After returning from the heart of Ilseom.
Ah-rin used her network to gather some information about the dungeon monopolized by Ilseom and shared it with us.
First off, the dungeon’s difficulty is classified as top-level even within B-rank.
While there are A-rank variants among the monsters, it seems there’s little chance of encountering them unless we venture deep inside.
Nonetheless, I thought the difficulty was quite high for our party, but as we move in from the entrance, gradually stronger monsters appear. So, as long as we don’t push too hard, we should be able to taste it and leave.
And finally, the last piece of information we got was about the otherworlders we might encounter inside the dungeon.
“They disappeared completely…”
When the entrance to the dungeon glows red, it’s too dangerous to go in; thus, Ilseom blocks the entrance. But recently, it seems the otherworlders have completely vanished.
In the end, the only thing to worry about are the insect-type monsters, led by the Blood Mosquito, so it felt like we could give it a shot.
“I should check it out after clearing the Werewolf Dungeon.”
The Light Temple, which I obtained by defeating Areina’s followers, is there too, so it would be good to check it out as soon as possible.
While I nodded and made plans, a cat suddenly started tearing apart the dead weasel’s torso with its front paw and gulped down its heart.
“What are you doing?”
Honestly, I was surprised to see Azra eating for the first time, but this was the first time it had even gotten away from Eun-young’s arms.
(Hoo-hoo, did you notice? Now I have expanded my activity range this much.)
Like me, Azra had some restrictions that kept it from staying too far from Ham Eun-young, but it seemed like those restrictions faded somewhat.
Feeling some unexplained affinity, I stared at it, but it glared back at me, demanding I not look at it like that. How else am I supposed to look…
I found Azra diligently tearing apart the weasel’s body kind of impressive, so I patted its chunky cheeks a few times.
It flinched at my touch but seemed more focused on consuming the weasel’s heart than paying me any attention.
“Are you not going to eat the Mana Stone? That would be more nutritious.”
(Idiot skeleton… The true power of these beings you call monsters lies in their hearts. The Mana Stone is merely a manifestation of the mana accumulated in their bodies.)
“Hmm… Really? But when a Hunter eats a monster’s heart, they fall into abnormal status… I guess demons don’t have that issue.”
(Hahaha, indeed. So it’s quite fortunate for me, isn’t it? No one even glances at this delightful treat. Truly wonderful.)
In fact, the hearts of some monsters are valuable materials for alchemists, but the weasel heart isn’t sought after, so other hunters just skinned it.
Seeing Azra struggle to collect the heart, Yeon-hee commanded her summoned creatures to retrieve it entirely and handed it over.
Then Azra promised to repay Yeon-hee someday. When Ran relayed that to her, she smiled sweetly.
“Hehe, how cute.”
Yeon-hee just thought Azra was adorable, but the image of it with blood smeared all over its mouth while devouring a heart was somewhat chilling, reminding one of Azra’s true form.
“Urahachacha!!”
After obtaining a high-quality rune, Ah-rin lightly ran around the area, checking her enhanced physical abilities.
It was clear her confidence had soared.
Things had gotten a bit solemn in the Pastiche Dungeon earlier, so this was a relief.
A little later, she approached me, her ears perked up, and thanked me with her eyes. Was it gratitude for discovering the artifact?
I guess because her eyes were so big, even without words, her intentions were etched clearly in her gaze. Such a mysterious child.
1. Top Knight Baek Ah-rin
– Trusts you more than anyone.
– Many moments of achieving achievements in collaboration with others.
– The target’s affection towards you is “very high.”
– Information Gathering 94% in progress…
Feeling good about this, I checked the information on [Mimicry] and saw that Ah-rin’s title had been upgraded to Top Knight, with information gathering reaching 94%.
Soon, I’ll be able to transform into Ah-rin and increase the number of mimicry attempts as well.
I was curious whether turning into a beastman would provide other achievements or benefits.
“When I lent the artifact, information gathering rose a bit, but seeing your enhanced abilities directly boosts it significantly.”
Now I had an idea of how information gathering worked. It’s like incurring a debt and gaining information in return. That’s the vibe.
As we were appropriately dividing the rewards and heading towards the exit, several hunters came by to express their gratitude.
“By any chance… will you be participating at this time tomorrow?”
“No, we’ll probably just run through the 1st floor tomorrow. We have something on the next day.”
“Oh, I see… Then I look forward to seeing you next time.”
“Thank you!!”
Interacting with strangers was handled by Bae Joo-ah, who had the second harshest personality in our team. She dealt with the hunters with a somewhat cold demeanor as she sent them on their way.
Once outside, we caught our breath and talked.
“Everyone did great!”
“Just until tomorrow, and then let’s go watch Yeon-hee’s representative selection match the day after.”
“Oh, I’m looking forward to seeing the White Knight Guild members in action.”
“Hey, aren’t you going to come to watch my selection match?”
“Okay, from the day after, we’re going to see Yeon-hee—”
“What about me? No one’s cheering for me.”
Noh Ha-yoon happened to have her selection match clashing with the White Knight Guild’s, so there wasn’t anyone to cheer for her.
Ham Eun-young, who had been intently enjoying Joo-ah’s playful mockery, shyly raised her hand and said she’d go cheer for Noh Ha-yoon.
“Ooh… So sweet, Eun-ha couple.”
“W-who’s a couple? What’s an Eun-ha couple?”
“It sounds like it’s derived from your initials.”
