Chapter 5

At first, she thought something had fallen.

But then she heard—

“Ugh…!”

A faint cry of pain.

‘A person!’

Fortunately, it came from a place a little away from the bandage monster.

Following the sound, stumbling across the uneven ground, Easy finally spotted a boy leaning against a rock.

It was Junseo.

“Gang Junseo… are you okay? Did you hurt your leg?”

Maybe he had been injured when he fell into the dungeon. Junseo was clutching his ankle and groaning.

At Easy’s voice, he turned his head.

“You… you’re in our class, um… Shin-i… Shin-i… Moon?”

“Shinimun is a subway station. I’m Shin Easy!”

“Where… is this?”

“A dungeon.”

“Really?”

Looking unconvinced, Junseo forced himself to stand—

“Ghk…!”

But the pain in his ankle made him collapse again after only a few seconds.

Easy wanted to examine his injury, but there wasn’t time.

Something had started approaching.

Swish… swish…

The sound of dragging bandages.

The rhythmic squelch of something hitting the ground.

The bandage monster was coming closer.

Junseo seemed to realize it too.

“We have to run! Shin—”

“Easy.”

“Ahem, Shin Easy. Hurry and go.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll go too. Just go first.”

Junseo spoke firmly.

Easy followed his words and took a few steps by herself…

Then suddenly whipped her head around.

Instead of following, Junseo was still gripping his ankle and struggling to breathe.

Startled, he looked up.

“W-Why?”

Without answering, Easy grabbed his arm.

She knew how to help an injured person walk.

‘I saw it in Hug Me .’

Junseo seemed to realize what she was trying to do.

“You don’t have to!”

“Lean on me already!”

He tried to pull away, but the increasingly closer shrrk, shrrk sounds finally overcame his resistance.

Eventually, he leaned his weight onto her.

“I seriously… seriously never owe anyone favors.”

“Let’s just walk!”

“…Sorry.”

Junseo clenched his teeth.

“The rescue team will probably come soon.”

At first, they managed to walk together.

But the surrounding terrain was soft sand and dirt that swallowed their feet with every step.

Their pace gradually slowed.

Meanwhile, the footsteps behind them remained annoyingly steady.

‘This is hard…’

Could they really keep running until rescuers arrived?

From the blazing sun overhead to the scorching sand below, it felt as if the entire world was pressing down on them.

The moment Easy took a deep breath—

The weight on her shoulder disappeared.

Junseo had stopped.

“Huh…? Gang Junseo?”

“Go… ahead, Shin Easy.”

“What do you mean go ahead? You can’t even walk by yourself!”

“It’s better than both of us getting caught.”

Easy tugged at his sleeve, but Junseo didn’t budge.

The bandage monster was getting closer and closer.

Then suddenly, a backup plan flashed through her mind.

“Junseo! Is there some way to take its bandages off?”

“What bandages?”

“Huh? Didn’t you see the clear condition?”

“What’s that?”

Judging by the confused look on his face, the clear condition must only be visible to awakened people.

Junseo didn’t hesitate any longer.

“Just… go by yourself!”

He shoved Easy with all his strength.

As she nearly fell onto her backside, she saw the bandage monster now only a short distance from him.

Meanwhile, Junseo scooped up a handful of sand.

Apparently, he intended to throw it at the monster.

‘He’s brave.’

Even now, Easy’s hands were trembling.

But she had no intention of simply admiring his courage.

The Bunny Princess always said—

“You must never abandon your companions and run away!”

Just before Junseo threw the sand, Easy dashed in front of him.

Throwing sand would be useless anyway.

‘You’re supposed to throw it in its eyes or mouth.’

Its face was completely wrapped in bandages.

At best it might blink.

More likely, it would just get angry.

Not that she had any better plan—

‘I’m a Hunter!’

Even if her rank was only an example rank.

Even if she had no trait.

‘This dungeon showed me the clear condition. That means I have to act like a Hunter too!’

“W-What? Shin Easy, move!”

“Uwaaah…!”

The bandage monster’s hand shot forward.

Easy raised her backpack like a shield.

Its zipper must have been open, because everything inside spilled out.

‘Is there anything useful in ther—?’

But before she could finish the thought—

Everything suddenly stopped.

The tissues from her bag.

Her tumbler.

Her cupcake.

All floated motionlessly in the air.

The monster’s approaching hand froze as well.

When she turned her head, even Junseo was unable to blink.

Within this strange space-time where only she could move—

A mysterious voice spoke.

[Here stands one as fragile as a blank page, yet possessing limitless potential.]

“Uh…? W-Who are you?”

[Do not be alarmed.]

An unreasonable request.

