Chapter 54

< Squeak (3) >

- Squawk!

Crunch!

The moss monkey, its head shattered, fell from the tree. At the same time, the Squeak on my head flapped its wings.

- Squeak! Squeak!

It was a signal that the monkey I had just killed had a magic stone.

I found two F-grade magic stones and fed them to it, and since then, whenever I caught a monkey with a magic stone, it started squeaking as if asking for more. It seemed to be able to sense the presence of magic stones.

“Squeak, you’re quite a big eater, aren’t you?”

This is already the sixth one, and it’s still flapping its wings, asking for more. It didn’t even touch the meat, unlike Pies, and only ate the magic stones.

- Squeak! Squeak!

“Alright, alright.”

We’ve only been together for less than thirty minutes, and you’re already clinging to me, demanding food. You’re quite bold, aren’t you? Maybe you’re too young to tell friend from foe. You treat anyone who feeds you as a parent.

The magic stone of the moss monkey was usually located near the base of its neck. As I cut through the skin with my knife, the Squeak on my head started doing a tap dance.

- Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Ugh, blood splattered. Even though I was careful, my hands and the part of my sleeve above my elbow were stained with blood. I need to wash up at the pond.

I handed the magic stone to the Squeak, which had already climbed down to my shoulder. It was small, being an F-grade magic stone from a regular monster, but it was still a bit too big to swallow in one bite, yet it managed to gulp it down.

- Squeak!

“Do you want more?”

- Squeak!

I don’t know what it’s saying, but it doesn’t seem full. Alright, let’s see how much you can eat.

I thoroughly searched the not-so-large forest and killed as many moss monkeys as I could. When clearing a dungeon, it’s not necessary to kill all the regular monsters. You only need to hunt more than half of them and defeat the boss monster. However, the more you hunt, the longer the dungeon will remain stable, so the guild recommends exterminating as many as possible.

Since there’s no exact way to determine the dungeon’s saturation, you have to report if you only kill half and leave.

With no more signs of moss monkeys, I headed to the pond. The Squeak, having eaten all the magic stones, was chirping happily.

“If magic stones were ordinary food, you’d have burst by now.”

It ate everything I gave it and ended up eating more than its body size. Even though it’s a magic stone, it still has to pass through the stomach, but it seems to be absorbed quickly.

- Squeak! Squeak!

“You’re a real glutton, aren’t you?”

This little guy will be quite a handful. Even if it’s F-grade, how much can it cost?

The pond at the edge of the forest was quite large. In the clear water, where lily pads floated, a small green island could be seen.

- Grrr

Sensing something, the giant moss turtle poked its head out. Its long, sharp fangs were quite intimidating.

- Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

“...My head hurts. Calm down.”

As soon as it saw the turtle, the Squeak started making a fuss. It doesn’t seem scared, but maybe it wants me to catch it. It didn’t ask for a magic stone until after I caught the monkey, but the magic stone of this turtle seems very appetizing to it.

- Squeak! Squeak!

“Alright, alright.”

Worried that the excited Squeak might fall off, I took it from my head and held it in my arms. Meanwhile, the giant turtle slowly approached, parting the water. I’m grateful it came.

- Roar!

“What the heck is that roar?”

Swish!

I wrapped the turtle’s long neck with a tentacle and,

Crunch!

Pulled it out of the pond with great force. The flipped turtle struggled. Without further ado, I cut off its bent neck with my knife.

- Squeak! Squeak!

“Alright, I know. Just wait a-.”

[Amazing Achievement! Successfully cleared an F-grade dungeon solo with stats and attack skills at F or below, and using three or fewer items!]

...Huh? What’s this sudden achievement message...

[S-grade Title, ‘Miracle Rookie’ granted!]

Then a window popped up with a list of miscellaneous items I obtained. But what’s this?

“Miracle Rookie?”

Is this a title you get for clearing a dungeon solo with stats and attack skills at F or below and using few items? The conditions are really harsh. How do you even get this? At the very least, you should be allowed to wear full gear.

I managed to get it, though.

‘Do they not count the stats and skills obtained through retribution skills?’

With special skills like mine or by getting a few pieces of high-stat gear with attack skills, you could probably get it. But who would do such a strange thing? If you have the equipment to clear an F-grade dungeon solo, you’d form a team and go to a D-grade dungeon. And if you have that kind of ability, it means you’re incredibly wealthy. The equipment costs at least ten billion.

- Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Staring blankly, I stood there, and the Squeak, unable to wait any longer, jumped out of my arms and ran towards the giant turtle’s corpse, flapping its wings.

- Squeak!

