First, she imagined herself becoming a massive wolf monster, just like Fenrion.
Then she imagined running powerfully across a vast prairie — not on two human legs, but on Fenrion's four paws.
And finally, she imagined letting out a mighty roar, just as Fenrion had done moments ago.
*'Invisible dr—.... A wolf howled. Graaowl.'*
[ The proficiency of 'Active: Assimilation (F)' has increased ever so slightly……… ]
[ The proficiency of 'Active: Assimilation (F)' has increased ever so slightly……… ]
[ The proficiency of 'Active: Assimilation (F)' has increased ever so slightly……… ]
And so — just how much time had passed?
While imagining herself letting out a powerful roar like Fenrion had, she noticed something.
At some point, her physical senses had grown sharper. Noticeably so.
— Peek…….
She carefully opened her closed eyes and, with a flicker of anticipation, checked her Assimilation rate.
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (23%)】
"…Hm."
On the bright side, the Assimilation rate had gone up by a whopping twenty-three times.
On the not-so-bright side, she still had seventy-seven percent to go before hitting a hundred.
Still, for some reason, she had a feeling that even at this level, she could find the Dungeon Core.
No — more than that, something was already drifting toward her. A scent. Faint, but unmistakable.
A smell that was barely there, yet undeniably real.
She was certain: follow this scent, and she'd find the Dungeon Core.
"Um, excuse me… miss."
"Hm? What's up?"
"It's just… I need to… use the bathroom…."
"Oh."
She pointed toward the nearby forest, using the bathroom as her excuse.
There were no restrooms in a Dungeon, after all — nature would have to do.
Of course, right now she had somewhere else entirely in mind.
But when it came to slipping away for a bit, nothing beat the bathroom excuse.
"Okay, I'll be quick."
"No way. I'm coming with you."
"Wh— I don't want that. It's embarrassing."
"I'll keep my back turned."
"You'll still hear it."
"I'll cover my ears too. Ji-woo, you can't go alone — it's too dangerous. What if a monster shows up while you're in the middle of it?"
*'…I'm invincible, though.'*
Of course, there was no such convenient scenario as a little kid wandering off alone inside a dangerous Dungeon.
The female Hunter who'd been chatting with her earlier — the one they'd exchanged names with — trotted along right behind her.
Her name was… Park Se-rin, wasn't it?
At least it was only one person. Two would've been harder to shake.
"D-don't look."
"I wasn't planning to, but aren't you being a little too shy for two girls?"
She hadn't even been a girl for a full day yet.
Sorry about that.
"C-can you move back a little more? Behind that tree over there."
"Ji-woo, you're going through puberty, aren't you. Admit it."
"J-just go, please."
"Alright, alright~."
And so, the moment Park Se-rin stepped toward the tree and let her guard down — she bolted.
She sprinted off, following the dangerous scent drifting from somewhere across the vast prairie.
"?! JI-WOO!!!!"
She kept calling from behind, but Ji-woo didn't stop.
No — more precisely, she couldn't stop.
Because when her Assimilation rate with Fenrion climbed to twenty-three percent, it wasn't just her five senses that had sharpened.
Her physical abilities had risen right along with them.
Her running speed, for instance.
— Thudthudthudthud─────!
"Later────! Bye──────!"
"Hah, hah…. Ji-woo, stop──! Come back!!"
Even a fully grown Hunter couldn't keep up with the speed of those short little legs.
Her body felt lighter too, somehow.
Like she'd become the wind itself — she tore across the wide-open prairie in an instant, charging straight ahead.
— Sniff sniff.
— Sniff sniff.
"…Is it over there?"
The dangerous scent was growing stronger with every step.
She shifted her gaze toward a hill in the distance, and there they were — a cluster of monsters gathered together.
Wolf monsters, the same kind the Hunters had been fighting earlier. A hulking, heavy-set Orc monster. And at the very back, what appeared to be the boss: a massive Golem monster.
Just beyond that hill was a place that checked every box for where a Dungeon Core might be.
*'Time — roughly three minutes.'*
She estimated how long it had taken to get here from where the Hunters were. About three minutes, give or take.
Which meant getting back would take at least three minutes, no matter how fast she ran.
She had no idea what might happen to the Hunters while she was gone, so she decided to finish this as quickly as possible and head back.
She also had no clue when the invincibility effect from *No Attacks During Dialogue* would wear off.
— Glance around.
— Glance around.
— Pause.
"Is that… the Dungeon Core? Has to be, right?"
A dark ore, hovering in the center of the hill, radiating a black aura.
She'd never actually seen a Dungeon Core before, but that had to be it.
Nothing in the area smelled more dangerous than that thing.
"Phew…."
She took a deep breath to steady the tension she felt for some reason, and finally opened her skill window.
❮(A) Avatar Manifestation: Calamity Unhinged❯
【Current Sustainable Duration: 10 minutes】
"…Avatar Manifestation."
