Chapter 05
At Cho-hee unni’s sharp words, Ye-seung leaned his forehead against the spear shaft, taller than himself, and sighed.
“I’m worried the party will dissolve if it gets too far away. We were clearing a dungeon since dawn to get medicine for Ha-yan noona and then came out when we saw the item drop increase message. If this thing runs off midway and we lose the buff, then we really got dragged around for nothing.”
…Huh?
Medicine for me?
At Ye-seung’s unexpected words, Cho-hee unni sighed too.
“True. I came out because I lost my mind over that 20% increase, but thinking about going back down and breaking through the labyrinth again is depressing. If there were any on the market, I’d just buy it, but there’s not even one.”
“It’s not like hoarding it raises the price. But… Hee-ho hyung, what are you doing?”
“Hm? Making clothes. It’s about parrot-sized now, so I think I can use the gear for ultra-small monsters. Done.”
While Ye-seung and Cho-hee were talking, it seemed Hee-ho had been using a crafting skill.
A sparkle burst inside Hee-ho’s hand.
He tapped my head.
And I felt something settle over my body.
SYSTEM: ‘Pink Pink Shalala Dress’ has been equipped.
I looked down.
Pink fabric with white lace was wrapped around my plump little body.
Pink Pink Shalala Dress…
The name was… impressive.
And so was the appearance.
Hee-ho spread out his palm to show me off and said with a grin,
“What do you think? Cute, right?”
“…Hyung, does it at least have some kind of effect?”
“It’s adorable.”
“Yeah, damn adorable. Though if there’s a mustached old man inside, that’d be horrifying.”
“……!”
I was already struggling to adjust to Ye-seung’s expression and Cho-hee’s rough, cynical words—
Then Hee-ho widened his eyes.
As if he hadn’t even considered that.
But then he shook his head.
“It’s fine. It’s a bird right now. Birds are cute. I’ll take good care of it, so let’s just go in.”
“Hee-ho hyung… did you eat something weird? Why are you being like this? It’s unsettling.”
Apparently Ye-seung really found me annoying.
His brow was tightly furrowed.
Feeling small for no reason, I let out a tiny…
“Ppi…”
And Hee-ho rubbed my head firmly as he answered.
“My lucky color this year is white. The moment I saw ‘white’ in its name, I felt destiny.”
That much I knew.
That was how Hee-ho and I had become close.
He once said white was his favorite color, and because my name was Ha-yan, he kept wanting to talk to me.
Back then, hunters and rankers had felt like people from another world.
But thanks to Hee-ho, that emotional distance had shrunk a little.
Still—
Ye-seung looked even more dissatisfied at that answer.
Then Cho-hee asked in confusion,
“This is the first time I’ve heard someone talk about a lucky color ‘for this year’ like it’s a horoscope. Fine, if this year is white, what’s next year?”
“White.”
“……”
“The year after that is pure white. Then snowy white. Then the color is made by combining the three primary colors of light. Then—”
“Shut up and let’s go. Ye-seung, get ready.”
Cho-hee cut him off with a dead serious face and waved a hand.
Ye-seung adjusted his spear and nodded, then looked back at Hee-ho and me.
“Yes. Hee-ho hyung, make sure it can’t run off. We need to get the medicine today so we can bring it when we visit Ha-yan noona later.”
V-visit me?
I wasn’t that sick…
And Ye-seung had texted yesterday asking if I was okay.
He even asked for my address and sent porridge to my house.
Seeing him worry about me even now—
He really was kind.
And yet the way he looked at me right now was so cold it kept making me flinch.
Before I could even shiver, Hee-ho answered.
“Don’t worry. This is like a leash, so it can’t get beyond a certain radius from me. It says “temporary link established,” so I guess it works.”
And I froze.
A… leash? As in the kind for walking pets…?
My beak fell open.
Hee-ho nodded reassuringly.
“If you want to wander off and rest somewhere in the middle, that’s okay too. If you go too far, you’ll be auto-summoned back. Ah, but where we’re going now is dangerous. There aren’t avian monsters there, so other monsters might mistake you for unfamiliar prey and eat you.”
“……”
“Well then, let’s go.”
He placed me on top of his head and walked after Ye-seung and Cho-hee.
I hadn’t planned to run anyway—
But after hearing I might get eaten,
I decided I was never leaving Hee-ho’s side.
I need to keep my balance too, so I don’t fall…
I tightened my grip with my feet and widened my eyes.
Watching me, Cho-hee laughed and created the dungeon gate.
At the tip of her outstretched hand, a key-shaped symbol appeared.
Then—
Click.
A sound echoed in the air.
And an opening large enough for a person to tear open.
Beyond it—
A dark, damp-looking space.
Since I was at the party, a system window appeared before me too.
(Party) SYSTEM: Entering Dungeon No. 4, Floor 61.
Normally, the higher the floor, the more dangerous the dungeon.
And for someone like me—
Who had barely stepped onto the easiest first floor of Dungeon No. 1—
Floor 61 was unimaginable.
I had no means to protect myself.
But with Hee-ho, Ye-seung, and Cho-hee—
I wasn’t that afraid.
The real problem was—
How horrifying would the monsters in there look?
Cho-hee entered first.
Ye-seung followed.
Then Hee-ho is last.
The moment we crossed over—
A strong scent of grass filled my nose.
And the air was cold.
Humid.
Clinging tightly to Hee-ho’s head, I blinked quickly and looked around.
The sky was murky, dark as storm clouds.
And everywhere—
Green vines and leaves covered the surroundings like a forest.
But the space was so vast it didn’t really feel like a forest at all.
Then behind us—
Click.
The sound of a lock turning echoed again.
And another system window appeared.
(Party) SYSTEM: Entered the Panacea Grand Labyrinth.
This floor has already been cleared.
Panacea Grand Labyrinth.
Naturally, I’d never heard of it.
Dungeons went up to 100 floors.
Each floor had its own ecosystem.
Like completely separate worlds.
So unless a place was especially famous, non-hunters didn’t even know its name.
Me included.
It’s not dangerous… right? For me, sure, but I hope the three of them aren’t pushing themselves too hard either…
I nervously rolled my eyes around—
When Cho-hee suddenly laughed.
“Wow, what is this? “The pet is worried about you.” That’s hilarious. It even shows stuff like this.”
“…Who exactly is worrying about whom?”
Apparently, since I couldn’t communicate, my thoughts were somehow showing up to party members.
Ye-seung’s tone was still blunt—
But his expression had softened.
Then suddenly—
A huge thorn shot out from the vine wall beside Cho-hee.
“Ppi!”
I jumped and shrieked—
But before I could react further, Cho-hee, who had been laughing, swung her fist.
With a slicing sound—
Her punch struck the thorn.
Boom.
It exploded.
Then white light glowed around Cho-hee’s body.
And spread to Ye-seung.
To Hee-ho.
And to me.
Right… her class is Monk…
I vaguely remembered hearing that when she attacked monsters, party members recovered.
I used to sigh and think it was useless because it sounded terrifying to hit monsters directly.
But—
“Ugh, these disgusting things. Look at this. We come back in and they’ve reset.”
