The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 5

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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 5
At first, I thought something had simply fallen.
But then came the sound that followed—
“Ugh……!”
A weak, frightened cry.
‘Someone’s here!’
Fortunately, the voice came from somewhere distant from the Bandage Monster.
Following the cry across the uneven ground, nearly tripping as I ran, I found a boy leaning against a rock.
It was Jun Seo.
“Jun Seo…… are you okay? Did you hurt your leg?”
He must have injured himself when falling into the dungeon. Jun Seo was gripping his ankle and groaning.
At the sound of my voice, Jun Seo turned his gaze toward me.
“You’re from our class, right? Shin Yi……, Shin Yi……, Moon?”
“Shin Yi Moon is a subway station—I’m Yi Ji!”
“Where…… where is this?”
“A dungeon.”
“Really?”
Seeming not to believe me, Jun Seo forced himself to his feet—
“Ugh……!”
He didn’t last more than a few seconds before the ankle pain made him collapse.
I wanted to examine his wound, but there was no time for that.
Something was approaching.
Swish, swish—the sound of bandages dragging.
The wet, squelching noise of something striking the ground in a steady rhythm…….
The Bandage Monster was getting closer.
Jun Seo seemed to realize it too.
“We have to run! Yi…….”
“Ji.”
“Right, Yi Ji. Go. Now.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll follow. Just go ahead.”
Jun Seo spoke with firm resolve.
I took his words to heart and went forward alone for a few steps…… then spun around sharply.
Jun Seo, gripping his injured ankle and struggling for breath, flinched in surprise.
“Why, why?”
Without answering, I grabbed Jun Seo’s arm and pulled.
I knew how to help an injured person walk.
‘I saw it on Hug Me.’
Jun Seo seemed to understand what I was trying to do.
“You don’t have to!”
“Lean on me. Now!”
He tried to pull back, but he couldn’t overcome the steadily approaching squeak-squeak sound, and finally he leaned his weight on me.
“I’ve never owed anyone anything before. I really haven’t.”
“Just walk!”
“…… Sorry.”
Jun Seo clenched his jaw.
“Rescue should get here soon.”
At first, we managed to move forward together.
But the ground around us was loose sand that swallowed our feet with each step.
Our pace slowed gradually.
The footsteps chasing us, meanwhile, remained infuriatingly steady.
‘This is hard…….’
Could we really keep running until rescue arrived?
The glaring sun, the burning sand—everything in the world seemed to be driving us forward.
Just as I took a deep breath.
The weight on my shoulder vanished.
Jun Seo had stopped.
“What……? Jun Seo?”
“You, go on ahead, Yi Ji.”
“Go ahead? You can’t even walk on your own!”
“Better one of us escapes than both of us getting caught.”
I tugged at his sleeve, but Jun Seo didn’t budge.
The Bandage Monster was drawing ever closer…….
Suddenly, a new idea struck me.
“Jun Seo! Is there a way to remove the bandages?”
“Remove what bandages?”
“What? You didn’t see the Clear Condition?”
“What’s that?”
Seeing his expression of confusion, it seemed the Clear Condition was only visible to Awakeners.
Jun Seo didn’t overthink it.
“Just go! Alone!”
He pushed me hard. I nearly fell flat on my back, and in that moment, the Bandage Monster loomed suddenly closer. Jun Seo scooped up a handful of sand, ready to throw it at the creature.
He was going to fight.
‘He’s so brave.’
My hands were still trembling…….
But I wasn’t going to just admire his courage and leave.
The Bunny Princess always said it.
‘You can’t abandon your allies!’
Just before Jun Seo could throw that handful of sand, I burst forward.
Throwing sand would be pointless anyway.
‘You’re supposed to aim for the eyes and mouth.’
But its entire face was wrapped in bandages—I doubt it even blinks. It would only make it angrier.
Not that I had a brilliant plan either, but—
‘I’m a Hunter!’
Even if I’m Example Rank, even if I have no Trait.
‘This dungeon showed me the Clear Condition. So I have to act like a real Hunter!’
“Hey, hey! Yi Ji, get back!”
“Rrgh……!”
The Bandage Monster’s hand reached out. I lifted my backpack like a shield. The zipper was open—its contents tumbled into the air.
‘Is there anything useful in there……?’
But as I was thinking,
suddenly everything stopped.
The tissues in my bag, the tumbler, the cupcake—all hung suspended in mid-air.
The monster’s reaching hand was frozen too.
I turned to look beside me. Jun Seo couldn’t even blink.
In this strange space-time where only I could move,
an otherworldly voice spoke.
[So here dwells one as blank as a white page, yet possessing infinite potential.]
“Wh……? Who are you?”
[Do not be alarmed.]
An impossible request.
