The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Magic Hunter Girl Decorates a Dungeon! Episode 004
Earlier, Iji had seen a glimmering thread right before her eyes.
But the Instructor had acted as though he’d noticed nothing.
It must have been a thread invisible to ordinary people.
‘I’m an Awakened One, so maybe this is a thread only Hunters can see?’
Perfect syllogism!
Her shoulders straightened without her realizing it.
Meanwhile, the Instructor, upon hearing the word “Hunter,” glanced nervously at the other people before stooping low and—
“……I appreciate you thinking of me so favorably, but I used this.”
He held up a small switch in his right hand.
“It’s a Magic Stone Battery Switch. You know what a Magic Stone is, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
A rare energy source that only appears in Dungeons.
Which meant—
“When you press the switch, the hoop pulls the ball in. It helps kids who can’t make the shot on their own.”
It hadn’t been Hunter strength at all—just the power of modern technology.
‘I jumped to the wrong conclusion!’
The Instructor shifted nervously. “How did you figure it out? Did you hear something? The kids can’t know about this.”
The Instructor must not be able to see that silver thread.
Iji decided to change the subject. She didn’t want to tell just anyone that she’d Awakened.
“Well…… the ball should just bounce out at the end, but it went ‘bing’ instead and sailed in, so it seemed odd.”
“You’re observant. This is our secret, yes?”
“…….”
Iji thought for a moment, then nodded.
Helping someone fake making the shot was cheating—a bad thing, but—
‘Adults have their own circumstances.’
“Yes, I’ll keep it secret.”
“Thank you! Now, how about this.”
The Instructor held out a basket.
“Pick a gift from here.”
“……But gifts are only for people who make the shot. I shouldn’t take one.”
Adult circumstances were one thing. Iji’s own principles were another.
“You helped me, sir. I didn’t make the shot.”
“Hmm…….”
“I learned that cheating is wrong.”
“Fine then! In that case, student Iji gets zero points.”
The Instructor quickly hid the basket behind his back, then spun the one in his other hand halfway around and offered it again.
“But you’re honest, so plus one point.”
“Pardon?”
“You could have quietly taken a prize, but instead you confessed something seemed off.”
“Ah…….”
“Honest children receive rewards—isn’t that what you learn in school?”
“Yes, it is.”
“So pick one.”
“……Yes!”
Speaking up had been the right choice after all!
Iji looked into the basket with delight and—
nearly lost her smile.
‘Drab.’
The basket held only dark pens, pencils, and keychains. Everything bore angular white lettering: <Municipal Career Experience Center Commemorative Visit>.
Perhaps noticing Iji’s disappointment.
The Instructor grumbled.
“Sigh, these bureaucrat-desk hand-me-downs. I’ve been meaning to swap them out…….”
“Pardon?”
“Actually, if nothing catches your eye, you can pick from over here instead!”
The second basket the Instructor offered was bursting with items that had absolutely nothing to do with the Career Experience Center. Pokemon Badges, Hamburger Erasers, Lollipops, and more. The very palette screamed a different caliber.
And there, Iji spotted treasure at once.
‘A Bunny Princess Sticker!’
The Bunny Princess—deuteragonist of the most entertaining anime in her entire life, <Hug Me☆Pink Me>—was smiling up from the bottom of the basket.
‘And it’s the Homeworld Ball Gown version!’
This was the sticker she’d searched five unmanned convenience stores for and still hadn’t found!
The Instructor smiled.
“Looks like something caught your eye?”
“Yes! I…… I’ll take this one.”
“Huh?”
What Iji had grabbed was a pen. The Instructor tilted his head in confusion.
“Really?”
“Yes. Thank you!”
Iji hurried out of the Basketball Court. She had to put distance between herself and the sparkling eyes of the rabbit princess, lest they drag her back.
‘I didn’t come here to play.’
Today she was on a serious mission to explore her future.
She needed to investigate what it meant to be a Hunter, and if she determined she couldn’t work as one, find another career path quickly.
‘Being a magic girl won’t help me buy a house.’
She needed to think about what actually mattered.
‘I’m good at parties. Basketball is hard. And this time…… ‘
The last activity left was the scientist experience.
