Creator’s Favoritism

In Hwang Hee-yoon’s hands was a slouching, sleeping slime. Its appearance and size resembled a disposable plastic bag filled to bursting with water, leaving me completely speechless.

An F-rank monster would have been better. I felt a strong urge to bite my tongue. For a moment, the commentators’ voices blurred, becoming nearly inaudible.

“…because it’s F-rank, the school has taken precautions to prevent any potential accidents.”

Even hearing just the latter part, I grasped the situation. Without hesitation, Hwang Hee-yoon dropped the slime near the entrance of the iron cage and turned away.

Now I understood why there were only five wooden boxes on the cargo truck. This creature could have been safely transported in the passenger seat or on someone’s lap without any issues.

I stared down at the plump slime blob sitting alone on the grass.

This slime wasn’t even an F-rank monster. It was an unranked monster, incapable of harming humans.

The slime opened its eyes and yawned, its gaze meeting mine as it blinked.

I picked up the wobbling, jelly-like slime. Its transparent body allowed me to see my palm cradling its bottom.

◉＿◉

The monster’s features were as sloppy as if someone had carelessly cut and pasted pieces of black paper.

Unlike me, who wanted nothing more than to evaporate on the spot, Noh Sangmi maintained her composure and continued her commentary calmly.

“Usually, when we talk about unranked monsters, they tend to die immediately when their parent monster is killed. However, this particular unranked monster is unique. It was discovered alive even after all other monsters had gone extinct.”

As if to emphasize its harmlessness, the slime extended a thumb-like appendage, offering me a wobbly greeting.

‘Haaa…’

I sighed heavily enough to sink the field. Meanwhile, Tito sketched the slime, filling a square frame with its image.

At that moment, the slime changed its expression to a ㅠ.ㅠ shape.

“Haha, I see. So, essentially, it’s harmless to humans… Is that a fair assessment?”

“While civilians can’t kill monsters, even unranked ones, these monsters can’t harm civilians either. We call this a ‘fair trade’ in technical terms.”

“Wahahaha.” 

Oblivious to my inner turmoil, the commentators’ cheerful laughter echoed through the speakers.

‘Do I really have to kill this thing?’

From its utterly pathetic appearance to its complete lack of aggression, everything about it seemed harmless. The moisture-rich slime even gave off a subtle lime scent.

As I lowered my head skeptically, sniffing, the slime stuck itself to my cheek.

“I’m not playing around with you, you know?”

I peeled off its clingy side, and the slime changed its face to a >0< shape, trying its best to look cute.

Though it was clearly a monster, I couldn’t bring myself to kill it. Even if I, an F-rank hunter, were to kill hundreds of these unranked monsters, it would only make me look like a bully picking on the weak.

Just then, a system message appeared.

[SYSTEM: The unranked monster recognizes the inherent pain within you. Completely captivated by its magnitude, the monster decides to act on a long-deferred choice.]

“Huh…?”

A dumbfounded voice escaped my lips.

As confusion filled my mind, a square-shaped light burst in front of me. I tightly shut my eyes, and in that moment, the slime extended its small arm toward me.

Everything went dark, as if I had fallen into a deep well. A fierce wind rapidly spun around me, making my ears ring.

“Now… hunt… problem…”

With an unpleasant crackling sound, the broadcast from the speakers cut off abruptly. The wind was so strong it felt like a typhoon, and even standing was a struggle.

[SYSTEM: The unranked monster grows to F+ rank, customized for you! The monster reads deeper potential in you.]

[SYSTEM: The F+ rank monster grows to D+ rank, customized for you! The monster…]

[SYSTEM: The D+ rank monster grows to C+ rank, customized for you…]

[SYSTEM: The C+ rank monster grows to…]

-Ding, ding, ding, ding.

System messages flashed rapidly, one overwriting the next before I could even read them. The speed at which they appeared was overwhelming.

-Woooo.

A low, deep wail echoed through the mist. In an instant, black smoke enveloped the surroundings, driving the red wind like an approaching downpour. It was as if both my sight and hearing had been stolen away.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

[SYSTEM: The B+ rank monster grows to A+ rank, customized for you! The monster finally reads even greater potential in you and smiles…]

Anyone could see this was no longer unranked.

While the surroundings were obscured by dark red mist, only the system messages shone brightly. Plastic shards carried by the fierce wind sliced past my skin like blades.

「Tito meticulously draws the scene of black mist engulfing the iron cage completely.」  

In the darkness, where black, misty winds swirled, the narration box disappeared. Soon after, a house-sized form revealed itself.

