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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Maiden Flight
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But embarrassment was one thing, and the terrifying monster currently digging through the rock to kill them was another.
Ha-ra’s mind raced, and she soon understood what “already unlocked” meant.
- Just Thinking of You Makes Me Stronger S (Passive)
Activation Requirement: Contact with designated user ‘Yoon Se-heon’
Your base stats will be enhanced.
[User: Kang Ha-ra]
Vitality: 7(+30)
Agility: 3
Strength: 4(+60)
Dexterity: 2
Magic Power: 9
Luck: 1
*So it’s a passive skill?* A message she hadn’t seen before was blinking. The activation requirement was contact with Se-heon. So, the skill only activated when she was touching him.
Like now.
No, more importantly, were these stats for real? Ha-ra couldn’t believe her eyes.
The maximum stat for Hunters was 100. But to suddenly get +60 Strength…
Ha-ra stared intently at the system window again. The ‘S’ next to the skill name suddenly seemed to shine brighter.
So *this* is why it’s S-rank!
Filled with elation, Ha-ra quickly assessed the situation.
The two of them were crammed tightly into a narrow rock crevice, which was why the skill was active. But ‘Just Thinking of You Makes Me Stronger’ was a skill that boosted her base stats.
*I can’t do anything like this.*
Whether they fought their way out or ran, they had to leave this spot.
To make matters worse, the carnivorous rabbit, having realized that Se-heon had moved deeper into the crevice, seemed to have changed its strategy. It started ramming its head against the rock. Thump, thump.
Rumble…
The rocks piled above their heads shifted slightly.
Ha-ra looked up, her face paling. Se-heon seemed to have noticed something similar.
“We have to get out.”
Ha-ra spoke up. Se-heon frowned and asked.
“But if we go out now, we’ll both be in danger.”
“Isn’t getting killed out there pretty much the same as being crushed to death in here?”
Se-heon’s gaze fell on Ha-ra. For some reason, she knew what he was thinking without him having to say it. It was a look that said, *‘How are those the same?’*
Ha-ra sighed.
“I’ll try fighting that rabbit.”
“What?”
As Se-heon’s eyes widened, Ha-ra hesitated for a moment. Should she explain the situation?
But there was no time. Besides, if she told him about the situation she was in, he’d just treat her like she was crazy. Hadn’t she just seen Yoon Se-heon stammering her name a moment ago?
“But didn’t you say you were an E-rank, Ms. Kang… Ha-ra?”
Ha-ra chose the most logical and common-sense answer for this situation.
“So, are you suggesting the civilian should fight while the Hunter stands by?”
“But an E-rank Hunter…”
“Yes, I know what you’re going to say.”
She quickly raised a hand to cut him off.
“But right now, it’s right for me to go.”
The carnivorous rabbit was again taking a running start from the other side. With a *thwack*, it kicked off the ground, charged toward them, and slammed its head into the rock.
Crash!
Crumble… Rock dust rained down. Where were the guys who said rabbits were herbivores? There was a rabbit here playing headbutting games right now.
“Our best chance to escape is right before the rabbit takes its running start.”
“I think so, too.”
Se-heon watched the carnivorous rabbit as it hopped back again.
“The problem is, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to run.”
“There is.”
Se-heon turned back to Ha-ra, his eyes narrowing.
“Where are you talking about? This is a forest-type dungeon. If we try to run carelessly, we’ll be caught immediately.”
A place to escape where the rabbit couldn’t follow. There was one.
Ha-ra pointed a finger upward. Se-heon’s brow furrowed.
“The sky?”
＊ ＊ ＊
Thump, thump.
The rabbit rammed its forehead into the rock a couple more times. The rock cliff made a crumbling sound as the stones scraped against each other.
The carnivorous rabbit stared with its pitch-black eyes at the cliff where its prey was hiding. Even with its limited intelligence, it could tell. This rock cliff was surprisingly weak.
The trembling cliff looked like it was about to collapse. The rabbit flared its nostrils, then turned and hopped back. It was preparing to charge from a greater distance.
Far off, about three of its companions were watching, their own nostrils twitching. They were probably planning to jump in together once the cliff collapsed.
The carnivorous rabbit hopped over to its companions. After an exchange of competitive glances, the rabbit turned around as if to show off.
But just as it flared its nostrils, the rabbit caught sight of its prey trying to escape.
“Now!”
The pesky prey that had been hiding in the crevice had revealed themselves. The rabbit became thoroughly excited.
“Kyaaak!”
Forgetting its plan to charge from a distance, it pounded the ground with its hind legs and then leaped forward. Three times. Just three jumps and it could snatch its prey.
“Kyarack!”
The first one out was Se-heon. As soon as he was out of the crevice, he dove to the side, and Ha-ra followed right after.
The rabbit was now just a stone’s throw away, and all it had to do was jump…
“Ah-”
Her original plan was to roll to the side the moment the rabbit pounced. But the loafers Ha-ra was wearing were the problem. Her shoe had gotten caught in the crevice. Naturally, Ha-ra, who had been rushing out, stumbled.
The rabbit bared its teeth triumphantly. Se-heon, who hadn't gone far despite getting out first, watched with wide eyes.
“Danger-”
“Gah!”
Of course, Ha-ra had no intention of being bitten. Ducking just before it could bite, she kicked off her loafer and rolled to the side, dodging the rabbit.
Thud!
The rabbit slammed its head into the rock. At the same time, Ha-ra’s knees scraped the ground. She felt the knee of her expensive work slacks rip open with a tearing sound.
