"What's with that bird? Can you bring it into the dungeon?"
"Its name is Riceball. I won't be bringing it in."
He would bring it in, but in sword form.
Beep!
Riceball fluttered and landed on Oh Yeji's shoulder. Oh Yeji, startled, made awkward sounds of surprise—"Ugh, ah, ah, oh no!"—and didn't dare to touch the bird, as if worried that it might get hurt. Yoon Seo chuckled softly at the sight of the muscular martial artist frozen by the tiny bird. The other two party members also showed interest in the bird.
"Oh my, what's this bird? Is it a pet?"
"I'm amazed it doesn't fly away even when left out in the open."
Beep!
Riceball puffed out its chest, satisfied with the attention it was receiving. Though no one had asked, Yoon Seo spoke first.
"You can pet it if you'd like."
"Oh, it won't fly away?"
"No, it likes being petted."
Riceball, apparently comfortable on Oh Yeji's broad shoulder, chirped contentedly. One of the women worked up the courage and gently stroked its small head. Riceball closed its eyes, enjoying the touch. A man, eager to try as well, extended his finger. Riceball playfully pecked at his finger with its beak, and though it was only a game, the man's expression melted into pure joy.
Yoon Seo stood back and watched the scene unfold, a memory surfacing in his mind.
'Riceball, climb onto Oppa's palm. I've warmed it up just for you.'
'Oppa, move your hand away. It's too hot for the bird! And by the way, Riceball is a boy.'
'Move over. Riceball's flapping its wings to come to me.'
'Forget the bird, change into a ferret. I want to carry you around in my arms. Hm? Our cute little Riceball.'
Did Riceball still remember those days? Yoon Seo's heart ached, and he pressed a fist against his chest. He thought about taking his medicine, but it wasn't that serious yet.
"Hey, what should we call you? You haven't told us your name or shown your profile."
While the other party members were focused on the small bird, the party leader kept a wary eye on the man with the hat, whose profile remained unreadable. The man was tall, broad-shouldered, and even while standing still, exuded a commanding presence.
"Hey, are you ignoring me?"
After the leader called out several more times, Kwon Jihan finally shifted his gaze away from Yoon Seo.
"You calling me?"
"Yeah, I am. We're about to do a three-chain dungeon together, so we need to at least know each other's names. Should I just call you 'Hat'?"
"Call me whatever you want, just don't be a bother."
"What the hell is with this guy?"
The party leader shouted angrily, but Kwon Jihan didn't pay him any attention and turned back to Yoon Seo.
The leader, already irritated by Kwon Jihan's curt tone over the phone, considered confronting him but restrained himself. It was too late to find another hunter now. Frustrated, he gave the rude young man with the hat a sideways glance.
He was young, but having formed various parties to tackle low-level dungeons, the leader had met all kinds of people. Yet he had never encountered someone with such an unsettling presence like this man. The one with the glasses didn't seem particularly special, though…
"Changseok, look at this bird. It's so cute! Its name is Riceball."
The party members were distracted by the little blue bird, beaming as they fawned over it. The bird tilted its head and chirped at the leader, which was admittedly adorable. Still, the leader had no interest in associating with people who were naïve enough to bring a pet bird into a dungeon.
"Everyone, check your potions and items. Once you're ready, we'll set off."
"Yes, sir."
At the leader's stern command, the party members quickly checked their items.
Yoon Seo glanced at Riceball, still perched on the martial artist's arm, and motioned for it to come to him. With a flap of its wings, Riceball flew over and landed on Kwon Jihan's shoulder. The stiffness in Kwon Jihan's expression softened slightly.
As Kwon Jihan stroked Riceball's feathers with his finger, he walked over to Yoon Seo.
"Riceball really likes people, just like his owner."
"…Riceball's owner does not like people."
"Really? Could've fooled me."
Kwon Jihan shrugged, making Yoon Seo narrow his eyes.
For some reason, Yoon Seo sensed that Kwon Jihan was in a bad mood.
The leader yelled at them again.
