The Fish That Drank Water
Rune, who had been staring out the window, turned his gaze back to Perdikion and spoke.
"But bro, how do you plan to sift through all those applicants?"
Through the window, he could see Wood and Gorbann yelling fiercely at the gathered dwarves.
The messenger bird must have reached them safely, replaying Perdikion's voice with sparkling eyes.
"That's their job. They'll handle tasks fitting their roles, so don't worry."
Sure enough, just as he said, the chaotic training grounds were starting to organize.
"You lot! Move your asses faster! Do I need to kick you into gear?"
"Want to get disqualified before we even start? If you don't want your skulls smashed, hustle!"
The dwarves, herded and whipped into shape like sheep chased by sheepdogs, gathered in one spot.
Soon, an empty clearing formed, and the skill assessments began.
Good. This is a perfect chance for Heungmi to show her real hunting prowess.
Heungmi had only instincts for hunting—no actual combat experience.
Above all, she needed to vent that pent-up energy she couldn't quite release.
Dwarves used to fighting should make fine practice dummies before the real thing.
With his calculations done, Rune asked Perdikion.
"Bro, can Heungmi join in there too?"
"You want to gauge her skills?"
"Yeah. Feels like the perfect timing."
Perdikion nodded.
"Smart idea. Better if we go ourselves."
"Got it."
Rune immediately called for Heungmi and Baekya.
"Next challenger!"
Tap, tap.
Unusually small and light footsteps.
A sleek, glossy black fox tail swayed gently.
"I'm Heungmi!"
Heungmi, her black fox ears perked up, shot one hand high and shouted her name.
She was mimicking the previous applicants, radiating an adorableness that warmed the heart just to watch.
"Heh heh, looks like we drew the cute little kid. I'll go easy, but it's still dangerous. This puts us dwarves in a tough spot."
"We said we'd face whoever, so no holding back."
Tas, the dwarf matched against Heungmi at Gorbann's words, nodded.
Play with the kid and score a bag of those potato chips? Kill some time and snag those famous snacks.
The dwarf gripping his war hammer smacked his lips.
Unlike Rune, who dismissed them as mere snacks, these treats he'd made were trading as premium goods here.
Especially popular with the female dwarves.
That punk Humf gifted some to Julier recently, won her over, and now he's prepping for a wedding.
Rumors said they paired perfectly with beer.
His friend's life-changing bliss had sparked envy.
And the others?
Every dwarf who ate them swore their tongues were oiled sweet, turning into poets praising the flavor.
Word had spread so far that black-market deals were rampant among the dwarves.
Plus, no one knew how long the young black hatchling creator would stick around.
Miss the chance now, who knew when it'd come again?
Then the announcer shouted.
"Tas! Heungmi! Match begin!"
"Hup!"
Tas, wielding the war hammer one-handed, slammed the ground right in front of Heungmi to intimidate her.
Boom!
The heavy impact cratered the training ground dirt.
"Choh!"
Above the falling weapon.
Heungmi leaped high, spinning twice in midair.
She channeled the centrifugal force straight into a heel kick to Tas's left cheek.
Crack!
"Gah!"
Crash!
Tas tumbled sideways in an undignified heap, rolling several times.
Heungmi, propelled upward by the recoil, spun gracefully and landed steadily.
She pointed her index finger straight at Tas.
"Mister! You're out!"
"Tas loses!"
"Wh-what!?"
Seconds later, Tas lifted his head in disbelief, propping up his torso.
He shook his misaligned jaw a few times, spat out two broken teeth, and exploded in rage.
"Raaargh! Thith can't be! No way!"
"Tch."
Rune, watching from a bench, clicked his tongue.
"Bro, you should train these dwarves. No matter who steps up as an enemy, they need to show at least basic competence."
"You're right. Even in a low-level dungeon, slacking like that gets you killed pointlessly."
Perdikion's expression soured too. It looked like the dwarves who'd let their guard down against Heungmi were in for brutal training soon—right up to the brink of death.
Already the third one.
Dwarves were falling to Heungmi's one punch after another, drawn in by her cute, tiny frame.
The losers kept quiet out of shame, refusing to admit defeat to her.
So the unaware dwarves kept getting steamrolled.
Before long, every dwarf on the grounds had faced her.
She's got great combat sense.
Sure, they were getting one-sidedly crushed.
But that was down to their skills—and their complacency.
Rune pondered distributing potato chip snacks for recovery.
Meanwhile, as Perdikion's face hardened fiercer, Gorbann and Wood's yellowish faces paled white.