*Damn it! These were 100,000 won!*
Tears welled in her eyes. A curse escaped her lips. The cost-benefit analysis she’d done when buying the 100,000 won pants flashed through her mind.
*To be precise, they were 100,800 won, so if I work 20 days a month, and divide that by 240 days a year, I figured I was paying 420 won a day to wear them!*
And when had she bought these slacks? Last month. Ha-ra suddenly wanted to kill the rabbit.
But not right now. Separated from Se-heon, her ‘Just Thinking of You Makes Me Stronger’ skill was currently inactive.
With a screech, the rabbit turned toward her. Ha-ra squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them. The loafer stuck in the crevice looked torn too, but there was no time to calculate its price.
[Using skill.]
Instead, she used the skill she had unlocked before leaving the crevice.
*Flight!*
It was none other than Flight.
Among her list of skills, nothing else seemed more appropriate. She couldn't guess what the other skills did, and if she rashly unlocked one now and it turned out to be useless, there would be no turning back.
On the other hand, ‘Flight,’ with its straightforward name, was easy enough to predict. No matter how high those rabbits jumped, could they fly?
[Casting ‘Flight (S)’.]
The moment she cast it, she felt her body become incredibly light. Her hand, which had been on the ground just a moment ago, began to slowly lift.
Ha-ra grinned as she watched the rabbit’s eyes, which were facing her, slowly track upward. It seemed to have worked, but…
[Proficiency (1/100). Please be careful with your control.]
Huh?
“Aaaaaah!”
The next moment, Kang Ha-ra shot up into the sky. There was no time to be surprised. Like a rocket someone had launched, she became a dot in the sky.
Se-heon’s eyes widened immensely as he watched her. Even the rabbit stopped, looking bewildered.
Aaaah… Her long scream soon faded.
“…”
Se-heon, who had been staring blankly, instinctively turned his head. His eyes met with the rabbit, which was also looking around in confusion.
He immediately kicked off the ground. “Kyaaak!” The rabbit, belatedly snapping out of its daze, gave chase.
There was no time to resent the confident civil servant lady who, after asking if the civilian was going to fight instead of the Hunter, had simply flown away into the sky.
＊ ＊ ＊
At that moment, Ha-ra was endlessly soaring into the sky.
“H-how do I do this!”
[Please be careful with your control.]
It was a very intuitive skill. S-rank Flight.
But there was a problem. Ha-ra hadn’t known that skills had proficiency levels.
“You should have told me if there was something like this!”
And Kang Ha-ra, who had never flown before, was now shooting endlessly upward. It felt as if gravity had not just betrayed her but was actively rejecting her. Her stomach churned, and her vision shook violently.
The view of the forest-type dungeon shrank until it was a distant speck. The blue sky was gradually turning purple. Her blouse flapped ceaselessly in the wind, and a cold draft entered through the hole in her knee.
It’s so cold!
Ha-ra shivered.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ clicks its tongue, saying that at this rate, you’ll reach its home.]
Where? Olympus? Was that in the sky? This is a dungeon, so is the dungeon sky connected to that? More importantly, wasn’t she going to die before that? A system message flickered before her eyes.
[TIP: The skill ‘Flight’ corresponds with your Constellation’s characteristics. Imagine Cupid’s wings.]
I don’t have wings like that!
[Love comes from belief. Try to imagine.]
The absurdity of it was so great it felt like it would fly off to Andromeda.
*No, at this rate, I’m actually headed for Andromeda.*
The sky had now turned completely black. Her teeth chattered from the cold. Even breathing became difficult. In the pitch-black sky above, it felt like she could see multiple Earths overlapping.
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Title ‘One Who Has Approached the Truth’ acquired. Dexterity +3]
What’s this now? Ha-ra tried to read the status window while spinning around, but the nausea was too much, so she dismissed it with a wave.
She had to do something before she really flew out of the atmosphere, but she couldn’t even begin to imagine wings.
In the end, amidst her dizziness, Ha-ra deactivated the skill.
[Skill deactivated.]
“Ack!”
Instantly, she stopped and began to plummet headfirst. She wasn’t surprised. But she just couldn’t get used to the feeling of her organs being shaken up. Ha-ra decided it was better to just close her eyes against the spinning view.
Wings, wings…
Image training while in freefall? What was this, some kind of martial arts movie? Even if it were, she doubted even the Demonic Cult would train its disciples this way, but this was no time to waste on such thoughts. The forest was approaching again, much faster than before.
If she kept thinking about some cherubic Cupid, she would surely plummet to a meaningless death. Ha-ra squeezed her eyes shut and began to imagine wings on her back. Her lack of imagination made it difficult. But after a desperate struggle, she managed to conjure one image.
[Casting ‘Flight (S)’.]
[Please be careful with your control.]
“Gah!”
Ha-ra screamed as her fall was abruptly arrested, and she was yanked upward. She had been just about to crash into the tall trees.
Rustle… The sound of leaves brushing against her feet was followed by silence as, the next moment, Ha-ra was floating in mid-air.
Somehow, she had done it. She glanced over her shoulder. She could see the illusion of wings fluttering on her back. It seemed this was how the skill was activated.
[‘Flight (S)’ proficiency has increased. (5/100)]
A system message popped up, as if to prove it.
Ha-ra swiped the window away dismissively and looked around. While she had been plummeting, a few things had caught her eye.
Namely, the full view of the dungeon, and scattered throughout it, packs of carnivorous rabbits.
*Anchor Yoon, what am I going to do!*
