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In the Marshmallow Plains, where many Mini Reapers had gathered to play with the ‘New Younger Sibling’ Hug Reaper.

I looked down, slowly observing the Hug Reaper resting on my palm.

‘Is this one similar to me?’

Well, I could say it resembled me, but there were too many differences in body shape and style to feel that way.

Actually, the Green Reaper felt a bit like that too.

‘Looks stronger than I expected.’

The Hug Reaper had a harmless expression, just going around saying “Hug!” but a strong presence was emanating from its core.

I sent a thought to the Hug Reaper while it sat on my palm.

‘Do you know what you can do?’

Even if it wasn’t a 1st Sword quality, the Hug Reaper had quite a presence, so I thought it might help me with my automatic hunting life.

‘Hug!’

But contrary to my expectations, the Hug Reaper merely conveyed the will of “Hug!”

‘Right… You can do hugs, huh.’

Hearing its response, I sent the Hug Reaper back to the Free Hug Zone.

‘Well, I can check the Hug Reaper’s abilities later.’

Watching the Hug Reaper take its place among the Mini Reapers, hugging them one by one, I reflected on my thoughts about it.

‘Hug!’

‘Hug!’

Leaving behind the “Hug!” exclamations from the Hug Reaper and the Mini Reapers, I walked to a quiet open lot in the Marshmallow Plains.

And after finding a suitable spot, I held the newly acquired Halo in my hand.

The halo shimmered in golden light.

‘I wonder what ability this halo has?’

Was it the strong mental pollution that could strike even me?

The spider web that covered the entire Pacific Ocean?

The feeling of a few hundred octopuses’ tentacles?

Or perhaps those overwhelmingly abundant eyeballs?

The space that twisted reality?

With such curiosities, I shut my eyes tight and flipped the halo onto my head.

‘Huh?’

I waited for the familiar pain I felt whenever I used the halo, but no matter how long I waited, the pain didn’t come.

Could it be that the color of the halo mattered?

If so, then I should put all the painful halos on Mini Reapers.

Hehe.

As soon as I wore the halo on my head, I began to vaguely understand its abilities.

If I had to name this halo, it would probably be the ‘Halo of Fusion.’

To experiment with the halo, I captured two Golden Reapers wandering nearby.

‘Mom?’

The Golden Reapers tilted their heads in confusion as if to ask what was going on.

I used the halo’s ability on them.

‘???’

Then, the Golden Reapers clustered together with surprised expressions and transformed into a golden sphere.

‘Appearance!’

Moments later, one of the spheres burst open and a Golden Reaper emerged, shouting its desire.

I poked and prodded at the Fusion Golden Reaper to see what had changed.

“Hehe, that tickles.”

The Golden Reaper squirmed and laughed as I touched it, seeming to find it ticklish.

First, it seems to have increased in height a bit.

Not just double the height, but double the volume!

And the golden light emanating from its body has tremendously strengthened.

This is definitely more than double.

Having examined it enough, I set the Fusion Golden Reaper loose in the Mini Reaper Garden.

“Whoa! So big!”

The other Golden Reapers seemed fascinated by the Fusion Golden Reaper, their eyes sparkling as they gathered around.

It was amusing to see it standing out among the similarly sized Golden Reapers.

‘???’

Suddenly, the gathered Golden Reapers began to fight without warning.

What’s this?

Just because a larger one appeared, they resort to fighting? Seems a bit reckless.

But looking at the expressions of the Golden Reapers, they seemed so innocent, so I didn’t feel that way.

“Uwaah!”

This one seems quite strong.

It’s not just that its combat ability is double, right?

The Fusion Golden Reaper was strong enough to easily win against multiple Golden Reapers.

“Hehe!”

The Fusion Golden Reaper was standing tall with its hands raised, laughing cheerfully amidst the sprawled-out Golden Reapers.

However, the glory of the Fusion Golden Reaper was not eternal.

As the effects of the Fusion Halo wore off, it split back into two Golden Reapers.

“No way!”

“No way!!”

They quickly stood back up, facing each other, and hugged tightly, but they never fused again.

“No way!!!”

*

“There are so many people.”

The Ashen Girl mumbled, with a Yellow Reaper perched on her shoulder.

In front of the girl, the atmosphere of the festival was in full swing.

Giant balloons floated in the sky, and beneath them, a banner reading “[Gray Reaper Theme Park Open!]” fluttered in the wind.

The Ashen Girl glanced at the wrinkly Yellow Reaper before stepping into the hotbed of excitement.

