Why Can't I Go to Dungeons?
Why can't I go to dungeons?
Vincent Jo.
An assassin-class hunter of the Douglas Kim family.
He did take part in dungeon raids, of course, but he was mostly known for working as a bodyguard.
I've at least heard the name before.
"Ah, I won't give you any trouble."
I nodded quickly.
Crazy as he seemed, an A-rank was still an A-rank. The gap between us was the kind where he could kill me even while just messing around, let alone in earnest — provoking him was never going to be a good decision.
And besides, groveling was always my job anyway.
"Hmm..."
Vincent straightened his posture.
"Ambassador, this kid's a bit different from what I heard. I figured she'd rebel, but she's scared out of her wits."
"You'll come to understand that as you spend time together. Now, let's get the paperwork done first."
"Oh right, that! Hey, kiddo, sorry, but let's take care of this before I play with you, alright?"
Vincent's lips curled into a smirk. I laughed hollowly without a word.
No thanks. Please, no.
It wasn't that I hated his teasing, exactly. I was meeting new family members anyway, so if he wanted to act as social lubricant, more power to him.
The problem was... I had to play along perfectly, because I was D-rank.
This was an era where people talked to lower ranks but rarely made physical contact, so if he forgot my rank for even a single moment, I would die instantly.
In fact, I'd heard news of accidents just like that more than once.
Please, let me arrive in Korea with all my limbs intact...
"Alright... Douglas Kim's done. Your turn, Na Raebi."
"Yes, sir."
I pressed my thumb to the documents he held out.
I'd already taken care of the small stuff — fingerprint registration, ID photos, all of it — so the procedure took less than five minutes, and I was officially registered.
Raebi Na Tier-Nected Douglas Kim. That was my full name from now on.
"......You said I could get ID issued under a pure Korean name too, right?"
"Well, yeah, but why bother? Once you're carrying that name, the attendants will handle everything for you anyway."
That's exactly why I don't want it.
For someone who'd done everything alone from start to finish, how was I supposed to suddenly put servants to work?
Not that being an attendant here meant anything as brutal as the Middle Ages.
No, it was closer to a polished, modern image, really. Beautiful uniforms, high-end meals, plus housing, insurance benefits, and bonuses — they provided everything a person needed to live.
On top of that, the base salary was fat. There was no sweeter job in the world.
But that also meant that much money was being spent on me... and for someone who'd lived like a beggar right up until the moment of death, all this service was nothing but a burden.
I'll do it myself. Alone. Whether it's being waited on or earning money.
"Um, Vincent, sir?"
"You're supposed to call me older brother. And drop the formalities."
Oh. Older brother?
...Absolutely not. Not even if you beat me to death.
"Vin...cent. Can I go straight into dungeons too? With family backing?"
"Are you insane? Even if Albert Cavendish himself showed up, that wouldn't fly."
"Then...?"
Vincent's brow furrowed, wearing an expression that said, a shrimp like you wants to hunt?
But I stubbornly waited for an answer.
"...Haah. First you have to get into the Hunter Academy. Once you graduate you qualify, but even then they'll only slot you into a raid team after certifying your trait-skill level there."
"Huh? The Hunter Academy? Not a training center?"
"What training center? What do you take Douglas Kim for, seriously? You get adopted into this family and you're still talking about a training center?"
"Oh? Ohhh, right, of course."
......The Hunter Academy.
The... the Hunter Academy...!
Excitement suddenly surged through me. The hunter training center I'd so desperately wanted to enter — the Hunter Academy was a class above even that.
If the training center was where low-rank commoners went, the Hunter Academy was where multinational elites went.
The certifications themselves weren't ranked differently, but the connections you built and the raid know-how you picked up inside made all the difference.
Take a raid team made up entirely of B-ranks, for example. A well-composed party with top-tier healing and gear and a party without were as different as heaven and earth.
In other words, get into the Academy, and a 99% safe raid was guaranteed for every dungeon you tackled afterward.
So I get to suck on honey safely AND see the Academy?
...Yes. Forget independence. From now on, I'm a baby bird who can't do anything for herself!
