Chapter 04
To be exact, it wasn’t that the other hunter had touched me.
My body had floated up right before he touched me…
Anyway, that hunter looked around as if asking for support, and people here and there nodded in agreement.
“Well… it’s true we held back because using abilities recklessly could’ve caused an accident.”
“Everyone was playing fair and being careful. Calling it stealing isn’t exactly wrong.”
“Right. I could’ve caught it too!”
Somehow, the atmosphere turned strange.
You could have caught me, but you didn’t actually catch me… right?
I didn’t understand why Hee-ho, Ye-seung, and Cho-hee unni were getting criticized.
And maybe I was biased—
But being with people I knew felt much more comfortable than being surrounded by strangers.
As I awkwardly turned my head, worried a fight might break out—
My eyes landed on Cho-hee unni.
And suddenly I became worried.
Will she be okay…?
Cho-hee unni was so pretty that if she hadn’t been a hunter, she could’ve been a celebrity or model.
She had a slightly cat-like look that made her seem hard to approach carelessly.
But unlike her appearance, her personality was very gentle and even a little airheaded.
And maybe because our personalities were similar, she often said she startled every time a monster suddenly jumped out in dungeons.
She said she understood how I felt.
That she had somehow become a hunter herself, but she’d like it if we could enter dungeons together someday.
So I worried she might get hurt by those accusations.
But then—
“Well, what now, bastard? If you’ve got a problem, stop stirring people up and come at me yourself. Is this an item? Is it a monster? What is stealing? You just missed it because you’re weak.”
The voice that came from her red, full lips—
Was low, threatening, and unlike anything I had ever heard from her.
U-Unni…?
Frozen once again in Hee-ho’s palm, I heard Ye-seung let out a sigh.
And my eyes darted toward him.
Ye-seung, a year younger than me, had always been gentle from the moment we met.
Light brown hair.
Pale skin.
Soft-colored eyes.
When he smiled, the little mole near his eye lifted slightly, and sometimes I’d absentmindedly stare.
He always used polite speech.
He cried easily.
He had such a soft heart I thought he’d never be able to say anything harsh to anyone.
He was like a puppy.
But—
“Don’t bother talking to pathetic losers, Cho-hee noona. Waste of time. Let’s go.”
…That flat expression.
That voice is thick with annoyance.
It didn’t feel like the Ye-seung I knew.
W-what is going on? Could this be someone else who just looks like him…? No way.
But it was definitely him.
He called her Cho-hee.
And the long spear in his hand was one of only two SSS-rank weapons in the country.
It was just—
Everything about him felt so different that all I could do was panic.
Ye-seung started walking toward the dungeon first.
Cho-hee unni even muttered a short curse and turned her back.
And then only Hee-ho remained.
“Well then, take care, losers. I’ll remember your faces. Be careful not to run into my cuties in a dungeon. Got it?”
He waved with his usual smiling face.
But the words coming out of his mouth—
We’re still completely unexpected.
The way he said it sounded almost like a threat.
And apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
The mocking hunters’ faces turned white.
It practically looked like they were thinking,
We’re screwed…
Watching it, I felt almost the same.
The “cuties” Hee-ho meant were the monsters he had tamed.
I’d never seen them myself, but I’d heard plenty about how fierce they were.
…So it really was a threat?
“Hee-ho hyung. Enough already. Hurry up.”
I was trembling with my beak shut when Ye-seung called out irritably.
Hee-ho glanced back, then leisurely walked toward the other two.
Those people started it first… so maybe that’s why they reacted so sharply…?
It was confusing.
But not completely impossible to understand.
And while I was trying to accept it—
We had already reached the dungeon entrance.
Then the system window appeared.
(Party) SYSTEM: Checking party members.
- Ha Cho-hee (Monk)
- Yeon Hee-ho (Tamer)
- Lee Ye-seung (Lancer)
- White-headed Long-tailed Tit (Pet)
(Party) SYSTEM: A Pet (SSS) is included in the party. Party buffs applied!
