How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

Upon seeing my expression, Dumdum added, “If that ability requires you to gain Yuhan’s favor, then the more favor you gain, the more benefits you’ll receive.”

Wait a minute,

“Is it like the structure of a dating simulation game with cute girls? But if the rewards aren’t substantial, then you wouldn’t have worked this hard, right?”

Hold on a second.

“Are the rewards some valuable items?”

“Actually, no, rather than items… it seems more likely to be currency that you can use to purchase what you need.”

This is progressing way too fast, teacher…!

“Nahyun, you rarely visit the shop, right? If there were unnecessary items, you’d be going to the shop frequently, and if there were necessary items, you’d be wearing more items than what you have on now.”

I felt dizzy. Why is he so smart? It’s almost unsettling.

“Yuhan likes you quite a bit right now, so if I’m correct in my assumption, you must have received quite a few rewards.”

I briefly heard something dreadful, but I brushed it off. I struggled to speak.

“Kind of… right…”

“I see. So that’s why you were acting.”

“Yeah, well…”

I just nodded with lifeless eyes. It feels like even if I kept my mouth shut, he would read my mind and answer me anyway.

When I kept my mouth tightly shut, Dumdum paused for a moment and then awkwardly smiled, as if to say it was a difficult situation.

“I’m not good enough to guess everything just by looking at you.”

What do you mean you’re not good enough? You’re getting everything right!

I was about to argue back but shook my head. Now isn’t the time for that.

Feeling drained like a floundering jellyfish, I said, “Anyway… I’d like it if you kept my strange ability and the acting a secret…”

Dumdum nodded cheerfully in agreement.

“Got it.”

I casually threw out a provoking question.

“You won’t tell anyone else if they ask?”

“Nope.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

At my question, Dumdum fell silent for a moment and slowly lowered his eyes.

His deep sapphire-colored eyes seemed to retreat into themselves.

“When you know something, it keeps nagging at you. And when it nags at you, it weighs on your heart.”

Then, slowly, those strikingly cold blue eyes revealed themselves again, shining with a warmth that didn’t match their hue, illuminating me.

“When it weighs on your heart, you end up liking it. Because when you like someone, you realize that their genuine smile is the prettiest. So, I want you to be able to smile.”

The sunset was blessing him with its light. A gentle breeze brushed through his hair.

In that moment, he seemed like everything in the world, and I momentarily lost myself in his gaze.

“You…”

My mouth was moving almost involuntarily.

“Am I your favorite among your friends?”

Dumdum smiled brightly at my question.

“Yep.”

“So that’s why you keep it a secret?”

“Yep.”

“I can’t understand it.”

I grumbled as I stood up. Yet, I didn’t feel bad. In fact, I felt good.

“Well, that’s fine. Let’s go!”

Dumdum took my outstretched hand with a smile.

We parted ways, still smiling. It had been a pleasant time.

Now all that was left…

I looked up at the helmet of the Helmet Hunter who was walking ahead.

***

The Helmet Hunter was deliberately leading me down a path devoid of any presence.

Eventually, when we arrived at an empty corridor, I followed behind him, casually pulling a gun from my inventory. A sleek pistol was now in my hand.

I proudly displayed the gun to the Helmet Hunter with a beaming smile.

“This is a Meister weapon. Isn’t it amazing?”

“……”

“What makes it amazing is—”

Click.

I loaded a holy attribute mana stone into my gun and fired at the helmeted hunter.

Bang—!

“—that now I can shoot and kill even a sneaky rat hiding away.”

Crack! I heard the sound of the helmet shattering, but all that lay on the floor was a crumpled helmet.

“…Wow, you’re quite perceptive, Irregular!”

“Isn’t it shameless to hope I wouldn’t notice when you’re being so obvious?”

“Uh, was it that obvious?”

Could it be any less obvious? Change your voice or something.

I shot at the rat, Park Yul-han, with cold eyes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Wait a minute!”

Park Yul-han shouted desperately, dodging the holy attribute mana bullets.

Right. Now you can’t talk casually, can you? Enjoy this! The taste of capitalism!

“E-eh!”

Park Yul-han frantically activated some skill, but I didn’t even dodge it. The skill that touched me simply vanished into thin air.

“What, what’s going on?”

Of course. Park Yul-han’s skills and mana are all dark attribute.

And for me—

[Ring of Holiness] – Defends against all dark attribute skills and attacks.
It’s an expensive ring, but the effects are guaranteed!

