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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Princess Carry
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A moment ago, Ha-ra had confidently told Se-heon to trust her.
But the moment she activated the skill, she'd gone flying off, leaving Se-heon alone with the carnivorous rabbits.
Fortunately, it seemed she hadn't landed too far from where they'd been, and she soon spotted him.
Unfortunately, the situation was grim. Se-heon was surrounded by three carnivorous rabbits. It looked like he'd been chased and cornered. Even from a distance, he was a mess.
Her heart pounded. Ha-ra quickly flew toward him, positioning herself overhead.
“Anchor Yoon!”
The rabbits reacted instantly to her shout. Three pairs of twitching noses turned upward, their eyes fixed on her.
A cold sweat trickled down her back.
“...Ms. Kang Ha-ra?”
But seeing the man's face, she was overcome with guilt. His expression was a mixture of relief and bewilderment. How absurd must it have been for the woman who’d insisted she couldn't let a civilian take the lead to suddenly shoot into the sky?
Ha-ra quickly extended her hand.
“Grab my hand!”
The man’s eyes widened slightly, but he assessed the situation quickly. He reached out his hand without hesitation.
Ha-ra grasped Se-heon’s hand, planning to pull him up.
The rabbits, finally realizing what was happening, bared their teeth.
Normally, she wouldn't have dreamed of being able to lift him just by flying. A quick glance was enough to see that Se-heon was at least twice her size.
But Ha-ra had a plan.
[Contact with designated user ‘Yoon Se-heon’ established.]
[‘Just Thinking of You Makes Me Stronger (S)’ is activated.]
[Status has been enhanced.]
“Hah.”
Se-heon gasped as his view suddenly shot upward. Ha-ra grabbed him with both hands and cheered inwardly. *This is it!*
This was exactly what Ha-ra had thought of back in the crevice. When she saw the message that the skill had been unlocked through contact with Se-heon, she had quickly checked her status window. The familiar window she always saw had changed drastically.
[User: Kang Ha-ra]
Stamina: 7 (+30)
Agility: 3
Strength: 4 (+60)
Dexterity: 2
Magic: 9
Luck: 1
The most noticeable changes were to her Stamina and Strength. They had increased by 30 and 60, respectively, making her several times stronger than she was originally.
This was precisely the situation Ha-ra had planned for. First, use the flight skill, then grab Se-heon and use her enhanced strength to lift him.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ is impressed.]
Ha-ra felt the urge to wipe her nose and puff out her chest. But she'd have to let go of Se-heon to do that, so she restrained herself.
Of course, the rabbits didn't just stand by. They leaped frantically toward the abruptly rising Se-heon, but Ha-ra held his hand tightly and soared into the sky.
“Ugh!”
*Thwack, crrrunch.*
[Please be careful with your control.]
With a proficiency of only 5, her control wasn't exactly stellar. As a result of her sudden ascent, they both slammed into a large nearby tree.
*Screech!* The avian monsters perched in the tree took off in a startled flurry. It was a small mercy that they were low-level monsters, not even E-rank, and fled in a panic.
The rabbits, infuriated, leaped up, only to collide with each other and tumble backward.
“Kyak!”
[Proficiency for ‘Flight (S)’ has increased. (7/100)]
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ chuckles.]
Staring at her blouse, torn by a branch, Ha-ra thought blankly, *Good thing this one only cost 30,000 won.*
＊ ＊ ＊
The trees filling the forest-type dungeon were mostly conifers like firs and pines. Their shape was peculiar, however, with branches layered like dessert plates. It was thanks to this that the two of them hadn't fallen to the ground when they were thrown against the tree.
Once she regained her senses, Ha-ra easily dispatched the carnivorous rabbits that had given her so much trouble. It was simple, really; the rabbits were below, and she was above.
The screeching rabbits fell to Ha-ra’s weapon without landing a single scratch.
But there was no time to celebrate. The scent of blood was already drawing in other monsters.
Ha-ra quickly salvaged the byproducts from the rabbit carcasses and climbed back up the tree. Se-heon, who had been watching her from above, asked with a look of clear bewilderment.
“Ms. Kang Ha-ra, aren't you an E-rank Hunter? You have a flight skill?”
“Ah, well…”
Ha-ra scanned their surroundings. In a forest dungeon, they had to be wary of flying monsters, but thankfully, none were in sight for now.
After some deliberation, she explained her situation. She omitted quite a few details, of course, but Se-heon understood her brief explanation and quickly accepted it.
“...I had a feeling there was a series of strange circumstances.”
“Strange circumstances?”
