Chapter 6

Having returned to the hut, Eunha carefully checked the 'Black Silk Dress'.

There was a layer of mesh and a layer of black silk. The dress, which consisted of a total of two layers, was puffed with a silhouette in the form of a round umbrella without a petticoat. There was a black rose corsage near the chest. A long, black ribbon decorating the back of the waist and the subtly shining translucent fabric came down over the shoulder like a shawl.

"Hm."

Eunha furrowed her eyebrows in deep concern.

Come to think of it, Eunha only wore school uniforms during high school and military uniforms after being conscripted. She had never worn casual outfits often, let alone a dress. So, the gown was quite burdensome. She also wondered if it was possible to fight in such a thick outfit.

'Still… Like the parasol, the dress will definitely be of good use.'

Loot was still loot; it wouldn't be of no value.

The military uniform that Eunha was wearing smelled quite deadly because it hadn't been washed for too long. It was also torn in many places.

Her body could be healed with the self-healing power and emergency kits, but that wasn't the case for clothing.

Eunha made up her mind and took off her military uniform. She lifted the dress and started to put it on step by step.

"…"

After a while, Eunha, who was in the dress, stood still.

The feeling of the cloth touching her skin was not bad. However, the fabric was thin, so it was clear that the monsters' claws would be able to tear it without mercy. The military uniform at least had a special coating, but this… Eunha looked down at the dress with disapproval. 

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' looks at you with an impressed look on its face.]

[As expected, the dress suits you! It nodded, saying it had a good eye for people.]

The dreary bonfire shone on her face. Eunha glanced down at her appearance, which was reflected in a puddle.

'… Does it look good on me?'

Originally, her skin was fair, but it hadn't been exposed to the sun for a long time and turned pale. Her black, untrimmed hair had grown down to her waist.

In addition, her elbows, knees, and cheeks had scabs and scratches everywhere. 

With Eunha's appearance, the black dress, and the black parasol, she seemed like a vampire from a ghost story.

Oh, and by the way.

…

Although she was wearing the dress, nothing happened. Why? 

'Is it only triggered under special circumstances?'

Eunha lifted the hem of her skirt and even tried turning around in place.

"…"

Surprisingly, nothing happened.

At that moment, Eunha's stomach rumbled. She decided to postpone her investigation of the dress for a while and fill up her stomach first.

The most efficient way for her to recover her stamina was to eat and sleep well.

Eunha checked the guts of the monster she caught yesterday. She then confirmed that they were dry enough and put them in a pile to make a bonfire.

When she fixed a stone of an appropriate size on the bonfire and put some cut pieces of meat on it, there was a sizzling sound.

"… Bleh."

Contrary to the sound, the taste wasn't good.

Eunha should have gotten used to it by now, but she couldn't help feeling nauseous sometimes.

When Eunha wiped her lips with her sleeve, a yellow message window popped up.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' carefully sticks out its front paw.]

[Congratulations! You have acquired 'Fine-grained Salt'!]

Something fell in front of Eunha's eyes with a short, noisy fanfare. It was a small glass container that had a white powder inside, presumably salt.

If there was salt, the nauseating meat would be a little more edible.

"Thank you."

Eunha never thought that a divine beast would be useful in this respect as well. She lightly seasoned the meat with salt and took a bite.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' rummages through its fur.]

[Congratulations! 'Black Pepper with a Good Scent' has been acquired!]

Pepper, too?

Eunha didn't know if the cat was really one of the twelve divine beasts or not, but it had been helpful in many ways anyway.

'There is nothing wrong with receiving what is given.'

Pepper was perfect for taking away the smell. Eunha shook the pepper shaker over the salted meat.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' is sticking out its front paws again.]

[Congratulations! 'Heavenly Truffle Oil' has been acquired!]

"That's enough."

Let's eat first. Eunha pressed the 'close' button in the yellow message window. Soon after, the next message window followed and popped up.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' is looking at you.]

[If you didn't like it, I'd like to say that I have ketchup and mayonnaise.]

… It was a long and noisy meal.

***

A few days later, the gate was reset again.

[Lv. 30 'Red-Eyed Black Tiger' makes a suspicious cry.]

One animal.

[Lv. 30 'Red-Eyed Black Tiger' is terrifying.]

Two.

[Lv. 30 'Red-Eyed Black Tiger' reveals its black claws.]

Three.

…

[Lv. 30 'Red-Eyed Black Tiger' squeezes out the last of its strength and charges at you.]

―And seventeen.

The battle took longer than expected, but there were no major problems.

It was because Eunha had learned how to use the dress and parasol in just a few days.

The 'Black Silk Dress', which seemed useless, was actually stronger than any other armour. Even the monsters' claws couldn't tear it apart.

Eunha's explosive growth was largely thanks to the new contract.

The ability 'Cat's Claws' was a passive skill that inflicted additional damage by adding sharp afterimages to all attacks that Eunha made.

Because of this, Eunha was able to defeat monsters much more easily than before.

Eunha swung her parasol without avoiding the monsters that rushed at her.

Thwack!

The monster that was bluntly hit into the air literally disintegrated.

[The monsters have been cleared!]

[The exit is activated.]

…

[Warning. An unknown error has occurred.]

[The gate will be reset.]

"Haa…."

Eunha shrugged her shoulders up and down.

Although she was stronger than before, Eunha was still human, so her physical strength was limited.

Eunha had been smashing her monsters non-stop for several hours. As a result, she achieved the feat of completely eradicating all the monsters in the gate in less than a day.

