Why was Shin Yoosung here, in this dungeon of all places?I shoved the rising question aside and slid into motion, diving into the Spiral Horn shell where she was hiding.The moment I was inside, Shin Yoosung pulled the lid shut.Dudududududu—!A rapid drumming sound reverberated, and I felt the pressure in my ears shift. But there was no impact.The shell was blocking the Ancient Spiral Horn’s ensemble attack.“If we stay in here, it doesn’t hit us. I don’t really know why, but…”I hadn’t thought of that.Come to think of it, the Spiral Horns here could hear each other’s sound attacks, yet they never harmed one another.This shell must function as a kind of soundproof barrier.Inside the cramped shell, we lay flat and held our breath. When the sound outside quieted a little, I lifted the lid just enough to look around.The Ancient Spiral Horn was still wandering the terrarium, searching.It hadn’t found us yet.“I think it’s safe now.”Light filtered faintly through the shell gap, and Shin Yoosung’s face came into view again—the same one I remembered.It was a moment that felt almost magical.Flustered under my gaze, she stammered out an explanation.“I-it was dying already. It could talk to me for a little bit, and it said… it wanted to give me its home…”Only then did I realize she was talking about this very shell.There must have been a hermit crab living inside once.It had probably passed the shell on to her before it died.For anyone else, it might have sounded impossible—but Shin Yoosung was an incarnation who could communicate with beasts.+Name: Shin YoosungAge: 11Supporting Star: None (1 constellation currently showing interest)Exclusive Traits: Beast Tamer (Rare), Reflective Killer (Common)Exclusive Skills: [Taming Lv.5], [Multi-Species Empathy Lv.6], [Quick Step Lv.5], [Inter-Species Favor Lv.3]Stigmata: NoneTotal Stats — Stamina Lv.15 / Strength Lv.12 / Agility Lv.18 / Mana Lv.27Overall Evaluation: Possesses decent mana but generally low stats. Shows high potential and rare traits but remains undeveloped due to environmental limitations.+Recalling the main story, I compared this Shin Yoosung’s stats with the ones I remembered.Some skills and levels were slightly different, though I couldn’t tell why.The question I’d pushed aside resurfaced.Why was Shin Yoosung here at all?In my memory, she’d wandered for quite some time before meeting Kim Dokja—long after the Fourth Scenario.Yet here she was, before even the Flag War had ended.I bowed my head sincerely.“Thank you for saving me.”“Ah, n-no… it’s nothing!”If not for her, I would’ve been the Ancient Spiral Horn’s next meal.[Constellation “God of the Sea” marvels at the incarnations’ ingenuity.][Constellation “Demonic Judge of Fire” is moved by incarnation Shin Yoosung’s good deed.]More messages rained from the sky.[Constellation “Demonic Judge of Fire” sponsors 100 coins to incarnation Shin Yoosung.]“Ah, ahh…”Coins shimmered as they fell. Shin Yoosung turned toward me, uncertain what to do. I nodded, signaling her to accept them. Blushing, she bowed toward the air.“Thank you. Thank you very much.”[Constellation “Demonic Judge of Fire” is touched by the adorable incarnation.][An anonymous constellation says it’s just a ploy to milk coins.][Constellation “Prisoner of the Golden Hoop” laments that constellations these days have lost their innocence.]It felt strange.So this was Shin Yoosung before she ever met Kim Dokja.Keeping my voice low so as not to draw attention, I introduced myself.“Sorry for the late introduction. My name’s Cheon Inho.”“I’m… Shin Yoosung.”She fidgeted, then added timidly, “You don’t have to talk so politely. You’re an adult.”“No. You’re my lifesaver.”Her eyes widened, darting nervously.“But when grown-ups talk polite like that, it feels like I did something wrong…”So that’s how it was—she was uncomfortable being treated formally by adults.I hesitated, then answered, “Maybe later. You don’t know what kind of person I am yet.”“I know… a little.”“You do?”Looking troubled, she twisted her hands together and pointed at my coat pocket.“You picked up the belongings of the people who died.”When had she seen that?I had been collecting the personal effects of dead incarnations while hunting Spiral Horns—partly to check for anyone I knew, like Mr. Dansoo, and partly to return what I could to the Chungmuro Group.“You were going to tell the others outside, right?”Anyone entering the Chamber of the Spiral Horn was probably someone isolated from their group.If they’d had teammates, they would’ve chosen the 3-, 5-, or 7-person dungeons instead.Choosing solo meant they’d had no choice but to come in alone.“I just picked up some items. What about you, Yoosung? Why did you come here alone?”“Oh, I…”She lowered her gaze, voice faltering.“The adults… didn’t want to team up with me.”Of course. That explained everything—why she was alone here, why she’d been watching me from hiding.“Those are bad adults.”“N-no, it’s fine! They said if I clear this and get Sangpyeong Tongbo, they’ll let me come with them. They promised to let me join their group.”So they’d made a child do that.“They really are bad adults.”“No, no! It’s okay. They had their reasons.”“Their reasons?”“One of them said that in this world, kids and adults are equal now. That kids aren’t really kids anymore. I don’t help much in fights… so I was grateful they gave me a chance at all.”Confusion tightened in my chest.