A Monster in the Morning

The B-rank upper species stuck its tongue out slightly and panted with a heh heh, looking exactly like a puppy. After spending a long while teasing her lips and lower region, I took one of her round, glistening breasts into my mouth.

"Aahm— chwaap—"

"Naughty breasts..."

Even as she protested, her lower body responded with even greater heat. Pshewt— Pshewt-pshewt— Her hips bucked wildly. When I caressed her breasts, her lower region, and even her ears, Yeonhee reached climax in a single rush.

Shluuurp— The bedsheet we'd prepared in advance was already soaked through.

"Seven minutes."

We did this every day, yet she still seemed so regretful. Even if my Mimicry time increased, it looked like it would be difficult to fully satisfy Yeonhee.

'If I really went all out, how many hours could I last?'

Yeonhee's stamina was growing stronger by the day, so it was hard to gauge.

In the end, she clung to my neck, biting down on my shoulder as she savored her climax. It was a position she often took lately. Even though we were sitting, she had wrapped her legs tightly around my waist, lifting herself slightly off the bed.

I supported her plump bottom and gently stroked her hair. If I touched her like this—as if telling her she was doing well, that she was adorable—her embarrassment after regaining her senses seemed to lessen a little.

"Aah— Aah... Haa—"

Then, at some point, my Mimicry wore off and I returned to my skeletal form.

It was the first time my Mimicry had ended while she was still in my arms, so Yeonhee tilted her head back in confusion, wondering what had happened.

'She sounds just like Arin.'

Yeonhee must have found Arin's baby talk cute, because she was deliberately using a lisping tone. If her intention was to look lovable, I'd say it was a resounding success.

The moment my Mimicry ended, I quickly gathered the spikes behind my back. Feeling them stretch all the way to the wall on the opposite side of the bed, I carefully pushed Yeonhee away.

'Careful now... careful...'

But Yeonhee was still looking at me with clear disappointment in her eyes.

'What more does she want...?'

Still, doing anything in this form felt repulsive even to me. Even so, I couldn't just leave her looking so forlorn, so I cautiously reached a hand toward her lower region.

Yeonhee said that was enough and began moving her hips on her own. All the while, she stared straight at my face. For some reason, watching her like this in my skeletal form felt so embarrassingly strange that I had to turn my head away.

'......'

Even after my Mimicry had ended, Yeonhee continued to enjoy the afterglow for quite some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time. In the end, it was left to me to carry her limp body to the shower.

Once inside the bathroom, Yeonhee nodded as if to say she could manage on her own. I stepped out, cleaned up the mess, and then checked on the group staying on the ninth floor.

'......'

Compared to what Cha Jin-hyeok's companions were doing, Yeonhee and I seemed positively wholesome. 'Does doing it two-on-one feel that much better?' Even focusing on just one person should be plenty. I really don't get it.

I shook my head and moved toward the window. As usual, Cha Jin-hyeok was sitting at his desk, scribbling something densely across the page.

'He's even writing dungeon maps... What a meticulous personality.'

I wondered if I'd misread the article. A man this diligent didn't seem suited for the life of a hunter.

A little later, Yeonhee finished her shower and came out. With her slightly damp hair, she looked like a painting come to life. For a moment I even forgot I was supposed to be keeping watch.

After turning off the lights, Yeonhee lay down on her side on the bed, wiggling her toes.

It was her way of asking me to come over and stroke her hair. I moved to the bed and, keeping a slight distance, gently brushed through her slightly damp locks. After a few minutes of my touch, she quickly fell asleep.

Sleep well. Eat well. What a good girl.

I moved a little closer and spent the rest of the night admiring her face. And so another night passed.

The next day dawned. While Yeonhee was still lying in bed, sleeping soundly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I stroked her cheek and checked on Cha Jin-hyeok, who was 1.7 kilometers away. Today was Saturday, and according to the information I'd gathered from the site, Cha Jin-hyeok took Saturdays off.

He slowly stretched and began preparing breakfast for the children. I shook Yeonhee awake.

But Yeonhee showed no sign of getting up. I reflected on whether I'd tormented her too much last night. It hadn't been that long, had it? Still, considering how much her body had changed, it made sense.

'Hmm... If it's affecting her this much, I'll need to hold back a bit once my Mimicry time increases.'

With no other choice, I decided to stay in the hotel room, focusing on my senses as I waited.