Before my eyes,
a yellowed mass of papers—as if someone had torn ten pages from an old book—fluttered into view.
“Whoa……?”
At first, I thought I was hallucinating.
I closed my eyes tight, then opened them. The mass of papers had actually crumpled itself into something like a face.
A voice with the eerie quality of a voice-modulated witness in a crime show flowed out.
[You are…… Yi Ji. Correct?]
“Wh-wh-what are you?”
[I am the custodian of Infinite Possibility, perceived only by those bearing the finite. I have manifested here to sense the presence of one destined to carve an eternal pattern upon humanity’s flow.]
…… I have no idea what it’s talking about.
My pride as a spelling champion took a hit.
Perhaps sensing my confusion,
the Paper Bundle Entity spoke in much simpler terms.
[Gentle one. Do you desire strength befitting your sense of responsibility?]
“Pardon?”
[You are destined as an Awakener, called a Hunter, yet you have not yet blossomed.]
My mouth fell open.
“How did you know?”
[As I said, I am one who observes the world through the lens of Infinite Possibility. I sensed the presence of one bearing potential and came to this place.]
That was much easier to understand.
I made a mental note to study Korean more carefully, then asked the Papers a question.
“Did you come from the Awakening System?”
The System. I’d heard it was the law that created dungeons and Awakeners.
The Papers rustled. It sounded almost like a chuckle.
[The System? Ha! The Awakening System is merely one observation among many. Like the Industrial Revolution or world wars.]
“…… ”
[Though it will hold great meaning for you, the youngest Awakener in the world. And for me, who found you.]
The final phrase stirred something in my heart.
It was just like the mysterious encounter in the first episode of a magical girl anime.
Yet I couldn’t simply be happy.
“But you found me…… and I don’t have a Trait…….”
[The first is true, the second is false. You don’t lack a Trait—you are a being who can become anything.]
The idea that you can become anything is usually just empty words from adults.
But…… it’s something you secretly want to believe.
“Really? Can I become it now?”
[Of course! I came to help you. If you wish it, that is.]
“Of course I want to!”
Ever since learning the phrase “career aspiration,” I’d always wanted to become someone great.
So my sister, who struggled raising me alone, wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.
A judge or a lawyer—or maybe a doctor? Whatever I became, I had to study hard. Be a good student. Excel.
But now that I’m an Awakener—
“Please make me a Healing Hunter!”
I’d learned about Hunters while researching last night.
Healing Hunters were extremely rare, so even low-ranked ones made good money.
I could already picture a bright future.
The great Healer Yi Ji, treating the president’s heart disease, cancer, and concussion, winning the Nobel Peace Prize…….
Then a firm voice cut through my daydream.
[No.]
“Huh? Oh, I can’t?”
[Because I don’t think that’s what you truly desire.]
The Paper Bundle Entity brought the edge of its page to my forehead.
Words written in yellow ink danced and formed the characters ‘Yi Ji’.
[You are a sincere and good child.]
“…… ”
[You have worked hard all this time. And yet…… you’re already trying to give something up.]
“Give up? …… Oh.”
The words on the page shifted.
[Can I become anything?]
A simple question.
But the words that followed—
[No. We’ll become anything we want!]
The words the Bunny Princess spoke from Clover Star when transforming the protagonist of Hug Me★Pink Me into a magical girl.
[A sentence etched in your heart. Words you love.]
“The Bunny Princess…….”
[Yi Ji. What is it you truly love?]
“Me?”
[Did you really want to be a Healer? A lawyer? An influencer?]
I opened my mouth. And with all my heart, I shouted.
“I want to become anything, anytime!”
Like magical girls who transform into whatever is needed to overcome hardship, yet never stop dreaming.
Upon my sincere cry,
the laughter of the Papers tangled and resonated.
[I will nurture your heart to bloom together with you!]
The surroundings grew steadily brighter. A gentle, pleasant breeze wrapped around me. Flowers of unknown season scattered on the wind.
And…….
After the snow-white world gradually regained its original colors,
the first thing I saw was the contents of my backpack continuing to fall from the air.
Next was the Bandage Monster with its hand still reaching forward at a crawling pace, and Jun Seo beside it with his mouth hanging open.
The Papers that had been fluttering about were gone.
‘Did I hallucinate?’
But it wasn’t a hallucination. Jun Seo raised a trembling hand and spoke.
“Yi, Yi Ji? What is that?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Your clothes changed!”
At his words, I looked down at myself.
The Hoodie and Cargo Shorts I’d been wearing were gone, replaced by rolled-up shorts and a sky-blue One-piece Dress that fluttered with movement.
The hem of the dress was densely covered in frills, and they shimmered with a faint glow as if silver thread had been woven through.
Just like the dress the Bunny Princess wore to the royal ball on her home star.
‘Could it be……? Status window!’

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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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