You Be the Bait!

"Haha, right? You don't have any reason to protect everyone, do you~?"

Kwon Yooseok let out an awkward laugh, breaking the chilled atmosphere.

"Yeah, yeah. You're the master of the hunters, after all. I was being too presumptuous."

During the car ride, Kwon Yooseok stayed silent. Neither of them made any effort to lighten the mood. Seoya had always been awkward with relationships, so she didn't find the silence uncomfortable, while Kwon Yooseok kept his smile plastered on through it all.

Finally, the car pulled up in front of the dungeon. Kwon Yooseok got out with Seoya and naturally opened the car door for her, just like before.

"You planning to enter the dungeon with me?"

"Of course. Might as well rescue some people while I'm here~."

I don't think I need the help. Swallowing those words, Seoya stared straight ahead. The blue gate, now even larger than before, hummed faintly, emanating a subtle mana aura.

Seoya took a step forward, her foot crossing into the gate.

Whoosh—

The harsh wind that never got easier to endure, the nauseating flip in her stomach, the ringing buzz in her ears. A moment later, when Seoya opened her eyes...

"What the...?"

Kwon Yooseok's surprised voice came from beside her. A sudden change in dungeon rewards was unprecedented, especially when it jumped straight to S-rank.

But Seoya was more interested in something else.

If the reward is an S-rank magic stone... ah.

Ibin had set up the System cleverly, as expected. If S-rank magic stone dungeons popped up randomly across Korea for Seoya—who had no idea where she might be—it would cause chaos in the country and exhaust Seoya herself.

The simple solution? Change the rewards only for dungeons Seoya entered.

To that end, she'd been given the title Master of This World.

So every title has its own effect, huh.

"Forward!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Huh?"

The moment the dungeon's interior came into view, Seoya yanked Kwon Yooseok ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠toward her. At the same time, a bird soared over his head. Sharp, ferocious teeth protruded from its beak—calling it a bird was questionable at best.

"D-rank monster, Small-Beaked Fanged Bird."

Kwon Yooseok muttered, as if he recognized it.

The dungeon's interior resembled the jungles Seoya had seen in documentaries—humid, steamy air rising around them, towering trees blocking any long-range sight. The moss- and dirt-covered ground sank with every step, hindering movement. Strange animal cries echoed from somewhere—creek-creek—reminding them this was an utterly alien place. A thick fog further obscured visibility, leaving them with only the fact that everything was green.

Kwon Yooseok glanced around before speaking.

"Hmm... Jungle-type dungeon. Not super common~ Been a while since I was in one."

"What's different about a jungle?"

Seoya asked Kwon Yooseok. Her knowledge was limited to Mutants, so he knew more about dungeons.

"Monsters, obviously?"

He answered bluntly.

"Jungles have tons of animals, right? Same here—jungle dungeons are packed with monsters. You kill and kill, but they never end. Easier to clear by finding and taking out the boss monster quick."

"What's a boss monster?"

"Different for every dungeon, so you can't tell right away. You'll know when you meet it."

If this were an S-rank dungeon, she'd know immediately if the boss was a Mutant. Hunting for it here was a hassle for Seoya.

Kwon Yooseok pulled a small pocketknife from his pocket and snapped off a nearby branch to mark their starting point—jungles made it easy to get lost.

"Seoya, you're not the theory type, huh~? You really show your newbie side in places like this."

"Theory doesn't seem important."

Seoya swept her hair back, speaking indifferently.

"It's all the same anyway. Just kill every monster."

"Haha..."

Kwon Yooseok laughed awkwardly at her aggressive words. Ignoring him, Seoya closed her eyes and spread her mana wide, searching for human presences.

That's when voices started filtering in.

"Forward! Keep running forward, everyone!"

"There are no monsters ahead!"

"Wait, I hear voices."

"What? I don't hear anything."

"Try harder and you'll hear them."

Leaving Kwon Yooseok to ponder her reality-warping words, Seoya strode forward. The voices came from beyond the thick fog. There had to be people hidden by it.

"Kyaaack!"

The moment Seoya encountered them, the woman at the front screamed. But upon seeing Seoya's harmless face, she sheepishly stood from where she'd collapsed.

"A person! S-sorry. I thought you were a monster."

Seoya didn't reply, scanning the survivors. One, two, three, four, five.

Seems like that's all of them.

"You a student trapped here too? Lucky you're still alive."

The auntie behind the woman spoke, clearly not mistaking her for a hunter due to her youthful looks.

Then Kwon Yooseok stepped forward from behind Seoya.

"Any other survivors?"

"Pr-probably not..."

"One died earlier, that..."

"Ah..."

"Hunter Kwon Yooseok?"

One of the women recognized the rank 10 hunter and cried out in surprise. Relieved by the sudden arrival of pros, tears welled in her eyes.

"Yes, we're here to rescue you~."

"Then is the kid a hunter too?"

"Uh, yeah, sorta."

Seoya shrugged lightly at the question directed her way. Without her face covered, she had to hide her rank 0 status. If pressed, she'd flash the fake hunter ID she'd gotten recently and claim B-rank.

"Monsters were everywhere here, but now they're gone?"

"Ah."

The uncle at the back glanced around uneasily. Kwon Yooseok had said jungle dungeons swarmed with monsters, but Seoya sensed none nearby.

And she knew why.

The monsters are avoiding me.

The survivors had probably run instinctively toward her direction to escape the monsters, leading them here.

But if monsters avoid me, finding the boss might be tricky.

Worse, she had no idea if the boss was a Mutant. It was a B-rank dungeon, but the S-rank reward made her doubt it was just B-rank.

Maybe it changed when I entered... Ugh, what now?

After deep thought, Seoya tapped Kwon Yooseok's arm—she'd figured it out.

"Let's talk for a sec."

"What? Something the civilians can't hear?"

"Yeah."

"Skill, Information Blockade."

Whoosh—

A pale purple barrier enveloped just the two of them before vanishing. It seemed to prevent inside sounds from escaping.

"Okay, what were you gonna say?"

"I've been thinking. With me here, it'll be hard to even find the boss monster from the start."

Seoya's homeworld Toda ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had open terrain with few obstacles, making Mutants easy to spot. On Earth, she usually stumbled upon monsters or Mutants mid-attack on humans rather than seeking them out. Not once had one approached her voluntarily.

"Plus, I don't know the boss's rank. B-rank would be fine, but with the reward bumped to S-rank, it might be S-rank too."

"Yeah, that's a real problem~ No one else can kill an S-rank monster but you."

Kwon Yooseok looked uncharacteristically serious—his life was on the line, after all.

"So, I came up with something."

Seoya met his eyes, speaking deliberately. She wasn't the thinking type, but she'd actually pondered this and devised a solid plan.

"What? Sounds good—go ahead. It's not like a rank 0 plan would suck."

Buoyed by his confidence, Seoya declared boldly.

"You be the bait!"

"...Oh."

"I considered a few things. To find monsters, I can't be around. But to kill them, I have to be. And we can't split from the civilians, so while you're baiting, I'll stick with them and zip over to finish the boss."

Kwon Yooseok's expression grew increasingly strange.

"There might be more survivors, so we need to clear fast. Instead of chasing monsters and wasting time, luring them to us should speed things ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up, right?"

Seoya beamed proudly, pleased with her multifaceted reasoning.

Kwon Yooseok gave an ambiguous smile.

"Yeah... You really considered a lot of factors..."

"Right?"

"But my feelings as the bait weren't one of them, huh?"

"Obviously not!"

He clutched the back of his neck at her bright, brazen reply.

No, you weren't supposed to say that so confidently...