Breath! Arka's Devotion and Mir-El's Rampage
Breath! Cohabitation with Arka turned out to be far less inconvenient than I'd imagined. No, it was too comfortable.
"You, how does one use this?"
"That's a gas stove. You turn this..."
She'd ask about every electronic gadget in the house one by one, and before long, she was handling them competently enough to prepare meals for me.
"You rest for a bit. Give me your sister."
"Piiik!!"
"More importantly, sister dear. You're plenty big enough to walk around on your own now, so why do you keep clinging to her? You're getting quite heavy—you'll be a burden to her."
"Grrr!!"
"Has your mind regressed to that of a mere hatchling now that your body has grown into a lump of flesh?"
She'd take Mir-El off my hands—Mir-El had grown so much that carrying her all day was a strain—and play with her (or whatever dragons do).
"Magic stones, you say... Wait a moment. I'll hunt one of those fellows I saw on the way here and bring it back."
She even personally procured the magic stones for Mir-El's meals, my biggest worry, treating me so extravagantly that I barely had to leave the bed. The stones she brought were high-quality too, occasionally even mid-to-upper-grade ones like the kind Chae-rin had shown me before!
Blink. Blink.
All I did was lie on the freshly delivered, clean, fluffy mattress, blinking my eyes, eating, sleeping, and scrolling on my phone.
This is dangerous!
I could already picture my future: growing completely dependent on Arka, until eventually...
"Do you need anything else...?"
"Nope!"
I reflexively refused Arka as she tried to do even more for me, and she looked a little disappointed. Was she? Her face was the same as always, except for her eyebrows dipping just a fraction...
"This can't go on."
What I really wanted was to hole up in the room, scroll away, and just accept whatever she brought. But if I kept this up, I'd end up relying on her for everything—and who knows, maybe even really have her kid.
"With that in mind, I'm heading to a gate today."
I declared it while picking out the most casual outfit from the clothes Chae-rin had bought me before.
Arka scanned me from head to toe, her gaze like a father's scolding me for going out dressed like that. Her eyes lingered especially long on my exposed legs.
"Has the era changed so much...?"
But she accepted it soon enough. It was just a plain skirt and shirt, though...? Still, since it was a gift, I figured I'd wear it at least once, but was it weird after all...? Just as I debated changing into training clothes,
Arka nodded to herself, seemingly convinced of something.
"Supporting one's wife's productive endeavors is also the duty of a husband... or so it is said. I shall cheer you on."
"You can't come with me! Got it? You're not registered with the Association anyway, so you can't enter gates."
"Understood. I'll guard your home well. Sister dear, serve her properly."
Her rainbow eyes gazed fondly at me as I stepped out the door. Feeling uneasy for no reason, I turned back once more.
"Really! Don't come! You have to wait obediently! Understand?!"
"I understand. Return safely."
With an inexplicable anxiety nagging at me, I headed to the D-rank gate I'd visited before, with Mir-El in tow.
"Mir-El, you're looking way too big for the bag now, huh? Puhehe."
"Pii..."
She used to be small enough to eat magic stones from inside the bag, but compared to when she hatched, her body had more than doubled. Even stuffed into my shoulder bag, her head or tail poked out.
Thanks to that, riding public transport drew stares from everyone, which was a bit embarrassing.
At the gate entrance, the square was buzzing with people recruiting for parties.
"Back here again."
"Pii..."
Bad memories of goblins lingered, but with Mir-El far stronger now, I wasn't scared at all. She could use magic now, after all!
I could probably solo this. No way I'd get recruited anyway—
"Hey! You solo?"
"Huh... me?"
"Yeah! We're three people. Wanna party up?"
Contrary to my expectations, a friendly-looking young man approached with an offer.
Ah, he doesn't know I'm a summoner and talked to me first?
"I'm a summoner, is that okay...?"
"Oh, yeah! I know. First time seeing someone carry their summon in a shoulder bag, though..."
"Grrr!"
"It's okay, Mir-El."
I calmed Mir-El, who was wary of the stranger, and checked out the two men behind him. Sturdy builds, well-equipped. They looked experienced at a glance.
