurt."
To leave the Dungeon, they needed the Dungeon Stone.
It was basically a type of magic stone — the explanation beyond that was too dry and pedantic, so she tuned it out.
The only part she actually retained was that the Hunters needed to retrieve the Dungeon Stone before the Gate would stabilize.
That was the part that actually mattered.
So basically, the Dungeon Stone had gone haywire, which caused the Gate to open, and that open Gate was what had sucked her into the Dungeon in the first place.
The Gate randomly opening underground and creating a sinkhole was just bad luck.
Yep.
Summary complete.
"If the Dungeon Stone keeps running wild, the monsters inside get more and more aggressive. Eventually the Gate goes critical and the monsters start spilling out. We call that a Gate Shock——"
"I don't… what is that… that's terrifying…."
She boldly skipped past the overflowing TMI.
She hadn't even registered as a Hunter yet — there was no reason to sit through Hunter orientation this early.
"Can't you see the kid is scared? Comforting her comes first, honestly!"
"There, there, sweetie. Don't listen to this guy. Your unnie will definitely get you home safe."
The swordsman Hunter she'd spoken to first and another mage Hunter cooed over her reassuringly.
It actually felt kind of nice, so she just let it happen.
They even offered her some chocolate, telling her to eat up, and she obediently took a bite.
And immediately spat it back out.
It was clearly sweet chocolate, but the moment it hit her tongue, it felt like her stomach was turning inside out.
"You can't give chocolate to a dog beastfolk, you idiot!!"
"W-water, drink some water, sweetie!"
Right — she was still in the middle of Assimilation with Fenrion.
Just like chocolate is toxic to dogs, wolves were canines too, so her body must have rejected it.
How is a skill this detailed about the side effects.
She thought she was going to die, seriously……!
-Ding.
【Would you like to cancel Assimilation?】
【Warning: You will no longer be able to communicate smoothly with the entity you are currently assimilated with.】
"C-cancel Assimilation………."
With impeccable timing, the message window appeared, and Ji-woo coughed as she deactivated the Assimilation skill.
The ears and tail she'd grown vanished with a pop.
Only after returning to being one hundred percent human did the dizziness finally ease up.
"Huh, wait?"
"Her ears are gone…. …And her tail?"
The surprised voices of the surrounding Hunters reached her.
Come to think of it, she hadn't told them she was an Awakened yet.
They'd apparently assumed her ears and tail had been there since birth.
She felt a little bad for being just a plain human instead of the rare beastfolk they'd thought she was.
"Excuse me, little one. Are you perhaps an Awa——"
"Yes. I am."
The lead Hunter approached her again with a serious expression, and Ji-woo just nodded.
What mattered right now wasn't that she was Awakened — it was escaping this Dungeon.
Let's just go find the Dungeon Stone already.
Why are there so many dialogue events.
If a game was designed like this, it would flop.
"Or, um — do any of you happen to have a Return Stone? Something like that?"
"Well…. This Dungeon was originally rated C-rank. A Return Stone felt like overkill for a measly C-rank. Our guild only brings those for A-rank Dungeons and above."
"Huh. But you guys were almost completely wiped out just now. Are you sure this is really C-rank?"
"……That's exactly the problem. The Dungeon's difficulty spiked out of nowhere."
The overly talkative Hunter made a grave face and continued.
The actual Dungeon rank had turned out to be completely different from what they'd known going in — which was why, just as Ji-woo said, they'd nearly been wiped out.
The raid party had been assembled under the assumption that this was a C-rank Dungeon.
No wonder they kept getting pushed back by the monsters.
"Honestly, I'm not confident. I think waiting for a rescue team from outside is the safest option."
"But you said the Gate is closed? How would a rescue team even get in?"
"…If a Gate Shock occurs, the Gate will open again. By now, people outside have probably noticed something's wrong."
If the Dungeon Stone wasn't retrieved within a set amount of time, the Dungeon Gate would go critical.
Then the Gate would shock open again and release the monsters outside.
Of course, since the Gate would technically be open again, rescue personnel from outside could re-enter the Dungeon.
…Or so went the explanation she'd skipped earlier.
…Okay, so that was actually something she shouldn't have skipped.
"Anyway…. For now, all we can do is hold out here until rescue arrives. Going to look for the Dungeon Stone is too dangerous. At least, for some reason, all the monsters suddenly disappeared……."
"But if the monsters come back before rescue arrives, won't everyone die?"
"…We'll just have to hope rescue comes quickly."
From a leader's perspective, it was a rational choice — but it wasn't exactly a safe one.
Either way, the odds of survival weren't great.
And this was exactly where it was her turn to step in.
The savior who would flip this bleak situation on its head in one fell swoop.
That's right. It was her.
"Trust me."
"What?"
"I'm actually an S-rank Hunter."
"…Park Se-rin, Lee Yu-ju. You two keep an eye on her."
The lead Hunter didn't even hear her out — he handed her off to two other Hunters and walked away.
But even that, she had anticipated.
Wasn't this just the template?
The overlooked nobody saves everyone, and the party, moved to tears, cries their eyes out.
A thoroughly classic cliché.
"Heh heh heh."
The thought of being the protagonist of that classic cliché already had the corners of her mouth curling up.
Sure, she still didn't have any attack skills — but she had a skill she was counting on.
Because she'd definitely seen it earlier.
The message window saying all the acquisition conditions for some skill called Avatar Manifestation had been met.
Avatar Manifestation was an S-rank skill too, so she was absolutely certain that using it would somehow make things work out.
"Status Window."
-Ding.
