The Finest Taste

That was probably her ultimate technique, one that mortgaged her entire life force and future potential.

But suicide as a final trump card? It was strange.

Of course, one might commit suicide to avoid being used by blood mages or necromancers, but her ability felt far too grand for that.

Even an ability the Avatar of the Seven-Headed Dragon couldn't detect?

"Damn it—!!"

Jo Giman, unusually flustered, quickly pierced through the multiple layers of defensive barriers in Shayna's personal space ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and reached her.

What greeted him was only a cold corpse with nothing left of its upper torso, but that was fortunate enough.

As long as the body hadn't completely exploded, it wouldn't interfere with his predation ability at all.

Jo Giman picked up Shayna's arm that had fallen alone on the floor.

The arm still held some warmth. Before the feast could cool, he slowly pushed one of her fingers into his mouth.

Crunch—

Crack—

The act of tearing into a living person.

How much trouble had this caused him during his first regression?

But to Jo Giman, who had long since learned the taste of human flesh, this act had become a moment he cherished.

"As expected... it's the best. Those born with sensory stats have such deep flavor. The texture is good too."

While carefully wrapping the remaining parts scattered around and storing them in his inventory, Jo Giman suddenly had a question.

"Three hundred times? The woman who was so reluctant to use it because it shortens lifespan and causes the pain of having her stomach torn apart?"

Shayna's whim that had never happened even once before.

Moreover, she had spoken as if she had been preparing for this moment, leaving a sticky doubt in Jo Giman's mind.

[Search]

A skill originally usable only on Awakeners, but one whose capabilities had long since expanded through multiple regressions.

"...As expected, there's nothing. That bitch really is disgusting. She died without using any skills, yet she only ran her mouth. Stupid woman."

No matter how many times he checked, no ability had manifested in this space. Still, the unpleasant feeling wouldn't go away, so he vented by tearing the innocent space apart.

"Ah— seriously. Why does this message always show up so late?"

Though he usually acted relaxed in front of others, befitting his age, he wasn't actually a patient person.

After cursing for a while and venting his complaints, he finally smiled at the message that appeared in his mind.

"Supreme... It's far below Yoon Han-gyeol's 'Unrecorded,' but it doesn't matter. That guy is dead anyway."

Jo Giman could feel at ease because he had confirmed it multiple times in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠previous regressions.

The fact that Shayna was the most outstanding sensory stat ability user in this world, both now and in the future, excluding Yoon Han-gyeol.

And that maximized the value of this achievement.

The core of this achievement wasn't the additional damage or anything like that. After all, there was no hunter he couldn't kill if he faced them alone.

Of course, there was no need to worry about receiving additional damage either.

Humans with higher sensory stat potential than Shayna no longer existed, and even if the damage of non-combat sensory ability users increased, it would only be so much.

Rather, the ability to detect the location of 'sensory' ability users with lower potential than Shayna. That was the key.

That ability essentially meant he could detect the location of all sensory ability users on Earth, a truly tremendous achievement.

Since top-tier dungeons sometimes couldn't even be progressed without 'sensory' stat guides, every major party leading dungeon exploration worldwide had at least one such sensory ability user.

Therefore, detecting the locations of sensory ability users meant he could monitor the movements of Earth's strongest hunters, giving him an omnipotent sense of superiority as if viewing the battlefield from the sky. Strategically, the benefits were enormous as well.

"It became a bit more troublesome, but in the end, the path is already set. Kekekeke."

Jo Giman's laughter was filled with confidence that everything would inevitably go according to his will.

"Ptooey—!"

Jo Giman spat on Shayna's spot once, then immediately left.

Several hours after he departed.

Swish—

A small sprout emerged from the spot where Shayna had died.

That sprout was a very small possibility left behind by Shayna, one that even Jo Giman couldn't detect.

An unknown ability she manifested after sensing her death.

In truth, even Shayna, who had spoken as if she knew everything, hadn't fully understood what her ability was.

Even in a situation where death was imminent, Shayna had devoted her strength to making Jo Giman even slightly uncomfortable—she was, in a way, beyond the bounds of normal humanity.

Pop—!

Soon, the sprout, no bigger than a pinky nail, was lifted by a gust of wind and soared high into the sky.

It was the beginning of a journey to find a master who would inherit the possibility Shayna had exchanged for her death.

* * *

"Haa—"

In a study decorated with antique interiors, a woman sighed as if the ground would cave in. Though her appearance held the vibrant vitality spanning her twenties and thirties, she was actually a middle-aged woman who had long surpassed fifty.

And standing before the woman with her head bowed was another woman.

