Chapter 6
“Huff!”
It was truly terrifying. The problem was, it was literally a ‘teddy bear’—stuffed with cotton.
‘How am I supposed to fight a bear with this?’
In reality, the bear was already tearing my teddy bears to shreds. The ones caught in its sharp claws were bursting open in midair, cotton flying everywhere.
Damn. The thought that I might end up like that made my face go pale.
Thankfully, there was only one bear, and my teddy bears were still pouring out endlessly from the Gate.
“Catch it! That bear—get that bear!”
And the teddy bear beasts faithfully obeyed my command.
As soon as the order was given, the soft, fluttering teddy bears suddenly changed demeanor.
Despite their size barely reaching my calves, they planted their stubby legs on the ground with force and charged straight at the bear.
—ROOAARRR!!!
The bear, startled by the wave of cotton balls, swiped with its massive paw. Several teddy bears were ripped apart, cotton flying—but they didn’t care.
“Yes! Good job! Keep it up—!”
I was shouting in excitement at the sudden reversal, but then I clamped my mouth shut.
…Why are they choking the bear’s neck?
“No! Don’t kill it! Stop!! Just restrain it!! That thing’s a protected species!!”
[<Lovely Teddy Bear> goal updated!
New Goal: Capture]
“Don’t bring it back either!! Just… just do something!!”
[<Lovely Teddy Bear> goal updated!
New Goal: Do something about it]
The goal of the “Lovely” something on the status screen kept morphing in oddly vague ways.
Then, the flood of teddy bears pouring from the Gate swarmed the bear, completely covering its massive body.
Moments later, a particularly small and unusually solid-looking teddy bear burst out of the crowd and leaped high into the air!
—ROOAARRR!!
“…”
The teddy bear spun three times in the air and crashed directly onto the back of the bear’s head like some kind of acrobatic stunt.
What the hell…?
Staggering from the blow, the bear let out a massive roar and collapsed with a thud. A moment later, the status window popped up.
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Achievement: Use a skill to defeat an enemy for the first time 1/1]
[Reward Granted: 10G]
‘I-is it… really unconscious?’
“Huff.”
I collapsed to the ground as soon as I saw the bear fall. My legs gave out—I couldn’t stand anymore.
When I lifted my head, I saw the now-quiet Gate and teddy bears wriggling on top of the fallen bear like nothing had happened.
‘…Am I seeing things?’
It reminded me of a mural I once saw in a college elective class. It showed primitive humans dancing around a successful hunt, supposedly to celebrate.
…But that wasn’t the point right now.
I shook my head and picked up one of the fallen teddy bears nearby.
When I stared at the docile bear in my hand with trembling eyes, the status window popped up again as if it had been waiting.
[<Lovely Teddy Bear>
❙ An irresistibly lovable teddy bear! Just looking into its round eyes will make you fall in love.
Born from Kwon Asol’s wish to be with a bear!
Grade: C (Defense specialized)]
“…Love? Round eyes?”
Its face looked ready to fall apart in every direction. And the arms and legs were too… well, bulky for a teddy bear.
Surely not, but—was that muscle I was seeing?
How on earth was this considered “lovable”? And when did I ever make a wish like that?
“Asol! Are you okay? Oh my gosh, how did you end up in here?!”
“Teacher!!”
Just then, a familiar voice rang out behind me. Team Leader Woo stepped through the glowing blue portal and froze when he saw the chaos.
But I was even more shocked. After nearly dying, meeting an adult who could actually help made all my tension melt away.
“I really thought I was going to die!”
Why did you leave me in a mountain with a bear?! Just because I awakened doesn’t mean I’m not basically still a civilian!
But before I could say any of that, Team Leader Woo cut me off with an exasperated voice.
“There was a hiking trail right next to you—how the heck did you end up all the way out here? You’re on the complete opposite side from before!”
“Huh?”
“Wait… are you bad with directions?”
I couldn’t answer. A hiking trail was nearby? I swear I didn’t see one…
“Anyway, what is that…?”
Team Leader Woo finally noticed the teddy bear beasts.
“What are those? You made them?”
