I Possessed The Villain In a Hunter Novel And It Fits Me Perfectly

Was the quest supposed to include activating the core? While I was still hesitating, the letters in the quest window changed one by one.

Would you like to view the eighth quest?

Quests are accepted immediately upon viewing.

With unanimous consent, the quest will be viewed.

The core being revealed, and a unanimous-consent quest. At last, the end of this damn quest-type dungeon was in sight.

‘Dragging it out this long even after bringing an S-rank hunter.’

Yeah, this was more than enough. For a B-rank dungeon to give out eight quests. Standing askew, I swept my eyes across the others.

"This seems like the last one."

Maybe they sensed it too, because this time everyone just nodded without objection. I considered letting them relax for a bit, but decided it was better to end it quickly and opened my mouth.

"Let’s view it."

Right, let’s just finish this. I wasn’t exaggerating — I really wanted to get outside.

Once unanimous viewing was confirmed, the letters in the quest window changed in large font.

Quest Clear Contribution Rankings.

1st. Im Haekyung

2nd. Kwak Minsu (deceased)

3rd. Seo Jehyun

4th. Kim Jiwoong

5th. Do Yehyun

6th. Bae Inho

Wait a second, why is the contribution ranking showing already? We haven’t cleared the last quest yet.

It wasn’t an idol debut ranking, but the dungeon displayed the list of names, let us read it long enough, then vanished.

"Jehyun-ssi. Did you know about this too?"

Even if she asked me, there wasn’t much I could say. And the dungeon didn’t give me any time to answer Im Haekyung’s question either. The eighth quest immediately appeared before our eyes in large text.

Eighth Quest.

We sincerely welcome you for reaching the final quest through trust!

Based on the contribution rankings, we will randomly re-create a moment of crisis experienced by the highest contributor.

We extend our thanks to everyone who gave their all until the very end.

Failure Penalty: None

Time Limit: None

What kind of bullshit is this?

At that moment, the core in the middle flashed, and light began to spread outward in reverse from it. The turquoise light soon bleached into white and instantly created a new reality.

And right after that.

"Where... are we?"

"Wow...!"

There are places that draw out exclamations even in moments of crisis.

‘Are you fucking kidding me?’

In an instant, we were standing inside the ice cave where the Cave Giant — the Sokcho Dungeon boss — had lived.

"Yehyun, come here."

I had to stay calm. First, I pulled Do Yehyun, who was standing far away, toward me.

Im Haekyung touched the transparent ice, as if testing if it was real. I could tell too, since I’d seen this dungeon with my own eyes. Even if it was a {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} re-creation, could it really be made this identical?

"Was this your crisis?"

"I don’t know... I guess it kind of was?"

I had struggled in the Sokcho Dungeon, sure, but that was because I was rescuing SH hunters and fending off Snow Giants — not because of the dungeon boss inside this cave. Did the dungeon just pick something at random because all of Haekyung’s dungeons had been too easy for her?

"What’s certain is that there’s something inside there...." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

At those words, I turned my gaze toward the cave interior. If Haekyung sensed something, then it meant a being with mana was present.

At that moment, the guy who had lost his mana earlier when he touched the door started trembling.

"C-cold."

Right, last time too, the chill had come immediately after mana was drained. No matter how much you layered clothes, it didn’t help unless you replenished your mana. Haekyung explained to the still-clueless ones.

"This is the Sokcho Snow Mountain Dungeon. If I recall, the dungeon boss is A-rank... it’s fine. I won’t put you in danger."

No need for a lengthy explanation. That last sentence was practically a guarantee. After waiting until they nodded at her words, I urged them.

"Let’s go."

Yeah, they said they’d let us out once this was done, so finishing quickly was best.

"Think you can melt it again this time?"

"Probably not."

"Why?"

"My skill tends to work on and off."

Walking side by side with Haekyung, I mixed in some nonsense. No need to say it had only been a copied fire-user’s skill last time. Haekyung glanced at me briefly but didn’t press further.

Still, since it was a dungeon I had already cleared once, it felt less burdensome.

‘Haekyung will handle it anyway!’

If she could use her power fully, this much she could clear on her own with ease.

After we had walked about as far as last time, Haekyung gestured for us to stop.

"We’ll stop here."

"Good luck."

Looks like mana was spiking sharply further ahead. I gave a half-hearted response and looked at Haekyung. She stared back, maybe disappointed at my reaction.

‘Does she want encouragement?’

"Fighting!"