…Why did I show up as a white-headed long-tailed tit instead of my perfectly normal name?
If my name had appeared, all three of them would’ve recognized me instantly.
I was nervously fretting over it when—
“This is pretty annoying. Dragging us all the way here and not even telling us who it is.”
Ye-seung glared at me with displeasure.
And my slightly open beak snapped shut.
Uh… Sorry, Ye-seung. I want to tell you too, but I don’t know how…
Then Cho-hee unni, who was wearing knuckles on her hands—
Actually smirked and said,
“Guess they’re embarrassed as hell. I wouldn’t be able to admit it either. Looking at how many people showed up today, nobody’s even going to be able to touch this thing from now on. Let’s just think of it as carrying it around for one day.”
Words that absolutely should not have come from elegant, well-spoken Cho-hee unni—
Kept coming out of her mouth.
But neither Ye-seung nor Hee-ho reacted.
Which made it seem like maybe—
This was her real personality all along.
That aside… wait, am I actually going into the dungeon like this?!
The only hidden class I knew personally was Hee-ho.
But I knew plenty about rankers.
Cho-hee and Ye-seung were rankers too.
Rankers were ranked based on dungeon contribution and total stats.
And with so many hunters out there—
Even making the top 500 meant you were unimaginably powerful to ordinary people.
Which meant—
The dungeon floor they were entering now was definitely deep.
And dangerous.
“Ppi! Ppii! Ppi! Ppi!”
I cried out desperately.
I’d panicked enough just on the first floor before.
If we went deeper, I might literally die of a heart attack.
I wasn’t exaggerating.
Dungeon monsters came in all kinds—
And the deeper you went, the more horrifying they looked.
How to describe it…
Like cartoon graphics made realistic.
Like deep-sea creatures.
Repulsive at that level.
I hadn’t seen them in person, only in photos and videos—
But that didn’t make them look any less awful.
When I thought becoming a hidden class might let me enter dungeons someday, I meant gradually adapting while clearing floors one by one… not THIS!
“Ppi! Ppiii!”
At my frantic cries, Cho-hee tilted her head.
“Looks like it doesn’t want to go in.”
Ye-seung’s eyes turned prickly.
“It keeps being troublesome. Hee-ho hyung, can’t you tame this thing?”
The Ye-seung I know isn’t like this… really isn’t…
Without answering, Hee-ho suddenly closed his palm around my whole body.
Caught off guard—
“Ppyak!”
A weird sound burst out of me.
“I actually tried as soon as it landed in my hand. Said the target can’t be used. Maybe because it’s not a real animal but an awakened human?”
“Well, that’s troublesome. Should I go buy a birdcage real quick? Looking at how its eyes keep moving, it seems like it wants to run. If it disappears in the dungeon, finding it again would be annoying.”
Hee-ho casually saying he’d already tried using a skill on me even knowing I was human—
And Ye-seung casually suggesting buying a birdcage—
Both felt so unfamiliar.
You two were always telling me you’d carry me through dungeons if I came with you…
And suddenly—
I no longer wanted to know what would have happened if I’d said yes back then.
Ye-seung took a few steps back like he was seriously about to buy a cage.
Then Cho-hee snapped irritably,
“Hey, Lee Ye-seung. It’s a human, okay? What birdcage? Just leave it.”
“If it disappears, finding it will be annoying. Besides, your field of vision is hopelessly narrow, noona. You’re practically old.”
“Ah, shit! Hey! I’m only twenty-four! This bastard acts all sweet only in front of Ha-yan. And why bother finding it anyway? If it runs off and dies, that’s its own fate.”
At first I thought—
As expected, only Cho-hee unni is on my side.
But that thought lasted only a second.
Should I be more shocked—
That Ye-seung apparently acted fake in front of me?
Or—
That she basically said if I died, that was none of her concern?