【Current Sustainable Duration: 9 minutes 59 seconds】
— Thump!
"Ugh?!"
The moment she activated Avatar Manifestation, her heart suddenly began to race.
The breath she exhaled felt hotter somehow.
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (24%)】
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (46%)】
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (58%)】
"Ugh, ughhh……!"
Her Assimilation rate with Fenrion surged rapidly.
Her vision, her thoughts, her senses — all of it was shifting away from human and toward the Hidden Boss Fenrion.
Not prey, but predator.
And beyond that — the sovereign of this mountain range.
A king who had reigned in solitary supremacy across eons uncounted.
Every nerve in her body was honed to a razor's edge.
An overwhelming sense of omnipotence — as though a single casual gesture could sweep this entire area clean.
【Mental overload detected in: Lee Ji-woo!】
【Insufficient rank to fully activate ❮(A) Avatar Manifestation: Calamity Unhinged❯.】
【For the safety of Lee Ji-woo, Assimilation rate with Fenrion will be forcibly adjusted.】
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (67%)】
— Thud.
"Hah, hah……."
Whether the Avatar Manifestation had finally finished activating or not, the Assimilation rate stopped climbing.
Her forehead was already drenched in cold sweat.
But she was no longer who she had been before.
— Grrr…?
— Grrrrrr─!
The monsters, belatedly noticing her presence, snarled and turned their heads in her direction.
But — why was this?
The same monsters that had been locked in a vicious battle with the Hunters just moments ago now looked utterly insignificant.
Like looking down at ants beneath her feet.
She was certain: no matter what those monsters did, they couldn't so much as graze a single hair on her.
No matter how savagely they snarled, they were nothing more than insects. Nothing more, nothing less.
"…I've got your measure now."
"Pathetic enough to make me want to die of boredom."
Would any person feel tense standing before ants they could crush with a single step?
Right now, she was watching the monsters with complete and utter composure.
No — if anything, she felt irritated.
The sheer audacity of baring those laughable fangs and claws at her.
— Ding.
[ Assimilation rate with Fenrion has reached a certain threshold. ]
[ A portion of Fenrion's stats are granted to Lee Ji-woo. ]
[ Some of Fenrion's skills are now available for use. ]
By then, she understood it instinctively.
Right now, she could sweep away everything before her with almost no effort at all.
Even her very thoughts had Assimilated with Fenrion.
Overpowering every monster in front of her had become, to her, a matter of natural order.
— Graaah───!
A wolf monster with some kind of pattern etched into its mane lunged at her.
Its jaws spread wide, as if it would tear out her throat at any moment.
Other wolf monsters followed close behind.
But she didn't dodge.
She simply extended her palm straight out in front of her.
"Back off."
— Smack──!
Like swatting with a massive paw.
One by one, as each monster charged at her.
She simply slapped them hard across the face, making them understand exactly who they were attacking.
The sound of monster heads flying from her strikes and burying themselves in the dirt.
Sometimes the sound of them sailing into boulders and slamming back-first with a heavy thud.
The sound of pained groans forced out as they felt the difference in power in an instant.
Those sounds, for some reason, were deeply satisfying to hear.
— Krooooaarrr───!
When all the wolf monsters had fallen, the massive Orc monster charged at her next.
But the sovereign of the mountain range shows no mercy to any creature that dares challenge her.
An arrogant apex predator who reigns in eternal solitude, permitting not even a single tremor of weakness.
"…Ha!"
She clenched her fist tight.
And as the Orc came barreling toward her, she drove an uppercut straight into its solar plexus.
Her small fist sank deep into the Orc monster's gut with a thud, then launched it high into the air.
The sound of agonized groans as all the air was driven from its lungs faded further and further away.
— Crash!
The massive Orc monster, knocked unconscious by her uppercut, slammed back down into the ground.
Now only the most powerful-looking one remained — the Golem monster.
｢!@#%!@#$#@!%@!%$#@!@#｣
"…Who do you think you're looking down on?"
Still wrapped in that sense of omnipotence — the feeling that she could do anything — she opened her mouth wide toward the frenzied Golem monster.
And then, mimicking the image of Fenrion that flashed through her mind for just a moment, she let out a thunderous roar.
— ■───────!!───!!!!
The Golem monster, built of solid rock, couldn't withstand her roar and crumbled apart.
Maybe because she hadn't raised her voice in a while — her throat felt a little raw.
And only then did the black ore finally enter her field of vision.
"…Oh!"
She snapped back to her senses, grabbed the black ore, and looked out beyond the hill.
Her already-expanded field of vision stretched even wider.
Until at last, she could make out the tiny silhouettes of the Hunters far in the distance.
*'If this isn't the Dungeon Core, I'm done for…. But it has to be, right?'*
Feeling oddly optimistic about everything, she tucked the ore into her chest and put strength into her legs.