Before Easy’s eyes—

A bundle of yellowed paper appeared, fluttering as though someone had torn a dozen pages from an ancient book.

“Huhhh…?”

At first she thought she was hallucinating.

When she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, the bundle of paper had somehow crumpled itself into the shape of a human face.

A strange voice emerged, like someone speaking through a voice changer on a crime show.

[You are… Shin Easy, correct?]

“W-W-Who are you?”

[I am the archivist of the Infinite Repository, accessible only to finite beings. I manifested here after sensing one destined to carve an eternal ripple upon humanity’s current.]

…She understood barely half of that.

The pride of an honor student who excelled at dictation suffered a serious blow.

Perhaps noticing her confusion, the paper bundle switched to much simpler language.

[Fragile child. Do you desire power worthy of your sense of responsibility?]

“Huh?”

[You have been chosen for the fate of an Awakened One—a so-called Hunter—yet you have not bloomed.]

Easy’s mouth dropped open.

“How do you know that?”

[As I said before, I am the archivist of the Infinite—ah, never mind. A watcher of the world. I sensed one with potential and came here.]

That was much easier to understand.

Making a mental note to study Korean harder, Easy asked,

“Did you come from the System?”

The System.

The rule said to have created dungeons and Awakened beings.

The paper rustled.

It sounded suspiciously like laughter.

[The System? Ha! The Awakening System is merely one object of observation. Like the Industrial Revolution or a World War.]

“……”

[Though it surely means much to you, youngest Awakened in the world. And… to me, who found you.]

That last sentence struck a chord in her heart.

It felt exactly like the mysterious encounter from the first episode of a magical girl anime.

Yet Easy couldn’t simply rejoice.

“You really came looking for me? I don’t even have a trait…”

[The first part is true. The second is false. You do not lack a trait. You are a being capable of becoming anything.]

You can become anything.

Adults said those words all the time.

But…

They were words she secretly wanted to believe.

“Really? Then can I become something right now?”

[Of course. That is why I came. If you wish it.]

“Of course I do!”

Ever since she learned the meaning of “future dream,” Easy had wanted an amazing profession.

So her older sister, who had struggled to raise her alone, wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.

Should she become a judge?

A lawyer?

A doctor?

Whatever it was, she’d study hard.

She’d be a model student.

But now that she was an Awakened One—

“Please make me a healing-type Hunter!”

She had learned it while searching about Hunters the night before.

Healing Hunters were incredibly rare and could earn lots of money even at low ranks.

A wonderful future already unfolded before her eyes.

The Great Healer Shin Easy.

Treating a president suffering from heart disease, cancer, and a concussion.

Winning the Nobel Peace Prize—

Then a firm voice interrupted her daydream.

[No.]

“Huh? I-I can’t?”

[Because I do not think that is truly what you desire.]

The paper bundle touched the corner of one page against Easy’s forehead.

The letters written on the yellowed paper danced and rearranged themselves into the name:

Shin Easy.

[You are a diligent and kind child.]

“……”

[You have worked very hard. And… you are already trying to give something up.]

“Give up? …Ah.”

The words on the page changed.

[Can I become anything?]

An ordinary sentence.

But the sentence that followed—

[No. We will become everything!]

It was what Bunny Princess from Clover Star said when turning the protagonist of Hug Me☆Pink Me into a magical girl.

[A sentence engraved upon your heart. A sentence you love.]

“Bunny Princess…”

[Shin Easy. What is it that you truly love?]

“I…”

[Did you really want to become a healer? A lawyer? An influencer?]

Easy opened her mouth.

Then shouted with all her heart.

“I want to become anything, anytime!”

Just like the magical girls who transformed into whatever was needed to overcome challenges, yet never stopped dreaming.

Above her heartfelt cry—

The laughter of countless pages echoed together.

[Then I shall help your heart bloom!]

The surroundings gradually grew brighter.

A pleasant breeze wrapped around her body.

Flower petals from an unknown season swirled through the air.

And then…

Color slowly returned to the world that had turned completely white.

The first thing she saw was the contents of her backpack finally falling from the air.

The next was the bandage monster, still slowly reaching forward.

And beside it, Junseo staring with his mouth hanging open.

The floating paper bundle had vanished without a trace.

‘Did I imagine all of that?’

Apparently not.

Junseo raised a trembling hand and said,

“S-Shin Easy? W-What is that?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Your clothes changed!”

At his words, Easy looked down at herself.

The hoodie and cargo shorts she had been wearing were gone.

In their place were rolled-up shorts and a fluttering sky-blue dress.

The countless frills decorating the hem shimmered softly, as though woven with silver thread.

Just like the dress Bunny Princess wore when she attended the ball on her home planet.

‘No way…’

‘Status Window!’