[You have acquired a Cursed Body.]
[You have acquired a Man-Eating Monster.]
[You have acquired Blasphemy.]
These were the traits I got from the Minotaur.
I equipped the traits.
[You have acquired the trait Innate Destroyer. Physique-related stats increase by +200.]
[You have acquired the trait Human Devourer. Exudes intimidation towards humans.]
[You have acquired the trait Divine Resistance. Grants resistance to divinity.]
I got Innate Destroyer from Cursed Body,
Human Devourer from Man-Eating Monster,
and Divine Resistance from Blasphemy.
I equipped Cursed Body.
It raised my Strength, Agility, and Constitution by a whopping 100.
And if you include the stats from the trait, it's 300.
If I enhance the trait, the stats will increase even more.
[Enhancing Cursed Body+.]
[You have acquired Cursed Body++.]
I equipped the +2 enhanced Cursed Body.
Strength, Agility, and Constitution increased by 300.
Including the trait, it's 500.
Just equipping one trait brought me close to the limit of my stats.
,Let's unequip all but one of the Excellent Body traits.'
Traits don't stack. I unequiped all the Excellent Body traits except the +6 enhanced one.
Even so, my stats were at 550.
I thought about what to equip in the remaining slots.
Excellent Body and Cursed Body are essential.
I must equip traits related to magic power.
Sword Skill Factor and Magic Factor are also necessary.
Seolhwa didn't have a single skill.
A complete blank slate.
It's actually a relief.
Thanks to not having any habits, there was no interference in her swordsmanship.
There's plenty of room.
Rainbow Shell, which grants magic resistance, and the trait Divine Resistance from Blasphemy...
I equipped all the traits that could give me traits.
[Name: Lee Chan-hwi]
[LV32]
[Class: Devourer]
[Strength: 600.0211]
[Constitution: 580.0211]
[Agility: 570.0211]
[Magic Power: 251.001]
[Stamina: MAX]
[Equipped Traits]: [Excellent Body++++++][Magic Power Domination][Magic Power Affinity][Magic Power Affinity][Magic Power Affinity][Magic Power Affinity][Magic Power Affinity][Magic Power Affinity][Magic Power Affinity][Magic Power Affinity][Two Hearts][Tough Insect Shell][Rainbow Shell][Exceptional Mutation][Sword Skill Factor+++][Magic Factor+++][Photosynthesis][Tough Skin][Cursed Body][Man-Eating Monster][Blasphemy]
[Traits]: [Prey's Intuition][Toughness][Magic Resistance][Two Cores][Heals in Sunlight][Sturdiness][Berserk][Physique Skill Rank 3UP][Divine Resistance][Innate Destroyer][Human Devourer]
[Item: Trait Enhancement Ticket ×3]
Stats exceeding 500.
I couldn't even guess how strong I had become.
It wasn't just me who had become stronger.
Seolhwa had also become stronger, albeit slightly.
This was her Status Window, obtained by asking Seolhwa, who was half out of her mind.
[Name: Yoo Seolhwa]
[LV1]
[Class: None]
[Strength: 26][+40]
[Constitution: 25][+40]
[Agility: 28][+40]
[Magic Power: 20]
[Skill: Steel Mentality]
[Steel Mentality (LV1+3): Strength, Agility, and Constitution increase by +10(+30). Limit stats increase by +100(+300).]
I had heard it vaguely before.
That you gain skills by pushing your body to its limits.
The human body couldn't break its limits, but Hunters who transcended humanity could, I heard.
The skill Steel Mentality was proof of that.
That's not all. It had a level attached to it. Her current level wasn't her limit.
,Seolhwa-ya. When we get back, let's make sure to register at the gym.'
,Heueuk... Yessss.'
I had another reason to go to the Hunter gym.
It was better to learn from a veteran Hunter than to train alone.
,Ttok. You hide nearby and come out when I call you. Ah, absolutely don't touch any humans. It'll just be a pain in the ass.'
I said to the surviving Doppelganger.
The only Orc Doppelganger that survived the battle with the Minotaur.
Even that one wasn't in perfect condition.
One of its arms was gone.
A one-armed Orc, but still a mid-tier zone monster.
Enough to survive in the outer zone.
The Orc Warrior entered the forest.
,Ttok. Heueum. Breast milk after a battle is the best.'
I drank breast milk while chewing on bones.
Satisfying both my sexual desire and appetite at the same time. My happiness level skyrocketed.
The life of a monster.
It was much better than the life of a human.
,It leads over there!'
The rescue team arrived.
Tweh.
I spat out the bone I was chewing. The huge bone had become bone fragments.
,It's this way!'
I saw lights.
A rescue team made up of a group of Hunters.
They were late. It took them well over 12 hours.
It was long past the golden time, but I should be grateful that they came at all.
Hunters were in a profession where they earned money by risking their lives.
The rescue team wouldn't be dispatched for just any ordinary matter.
The losses would be greater than the profits.
The reason the rescue team was dispatched now was because a Minotaur had appeared in the outer zone.
They could catch an upper-tier monster without having to go deep inside.
From the Guild's perspective, it must have looked like treasure that had fallen onto the ground.
,Too bad, I ate all the upper-tier monsters.'
I expressed my condolences to the Guild that had accepted the request.
It was a shame, but I had eaten all the treasure.
Wanting money.
I went into the cave and lay down next to the Mage.
The Mage was still lost in his dreams.
Seolhwa and the Mage were both captured by the Minotaur, but miraculously survived.
,Entry!'
The Hunters entered the cave.
,We found the missing persons!'
The Hunters found Seolhwa and the Mage.
I entered Seolhwa's womb.
