First Light
First Light
Second day off-stream.
As soon as I opened my eyes, the phone beside my pillow was ringing incessantly.
There were piles of messages waiting.
[Park Haneul: Wolha-ssi, how are you feeling? Will you make next week's broadcast?]
[Park Haneul: Not that you shouldn't rest if you're unwell...]
A bitter laugh escaped me.
"As if I'd want to miss a broadcast."
I swiped past the messages.
[Suyeon: Heard you're sick? Take care of yourself first hehe~ I'm just worried about you~]
This one was even more transparent.
Her true intentions were crystal clear - she wanted to solidify her top position while I was away.
Setting the phone down, I summoned my status window.
[Trait: Yin-Yang Person]
The solar aspect remained unchanged as ever.
Just in case, I activated the trait again.
— The sun burns fiercely within you.
As expected, nothing changed.
***
Though my mind didn't work as sharply as when I was Wolha, I needed to find a way to survive.
Gripping my phone, I began scouring the internet.
Trait evolution.
Trait enhancement.
Trait mutation.
No matter how I varied my search terms, no useful information appeared.
Most results were scam ads or speculative forum posts.
Then one thread from the dungeon gallery caught my eye.
---
Title: Examining the Relationship Between Traits and Dungeons
Author: Armchair Philosopher
Humanity developed traits when dungeons appeared.
Only humans, no other animals.
Doesn't that seem suspicious?
And now we're blindly delving deeper into dungeons.
Is this really okay?
What could possibly lie at the dungeon's depths that makes the Management Bureau push us inside?
ㅇㅇ: TLDR?
ㅇㅇ: Only humans getting traits is clearly artificial
ㅇㅇ: Yet we're blindly exploring dungeons
ㅇㅇ: Should we really keep doing this?
ㅇㅇ: Delusional bye
ㅇㅇ: The higher-ups will handle it~
ㅇㅇ: But we can't stop entering - most energy now comes from monster cores
ㅇㅇ: That's suspicious too - how did we suddenly abandon oil for this?
ㅇㅇ: ...Be careful, the Bureau might call you
---
Dungeons.
I too ventured into their depths, clinging to the faint hope of growing my trait.
So if I can enhance it further... maybe I could return to being female?
But.
"..."
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
A searing pain suddenly flared in my abdomen.
The moment my gut was pierced came flooding back -
The stench of burning fat and viscera filled my mind.
Reflexively, I clutched my stomach.
The scars had healed with potions, but my brain remembered every second.
I won't.
No, I can't.
"...Would the Management Bureau know something?"
Pocketing my phone, I left home.
A magnificent act of escapism.
***
A towering building looming over others in the city center.
I arrived at the local Management Bureau branch.
Suited employees and geared hunters moved about the entrance.
Swallowing hard, I pushed through the crowd.
First floor lobby.
All eyes turned toward me as I entered.
Pretending not to notice, I headed for the Trait Management Department.
"This shitty trait can't be real!
Let me try again!"
"Trait assignment only occurs once in a lifetime.
Your ability is hardened skin."
...Always a battlefield here.
The place where adults receive their single lifetime trait assignment.
And those who can't accept their results.
"Ghk!"
Plus security restraining such people.
Exactly as it was when I received my trait.
Taking a number while side-eyeing the dragged-out man, I soon heard my turn called.
"How may I help you?"
"I'd like to consult about my trait."
"May I see your hunter license?"
I produced the worn card from my wallet.
The photo showed 'Kang Yunha' - an ordinary guy with a dorky haircut.
The agent narrowed her eyes, comparing the image to me.
"...Is this really you?"
I'd heard this at the hospital too when Bureau staff visited.
After tedious verification, the consultation began.
"Could you explain trait enhancement in detail?"
But only canned responses followed.
"Trait enhancement? Does that really exist?"
"Through Deus... could you check?"
"...As you know, Deus was designed for dungeon conquest.
It doesn't provide individual hunter support."
"But still!"
"Hunter Kang Yunha, are you defying the Bureau over baseless rumors?"