She planned to head back to the Hunters as quickly as possible, her body light just as it had been before.
— Whoooosh───!
That was the plan, right up until a single push off the ground sent her body soaring high into the air.
"…Huh? Wha — wait, wait, WAIT??"
This was different from before.
Before, it had just felt like her running speed had gotten incredibly fast.
But now, it was like she was literally folding the ground beneath her — the scenery around her was shifting in rapid flashes.
And then, a notification window appeared.
【Current Sustainable Duration: 0 minutes 1 second】
【Current Sustainable Duration: 0 minutes 0 seconds】
【❮(A) Avatar Manifestation: Calamity Unhinged❯ deactivating.】
"…Hold on. What did you just say?"
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (45%)】
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (23%)】
【Assimilation with Fenrion is releasing.】
Wobble. The strength drained from her legs all at once.
That dizzying, blood-draining sensation of missing a step on a staircase.
"NOOOOOOO───!"
And just like that, she began to plummet — still mid-leap from her jump into the air.
Tracing a perfect arc.
Like a cannonball, she hurtled toward the Hunters far below, who had looked up at the sky and were now staring in horror.
"Th-that's… is that—?"
"CATCH HER!!!"
"S-save me──!"
【❮(P) No Attacks During Dialogue❯: Activated!】
[ You cannot be attacked during dialogue. ]
— Fwump.
"Oof."
The omnipotence drained out of her like air from a punctured balloon.
She landed on top of one of the Hunters.
By some miracle, her S-rank invincibility skill had activated, leaving her without so much as a scratch.
Still, just to be safe.
"D-did I… make it…?"
Pinch. She recited a resurrection chant and pinched her own cheek to confirm she wasn't in the afterlife.
It hurt.
Apparently she hadn't crossed over yet.
"JI-WOO!!"
Park Se-rin came running over in a panic.
The leader Hunter from earlier followed close behind.
The timing of their entrance was perfect.
All that was left now was the highlight of a classic cliché.
"H-here… is this the Dungeon Core?"
She casually pulled the black ore she'd been hiding in her chest and handed it to the leader Hunter.
Eyes went wide with shock.
Just watching their reactions gave her a thrill.
Yeah. This is it.
She could sleep soundly tonight.
"H-how did you… how did you get this?"
"I told you, I'm an S-rank Hunter."
She hadn't actually gotten her rank assessed yet.
But at this point, she'd probably just get S-rank handed to her, right?
"So — we can get out now, right?"
At her question about whether it was really the Dungeon Core, the leader Hunter slowly nodded.
His pupils were shaking like a magnitude-9.0 earthquake.
A middle-aged man with a stubbly beard, and yet that reaction was something else entirely.
But it was only then that she realized she'd made yet another massive blunder.
"My proof shot……!"
She'd fought so coolly, throwing punches and everything — and she hadn't taken a single photo, let alone a video.
That was now two potential legendary posts she'd thrown away.
She should've set her phone up at the right angle before the fight.
She felt like crying. In more ways than one.
***
"For now, let's head to our guild. We'll get you treated and run some basic checks, Ji-woo."
"Right. Government officials should be arriving soon too, so it'll be better if you stick with us."
The Hunters, having finally emerged from the now-stabilized Gate, said as much.
But perhaps because she'd awakened at last.
The moment she heard the word "government," she knew it instantly, deep in her gut.
If she followed them, something annoying was definitely going to happen.
— Mutter.
"…Assimilation."
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (23%)】
"Okay, goodbye───!"
She was just too exhausted right now.
She wasn't even an officially registered Hunter, for crying out loud.
She was a civilian who'd gotten swept up in a Gate by accident — why were they trying to make things complicated?
More than anything, the rumors floating around the Hunter world about government involvement were endless.
Human experimentation. Mandatory conscription under the guise of national defense, worked to the bone for next to nothing.
*'…Well, I'm a girl right now, but still.'*
Either way, getting tangled up with the government was a hard pass.
In the first place, among Korea's S-rank Hunters, the only one affiliated with the government was the Hunter Association president.
If they hadn't mentioned the government, she might've gone along. But right now, running was the best option.
For everything related to this incident, she'd decided to get help from a Hunter she already knew.
The only person she could even remotely trust.
— Thudthudthudthud─────!
"?! J-Ji-woo!! Wait a second!!"
"Leave my Dungeon clear reward on file───!"
"…What is she even saying right now?"
She bolted again, Assimilating with Fenrion as she ran.
By the time she came back to her senses, she was already standing in front of a familiar rooftop apartment.
"Ughhh…. I'm so tired, for real…."
She glanced at her phone and was immediately greeted by dozens of missed calls.
It seemed the Chihuahua spirit of a furious convenience store manager had finally possessed her boss.
But she was already way too drained.
She managed to send a two-character message — *'sry'* — and promptly passed out.
I'm counting on you, tomorrow-me…….