I clenched my fist and cheered. Haekyung’s expression went cold for a second before she gave a small smile.

"Jehyun-ssi, you’re coming with me."

...What?

Checking the people behind my shoulder, Haekyung casually ordered.

"Yehyun-ssi, can you watch over those two for a bit?"

"That’s not good. It’s dangerous."

"You have much more mana than them, so stop worrying about nonsense."

Firmly rejecting my words, Haekyung’s lips curved upward.

"You never know. I might struggle again, like last time."

"You’ll be more than fine."

"If your fire skill triggers randomly, it might happen again. Come and lend a hand."

...Seriously?

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like she was setting things up so she could ‘accidentally’ shove me in there.

But I didn’t have the right to refuse.

In the end, I followed after Haekyung at a slow pace. The closer we got to the Cave Giant, the heavier the oppressive aura pressed down on my body. Of course, compared to Haekyung next to me, it was nothing.

"Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to use a skill. I think I can handle it alone."

"Then why bring me along?"

"You’re the one who dragged me into this, Jehyun-ssi. You have to cover backup duty."

"...Fair."

She had a point. And she didn’t even look tense. Early on, she had at least looked interested, but by the middle she was just performing the quests silently, as if she’d figured out the whole pattern.

At this distance, the status should appear.

Status Window.

Cave Giant (B)

A creature dwelling in the snowy mountain cave.

Its body is made of ice.

Wait, not A-rank but B-rank?

Maybe that was just the limit of the dungeon’s re-creation.

‘No point wondering. I can’t solve it anyway.’

Once we had entered range, Haekyung had already activated her skill.

Mental Domination (S) is activated.

Like before, she restrained the Cave Giant, but instead of finishing it off, she suddenly started talking.

"So why did you really go into the Sokcho Dungeon?"

What had I said back then? Something about wanting to go in because it was dangerous? I could understand how Haekyung had mistaken me for a dopamine addict or a psychopath. Even I thought it was nonsense.

After a moment’s thought, I mixed in a bit of honesty.

"I wanted to work with SH Guild, but figured they wouldn’t accept an F-rank hunter."

"And how is that directly related to going into Sokcho?"

"Actually, I planned to support any collapsed hunters while the guild master fought the boss, get credited for it, act pitiful, and use that to join the guild."

"......."

"F-ranks don’t exactly get welcomed, right? So I figured I’d use a bit of guilt. For negotiation."

"That’s not negotiation, that’s blackmail."

"Of course, opinions may differ."

In the end, Guildmaster Song Hwayoung had let me in without saying much, so it had been win-win. Even if now, thanks to Joo Seowon, I looked like a traitor.

"Why SH specifically? There are better guilds."

"No special reason. Would Damyeon or Neo Core take me?"

Actually... Neo Core might. They made weapons, refined dungeon stones, pushed magi-engineers, and supplied items to hunters. I was seriously considering it when Haekyung suddenly spouted nonsense.

"Haeseong was an option too."

"Wow..."

"I even told you at the night market we’d talk later, but you ignored me."

"I don’t really check my phone."

"I was hurt."

"Let’s not cry about it."

The only way to deal with nonsense was with more nonsense. I pulled the handkerchief from my chest pocket and stuck it into Haekyung’s. Use it later if she felt like crying.

"...Why give me this?"

"To wipe your tears. You already used the guildmaster’s earlier, remember? To cover someone’s face."

"......."

"Alright then, let’s finish this quickly!"

I stepped back a couple of steps so she could use her skill freely and started hurrying her. With a sigh, Haekyung began carving apart the giant block of ice.

Mental Domination (S) is activated.

The restrained Cave Giant slammed itself against the cave wall like a lunatic.

‘The cave’s going to collapse at this rate.’

Like it was making cocktail ice, the Giant smashed itself against the cave walls over and over, shaving itself down as sharp shards flew everywhere.

After a few repetitions of that cocktail process, ominous rumbling echoed through the entire cavern. I quickly stepped up to Haekyung and grabbed her shoulder tight.

"Guildmaster! The cave’s about to collapse."

"Should I smash it into the ground then?"

As she spoke, the massive Cave Giant bent down and rammed its head into the ground. KUUNG! With that huge sound, the entire floor shook like an earthquake.

‘We’re going to die!’

"No? This seems even worse."

"Then I’ll keep it restrained — Jehyun-ssi, can you break it with another skill?"

"I told you I don’t have another skill."

"Really none?"

If I had one, I would’ve used it already, damn it.