【Status Window】
【Name: Lee Ji-woo (Female)】
【Age: 11】
【Rank: F】
【Skills: ❮(P) No Attacks During Dialogue: S❯, ❮(P) Let's Be Friends: S❯, ❮(A) Assimilation: F❯, ❮(A) Data Viewing: F❯】
"…It was definitely there?"
Red alert. Something had to be wrong.
Like her parents, something that should have been there wasn't.
"Wh, where…. …Assimilation!"
-Ding.
Retracing her memory of earlier, she checked her skills one by one.
She'd definitely seen message windows pop up about Avatar Manifestation or something.
She'd start with the active skills first.
【(A) Assimilation: F】
【Entity Name: You can assimilate with entities stored in Lee Ji-woo's data.
Depending on the entity's traits, your body may partially transform.
Depending on the assimilation rate, you can use skills possessed by the entity.
***
Current Rank: F.
This skill can evolve into ❮(A) Avatar Manifestation: S❯ upon fulfilling special conditions.】
【Currently Assimilated Entity: None】
"This… isn't it. Then…."
-Ding.
【(A) Data Viewing: F】
【Entity Name: You can view data stored in Lee Ji-woo.
Number of data currently stored: 1
***
Would you like to view the data?】
"D-Data Viewing!"
Placing her last hope on it, she checked the data stored in Data Viewing once more.
It had to be in here.
【Fenrion, Mad Hound of the Mountain Range】
【Affinity: 100】
【❮(A) Avatar Manifestation: Disaster Bereft of Reason❯ — Available to Acquire】
【…A period has been placed at the end of a long wait. With hope renewed, I look forward to our next meeting.】
"Phew……."
Okay.
The Avatar Manifestation skill was there.
She hadn't been seeing things earlier.
Her heart nearly dropped out of her chest, for real.
"'Available to acquire' means……. It wasn't showing up because I hadn't actually acquired it yet."
It seemed she'd only met the acquisition conditions but hadn't actually acquired the skill.
The description window that had been garbled earlier was now displaying normally again, but Avatar Manifestation was the priority right now, so she moved on.
Ugh, couldn't something like this just be automatically granted?
Was she asking too much of an F-rank skill?
【Would you like to acquire the skill: ❮(A) Avatar Manifestation: Disaster Bereft of Reason❯?】
"Obviously."
-Beep.
【Skill Acquisition Failed】
【You are not currently in a state of Assimilation with entity: Fenrion.】
"Seriously, why is this skill so picky."
And so, she activated Assimilation again.
If it was telling her to assimilate with Fenrion first, what else could she do.
-Swish, swish.
-Perk.
"Y-your tail grew back? How'd you do that?"
"Her ears are back too. So cute…!"
The startled voices of the Hunters around her as the tail and ears reappeared courtesy of Assimilation.
But there was something more important to deal with right now.
"…Just a moment."
Setting aside the surprised Hunters, she proceeded with acquiring the skill.
The sooner she did, the sooner she could get out of this Dungeon.
"Acquire skill."
-Ding.
【You have acquired the skill: ❮(A) Avatar Manifestation: Disaster Bereft of Reason❯.】
【Warning: Skill duration is adjusted based on the proficiency of ❮(A) Assimilation: F❯.】
【Current Maximum Duration: 10 minutes】
"10 minutes…. …That's a bit awkward."
Still, she'd gotten the Avatar Manifestation skill, so.
Before taking action, she decided to organize what she needed to do.
First priority: find the Dungeon Stone.
After that: defeat the monsters guarding the Dungeon Stone and return to the Hunters.
Finally: escape together.
Alright.
Plan's all set.
Let's give it a shot.
"Excuse me."
"Hm? Are you hungry?"
"No, it's just…. Does anyone know where the Dungeon Stone is yet?"
"Hmm…."
The swordsman Hunter trailed off for a moment, then pointed toward somewhere in the distance.
Ji-woo turned her head in the direction the Hunter was pointing — and saw injured Hunters lying on the ground.
"That person lying over there is our scout."
"Ah…."
"They got taken out before they could even scout. Nobody knows where the Dungeon Stone is yet."
The situation was looking bad on multiple fronts.
But it was fine.
Overcoming even that was exactly what made it a cliché.
She'd just have to think her way through it.
"Um, how do you find a Dungeon Stone?"
"You're full of questions, huh? Fine, it's not like there's much else to do. Guess I'll chat with you."
The conversation that followed was long, but most of it was small talk that wasn't particularly important, so she skipped it.
She didn't listen to or read anything without a three-line summary.
She only paid attention to what mattered.
"Places where monsters tend to cluster in especially large numbers, where a boss monster is likely to be lurking…."
"Chan-jin says it smells dangerous somehow. Like you'd definitely die if you went alone?"
That's when it clicked for her.
Right now, she was in a state of Assimilation with Fenrion, a wolf-type monster.
Thanks to that, her hearing was sharper than when she was just a regular human, and her senses felt more acute overall.
But if that was the case — wouldn't her sense of smell be sharper too?
Canines like wolves weren't just known for their hearing; they had an exceptional sense of smell as well.
【Currently Assimilated Entity: Fenrion (1%)】
"…Can't I push it a little higher than 1%?"
If she could sharpen her sense of smell just a bit more, she felt like she could find the Dungeon Stone in no time.
Either way, Fenrion was a Hidden Boss.
She was bound to have a far superior sense of smell compared to regular Hunters, let alone ordinary monsters.
"…Mmm…."
And so, she closed her eyes and focused.
Assimilation, at its core, was a skill that transformed her into a new being — Fenrion — rather than her former self.
To raise her assimilation rate with Fenrion, she needed to become something closer to Fenrion than to her old self.
In that case, she'd start with self-hypnosis.
She decided to slowly shift her mindset first.
'I am Ppoppi. I am Ppoppi. I am Ppoppi….'