* * *
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who noticed Baek Gunho’s strange hostility.
“Maybe,” Lee Jooyun replied with a good-natured smile.
“He’s just being ridiculous. Ignore him,” Jung Eunji cut in bluntly.
“Vice Guild Master, would you like to join us for lunch?”
Jung Eunji shook her head with a defeated smile.
“No, I have urgent matters to deal with… Oh, Hunter Lee Jooyun, could you see Heewon home later?”
“I’m sorry, but I have an assignment this afternoon.”
“I’ll take him home,” Jang Hayul volunteered quickly.
Jung Eunji offered a faint smile.
“Thanks. Enjoy your meal, everyone.”
She walked away, her figure slightly slumped.
That idiot Baek Gunho should treat her better.
“Alright, let’s eat.”
Jang Hayul led the way to a nearby restaurant.
I’d been there a few times before—it was close to the guild and served excellent meat.
Soon, the rich aroma of grilling beef filled the air.
“Um.”
Lee Jooyun’s slightly hesitant voice called my attention.
“The defense patch you gave me earlier saved me from serious injury.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I was tied up and attacked from behind—I couldn’t move. Thanks to the patch, I got out alive.”
It wasn’t because of me that he was in danger, right?
Either way, I was glad I’d given him the item.
“That’s a relief. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” Jang Hayul chimed in.
“Yes, you really are,” Lee Jooyun added earnestly.
It wasn’t that big a deal… I’d just given him an item I happened to have.
Feeling embarrassed, I focused on the side dishes.
As the meal wound down, Jang Hayul stood.
“I’ll be back; just going to the restroom.”
No, don’t leave me here like this.
It’s awkward!
My silent plea went unanswered as he disappeared.
An uncomfortable silence lingered until Lee Jooyun spoke.
“Congratulations on your relationship with the Guild Master.”
“What? It’s not like that!” I blurted, flustered.
He must have misinterpreted Baek Gunho’s earlier behavior.
It did look unusual coming from him.
I’d have to set things straight later.
But Lee Jooyun didn’t seem convinced.
“You don’t have to deny it for my sake. At least one of you is happy, right?”
“It’s really not like that.”
He smiled knowingly, clearly not believing me.
I decided to drop it—at least he wasn’t the type to spread baseless rumors.
“I’m sure you’ll meet someone great, too.”
“Thank you.”
Thankfully, Jang Hayul returned soon, breaking the tension.
“Let’s head out.”
After parting ways with Lee Jooyun, who had work to attend to, I rode home in Jang Hayul’s car.
Back in my room, I collapsed onto my bed, feeling oddly drained.
As I lay there, yesterday’s embarrassing events played in my mind.
Heat rushed to my face.
I shot up, stormed into the living room, and began pummeling a cushion to vent my frustration.
Finally, I calmed down and flopped back into bed.
“Oh, right. I forgot to check my skills.”
Suddenly, it came to mind.
After resolving the dungeon break and escaping that strange smoke, I received a notification that my skill ranks had increased.
But since I had been sticking close to Baek Gunho afterward, I hadn’t gotten a chance to check it again.
Still lying down, I opened the system window.
[Name: Seo Heewon
Rank: S
Traits: Villain’s Qualities (EX)(EX), Unbloomed (S), Tamer (B)
Skills: Telekinesis (S), Stronghold Building (S), Sage’s Eye (B) ]
“Huh.”
I had noticed the rank increase for [Stronghold Building], but there was another change.
Previously, [Unbloomed] was an SS-ranked trait, but it had dropped by one level.
While it seemed good since it was a trait that only spelled trouble, I wasn’t entirely sure.
[Unbloomed (S): What good is a precious treasure if it cannot be properly used? Due to penalties for resisting fate, you cannot utilize all of your abilities.]
So, this penalty was basically a petty punishment for deciding not to be a bad guy.
If the rank went down, it meant my penalty had weakened.
Could this indicate that I was resisting fate less than before?
Wait, could it mean I was becoming more like a villain?
What had I done?
If anything, I’d been diligently capturing Shin Chaeyoung and stopping dungeon breaks—living a proper and upstanding life.
No way.
Even so, the unease lingered. I glared at the trait description and shook my head.
Forget it.
Even the EX-ranked trait hasn’t manifested because I’ve kept it under control.
As long as I stay on track, everything will be fine.
Shaking off the unsettling thoughts, I turned to my initial goal—checking [Stronghold Building].
[Stronghold Building (S): Allows you to place tamed entities into the shadows and nurture them. Enables the identification of entities’ information. Entities hidden within the shadows are completely concealed.]
The ability to identify entities meant I could now find out about those mysterious ones. Quite useful.
As I examined the skill, the ranks of the monsters within the shadows appeared.
“Huh?”
[Owned Monsters: Dust (S), Yeon (S), Noeul (S) ]
The ranks of the creatures hidden in my shadows were all absurdly high.
They were certainly peculiar beings with unique abilities, but to think their ranks were this high…
Even in our country, which has a relatively high proportion of S-ranks, there are only six S-ranked individuals.
And half that number was sitting in my shadows.
With a B-ranked Tamer trait, how on earth did I manage to capture these S-ranked entities?
I couldn’t figure it out.
Sitting up abruptly, I stared into the shadows.
“You lot, come out.”
Dust immediately darted out and rubbed its head against my knee.
A creature I had assumed was F-rank turned out to be S-rank.
Thanks to [Sage’s Eye], which allowed me to identify ranks, it was rare for me to mistake someone else’s rank.
“…Heewon-ah. You called?”
“Heewon-ah! Heewon-ah!”
“Myak.”
They looked like creatures that could only mimic speech, but seemed otherwise dim-witted.
“You’re Dust, you’re Yeon, and you’re Noeul, right?”
I pointed at the cat, the snake, and the bird in turn.
The bird flapped its wings excitedly in response.
“Call me Noeul! I’m Heewon’s Noeul!”
“I… like being called Yeon too…”
“Myaaang.”
They were thrilled. I was not.
“Alright, Yeon and Noeul.”
“Yay! I’m so happy!”
“Me too… happy…”
Happy, huh?
I was distressed.
Who wouldn’t be, realizing they had unknowingly been raising three S-ranked monsters?
If anyone found out, I’d instantly be labeled a dangerous person.
First, I decided to check their information.
[Name: Dust
Rank: S
Trait: Mystique (S)
Skills: Miniaturization (S), Fog Form (S), Voracity (S) ]
[Name: Yeon
Rank: S
Trait: Deadly Poison (S), Immunity to All Poisons (S)
Skills: Miniaturization (S), Detoxification (S) ]
[Name: Noeul
Rank: S
Trait: Pecking (S)
Skills: Miniaturization (S), Sharing (S), Head Concealment (S) ]
“Impressive, huh?”
My system window was filled to the brim with S-ranks. Even more skills than I had.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had these skills?”
“Because you… didn’t ask…”
“…Fair point. But if you can talk, couldn’t you just have mentioned it?”
I clicked through their skills, checking them one by one.
Pecking (S): Pecks at desired targets. Can nullify status effects by consuming them. Ineffective against status effects of higher or equal rank with magical resistance.
Sharing (S): Shares one sensory perception—sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch—with another.
Head Concealment (S): Hides its head to obscure its presence. Undetectable by entities of lower rank.
[Pecking] was likely the skill used to save Na Hongju before, though I didn’t need it right now.
The ones that caught my attention were [Sharing] and [Head Concealment]. These were perfect for surveillance.
* * *
