I Became a Monster in a Novel

The boss, the cyclops hiding deep in the cave, started to flee with a terrified expression once I found him. Even with stealth skills activated, it was rather useless as his level was low. A boss running away… White Deer shook his head disapprovingly.

“You’re turning more into a monster by the day.”

I chuckled as I chased the cyclops. It must have been his own cave, yet he was running toward a dead end instead of an exit. He must have panicked that badly. I felt a bit sorry for him, but I wouldn’t be able to let the dungeon collapse without dealing with him first. Soon enough, the power engulfed the cave completely—

the cyclops let out his final cry.

“――!”

[Experience points have reached maximum. Lv.11 → Lv.12]

‘A bit disappointing.’

Even clearing a dungeon nets me just the leftover experience since it was such a low-level one. It was hardly better than a dungeon from Gyeongsan—comparing it with the dungeons I had previously explored seemed almost embarrassing. I wouldn’t mind if there was just one dungeon like the Dragon’s Wasteland. As the dungeon crumbled and I returned to the Gwangmyeong Cave in Incheon, the system sent me a message.

[Destruction probability 96.08% → 96.06%]

[You gain 0.02% of merit]

[Merit 2.84%]

“White Deer. Is there…?”

“Nothing right now. It’ll take a few more days for another dungeon to open.”

I nodded at the firm reply. There weren’t any dungeons left in the Fantasy World, and finding the protagonist was no easy task either. So—

‘I should do it now.’

It was time to wipe out the errant children. It was time to settle the score for the attack on the Academy.

‘To the island.’

Dungeons could open in the sea as well. Most of those were untouched too. Unlike land monsters, underwater monsters were ridiculously tricky to deal with because they were lurking in the water. Because of their existence, humanity had to abandon most islands and bring people back to the mainland. Unless an area was at least as big as Jeju Island with proper infrastructure, there wasn’t really any need to stubbornly defend an island. The errant children had been exploiting that fact.

‘Living on an island.’

That was one reason their identity had remained hidden. Even if someone thought about the island, verifying it was an entirely different matter. Not many hunters could boldly come and live on their island.

‘But that’s actually a big advantage.’

The errants didn’t happily reside on the island. They were just being careful to avoid exposure. It’s not like they had means to roam around freely in the sea.

‘But I have amphibious skills.’

If it’s neither on land nor in the sea, there’s no way they could catch me, I could confidently say.

‘The recent attack incident is proof they’re cornered.’

The witch’s disaster—trying to kidnap Baek So-yul was shocking, but their reckless attempt showed they were getting desperate. And with them failing even that, who knows how they might react under increased pressure? A cornered rat will bite a cat, but ultimately, it gets eaten by the cat.

‘Of course, I wouldn’t call them rats.’

And another goal was the monsters in the sea themselves. Marine monsters could provide a decent amount of experience while there was no dungeon.

***

“Wow. Look at that face?”

While Hong Yu-ri, always the one to criticize, smirked, Euna pouted her lips. Immediately, an unseen hand pinched her cheeks and twisted them.

“You dare to oppose me? Fine. Fair game.”

“Ouch! It hurts!”

“What do you mean it doesn’t hurt… Oh right, I used your card to get coffee, didn’t I?”

“Why didn’t you mention that earlier…”

“Shall I use their card instead?”

She’d rather die than say she’d buy it herself. Euna sighed and shifted her gaze, only to spot a girl with her eyes closed, focusing on meditation. An academy graduate… still a student. No matter how much she was on a pay cut, she couldn’t just suggest spending someone else’s money.

“Yeah. People should have a sense of conscience.”

The girl targeted by the errants, Baek So-yul. Currently, she was under the guardianship of Yeongmi under the pretext of probation instead of being on a temporary leave from the academy.

“…You’re really good at this.”

“Don’t compare me. She’s been through years at the academy already. And anyway, you…”

Hong Yu-ri trailed off and shook her head.

Yeah. She was definitely exceptional. Talented too. Even diligent. But if you asked whether that warranted the errants attacking the academy, my head would shake.

‘Just about as good as Anela.’

That’s about the extent of her talent. Anela, who was a descendant of the Square Master, was no easy magic user, but that’s how Hong Yu-ri saw it. Honestly, I still didn’t fully understand why the errants were targeting her. I was rolling with Euna to figure it out, but…

‘There must be something I don’t know.’

They didn’t start trouble for no reason. Narrowing her eyes, Hong Yu-ri stared intently at Baek So-yul. So-yul was still focused and didn’t seem to notice a thing.

“…….”

Yeah. It was a bit of a stretch to expect to find the reason in just two days. I needed to be patient. A cautious knock on the door broke Hong Yu-ri’s thoughts.

