EP.76 Level 8 - Tilted Playground (2)
"Trait Window"
Feminist (Lv8)
The happiness of women by you! Every time you make a woman happy, you gain trait experience points. When the trait levels up, new sub-traits unlock, and mana is strengthened.
What I'd just seen wasn't a mistake. And it meant that for me to reach level 8, this 'incident' had to happen.
I couldn't say anything to Gongju and just let out a deep sigh. According to her judgment, this incident couldn't be stopped unless I reached level 8.
Similar to how I needed level 7 to resolve the previous Velvelsay incident.
With trembling hands, I checked the newly unlocked sub-trait.
Tilted Playground (F)
Seals women's mana within a certain range.
"What the...?"
"Interfering with a level 10 hunter's mind at levels 8~9 is nearly impossible. A level 10 hunter's cost blocks low-level mental interference with ease."
To solve that, you either had to reach level 10 yourself, or reduce their cost to zero using non-mental interference abilities.
From that perspective, this Tilted Playground had perfect effects against targets who used mana as cost.
"It's a range ability, so you need to get close, but once you're close enough, you can seal their mana and slam them with traits."
"The culprit this time is Kang Ari, right?"
"Yes."
The mad dog Kang Ari. There wasn't a soul in Korea who didn't know her name.
She caused so much trouble that she didn't have a good image like Seo Eunha or Yoo Chaerin, but she still had tons of fans who loved her frenzied battles.
To be serious, she'd closed so many dungeons that on the surface, no matter how many incidents she caused, she qualified as a hero.
"Why the hell would someone like that...?"
"At first, I thought she was brainwashed by the Women's Rights Committee. But no."
She did supply the Women's Rights Committee with little girls. But that was purely because they helped her kidnap kids.
So in the end, it was a win-win for both.
"Even if men's rights are in the gutter, abortion aside, born kids have rights too. So to satisfy her pedophilia, she had no choice but to dip into the shadows."
"...A S-rank hunter doing it herself? That risky?"
"Seems her taste is group-touching and training the orphanage boys she lives with."
Basically, it was similar to the Velvelsay incident.
The difference was that the target wasn't some underground trash, but an S-rank hunter pretending to be a hero on the surface.
And the victims being children made it even more vile.
But honestly, that was bad enough—the real biggest problem was separate.
She was the one who kidnapped our kids.
That was the biggest fuel for my rage toward her.
No matter how empathetic a person is to others' suffering, the anger from an indirect incident and the fury from one happening right in front of you—tormenting us—were worlds apart.
"I should go kill her right now..."
"It's fine. We still have time. The selection process for boys is slow, like a game, with training stages. So they'll be safe for a while."
That's why even before rewinding time, we rescued them all unharmed.
At the start, they give the kids time to adjust without touching them.
At least that was some good news.
"Normally, you work hard to find the culprit and figure out it's Kang Ari. By then, there's enough time to rescue the boys, so knowing now means we can shift priorities."
"Shifting means there's something more urgent, right?"
Gongju nodded and pulled out some documents.
They were about Sinan-gun, now deserted due to dungeon breaks with no residents.
"Wasn't there a dungeon here ruled unsolvable?"
"Solved long ago. Now it's the Women's Rights Committee's production facility where I was."
I had no idea. They must've controlled info to keep everyone away.
So that's where it was...
"Normally, you get a hint about this place from Kang Ari, then go rescue the kidnapped girls..."
"Fuck."
Too late.
They needed awakeners, so they dosed the kids with lethal amounts of forced-awakening drugs while tormenting them. Non-awakeners died from the drugs.
Many orphanage girls died in the process.
So we had to hit the production facility before they started that.
"Normally, you make Kang Ari go in place of the girls?"
"Why would I be a girl?"
"I, uh, think you used Am I the Only One Uncomfortable?."
Then, when caught, you used brainwashed Kang Ari like a mercenary to close in, and finished with traits once close.
So we needed a cover to infiltrate and muscle if caught?
"Kang Ari doesn't manage everything herself anyway. Fool the underlings with traits, and we can do the same. And with me—the only one with S-rank combat—replacing her."
She'd anticipated this day; the plan flowed so smoothly it was ridiculous.
"But rescuing just the kids changes nothing."
"Nothing?"
"If the Sinan facility falls, the Women's Rights Committee will just build another."
That was definitely the biggest issue.
Of course we had to save the kids, but that alone didn't solve everything.
"Kids get priority on trait growth over deep brainwashing. So they're still reversible. But as they near adulthood, trait growth finishes, and brainwashing becomes the focus."
At this point originally, Gongju thought working for the Women's Rights Committee was natural due to brainwashing. She tried to stop my raid on the facility and became my slave.
...Didn't she say I saved her?
From that alone, it sounded like I looted her as spoils.
"The facility limits sexual info to build master-subordinate bonds later. To break brainwashing fast, use traits for sexual training."
"They know nothing, so they fall faster."
"Turning them all into your spoils to escape the Women's Rights Committee—that'll be joy for those girls."
Like how Ayoung quickly surrendered to pleasure under my training.
Anyway, heal the kids, sexually train the adults into my spoils?
"Slave is Hyemi's name from before, so... spoils it is."
"Yes, I'll call them that from now on."
"Got it. But what about that and the facility?"
What we just discussed was obvious.
Then it hit me. I finally got what Gongju was thinking...
"Ah..."
"The ones shipping out to masters are the adults. Already trained, your spoils."
They infiltrate under masters and spy in reverse.
Overhaul the facility's system into a normal orphanage.
Treat the brainwashed kids as much as possible.
Nice.
The only concern was trusting the spies. What if they got swayed by masters?
Ah, maybe trait a chastity belt or something during training, just in case.
Think on that during conditioning.
"We crush the Women's Rights Committee before the kids grow up. Right now, minimize victims without tipping them off."
"You really thought this through."
Honestly, I was just following Gongju's lead now. Execute her perfect strategy.
Like reversing my usual manager role.
"Today, I'm the manager. You're the hunter, yeobo."
"Reading my mind?"
Finally, my mind eased a bit.
I'd been on fire worrying about the kids, but nailing a calm rescue plan helped.
So first, track the production facility ties in Sinan...
"Tracked them."
"Whoa..."
Left me speechless.
How could I get mad at someone prepped this hard to save everyone?
I was definitely in the wrong.
"...Sorry for snapping earlier."
"No, I'm sorry for not telling you. I hid it from you, no matter the reason."
"Nah. I'd judge the same in your shoes."
But her plan started tomorrow.
Right after kidnapping, the enemy would be cautious today.
Knowing the kids' fate meant no rush.
Going now could rescue orphanage girls without Women's Rights Committee loss.
But it'd heighten facility security, complicate infiltration, maybe relocate it.
Rescuing our kids now meant abandoning facility kids.
What Gongju wants is to save those poor trapped kids too.
She crafted a plan saving everyone without harming ours.
That way, kid-loving me would get it and act.
"Gongju-ya. Just drop formal speech with me. You regressed, but you've lived longer than your age."
"Huh? How did you...?"
She panicked at my sudden demand.
Future me probably wanted her free of brainwashing, independent.
Sexually mine, sure—but once I fuck 'em, they're mine anyway.
Now, Gongju was firmly herself.
Cool-headed and righteous enough I wanted to learn from her.
Future me would've been proud; current me sure was.
"Your formal speech brings out slave vibes. Bugs me."
"Th-that's..."
I wanted equal footing with her.
But her old owner-worship tone killed the vibe.
Had to fix it.
"It's canon to casually say you love your yeobo anyway."
"Y-yeobo... I l-love you!"
That's right, good girl.