Chapter 28

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 28

Chapter Title: What Is This

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No scream even escaped my lips.

My mind went completely blank. Was I still dreaming? Or had I finally lost my mind?

I turned my head slowly, like a malfunctioning robot with a creak. The soft touch of hair brushing against my cheek sent my entire body on high alert. Unrealistically warm, supple skin.

"Hik…!"

It was almost reflexive. I shoved the girl in my arms away and tumbled to the opposite side of the sofa.

Thud!

My shoulder slammed hard into the floor, but I didn't even feel the pain.

"Huff… huff…."

Back pressed against the wall, I gasped for breath. My heart was pounding like mad.

What the hell is this situation? What the…

On the sofa. The girl still hadn't woken up. She just furrowed her brow slightly at the unfamiliar sensation, curling up in the same position and breathing softly in her sleep.

Snow-white hair, perky rabbit ears. And not a stitch of clothing on her naked body.

"Wh-what, what is this…."

The confusion from the surreal scene before me made my head feel like it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was going to explode.

"Phew…."

Calm down. One step at a time.

This was inside the gate, my private alchemy workshop. Only authorized personnel—me, Yuna, and the old man standing guard—could enter. Physically impossible for anyone else.

So who was this girl? Did Yuna sneak her in? No, that couldn't be. Yuna wouldn't do something like this.

That's when my eyes locked onto the workbench.

The exact spot where I'd left the potion last night.

There was just a single glass vial lying on the floor, cork removed.

And.

"……."

My gaze quickly shifted to one corner of the workshop. The large cage where I always kept Chun-sik.

Right now, the door of that cage was wide open.

Completely empty.

"N-no way."

I stared at the girl on the sofa again, my expression one of utter disbelief.

Puzzle pieces started forcing themselves together in my chaotic mind.

"Chun… Chun-sik…?"

For a moment, I couldn't think at all.

My pet rabbit… turned into a human? After drinking the potion I made?

"No way…."

But the evidence was clear.

In a daze, I staggered over to the workbench.

Last night's memory flashed by. I'd definitely closed the cork.

…Or not.

I vaguely remembered just plopping it down carelessly because I was tired. Chun-sik must have escaped the cage like usual, gotten curious, and knocked it over, then drank it.

As my mind reeled, one crucial fact hit me.

'Wait… this was made for Seo Ihyeon's daughter.'

Only then did the severity of the situation sink in.

Congenital mana incompatibility syndrome. A rare disease that recognizes mana as a toxin. This potion was meant to gradually acclimate the body to mana to treat it.

But if the result turned an animal into a human….

"Uwaaa…."

My heart plummeted.

Fortunately, a bit of silvery liquid remained at the very bottom of the vial. Chun-sik's snout must not have reached that deep inside.

The amount was a little low, but no choice. I had to test it somehow.

I opened the shelf in the testing area. Inside was a container with a slime.

Squelch.

The transparent, jelly-like slime wobbled peacefully inside the jar.

I stared at the slime, hesitating for a moment.

'…What if this turns human too?'

All the atrocities I'd committed on it under the guise of potion testing flashed through my mind. Deliberately wounding it, healing it, even slicing it in half and stitching it back together. If this thing turned human and went berserk for revenge….

Just imagining it was horrifying.

But I had no choice. I had to check.

With trembling hands, I tilted the vial and poured the remaining potion onto the slime's body.

Squelch.

The slime absorbed the potion without a care, as usual.

- Squeeee

And nothing happened.

"Hmm…."

Too early to judge. The amount might be too small for a reaction, or maybe it needed more time.

But I couldn't just wait around with uncertain results.

The gallery folks' opinions and my instincts. The recipe was fine. No doubt about it.

'I'll drink it myself.'

The most reliable test subject was me, the one who made the potion.

I immediately started brewing a new batch.

The commotion in the workshop disturbed the girl's sleep. She tossed and turned before opening her eyes.

The girl blinked around curiously for a moment, then stretched lightly and sat up.

She began exploring her surroundings.

Her clear, curiosity-filled eyes scanned every inch of the workshop interior. Past the alchemy tools and plush furniture, her gaze fixed on the tablet on the table.

The girl tilted her head.

An object she'd seen countless times from inside the cage. The shiny square slab her owner rubbed with his fingers every day.

She recalled how Seha usually used the tablet.

Then, cautiously, she reached out with a finger and tapped the screen.

Flash.

The dark screen lit up, revealing the familiar home screen.

The girl's eyes sparkled with surprise.

That's when it started.

She adapted to it at an astonishing speed. Her small fingers naturally swiped the screen, tapped icons to launch apps.

Her blue eyes darted around, absorbing the text and images like a sponge.

And after a few taps, the site she accessed was.

High mana exposure. Inside a gate with sufficient mana density.

"Ah."

All the puzzle pieces clicked into place.

There was nothing wrong with my potion, and Chun-sik wasn't a normal rabbit either.

'…Spirit beast.'

Chun-sik had always been unusually smart. Escaping daily and dumping her food bowl in front of me wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠normal rabbit behavior.

"Phew…."

Only then did I let out a long sigh of relief.

Now, one problem left.

That one, on the sofa….

"……?"

Chun-sik had fully woken up at some point and was intently staring at my tablet, holding it.

"Chun-sik?"

As I approached, she whipped her head up.

Then, she dexterously tapped the tablet keyboard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and showed me the screen.

The tone was all too familiar.

"Y-you… where did you learn to read and write?"

Chun-sik calmly pointed to the screen she'd been looking at.

[Korean Hunter Gallery]

The tablet was filled with all sorts of community screens.

"Ah."

Only then did two horrifying realities hit me at once.

First, this blank-slate lifeform was learning social skills and language from the trash heap. Second, that lifeform was buck naked right now.

"Y-you! Don't look at that stuff! Give it here right now!"

I reached out to snatch the tablet first.

But Chun-sik twisted away, dodging my hand. Her eyes gleamed like it was a fun new game.

"No! And clothes! Put on some clothes first!"

I grabbed a nearby baggy T-shirt of mine and approached her.

Pat pat pat.

She hopped around the sofa evading me, then tapped the tablet and showed it to me.

A bizarre chase unfolded inside the workshop.

"Come… here!"

The moment I lunged onto the sofa to grab her.

Creeeak—

"Hey, Kim Talky. About that CEO final interview…."

Yuna opened the workshop door and walked in.

Papers in one hand, she froze at the sight before her.

A naked unfamiliar girl and me in a position like I was pouncing on her. And the workshop in total disarray.

After a brief silence, she spoke, looking exasperated.

"…What the hell is going on here?"