How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

Realizing his intentions, I glared at Oracle with a stern expression.

Oracle faced me nonchalantly, his expression utterly unfazed. The emptiness in his eyes felt chilling.

“Well then, I look forward to your continued cooperation.”

To say such a thing so casually after threatening my family just moments ago.

It seemed that his request for cooperation wasn’t just a formality; he also provided several useful pieces of advice.

Soon, he began discussing the “abnormal situation” that would occur in this fortress.

“As the soul of the Otherworld, you must know what an ‘abnormal situation’ is, right? It’s when gates that would normally appear in hazardous areas suddenly materialize in intermediate or safe zones.”

“I know that much.”

“Yes. An abnormal situation will occur here as well. I will hand you a few gate closure items so you can prepare.”

And then, he mentioned my abilities.

“Now, about your ‘story’ ability… are you using it inefficiently on purpose?”

“Wait, inefficiently? What do you mean by that?”

“Hmm, no. It’s nothing.”

“Why bring it up if you’re not going to explain?”

“Is there really a need for me to elaborate to you?”

I frowned. This annoying brat. He asked the question first, and now he was dodging it? If he’s going to help, he should do it properly.

Oracle, after pouring out his own words, nonchalantly bid farewell.

“Well then, until next time.”

As soon as Oracle finished speaking, Shinbarun’s body stumbled and fell forward. The table shook, causing the teacups to topple over.

I looked at the broken teacups and the spilled tea, then began picking up the pieces one by one.

Useful information, useful items.

As long as I cooperate with Oracle, I would continue to receive beneficial rewards. This was definitely advantageous. I should be pleased.

Considering the flow of the story and the structure of the system, I would have to continue supporting the trickster anyway. That meant I also needed to cooperate with Oracle, the trickster’s sponsor.

However, what dominated my mind was anger. A bitter smile escaped my lips.

How dare he even think of touching my family? It seems I’ve been underestimated.

Everything felt so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh loudly.

“What should I do…?”

I tossed the broken teacup pieces into the trash can. Clang! The shattered pieces made an unpleasant sound as they hit the bottom of the bin.

“…Right.”

If they warned me from over there, I should issue a warning back.

Surely, they didn’t think I wouldn’t respond after they made the first move?

“I need to move up the meeting.”

Having come to that conclusion, I tidied up the remaining traces.

***

“Ahem… I’ve committed a great offense by calling you here and then dozing off.”

“No, it’s fine!”

I answered with a bright smile.

“More importantly, you seem quite tired; wouldn’t it be better to rest more?”

When I expressed my concern with a worried look, Shinbarun shook his head calmly.

“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”

He then looked directly into my eyes and said,

“I called you for one reason: to ask you for a favor.”

“A favor?”

What could Shinbarun possibly want to ask me? If it were about his younger sister, Shinbaran, it would make sense, but me, someone he just met today?

Shinbarun seemed to contemplate for a moment before finally speaking up.

“You know the biggest characteristic of hybrid races and their offspring, right? That’s what I want to talk about.”

“Ah, like physical traits?”

Shinbarun shook his head and spoke with a serious expression.

“It’s that they can level up in the same way as monsters.”

“…That is—”

Shinbarun continued without giving me a chance to finish.

“Hybrid races can level up regardless of whether they kill monsters or humans.”

Now I could finally guess what Shinbarun was getting at.

They could level up by killing humans, just like they would by killing monsters.

This trait is the primary reason why hybrid races face societal rejection.

In fact, some hunters had significantly raised their levels by killing humans.

“So, hybrid races should always be watched closely—”

“Min Jae-yoon isn’t that kind of person.”

But that’s not Min Jae-yoon. I said firmly.

At my words, Shinbarun made an inscrutable expression, then smiled bitterly.

“I had a senior whom I believed would never do such a thing, just like you.”

Shinbarun hesitated for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind and continued speaking.

“He seemed kinder than anyone else. Even amidst the ridiculous accusations thrown at hybrid races, he always acted with integrity. So I truly believed in him.”

Since Shinbarun’s past was not included in the parts I read in the novel, this was the first time I learned about her background.

I was shocked that Shinbarun would reveal her painful past to persuade me.

“But I was betrayed in a brutal manner.”

Shinbarun spoke as if whispering to herself.

“Remember this, junior. When you encounter high-level monsters inside a gate and find yourself in a crisis, hybrid races are more likely to betray you than humans. There’s a chance they might kill humans and become stronger to survive alone.”

This wasn’t just a simple disdain for hybrid races; it felt more like a concern for a junior following in her footsteps.

“Still, I believe that in such a situation, Jae-yoon wouldn’t do that.”

“…If that’s what you think, then there’s nothing more to be done.”

With a sigh, Shinbarun stood up from the sofa and turned her back to me.

“That’s all I needed to say. You can go now.”

It was a clear dismissal.

***

I never expected to hear such a story.

I unexpectedly left Shinbarun’s room with a heavy heart and returned to our room.

And in our room, I found:

“So, you see! Yoon-kyung is giving me advice to do things just like her!”

“Ugh—.”

Shinbaran was fervently praising Nayu-ri while holding onto Min Jae-yoon.

“Yoon-kyung, I mean, Yoon—”

“Help me—.”

I had experienced that a lot too. I smiled faintly and avoided the two of them, finding a spot to settle down.

Now it was time to check the gift I received from Dumdum earlier.

As I grabbed the long bag, I felt my mood brighten. I had a rough idea of what was inside, but seeing it in person would be a different experience.

I grinned and opened the zipper of the long bag.

Inside the long bag, as expected, was a sniper rifle and two handguns.

There was one other item, but I wasn’t sure why it was included, so I left it in the bag for now.

First, let’s check the guns. I took out all the guns from the bag.

The words ‘Made by Michael’ were embossed on them.

My personal Meister weapons. These would be my guns moving forward. I gently traced my fingers over the embossed letters, feeling a sense of nostalgia.

“Oh, is that a Meister weapon? So that’s what Siwoo was hiding!”

Shinbaran, who had approached without me noticing, suddenly popped her head in and shouted. After scanning my weapons, she crossed her arms and nodded.

“Pretty cool, um, I mean, it’s not bad! You weren’t scammed, were you?”

Yeah. Pretty awesome, right?

I smiled widely and nodded. Min Jae-yoon, who had hurried over, was also shining with excitement as he looked at my weapons.

“They’re amazing!”

“Right?”

While we chatted about the specs of the weapons, Shinbaran suddenly tilted her head and pointed to the inside of the bag.

“But what’s this item for?”

“Oh, that?”

I finally looked at the ‘Will-o’-the-wisp’ inside the bag.

“Yoo-han said it’s an item to draw a monster’s aggro!”

“What? That’s quite a good item, isn’t it?”

It was the item I received as a reward for the tough time I had with the fox orb. I had given it to the scammer to use.

Why was it included with Dumdum’s gift? No, shouldn’t he need it for his field practice? Why did he return it to me?

I felt the need to check the parts that had recently appeared.

“That’s so cool!”

“Right?”

I smiled at Min Jae-yoon, who was exclaiming in awe.

Well, I had received a gift, after all.

…Should I get something nice for him later?

***

Time passed, and soon it was time to sleep.

We each lay down on our beds.

The room in the accommodation had two bunk beds, with Shinbaran and me sleeping on the bottom bunks while Min Jae-yoon decided to sleep on the top bunk above mine.

When the lights went out and everyone closed their eyes, I opened the meta system window.

A message indicating that it was still updating was displayed in one corner of the system window.

[System Update in Progress: 20%]