A Peculiar Familiar
"Great one. You are my creator...!"
I blinked vacantly.
Creator? Did I give birth to her or something?
Ah, well, since I forged her from my own blood, I guess that counts.
At any rate, there wasn't a hint of hostility toward me.
Only pure, blind loyalty radiated from her.
Phew, what a relief.
I mean, she called herself my familiar— it wouldn't make sense for her to attack me right after appearing.
Ahem. No need to get cold feet.
Since the atmosphere wasn't bad, I figured I should at least exchange greetings, awkward as they might be.
Let's see...
'Hey, nice to meet you. Looking forward to working together.'
Something casual like that should do it.
I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.
And spoke with utmost courtesy.
"Greetings, my first familiar. I shall bestow upon thee the rare honor of becoming my servant."
...What an arrogant load of nonsense.
Damn it!
My mouth moved on its own again!
I reeled internally, but it was too late.
The Noble Bearing skill had forced out that utterly pretentious line from the very start.
Cold sweat trickled down the back of my neck.
This was an SSR-grade beauty who'd seemed ready to fold me in half just moments ago.
What if she got pissed at that haughty bullshit?
Thoroughly spooked, I took a cautious step back.
But then...
"Ahh...!"
Her shoulders trembled as she prostrated herself on the floor.
When she finally lifted her head, her blood-red eyes weren’t filled with rage—but with hot tears of emotion.
"To grant this wretched lump of blood the glorious privilege of being your first servant the moment I open my eyes!"
She bowed even deeper, her forehead nearly scraping the floor.
"I shall serve you, my master, until my dying breath!"
...Uh, okay.
What the hell. This fanatic with her overwhelming loyalty.
Apparently, the rude line forced by my passive skill had hit her exact tastes.
At least I'm alive. Thank goodness.
I kept an imperiously haughty expression on the outside while inwardly wiping the sweat from my brow.
Now that I had a subordinate who actually listened, it was time to settle on a proper form of address. I couldn't keep calling her "hey" or "you."
Doesn't look Eastern European. Maybe give her a cool, fantasy-game-style Western name? She'd probably love that.
I put on a stern face and spoke.
"Very well. From this day forth, I shall call thee... Katarina."
"...!!"
Her eyes went wide as saucers.
Struck speechless by the gift of a name, She worked her lips before crying out, overcome with emotion.
"A magnificent decree! Your faithful sword and shield, Katarina, shall obey your every command!"
Hm. She seems thrilled. Good.
With a name sorted, I decided to subtly probe for info on how the world worked.
No matter how much trivia I'd picked up from games and forums, I didn't know the deep lore of this world or the hunter industry's secrets.
She was a familiar summoned by an EX-rank class skill, so maybe she had some insane intel?
"Katarina. How much dost thou know of the world's workings?"
She straightened her posture at once and answered crisply.
"Yes. I have mastered the basics: smartphone operation, Korean currency, the ecosystem of gates and hunters, and so on."
Oh. Nice, she gets modern life and common knowledge.
I probed deeper.
"Then, dost thou know of the trials this body has endured in the past?"
If she knew all my cringey black history, I'd be in trouble.
Katarina bowed her head briefly, then replied apologetically.
"How could a mere creation like I presume to fathom the abyssal memories enshrined in my creator's divine form?"
She doesn't know.
What about hunter industry secrets?
"And the secrets of the hunter world?"
"Regrettably, I lack such knowledge. But if my master desires, I shall sever the Hunter Association president's head and bring you the vermin humans' hidden truths this instant!"
Yeah, she doesn't know.
Also, Katarina, why go for the innocent president's head...?
Just talk, right?
After a few more back-and-forths, I nodded to myself.
Made from my blood, she only knew the basics at my level. Nothing I didn't know, and even then, she lacked the finer details.
Alright, subordinate intel check complete.
Now for the real problem.
I'm broke.
My bank balance was scraping zero.
I needed money.
To buy fresh blood or meat for boosting my Blood Power.
And considering the sunlight trickling in even now, I needed way thicker blackout curtains for this room.
I pulled out my smartphone for more info.
Staring at the screen brought the usual shaky lock icon.
Face does not match.
Argh, pissing me off.
Having to punch in the passcode every damn time I check my phone is annoying as hell.
Gritting my teeth, I dove into settings, deleted the old face data, switched to selfie mode, and twisted my new face every which way to register fresh facial recognition.
New facial recognition set.
There. This stupid Apple phone should've recognized me sooner.
I snorted and typed "Awakener Registration" into the search bar.
In Korea, awakeners must report to the Hunter Association within a set period—it's the law.
That's how you get the government's starter funds and benefits.
But even as an EX-rank, my fatal penalty meant I couldn't step outside during the day.
Eh, I can just go after sunset, nice and quiet.
Checking the Hunter Association's hours...
Korean Hunter Association Awakener Registration Center Hours
Weekdays: 9:00 AM ~ 6:00 PM
Weekends & Holidays: Closed (No nighttime reception)
* Awakener registration cannot be done online. You must visit the center in person.
...You're kidding me?
Gates popping nonstop, monsters pouring out, and they clock out at 6 sharp?!
Can't go out in daylight 'cause of the sun, and they're closed at night? You bureaucrats!
At this rate, I'd be an involuntary illegal unregistered awakener.
Whatever, think on that later.
For now, the urgent cash crisis.
Even at night, wandering around in this silver-haired kid body feels off.
So... send Katarina?
Hm. Proxies and deputies are standard in our line of work.
My inner shady rice-eating dark gamer instincts kicked in again.
But in this brutal awakener era, how's an unregistered newbie supposed to make quick cash?
One fast, surefire way.
I opened the YouTube app.
Searched "Tower of Trials."
The Tower of Trials—unlike random gates, it's a personal dungeon any awakener can access anywhere.
Tower-shaped, floors 1, 2, and up, hence the name. Or just "the Tower" for short.
"Behold this, my servant Katarina."
I played the top popular video and showed her.
Easy mode ended quick with some low-grade slimes. Per Hunter Gallery, most awakeners start on Easy Floor 1, clear up to Normal, and call it. That's D~C-rank potential.
Normal had a pack of hefty wolf monsters—barely cleared. The YouTuber handled it smoothly. Clean Normal clear gets B-rank recognition.
Hard mode: panting, chugging potions to down the boss. Hard clearers are treated like pros.
Nightmare? On another level. Clear it for A-rank prodigy status; fast clear makes you an S-rank candidate. The infamous "1-minute wall"—no one's cleared under a minute worldwide.
Kraaaah! Guys! Nightmare is hell! Stay away...! The YouTuber screamed, pummeled to a pulp by a house-sized orc boss.
Video uploaded fine, so he survived—probably hospitalized for a while, though.
Eek.
I shuddered.
Just watching made me queasy.
Grazed by that massive club, my body—fragile as it is—would shatter in a second. Even in my old form, it'd hurt.
Nightmare's a no-go, obviously.
No clue how strong Katarina is, but start Easy and scale up.
As I mulled that over...
"Hm?"
Katarina, who'd been meekly peering at the phone beside me, tilted her head curiously.
"If I may be so bold, might I ask one question?"
"Speak."
"Why does my master watch these vermin's antics so intently? Is it... for amusement?"
Uh oh...?