[Constellation “Demonic Judge of Fire” flares with rage.][Constellation “Bald Militia Commander” laments that virtue on the peninsula has gone to hell!]Kim Dokja had said something like this once—in the apocalypse, the gap between adults and children wasn’t as wide anymore.Even kids could raise their stats with coins and become strong.So maybe a child like Shin Yoosung could talk that way, understanding the adults’ logic.But still—was that really all right?Just because the world changed, did it mean children should carry the same burdens?Could we really treat them as “equals” simply because their physical stats were similar?“Which group said that to you?”The children of this world were terrifying.Some, like the Gaebang’s child assassins, even hunted adults for sport.So when I asked, part of me couldn’t rule out the chance this might be an act.Shin Yoosung had once known how to use “adult sympathy” to her advantage.But even if this was an act—then the fault lay with the world that forced her to perform it.“The name… I don’t remember well, but it was a group under the ‘Union.’”The Union.I’d heard that from Ye Hyunwoo—the faction led by the Tyrant King and the other Kings.“Then let’s get out of here together first.”I had to get Shin Yoosung out of this dungeon.And afterward, I’d see for myself the faces of those fine adults who’d thrown a child into danger.[You have hunted 504 “Spiral Horns.”][You may exit the dungeon in 1 minute.]The timer was nearly up.I’d reached the 500 kill mark, so I just had to wait.But Shin Yoosung murmured weakly,“I can’t go yet. I didn’t finish my quota.”Of course.No child could clear a dungeon even adults had ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ failed.“I’ll help you.”To escape the Chamber of the Spiral Horn, you only needed to hunt 100 of them.The problem was the Ancient Spiral Horn still searching nearby.But if I bought us time, Shin Yoosung only needed to defeat one at a time—[Character “Shin Yoosung” experiences extreme mental distress.]She hugged her shoulders, trembling.And I realized again—this was the Shin Yoosung before she ever met Kim Dokja.“I’m sorry. I can’t do it.”Her First Scenario flashed through my mind.The girl who had to kill her own dog to survive.The trauma was still raw.“It’s okay. You can go without me. I’ll stay here, so please—”Whether it was acting or not didn’t matter anymore.[Several constellations watch, curious about your next decision.]If she was pretending, then it was this world’s fault for making her pretend.“You’ll die if you stay here.”“…”“You don’t want to die. You don’t have to say it.”She still kept her head down.“They teach you what to do in dangerous situations at school, right?”But just because it’s taught doesn’t mean everyone can do it.Everyone knows to protect the weak, to avoid hurting others, to ask for help when in need—but some people simply can’t ask.Because something inside them broke that way.“You helped me even without being asked, Yoosung. So now I’ll help you.”Not because I was an adult. Not because she was a child.Just because she was someone I could help, right now.Shin Yoosung finally spoke, her voice small.“I still… can’t bring myself to kill monsters.”“Killing isn’t the only answer.”I scanned the terrarium.Maybe because I’d already culled so many, the remaining Spiral Horns were few.And none seemed to be respawning.There was one possibility worth testing.“You don’t have to kill them. But it might hurt a little.”I would need her help for this plan.“It could be harder than killing, actually. Not for your heart, but your body.”“If it’s that kind of pain…”Shin Yoosung lifted her head, eyes steady.“I’ll try. If it means not killing anything.”She was resolute.I nodded. “Then let’s give it a shot.”“But are you sure? What if this gets you in trouble because of me—”“It won’t. And don’t worry.”I smiled gently, the way you do to calm a frightened child.“No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”I quickly explained the plan.Smart as she was, she understood right away.“Will that really work?”“It will.”This strategy relied entirely on Shin Yoosung’s talent—and on her trusting me.“Let’s begin.”I threw open the shell lid and sprinted out.Splashing through the shallow pools, I ran until the Spiral Horns all turned toward me.[“Spiral Horn Ensemble” has begun.]Sound waves crashed behind me as I ran.I waved toward Shin Yoosung in the distance.[Character “Shin Yoosung” activates [Taming Lv.5]!][Character “Shin Yoosung” activates [Multi-Species Empathy Lv.6]!]The plan was simple.While I drew their attention, Shin Yoosung would use [Taming] to subdue the creatures.The idea came from her status window:[Character “Shin Yoosung” has currently hunted 1 Spiral Horn.]She couldn’t bring herself to kill—but she already had one recorded kill.That meant one of two things:First, she could kill, and had done so once.Or second, taming counted as a hunt.Either way, it was worth trying.Even if it failed—“I’ll send Shin Yoosung. It’ll be a chance to grow her beast army.”At least she’d gain monsters to protect her from those adults.[Character “Shin Yoosung” has failed to tame!]Her face in the distance fell into despair.“M-Mister—!”I shouted back,“Stay calm! Try again, one by one! You can do it!”It was a tall order for her at this stage.In the main story, she hadn’t tamed higher-grade sea beasts until after training under Kim Dokja.And Kim Dokja wasn’t here.But—[Exclusive Skill “Incitement Lv.9” activates!]—she had me.

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