Sickly Beauty

A blanket human existed on the hospital bed.

Wrapped tightly in a sky-blue blanket meant for caregivers, forming a cone shape around her body with only her face peeking out. That ridiculous sight, somehow combined with her pitiful face, gave off a mischievous vibe—or even carried a hint of profound philosophy.

Yeonwoo, now a blanket human, stared at the wall mirror with a deadly serious expression. She glared so intensely that she even narrowed her eyes. It felt philosophical in its own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right. If anyone were watching, they'd hold their breath, wondering what deep contemplation she was lost in.

Then Yeonwoo spoke.

"Fuckin' fancy-lookin'."

A truly profound insight.

But that mirror. Not only was it huge, but it had soft lighting along the frame. A glowing mirror? She'd seen weapons glow before, but a mirror? And installed in a hospital room, no less?

And was it just the mirror?

"Is this a hospital room or a hotel?"

Even back in her veteran days, she'd frequented hospitals often. Hunters of Yeonwoo's caliber even kept separate hospital bags stocked with essentials for long stays. But in all that time racking up hospital visits, she'd never seen a room this luxurious.

"Hell, I don't even remember ever using a private room."

It felt like she'd stepped into another world. Everything in sight maintained a pristine white tone—from the bed to the windows, furniture, and walls. None of the usual stuffy hospital vibe. Even the scenery and air felt refreshingly crisp.

"Are private rooms always like this?"

Of course not. For starters, the daily rate here was beyond imagination. If Yeonwoo heard the price, she'd fling off the blanket and jump out of bed. And it wasn't even a room you could buy your way into with money alone.

Anyway, the reason Yeonwoo was eyeing the mirror wasn't just the money. It was finally time to inspect herself properly.

"Doesn't look too skinny or anything. But damn, the vibe's completely different."

Of course, a thorough check of her features was a bonus.

Yeonwoo poked her soft, springy cheeks, then tapped her earring.

She'd finally reached Tier II. Her stigma had evolved, and a new trait had been added.

"Hunter life really starts now."

Tier I was basically the tutorial. Sure, the stage was the Ant Nest, but she'd accidentally tackled the highest difficulty tutorial. And the reward for that was...

"So, the more I wipe them out, the stronger I get against that species."

If she returned to the Ant Nest now, she'd be stronger against all ants as a species because she'd massacred them. But the word "superiority" nagged at her. It felt like more than just raw power.

...Hmm.

Yeonwoo's delicate eyelids ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slowly lowered. She recalled the ants. Image training—a vital skill for a veteran hunter who staked her life on real battles. You had to account for every variable to handle emergencies.

Yeonwoo focused her mind. In her imagination.

She approached an ant, weapon in hand. No hesitation, no fear, no tension. Not just from battle-hardened knowledge of ants. It was an overwhelming superiority transcending species. A natural emotion, action, meaning.

Step. Step.

She closed in on the ant. Her chosen weapon: a spear.

As the ant lunged, jaws wide...

Poke.

She thrust low. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠No great force.

Squelch.

No resistance. The spear slipped naturally between the jaws, into the brain's core neural network—a cluster of hundreds of thousands of neurons. She shredded it.

The ant collapsed without a fight. No chance against her decisive strike. Just like before, it slammed its head to the ground in worship of a new queen before dying.

"Huh."

Yeonwoo opened her eyes. A dazed feeling made her blink those pitiful eyes repeatedly.

It wasn't a real memory. She didn't know that hunting method. She had no idea where an ant's brain was located.

"...This is superiority?"

But the Gate Liberator of Species Annihilation granted it. After massacring the ant horde and all twelve queen ants, it ingrained in her flesh the superiority to kill ants by any means.

"Ha, haha..."

A hollow laugh escaped. She'd heard gate liberators were amazing, but it had always ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt like someone else's story. Now that she had one, it was literally beyond common sense. Absurdly powerful.

But power like that came with conditions.

"Gonna need some groundwork."

For ants, she'd practically exterminated the species, living up to the title. Hence her overwhelming superiority against them. But other species? Not yet.

"At least building foundations is familiar."

Adaptation was another key veteran trait. In gates, she'd grind low-level mobs relentlessly. That ingrained familiarity was now handed to her via the liberator's authority. Plus, her veteran experience remained etched in her body. Even farming gates to build that authority felt like a well-trodden path. Everything clicked into place.

"Next up."

Yeonwoo reached for her status window. Time to check the evolved stigma. Tier II meant it could finally shine.

For reference, pre-regression, her first stigma was "Weapon Proficiency +". At Tier II, it became "Skilled Weapon Use". Effect: "Use weapons skillfully." Straightforward.

"What a rip-off."

High hopes for Tier II, shattered. Not a memory she cherished. But now it was just fuel for growth—irrelevant past.

