“So that smell—was it a side effect of the experiment too?”

Meiling jabbed her finger toward Jodie as she asked.

Kim Sangsik’s expression turned incredulous.

“No, not at all…”

“I just couldn’t wash, all right! That’s why!” Jodie suddenly barked.

“I’ve been hiding out, sleeping rough for days to avoid Forward’s trackers. What else was I supposed to do?!”

“Wait, doesn’t she live here with you, sir?” Seo Yui asked.

“No. I offered, but Jodie refused. She was afraid if Forward—or anyone else—found her here, I’d be in danger too. So she usually stays in the mountains on the outskirts of Seoul.”

“T-the mountains?” Lumina’s voice trembled.

“On weekends, I bring her supplies or make contact,” Kim explained.

“Then what exactly was the experiment she went through?” Seo Yui pressed.

“…They tried to turn ordinary people into Awakeners.”

At that, Lumina, Meiling, and Seo Yui all froze.

“That’s… possible?” Meiling muttered, disbelief etched across her face.

“It’s not,” Jodie said bitterly, staring down at her arm. “Awakeners are born, not made. But they fixated on the fact that both Awakeners and monsters operate by ‘levels.’ So they started grafting monster parts onto humans. Not even experiments—just butchery. Forcing monster limbs onto people. This—” She raised her grotesquely large right arm. “—is the result.”

“I never became an Awakener. My body’s stronger than most Hunters, sure, but I can’t open Skill Slots, I have no abilities, and I can’t even see the Status screen Awakeners do. And there were side effects.”

“Side effects?” Meiling asked.

“When my excitement spikes, I lose myself. In battle, when being hunted, whenever I’m cornered—I stop thinking like a human. I become like a monster, with only one instinct: kill, no matter who’s in front of me.”

That explained why she’d attacked us at Gwangcheon’s gates.

“And worst of all…” Jodie’s voice dropped. “I can never go back. I’ll live with these monstrous limbs for the rest of my life.”

The room sank into heavy silence.

“If Forward really is doing this sort of thing…” Lumina whispered, “shouldn’t we report it? Wouldn’t the city punish them?”

“That won’t solve anything,” Jodie snapped.

“They’d just cut off a tail and walk away clean. I’m going to kill every last bastard tied to those experiments, and I’ll crush Forward itself.”

Her teeth ground audibly, fury leaking into the room.

“And even Mayor Chun Jiwon can’t truly punish Forward,” Kim Sangsik added grimly.

“Forward, along with Crystal, is indispensable not only to Seoul but to every city left in the world. The technology to extract usable energy from mana-stones exists only in Forward’s hands.”

He pointed up at the ceiling lights.

“If Forward refused, Seoul would fall into darkness overnight. Cars would stall without fuel. Emergency rooms, fire stations—every vital facility would collapse.”

Exactly as in Latesai’s setting.

Since the War of Human Demon, nearly all human energy came from mana-stones, and Forward monopolized the technology.

Earth had become a corporate world—on the verge of being a corporate planet.

Crystal’s continued research into mana-stones, and its dominance in fields beyond energy, was the only thing keeping Forward in check.

“You said you were being chased by Forward,” I turned to Jodie. “Could you explain exactly what happened?”

She tucked her arm beneath the blanket and nodded.

“From Valhall’s records, I traced the supply route for their drugs. Then I dug up the identity of a Forward employee tied to it. I captured him, intending to interrogate him.”

“I-interrogate…” Lumina’s face went pale at the word.

“But he never talked. He had something up his sleeve—a tracker. Forward’s hired Hunters came for me. I had no choice but to run. I hadn’t planned on coming to Sangsik, but…”

Likely her reason evaporated when panic and frenzy overtook her. That’s how she’d stumbled to Gwangcheon instead of here.

“So it was a trap,” Meiling muttered.

“Or,” I said, “perhaps all personnel tied to such projects are forced to carry trackers at all times.”

Jodie’s eyes lit with realization.

“Then if I capture more of them and check for trackers, I could pinpoint exactly who’s involved—”

Idiot. That’d only leave more witnesses.

But before I could say so, Kim Sangsik cut in.

“This is why you children should forget all of this.”

“What? Why? They just offered to help!” Jodie snapped, frustrated.

“For the same reason you won’t live in my house,” he said firmly.

Her lips sealed shut at that.

“As a teacher—even if not a good one—I can’t drag you into this. You should focus on graduating, on earning your Hunter license.”

“But won’t Jodie be in danger if we do nothing?” I countered.

Kim Sangsik faltered, unable to answer.

“If Forward tracked her, they already know her face, her features. They’ve identified her.”

“…We knew the risks when we chose this path,” he said at last. “Both Jodie and I.”

“I can help.”

Both he and Jodie whipped their eyes toward me.

“Really?”

“Yes. With a certain demonic artifact I know of, we can hide Jodie’s trail completely. She could even live here safely without fear of Forward’s pursuit.”

I spoke with confidence.

“But it’s not an easy item to come by—we’ll need to enter a dungeon. Whether it takes a day or two depends on luck. In the meantime, please protect her.”

“No, you—”

“Sir.”

Seo Yui’s quiet voice cut him off.

“I owe my freedom from Valhall to Jodie. I want to repay that.”

“M-me too,” Lumina added.

“I want to help Jodie, even just a little.”

Jodie’s eyes flicked to Lumina, startled.

“……”

Kim Sangsik hesitated, torn.

