Classic Cliché Savior

A classic cliché, an indescribable sense of betrayal welled up.

No, if she could transform into a humanoid form, she should've done it ages ago.

Just a photo of the boss monster in human form would've pulled way more aggro than the wolf pic...!

And she was insanely beautiful, too.

The kind of beauty that'd send your Insta follower count rocketing toward the stars if you posted it.

A pic of Fenrion's human form could've dominated the Helji Gallery night posts, plus every other community's concept threads as a bonus.

"I just tossed away the gallery cheat key. Gonna haunt me till I fall asleep...."

...Honestly, I only learned today that monsters can transform into humans, but whatever.

If there are transformation hunters who turn into monsters to fight while being human, the reverse shouldn't be impossible.

Anyway, with Fenrion gone who-knows-where, all I could do was bide my time.

Calling out to her through a photo now that she's vanished somewhere would be weird, and I don't even know how to summon her in the first place.

-Rustle rustle.-

-Rustle rustle.-

"...Mm......"

"Oh."

Right on cue, the hunters who'd been out cold started waking up one by one, so I decided to focus on them for now.

Honestly, at this point, I didn't even care about gallery cheat keys or whatever—I just wanted to go home.

Can't post if you're dead, after all.

"You with us? ...No, wait, here, eat this?"

"Wh-who... are you, kid?"

I approached one of the less beat-up hunters from the group that had tangled with the wolf monster earlier.

Back when I was a convenience store clerk, humans terrified me to the point of tears, but now? Seeing people made tears of joy well up.

Man, it's been forever since I heard a human voice.

"Just a passerby part-timer."

"......?"

"For real."

The swordswoman hunter gave me a look like her common sense had just peaced out.

Still, she didn't seem wary of me.

I mean, what threat could a cute little girl like this pose?

Anyway, I begged the hunter to please take me out of the dungeon.

Unlike them, I'd gotten sucked in by a gate that popped up out of nowhere.

"I'm super late for my shift. Might actually get fired."

"You.... How old even are you to be working a part-time job?"

"Adult enough. Got ID and everything."

"Don't lie."

Hey, is that really the priority right now?

As the conversation veered off-track, I suggested we talk after escaping the dungeon first.

Only then did the hunter snap out of it and nod in agreement.

-Twitch.

-Twitch twitch.

"Jinhyeok oppa, isn't that the kid from earlier?"

"White hair matches... But why's a kid in a dungeon?"

From afar, more hunters were muttering about me, their voices crystal clear.

Thanks to these new ears, I guess.

Footsteps approached—crunch crunch.

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

I looked up to meet their bewildered faces.

"Hey, kid. No guardians? Parents?"

"Nope."

"What?"

Yeah, no mom or dad. What're you gonna do, add to the collection?

I shot them a look that said as much, and flustered expressions rippled across their faces.

Come on, is that the important thing right now?

So frustrating.

"I wanna get out of this dungeon. Anyone gonna escort me?"

I made my intentions crystal clear: skip intros, just escape.

Unlike these pros who came to raid, I'd been strolling and got yanked in by a gate.

"Look, kid, it's like this......"

The raid leader glanced at the healers tending the wounded in the distance before continuing.

"We can't leave right now. No way to get you out."

"Huh? Why?"

"Haven't found the Dungeon Core yet. Gate stays shut till we do. Forcing it would just get you hurt."

To exit a dungeon, you need the Dungeon Core.

Basically a type of mana stone, but I tuned out the boring, pedantic details.

All that mattered: hunters retrieve it to stabilize the gate.

Yeah, the core went haywire, gate opened, sinkhole sucked me in.

Random underground gate? Just bad luck.

Mm-hmm.

Summary done.

"Leave the core berserk too long, monsters inside get fiercer. Eventually gate shocks, monsters spill out. We call that a Gate Shock—"

"Don't know... What's that... Scary...."

I skipped the exploding TMI dump.

No hunter license yet—no need for Hunter 101.

"Oppa, can't you see she's scared? Comfort her first, geez!"

"Yeah yeah, kiddo. Ignore this uncle. Sis'll get you home safe."

The swordswoman I'd first talked to and a mage hunter fussed over me.

It actually felt comforting, so I stayed put.

They shoved chocolate at me like a snack—nom nom.

Then—hack—I spat it right out.

Sweet chocolate, but one bite and my stomach flipped.

"You idiot!! Don't give chocolate to a dog beastkin!!"

"W-water, kid!"

Right, I'm assimilated with Fenrion right now.

Wolves are canines like dogs—chocolate's poison, so my body rejected it.

This skill's way too detailed.

Thought I was gonna die, you jerks...!

"D-deactivate... assimilation......"

Coughing, I hit the perfectly timed prompt and deactivated the skill.

New ears and tail poofed away.