The trio on the ninth floor had surprisingly all woken up and were showering together. After playing so wildly the night before, they were already up and moving early. In that sense, they shared some traits with the diligent Cha Jin-hyeok.

About an hour later, Cha Jin-hyeok led around a dozen children out into the small yard in front of the house. They were all dressed in colorful clothes, apparently heading to a small amusement park nearby. Our hotel happened to be along the route to the park. Several of the children had unusually large heads, but it didn't seem like he'd have any trouble supervising them.

And right on cue, the three people from the ninth floor were also getting ready to head out.

'Hmm... I suppose I should follow Cha Jin-hyeok.'

When Cha Jin-hyeok and the children had walked for about twenty minutes and were getting close to our hotel, a sudden ominous alert began ringing from Yeonhee's phone.

'Disaster alert?!'

I immediately rushed over and checked the phone using her finger.

'Tarantara? That insane monster has been released?'

It was the monster Yeonhee and I had briefly looked at yesterday. Overall it resembled an iguana, but it had eight eyes and twenty spiny legs—an utterly horrifying medium-sized beast. Even Yeonhee, who called both me and the Spectre cute, had waved her hands in disgust at its appearance.

Its abilities were similar to a spider's. It spat sticky venom from its mouth to immobilize prey before sucking out their bodily fluids. Normally it spread its venom like a spiderweb across narrow spaces and waited for prey to come to it.

The real problem was its physical ability. Its jumping power reached twenty meters, it had the size of a bull, and an extremely aggressive personality. Its outer shell was also incredibly tough and hard, making it nearly immune to ordinary physical attacks. The only silver lining was its weakness to fire-attribute attacks.

'What terrible luck.'

I shook Yeonhee awake more forcefully and signaled her to get ready immediately. Still half-asleep and confused about what was happening, she quickly came to her senses when she sensed my serious mood.

As soon as Yeonhee hurriedly changed her clothes, I scooped her up and leaped out the window.

Although we'd flown many times, this was almost her first time free-falling, so Yeonhee couldn't help but scream. The reason I'd leaped out so urgently was that a Tarantara was charging straight toward where Cha Jin-hyeok and the children were.

Cha Jin-hyeok could handle himself, but the children needed to be protected depending on the situation. It was still early morning. The streets were quiet. It was only natural that the Tarantara, with its keen senses, would detect the group clustered together.

Judging by the speed of the creature leaping toward them, they would meet in about three minutes.

Cha Jin-hyeok had been waiting at the crosswalk with the children. His face was subtly twisted. He had apparently checked the disaster alert and was explaining the situation to the kids.

At that moment, his companions were waiting for the light on the opposite side. Cha Jin-hyeok looked clearly flustered, but when he spotted his three companions on the opposite crosswalk, his expression eased slightly and he waved his hand urgently.

However, the hunters on the other side seemed to have different thoughts.

The two women among them scrunched up their faces and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pretended to cover their noses.

'Just shut up and check the message first, you idiots. This isn't the time for that kind of nonsense.'

Or maybe they'd already seen it and were still acting so casual. Either way, I was deep in thought. I felt like I needed to observe a little longer.

Not only Cha Jin-hyeok, but the three across from him were quite skilled for people who had only recently reached B-rank.

'Four people against one... They should be able to handle it without too much trouble. Let's wait and see for now.'

Since things had turned out this way, I might as well use the chance to learn about Cha Jin-hyeok's abilities in advance.

"Clack clack."

It was honestly ridiculous for D-rank hunters like us to even be having this conversation. Who was supposed to be helping whom?

Yeonhee seemed more worried about the children than the hunters. Of course, I had no intention of just watching the kids get hurt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠either.

Thud— Thud—

Soon, a vibration shook the air. In the distance, beyond the low buildings, I could see the massive silhouette of a creature that was neither lizard nor spider repeatedly leaping up and crashing down. Its eight eyes rolled freely in all directions, scanning both its prey and the surrounding terrain.

The gap between the buildings wasn't very wide. It was favorable terrain for the monster.

— ......?!

The moment the Tarantara closed within three hundred meters, all four hunters noticed the monster almost simultaneously. They clearly hadn't imagined they'd run into it the instant they received the alert.

Cha Jin-hyeok's priority was getting the children to safety. However, if the kids went alone and ran into another monster, it would be a problem. I decided to keep an eye on the path they were taking to make sure no other monsters were waiting ahead.