“Vice Team Leader?”

“Yeah. Leave it there.”

About the coffee order. Without even turning around, she replied, and a clan member scratched the back of his head.

“No, it’s the Team Leader calling you.”

“Gu Jin-ha? Why?”

“No. It’s the Team Leader from Team 2.”

Upon hearing that, Hong Yu-ri’s expression twisted in confusion.

“Has it already opened?”

“Is there any other option?”

“Ah… If I’m busy, I hope I’m not being called up too?”

“I don’t know about that.”

Snatching the coffee with an annoyed look, Hong Yu-ri sighed.

“This sucks.”

Not even trying to hide her discomfort, she chugged down the coffee in one go and kicked the door open. It was clear that the clan member had gotten used to her personality.

“When will she change that attitude?”

“Haha…”

“Anyway, you’ll leave the coffee and card?”

“Thank you~.”

“Sure. Keep up the good work.”

As the clan member stepped out, it left Baek So-yul and Euna in an awkward atmosphere, only sipping their coffee. Not being able to endure the strange silence, Euna decided to break it with a question.

“You mentioned Alpha, right?”

“Yes… I saw it.”

“I heard you were rescued… Is your body okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine. That wolf…”

Following her thought that it had saved her, Euna nodded as she took a sip of her remaining coffee.

“How was it? Wasn’t it scary?”

“It was scary.”

A definite answer. Nodding, Baek So-yul continued.

“But more than being scared…”

The expression that crossed her mind felt somewhat distant, leaving Euna tilting her head slightly. Placing her hand on her heart, Baek So-yul released a long breath.

“It felt incredibly reassuring.”

“…….”

“What about you? I heard the first person you met was your sister…”

“I almost died.”

“…….”

An offhand comment I had heard. Some were on the brink of death while others were rescued. Euna chuckled inwardly at the juxtaposition.

“That slime saved me twice, but ended up dying in my place—not eaten, but killed.”

If I hadn’t mindlessly climbed the mountain, such incidents wouldn’t have happened. Even though I wouldn’t be able to say it now, I wanted to express my gratitude. Thank you for saving me twice. —Alas, that slime had left for a place I’d never see again. Unknowingly, Euna crumpled the coffee can in her hand.

“Yeah. Maybe the feelings So-yul has for Alpha are similar to what I felt for that slime.”

“…Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s been a while now.”

There’s no way I could be okay. All that remained was the single-minded desire for revenge. And poison. At that moment, I regret not killing him. If only I had responded calmly without fear. I definitely had the chance to kill Alpha. How many times have I regretted it too late?

Taking a deep sigh, Euna reminisced about what happened at Jirisan.

“Now the gap has widened…”

Alpha, who was once a Worg, had become an unknown monster shrouded in shadows, beyond the Skull Wolf.

Even if half of what I heard was true, Alpha was no one to be trifled with now. The clan had plans to capture him, but… surely one day there would be an opportunity to kill him, right? Finishing her thoughts, Euna looked at Baek So-yul with a peculiar gaze. If I get to kill Alpha, should I apologize to So-yul? Should I tell her beforehand that I’m sorry?

‘…But if the chance comes.’

I vowed once more that I wouldn’t hesitate.

***

“Oh. You’re just coming now?”

“I did come, but it’s not what you think, right?”

Giant, Kang Tae-ho raised his thumb while looking at Hong Yu-ri with a disgusted expression.

“Our Yu-ri is quick-witted, huh? The moment you’ve been waiting for has come back…”

“No, I went last time, right? This time, Hae-yeon is going with that girl, not me.”

“Hae-yeon’s going too?”

“You crazy…”

“Hey, did you not hear the clan leader say we must go for the conquest? “

Kang Tae-ho grinned as he said that, and Hong Yu-ri facepalmed.

“I’ll really just go back to the Square if you think I’m here to enjoy any riches.”

“You’re not the only one; Jin-ha. Hae-yeon. Kijun. Woo Taek from Team 3. Most of the usual crowd will be there. We were planning to leave you behind because you despised it so much, but it seems like Gohwon won’t be here this time, so we have no choice.”

“What about Geoam?”

“Being the representative clan of Yongin, he has to attend for sure. We’re already planning to meet soon. This time, we’re gonna clear Neverland, okay?”

Neverland. The largest theme park in the country. In 2055—around 14 years ago, a catastrophic accident happened where nearly 10,000 people died when Neverland turned into a dungeon. Unlike the academy attack, this was not caused by traitors but was a simple dungeon accident. And it remains the only dungeon in the country that hasn’t been cleared yet.