Back to 100% pure human, dizziness finally eased.

"Wha—?"

"Ears gone.... Tail too?"

Hunters' shocked voices.

Oh right, hadn't mentioned I'm awakened yet.

They must've thought the ears and tail were congenital.

Sorry to disappoint—not rare beastkin, just plain human.

"Hey, kid. You wouldn't happen to be awa—"

"Yup. I am."

Raid leader approached with a serious face again, so I nodded.

Priority wasn't my awakening—escaping this dungeon.

Let's hunt that core first.

So many dialogue events. Games like this flop.

"Or do you have a Return Stone or something?"

"Well... This was supposed to be a C-rank dungeon. Luxury for C-rank. We bring 'em for A-rank and up. Guild policy."

"Huh? You guys nearly wiped. Really C-rank?"

"......That's the problem. Difficulty spiked outta nowhere."

Chatty hunter looked grave again.

Assumed C-rank raid, but actual grade higher—nearly total party kill.

Explains why they kept getting pushed back.

"Honestly, no confidence. Safest to wait for external rescue."

"Gate's shut, how?"

"Gate Shock opens it back up. Outsiders probably noticed something's off by now."

Fail to core in time: gate berserks, shocks open, monsters flood out.

But gate open means rescuers can enter.

...Shouldn't have skipped that earlier.

"Anyway... We hunker down till rescue. Core ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunt's too risky. Monsters all vanished for some reason, though......"

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

"Won't they respawn before rescue and wipe us?"

"...Pray they come quick."

Rational for leader, but not foolproof.

Neither choice great odds.

And here I enter stage right.

The savior to flip this grim setup.

Yep, me.

"Trust me."

"Pardon?"

"I'm actually an S-rank hunter."

"...Park Serin, Lee Yuju. Watch her."

Didn't even hear me out—raid leader dumped me on others and left.

But I predicted that.

Template, right?

Underrated scrub saves all, party weeps in awe.

Peak classic cliché.

"Heh heh heh."

Mouth already curling at the thought of starring in it.

No attack skills yet, but I trusted what I had.

Saw it clear as day: Manifestation skill conditions met.

S-rank skill—should turn the tide.

"Status window."

"...It was there?"

Emergency. Something's wrong.

Like my parents—supposed to be there, isn't.

"Uh, um.... Assimilation!"

Retracing memories, I checked skills one by one.

Definitely saw Manifestation prompts earlier.

Actives first.

"N-not this.... Then...."

"D-data view!"

Last hope—checked Data View storage again.

Had to be here.

"Phew......"

Okay.

Manifestation skill exists.

Wasn't seeing things.

Heart nearly dropped.

"Acquirable means... I hadn't actually acquired it yet."

Conditions met, but hadn't claimed it.

Earlier noisy description normalized, but Manifestation priority now.

Ugh, can't these auto-grant? Too much for F-rank?

"Duh."

"What the—? Why's the skill so picky."

So I reactivated Assimilation.

What choice? Needs Fenrion mode.

-Swish swish.

-Twitch.

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

"T-tail's back? How?!"

"Ears too. So cute...!"

Hunters freaked over the reappeared tail and ears.

But bigger fish now.

"...One sec."

Ignoring them, finished acquisition.

Gotta escape ASAP.

"Acquire skill."

"10 minutes.... Kinda meh."

Still, got Manifestation.

Before acting, sorted priorities: Find Dungeon Core first.

Then slay guarding monsters, return to hunters.

Group escape last.

Perfect.

Plan set.

Let's do this.

"Hey."

"Yeah? Hungry?"

"No, uh.... You guys don't know the Dungeon Core's location yet, right?"

"Mm......"

Swordswoman trailed off, then pointed yonder.

Followed her finger: injured hunters.

"That one's our scout."

"Ah...."

"Wiped before scouting. No one knows location."

Situation sucks all around.

But fine.

Overcoming odds is the cliché.

Brainstorm.

"H-how do you find Dungeon Cores?"

"So curious? Fine, nothing else to do. Let's chat."

Conversation dragged, mostly fluff—skipped.

TL;DR only.

Key bits:

"Where monsters cluster thickest, boss habitat...."

"They say it reeks of danger. Solo? Instant death."

Flash of insight.

Currently assimilated with wolf-type Fenrion (1%).

Sounds sharper, senses keener than human.

Smell too? Wolves sniff great.

"...Can't bump this 1% higher?"

Boost nose a bit, core location easy.

Fenrion's hidden boss—nose better than any hunter or regular mob.

"...Mm......"

Closed eyes, focused mind.

Assimilation: become Fenrion, not old me.

To raise rate, lean more Fenrion.

Start with mindset.

Shift mentality slowly.

I'm fluffy, I'm fluffy, I'm fluffy...