Chapter 31 : Manners maketh man (6)

A world dominated by the United Nations of Therianthropes.

The fox-eared hunter originated from there.

‘What is this? What am I seeing?’

Still, I’d experienced quite a lot growing up to adulthood, and even became a hunter.

I could pride myself on having seen all sorts of things, good and bad, in my life–

But compared to the scene unfolding before my eyes now, all of that was child’s play.

The Object.

A monster active from the 5th Floor Theme, something beyond comprehension that one should never associate with.

One should never consider it a living being like oneself.

It was an entity whose very heartbeat was questionable.

Like a doll moving for the sake of the Theme Stage’s trial.

He wasn’t the strange one.

That was the average hunter’s view of an Object.

“Sniffle.”

“There, there.”

Facing Do Yoon, who was patting its back as familiarly as one would handle a small child–

The fox therianthrope felt an indescribable emotion.

“What am I seeing right now?”

“…He’s consoling the Object.”

“So he wasn’t driven mad by the Tower’s mana. Or are you and I both insane?”

The hunter next to the fox therianthrope let out a hollow laugh as if unhinged.

The therianthrope hunter couldn’t believe what was happening before their eyes.

It was said that it had already abducted several more hunters.

The Object was already activated and had begun its actions, and the trial had started.

They had to somehow find the surviving fanatics and suppress that child-like monster.

Perhaps encountering the Object at this point meant great misfortune would follow.

‘No.’

Everything had been misfortune from the very beginning.

Originally, the Object shouldn’t have come this far.

‘What in the world is going on?’

The two novice hunters, who were just starting to ascend the 5th floor, had no way to understand the situation.

“Bad people kept tormenting me, and even when I said I didn’t like it, they kept hurting me… Unngh.”

The Object, who had been sobbing sorrowfully for a while, made a nasal sound like a small child.

“They’re very bad people.”

“The people called fanatics, they tormented me so much…”

-Pat, pat.

Before long, Do Yoon released his arm and gently stroked the young Jinjo’s head.

The texture of her hair, as soft as a real person’s, brushed between Do Yoon’s fingers.

While comforting the young Jinjo like that, he slowly replayed the earlier process in his mind.

‘Tower Master.’

There was definitely someone’s intervention.

It was difficult to make a proper judgment amidst the chaos, but he was sure she had helped.

‘How?’

By what method did she interfere with his status window?

In this place where everything revolves around mana, was it easy to interfere with the authority of a mere novice hunter?

The fact was, the critically unfolding situation had stabilized.

“One problem solved.”

“No. Let’s go kill… I mean, punish the fanatics.”

“Okay..!”

The young Jinjo, full of anticipation, tightly grasped Do Yoon’s hand.

His face was a mess with bloodstains, and his body wasn’t in a normal state from struggling to approach the Jinjo.

But his mind was clearer than ever.

‘Possible.’

With this condition, he would be able to move without difficulty in the upcoming battle.

“H-Hold on.”

Seeing Do Yoon about to move while holding hands with the young Jinjo, a hunter couldn’t hold back and called out to him.

“Why.”

“Y-You’re going like that? With the Object…?”

“It’s necessary to clear this place anyway.”

“No. Even so, that monster who abducted several hunters…”

The fox therianthrope standing beside him covered the hunter’s mouth as he was about to utter the rest of the word.

The young Jinjo was staring intently at them.

Not the warm gaze she had when looking at Do Yoon, but a dry, lifeless stare as if looking at something less than a living being.

-Shiver.

Their fur stood on end, signaling danger.

Only then could the fox therianthrope properly grasp their own situation.

That without Do Yoon, they were still prey to that Object.

“Let’s go.”

But at Do Yoon’s single word, the young Jinjo looked up at him with innocent eyes, as if nothing had happened.

“Okay!”

The hunters, who had unknowingly been holding their breath, exhaled and looked at Do Yoon and the Object, trembling.

“W-We’ll split up here.”

“What?”

Do Yoon looked at the fox hunter and the cowardly hunter who were increasing their distance.

“What are you suddenly saying?”

“…It seems we need to join other hunters in a different area-“

“If we’re going to move, we should move together. What if you die wandering around by yourselves?”

“Still, if it’s just monsters from the Forbidden Zone.”

“Stop talking nonsense and follow me.”

“Do Yoon.”

This time, the fox therianthrope spoke.

“What now.”

“The current situation is too different from the manual we knew.”

The pressure from the Object beside them was intense, but the fox therianthrope swallowed hard and continued speaking.

“We need to go back and discuss this with the other hunters.”

“Because of that trial or whatever?”

“…Yes. According to the trial details we confirmed when we entered the Forbidden Zone…”

The fox therianthrope opened their status window with a confident assertion.

[Trial of the Theme Stage]

[ – Assist the surviving fanatics and suppress the Object.]

“Even if you check right now, the situation you’ve caused is too strange…!”

Just as they were about to say that the situation was unfolding strangely, a clear sound rang in their ears.

-Tring!

“Strange…?”

[Hidden Piece Achieved!]

[The trial has been updated due to Challenger ‘Kim Do Yoon’ discovering a Hidden Piece.]

“This is, supposed to be strange…”

[Trial]

[ – Assist the Object and eliminate all remaining fanatics.]

“Uh…?”

“What, in the world is this.”