Oh, you glutton. Your feathers are all bloody. I first cut open the turtle’s belly and extracted the magic stone. Even though it’s F-grade, it’s a boss monster’s magic stone, so it’s quite large. About the size of two fingers, it was too big for the Squeak to swallow.

- Squeak! Squeak!

“Hold on. I’ll crush it for you.”

- Squeak, Squeak!

Holding the magic stone, the Squeak tugged at my pants with its tiny beak. Why are you so hungry? I sighed and showed the magic stone to the Squeak.

“Look, it’s too big.”

- Squeak!

The Squeak, delighted to see the magic stone, bit into it. Then,

- ???

It made a sound like a deflating balloon, struggling to swallow it. Hey, that’s not going to fit. It’s like trying to fit a camel through the eye of a needle.

“You’ll choke. Give it back.”

Worried it might choke, I took the magic stone back. The Squeak, looking shocked, stiffened and then slumped to the ground,

- Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Looking up at me, it started crying loudly. It’s as if it’s heartbroken that I took away its food. It’s both frustrating and cute. Where did such a pig come from?

I quickly crushed the magic stone and sprinkled it on the ground. The Squeak, forgetting its tears, happily pecked at the pieces.

Looking at the Squeak for a moment, I opened my status window. The new title was visible.

[Miracle Rookie (S)

An amazing new hunter who cleared an F-grade dungeon solo with weak stats.

Dungeon item rewards doubled]

...Wow, double the item rewards. That’s good. It’s really good, but I don’t have much use for clearing dungeons.

‘Why give me such a useless title?’

This kind of title should be for at least A-grade. Especially in S-grade dungeons, if you get two S-grade magic stones and double the S-grade items and special items for the first clear, it would be a huge deal.

To give an F-grade title for this, are they mocking me?

‘But even for a low-level hunter, it’s better than nothing.’

Just thinking about it, it doubles my income, and it will make it much easier to form a team. With this, I might even be able to clear a C-grade dungeon.

But it doesn’t seem to be an S-grade title for a low-level hunter.

Maybe it will be useful when my retribution skill activates.

The other items were nothing special. As a reward for clearing the dungeon solo, they were quite good for F-grade, almost on par with D-grade dungeon rewards, but they were common items.

‘But will they give titles for solo clears in other grade dungeons?’

I’m curious. With my current abilities, I can clear up to D-grade dungeons solo. C-grade might be possible, but it’s too large to clear in a day or two. My retribution skill period is almost over, so it’s safer to challenge up to D-grade.

‘I feel bad for Pies, but I’ll say I’m taking a break for a while...’

The exclusive pass is a problem, but it shouldn’t be too hard to get up to D-grade. If I can’t, I can’t. I’ll give it a try.

“Let’s go home after you’re done eating.”

I washed my hands first and then soaked my shirt in the water. The blood seeped out and spread on the surface before disappearing. It’s hard to completely remove, so it’s better to wash and buy new clothes on the way.

I also soaked the Squeak in the water. It shrank to half its size when wet. It’s a water bird.

- Squeak!

I thought I might have drowned the baby bird, but after a quick shake, it became fluffy again. It’s comfortable.

I also washed my face in case any blood had splattered on it. The cold water made my head feel clear.

At the same time, the content of the message I had briefly read earlier came to mind.

‘Should I be more proactive?’

I thought the difficulty and number of dungeons would increase at the same rate as before the regression.

But it’s not the case.

Even though the progress has slowed, it’s still faster than before.

‘I can cover it to some extent with the retribution skill, but... should I also pay attention to people, not just monsters?’

The system creators, or rather, the people who said “us,” gave a quest to gather 50 S-grade hunters, probably to tell me to cultivate S-grade hunters as a precaution. It would be a great help to the team to find and cultivate hunters like Yureum or Eun-woo, who originally couldn’t reach S-grade or didn’t have special skills.

Of course, I can’t use optimal awakening often due to the 30-day limit, but there’s something else I can do.

‘Special Skill Awakening Center.’

I had thought about it briefly but didn’t pursue it.

After checking the optimal skill with a leaf, I would create an environment for awakening and help them awaken.

If people who would otherwise get mediocre combat-related skills can awaken to their aptitude, it would certainly be helpful in many ways. Even if they don’t get an optimal skill, if it’s worth it, I can cultivate them through keyword application like Eun-woo.

“...The problem is that I only have one body.”

I grumbled while wringing out my clothes. Damn, how can I do all this alone? Raising monsters, checking people’s aptitudes, helping them awaken, cultivating skills through keyword application, and connecting with Dokkaebi and Seok-hyang whenever I have a chance.

Try raising a baby and working at the same time, nya.

“Still, I can’t just sit back and do nothing, worrying about the future.”

What’s the point of having a building if it will be destroyed when an S-grade dungeon appears nearby? If a 1st-class dragon species pops up, it will be like a sandcastle.

