Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! Episode 005
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At first, she thought something had just fallen.
But then, she heard it—
“Argh…!”
A weak scream.
‘It’s a person!’
Fortunately, it was a little distance away from the Bandage Monster.
Following the scream, she scrambled over the uneven ground, nearly tripping, until she saw a boy leaning against a rock.
It was Junseo.
“Kang Junseo… are you okay? Did you hurt your leg?”
Had he been injured when he fell into the dungeon? Junseo was clutching his ankle and groaning.
At Iji’s voice, Junseo turned his gaze toward her.
“You, in my class, that… Shin I, Shin I… Moon?”
“Shin-imun is a subway station, I’m Shin Iji!”
“Where, where is this?”
“It’s a dungeon.”
“Really?”
As if he couldn’t believe it, Junseo forced his body up—
“Ugh…!”
Perhaps because of the pain in his ankle, he couldn’t hold on for more than a few seconds and slumped back down.
Iji tried to check his injury, but there was no time for that.
Something had started to approach.
*Swish, swish.* The sound of bandages dragging.
The sound of something squelchy hitting the ground rhythmically…
The Bandage Monster was closing in.
Junseo seemed to realize it too.
“You have to run! Shin I…”
“Ji.”
“Ahem, Shin Iji. Go quickly.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll go too. You go first.”
Junseo said firmly.
Iji took a few steps away just as he said, but then… she whipped her head around.
Junseo, who hadn’t even tried to follow and was just gasping for air while clutching his ankle, flinched in surprise.
“Why, why?”
Iji didn’t ask any further and pulled on Junseo’s arm.
She knew how to support an injured person.
‘I saw it in .’
Junseo seemed to realize what Iji was trying to do.
“You don’t have to do that!”
“Hurry, lean on me!”
Junseo tried to pull back, but he couldn’t overcome the *creak, creak* sound that was getting closer and closer, and eventually, he leaned his body against Iji.
“I really, really don’t like being a burden to anyone.”
“Let’s just walk for now!”
“…Sorry.”
Junseo gritted his teeth.
“The rescue team will be here soon.”
At first, it was manageable to walk together.
But the surroundings were sandy soil that made their feet sink deep with every step.
The two of them slowed down little by little.
On the other hand, the approaching footsteps were rhythmically relentless.
‘It’s so hard…’
Could they really keep running until the rescue team arrived?
From the scorching sun to the hot sand, everything in the world seemed to be cornering them.
The moment Iji took a deep breath.
Her shoulder felt lighter.
Junseo had stopped.
“Uh…? Kang Junseo?”
“Go, go first, Shin Iji.”
“Go first? You can’t even walk on your own!”
“It’s better than both of us getting caught.”
Iji pulled on Junseo’s sleeve, but Junseo didn’t budge.
The Bandage Monster was getting closer and closer…
Suddenly, a backup plan popped into Iji’s head.
“Junseo! Isn’t there a way to unwrap those bandages?”
“What bandages?”
“Huh? Didn’t you see the clear condition?”
“What’s that?”
Seeing his confused expression, it seemed the clear condition was only visible to the Awakened.
Junseo didn’t hesitate any longer.
“Just go alone!”
Junseo pushed Iji away with all his might. Iji, who almost fell on her bottom, saw the Bandage Monster, which had gotten close to Junseo in the blink of an eye.
In the midst of that, Junseo scraped up a handful of sand. He seemed to be planning to throw it at the monster.
‘He’s so brave.’
Even now, Iji’s hands were trembling…
But she didn’t want to just envy Junseo’s courage.
Bunny Princess always said:
‘You must never leave your friends behind!’
Just before Junseo could throw the handful of sand, Iji ran out in front of him.
Throwing sand wouldn’t be meaningful anyway.
‘You’re supposed to throw that in their eyes or mouth.’
With its face wrapped in bandages, would it even blink? It would probably just make it angrier.
She didn’t have a brilliant plan, but—
‘I am a Hunter!’
Even if she was an Unbloomed rank, even if she had no traits.
‘This dungeon showed me the clear condition. So, I have to act like a Hunter too!’
“W-wait? Shin Iji, move!”
“Ugh…!”
The Bandage Monster’s hand reached out. Iji raised her bag like a shield. Perhaps because the zipper was open, items spilled out from inside.
‘Is there anything useful in there…?’
But while she was thinking.
Suddenly, everything stopped.
The tissues, the tumbler, and the cupcake in her bag were all suspended in mid-air.
The monster’s hand that had been reaching out was the same.
Looking to the side, Junseo couldn’t even blink.
In a strange space-time where only she could move.
A mysterious voice was heard.
[Here, there is one who is as weak as a blank sheet of paper, yet possesses infinite potential.]
“Uh…? Wh-who are you?”
[Do not be afraid.]
That was an unreasonable request.
In front of Iji’s eyes.
A bundle of yellowish paper, as if torn from a dozen pages of an old book, fluttered and floated up.