The previous group’s session still wasn’t finished, and children clustered noisily outside the <Science Lab>.
The teacher caught the increasingly unfocused children’s attention.
“Alright everyone, let’s stop showing off your gifts for now—”
“Not showing off! That pencil is ugly!”
“Don’t call gifts ugly! Anyway, in the Science Lab we’re doing a robot experiment with Magic Stone Batteries.”
“Robots!”
The children’s eyes lit up.
“What kind of robot?”
“Can we make an AI-O Man?”
“Can we take it home?”
The children’s expectations inflated. The teacher missed the moment to deflate them, and soon the children were even speculating that ‘maybe this whole building turns into a robot.’ Just then—
the Science Lab door opened.
The teacher sighed with relief.
“Everyone, please step to the sides so the students who did the experiment can come out!”
The children obeyed quietly.
But what emerged from the open doorway wasn’t the students who’d gone before.
“……Huh?”
What stumbled out left even the teachers bewildered.
It was a figure wrapped entirely in bandages, lurching forward with an unsteady gait.
About as tall as sixth-grade girls.
With each step, limbs that lacked wrists, ankles, or elbow joints bent at impossible angles and snapped back.
In the sudden silence, a child shrieked.
“They did human experiments!”
“Aaaaaahhh!”
The children scattered in panic.
Iji wanted to run too, but the tide of children rushing blindly was a tsunami to someone her height.
‘Where should I go?’
Just then someone shouted from inside the Science Lab.
“Those of you outside, go to the hallway! We’ve evacuated all the students inside through the back exit!”
A teacher called back.
“What’s happening? Are things okay in there?”
“There’s a problem with the Magic Stone Battery— Ahhh!”
In the center of the Science Lab, a pillar of flame shot up from the experiment table.
The lab instructor was fleeing too, his warnings becoming screams that grew fainter.
“Everyone back up! This is definitely a Dungeon—”
But Iji didn’t hear what came next.
From the flames, pure white beams of light fired in all directions. Thwack, thwack—the sound of impacts shattered the space.
There was no time to dodge.
One of them struck Iji’s head and—
‘Aaaahhh! ……Huh?’
Rather than pain, it felt like someone was stroking her. The moment she registered that—
the world went dark.
Almost simultaneously, her body began colliding with things above, below, and on all sides.
It didn’t hurt. It felt like riding a very long water park slide.
Then a sudden flash of light struck her eyes and—
as the glare finally faded, a message appeared on a blue background.
You have entered the Dungeon
“Huh……?”
Then a desolate outdoor landscape came into view.
A desert with sunlight beating down vertically.
There’s no desert in Korea.
Iji had been caught in a suddenly manifested Dungeon.
‘Okay, first—stay calm. You learned what to do in this situation!’
Back in first grade, they’d gathered in the auditorium to learn emergency protocols.
If there’s a fire? Shout “Fire!” lower your body, and run to the hallway!
If there’s an earthquake? Hide under your desk!
If you get caught in a Dungeon manifestation?
‘Follow a nearby adult!’
……The satisfaction of having faithfully attended training evaporated instantly.
Iji looked around anew.
Adults: none.
Children: none.
Conclusion:
‘I can’t follow the lesson.’
The bigger problem was that there was indeed a presence that was neither adult nor child.
Across the desolate landscape of rock, sand, and withered trees, the bandaged monster that had appeared at the Career Experience Center moved alone.
“Uh…… uh…….”
The creature only turned its head slowly, searching. It didn’t seem to have noticed Iji.
‘Let me hide.’
Being small had its advantages in moments like this.
She found a suitable rock and crouched behind it, when another message appeared before her eyes.
Clear Condition: Remove the Dungeon Boss’s bandages
It was her first Dungeon, but she could understand the message’s meaning from context.
She’d need to complete the condition to escape the Dungeon.
‘So that creature is the Dungeon Boss, then?’
The bandaged monster moved with painstaking slowness.
But she couldn’t let her guard down.
‘Cockroaches usually just creep around, but the moment I spot one, it becomes incredibly fast.’
Don’t move rashly. Hide here and think carefully.
But before Iji could even settle her hips to the ground—
she heard something clatter and fall.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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