"What am I supposed to do with you, Hayun."

"......"

"Why do you keep delaying your promotion? Don't say you hate receiving help from the members. You know well that once you rise to a higher rank, your skills will naturally follow. The world where you could leisurely explore dungeons while building memories with your comrades is already over."

"......"

Im Dong-su. No Hayun's mother and one of the first-generation Awakeners, despite her rough name, possessed an extremely delicate personality.

Her radar had caught that something was off with her youngest daughter's behavior. So she had called her into her own space for now.

'When did she grow up like this...'

Even she, known to the world by the grand alias of the Witch of Frost, had no way to deal with her youngest daughter's stubbornness.

The child who used to fear her so much when young now showed the backbone to not bend her will, claiming she had grown up.

'She's not the kind of child to act like this without reason...'

But no matter how much she asked for the reason, the girl kept her mouth firmly shut and only asked for more time.

"Was it Lee Yeonhee?"

"......!"

"...I heard she's been quite active lately. Something changed after you formed a party with that child."

"......"

"......You, do you perhaps like that child?"

"Wh-what! No, I don't!"

"Hoho— I'm quite open-minded about such things. Don't be embarrassed and tell me."

"It's really not like that. I don't have that kind of preference... But it's true that she's had a positive influence on me."

"...To what extent? If it's not an advantage beyond the extreme—"

"I see it as... that much."

"......"

She had only thrown out the information she had heard, but it seemed the child named Lee Yeonhee really had something to her.

She was definitely not the kind of child ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who would speak of something beyond the extreme. Today, she had shown unexpected sides in many ways.

"Fine. But only once at this rank. After that, promote immediately. After promotion, I'll give you some free time."

It wasn't something one would say to a child who had long since become an adult, but No Hayun was so happy she clenched her fists.

And while quietly watching her daughter like that, Im Dong-su took out a ring from her inventory and handed it to her beloved daughter.

Before No Hayun, a small ice path was created that only the single ring could slide down. It was a transformation of ice that required extremely precise control, but to the Witch, such things were simpler than breathing.

"This is... wearing it would be too excessive—"

"Don't say anything more and just wear it. There's no guarantee something like the last dungeon break won't happen again. Do you know how surprised I was when I heard the news? Thinking about that time, locking you in your room wouldn't be enough."

"...Understood. Thank you. Mother."

"Tsk— Go now."

No Hayun respectfully bowed to her mother, then took a few steps backward before turning and walking outside.

......

"...Huhu. My choice was right."

Im Dong-su smiled in satisfaction as she looked at the spot where No Hayun had left. They say even if you go sideways, you still reach Seoul. Either way, her daughter was growing at high speed within the expected range.

Vwoooom—

Im Dong-su briefly expanded her personal space, which she had kept dormant, back to its maximum.

The study showed no external changes, but now this space was entirely hers. Her own nest that no one could intrude upon.

"Haaam—"

She, who had only slept for several days before No Hayun arrived, once again fell into an endless sleep. The restrictions that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first-generation Awakeners received were no exception even for the Witch of Frost.

* * *

Morning dawned. Yeonhee had tossed and turned all night and only managed to fall asleep at the very end of dawn.

Hollow—

"Ah, hello..."

"Clack clack!!"

Thanks to that, dark circles had appeared under Yeonhee's eyes for the first time. That in itself was charming, but maintaining proper condition when entering a dungeon was important, so it couldn't help but be worrying.

Especially since today's dungeon was centered around the Orc Lower Warriors that had tormented us so much.

The dungeon name was 'Orc-D-177'.

It meant it was the 177th D-rank dungeon among the orc dungeons created in our country.

There were so many dungeons with orcs as the main monsters that the names became simple, assigned in order of creation.

Dungeons repeated the cycle of appearing and disappearing, but gradually the ratio of disappearing dungeons decreased while the number of appearing dungeons increased. This was something I had experienced, so I could confirm it.

Anyway, we planned to gain experience in the orc dungeon for at least a few days. Of course, whether things would go according to plan was another matter.

Whoosh—

The sound of Yeonhee washing had been tickling my ears for a while now. Well, I don't have ears, but that's the feeling.

Since I was a skeleton with a conscience, I deliberately spread my sensory waves wide so I couldn't detect the details of her body. I wonder if Yeonhee knows what a gentlemanly skeleton I am.

Click—

I heard the sound of her coming out to the living room after washing.

"......Turn your head. If you look, you're dead!"

I already had my head turned toward the window, but she deliberately said that to the back of my head. It was truly unfair.

Moreover, she didn't even go straight into her room and stared at my back for a long time.