The area in front of the ticket booth was bustling with crowds from early morning.

Everywhere she looked.

Adults and children alike wore faces filled with excitement and anticipation.

Of course, the Ashen Girl’s face was also filled with anticipation as she shared a cookie with the Yellow Reaper.

“Look over there, that balloon is huge!”

A nearby child’s voice rang out from atop an adult man’s shoulders.

Hearing that, the Yellow Reaper looked up at the Ashen Girl with a worried expression, but she simply smiled and patted the Yellow Reaper’s head.

“It’s okay. Our mom, dad, and brother are all getting better.”

Despite their family still not getting along very well, things were gradually improving.

Perhaps it was due to having experienced a life-threatening situation.

Or maybe it was the many Golden Reapers wandering close to the Ashen Girl.

Regardless of the reason, they were improving.

It might not be long until they could visit this theme park together.

As the line in front of the ticket booth dwindled, it was the Ashen Girl’s turn.

“Welcome! Thank you for coming to the Gray Reaper Theme Park!”

Despite the considerable heat, the ticket booth employee greeted the Ashen Girl with a bright smile.

The Ashen Girl bowed slightly in response and looked at the employee.

‘!’

The ticket booth featured a very unusual detail.

It was filled with Golden Reapers.

“Hello!”

“I’m the Yellow Younger Sibling!”

There were so many Golden Reapers that they stuck to the clear window with cheerful expressions.

The Ashen Girl waved her hand at the Golden Reapers before speaking to the employee.

“One free access ticket, please!”

“Of course, right away.”

The ticket booth employee briefly manipulated the computer, then held out a signboard to the Ashen Girl.

“There are two types of free access tickets for the Gray Reaper Theme Park; which one would you prefer?”

The sign explained the two kinds of tickets.

The first one was a belt-style free access ticket that ties to the Attached Reaper.

The second one provided a Golden Reaper wearing the belt.

‘Huh? In that case…?’

The Ashen Girl tilted her head and asked.

“What if someone doesn’t want a Golden Reaper, but doesn’t have a Mini Reaper friend?”

“There’s nobody like that.”

The ticket booth employee widened their eyes in surprise as if hearing something unbelievable.

“Oh, I see….”

The Ashen Girl mumbled softly as she received the free access ticket.

The ticket she chose was the belt-style ticket.

As she tied the pretty belt-like free access ticket on the Yellow Reaper, it smiled brightly as if happy.

Upon purchasing the free access ticket and entering the theme park, a gigantic Gray Reaper statue welcomed the Ashen Girl.

‘Mom Statue!’

‘Mom!’

The Mini Reapers, spotting the statue, all wore delighted expressions and mimicked its pose.

Perhaps due to that, the area under the statue turned into a Mini Reaper photo zone.

Countless Mini Reapers imitated the Gray Reaper statue’s pose, while Attached Humans watched with warm smiles as they took pictures.

After placing the Yellow Reaper on a podium piled high with Mini Reapers and gazing intently, the Yellow Reaper, as if resigned to its role, struck a pose and managed a wrinkly smile.

The Yellow Reaper looked like it was about to cramp from smiling, but smiled as brightly as it could for the Attached Humans.

“How cute!”

The Ashen Girl found joy in the scene and took a picture with a happy expression.

Once again placing the Yellow Reaper back on her shoulder, the Ashen Girl looked up at the theme park map and asked.

“Where should we go now?”

Ha ha, the Ashen Girl looked so happy that the Yellow Reaper couldn’t help but smile along.

*

Gray Reaper Theme Park Security Room.

It was a facility that could monitor everything happening in the Gray Reaper Theme Park.

Given the numerous facilities utilizing objects within the theme park, the security room was excellently equipped.

Starting with ordinary cameras monitoring the dining area.

There were advanced sensors detecting the Object Viewing Room.

The state-of-the-art equipment provided by James Research Institute filled the area.

At that moment, something strange began to appear on the camera monitoring the Object Viewing Room.

Inside the viewing room, there was a 3-meter tall object with a jelly-like transparent body wriggling.

It looked like it was gnawing at the walls isolating the object.

That dangerous scene seemed to escape the gaze of the visitors, who were gathered in front of it from angles they couldn’t see.

Moreover, since this was a theme park with placed objects, many other large and small anomalies were visible on the camera.

Yet the atmosphere in the security room appeared calm.

And understandably so, as the staff here were part of the Sehee Research Institute Security Team.

“Hey, Reaper, let’s have a snack!”