Chapter 22
Upon arriving home, Master said he was tired and suggested taking a short nap before entering the Tower. Then, he went into his room.
“N-Nika.”
【Did you call?】
Nika passed through the door and appeared in the living room, looking at me. She was intimidating, but I had to say what needed to be said.
“There was a human who saw Master’s face. I think we should take care of him. Instead of killing him outright, how about turning him into one of Master’s minions and using him? For that, I’ll need your power.”
【Alright!】
At her agreement, prompted by the mention of doing it for Master, I let out a sigh of relief. I retrieved a staff from subspace and activated the tracking spell I had cast earlier. He wasn’t far away.
“Please follow me.”
【Okay!】
Min Su-han… No, that man tricked me.
I never thought he’d use another hunter’s name. If I hadn’t double-checked, I might have captured an innocent person.
…Well, I already did.
I was feeling a headache from the reports that the captured Awakener had already been beaten up. As I sifted through the Association’s database to find the man’s face, I had searched up to C-rank without success.
I thought, “Could he really be D-rank?” and checked just in case.
“…Found him.”
“What? Where? Is it this guy?”
The name was Han Ji-an, a D-rank hunter with an unusual detail—he had four initial skills. Two were sealed, and the remaining two were listed as E-rank.
“A fraudulent registrant.”
As my sister said, fraudulent registrants are hunters who hide their abilities to receive a lower rank.
I didn’t know how he managed to deceive the Association, but now that we knew his identity, he wouldn’t be able to escape.
“More importantly, he’s quite handsome. I can see why my little sister would fall for him at first sight.”
“I-I didn’t fall for him!”
“I can tell just by looking at your eyes.”
My sister gave me a wicked grin. Just as I was about to tell her to hurry up and catch him, a chilling sensation ran through me. My instincts screamed at me to run.
I shot to my feet, ready to flee with my sister, but the door of the vehicle we were in was ripped off, and a massive claw reached inside.
‘KRAAANG!’
If we hadn’t escaped through the window at that moment, we would’ve ended up like the shredded car.
“Well, we were going to come and get you, but you saved us the trouble by showing up yourself. Guess that spares us some effort?”
“Sister… shouldn’t we worry about our lives first?”
My sister tried to joke to overcome her fear. Supporting her, I kept my eyes on the red-haired beauty and the terrifying monster staring us down.
But who is that woman? And where is that man… Han Ji-an?
“Hey, where is Han Ji-an?!”
My sister asked what I was also wondering.
The air froze.
“How dare you speak Master’s name so carelessly….”
A magic circle began forming from the staff she held, and it was no ordinary one.
The circle expanded, glowing brightly, and the surrounding scenery changed.
A massive red moon hung in the sky, and the surroundings transformed into a chilling landscape. Was she using magic that manipulated space?
I had never seen magic like this before.
“Here, you may run wild to your heart’s content.”
【Really?】
The monster’s body began to melt slowly, leaving no form behind.
Simultaneously, something wriggled up from the ground, devouring the surroundings, as enormous eyes began to appear one by one.
All the eyes were fixed on us. My mind went blank.
I trembled as I turned to look at my sister. She was as frozen as I was.
We were paralyzed with fear, unable to do anything. Then, an ominous voice echoed.
【Let us become one.】
“AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
【Is this enough?】
“Yes! Thank you!”
I approached the fainted Awakeners, pulling out an old book from subspace. When I opened it, glowing letters emerged and entered their bodies.
Soon after, they opened their eyes—new slaves for Master.
“Keep everything about Master a secret. Begin seizing control of the Association from the inside. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
With their blank expressions, I gathered the information we needed.
As much as I wanted to tear them apart, Master wouldn’t approve of such behavior.
Instead, he would be pleased if I offered them to him whole.
Once we start taking control from the inside, it won’t take long.
“Wasn’t your name Cha Yuri?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll be the next head of the Association.”
“Understood.”
I watched them with a sly grin. With a snap of my fingers, their vacant gazes returned to normal.
“Make sure to keep this a secret.”
“······.”
“You need to answer.”
“Yes···.”
When was the last time I woke up feeling this refreshed?
As expected, people need exercise to stay healthy.
“Did you sleep well?”
【Mm-hmm!】
That response seemed odd.
“There’s no way my Nika would cause any trouble while I was asleep, but your voice sounds a bit strange. You didn’t do anything, right?”
【······.】
Without saying anything, Nika pretended to whistle, though no sound came out.
She looked so adorable that I couldn’t resist taking a picture of her with my phone. That’s when a chill ran down my spine.
“Wait a minute, why aren’t you answering?”
As I poked Nika’s cheeks repeatedly, interrogating her to ‘hurry and answer,’ there was a knock at the door, and Lillian walked in.
“Master, are you awake? I think we should head into the Tower before it gets too late, so I came to inform you.”
“Is it that time already? Let’s get going.”
For a moment, there was a strange exchange of glances between Nika and Lillian. Was it just my imagination?
As I shouted “Enter,” we were transported to the Tower.
【Do you wish to enter the 12th Floor?】
Accept / Decline
“Accept!”
【Entering the 12th Floor.】
───────────────
【12th Floor Mission: Defeat 50 Ice Golems!】
【Time Limit: Within 5 hours.】
【Restriction: Passive skills related to attributes are unavailable.】
【Restricted Equipment: Staff.】
【Restriction Rule: Oath of the Mage.】
───────────────
We were transported to a snowy field amidst a blizzard.
Due to the restrictions, Lillian looked dejected, calling herself a useless freeloader, but Nika came to her defense.
【That’s not true!】
“N-Nika…”
Lillian looked at Nika with a touched expression as Nika comforted her.
Judging by their behavior, they definitely did something while I was asleep. It’s 100% obvious.
But I had no evidence, only suspicion. Isn’t it better to let it go and keep things smooth?
It’s less awkward this way, after all.
“Alright, Nika, I’ll leave it to you.”
【Okay!】
As Nika was about to use her domain like before, a message appeared.
【Restriction Rule: Oath of the Mage.】
“…Nika, are you a mage too?”
【I’ve eaten a mage before, but I’m not a mage.】
“Wait, you ate what?!”
I looked at Nika with wide eyes, but before I could say anything else, the ground began to shake. We heard something approaching.
It was the kind of sound you’d hear in a disaster movie.
“A-An avalanche!”
“Master!”
【Master!】
Nika quickly enveloped me and Lillian in a protective barrier, shielding us from the avalanche.
Thanks to her, we managed to survive.
Could this situation get any worse?
Maybe we should just give up and retry in a week.
As the avalanche stopped, the black sphere protecting us disappeared, and Nika returned to her original form.
But something was off.
Nika’s form began to grow larger and larger. Was she always this big?
【Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!】
Nika, now as massive as a kaiju from a monster movie, swung her claws, and a message appeared.
───────────────
【20 Enemies Defeated.】
───────────────
With one strike, 20 Ice Golems were wiped out.
Nika didn’t stop, swinging her claws repeatedly, destroying more golems.
Even the golems we couldn’t see were being obliterated by her strikes.
───────────────
【30 Enemies Defeated.】
───────────────
───────────────
【40 Enemies Defeated.】
───────────────
───────────────
【50 Enemies Defeated.】
───────────────
【Mission Cleared!】
Rewards will now be distributed.
【New Record Achieved on the 12th Floor!】
You have been registered in the Hall of Fame.
【Would you like to move to the next floor?】
Accept / Decline
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