Yeonwoo tapped the floating system window with her slender finger.

Two whole new lines added to the original effects. Worlds apart from "skilled something-or-other."

"Ah, so that's it."

The second ability: alignment. She'd half-expected it.

Yeonwoo pulled a weapon from her Bag. An intact iron sword. No glow, no heat.

"Switch."

A button appeared on the hilt at her word.

Click. Click.

Just like the "Fidget Knife" weapon's switch.

"Perfect."

With her will, the switch vanished.

"As expected."

Option alignment: toggle options on or off at will. It made sense—essential safety for fusing random weapons.

"Now I can do stuff like this."

She drew a short rod weapon, the "Bubble Stick." Fused it and swung the iron sword—soap bubbles foamed out.

For good measure, she adapted "Sparkle Sparkle" too. The result was a sight to behold.

But "Sparkle Sparkle" wasn't as intense as against the ants. Probably because the stacked light burst out all at once during the fresh fuse.

Still, "Sparkle Sparkle" had tons of uses. "Bubble Stick," on the other hand? Utter garbage.

But Yeonwoo was a former all-weapon master and veteran hunter. Her sharp mind instantly spotted a use for the bubbles.

"Gonna show off to Yeonseo when she comes."

She was thrilled.

Next, the third line: tracking weapons' traces.

"Hmm."

But how? What exactly?

"Legendary weapon!"

She shouted randomly. Nothing.

"Damn it."

Her cheek burned instead. At least the blanket offered some comfort.

"Legendary weapon. Madness. Find it."

More specific this time. Madness was a fairly famous weapon. Or rather, its owner was—a top Numbers hunter, unaffiliated and solo.

"..."

Still nothing. Not as handy as a phone AI.

"How the hell do you track?"

Asking a famous hunter directly might be faster. Come to think of it, she'd learned Mikael was a saint. Butter him up, and maybe he'd spill some Eden intel.

"I basically did everything for him anyway."

He'd even taken responsibility like a boss. Later acted like a cute little brother too, grumbling all the way.

"Oh yeah, I got her card."

Jeong Eunhye had openly mentioned weapons during the newbie support program.

—Some weapons have special options that let you get instantly stronger by switching.

She'd said it casually, but seemed to know exactly where that weapon was. Even with the "if you get stronger" condition, it didn't feel like a test. More like a matter of timing. Her intent to share was crystal clear.

Bzzzt—

Suddenly, the system window glitched. Amid the static noise, a weapon's silhouette flickered over it.

"Huh?"

The form was blurry, but details appeared below. Name. And location.

"BattleEveWildSanct... What a mouthful."

Battle on the Eve of the Wild Sanctuary Gate was already liberated. Famous for its odd name too. And in a stabilized gate, an event would yield the Flicker of an Instant.

"So that's how it works."

The evolved stigma clicked: fuse weapons, tweak for better ones, then hunt them down. A stigma purely for weapons.

One oddity: the tracking condition.

"What's the exact trigger?"

Just knowing and acknowledging a weapon wasn't enough. But after Jeong Eunhye's solid support, its location revealed itself.

"Complicated."

Not even direct from her mouth. Firm intent or goodwill as clues? Tricky.

But the vagueness sparked an idea.

"...Can it detect lies?"

Maybe pierce through deception.

"Still complicated."

Thinking practically just brought frustration. Theory-building gave her a headache. She'd get used to it in time. Tricky, but undeniably useful.

"Last one."

New trait "Recall Weapon" was obvious—no test needed. She'd checked post-queen ant. Only legendary weapons left.

"Right away..."

Bang!

As Yeonwoo reached for "Long Live Queen," the door flew open like it might explode.

"You, you little... Yaaah—!"

Yeonseo bared her teeth at Yeonwoo. Then launched her whole body at the finally-awakened blanket human.

"Oof."

Yeonwoo hurriedly caught her.

But Yeonseo's fury showed no sign of cooling.

"Do you have any idea! How much! Huh? How much I worried?! You know that?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I get it."

Yeonseo squeezed her eyes shut and shrieked. Not enough—she balled her fists and pounded Yeonwoo's chest.

Yeonwoo reached out too. Not to block the anger. Just to gently pat Yeonseo's back.

"Know what?! You don't know shit!"

"But I woke up right away. And I did good, right? Didn't hear about my exploits from the others?"

"Right away? You wake up after a month and say that?!"

"...Huh?"

A month?

Yeonwoo's eyes went wide. Shock froze her patting hand mid-motion.

"A... month...?"

"Yeah!"

"Wait..."

Yeonwoo's face drained white. Her gaze creakily scanned the room.

"H-Hospital... bills...? Our... deposit safe?!"

Legendary weapons could wait.