Chapter 4

A little while ago, Eiji had clearly seen a shining thread.

But the instructor had acted as though nothing had happened.

So it must have been a thread that ordinary people couldn’t see.

‘Since I’m an Awakened one, maybe it’s a thread that only Hunters can see?’

A perfectly logical three-step deduction!

Without realizing it, she puffed out her shoulders proudly.

Meanwhile, after hearing the word “Hunter,” the instructor glanced around nervously, bent down, and then…

“…Thank you for thinking I was someone amazing, but actually, I used this.”

He showed her a small switch in his right hand.

“It’s a mana stone battery switch. You know what a mana stone is, right?”

“Yes.”

A rare energy source that could only be obtained from dungeons.

Which meant…

“When you press the switch, it makes the hoop attract the ball. It’s a device that gives a little help to children who can’t score.”

It hadn’t been the power of a Hunter.

It had been the power of modern civilization.

‘I completely got the wrong idea!’

The instructor fidgeted and asked,

“How did you figure it out? Did you hear some kind of sound? This isn’t supposed to be discovered by the kids.”

Apparently, he couldn’t see the silver thread.

Eiji changed the subject. She didn’t want to tell just anyone that she had Awakened.

“Well… the ball was supposed to go thunk! at the end, but instead it went boing! into the hoop, so it felt strange.”

“You’ve got sharp eyes. It’s a secret from the other kids, okay?”

“…”

Eiji thought for a moment before nodding.

Helping someone pretend they scored was cheating.

It was wrong, but—

‘Adults have their own circumstances.’

“Okay, I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Thank you! In that case, here.”

The instructor held out a basket.

“Choose one prize from here.”

“…Only people who score are supposed to get prizes. I shouldn’t receive one.”

Adult circumstances were adult circumstances.

Eiji wasn’t going to make exceptions for her own.

“You helped me. I didn’t actually score the basket.”

“Hmm…”

“I learned that cheating is wrong.”

“All right! Then Eiji gets zero points.”

The instructor instantly hid the basket behind his back, spun it halfway around, and presented it again with his other hand.

“But you get plus one point for being honest.”

“Huh?”

“You could have quietly accepted the reward, but instead you admitted that something felt wrong.”

“Ah…”

“And you’ve learned at school that honest children receive rewards, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then pick one.”

“…Okay!”

She was glad she had spoken up after all!

With a cheerful heart, Eiji looked into the basket—

And nearly lost her smile.

‘So dull.’

The basket contained only black pens, pencils, and keychains. Every item was labeled in stiff white letters:

<Commemorative Gift from the Municipal Career Experience Center>

Perhaps noticing her disappointment, the instructor grumbled,

“Ugh, I keep telling them to replace these things that look like they came out of a government office drawer…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. If you don’t like anything there, you can choose from this one instead!”

The second basket he presented contained items that had absolutely nothing to do with the Career Experience Center.

Pokémon badges, hamburger-shaped erasers, lollipops, and more.

The level of colorfulness was completely different.

And Eiji immediately found a treasure.

‘A Bunny Princess sticker!’

One of the main heroines of her favorite anime ever, Hug Me☆Pink Me, was smiling up at her from the bottom of the basket.

‘And it’s the Home Planet Ballroom Dress version!’

It was a sticker she hadn’t been able to find even after visiting five different unmanned stationery stores!

The instructor smiled.

“Looks like you found something you like?”

“Yes! Um… I’ll take this.”

“Hm?”

What Eiji grabbed was a pen.

The instructor tilted his head.

“Really?”

“Yes. Thank you!”

She hurried off the basketball court.

She needed to get away from the sparkling eyes of the Rabbit Princess that seemed to be begging to be taken home.

‘I’m not here to play around.’

She had come today to seriously explore possible careers.

She wanted to learn about Hunters, but if it turned out she couldn’t become one, she needed to find another profession as quickly as possible.

‘Being a magical girl won’t help me buy a house.’

Think practical thoughts.

‘I’m good at parties. Basketball is difficult. And this time…’

The last activity remaining was the Scientist Experience.

A crowd of children had gathered in front of the Science Laboratory, apparently because the previous group’s session hadn’t finished yet.