“Turning away and pretending we never saw this… isn’t that wrong too?” I pressed.

At length, he exhaled. “…Fine. But only this once. Afterward, promise me you won’t involve yourselves again.”

We all nodded. Well—except Meiling. Arms crossed, she looked away, lips twisted.

Kim Sangsik drove us back near Gwangcheon.

“Once I have the artifact, I’ll contact you,” I said.

“…I’m sorry,” he murmured, ashamed, before driving off.

“Yein. There’s something I don’t get,” Seo Yui said.

“What’s that, senior?”

“Monsters disintegrate into ash when they die. So how did Forward even transplant monster limbs into Jodie?”

“They must’ve taken them while the monster was alive,” I said.

“Which means Forward bribed the checkpoints,” Meiling muttered.

I nodded. “But why the limbs remained intact even after the transplant—that’s still unknown. Forcing monster parts onto humans shouldn’t even be possible.”

I knew the answer, of course—but for now, I played dumb.

“…It’s terrifying,” Lumina whispered. “If that ever happened to me…”

No one spoke.

“…It’s late. Let’s turn in and meet again tomorrow morning,” I said at last.

It was nearing eleven.

We split at the crossroads, and I walked alone toward the male dorms, turning over plans for tomorrow in my head.

I didn’t plan for this, but I’ll make it work. Jodie’s one of the keys for when we eventually take on Forward.

The dungeon I had in mind would also be perfect for boosting Lumina’s strength. In a way, it was lucky this happened after she came back.

The next morning, we headed out early.

Our destination was the Doll’s House, an independent-type dungeon in Dongdaemun District.

“For today, we’re going straight to the 4th floor,” I said, stopping before a vast manor that looked lifted out of the early modern period.

“The demonic artifact that could help Jodie drops—rarely—from the boss on the 4th floor. So we’ll be doing boss runs.”

I took out my inventory.

“To speed things up, I brought new gear. I’ll hand it out as soon as we’re inside. Yes, I made yours too.”

Meiling looked ready to gripe, so I cut her off first.

“…Hmph.” Her expression eased.

The instant we stepped through the front doors, the world changed.

“Wow,” Lumina breathed.

A wide hall stretched out beneath a massive chandelier. Rich carpets covered the floor. Ahead, a broad staircase split left and right toward the second floor.

It was the picture of a grand mansion from a painting.

“Is this really a dungeon?” Meiling asked, frowning.

“The Doll’s House always has the same layout,” I said, glancing up at the second floor. “There are sixteen rooms total. Each room has monsters, and four of them—chosen at random—contain pieces of a painting. We gather those pieces and slot them in there.”

I pointed toward the landing wall. An empty, oversized frame hung there.

“Do that, and a door to the boss room appears. Clear the boss, and we move on to the next floor.”

“That’s so cool. It’s just like a game,” Lumina murmured.

I winced inwardly.

“If the rooms are random, do we have to check all of them? What a pain,” Meiling said.

“No need to worry. I’ll give you the trick.”

She looked puzzled.

“First, gear.” I handed out the equipment I’d finished late last night.

After a grind, my Craft level finally hit 8—I can now make items from level 41 to 50.

The new rare gear I passed around averaged level 44.

The loadouts hadn’t changed: heavy armor, spear, and shield for Seo Yui; robes and a staff for Meiling; and light armor with twin daggers for Lumina. The difference was in the tuning—especially for Lumina’s set. I’d built it with boss runs in mind.

Once everyone had suited up, I laid out the plan.

“Rooms with painting pieces have a cross-shaped keyhole instead of a straight slot. Check the keyhole first. That saves time.”

“As expected, you know everything about dungeons and monsters,” Lumina said, eyes shining.

“If we don’t have to enter every room, we’ll run into fewer monsters. Safer that way too,” Seo Yui agreed.

Latesai always leaves tells on the required path. Back in the day, I used to enjoy hunting for those marks in brand-new dungeons.

“Let’s split the search,” I said. “Use the hall as our center point: first-floor left and right, second-floor left and right—four sectors. Grab your piece and rendezvous at the frame.”

Efficiency over everything on a boss run.

“Move out.”

We scattered to our zones.

On the second-floor right wing, I found a cross keyhole on the innermost door.

I loaded a spiked bomb in my sling, cracked the door, tossed the bomb, and shut it again.

Boom!

Something thudded into the door from inside. When I opened it, broken dolls littered the floor and a puzzle piece hovered over the center rug.

Normally the dolls are the floor’s monsters—flying, swarming, and pecking you to death. With my current bombs, this trick would work up to the 3rd floor.

On 3F I’ll probably need to throw three at once.

I grabbed the piece and headed back to the landing.

A moment later, the others arrived almost at the same time, each holding a piece.

I raised mine to the frame. It floated from my hand and clicked into the upper-right corner. The others followed suit.

The image resolved into a girl holding a doll before a mirror.

As the picture completed, a portal bloomed above the landing.

“The boss is through there, right?” Seo Yui asked.

“Right. Let’s go.”

We stepped through together.

“What the…?” Meiling’s brow creased. “Isn’t this the same hall we were just in?”

“H-huh? Did we mess up?” Lumina tilted her head.

“Look closely. Left and right are reversed,” I said, pointing ahead.

“Oh!”

“You’re right.”

Then a huge mirror formed in the center of the hall and flashed.

When the light faded and the mirror vanished, three figures stood where it had been—perfect copies of us.

(End of Chapter)

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