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The warm sunlight poured down on the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute.

Lying on my exclusive seat, I was eating pudding while watching the Mini Reapers.

Perhaps because quite a few Mini Reapers had left on Cloud Fish, the courtyard felt a bit empty.

In that tranquil courtyard, I spotted a rather peculiar Golden Reaper.

With a somewhat sheepish expression, it wandered among the people, and whenever it made eye contact with me, it quickly scurried away.

Although Golden Reapers each had slightly different personalities, I had never seen one act so differently.

Whenever I tried to examine it properly, it would vanish, so I had never truly made eye contact with that Golden Reaper.

It felt like there was something amusing about it….

I looked at the spot where the Golden Reaper had just run away from, chuckling mischievously.

*

Thud thud.

The Black Reaper cautiously walked through the thick shadows cast by the fake sun, chasing after an Attached Human.

The Attached Human, wearing sturdy leather shoes, walked confidently along a path made of pebbles.

But despite the proud stride, the Attached Human hid sadness, loneliness, and helplessness in their heart.

I wanted to rush in and comfort the Attached Human right away, but I couldn’t because they were afraid of me.

Feeling gloomy, the Black Reaper lost its shape and melted away like slime.

Beep—

And it let out a pitiful sound that no one could hear.

I want to comfort the Attached Human.
I want to play with the Attached Human.
I want to be complimented by the Attached Human.

Hoping to achieve what countless Mini Reapers had gained—the love of the Attached Human—the Black Reaper seeped between the pebbles.

Before long, the number of people around increased, but the Black Reaper, changing shapes like liquid as it flowed through the cracks in the pebbles, went unnoticed by anyone.

As it continued to chase after the Attached Human’s emotions from afar, the Black Reaper was suddenly startled.

‘!’

The Attached Human has disappeared!

The startled Black Reaper hurriedly seeped into the entrance of the labyrinth where the Attached Human had vanished.

As the Black Reaper entered the labyrinth, it was welcomed by a completely different space.

However, the Black Reaper didn’t care about such things.

“The Attached Human is in danger!”

To the Black Reaper, the labyrinth seemed powerful but harmless like an ‘object.’

But upon entering the labyrinth, it transformed into a ‘harmful’ object brimming with intentions to kill humans.

Moreover, even though it had entered through the same entrance, the Attached Human’s emotions felt extremely distant.

The Black Reaper seeped through the cracks in the walls, smashing through obstacles as it charged towards the Attached Human.

“The Attached Human is feeling anxious.”

The labyrinth’s walls were very sturdy, but that didn’t pose much of a problem for the Black Reaper.

The Black Reaper had the strength to chew through even the indestructible metals made with alchemy!

However, the Black Reaper lacked the speed of a Golden Reaper.

Before long, the Attached Human began feeling not just anxiety, but a threat to their life.

“No!”

The Black Reaper gathered all its strength and transformed its body into spikes, launching itself.

Through countless walls, it succeeded in saving the Attached Human right before an attack could strike.

Beep.

In the body of a wolf, the Black Reaper let out a joyful cry, performing the harmful object monster elimination method it had learned.

First, it infiltrated the body to destroy the brain, then crushed the heart where the energy was concentrated.
It severed the spine bit by bit and ground all the muscles and bones to pieces.
And then, tearing apart the head would be the end!

Executing the strongest attack taught by its strong mom, the wolf couldn’t endure and fell helplessly.

In the Black Reaper’s view, this elimination method was truly perfect and swift.

Indeed, mom is amazing!

“I did well!”

Expecting plenty of praise, it popped out with a victory pose, but the Attached Human’s reaction was nothing like what it anticipated.

They fainted, as if they had seen something horrifying.

The Attached Human is scared.
The Attached Human was so shocked it hurt.

With a gloomy expression, the Black Reaper melted down, quietly whimpering, “Beep.”

Does the Attached Human dislike me?

The collapsed Attached Human frowned and tossed and turned, as if having a nightmare.

Feeling sorry for them, I patted their cheek with a small hand, but it didn’t seem to have much effect.

Rather, it just left a red palm print covered in sticky blood.

The Black Reaper looked down at the Attached Human and decided to approach them in a slightly different way.

Since the Attached Human dislikes me, I’ll be with them in another form.

“It’s okay if you don’t particularly like me.”
“I just want to be with you.”
“Still a bit sad, but that’s alright.”

Thinking such thoughts, the Black Reaper put its small head to work, repeating thoughts and ideas.

