After several more attempts, they all failed. It seemed that the puppy had to wear the bracelet and pay the coins.

Feeling sorry that this puppy wouldn’t be able to use the tent, I was pondering.

“Whine, whimper…”

The puppy pulled at the bracelet with its mouth.

“What are you doing?”

Sensing it wanted something, I put it down and watched what it would do.

The puppy soon pulled the bracelet off my wrist, lay down, and placed it on its belly.

[Medium Tent has been rented.] [‘Yu Bom(F)’ has acquired 500C.]

Suddenly, the rental was completed.

“Master! How did you do that!?”

“Huh? I don’t know either!”

There was clearly no change in my coins. No, rather, I gained 500 coins, making money.

Then suddenly, a plausible hypothesis came to mind.

“Could this puppy be synchronized with its owner like Teddy? It’s unlikely for a normal animal to be wandering in the dungeon, so it could be a summon or something like that.”

“Ah! That could be it!”

It was strange from the beginning that a puppy was in the dungeon. This place is far from the dungeon entrance, too far for it to have been swept in accidentally.

‘Then does that mean the 500 coins came from the puppy owner’s pocket?’

I felt bad for using the coins without permission, but if our hypothesis was correct, the owner would have seen a system window too.

If so, there was a possibility the owner would come to the campsite. I could return the coins then.

“I’ll go in for now. I just crush this and put it on the wound, right?”

“Yes. I’ll bring a towel and water to clean the wound!”

“Okay.”

I entered the tent and laid the puppy down. I crushed the herbs, put them on the wound, and covered it with wrap. As it was my first time doing this, my fingertips were soon stained yellow.

“Whine, whimper…”

The puppy kept whimpering as if the wound hurt. Its nose was dry, and it looked unwell.

“Wait a little. It’ll be warm soon. And for the wound, if we put this on…”

That night, I fell asleep while nursing the puppy. I prayed earnestly that when I opened my eyes in the morning, the puppy would have regained its vitality, and its owner would have come.

* * *

There was a faint scent of soap. And soft hair, warm body heat. Something small and soft was moving in my arms.

“Ugh…”

As I held it tighter, I heard a groan. It felt cozy, and I wanted to sleep more.

‘But wait. Ugh? Did it say ugh?’

My eyes snapped open.

A woman. It was a woman.

Seol Mo Gyeon was hugging a woman he had never seen before.

“Uh, uah…!”

Mo Gyeon immediately pushed the woman out of his arms. The woman was still asleep.

White skin and round nostrils, thin hair spread out like thread. A face without makeup, wearing a large T-shirt and overalls came into view one by one.

‘What’s this? Did I do something wrong?!’

The woman was a face he had never seen before. His mind went blank.

Mo Gyeon didn’t usually enjoy drinking and merrymaking, let alone have any interest in the opposite sex. There’s no way anything could have happened.

‘Okay, let’s calm down and try to remember.’

Mo Gyeon had participated in an expedition yesterday and defeated a centaur with the Hwarang Guild members.

While doing so, he chased after a shadow that passed by, suspecting it to be Dong Hwa.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera(S)’ has appeared.]

But the identity of the shadow was a monster. Yes, he encountered an S-rank beast-type monster.

The Blue Starlight Chimera drops rare items due to its high rank. So, he thought he’d just have a light warm-up and return since he encountered it.

But then.

‘Grooowl!’

‘No, this is…!’

The Chimera, perhaps because it was a beast-type like Mo Gyeon, was fast enough to match his speed.

Then he lost sight of it for a moment, and the Chimera hiding in the bushes pounced on Mo Gyeon.

As they rolled on the ground, he felt his body float, and looking down, he saw a cliff.

‘I’m screwed.’

Splash.

And so, he fell down the cliff along with the monster. Below the waterfall was a river with a strong current.

[‘Seol Mo Gyeon(S)’s skill ‘Beast’s Tail(FFF)’ has been activated. Duration: 24 hours]

Beast’s Tail is a skill that disguises him as a beagle. It activates automatically when health drops below 5% or when touching cold water.

While it’s a useful skill for secretly extracting information, Mo Gyeon, who mainly participated in raids and expeditions, rarely had a chance to use this skill.

Moreover, when he used this skill, his guild members teased him so much that he rarely used it.

It’s understandable because his stats drop to that of a normal dog. And not just any dog, but a puppy. A puppy in its truest sense.

Fortunately, he managed to get to land by riding on a log. But waiting for him was the Chimera that had fallen with Mo Gyeon.

‘Grrrr…’

‘I should have just ignored it and gone on the expedition. This is all because of that bastard Chae Dong Hwa…!’

If Dong Hwa hadn’t been getting on Mo Gyeon’s nerves lately, he wouldn’t have followed the shadow with suspicion.

But it was too late for regrets and blame now.

The Chimera poked Mo Gyeon with its front paw.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera(S)’ is puzzled.] [‘Blue Starlight Chimera(S)’ asks where your owner is.]

The Chimera didn’t seem to think at all that the beagle in front of it was the human it had just fought.

Thinking that struggling and trying to run away would only result in getting caught quickly, Mo Gyeon waited for the Chimera’s curiosity to subside.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera(S)’ threatens to kill you if you don’t call your owner.] [‘Blue Starlight Chimera(S)’ has no intention of letting the target go.]