“I’d recognize that much!”
“Hey—everyone knows, so why make such a fuss about it?”
The two had already been commuting together for nearly two weeks, but Noh Ha-yoon was still desperately trying to hide it.
Since everyone was open-minded, they wouldn’t mind women meeting to blow off steam or grill each other; it was just her making a big deal out of it.
Anyway, after finishing an unexpectedly eventful day, we parted ways, promising to meet again tomorrow as usual.
Upon returning home, I immediately transformed into Noh Ha-yoon to test the newly acquired artifact.
Having already transformed into Yeon-hee, I thought, why not try being Noh Ha-yoon as well?
“Ah- ow- why is it? My pronunciation isn’t, not good.”
“Wow… It’s really identical. Even the unique slant of the eyes?”
“Um… Really? Anyway, it’s strange and frustrating.”
“Strange? What’s strange? The body?”
“Yes.”
As I awkwardly fumbled around with my body, Yeon-hee frowned and spoke.
“Wait… If you even twitch a finger on that body of yours, I’ll really get mad at you.”
“Hmm…? Ah, is it because it’s Noh Ha-yoon’s body? But it’s such a rare opportunity; I have to touch it at least once…”
“Don’t! Don’t even look at or touch Noh Ha-yoon’s body!”
“I’m just joking. Just joking.”
After calming down the upset Yeon-hee, I observed my transformed body again.
It felt much more alien than when I transformed into Yeon-hee.
Deep down, something was bubbling up.
“Ugh… this is frustrating. What is this?”
I felt an intense urge to unleash whatever was trapped inside.
But it didn’t feel like I was hiding any special power; it simply felt like I had a lot of pent-up frustration inside.
“Ah, I’m so frustrated.”
I knew from experience that mimicking someone’s personality or emotional state was part of it, which meant Noh Ha-yoon was always like this.
“It makes sense why she might be going back and forth. She’s constantly filled with some kind of dissatisfaction.”
Whether it’s a desire for destruction, a longing for growth, or sexual desire, she was just an incredibly greedy person.
Yeon-hee was sticking closely next to me, watching over me to prevent any reckless behavior.
For some reason, that serious appearance looked quite beautiful today.
“Noh Ha-yoon definitely likes women. You can tell by her rising body temperature.”
“29 minutes…”
Yeon-hee, who had set a timer on her phone, hoped I would return to my original form soon.
“Well, let’s confirm the things I wanted to check first.”
Being monitored, I pulled out two ancient royal kingdom nail cuffs from my spatial pocket.
“Hm… What’s this?”
When I held one up to my nail, it seemed to disappear as if seeping in, but no effect applied.
“Hm… no message appears. Is it because I don’t meet the criteria completely? So, it’s true that the mimicry isn’t perfect? I should have tried transforming into Yeon-hee instead…”
Well, this trick seemed to be a failure.
Since I had transformed into Noh Ha-yoon, I decided to try everything I could.
[Water Magic]
I tried using water magic, which is a superior version of ice magic, and raised my consciousness to Goddess Irmana.
“No response. I thought something might happen.”
Rather, raising my consciousness in Noh Ha-yoon’s form made my head throb and a cold wind rush through my chest.
“Didn’t Goddess Irmana dislike women? I should remember that.”
Later on, I resolved to raise my consciousness again when I returned to my original form.
“Seolchang—! Ice Sphere! Ice Field! Icicle Symphony!!”
“It’s not working? Even if I change my appearance, magic still seems impossible?”
As Yeon-hee watched me chant the magic used by Noh Ha-yoon, she checked the timer and finally went to take a shower.
In the end, I returned to my original form as the transformation wore off.
It was somewhat deflating.
I thought something fun might develop, but… Cheh…
However, once I regained my original skeleton shape, I felt a strange sensation, and my mind suddenly went blank.
“…?!”
Then, my consciousness swiftly transported somewhere, and I arrived at a space that felt eerily familiar. Where was this…?
Thump— thump—
The heartbeat resonating like it was striking against my soul brought back my memories.
“Oh, this place?! Not good…”
It felt exactly the same as when I was summoned by the being known as [Iris Cass].
Before long, my vision cleared up, and there it was, shrouded in distant fog, a massive object that I could hardly discern began to emerge.
Though I couldn’t see it clearly, what looked like a tail stretched endlessly.
I attempted to count how many there were, but counting thousands and ten-thousands of them seemed meaningless.
“Ah… that’s…”
And one of those tails felt oddly familiar.
“Could it be… the Fragment? What are you doing over there!”
Of course, there was no answer.
The being that once felt so gigantic to me now was just a piece of something incomprehensible.
“How insignificant am I?”
Beyond the tail, it was too far to properly sense anything.
“The attribute… wasn’t dissatisfaction. Was that deity not in charge of fire?”
From this mysterious being’s tail, a dazzling array of flames continually erupted, while around it, black lightning kept striking. Blizzards swirled, and rocks neatly stacked up to form infinite stairs.
It wasn’t clear, but countless powers of unknown properties surged violently, making it impossible to grasp what kind of being it might be.
Everything existed there.
Could this be the end of the path?
If someone were to tell me that this was indeed the end of the path, I would easily believe it due to how mysterious and vast the place was.
As a flame shot up from the tail and touched a seemingly dead sphere, the dead something shimmered back to life through a dimensional rift and disappeared.
“I don’t know what this is, but it sure is beautiful…”
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