"Are you two done yet? Put that pet bird back in its cage or something! You can't fight in the dungeon while babysitting it!"
Yoon Seo answered, "Got it," and held out his hand for Riceball. The bird's small, pebble-like black eyes gazed back at him. It was time for the little blue bird to disappear and for the dagger adorned with a blue gemstone to take its place.
***
Kraaaah
As soon as the boss monster appeared, Yoon Seo leaped forward without waiting for anyone to stop him, a dagger with a blue gem clutched in his hand.
[The
Crackle. Crackle. The
Screeeech!
The boss monster let out an agonizing scream.
Kwon Jihan, watching from behind, unfurled his black wings.
"Spectators, behind me."
"Ah, y-yes!"
The low-level hunters, who had been mesmerized by the sight, hurriedly took cover behind Kwon Jihan's massive black wings—though they couldn't resist peeking their heads out to watch.
With the dagger firmly lodged in the back of the boss monster's neck, Yoon Seo slid away. Red blood gushed forth as the currents of
Kwaaang!
A massive explosion erupted. The shockwave not only engulfed the approaching regular monsters but also obliterated the surrounding dense trees, leaving no trace behind.
[Dungeon Clear: Current Party: 6 Members: Time Taken: 41 Minutes]
[Personal Experience Points Earned: 10,000]
[Current Total Personal Experience Points: 13,283,200,000]
[The God of Life welcomes the return of the 'Existing Spirit.']
[The God of Death welcomes the return of the 'Existing Spirit.']
Yoon Seo dismissed the notifications and looked down at the dagger in his hand.
The red blood that had stained the silver blade seemed to absorb into the weapon, and the blue gemstone still glimmered as if it craved more power.
"Hmm."
Narrowing his eyes, Yoon Seo stared intently at the dagger.
It had been a D-rank navy dungeon. What had once been a dense jungle now appeared as if a massive wildfire had swept through, leaving devastation in its wake. Among the desolate landscape stood Kwon Jihan, who wore an expression of wonder, and four other hunters who were gaping in shock. However, Yoon Seo had no energy to spare for them right now.
Just moments ago, he had infused the D-rank level of
As the dust from the shockwave settled, Kwon Jihan, having retracted his black wings, approached Yoon Seo.
"That was incredible! What now? With that weapon in hand, you just flew through everything. Yeah, this is exactly why I've lived to see this day."
"..."
"What's wrong, hyung? You look troubled."
"It's been destroyed more than I anticipated."
"Of course! This is a D-rank dungeon, after all."
"I tried to control its power."
Yoon Seo had only two skills that could be classified as offensive:
Out of those two offensive skills, only
In the past, Yoon Seo had used
But now… it was supposed to be just the boss monster and the minions that exploded, yet even the jungle had been swept up in the blast.
Yoon Seo was able to finely adjust protective skills, breaking them down into ten stages from F to S and further dividing those stages into another ten levels. However, offensive skills often produced unintended outputs, which was a serious issue.
"Maybe Riceball is just excited to see you after a long time?"
"Riceball can't affect the effect by itself. It's just that my skills have become very clumsy compared to before."
[The God of Death says this has been the case for the past ten years.]
Is there really no way to get rid of this message?
"It's okay, hyung. You're a genius munchkin, so you'll soon achieve the output you want."
Munchkin.
Yoon Seo hadn't heard that word in a long time. It was a term often used by the Revengers, who loved web novels.
'I need a munchkin… someone to take care of the boss monster while I'm passed out…'
'Noona, what does munchkin mean?'
'It's like a Deus Ex Machina. It refers to someone with an incredibly strong ability who can solve everything. Someone just a bit stronger than our Chaeyoon.'
After hearing that, Yoon Seo had desperately wished for the existence of a munchkin. It would be great if such an incredibly powerful person truly existed to resolve all difficulties. He wanted that person to take care of everything while he was unconscious.
However, that never happened, and when Seo Chaeyoon woke up from his faint, he found himself struggling with a reality that was worse than before he lost consciousness.