The Chimera didn’t leave and kept poking and harassing Mo Gyeon.

But even though it was just playing around, Mo Gyeon’s insides felt like they were being shaken.

Mo Gyeon was currently too weak. Even against a large dog, not a monster, the current Mo Gyeon would lose.

‘This is a bit dangerous.’

Mo Gyeon’s instincts told him. Just then, the Chimera’s mouth opened wide like an alligator.

‘Yelp!’

Thud. A pebble flew from somewhere.

The pebble hit the Chimera’s face.

It wasn’t a strong enough force to cause much damage. However, it was enough to catch the Chimera’s attention.

Thud, thud, thud.

More pebbles flew in. The Chimera traced the trajectory of the stones.

But nothing was visible in the direction they came from.

This time, the pebbles were thrown towards the bushes instead of the Chimera.

[‘Blue Starlight Chimera(S)’ is curious.]

The Chimera walked towards the bushes, puzzled.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Mo Gyeon’s eyes widened, not understanding the situation either. He couldn’t see anything either.

Then his body was lifted by an unknown force.

‘Whine, whimper.’

‘Shh. You need to be quiet. We’ll be caught.’

As he was startled and squirming, a woman’s voice was heard. Whoever it was, it seemed to be a person in a stealth state.

Mo Gyeon immediately closed his mouth, sensing that this person might save him.

In the end, they were almost caught by the Chimera midway, but managed to reach the safe zone.

With no strength left and his mind hazy, he vaguely saw a system window telling him to wear a bracelet. There was a bracelet on the woman’s wrist.

‘Is that it?’

He pulled out the bracelet with his mouth and placed it on his belly. As soon as he did, the tension released, and he lost consciousness. And now he had woken up.

‘So this woman saved me?’

The place they were in was a tent. A faint scent of grass leaves filled the air.

Mo Gyeon was in a sleeping bag, and the woman was sleeping on the floor next to it.

Suddenly, he looked down at his body, sensing something strange. He had certainly sustained not-so-shallow wounds, but his body was completely healed.

Moreover, not only his health but also his mana was overflowing.

‘What on earth did she do to my body?’

As he got up, something fell with a thud.

‘Yellow tobacco?’

He could recognize it instantly. Yellow tobacco is a common healing item found in dungeons.

Unlike potions, it’s not expected to have immediate effects, so it’s not used during battles, but it’s often used when there’s time to rest for a while.

Considering all his wounds were healed, it must be quite a high-grade yellow tobacco.

‘Did this woman treat me?’

Mo Gyeon looked down at the woman again. Upon closer inspection, her fingertips were stained yellow.

Those hands were too small. When he was a dog, the woman looked big, but now that the skill had worn off, her entire body looked incredibly small.

‘Seeing that she’s inside the dungeon, she must be a hunter. A healing-type hunter?’

Thinking about the strength with which she threw the stones yesterday, it seemed no different from an ordinary person.

‘If she were a healing-type, she probably wouldn’t have used yellow tobacco…’

As he was continuing various deductions, another piece of memory suddenly came to mind.

‘How pitiful…’

When she was rescuing Mo Gyeon, the woman’s hands were clearly trembling. Yet she steadfastly took steps forward.

It was amazing how such courage came from this small frame.

‘If this woman hadn’t come to save me then…’

Mo Gyeon couldn’t take his eyes off the woman for a while.

A human much weaker than him had saved him. In a situation where her own life might have been in danger.

She had saved a dog she had never seen before.

“Mmm…”

Just then, the woman furrowed her brow, showing signs of waking up.

‘No! If she opens her eyes now!’

When ‘Beast’s Tail’ was activated, all the clothes he was wearing were washed away in the river. In other words, Mo Gyeon was currently naked from head to toe.

If he was caught like this, it might cause a misunderstanding. Mo Gyeon looked around and spotted a bowl of water.

He hurriedly grabbed it and poured it over his head.

[‘Seol Mo Gyeon(S)’s skill ‘Beast’s Tail(FFF)’ has been activated. Duration: 24 hours] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon(S)’s abilities have drastically decreased.]

“Puppy. Are you awake?”

The woman who had just woken up asked, blinking her eyes. It seemed he wasn’t caught by a hair’s breadth.

“Does it not hurt anymore?”

Mo Gyeon was inwardly relieved. Wanting to communicate somehow, he licked the back of the woman’s hand.

“Ah, it tickles.”

The woman laughed cheerfully. It was as clear as glass marbles rolling.

A strange emotion spread through his body. Something fluffy and affectionate.

‘Ah, it’s this woman.’

Mo Gyeon suddenly felt a strong conviction.

[Congratulations! You have acquired the sub-skill ‘Beast’s Imprint(S)’ as conditions have been met.] [‘Seol Mo Gyeon(S)’ activates ‘Beast’s Imprint(S)’.] [Affection and loyalty towards the target increase dramatically.]

Some system windows popped up noisily, but he couldn’t see them. Only she filled his vision as if she were the whole world.

It felt like he could trust and follow this woman for a lifetime.

He must protect this woman who saved his life until the end.

He must live looking only at this woman.

He was captivated by such fateful, inevitable thoughts.