The designation “Irregular Selection” was yet another setting that had never appeared, not even in the unofficial setting guide.
Unlike Myojin, whose mind had become a tangled mess, Rune seemed strangely cheerful.
“I’ve changed my mind.”
Rune’s voice was filled with excitement.
“As an apology for the less-than-smooth proceedings, I’ll grant you one wish.”
A wish? Myojin’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Would you grant me a wish to give up on the test?”
The words slipped out before she could stop herself, revealing what she truly wanted. Naturally, the answer would be a refusal—Impossible.
“Of course.”
Rune’s unexpected answer left Myojin even more flustered.
“Then, shall we go with that?”
Myojin calmly organized her thoughts.
There was no reason to take a crazy test that could cost her life. If she could avoid it, then of course she should.
She had only one goal.
To survive safely. Then, she planned to restore the Rank 1 data that the system had erased.
But there’s no way he’d agree this easily.
Ten years of experience with Dungeon & Ore had made her exceptionally good at sensing danger.
“Can I save the wish for later and use it another time?”
“You must tell me your wish right now.”
Rune shook his head firmly.
Looking closely, Myojin noticed that his chestnut-colored eyes were gradually turning red like autumn leaves.
A change in eye color was a precursor to a skill activation.
★ Unique Skill <Unofficial Setting Guide> Activated
[You have acquired additional information through persistent and careful observation.]
[Information regarding NPC Rune Spale has been updated.]
★ [NPC] Rune Spale
(NEW) Title: <Agent of the World Tree>
(NEW) Line: “Those who disturb the order deserve only death.”
As Myojin stared at the words floating in midair, the familiar voice of the game character’s voice actor—one she had heard countless times—echoed naturally in her ears.
“Those who disturb the order deserve only death.”
In short, it meant that if she announced that she wanted to withdraw from the test, she would die.
“Oh, I forgot something important.”
Rune twisted his lips into a smile.
“If you give up on the test, the other two members of your team will automatically be eliminated.”
A chill ran down Myojin’s spine. There was not a trace of mercy in those brown eyes.
“According to custom, all eliminated candidates will be disposed of. There are no exceptions.”
The chilling declaration echoed inside her head.
The lives of Hikari and Uncle Jang depended on Myojin’s decision.
“You may make another wish. Have you decided?”
The air around her, which had been surging like rough waves, gradually stabilized.
When Myojin opened her eyes, the landscape of steep, jagged mountains slowly came into view.
“…Whew. The survival difficulty is seriously brutal.”
As the tension left her body, she sank down where she stood. The thought that she had almost fallen for Rune’s scheme and made a foolish choice sent a shiver through her.
Never forget this again.
Those connected to the World Tree absolutely hated breaking established rules and regulations.
Myojin went over what she had just learned, committing it to memory for the sake of surviving what lay ahead.
Her unique skill responded.
[Data has been saved.]
[When conversing with individuals related to the World Tree, the skill will activate automatically. (Conditional activation)]
Automatic activation? That was somewhat reassuring.
Myojin let out a long sigh and looked around. She was surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs and uneven, razor-sharp rocks. As the dry wind swept over the stones, tiny fragments of rock scattered through the air.
This was the rocky-terrain dungeon assigned to Myojin’s team.
If it’s a rocky dungeon… then there’ll probably be monsters like gargoyles or stone golems.
The rugged terrain of a rocky area would make movement difficult, but the monsters inhabiting it were generally slow, making them relatively easy to defeat.
“Where are Hikari and Uncle Jang?”
Myojin first checked how much time they had left.
Time Remaining Until Mission Ends
00:32:47
Nearly half the allotted time had already passed.
She could easily imagine what the two people, who had trouble communicating with each other, had been doing while she was gone.
She needed to find them first.
Myojin hopped down the steep rocky slope, carefully scanning her surroundings. As if she had been waiting for her, a new notification window appeared.
★ NPC Passive Skill <Dungeon is My Life> Activated
- You become one with the dungeon. If the dungeon’s rank decreases, your actual life force will decrease as well.
