🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 17
Mora reflexively struggled, then stopped.
She carefully examined the spider’s abdomen. A white thread protruded from a small hole at the tip of the pointed abdomen, connecting to the cocoon that wrapped around her own body.
With arms sticky and difficult to move, she forced herself to reach out and grasp the web. Then, gathering the last of her strength, she unleashed a wave of energy.
The wave traveled along the thread, starting from her hands.
Please, please…
She murmured internally, feeling a dull pain in her chest, as if a heavy rock were pressing down.
At the same time, a sharp pain pierced her temples. It was a symptom she had never experienced, so she didn’t even realize it was a side effect of excessive ability use.
Even now, the spider was steadily approaching.
Ignoring the nausea rising inside her, Mora focused on taming. The wave traveling backward along the web finally reached the spider’s abdomen.
At that moment—
Whoosh!
The spider slowed. Not just the spider—time itself seemed to slow down.
What’s happening?
At that thought, her vision shook violently, splitting into four sets of four.
Images appeared on top of them: herself wrapped in white spider silk.
“Huh?”
Within her vision, eight versions of herself wore blank expressions.
It wasn’t just her vision that had changed.
Senses that had been no different from an ordinary person’s became razor-sharp.
No, that didn’t even cover it—she could feel air flowing across the fine hairs on her skin. Only then did Mora realize her own state.
Did I… fuse with it?
How had she done this? She didn’t know the details, but it seemed she had successfully tamed it.
“I… I survived…”
Tears welled up, and a sigh of relief escaped her. But there was no time to linger.
What do I do now?
She had accidentally tamed the spider. Now she needed to use it to unravel the web, but this was the first time she had been so perfectly fused with her target, and she had no idea how to proceed.
Should she try moving the spider a little?
She paused, afraid the taming would break if she tried.
Then, the device screen lit up. The alarm she had set for one hour before exiting sounded.
The dim light appeared divided into eight parts. As she tried to regain focus, a shadow flickered.
Did she imagine it?
No one moved, yet a huge figure silently emerged from the trembling shadow.
Gyeon Suho?
Like a demon tearing through darkness, he stepped out and stretched his arm. From his large hand, a longsword formed from shadow. It radiated a tremendous aura like frost.
Suho, letting the sword hang casually, raised his index finger to his lips, a playful smile curving his red mouth.
“Shh.”
Wait—what happens if the target dies while fused in taming?
A chill ran down Mora’s spine, and she shouted in panic.
“W-wait—!”
Before the words even left her mouth, the spider’s head fell off its body as if it had always been that way.
“Ugh!”
Her vision went black, and her ears were deafened. The heightened senses she had just gained were abruptly cut off.
Since it was an unperceived death, it didn’t hurt much physically. But the shock of the taming breaking forcibly was beyond imagination.
Would it feel like this if a piece of your soul was torn away? It felt like drowning in an immeasurable sea of loss.
“Guh!”
Hotness surged up her esophagus, and Mora let go of her consciousness.
The smell of disinfectant. The bed felt unusually large. Mora, looking up at the ceiling, suddenly raised her hand.
A small, chubby child’s hand.
It’s a dream.
She knew immediately upon seeing the hand. This was a nightmare that had haunted her sporadically since she was eleven.
Although therapy for her panic disorder and independence at nineteen reduced their frequency, they never completely disappeared. Whenever she had nearly forgotten, they returned to remind her.
Mora lay still, predicting exactly what would happen next in the nightmare. Soon, a man she had never seen before would appear with a pitying expression.
Sure enough, a man led by subordinates entered the room and stood by the bed.
“So you’re Mora.”
Speaking gently, he stroked her head.
“Child, is there an adult nearby I can contact?”
What about Mom?
Mora moved her lips, but no sound came out.
“Don’t worry, I’m not a bad man. Anyone’s fine. Can you tell me all the phone numbers you know?”
Reluctantly, she pointed to the ability badge on his luxurious suit jacket.
My dad’s also an Awakened. Please call him.
This time, he seemed to understand and hesitated, rubbing the thick nape of his neck with a troubled expression.
“Well, um… Mora…”
He trailed off, clearly uncomfortable. Mora silently observed the large man sweating nervously.
“There!”
A group of people suddenly rushed into the hospital room. The once-quiet single room turned chaotic.
Flashes went off, and microphones were thrust in front of her face.
The man shouted, his face red.
“What are you doing! This child just regained consciousness! What are you doing here! Can’t you get the reporters out?!”
The reporters did not back down. Amid the aggressive questions, one voice pierced Mora’s ears.
“Mora! Do you know your father went berserk?”
“Gasp!”
Consciousness submerged under sleep became clear.
Mora blinked, still half-asleep. Something she had never seen before blocked her view.
She raised her hand to feel it—firm, slightly convex, smooth, and faintly fragrant.
Strangely, she wanted to keep touching it. What was this?
“Haa.”
“Hm?”
A sultry voice accompanied by warm breath spread over her head.
Mora lifted her head. A beautiful man, somewhat overwhelming for morning, smiled lazily.
“You’re awake?”
“……!”
Suho studied Mora’s stunned face, recalling what had happened yesterday in the dungeon.
Though not publicly known, S-rank items often triggered backlash. In S-rank dungeons, the strongest creature appeared, while in A-rank or below, a named monster appeared. Sometimes a secondary wave opened if the dungeon was already cleared.
Mora had sensed a secondary wave when she found the mandrake. Yet he hadn’t warned her, simply to put her in his debt.
In the Code Red state, she had felt perfect tranquility, where no pain was allowed.
Once one experiences such completeness and peace, they cannot return to their previous state.
Thus, threatening or forcing Kang Mora would be foolish. If she resisted, he would only lose. Better to coax her into cooperating willingly.
Although seducing someone was unpleasant, it was necessary to survive without pain.
At least Kang Mora wasn’t disgusting like other humans. A little smile and kindness would suffice.
After all, she was his fan.
Still, he had been slightly surprised when she had fallen into the named monster’s nest—she had jumped into a pit of unknown depth without hesitation. Even thinking back, that was unlike her.
His awakened class was Shadow Mage. He couldn’t use his powers without light.
Although he had used shadows formed during her fall to move, it had nearly caused trouble.
Why did she do that? She wasn’t the only tamer in the world capable of freeing him from pain.
Suho folded his arms, resting his head, and watched her, still dazed.
“Hm.”
She had cried silently in the early morning, unable to make a sound in her dreams. Her eyes were puffy, eyelids moving sluggishly.
He poked Mora’s white cheek with his fingertip.
At last, a red flush rose from her neck.
She sat up abruptly as her face turned fully crimson.
“W-what…!”
“Did you sleep well?”
