Chapter 08
Startled, my chirping stretched out.
“Ppiiiii—!”
I had even opened my beak wide and frozen.
Maybe I looked ridiculous, because Hee-ho burst out laughing too.
“I told you not to worry. Our guild is pretty famous, and everyone’s an old veteran. We’ll carry you safely and efficiently. Normally we don’t take beginners, but I’ll make a special exception.”
“Ppi! Ppi! Ppiii! Ppi!”
No need! I don’t want that! I’m fine!
I had no intention of using this skill ever again anyway.
Maybe my thoughts showed through in my panicked cries, because Hee-ho tilted his head.
“You’re saying you won’t use the skill anymore? But you’re a hidden class. Isn’t that a waste?”
“Pip.”
Not a waste.
Being a pet was just embarrassing.
It was strange seeing Hee-ho so pushy.
Usually, if I said no, he would never force the issue.
But then he suddenly said something I never expected.
“Little chirpy… do you maybe dislike us?”
“Ppi?”
“Cho-hee noona and Ye-seung can be rough and violent, but they’re kind once you know them.”
Of course I knew they were kind.
If anything, the way they acted today felt unfamiliar because they had always been gentle and sweet to me.
They said they acted differently in front of me, but I didn’t think it came from bad intentions, so it didn’t make me uncomfortable.
I was curious why, though.
But before I could figure out how to respond—
Cho-hee shouted from below.
“I don’t want to hear that from you, Yeon Hee-ho! The biggest lunatic here is you, so stop selling fake medicine!”
A loud explosion rang out.
I startled and looked down.
Cho-hee was slamming glowing fists into the air.
Every punch exploded monsters.
And in that brief moment, she had already cleared almost all of them.
Around where the two stood, purple slime and shattered remains were everywhere.
I even saw a giant mushroom skewered on Ye-seung’s spear screaming in blue flames.
I hurriedly looked back up.
Hee-ho was staring at me.
Then he smiled shyly.
“No, little chirpy. Noona’s lying. I’m actually the kindest one.”
“Ppi… ppii…”
“Well, you can think about it and answer later. I understand you feel embarrassed awakening into something as ridiculous as a pet. And monsters really aren’t a big deal once you get used to them.”
As he spoke, he stroked my head with his finger.
And somehow—
That was already becoming familiar.
Even if I think about it, my answer won’t change…
But if I firmly refused again, Hee-ho might look disappointed.
And I didn’t want that either.
Maybe he wasn’t expecting an answer right away.
He didn’t press.
A few minutes later—
Everything below was completely cleared.
The moment Hee-ho descended with me clinging to his palm—
A new system window appeared.
(Party) SYSTEM: Dungeon No. 4, Floor 61 ‘Panacea Grand Labyrinth,’ cleared successfully! Rankings updated.
(14 minutes 2 seconds, Rank 1)
(Party) SYSTEM: You have achieved a feat beyond human limits. One random class-exclusive skill rank permanently increases by 1.
(‘Pet’ excluded)
(Party) SYSTEM: Moving to Hidden Stage in 5 minutes.
“Oh, that’s a pretty impressive achievement. Did you two get it too? It says one skill rank goes up. Though all my skills are already A-rank, so I don’t need it.”
“More importantly… 14 minutes 2 seconds? Forget beyond human limits; that’s impossible by normal methods.”
One unfamiliar system window after another.
My head was spinning.
So—
Was this hidden stage the real destination?
But why am I excluded?
Well, even if it were class-exclusive skills, I only had Lucky Lucky Change anyway.
While I was still confused—
Hee-ho widened his eyes.
“Oh? My A-rank skill became S-rank.”
“What? Wait, skill window!”
So after A-rank came S-rank.
Then after that was SS?
And after that SSS?
That suddenly reminded me my class pet was SSS too.
And I felt depressed.
It sounds like it’s supposed to be amazing, but it doesn’t feel amazing at all.
As I sighed—
Cho-hee covered her mouth and bounced in place.
“Holy shit. What is this? My martial arts became S-rank! It can break through like this?!”
“That’s your main skill. Lucky. Mine is… Feed Crafting became S-rank…”
“Why ‘why’? Isn’t that good?”
“My cuties like store-bought food more than the feed I make. Especially the stuff Ha-yan’s boss makes.”
“That… I admit. It’s delicious.”
Cho-hee nodded very seriously.
Hee-ho looked deeply dejected.
“Boss” meant the owner of the lunchbox shop where I worked.
When I once asked why they called him that, Hee-ho laughed and said,
“He looks like someone who runs a few organizations.”
To be fair…
Our boss did look a little like he could make children cry.
But he was kind.
Warm.
A genuinely good person.
Absolutely not connected to anything shady.
And so generous he didn’t care what people called him.
And—
His cooking was amazing.
Korean food and Western food.
Bread, cookies, and cake.
He made all of it easily.
I’d heard his cooking skill level was very high too.
All the shops near dungeons catered to hunters.
And the reason our small shop was packed every day was definitely because of his cooking.
Though he was too humble and always said it was because I worked hard.
Which made me happy—
And embarrassed.
“Now that it’s S-rank, maybe they’ll eat it.”
“But isn’t buying food easier?”
“It is, but food I make fills their satiety faster. Feeding them is surprisingly annoying.”
“That’s what responsibility is when you raise something. Anyway, Ye-seung, what went up for you? Judging by your face, it must be bad.”
Hee-ho and Cho-hee both looked at Ye-seung.
He had been checking his skill window.
Then looked up.
“Mine’s a main skill too. Swing.”
“Really? Lucky. Why am I the only one who didn’t get an attack skill?”
“Luck reflects your usual behavior, punk.”
“Noona, stop introducing yourself. Ye-seung looks like he bit into shit.”
“You wanna die?! Lee Ye-seung always looks like that! He only smiles in front of Ha-yan!”
“That’s because when I smile, you tell me not to grin annoyingly like an idiot…”
“What nonsense. I didn’t say that to you or Ye-seung. I said it to Baek Seo-un.”
“Seo-un says he feels hurt.”
“…Can you two not? Aren’t you embarrassed doing this in front of an outsider?”
There were about two minutes left until the Hidden Stage transfer.
The topic kept changing so fast I couldn’t keep up.
Ye-seung, who had gone quiet, sighed.
Hee-ho shrugged.
Cho-hee…
Had been glaring at Hee-ho murderously.
Then irritably asked,
“Anyway, Lee Ye-seung, why do you look like that? Your main skill went up. That’s a breakthrough.”
“I’m already strong enough. Getting stronger doesn’t mean anything. It should’ve raised gathering instead… What if herbs don’t drop again? Meanwhile, Ha-yan noona is still sick.”
Even while grumbling, Ye-seung said my name again.
His eyes and mouth drooped as if he were genuinely worried.
I’m fine already… I’m right next to you!
I flapped anxiously.
But that was all I could do.
Hee-ho smiled and patted Ye-seung’s back.
“Don’t worry. We’ve got our little chirpy’s buffet. This time it’ll drop.”
“I hope so.”
And the moment Ye-seung looked at me—
Exactly five minutes passed.
(Party) SYSTEM: Moving to Hidden Stage ‘Hidden Herb Field.’
The scenery around us rippled like waves—
And began turning white.
