Chapter 11
A cat had climbed onto my stomach and was tapping my nose and mouth with its paw.
It seemed the reason I couldn’t breathe in my dream was because the cat had covered my nose for a moment.
“Were you really trying to kill me?”
The cat just licked its paw as if nothing was wrong.
‘You’re cute, so I’ll let it slide.’
When I sat up, the cat slid gracefully down to the floor.
From early morning, the status window chimed noisily.
The red-flashing “i” icon suggested it was a personal notice related to Baek Woo-jin.
Yaaawn.
Covering my mouth with one hand, I yawned and opened the status window with the other.
[You have fulfilled certain conditions and tamed the homunculus-type monster “Cat-Dragon.”
Skill “Beast Tamer Lv.1” has manifested.]
That was a skill Baek Woo-jin never had when I played the game.
I glanced at the cat circling me and, with trembling fingers, tapped the character-info panel.
[Viewing information for “Baek Woo-jin (Seo Han-gyeol)”
Name: Baek Woo-jin (Seo Han-gyeol)
Age: 23 (29)
Title: “The Younger Outshines the Elder” (Persistent Player)
Skills: 「*** Lv99」, 「Moon Swordsmanship Lv35」, 「Weapon Adaptation Lv30」, 「Spear Swordsmanship Lv30」, 「Blessing of Thunder Lv28」, 「Future Sight Lv1」, 「Trait Theft Lv1」, 「Beast Tamer Lv1 (New)」
Traits: Possession, Pioneer
Status Ailments: Inferiority Complex, Late-blooming Chuunibyou
Assimilation Rate: 10%]
Two things had changed:
the appearance of the “Beast Tamer” skill and the “Assimilation Rate,” which had risen from five percent to ten.
‘Why did the assimilation rate go up?’
Several possibilities came to mind.
First guess: because I’d been living and fighting in Baek Woo-jin’s body, I was getting more accustomed to it—so the more I used it, the more the rate increased.
Second guess: those strange dreams.
It was odd that I’d dreamt of Baek Woo-jin’s past, something I’d never actually seen.
Maybe peeking into his memories raised the rate.
‘If it’s the first reason, great.
It just means I can control this body more freely.
But if it’s the second… that might be troublesome.’
I also couldn’t ignore the skill name hidden behind ***.
Considering the level, it might be related to killing Baek Woo-jin a hundred times in the game…
“Mrrrow.”
The cat bumped its head against me insistently, clearly hungry.
“Hungry?”
I decided to feed it first and think later.
When I grilled fish in the kitchen like yesterday, the cat meowed as if singing with joy.
“Cute.”
The thought slipped out aloud before I knew it.
‘Come to think of it, I’m hungry too.’
After feeding my pet monster, the smell of food stirred my own appetite.
I took soy milk and salad from the fridge and set them on the table.
“Thanks for the meal.”
No one was listening, but I murmured it anyway and popped some greens into my mouth.
The fresh, slightly bitter flavor cleared my head.
‘Humans really do need to eat.’
With food in my stomach, positive thoughts bubbled up.
‘Anyway, survival is what matters now.
If Jun joins my guild, that makes two of us.
For the next member, I need someone strong and trustworthy.’
‘Who needs help right now?’
I unfolded the notes I’d organized yesterday and pondered.
There was someone who might join if I offered assistance—
a bit of a selfish calculation that if I helped them once, they’d stand with me in a future crisis.
‘So what if it’s a little manipulative?
Win-win is still good.’
It felt slightly shameless, but not a bad plan.
I quickly settled on a destination, recalling a past event where I could lend a hand.
After finishing my meal, I rose energetically.
The cat, having already eaten an entire fish, still followed me around without a hint of fatigue.
“I have to go out. It’s dangerous, so stay home.”
Looking closer, I noticed a scar on its tail—life outside hadn’t been easy.
Yet it insisted on following, and my resolve wavered.
“Wraaow.”
Its cry turned strange, unhappy with my refusal.
“Not today.”
I tried to sound firm, though guilt tugged at me.
Maybe I should just bring it—it probably wouldn’t be that dangerous…
“Meooow.”
Even as it voiced its displeasure, the cat obediently padded into my room.
Seeing it walk away so dejectedly almost made me take back my words, but I held firm.
Five hours later, I was very glad I’d left the cat behind.
‘How did it come to this…’
I was holding my breath, crammed into a tiny cabinet.
To understand why I was trapped in this suffocating space, we need to rewind two hours.
‘They should be working around here.’
I’d lingered at the express-bus terminal for quite some time, but the person I was waiting for never appeared.
Pretending to wait for someone—checking my phone, making fake calls—was fine for ten, even twenty minutes, but after nearly an hour I grew restless.
‘Maybe I should move somewhere else…’
Just then—
Thud.
I bumped shoulders with someone wearing a deeply pulled-down cap.
The moment I saw them, I knew it was who I’d been looking for:
over 170 centimeters tall, brown sneakers, cap pulled low—exactly as in the game.
“Sorry.”
The person bowed quickly and tried to walk past.
I grabbed their wrist before they could.
I normally wouldn’t grab a woman like that, but I couldn’t just watch my wallet—held in her hand—walk away.
Even if it wasn’t my wallet, I couldn’t let this person slip away.
“Hey, let go!”
The resistance was stronger than I expected, making me stagger back.
Surprised, the stranger reached out as if to steady me.
For someone trying to shake me off and run, she was soft-hearted—just like the petty thief I remembered.
I seized the chance and clasped her wrist again.
“Miss Pickpocket, can we talk for a moment?”
This pickpocket’s name was Ryu Ji-su.
She turned to theft after being repeatedly fired for being too strong, desperate to buy potions for her younger brother poisoned by toxins.
Her conscience only allowed her to steal for three days.
You might wonder how someone gets fired for strength,
but Ji-su had recently awakened and couldn’t control her power:
breaking dishes just by gripping them, bending trays while carrying them—she caused accidents daily.
‘She later wanders, burdened by guilt, and learns to control her skills through shady means.
When she meets Kang Kwon-hoo during a rough patch, she eventually darkens—but as a physical powerhouse, there’s no better character.’
Right now she hadn’t met Kang Kwon-hoo and still held plenty of decency.
Even if I acted a bit forcefully, she’d probably accept it, given her own wrongdoing.
“Planning to take me to the police?”
Her voice quivered slightly.
After dealing only with cold figures like So-hyuk and people who felt no shame—like Kang Kwon-hoo—meeting such an ordinary person was almost refreshing.
‘Finally, someone who thinks like a normal human.’
Kim Jun was close to normal too, but more like a child.
“No. I’m just curious why you’d do something like this.
I’d like to talk. I won’t drag you to the station.”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion—and rightly so.
Even I thought my words sounded shady.
Who would trust a stranger on the street?
“Actually, I’m starting a guild.
I happened to see you at your previous workplace and thought you had more talent as a Hunter.
Fancy meeting you here.”