*

The girl had a dream.
In that dream, a huge monster with black skin burst out from the belly of a wolf.
It was a terrible creature that tore the wolf apart like something out of a movie, grotesquely emerging from it.

Even though that monster was tearing the wolf to shreds, the girl found herself unable to budge a single finger, as if she were paralyzed—a nightmare.

Then, the monster that had shredded the wolf approached slowly, glistening with ominous black sheen, and began to poke the girl’s cheek with its blood-soaked, slimy tongue.

The sensation of blood on her cheek felt all too realistic.

“Huh!”

As the girl woke from her nightmare, she was startled and propped herself up.

Looking around, she saw ominous green flames burning in torches.
Torn-up backpacks and dungeon roses.
And the mangled corpse of a headless wolf.

It wasn’t a dream….

Upon seeing the wolf’s corpse, the girl fell to her knees, retching.

Even now, just closing her eyes made her feel like she could still see the wolf writhing horrifyingly.

Dizzy and nauseous, the girl had no choice but to muster her courage.

With an empty stomach and not even knowing where she was,
It was clear that staying still here would lead to her starving to death in the labyrinth.

She slowly got up with trembling legs, hurriedly checking her physical condition.

After encountering such a dreadful and bizarre phenomenon, she found that aside from some splattered blood, she was alright.

“I had that nightmare because of this.”

As she brushed her cheek with her palm, she muttered while observing the large amount of blood staining her hand.

What on earth had happened?

Trying to suppress the urge to vomit, the girl examined the wolf’s corpse, but found no particular traces.

Just before fainting, she felt like she had seen something glowing yellow, but perhaps due to the shock, her memory was unclear.

“I’m hungry.”

After fighting fiercely with the wolf and collapsing from shock, her hunger was intensifying.

Having moved too much without food, she felt completely drained.

Ultimately, the girl had no choice but to stop investigating the wolf’s body and start moving.

She gathered the torn dungeon roses and stuffed them in her pockets.
Sure, they weren’t quite worth the effort, but she took them just in case.

Then, she unfolded a map, stood before the torch, and took a deep breath.

It’s terrifying.
Another monster like the wolf could appear.
Moreover, I could die from some unidentified phenomenon, just like the wolf.

“But if I keep standing still, I’ll just starve to death.”

Grinding her teeth, the girl nervously manipulated the torch.
The room turned upside down, opening a path on the opposite side.

“I can’t let myself be intimidated if I want to push through the labyrinth and return home!”

Shouting loudly as if to dispel her fears, she slowly crossed over to the opposite room.

What she found upon arrival was a room exuding a very mysterious atmosphere.

There was nothing different about it from the other rooms, but one sword planted in the center created that atmosphere.

A sword of a kind she had never seen before.

It was a short sword, perfect for one hand.
Simple in design, comprising only of a blade and a grip, but it had a unique sense of pressure emanating from it.

The girl gazed at the sword, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“I guess this is how items appear in dungeons.”

She cautiously approached and drew the black sword.
Its grip fit her as if customized, and it felt almost weightless as if it were hollow.

It was light, which made it easy to swing, but it also made her slightly anxious.
Could this really be a proper weapon, being so light?

Its color was also unlike that of an ordinary sword, making it feel like an ornament.

Nevertheless, it was the first real “item” she had obtained in the dungeon, so the girl felt a flutter of excitement.

And for some reason, it also felt as if the sword was rejoicing.

*

The girl, who had been feeling elated after acquiring the sword, soon became humble again.

“Go away!”

She swung the lightweight sword wildly like a stick, but the swallow with a long blade instead of feet easily dodged her strikes, flying freely in the sky.

“Hah. Hah.”

The girl was out of breath and deep in thought.

The swallow seemed oddly wary of her sword swings and hadn’t attacked yet, but it didn’t seem like a standoff would last long.

“But to slash a swallow with a sword? Is that even possible?”

She inwardly grumbled, wondering if she was being told to imitate those famous swordsmen.

The moment she felt the swallow’s gaze shift, it suddenly charged directly at her with a speed she had never seen before.

“This is the end!”

The girl, startled by the speed, couldn’t even think of swinging her sword, but something strange happened.

The sword, which she hadn’t swung, elongated and split into three, instantly slicing through the approaching swallow.

Struck by three precise blows, the swallow fell apart into four pieces and crashed to the ground.

“What… what was that?”

The girl stared blankly at the swallow’s corpse as if caught in the bizarre phenomenon caused by her sword.