[SYSTEM: You encounter ■■ for the first time. (Due to a critical error, the system message cannot be displayed properly.)]

This kind of monster, I had never seen before. That much was certain.

Its entire body was made up of lines, roughly scrawled as if with a pencil. With each breath it took, the mass of tangled lines shifted—like watching an animation with frames dropping out.

Even crouched, ■■ filled the iron cage completely. Its flickering, hollow eyes were fixed on me.

Very slowly, ■■ crawled toward me. The ominous wailing sound grew louder, inching closer.

“How strong do you want to become?”

A chilling voice echoed in my head. ■■’s voice didn’t sound artificially human-like, as other monsters’ voices often did.

Leaning its upper body closer to where I had collapsed, the monster tilted its head. Eyes that weren’t black or white, but simply empty, scanned me as if piercing through.

“Strange? You don’t want to become stronger?”

Not wanting to become stronger? To be loved by the gods, you had to be stronger than anyone else. I couldn’t understand what it was saying.

■■ seemed to feel the same confusion. It reached out its hand toward me. I wanted to run, but my body was paralyzed, unable to even move a finger.

“Who do you want to kill? If they’re already dead, who do you want to kill so badly that you’d wait for them to be reborn?”

I’ve disliked annoying co-workers or troublesome customers during my various service jobs. I’ve envied friends who effortlessly received support from their parents.

But I’ve never hated anyone enough to want to kill them. Under the suffocating pressure, I barely managed to shake my head.

“No one?”

■■ narrowed its eyes. It had effortlessly cornered me. Leaning closer, it opened its mouth and flicked its black tongue.

“Really no one? That can’t be right.”

Tilting its head, as if unable to understand, it opened the center of its chest. The monster’s hand, which had been restraining me, opened, and it pushed me toward the gap.

A roughly sketched black heart pulsed before my eyes. Without hesitation, the monster shoved me into its heart.

A coldness like being plunged into icy water beneath a frozen lake overwhelmed me. It felt like an eternity of cold.

-Huk.

I gasped for air, struggling to survive.

■■ looked down through its open ribs and grinned from ear to ear. Its hollow eyes locked onto mine.

“Ah? So that’s how it is.”

It pulled its fist out from its heart, its gaze never leaving me. Then the monster raised its arm to meet me at eye level.

“Shall I give you power?”

It sounded like a typical scam, the kind with consequences worse than death. Accepting such an offer never ended well.

I knew this lesson from countless fairy tales. So, I said nothing.

“Frustrated, aren’t you? You should ask what kind of power.”

I hesitated. But instinct took over.

“…What kind of power?”

I reluctantly followed the monster’s prompt. As if it had been waiting for those words, its voice quickly followed.

“The power you want? Would all of my power do?”

“You’re… just giving that away?”

Reason screamed for me to refuse, but the temptation was too strong. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to gain power—protagonist-level power.

“Of course not.”

■■ grasped my arm with its thumb and index finger.

“If I transfer my power to you, naturally, my power will decrease, right? So, you’ll have to take care of my shrunken form, won’t you? If I die, you die too. Understand?”

A fatal drawback. But for power as overwhelming as this—potentially S-rank or higher—it was a price I was willing to pay.

“Is that all?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

As I stared at ■■, smiling down at me, a chill ran through me—a strange curiosity gnawed at my thoughts.

“How can I use your power?”

The monster chuckled.

“Just a little bit is enough…”

“What?”

“A tiny trigger is all it takes…”

With those cryptic words, ■■ moved my arm. My hand, still in its grip, tore through the rough, pencil-sketched skin.

[SYSTEM: 1 S+ rank monster’s life ends.]

With each layer that peeled away, more system messages appeared in quick succession.

[SYSTEM: 1 A+ rank monster’s life ends.]

[SYSTEM: 1 B+ rank monster’s life ends.]

[SYSTEM: 1 C+ rank monster’s life ends.]

[SYSTEM: 1 D+ rank monster’s life ends.]

[SYSTEM: 1 F+ rank monster’s life ends.]

The messages kept coming. At the same time, the dark red mist that had cloaked my surroundings began to clear.

From the fingertips that tore through the monster’s body, a cold, unsettling energy surged into me.

[SYSTEM: Sufficient experience has been accumulated for you…]

And then, as if on cue, the mist that had enveloped the iron cage disappeared completely. The howling wind that had been deafening moments before had stopped.

[SYSTEM: Your additional skill has awakened!]