[ Pretending to Be Weak Right Now ]
Bang!
A loud noise slammed into my ears, waking me from a deep sleep. It was probably the sound of a door being opened. Or maybe it had been broken down.
Then, Weakling’s Instinct sent a sharp warning. Was it because the effect had quadrupled? I could even sense the grade and affinity of the person approaching.
The one coming towards me had S-grade stats with SS-grade skills, and their primary attack affinity was fire.
Yuhyun.
And with him, Yerim and Kim Seonghan were also present.
As Yuhyun got closer, Weakling’s Instinct kicked in harder. It felt like it was whining right in my ear, asking why I wasn’t running yet. At the same time, Fear Resistance was calming me down, saying, “It’s fine, there’s nothing to worry about.”
On one side: “This guy is terrifying, I’m going to die!”
On the other: “It’s just S-grade, don’t be scared!”
Of course, the latter won. That’s an L-grade skill for you.
‘Is this how it’s going to be every time I run into A-grade or higher for the next week? What a hassle.’
Can I even turn off this intuition skill? Still, it’s probably better to keep it on, considering it’s good for hiding my current state. Plus, it lets me sense A-grade or higher approaching quickly.
Screeeech.
I heard the sound of metal bars being bent. Then, the sound of them snapping with a loud crack.
Maybe I should pretend to wake up now. Peace was too quiet, so if I woke up first, it might seem odd. But if it’s that annoyingly sharp brother of mine, he’d probably notice I’m faking it anyway.
I’ll just pretend I didn’t take enough sedatives.
“…Hyung.”
A heavy, low voice reached my ears.
Alright, I guess I should act surprised now? Being startled because someone suddenly approached, then being even more shocked and relieved to hear my brother’s voice—sounds like the safest reaction.
I slowly turned my head to the side, cracking my eyes open just a little, still trying to show a hint of fear.
My eyes landed on my brother looking down at me. This is where I should smile with relief, right? Still a bit groggy, but with some warmth and welcome.
…Man, this is harder than I thought.
“…Yuhyun. Is that really you…?”
“Yeah, hyung. Are you alright?”
“Uh… yeah.”
I’m a helpless, pitiful kidnap victim. I was suddenly kidnapped, dragged off to some unknown place, and locked up. And I’m just an F-grade who only awakened recently, having lived a completely normal life up until now.
Of course I’m terrified, scared out of my mind, and absolutely overjoyed that my little brother came to rescue me. It wouldn’t be strange if I started bawling my eyes out, but let’s not overdo it.
Whew, thank God. I put on an appropriately relieved expression and gently scooped up the now slightly stirring Peace. Then, as I tried to get up—
“Ouch.”
“Hyung?”
I forgot I hurt my ankle.
Yuhyun’s relaxed face immediately hardened. And it wasn’t just him who reacted.
“What was that sound? Was that really your voice, Mister? Don’t tell me you’re hurt? What kind of bastard—!”
“Are you injured? How could they do this to someone as frail as you?! I’ll go get a healer right away.”
Yerim and Kim Seonghan’s voices joined in.
Then Yuhyun picked me up. Whoa, hold on. They just said they’re getting a healer.
‘I can’t exactly shove him away either…’
He’s definitely going to notice something like, ‘Hyung, your strength seems a bit higher than usual.’
“I mean, I can still walk, it’s not that bad…”
But I couldn’t exactly say, “Let go, get lost,” either. I’m supposed to be a traumatized kidnapping victim, terrified out of my mind. …How long do I have to keep this act up? Is it too soon to start behaving normally again? Maybe I should wait a bit longer.
“Who’s the bastard? Who’s the one who hurt you, Mister?”
Yerim clung tightly to Yuhyun as he carried me towards the door, her voice filled with anger. That guy’s already dead, though.
“…I don’t really remember.”
Maybe because I’d just woken up, but my memory was genuinely fuzzy. Not that it matters. No point in remembering a dead guy’s face. What was his name again? Kim something?
“Nothing at all? Not even his age or height—?”
“Hunter Park Yerim.”
Yuhyun spoke in a stern tone.
“You should ask that after he’s had time to recover.”
“Ah… sorry.”
Yerim hung her head, looking sheepish. Well, this is awkward. Can’t really say ‘It’s fine’ either.