“Yes. They’re called… ‘Lovely Teddy Bears’ apparently.”
“Never seen that kind of beast before. Never even heard of the name. What the heck did you make?”
I had no clue either. I should be asking you what they are.
“Definitely looks like an unregistered beast… but wow, uh. Very unique design.”
“…Are you just trying not to say it looks weird?”
“…In any case, what a unique ability! This might be a completely new type of beast. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
He skillfully dodged giving a direct opinion. Clearly, he didn’t want to outright say they looked awful.
“If there were another awakened person with the same skill, you could get some advice—uh, forget I said that.”
Team Leader Woo trailed off awkwardly, but in that moment, I caught a flicker of regret in his eyes.
It was brief—so quick and subtle you’d miss it if you weren’t paying close attention.
“Oh right, before I forget, I should tell you this first.”
“Yes?”
“You did great, Asol!”
Team Leader Woo’s face beamed with pride.
“You used your skill and took down an enemy for the first time! Amazing! To be honest, I figured you’d beat the bear easily the moment I heard.”
“…Why would you think that?!”
“This area is used for stamina training by rookie awakened like you. Even veteran Hunters come here sometimes. No one’s ever died.”
I nodded numbly, lacking the will to argue. But part of me thought—
Maybe no one’s reported dead because the people just vanished without a trace.
‘Because bears… rip people apart…’
Nope. Not going there.
Anyway, I recalled all the teddy bears back into the Gate and waited until it automatically closed a few minutes later.
Just before the unconscious bear woke up, Team Leader Woo opened a portal and we left Mount Jiri.
When I stepped into the unfamiliar space beyond the portal, I concluded that Baekgyeon’s terrible personality must’ve been Team Leader Woo’s fault.
“Alright, since dawn training is officially over, let’s start your next session!”
Because at this rate, I was going to end up just like him.
✽ ✽ ✽
The training that followed with Team Leader Woo could be summarized in three lines:
“Oh, you’re already done? Then let’s start the next one!”
“Tired? Perfect timing—this next training’s a bit easier, so catch your breath.”
“Oh dear, Asol, are you crying? Alright, done crying? Then let’s get back to work!”
My first actual break came 12 hours later, after I finished the afternoon session at the Hunter Association’s training grounds.
“T-Teacher… I’m sorry, but…”
“Water? Here, drink slowly! But why are your arms shaking like that?”
Yeah, seriously. Why were they?
“Asol, what are you thinking about so seriously?”
“I’m thinking that no matter what, I have to become a Hunter. Fast.”
Because if I become a real Hunter, maybe I’ll be a little further away from this torture.
“Of course, I’ll need to pass the Hunter Exam first. And I’ll have to finish my official promotion safely.”
“Haha! Don’t worry about that! The promotion missions for apprentices are usually pretty easy. I mean, sure—some people quit because they can’t handle the job, but hey!”
In the <Underworld> universe, Hunters were categorized as either Apprentices or Official Hunters.
Once you passed the exam, you became an Apprentice. If you successfully completed five missions through the Association, you’d be promoted to a full Hunter.
Naturally, while in the apprentice phase, you couldn’t join a guild or use the Hunter Market, so if you wanted to become a “real” Hunter, you had to complete the promotion.
‘First, I need to focus on passing the exam.’
At least while training with Team Leader Woo today, I discovered a few problems with my skill.
First: I still couldn’t control the Gate freely. But like in the forest, I could use it creatively, so that wasn’t a huge issue.
‘The real problem is this.’
[Skills:
<Gate Open>: Opens a personal Gate at a designated location. (Proficiency: 1%)
<Beast Summon>: Summons personal beasts from inside the Gate. (Proficiency: 1%) [Details]
???: ─ replaces ─ with ── <Locked>
???: ── of ── <Locked>]
Second issue: No matter how I searched, I couldn’t find a skill to close the Gate.
It seemed related to the “Proficiency” stat. For now, the Gate would close automatically about 10 minutes after opening.
‘How can I use this effectively during the exam…?’
As I was deep in thought, the training room door suddenly opened, and I heard footsteps.
Nobody else was supposed to be here.
I turned—and my eyes widened.