Se-heon narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“Like the part where the person who confidently said we could just take to the sky suddenly vanished as if she were launching into space.”
“Ah, hahaha…”
A cold sweat ran down Ha-ra’s back. If she had been just a little later, this man would have truly met his end.
“I'm sorry…”
“No, don't apologize. I should be thanking you. You saved my life, after all.”
The man offered a simple apology. Then he quickly summed up the situation.
“In any case, what you’re saying is that you’ve received an S-rank awakening quest, and I’m involved in it. Is that right?”
“Ah, yes.”
Se-heon was well aware of the stories about Hunters who awakened to S-rank in emergencies. It was a rare occurrence and could have been met with disbelief, but he accepted it easily.
After all, he had seen Ha-ra’s skill with his own two eyes. And there was another reason.
“Someone with a flight skill would have no reason to be working a desk job in the first place.”
That was how useful and rare Hunters with flight skills were. In any case, it was a stroke of incredible luck that Kang Ha-ra had received an S-rank awakening quest in this situation.
There was, however, something Se-heon didn't know.
“It’s strange. Why me…?”
Ha-ra began to sweat again.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ snickers.]
That was it. Ha-ra had explained, “It seems that staying in contact with you is a condition of the quest,” but she hadn't told him the reason why.
Not many people could calmly state that Cupid was trying to set them up with him.
Especially when the reason was that Se-heon was the other half of her most embarrassing memory. Ha-ra would rather die than reveal that.
“Ah, maybe it’s because you were caught up in this with me?”
“I see.”
The man nodded calmly. Then he looked around.
“The sun is setting.”
The sun rises and sets in dungeons, too. Well, not in all of them. In any case, it was before sunset. The state of natural-type dungeons could change drastically depending on the presence of the sun.
“What will you do?”
“Pardon? What do you mean…”
At Ha-ra’s question, Se-heon shrugged.
“I’m asking if you plan to clear the dungeon.”
Ah. Ha-ra’s mouth fell open.
There were only two ways to conquer a dungeon.
One was the standard method: defeat the dungeon’s boss monster. The second was to destroy the dungeon’s magic core.
One might think both were standard, but most magic cores were located inside the boss monster. Thus, the former was considered the orthodox approach.
“You said you haven't fully become an S-rank yet.”
“Ah, that's true.”
“In that case, defeating a B-rank boss monster might be difficult. It might be better to wait for the dungeon raid team.”
Unlike a typical civilian, Se-heon coolly assessed the situation.
He was right.
The ridiculous condition her Constellation had set under the pretext of making them fall in love. Fighting a boss monster while holding Se-heon’s hand was, by anyone's standards, impossible.
“This dungeon does have a separate magic core, which is rare, but…”
When she'd shot into the sky, unable to control her flight skill, Ha-ra had managed to get a rough look at the whole dungeon. The magic core was separate, but the problem was that the boss was right next to it. Either way, they would have to face the boss monster.
“Let’s just wait for the raid team.”
In the end, they both reached the same conclusion.
She had momentarily forgotten, but this dungeon had appeared in the middle of Yeouido. The broadcasting station was probably in chaos, but there was an advantage to their location.
“Gwanghwamun is close.”
The Seoul Metropolitan Natural Disaster Response and Policy Agency—the Hunter Agency’s Seoul Branch for short—was in Gwanghwamun. With three S-rank Hunters stationed there at all times, the situation should be resolved quickly.
“Let’s just try to hold out for about three days.”
Se-heon said. Ha-ra rolled her eyes and opened her mouth.
“You know a lot about this…”
“Any social affairs reporter would know this much after just three months on the *mawari* (rounds of police stations to cover incidents).”
*I don't think so…* Ha-ra thought of the reporters she often saw at the Mapo precinct and shook her head. In any case, their priority was to find a safe place to hide.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Ha-ra used her flight skill to lift herself into the air.
[Activating ‘Flight (S)’.]
[Proficiency for ‘Flight (S)’ has increased. (8/100)]
Then, with a determined expression, she approached him and held out her arms. Se-heon looked back at her, his face a picture of dismay.
“...I suppose this is the only way.”
Se-heon looked genuinely troubled.
“Is this really the only way?”
“...Probably?”
“There’s no other way, is there.”
“...Want to think about it for a bit?”
Se-heon shook his head.
“I don’t like it, but it can’t be helped. I should just be grateful I’m still alive.”
Despite his words, his expression remained sour. And for good reason—Ha-ra’s proposal was for her to fly while carrying him.
In a princess carry, no less, like something out of a movie.