The hunters felt great confusion due to the real-time change in the trial’s content.

It was the moment the 5th Floor manual, which they had heard ad nauseam from their respective senior hunters, was overturned.

[Upon clearing the trial, the acquired rewards will increase.]

“Give me a piggyback ride!”

“Alright.”

Giving a piggyback ride to the adorably smiling girl, Do Yoon moved to deal with the remaining fanatics.

“D-Do Yoon.”

Feeling annoyed by the hunter who was still calling him meaningfully, Do Yoon looked back.

“Do you still have more to say? You saw the trial content.”

“That’s not it. It’ll be easier to find the scattered fanatics if we first find and free the subdued hunters.”

The fox therianthrope, who knew how to discern things, quickly tried to assist Do Yoon.

A hunter tied to the center of the altar regained consciousness.

“Are you awake?”

Turning their head at the voice that noticed their stirring, the face of another hunter, similarly bound by blood-red mana, came into view.

“…You are.”

“Lakia Vels. Were you also tied up here because of the Object?”

At those words, the black-haired woman recalled the situation before she lost consciousness.

She couldn’t do anything.

-Grind.

A deep sense of defeat and shame washed over her, but there was nothing she could do.

She would just be tied up here, letting time pass, and remain here as a loser until the trial ended.

“The situation is unfolding strangely.”

There were a total of seven subdued hunters.

All of them were hunters sufficiently trained to undertake the trial.

If it were one or two, it could be dismissed as bad luck, but the current phenomenon was too strange.

“Sh*t, what the hell is this situation.”

A hunter nearby pointlessly cursed at the unsolvable problem.

The expressions of the other hunters were similarly dark.

Several months of waiting time had already passed.

On top of that, to fail the clear as well?

What on earth would they hear when they returned to their original world?

A bleak future was pressing down on them.

“…Huh?”

Just then, a hunter who discovered something made a sound.

“What is it?”

“Th-The trial information has changed.”

“…What?”

“What the. It’s real?”

“Assist the Object… and eliminate the fanatics…?”

One by one.

Confusion spread throughout the group, starting from the hunters who noticed the change.

“A H-Hidden Piece? A Hidden Piece? Am I seeing things?”

“…Wait. Then is there still hope for us?”

A trial whose content completely overturned the existing manual.

And the name that appeared before them was.

“If it’s Kim Do Yoon…”

“That’s the hunter from Earth, isn’t it.”

Several gazes naturally turned towards Lakia Vels.

Because it was the name of the hunter with whom she had a direct incident.

“What in the world is going on?”

“…I’ve never heard of a Hidden Piece existing separately in a Theme Stage…”

“Right. It’s not even a boss room, so how here-“

One of the bound hunters naturally recalled the Object’s appearance and became terrified.

“T-To assist the Object, what on earth.”

“We ended up in this state because we were beaten by that monster in the first place…!”

Lakia Vels, watching this, slowly lowered her head.

She had definitely been the one confidently navigating the Forbidden Zone.

But now?

‘I, I am less than him, less than someone from Earth.’

There was no room for excuses anymore.

Comparatively, it was her complete and utter defeat.

No one had noticed the contest between Do Yoon and Lakia Vels–

But hunters from her background inherently lived and died by such pride.

Her vision wavered and blurred.

She wanted to wipe it away with her hand and hide it, but her restraints didn’t even allow that.

-Rustle.

As she spent a long time soaked in defeat.

From beyond the shadowy bushes, a man appeared.

“Th-That’s.”

“Do Yoon, it’s Kim Do Yoon. That guy is here…!”

“Damn it, I believed in you!”

The hunters who saw his face, overcome with excitement, repeatedly called Do Yoon’s name.

“What are these crazy b*stards.”

Did I come to free them for nothing?

He felt a strange sense of disconnect at their completely changed expressions.

“Shall I make them quiet?”

At the innocent voice in his ear, Do Yoon quickly came to his senses and shook his head.

“It’s okay.”

“Okay!”

“Can you untie those people now?”

“Because they’re Oppa’s friends?”

Do Yoon hesitated for a moment, considering his answer.

Weren’t they too uncomfortable a relationship to be called friends?

However, for the sake of a better situation, he decided to willingly overcome such feelings.

“Yeah.”

With a cheerful voice, the mana binding the hunters was released.

Freedom was granted to the hunters who had been hanging in the air, and those embedded in the walls.

They rolled onto the floor with stiff bodies.

Having barely regained their senses, they properly looked at Do Yoon, who had arrived on the scene.

More precisely, their gazes couldn’t help but fixate on the being clinging to his back.

Pale skin, white hair.

And red eyes tinged with blood.

They had only encountered her for a short time, but no one present had forgotten the being’s face.

“…Hic.”

“He’s really, really with the Object.”

Bewilderment, fear, and awe.

Gazes mixed with all those emotions simultaneously focused on Do Yoon.

“H-How…?”

“We’ll talk later.”

Stopping the hunter who expressed a question, Do Yoon brought up the main point first.

“You’ve all confirmed that the trial content has changed.”

Now that he had secured allies, it was time to face what was next.

He faced the hunters who were still looking at him with dazed expressions.

“Now, we need to go get our rewards.”

“If you don’t listen, you’ll be scolded!”

Do Yoon’s unilateral declaration was followed by a statement providing clear backing.