Outside the door, I saw a healer that Kim Seonghan had brought. A Westerner, and judging by the skill grade, not from Haeyeon Guild. Maybe they were sent by another guild? An A-grade healer—probably from Sesung? Or maybe Breaker? I don’t remember.
At the very least, I should get Haeyeon a healer at some point. Maybe I’ll take a trip around the country looking for one.
The healer fixed my ankle and removed the sedative from Peace. But my brother still wouldn’t put me down. An A-grade healer could fix not just sprains but even fractures in an instant, so could you just put me down already?
“I’m fine now, you can—”
“I’ll take hyung home myself. Park Yerim, you’ll investigate the area. I trust you know what to be cautious about.”
“Yes. I’ll handle everything thoroughly.”
He’s probably telling her to use White Corpse. The warning was probably not to expose her skill. I had hoped Yerim wouldn’t use that skill for a while longer, but it was too useful to just keep shelved.
In the end, I didn’t set foot on the ground again until I was placed in the back seat of the car. Peace curled up in my arms, whining softly, his ears and tail drooping, clearly still shaken.
“There, there. You must’ve been really scared. But it’s okay now.”
Even if he’s a dungeon boss monster, he’s still a baby.
Yuhyun got into the seat next to me as the car started moving. Come to think of it, where exactly are we? Outside of Seoul?
“Let’s go to the hospital first. You should get a full checkup while we’re at it.”
Yuhyun pulled out his phone as he spoke. Hey, why are you suddenly saying something so ridiculous? The healer already took care of everything!
“There’s nothing wrong with me besides my ankle.”
Well, there were probably a few bruises on my stomach. Some hair had been pulled out. My shoulder and back were sore from being thrown around… Okay, I took more of a beating than I thought. Guess I rolled around more than I realized.
“And right now, I just want to go home….”
I purposely spoke in a weak voice. There’s no way I’m going to a hospital. If I get a checkup now, it’s all over. My stats have definitely gone up, and even my durability has changed. The second they see a needle won’t pierce my skin, they’ll immediately know I’m not F-grade anymore.
“Can’t I just rest at home? I don’t want to deal with strangers today, and if I get tested, they’ll probably need to put me under anesthesia or something, and… I just don’t want to think about that kind of stuff for a while.”
Even without the trauma of being kidnapped, I really hate hospitals. At the very least, I need a week. Yuhyun, thankfully, put his phone back in his pocket.
“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Let’s go straight home. You’re really okay, right?”
“I’m fine.”
Phew, thank God. At least he won’t ask for a checkup anytime soon. Feeling relieved, I changed the subject.
“But you found me faster than I expected. That guy who kidnapped me was so confident that you wouldn’t notice until he’d crossed the sea.”
“The MKC guild leader gave me a tip.”
“The MKC guild leader? Were they involved?”
“Not directly. More like negligence on their part. The person who came for you wasn’t the one they were supposed to send. There were some issues with MKC’s internal communication system… I’ll tell you more later, but the person who took you was different from the others.”
That did make sense. They had a different rank, but more importantly, they had absolutely no interest in Monster Mounts.
“I just thought MKC was cutting corners. That guild’s a mess, huh?”
They were supposed to last another three years. At this rate, they might collapse sooner than they did in my previous life.
“It’ll be fine from now on. MKC will be out of the picture for a while, and other guild leaders have agreed to directly handle visitor information.”
“The guild leaders themselves? Aren’t they busy? Don’t they need to go into dungeons too?”
“There’s no other choice. As long as there’s a risk that the information could be altered midway, this is the safest method. Besides, none of the other three guilds have the same mismanagement issues as MKC, but it’s better to be cautious.”
I guess I don’t have to worry about my safety anymore. Then again, you can never be 100% sure. Nothing in life is perfect.
“Even with all that caution, there’s no guarantee a guild member won’t betray you.”
How could you ever truly know what’s in someone’s heart? At my comment, Yuhyun hesitated a little before speaking.
“Well, guild members are a bit different. If you’ve cleared high-level dungeons with your guild leader, betrayal is almost unheard of. It’s like… camaraderie, I guess.”
“Really?”
Camaraderie, huh. That didn’t exist in the lower-rank hunter teams I knew. Not that there weren’t good people, but they never lasted long.