I thought I could live without worry for at least five years, but damn, why is my life so tough?

I shook off the water from my clothes and put them on. I also washed the soles of my shoes. I put on sunglasses and a cloth to cover my mouth, placed the Squeak inside an inverted hat, and covered it with the remaining cloth.

“You must not come out.”

- Squeak!

The sound is like a chick, so people will think it’s just a bird. If they don’t know what it looks like, they’ll assume it’s a large bird’s chick.

I patted the Squeak again, telling it not to come out, and left through the gate by the pond.

After leaving the dungeon management building, I checked my phone. I couldn’t receive calls inside the dungeon, and the only messages I received were from unknown numbers. If they noticed I was gone, my phone would have been flooded with calls as soon as I came out.

Before returning to the Hyeyeon guild, I stopped by a clothing store and bought new clothes. I chose a slightly loose shirt to hide the Squeak inside and used the lizard on the wall to distract the clerk. Fortunately, the clerk didn’t notice me or the Squeak.

‘Squeak, please be quiet.’

Just don’t make any noise.

Fortunately, the Squeak seemed a bit full after eating the turtle’s magic stone and was half-asleep.

I used a similar method to safely reach the dormitory floor. The hunter at the entrance was now knitting instead of reading a book. Thanks to his high stats, he was knitting very fast.

I arrived at my door, looked around, and canceled the skill. I took off the hat and sunglasses and moved the Squeak back inside the hat.

Now, I just need to go in.

‘...Can I leave a baby bird and a cat together?’

I suddenly worried. Pies is a lion, a carnivore, and close to the cat family, while Squeak is clearly a baby bird.

...Will there be a bloodbath if I go in like this? Or can I raise them together? Can I teach them not to harm each other?

‘Not all monsters are carnivores, and some are even prey to each other.’

When raising multiple monsters, I need to consider this. It would be awkward if Pies gnawed on a dragon’s wing bone in front of the dragon chick at Seisung.

“What should I do?”

I can’t just go in unprepared. It’s easy to stop Pies with my current stats, but I only have one body. It would be difficult to hold Squeak on one side and Pies on the other while calming or teaching them. Should I ask the hunter at the entrance for help?

No, it’s better to have someone Pies knows help. When will Yureum come back? I took out my phone to contact her when I sensed an approaching S-grade.

“Bro? You said you were going to sleep because you had a cold. What are you doing at the door?”

“...Why are you here? I told you not to come.”

“I didn’t plan to wake you, just-.”

- Squeak

The Squeak chirped. Yuhyeon looked at me, then at the hat I was holding. Well, it was caught sooner than expected.

“...A chick?”

“I found it.”

It’s not a lie. I just found it in the dungeon.

- Squeak! Squeak!

“You found it?”

“Someone left it in the hallway. It might have wandered in from somewhere. Anyway, I found it.”

“Is it really a chick?”

My brother looked suspicious.

“It’s not an ordinary chick...”

Well, I have to tell him eventually. I lifted the cloth and showed him the Squeak.

“It’s a monster chick.”

“What?”

“F-grade. Weak. Maybe someone couldn’t kill it and left it. I raise monsters, don’t I?”

Like people who abandon dogs at pet shelters or cafes. Don’t abandon pets.

“...”

Yuhyeon sighed. Why is he sighing when I’m the one raising it?

“Just saying.”

Yuhyeon sighed again. Why are you sighing when I’m the one raising it?

“F-grade, but it’s still a monster, so you should tame it. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Got it. But since you’re here, can you help me with Pies?”

“Help with what?”

“If I go in, she might think I brought live food.”

I explained the situation, covered the Squeak with the cloth again, and opened the door. I could hear footsteps from the other side of the door, as if Pies had already noticed I was back.

“Pies, be good, okay?”

I was about to say “be good” but quickly changed my words.

- Roar!

I ignored her jumping for a hug and went to the living room. A larger space would be better.

“Pies, no attacking.”

I showed her the hat. Pies seemed to sense something and had been staring at the hat. Her ears were perked up, and her eyes were wide.

“It’s not food, it’s a sibling, a sibling.”

I slowly removed the cloth covering the Squeak.

- Squeak!

A white, round head popped out. It chirped again, and Pies’ eyes widened.

“Your sibling-.”

- Growl

Hmm, it doesn’t seem to recognize it as a sibling. Pies bared her teeth and leaped.

Just as her fangs were about to touch the hat,

Thud

Yuhyeon’s hand grabbed Pies by the scruff of her neck. Then,

Swish-

He threw her?! What, what is this?

...Han Yuhyeon, you little...

< Squeak (3) > End

ⓒ Geunseo