"That brat... next training, I'll smash him myself...!"
Crunch!
A tooth-grinding sound that worried for Gorbann's dental health.
Heungmi, oblivious, dashed to Rune and held out both hands.
"More, please!"
"Good job. Here."
Rune placed a strip of jerky and a bag of potato chips on her palms from his pocket.
"Hee hee!"
Heungmi beamed brightly, bowed with a cheerful "Thank you!"
She stuffed the jerky into her snack pouch from the forge, then shoved the potato chips straight into her mouth—nom!
Hand on cheek, she wore a blissful expression.
"So yummy!"
Pleased by the praise and reward, she bolted back to the grounds.
Rune crossed his arms, watching her go.
"Bro, if the dungeon's too easy, it won't satisfy Heungmi."
"...True. Even just hand-to-hand, she's dominating like this."
Perdikion admitted readily.
She was toying with each dwarf like a cat batting a mouse.
In a way, it was inevitable.
Rune shrugged too.
Perdikion watched the next dwarf's battle axe handle snap, his head slammed into the dirt, then added.
"Better to have teammates support Heungmi instead. Even in team play, she'll lead as vanguard, tackling the riskiest monsters first."
"Agreed. Still, basics need teaching."
If she fights purely on beast instinct, stronger foes might trigger flight over fight.
Even if unfamiliar, she needed proper stances and situational techniques.
In the brief lull, the next dwarf—knuckles on—got grabbed, flung skyward.
Boom!
"Gack!"
"Kyahaha!"
Heungmi slammed him down like discarding trash, laughing wide enough to flash her baby fangs.
She grinned at Rune, Perdikion, and Baekya, flashing a V-sign.
She's thrilled. Like a fish in water.
Rune nodded, arms still crossed.
Next, she skipped rope-style over another dwarf's swinging whip, zipped behind at lightning speed, and punched his waist.
Crack!
A spine-disc-worrying sound.
Heungmi landed, then springboarded into spins, stomping his chest down.
The dwarf folded nearly in half backward, foaming at the mouth as he collapsed.
Thud!
"Fernan loses!"
Hm. Six wins in a row?
Counting was getting tedious.
The hunched dwarf got carried off to the palace infirmary by others.
"Should've told her to go easy—they're not young."
"No, your servant's already holding back plenty. She's consciously avoiding lethal spots. Want real power? Send her to monster fields instead."
Just as Perdikion said.
As a beastkin demon, Heungmi was born with freakish physical prowess.
Had she meant to kill, she'd target throat or heart.
Arms, legs, waist injuries? Proof she was going easy.
"Give snacks all at once later!"
Now Heungmi toyed with two or three dwarves at a time, called in sequence.
Rune shrugged his shoulders.
Watching's making me itchy.
That thrill when prey was right there!
A sensation he hadn't felt properly since his Imugi days.
Glancing aside, Perdikion's fingers twitched too.
Dragons were apex predators extraordinaire.
Red Dragons especially—battle-loving to a fault.
"Heungmi! All done!"
"Already? Good work."
In the end, every dwarf on the grounds was wiped out.
Rune stuffed a handful of potato chips into Heungmi's outstretched snack pouch.
"Phew! That was tough."
Heungmi wiped fake sweat dramatically, then beamed with pride and relief.
"Baekya! Did you see? Wasn't I awesome? I did great, right?"
"Peep!"
Baekya spread his white wings for her, chirping a merry tune as he flitted around her.
Having watched it all, Perdikion concluded.
"Combat's Heungmi's. For veteran dwarf escorts... one caught my eye. Let him guide inside the dungeon."
That guy. Jed Musket.
He'd taken hits from Heungmi but not one-sidedly.
Calmly counterattacked.
Sensed the power gap, endured with minimal damage.
Lost and fell, sure—but played pitiful to downplay injuries.
Thus, the Dungeon Conquest team was set, and Abandoned Mine Dungeon entry selections wrapped.
Though eliminated, Rune made recovery sandwiches from select ingredients and passed them to the battered dwarves who'd faced Heungmi.
Tough as nails, battle-hardened bunch.
Bones broken, flesh burst here and there—yet hearing they'd all lost, they laughed it off like a hilarious mishap, ribbing each other heartily.
"Misters, does it hurt a lot?"
"What? Doesn't hurt at all!"
"Yeah, see? Whiff!"
Heungmi, remembering their groans and worrying, asked after them.
They boomed back heartily, instead praising her pluck.
Said the young one's warrior spark was already showing.
Watching those dwarves, Rune thought.
No grudges—nice.