The consultant's dark eyes bore into me.
"...No."
"Do you require further assistance?"
"No."
"The exit is that way.
Thank you."
Dragging heavy legs, I left the department.
Just as expected.
But one task remained.
I needed to defer my debt payments.
Clutching at straws, I took the elevator to the Compensation Processing Department.
***
The office was crammed with paperwork.
At the nearest desk sat a familiar figure.
A sharp-suited woman with an updo buried in documents.
Kim Ha-yeon.
The woman who'd presented me with a 304 million won medical bill at the hospital.
Approaching her desk, she looked up.
"How may I help you?"
"I'd... like to request deferment of the charged amount."
"...May I see your license first?"
"Here."
Her eyes widened slightly upon taking it.
Then she looked up at me.
"Hunter Kang Yunha...?"
"Yes, long time no see."
Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
"...Your male form changed too."
"Yes."
Her hands paused.
Then she abruptly stood.
"Let's speak privately.
Follow me."
She ushered me into an empty meeting room and closed the door.
Sitting down, she lowered her voice.
"Payment deferment?"
"Yes. Circumstances have left me temporarily without..."
"Against regulations."
She cleanly cut me off.
"Emergency potion costs aren't eligible for deferment."
"...If I can't pay?"
"Late fees accrue.
After three months, forced collection begins.
If insufficient, we'll pursue your family."
"..."
Mom... Dad...
"...Understood."
My legs felt weak.
Should I use this overflowing strength for manual labor?
Damn it...
Forcing myself up, strength returned to my hands.
Kang Yunha, what are you doing.
She's just doing her job.
But I couldn't hold back anymore.
What did I do wrong?
I just wanted to live decently.
Just when things were looking up...
Unaware of my turmoil, Kim Ha-yeon twirled her pen.
Once.
Twice.
"Hunter Kang Yunha."
"...Yes."
"While trait enhancement has never been officially confirmed..."
She stopped the pen.
"You know it's truly possible, don't you?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Enter the dungeon."
"What?"
"The answer lies there."
"...I nearly died there."
My voice shook as I spoke.
That disgusting sensation returned to my gut.
"I know."
She set the pen down.
"It's all in the records.
Found unconscious at the gate.
Abdominal penetration and burns requiring S-grade emergency potions."
The same tone as when presenting my hospital bill.
"But you survived three years in dungeons."
"...Just three years scraping by on the first floor others clear in a day."
"That doesn't matter.
What matters is you're still alive."
"..."
"Why hesitate?"
Her gaze dropped to my hands.
"You're trembling."
Only then did I notice my shaking hands.
Those massive hands that shattered sinks now quivered with fear.
As I hastily clenched them—
Her hand moved toward mine.
Stopping just short.
Withdrawing, she picked up her pen.
"...Since seeing you in that hospital room, I've researched you, Yunha-ssi."
Meeting my eyes, she continued.
"You can stand again."
My heart pounded.
Warmth seemed to radiate behind her cold mask.
Yet I couldn't voice my intent to return to dungeons.
"Ha-yeon-ssi! What are you doing there?"
A voice called from outside.
"Ah, Director. One moment."
She ushered me out.
"Consultation concluded."
Left in the hallway, she turned away without looking back.
Tossing one final remark.
"...Best not to default on payments."
The door closed, her heels clicking away.
***
Home again, I reached deep into a drawer.
A chipped dagger wrapped in newspaper awaited me.
Drawing it out, I gripped the hilt.
What once felt substantial now seemed toy-light.
Kim Ha-yeon's voice echoed.
"You can stand again."
The hilt creaked in my tightening grip.
Summoning my status window, the solar aspect still blazed.
The last dungeon visit.
Carried out bleeding from a gut wound.
Back then, I couldn't even reach the second floor.
But.
I swung the dagger through air with all my might.
The whoosh resonated through the room.
Maybe now's different?
The trait that created Wolha now grants me new strength.
Again.
"Stand up."
One more time.
"Enter the dungeon."
Outside, sunset painted everything crimson.
Time to return to the dungeon.