I hopped up and down and shouted at Vincent.
"When do we go? When do I go?"
"I said drop the formalities. And you can leave right away — we came on the family's private jet."
"O-ohhhh!! Let's go, let's go now!"
Then Vincent scrunched up his face.
"Calm down. It's not admission season at the Academy right now. Besides, I plan to do some sightseeing here first, so it'll take a while."
"There's not much to see here, though?"
"Huh? There's the Pyramid, of all things — how is there nothing to see?"
"That's literally the only thing. Do you have any idea how—"
But my words never got to finish.
"Ehh, whatever, I don't care. Say what you want, I'm going sightseeing from now on."
So don't waste your breath trying to talk me out of it — Vincent cut me off flat. I pushed out my lips and grumbled.
Damn it. I don't want to stay here a second longer.
"Ha, look at that face."
Then Vincent began studying me carefully.
Before long, the corners of his mouth were creeping up again.
"...Then why don't you come along? Oh, hey, that works out great! You can be my guide!"
"Y-yes? Um... I'm not even a local here? No thanks."
I waved my hands in rapid refusal.
No matter how I ran the numbers, doing anything alongside him felt deeply unsettling.
But as if he'd read my mind, Vincent's eyes were already glinting with mischief.
"Aw, come on, let's go. We'll check out the top of the Pyramid."
"That's illegal. A-and this is the embassy, so we should listen to Uncle Chang-jin, right?"
As a stopgap, I pointed at Lee Chang-jin.
The man who'd been quietly planted in the corner this whole time, lest sparks fly my way. Even if he got offered up as a sacrifice, I doubted he'd complain.
He had a seriously intimidating presence when I first met him...
So even that guy shrinks in the face of rank, huh.
"Oh? Ambassador, would you like to come too?"
"No, I'm quite alright. Since the paperwork is finished, I'll be going. Have a pleasant trip."
Screech—thud!
And with that, he scurried out of the room.
Hey, old man, that's YOUR office!
I stared blankly at the door he'd vanished through. Vincent then crouched down to meet my eyes.
"...Well, you heard him?"
His eyes held no playfulness anymore. That meant it was a complete order.
He probably wasn't threatening me in earnest... but scary was still scary.
"Whew— okay... But I'm E-rank. Promise you won't kill me."
"Pfft! What on earth are you worried about!"
"Promise me anyway."
"Fine, fine. Your life will be perfectly safe."
My life...?
I demanded an explanation with my eyes alone.
But he abruptly grabbed me and hurled me into the air.
Whoosh—
"E-eeek!!"
...Thud!
"Huh?"
Something brushed against my hips and thighs. Then my ankles locked onto something.
A horse...?
"We're going like this. Hold onto my head tight."
"......."
Awkwardly, I braced my hands on his head. I couldn't figure out what on earth he was planning.
But soon enough,
I understood his insane intent.
BOOM— He kicked the window clean open. A thought of no way flickered through me, but it was already too late.
My body lurched backward, and my waist snapped with a crack!
"Gah—hk!"
With that single scream, I blacked out.
"I'M NOT GOING!!!"
"Aw, come on. I said I was sorry."
I screamed the moment I came to from fainting.
Vincent only realized something was wrong with me after we'd arrived at the Pyramid. Even then, he'd set me down with a thump and muttered to himself for a good while.
He'd tried to take me back, saying he'd 'apparently have to wander around alone'... but I refused.
I did not want to die in some absurd way.
This was my second life, earned at such cost...!
"Can you really make it back on your own?"
"Don't worry. And a request: don't come near me until my flight leaves tomorrow."
"Hmm... I never said I was leaving tomorrow, though?"
......
Maybe I just shouldn't go to Douglas Kim after all. Is cancellation an option?
"Kukuk, just kidding. We depart tomorrow morning, so go get some rest."
"Yes, sir."
Whoosh—!
The instant I answered, he vanished before my eyes. A speed too fast to even register.
So this was what an A-rank assassin-class was like, I thought, letting out a heavy, weary sigh.
"Whew— is that guy actually insane?"
Normally, when a girl with this kind of face fussed and complained, most people would take a step back.