,Target, not visible.'
,Let's withdraw for now.'
My body was lifted. I was placed on a stretcher.
,What about the Minotaur?'
A Hunter who seemed to be a superior asked.
His voice was full of trembling.
,It wasn't there.'
,Then it's a loss!'
The superior shouted.
His voice was full of disappointment. I understood how he felt, but I wish he would say it where I couldn't hear him.
It was obvious that he didn't care about Seolhwa and the Mage's lives, which made me feel unpleasant.
,Are you lying? Are you sure the Minotaur appeared? Or did it already escape?'
,Th, that's... It's certain that the Minotaur appeared here. We found traces of it living in the cave.'
,And... we found bloodstains. The amount of blood is close to a lethal dose... It seems it was already hunted down.'
,Does that make sense? How do you dispose of that huge corpse?'
,We don't know either.'
It must be driving the subordinates crazy.
The huge Minotaur had suddenly disappeared.
If it had moved its residence, it would have left traces, and if it had been hunted down by someone, the corpse would have remained.
But the Minotaur had vanished without a trace.
Without leaving a corpse or any traces.
Only leaving behind blood close to a lethal dose.
,Find it! If there's a Hunter who hunted it down, find them and make sure to take a share. If it escaped, find its tracks and catch it before it enters the mid-tier zone!'
The superior shouted. I could feel the desperation of a salaryman who didn't want to take responsibility.
,What should we do?'
,Let's go back first. We need to leave work early.'
The stretcher was lifted. It wasn't long before we left the risk management zone.
,Is the patient?'
,Yes.'
The paramedics who were waiting were flustered.
They didn't expect her to be alive after 12 hours, it seemed.
Deolkeong.
Seolhwa was loaded into the ambulance.
,Check her pulse. Check for any other bruises.'
The paramedic undressed Seolhwa.
Fortunately, the paramedic was a woman. I would have been slightly upset if it had been a man.
,A pervert...?'
That's what the paramedic said after seeing Seolhwa, who wasn't wearing a bra.
,I think she's a real pervert?'
Another paramedic who checked below said.
Fortunately, she was also a woman.
,...There are all kinds of people in the world.'
It seemed like a strange misunderstanding had arisen among the paramedics.
It didn't matter.
It was Seolhwa's misunderstanding, not mine.
The paramedic who checked her body took her pulse.
,Normal pulse. No bruises.'
,...Didn't they say she was captured by a Minotaur? An F-rank Hunter's bones would break just from being lightly squeezed, right?'
,Well... Wouldn't you say it's thanks to good luck?'
It was as if she had witnessed a scene that directly contradicted the common sense she had known.
The paramedic examined her several times to see if she was injured.
When she didn't find even a single bruise, she accepted it.
That Seolhwa had no bruises.
,...Let's give her an IV drip first. Tell the doctor it's just a simple fainting spell.'
The paramedic gave her an IV drip.
,What's the patient's condition?'
We arrived at the hospital.
I got out of the ambulance.
The doctor asked about Seolhwa's condition.
,It's a simple fainting spell.'
The doctor who heard Seolhwa's diagnosis was dumbfounded.
,Her bones are broken. She neglected the wounds for a long time, so healing isn't working well. Surgery. She needs surgery.'
It was in stark contrast to the urgent situation of the Mage.
,...It's real... She just fell asleep... Let's put this patient in the emergency room for now. Just in case. Haha, but it's really strange. This shouldn't be happening...'
But it seemed like he saw Seolhwa's very peaceful expression.
He must have thought that it was an expression that an injured patient could never make, as he kept repeating that it was strange and disappeared.
She lay down on the emergency room bed.
,February 01, 2023, 02:21 AM, Kim Guk-hwan-nim has passed away.'
A patient receiving a death sentence.
,Keueueung.'
The emergency room was full of patients groaning.
It was chaotic.
Uncharacteristically for the atmosphere, Seolhwa was sleeping peacefully.
,Guardian?'
,They say she doesn't have one.'
,They say it's just a simple fainting spell, so it doesn't matter. Have her go through the discharge process when she wakes up.'
The doctor wrote on the chart and disappeared.
The dark circles under his eyes showed how tired he was.
,Should I give her a break for once in a while?'
I decided to give her a break until Seolhwa woke up.
I had tormented her for three days straight and fought the Minotaur with her body.
It was time to rest now.
,If her breasts sag, they'll become grandma breasts. Let's just hold onto her breasts.'
I couldn't stand her breasts sagging. I took out a Tentacle and grabbed her breasts.
I felt relieved when I gathered her breasts together.
I could endure everything else, but I couldn't stand them becoming grandma breasts.
* * * *
The dark dawn.
,We're sorry!'
,I don't give a damn about your apologies! All of you better prepare to write a report!'
A group of people withdrew from the risk management zone.
When the humans disappeared, the forest became quiet again.
The forest returned to its original state.
Tak.
Breaking the silence, someone appeared.
Not one person. Two people.
One being stood on the bloodstains.
,This is definitely the Minotaur we missed.'
One being swept the bloodstains.
It read the lingering thoughts in the bloodstains.
,Who killed it?'
,An unknown woman.'
,Alone? How? Was she a reclusive top-tier Hunter?'
,She wasn't alone. She handled monsters. Not just one, but dozens at once.'
,Is she a Monster Tamer?'
,Probably.'
This silence was quite long.
,Can you tell where that woman went?'
The silence was broken. The being was looking for Seolhwa.
,I can tell. She moved openly. We just need to check the hospital's entry records.'
They retraced their steps. They left the risk management zone.
The place they headed to was the hospital where Seolhwa had arrived.