Sensing my gaze, the man smiled first.
"Ah, we're all veterans. Everyone here, including me, is B-rank or higher. We were supposed to hunt with someone today, but they bailed last minute..."
They'd been about to disband due to the missing member when they decided to just help out a newbie since they were already gathered. And amid that, they spotted me—a total beginner vibe, no gear, just a summoner with her pet.
"Ugh, do I really scream newbie that bad?"
"Well..."
He scratched his cheek, unable to say it straight. Fair enough—I wasn't wearing any proper gear, so yeah, obvious newbie. Was that why no one recruited me before? Summoner and zero equipment?
"No need to share profits. Our goal is just filming the helping process. Just allow the recording."
"Hmm..."
"We'll send you the link after. Subscribe and like too."
Goblins weren't even a match for Mir-El, so I didn't need help...
"Thanks, but I'm good. I'm B-rank too."
"Hmm, you shouldn't put too much faith in Association ranks."
He continued with a worried look at my refusal.
"Association measurements are just personal combat power. Inside gates, tons of variables pop up."
Having a higher hunter rank than the gate doesn't mean you can solo rampage or carry alone—it's rare. Even Byeolbit Guild, with two S-ranks, assembled over 30 people including their S-ranks for the Chuncheon A-rank gate.
Gates are places where even high-rank hunters can get wrecked by monsters with special gimmicks. So never get cocky, prepare everything you can—that's a hunter's virtue, he preached passionately.
"Summoners especially need escort buddies."
"We'll teach you basic hunting formations. Try them with future parties?"
"Yeah, miss. He might look like this, but he graduated top of Hunter Association Academy. Knows gates inside out—worth listening to."
"Bro, 'look like this'? Embarrassing in front of a lady!"
"What? It's true. The guy who kept messing up talks all confident now—hilarious. Wanna spill to the miss?"
"Ah, please spare me."
Really...? Well, I'd planned to learn basic summoner combat from Chae-rin anyway. Pre-studying wouldn't hurt.
Party vibe seems fine... Filming, hmm...
Mir-El was already registered with the Association. Videos shouldn't be an issue now, right?
"Okay. But we might not need help. My kid's stronger than you think."
"Haha, then our footage is wasted, but oh well. Alright, miss agrees—let's fill out papers and head in!"
We submitted party registration at the nearby Association office managing the gate and entered together.
* Inside the D-rank gate, where repulsive goblins appear —
The first to speak was Lee Chang-woo, the guy who'd recruited me.
"Positions: Our warrior bro up front. Mage and ranged hunters five steps behind. Scout's job is..."
Unlike my worries, Lee Chang-woo was plenty knowledgeable, like a true veteran hunter. Far from summoner tactics, but I learned party hunting basics.
Good thing—I might've been a nuisance otherwise.
"Goblins ahead. Wanna try first, Miss Yoon? Or should we demo?"
"I'll go. Mir-El."
"Pii~"
At my call, Mir-El popped out of the shoulder bag.
"Whoa, a wyvern?"
"Kinda different, right?"
As the men eyed Mir-El curiously, I gave the order.
"Take out those goblins ahead!"
"Pii!"
At my command, Mir-El didn't charge like before—instead, she took just a few steps forward, unwilling to stray far, then gaped her mouth wide.
The others looked puzzled, but mana began gathering at Mir-El's jaws.
Oh, this.
The technique that nearly blew up the house last time but failed. Was she trying it now? Arka's magic stones must've helped—she'd grown a lot, but would it work?
Go for it!
Cheering her silently despite past failure—unlike before, when it dispersed, black and white mana swirled grotesquely together.
Mana that seemed it should never mix got sucked into the vortex, condensing into a tiny point—
"Piiiiiiii!!!"
With Mir-El's mighty cry, it blasted straight ahead.
Kugugugugu!!!!!
Trees toppled like they'd been devoured by a storm, a mana tempest upheaving the earth as it tore through the forest—swallowing the goblins somewhere within—
"Pii!"
Moments later, the dense forest swept clean by the storm was now a vast clearing. Satisfied with her handiwork, the little dragon's triumphant roar echoed alone.