Eunha slowly raised her head. Her dark eyes that had been hidden in the shadows were sharply revealed.

Eunha bent down and picked up her parasol, which had fallen to the ground. She slowly walked towards the mountain of monster corpses piled up behind her.

As if worried for Eunha, a yellow message window popped up.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' says it's enough and offers you a pink jelly.]

Eunha looked ahead and continued walking, ignoring the yellow message window.

When she finally arrived in front of the pile of monster corpses, Eunha grabbed her parasol and held it with both of her hands.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

Blood splattered all over Eunha, and the blood on her black dress bloomed like flowers.

The already dead monsters had their arms and legs cut off one by one. At the tip of the parasol, the broken pieces of muscle clung to each other.

"Bastards like you don't deserve to have corpses."

Eunha's low-pitched voice resounded through the cave.

The sensation of slicing flesh was vivid in her fingertips. It was now a more familiar feeling than holding a pencil.

Tuk.

Something had fallen by Eunha's feet.

A wish bracelet.

When Eunha saw the bracelet that was cut off by a Lv. 30 monster during the battle, her dark eyes flared again.

'After your arms and legs, I will cut all of your blood vessels in the same way.'

[Warning. The durability of 'Elegant Parasol' of 'The Princess of Dark Flare' is low. Repair is required.]

Eunha ruthlessly threw away the parasol. Skid… Instead of using the parasol, she picked up the stones around her.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

She stabbed, cut, and smashed.

Even the cat couldn't say a word in response to her maniacal form.

The cruel and sadistic frenzy ended soon after turning the monsters into ashes with her flames.

There wasn't even a single chunk of meat left for dinner, but that didn't matter.

Eunha rummaged through her pockets with her blood-stained hands.

When she saw her wish bracelet, which had been broken helplessly, her anger surged again.

Eunha returned to her hut and found her first aid kit, not even wiping the bloodstains on her face.

Eunha, who took out the medical thread and needle with her hands that were covered in hardened blood, began to sew the bracelet carefully.

She tried to use the materials in the kit, but there was a limit to restoring the bracelet with tools not suitable for her purpose.

Eunha leaned against the wall of the hut without eating. Grasping her wish bracelet tightly in her hands, she slowly closed her eyes.

'Mom! Look what I made!'

'Wow, did my Eunha learn to make something like this?'

'Yeah, my teacher taught me. I'll give this to Mum. Since it's a wish bracelet, it's going to grant Mum's wish.'

'Oh really? Then, Eunha, will you tie it for me?'

Eunha made a loose knot on her mother's wrist with her small, chubby hands.

'Mum, did you make your wish?'

'Yes, Mum wished for…'

Then… 

'What did Mum say she wanted?'

As time passed, Eunha woke up from her shallow sleep.

Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she soon realized that the bracelet had disappeared and came to her senses.

Eunha got up and started to look around.

Before long, she had found the stranded bracelet in a corner of the hut.

'I almost lost it.'

A light of relief spread in her eyes. The moment she grabbed her bracelet, Eunha realized that it had been completely restored.

"…"

Of course, it wasn't Eunha who had restored the bracelet. It couldn't be a monster either.

Eunha stared at the bracelet for a while.

"… Cat."

A moment of silence passed.

Ding.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' gently treads on your shadow.]

"… Did you do this?"

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' nods its head up and down.]

Eunha, who was gazing at the bracelet with an unknown look on her face, suddenly raised her head and opened her mouth towards the yellow message window.

"… Thanks."

Eunha grabbed the wish bracelet with her scarred hands.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' stands up with its ears perked up.]

It was very happy to hear Eunha say thank you, so the yellow message window danced happily.

Eunha carefully hung the restored bracelet onto her left wrist. She didn't forget to tie the knot tightly so that she wouldn't accidentally break it or lose it again.

[Your eyes are twinkling like stars. They look very happy.]

Suddenly, Eunha's body shone softly. The warm rays of light wiped away the blood stains on Eunha's face, hands, and dress.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' smiles satisfactorily.]

A faint smile spread across Eunha's lips as she stared at the yellow message window. She couldn't see the cat, but she somehow felt like their eyes had met.

***

Time passed slowly but surely.

The cat, who had only been considered suspicious at first, was surprisingly a great helper and Eunha's only friend in the enclosed space.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' urges and pushes you.]

Even when Eunha was on the verge of dying,

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' presses against your stomach.]

When resting in the hut,

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' rubs its face against your ankle.]

Even when they shared old stories from time to time, Eunha and the cat were always together.

Perhaps it was because of her mood, but the closer Eunha got to the cat, the easier the battles became. Maybe it was simply because time had passed.

The 'Elegant Parasol', which was more versatile than expected, the 'Black Silk Dress' that greatly reduced damage, and the 'power' of the cat were of great help in battles.

[You have defeated the third Named!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained the 'Black Rose Pendant' of 'The Princess of Dark Flare'!]

… 

[You have defeated the fourth Named!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained the 'Thorn Shoes' of 'The Princess of Dark Flare'!]

Thanks to this, the battles with the third and fourth Named were finished more neatly than expected.

Eunha listed the four pieces of loot collected so far in order.

The first loot—the Elegant Parasol.

The second loot—the Black Silk Dress.

The third loot—the Black Rose Pendant.

And the fourth loot—the Thorn Shoes.

'Now, there is only one left.'

As long as she gets that—

Eunha fiddled with the loot with a glowing face.