There were fixed teams in the lower ranks, bound by trust and friendship, but those rarely lasted. The closer the members were, the harder it was for them to stay together after losing one. Even if they didn’t fall apart, other hunters, envious of their success, often attacked them from the outside.
But if a high-level dungeon raid team managed to avoid such tragedies, it made sense that a strong camaraderie would form and endure.
‘Still, trusting something like camaraderie and thinking betrayal will never happen… He’s young, after all.’
Is it really okay to think that way, Haeyeon Guild Leader? Even though I know Yuhyun’s future is bright, it makes me worry a bit. After all, MKC ended up with a flaw because of me, so there’s always a chance something else could change.
“Hyung, are you really sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Why?”
“Well, um… you seem a little different from usual.”
His meaningful words made my heart skip a beat. Did he notice my stat changes? But I’d been lying low this whole time. However, his next words were completely unexpected.
“There’s this… faint reptilian scent….”
“…What?”
“I’m not saying you smell, but… did you get hit by a curse or poison?”
This kid is annoyingly sharp. Is he sensing the skill I got from Gamdung? Using Lizard on the Wall subtly, I shook my head.
“If I’d been cursed, I would’ve noticed first. And the healer didn’t say anything either.”
“A healer can’t always detect curses, only poisons. Just in case, here.”
He took off the bracelet on his wrist and pulled my hand towards him to put it on. No, that’s really not necessary. Then he leaned in, practically pressing his nose to my hand, sniffing again.
“The smell’s definitely weaker now.”
“…Is that so.”
Guess Lizard on the Wall is doing its job. Being around S-grade is such a hassle.
“Can S-grades sense things like that?”
I carefully pulled my hand away, trying not to use any strength.
“If a skill was used recently, I can pick up a trace of it. The scent I’m getting from you is faint, so I’d say you have the skill rather than having been hit by it. But I’m not entirely sure.”
Wow, can you really sense that much? That’s ridiculous. I’ll have to be even more careful. Though, if I had other skills, why isn’t he picking up on those?
‘If he had, he’d have already interrogated me.’
Looks like the only skill he noticed was the one from Gamdung. Must be that his senses only pick up on attack-type skills, and maybe only specific elements.
“Here, take it back. If I were really cursed, I’d be freaking out by now.”
I took off the bracelet and held it out. You don’t know it, but I have L-grade curse resistance. Keep your protective trinket for yourself.
“I guess they took all your curse-resistance and detox items too. I’ll get you something better soon.”
Yuhyun said, accepting the bracelet. Hmm, I actually didn’t lose anything because I wasn’t wearing them. Maybe I’ll just pretend I lost them and give them to Myungwoo instead. Speaking of which, Myungwoo’s probably worried about me too.
“I need magic-boosting equipment more than that. They took my earrings.”
I’m fine on magic for now, but it’ll be bottomed out again in a week.
“All I’ve got on me right now is a percentage booster. Do you want that?”
“I’m not in a rush since I don’t need to use any skills right now.”
It’s kind of embarrassing that my little brother keeps trying to take care of me. Sure, on paper, I’m entitled to rely on him since we’re family, but I’d rather exploit other guilds for resources. MKC in particular—they owe me big time.
By the time we arrived at Haeyeon Guild, it was already dark.
“It’s safer at home than in the dormitory.”
Yuhyun said as he pressed the elevator button. Sure, it’s safer, but I have this feeling that if I went home now, I wouldn’t be able to leave for a while.
“It’s fine. You’ll need to head back right away anyway. I’d rather be around other people, even if they’re F-grade. It’s better than being alone.”
“I don’t have to go right away—”
“Just go, Guild Leader. I can handle it from here.”
“Still…”
“You need to catch whoever’s behind this as soon as possible. I won’t be able to relax until this is all resolved.”
Maybe I overplayed the weak act. Just get going and finish your work already.
Even though I insisted I was fine, Yuhyun still escorted me all the way to my dorm room before finally leaving. Hopefully, that’s the end of it, and he doesn’t start hovering over me more than before.
“Peace, we’re finally home.”
Let’s go to bed early tonight. Maybe I’ll let him sleep next to me for once.
I opened the door while gently petting Peace, who still looked completely drained of energy. Then I opened the inner door—
“…Yujin.”
Yu Myungwoo stood there, looking like the most heartbroken person in the world.
–TL Notes–
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