The destruction of the dungeon means my death.
The moment the passive skill activated, Myojin’s legs and shoulders suddenly felt as though they were being crushed beneath enormous boulders. Her previously light movements became noticeably slower.
Damn status effect.
The fact that this had happened was a sign that the dungeon itself was in poor condition.
[Due to neglect, the dungeon monsters are considering escaping.]
[※ Warning! If the number of monsters belonging to the dungeon decreases, there is a risk of the dungeon’s rank dropping.]
From not far away, Jang’s voice echoed like a distant shout.
“Myojin! Try to stop that thing!”
The moment she turned toward his voice, she saw a black blur charging toward her.
Myojin instinctively changed direction and crouched down.
“Ugh!”
Something heavy slammed into her abdomen like a volleyball. She caught it reflexively, only to feel something warm and soft.
…A cat?
“What is this…?”
Looking down, she saw a white cat staring up at her with its eyes wide open, breathing heavily.
It was a soft, fluffy ball of fur, looking almost like a marshmallow or a ball of sticky rice cake.
What is a cat doing in a rocky dungeon?
The cat’s tail had puffed up like a dandelion puff. A familiar grassy scent lingered at the tip of Myojin’s nose.
…Huh?
“Get out of the way!”
At Jang’s shout, Myojin instinctively lowered herself. Still clutching the cat, she rolled across the hard ground. An attack flew past her by a hair’s breadth.
Splash!
Something that was impossible to tell whether it was liquid or solid spread across the spot where she had been standing moments ago, making a sticky sound.
Its glossy purple surface shimmered ominously under the sunlight. It looked strangely similar to a stress-relief toy that had been popular a few years ago.
“A slime?”
Myojin frowned.
Slimes did not inhabit rocky terrain.
“Hiss!”
The cat in her arms bared its sharp fangs and let out a fierce roar. The purple liquid scattered across the ground began gathering together again, taking shape.
Bubbles rose from the pool of slime.
This was no ordinary slime.
It was a mutated monster—the Acid Slime, capable of melting anything it touched.
Its expected battle rank was B. There was absolutely no way something like this should appear in a beginner dungeon where, at most, a couple of F-rank monsters were supposed to spawn.
They said this was just an apprentice test, didn’t they? Why is the difficulty so strange?
Myojin glanced at the cat quietly nestled in her arms. Thanks to the silver-furred creature throwing itself at her, she had managed to avoid the crisis.
The fluffy cat looked up at her.
Its golden eyes sparkled.
“Don’t tell me… Hikari?”
Text appeared above the cat’s head.
★ [NPC] Hikari
>>> Recovering due to excessive mana consumption.
When a beastkin exhausts the mana within their body, they temporarily transform into an animal and enter a recovery period.
Something she had only ever read about in the setting guide was unfolding right before her eyes.
As Hikari’s heartbeat thudded against Myojin’s chest, Myojin could feel her own pulse beating in rhythm with it.
“What exactly happened?”
Myojin asked Jang, who had finally caught up with her.
“I should be asking you that! Where on earth were you until now?”
“I’m sorry. Apparently, there was some kind of mistake. What happened here?”
After briefly explaining what had happened, Myojin asked him about the situation.
Jang caught his breath and glared at Hikari, who had transformed into a cat.
“Don’t even ask. While you were gone, that little troublemaker Hikari caused a huge mess…”
He grabbed his forehead, then set down the heavy backpack he had been carrying.
“I only looked away for a moment, and Hikari was being chased by monsters. But the strange thing was, those slimes were only targeting Hikari.”
As soon as Jang finished explaining, information about the slime appeared in Myojin’s field of vision.
[The slime is relentlessly pursuing its target.]
[Target: Hikari]
The slime finally gathered itself together, concealing its original form once more, and its eyes gleamed.
[The slime has found its target.]
Its moist eyes and wobbling body slowly tilted toward Myojin and Hikari.
More precisely, its focus was fixed on Hikari, who was catching her breath in Myojin’s arms.
“Uh-oh! It’s starting again!”
Jang shouted, pointing at the slime.