But Vincent didn't care at all. No — he only enjoyed it more.
Do whatever you want, consequences be damned, the ultimate jerk move... Would I turn out the same way if I got that strong?
Letting my imagination run wild, I began to walk.
A fantasy of grinding my way up to S-rank and then smashing Vincent's skull in like a clay pot.
Kukuk.
"What are you laughing at so hard?"
"...?"
What the—
I turned around at the Korean that came out of nowhere.
Two East Asian men were staring at me.
One pot-bellied, one tall and lanky.
I tilted my head and asked.
"Who are you?"
"That's my question. Why were traces of you found in Kim Young-hak's car?"
"......I'm sorry? What... did you say?"
......Kim Young-hak?
What is... no, that can't be.
I'd definitely abandoned the car somewhere remote.
Just in case, I'd even had the Pygmies shred it to pieces.
And they found it anyway?
Faced with a situation I'd never imagined,
I froze solid, unable to think at all.
Then the pot-bellied man pulled something from his pocket.
A clear ziplock bag?
A small evidence bag, the kind detectives use to collect proof. Looking closely, I could see a few silver threads inside.
......No way.
"You wouldn't know this, kid, but the Alternative Penal Service system isn't so easy to fool.
Of course there are people who plan escapes out in that desolate desert — and of course there's a system in place to track them down."
The two men each drew a weapon. One a whip, one a dagger.
I'd been thoroughly briefed before coming here about who they were.
"Are you... the arrest squad?"
"You know the drill, so this should go quick. You've noticed, haven't you? Give me an honest answer, or you'll get beaten right here and dragged off."
"......."
I clenched my fists. Awakened arrest squads were notorious for showing no mercy.
The post was staffed with nothing but aggressive types even at the lowest C-rank, and anyone who resisted was subdued without hesitation.
Not someone I can shake off and outrun.
Keeping my composure, I asked.
"What do you need me to answer?"
"Simple. Did you kill Kim Young-hak?"
"......No."
Then the pot-bellied man snickered.
"Ha— funny. A tiny brat being the culprit. Even watching it happen, I can't believe it."
"I'm sorry?"
"Beep— that's a LIE, you little bitch. Think my tracking skill looks like a joke?"
With those words, he charged at me. Even though I twisted away on reflex, a chill flashed across my neck.
Shkk...!
"Kgh...!"
Blood streamed down. But before I could even check the wound, the next attack came flying.
"You threw away your chance to surrender! I'll break your limbs first, then hear your story!"
Damn it...! If it's come to this, I have no choice but to fight!
Skill Blade Claws has been activated.
SHKAKAKANG!!!
Once again, by a hair's breadth, I deflected the attack. The hand that met the dagger trembled violently.
"Oho— you blocked that? You're definitely not E-rank. Looks like the Ambassador shoved a broken measuring device at you."
Saying that, the pot-bellied man drew out a second dagger.
"And those claws... I've never seen that type among transformation-type ability users. What exactly are you?"
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me now, would you?"
"Correct...! Hey, Ahn! How long are you going to stand there watching? This bitch is crazy fast!"
Then the lanky man cracked his whip against the ground with a bang! The two attacks came in staggered waves, steadily sealing off every escape route.
Dodge the whip and the dagger lunged; dodge the dagger and the whip came flying.
They're actually trying to kill me...!
They were so earnest I had to wonder whether arrest was really the goal.
The relentless assault left me not even a sliver of an opening to summon the Pygmies.
Ugh...!
The wounds kept piling up.
My mind grew hazy from the blood loss.
It didn't take long before I was fading out, whether I willed it or not.
Hazy—
"DIE, you brat—!"
"Huh?!"
When my eyes opened, the whip was flying straight at my face.
......So this is where it ends.
Sensing the end, my eyes squeezed shut all over again.
SHWAAAAH—! In a fraction of a second, the terrifying sound drew closer.
Aaaah...!!
BOOM!
"......You idiot. When an attack comes, you watch it to the very end and THEN dodge. Na Raebi, even if you get your hunter's license, you're banned from dungeon entry."