Their teacher tried to regain the increasingly distracted children’s attention.

“Okay, okay, stop showing off your prizes—”

“I’m not showing off! This pencil is ugly!”

“You shouldn’t call a gift ugly! Anyway, in the science lab you’ll be conducting robot experiments using mana stone batteries.”

“Robots!”

The children’s eyes sparkled.

“What kind of robots?”

“Can we make Iron Man?”

“Can we take them home?”

Their expectations continued to grow.

The teacher missed the opportunity to temper them, and eventually the children even started theorizing that the entire building might transform into a robot.

Then—

The science lab door opened.

The teacher let out a sigh of relief.

“Everyone, please move to the sides so the students who finished their experiment can come out!”

The children obediently stepped aside.

However, the thing that emerged through the doorway was not one of the students.

“…Huh?”

It was something that even made the teachers freeze in confusion.

A person wrapped from head to toe in bandages, staggering as it walked.

It was about as tall as a sixth-grade girl.

With every step, its limbs—which seemed to have no wrists, ankles, or elbow joints—bent at bizarre angles before snapping back into place.

In the chilling silence, one child shouted:

“I think they did human experiments!”

“AAAAAH!”

The children scattered in panic.

Eiji wanted to run too.

But the wave of children fleeing in all directions was as dangerous as a tsunami to someone as small as her.

‘Where should I go?’

Just then, someone shouted from inside the science lab.

“Everyone outside, move into the hallway! We’ve already evacuated the students inside through the back door!”

A teacher called back,

“What’s happening? Is everything okay in there?”

“The mana stone battery has malfunctioned and— AAAAAH!”

At the center of the laboratory, a pillar of fire erupted from an experiment table.

The lab instructor seemed to be running away as well, his warning fading into the distance.

“Everyone get back! This is definitely a dungeon—”

But Eiji never heard the rest.

Brilliant white beams shot out from the flames in every direction.

Thud! Thud!

The sounds of impacts echoed through the room.

There was no time to dodge.

One of the beams struck Eiji’s head.

‘Aaaah!… Huh?’

It didn’t hurt.

In fact, it felt more like someone gently patting her head.

And then—

The world went dark.

Almost immediately, her body began bouncing upward, downward, and sideways.

It didn’t hurt.

It felt like riding a very long waterslide.

Then a sudden burst of light hit her eyes—

And once the glare finally faded, she saw a blue message floating before her.

You have entered a Dungeon.

“Uh…?”

A barren landscape spread before her.

Sand stretched across the ground beneath a blazing sun hanging directly overhead.

There was no way a desert existed in Korea.

Eiji had been caught up in the creation of a dungeon.

‘F-first, stay calm. We learned what to do in situations like this!’

Back in first grade, all the students had gathered in the auditorium and learned how to respond to emergencies.

If there’s a fire?

“Fire!” and run into the hallway while staying low!

If there’s an earthquake?

Hide under a desk!

If you’re caught in a dungeon manifestation?

Follow the nearest adult!

…

The pride she felt from diligently participating in safety drills vanished instantly.

Eiji looked around again.

Adults: none.

Children: none.

Conclusion:

‘I can’t do what they taught me.’

The bigger problem was that there was something present.

Something that was neither adult nor child.

In the desolate landscape of rocks, sand, and dead trees, the bandaged monster from the experience center was moving alone.

“Uhhh… ahhh…”

The creature slowly looked around.

It didn’t seem to have noticed Eiji.

‘First, hide.’

Being small was an advantage in times like this.

She found a suitable rock and crouched behind it.

At that moment, another message appeared before her eyes.

Clear Condition: Remove the Dungeon Boss’s Bandages

This was her first dungeon, but she could understand the meaning from context.

To leave the dungeon, she would have to complete the condition.

‘The dungeon boss… must be that monster, right?’

The bandaged creature moved painfully slowly.

But she couldn’t let her guard down.

‘Cockroaches crawl around slowly too, but the moment I spot one, it suddenly becomes super fast.’

Don’t move recklessly.

Hide here and think carefully.

But before Eiji could even settle down on the ground—

SPLAT!

Something fell nearby with a wet, heavy sound.