The Ring of Holiness on my finger felt like it was sparkling for no reason. I unleashed a barrage of bullets.

“Ugh!”

This is the taste of capital! The nemesis of my meta points! I’ll kill you!

No, I won’t kill you outright; I’ll just half-kill you and hand you over to the police!

“Wait, let’s talk! Let’s talk!”

I half-lost my mind and kept firing.

What am I doing alone? Aren’t I calling for other hunters?

I already did. When sending the students out, I wasn’t going to feel secure with just one hunter.

Right now, the button on the alarm in my pocket is pressed down hard.

“How about you listen for a moment?”

“It’s too late! Just give up and get captured!”

But Park Yul-han, thanks to his incredibly fast speed, managed to avoid fatal injuries even while I was firing my Meister gun like a machine gun.

What a tough guy.

“Oh no, I’m going to die!”

Even while saying that, he moved around just fine. What an irritating brat. He’s not a bat; he’s a mosquito. I irritably lowered the muzzle of my gun for a moment.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Oh, I came to meet my fellow students!”

“Fellow students?”

“Exactly. We want people to be vigilant, not to die in large numbers.”

“What kind of nonsense is this? You guys are a group that kills people.”

In the novel, it’s these guys who open gates in various places in the middle grounds and safe zones.

At my words, Park Yul-han exaggeratedly grimaced as if he had heard something insulting.

“It’s a misunderstanding. We’ve been working so hard to save the world! I feel like my spine is going to break!”

“…Cultists say this kind of thing a lot. And usually, people who are off their rockers come back to their senses in the face of a life-threatening situation.”

As I quietly reloaded my gun with mana stones, Park Yul-han gasped in horror.

“Please stop shooting that gun! It’s the truth!”

“…Those who used other people’s families at will have no right to talk about saving the world.”

“…Hmm. Judging by that look in your eyes, this conversation is going to take a while, so let’s discuss it later. It seems like a friend I wanted to see has also arrived!”

At that moment, a slash of light cut through the spot where Park Yul-han had been.

Boom—! The pillars shook.

“Ah, did you come?”

Park Yul-han, having narrowly dodged the slash, waved at Sin-barun with a mischievous smile.

“With what face did you come here?”

Sin-barun was glaring at Park Yul-han with an unusually furious expression.

Wearing full plate armor as if to guard against intruders, she looked quite reliable.

“Wow, it’s been a while! How many years has it been since graduation?”

“Answer me!”

“Always so impatient! Alright, alright!”

As Park Yul-han, still dodging the hunters’ attacks with some effort, finally spoke seriously.

“As a fellow student, let me give you a warning. Weird things are going to happen starting tomorrow.”

I paused.

“So if you relax as usual, you’re going to die. Also, stock up on mana stones and items! And people! Strange things!”

Could Park Yul-han be trying to warn me…

About the irregularities?

“Hey, what do you mean by that!”

I shouted without thinking, but Park Yul-han only grinned and mouthed ‘See you next time’ at me.

Then, he immediately vanished into a black mist.

The sound of Sin-barun’s sword striking the fort’s floor was harsh. How frightening.

“Captain, the intruder…”

“We can’t chase him anyway. That’s the kind of skill he has. More importantly, let’s re-secure the fortress! We have no idea what he did! Hurry up!”

Sin-barun led the hunters away with a rough pace.

Thanks to Park Yul-han’s intrusion, the fortress was in chaos. The guards were reinforced, and moving around was prohibited. I had to quietly go to my room, surrounded by hunters.

“Nahyun, are you okay?”

“Are you hurt at all?”

Min Jae-yoon and Shin Ba-ran expressed their concern, and I had to insist multiple times that I was fine. Then, I shot a glance at Choi Ga-ram for no reason.

“Who would have thought…?”

He seemed to realize his mistake and averted his gaze.

After such a commotion, night had fallen before I knew it.

Exhausted from the continuous surprises of the day, I lay on my bed and muttered,

“Damn mosquito…”

“Huh? There’s a mosquito?”

“It’s nothing.”

With a member of the Wild Hunters showing up, I felt on edge, knowing that some crisis could occur at any moment.

“Do you want mosquito repellent?”

“No, it’s fine.”

But really, why did he even bother warning us?

To save the world…? Really?

Was he serious?

I tossed and turned, feeling uneasy, and eventually fell asleep.

***

The next morning.

As our group prepared to depart for the outer danger zone, Sin-barun appeared before us.

Choi Ga-ram looked…