“I get that, but isn’t it better to do it next time when Gohwon isn’t here?”

“No, in this condition, we need to do it more.”

“……?”

“Clearing Neverland without Gohwon will reduce the blame. The chaos will settle down a bit too.”

When did he start being so considerate? Narrowing her eyes, Hong Yu-ri stared at Kang Tae-ho, who sighed deeply.

“I can see how you usually view me.”

“First off, can I actually clear it if I go? If it closes, it’s game over anyway?”

“You’ve gathered enough information over the years of sieges. I’d say we have about a 50% chance.”

“50%…”

“Didn’t we make it to the Magic World just two years ago?”

Neverland is a dungeon that opens and closes at random intervals, and every time, it resets. The Magic World that Kang Tae-ho mentioned is the fourth area, and Neverland is divided into five areas. In fact, since each area looks entirely different, it’s fair to see them as five separate dungeons. The issue is that each area has a difficulty level that most dungeons can’t even match up to.

“The rest would be tackled with body.”

“…Though I can’t just skip it, right?”

“Well, that’s true. The registration has already been submitted.”

“This is insane.”

“This is notification. Yu-ri. Neverland. It’s really not far away now. A month… It’ll definitely open within that time.”

Upon hearing Kang Tae-ho’s serious words, Hong Yu-ri sighed deeply.

***

I arrived at the West Sea after rushing from the Fantasy World. The destination was Deokjeokdo. Even at this moment, the Silent Mouth must have been governing the areas around Deokjeokdo. Fighting with the Silent Mouth was a burden, but it wouldn’t be difficult to inflict damage on the errants without provoking it.

‘I’ll just stir chaos as I please.’

“Kkyuuuu!”

As I tried to enter the sea, Fairy couldn’t hide its anxious expression. The one with the amphibious skill was me, not it. Right now, it was perched atop my head, but if a truly dangerous situation arose, it would return to the Fantasy World on its own.

‘For now…’

I dipped my feet into the water and activated my sensing ability. Most of the presences felt were animals, but there were occasionally monsters lurking about. Stretching out my tentacles to stay as close to the surface as possible, I lured and dealt with them like fishing.

[You have consumed a Great Tooth Ragged-tooth Shark. Experience and fullness increase.]

[You have consumed a Cave Chain Bear. Experience and fullness increase.]

I had even consumed a Lake Lizard, so there wouldn’t be any monster more formidable than that in the nearby waters. In other words, it meant they were low levels, but still, experience is experience. Before long, I was able to arrive at Deokjeokdo.

‘But…’

Something felt off; I wasn’t sensing any presence.

‘No way are they still not settled on Deokjeokdo yet?’

That couldn’t be. They had been preparing for quite some time. They shouldn’t be gone. Looking around the whole island with confusion.

‘Damn.’

I discovered massive signs of destruction. There were faint remnants of building sites left behind, yet all the structures had turned to ashes. Signs of destruction—frowning at the lingering scent of magic still lingering.

‘Hong Yu-ri.’

Her scarlet magic that burned the awakening evil remained etched in my memory. The lingering magic here was definitely hers. There’s no way she would have come alone, which meant Yeongmi had been here.

‘What happened?’

It was definitely my fault that the existence of the errants became visible. But how did they find out about the presence on Deokjeokdo? Knowing about it and finding where they’re hiding are completely different matters.

‘…But it’s a good thing.’

Despite my doubts, it was an opportunity. Thanks to that, things were going nicely. The fact that they used magic powerful enough to turn an entire city to ashes was clear evidence they had fought with the Silent Mouth.

‘And you defeated it?’

Judging by the remaining magic, it must have been a recent occurrence. No more than three or four days tops. That means the Silent Mouth probably hasn’t returned yet. I couldn’t help but feel a smile creeping up on my lips.

‘The absence of the Silent Mouth means…’

In other words, there’s no overseeing officer here. A perfect opportunity to sweep through all the surrounding islands— a perfect house robbery.

“Kkyurururuk!”

At the same time, Fairy tugged at my ear. Following the little one that seemed to signal to hurry up, I moved toward a beach where remains of twitching flesh still lay scattered. It suddenly reminded me of White Deer’s words.

[They feast on unclean things.]

Unfinished products of fake elixirs— if the evil sealed in them counts as unclean, then it’s quite likely. If that’s the case. No, it’s definitely so.

“Kkyururu!”

Fairy fluttered as if it found a banquet. I felt the same excitement. The opportunity to wipe out the errants— and at the same time, if Fairy could grow from this, that would be the icing on the cake. Therefore, with enthusiasm, Fairy started to consume the remains left behind.