“Huh…?”
At first, she thought she was seeing things.
She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, and the bundle of paper in front of her had even crumpled into the shape of a human face.
A strange voice flowed out, like someone whose voice had been modulated in a crime show.
[You are… Shin Iji. Is that correct?]
“Wh-wh-who are you?”
[I am the archivist of the infinite repository, where only the finite exists. I have manifested here to find the presence of one who will carve a permanent ripple upon the flow of humanity.]
…She didn’t understand even half of what that meant.
Her pride as a top-scoring student in dictation was wounded.
Perhaps noticing Iji’s bewilderment, the bundle of paper spoke in much easier terms.
[Fragile one. Do you desire power worthy of your sense of responsibility?]
“Yes?”
[You have been destined for the fate of an Awakened, a so-called ‘Hunter,’ but you have not yet bloomed.]
Iji’s jaw dropped.
“How did you know?”
[As I said before, I am the one who observes the infinite… ahem. The one who observes the world. I sensed the presence of someone with potential and came here.]
It was easier to understand than before.
Iji vowed to study Korean harder and asked the bundle of paper.
“Are you from the System?”
The System. She had heard it was the law that created dungeons and the Awakened.
The bundle of paper rustled. It sounded just like a sneer.
[The System? Ha! The awakening system is merely one of many things I observe. Like the Industrial Revolution or world wars.]
“…”
[But it must hold great meaning for you, the youngest Awakened in the world. And… for me, who found you.]
The last sentence tugged at her heart.
It felt just like a mysterious encounter in the first episode of a magical girl anime.
However, Iji couldn’t just be happy.
“Are you sure you came to find me? I don’t even have a trait…”
[The former is correct, and the latter is wrong. It is not that you lack a trait; it is that you are a being who can become anything.]
The words that you can become anything were common empty words adults often said.
But… words she wanted to believe in deep down.
“Really? Then can I become it right now?”
[Of course! I came to help with that. Provided, of course, that you wish for it.]
“Of course I want to!”
Ever since she learned the word ‘future dream,’ Iji had always wanted to have a great job.
So that her sister, who had suffered to raise Iji alone, wouldn’t have to struggle anymore.
Would a judge or a lawyer be good, or should she become a doctor? Whatever she becomes, she must study hard. She must be a model student.
But now that she was an Awakened—
“Please make me a healing-type Hunter!”
She had learned about Hunters when she searched online last night.
She heard that healing-type Hunters were incredibly valuable and could earn good money even if their rank was low.
A wonderful future was already appearing in her mind.
The great healer Shin Iji, curing the President of heart disease, cancer, and concussions to win the Nobel Peace Prize…
At that moment, a firm voice cut through her thoughts.
[No.]
“Yes? Oh, I can’t?”
[It seems that is not what you truly desire.]
The bundle of paper pressed the corner of its page against Iji’s forehead.
The letters written on the yellow paper danced and formed the words ‘Shin Iji.’
[You are a diligent and kind child.]
“…”
[You have put in a lot of effort all this time. And… you are already trying to give up on something.]
“Give up? …Ah.”
The letters on the paper changed.
[Can I become anything?]
A sentence that wasn’t particularly special.
But the sentence that followed it was—
[No. We will do everything!]
It was what the ‘Bunny Princess’ from Clover Star said when she turned the protagonist of into a magical girl.
[It is a sentence you love, engraved in your heart.]
“Bunny Princess…”
[Shin Iji. What is it that you truly love?]
“I…”
[Did you really want to be a healer, a lawyer, or an influencer?]
Iji opened her mouth. And with all her heart, she shouted.
“I want to become anything, at any time!”
Like the magical girls who transform into anything to solve crises, yet never stop dreaming.
Above her heartfelt shout.
The laughter of the paper bundle tangled and rang out.
[Your heart, I shall help it bloom!]
The surroundings began to brighten. A pleasant breeze wrapped around her body. Petals of unknown seasons fluttered together.
And…
After the world that had turned pure white was slowly overlaid with its original colors.
The first thing she saw was the contents of her bag falling one after another in mid-air.
The next thing she saw was the Bandage Monster still slowly reaching out its hand, and Junseo, who was standing beside it with his jaw dropped.
The bundle of paper that had been flying around on its own had vanished without a trace.
‘Did I see things?’
But it didn’t seem like she had. Junseo said, raising his trembling hand.
“Sh-Shin Iji? You, what is that?”
“Huh? Why, what?”
“Your clothes changed!”
At those words, Iji looked down at her body.
The hoodie and cargo shorts she had been wearing until a moment ago were gone, and in their place were roll-up shorts and a fluttering sky-blue dress.
The ruffles densely packed on the hem of the dress were glowing faintly, as if they had been woven with silver thread.
Just like the dress the Bunny Princess wore when she went to the ball on her home planet.
‘Could it be…? Status Window!’
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