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Chapter 20
“Mimi! What’s wrong with you! Get a hold of yourself!”
Mimi’s condition was clearly serious at a glance.
The skin around the back of her neck was torn open, exposing raw red flesh, and clumps of fur all over her body were soaked with a sticky liquid that appeared to be blood.
Her small body trembled continuously, and she let out thin breaths that seemed ready to stop at any moment.
“W-what happened… Mimi, Mimi……”
I couldn’t think straight.
I had only ever seen Mimi acting arrogant as usual—never once had I imagined she would appear in such a ruined state.
I had never raised an animal before. Mimi was my first pet.
Because of that, I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do in a situation like this.
I placed her limp little body onto the sofa and looked around frantically, my hands trembling.
“W-what do I do… Th-the hospital. An animal hospital…”
I was so panicked that it took me a while just to remember that I needed to take her to a hospital.
My blood-stained hands were too slippery to properly grab my phone.
I was about to search for a veterinary clinic that stayed open late when I suddenly stopped.
Should I really take her to an animal hospital? Mimi isn’t an ordinary cat… right? Or is her body actually no different from a normal cat’s?
“F-first, I’ll call.”
Thinking was a luxury. Since there was nothing I could do myself, I had to at least take her to a hospital.
As I hurriedly grabbed my car keys and called a clinic, Mimi opened her eyes.
“Mimi!”
I rushed straight to her.
“Are you okay? We’re going to the hospital now, so just hold on a little!”
“Ss… ugh.”
“Don’t talk, your wound will open!”
I picked up a blanket and was just about to lift Mimi into my arms—
When suddenly, a status window appeared before my eyes.
^[Sub Quest Reward: Would you like to open the Tactile Stat Skill Tree?]^
“Why is this appearing all of a sudden…?”
Through the translucent status window, my eyes met Mimi’s. Her unfocused gaze looked as if she were telling me to do what the window said.
I remembered Mimi once saying that she herself was the status window. It seemed she was trying to communicate through it because of her physical condition.
“…Open.”
^[Opening Tactile Skill Tree.]^
^[Tactile Lv.1: Muscle Relaxation
Reduces tension in stiff muscles and improves blood flow, increasing mana operation efficiency. Specialized for relieving hunters’ fatigue and warming up.
Applied Effects: Muscle stiffness reduced by 20%, reduced risk of minor injuries
Item Form: Aroma massage oil or cream]^
^[Tactile Lv.2: Vitality Regeneration
Activates the regeneration speed of skin cells to immediately heal external wounds. Also effective in restoring skin necrosis caused by mana intoxication.
Applied Effects: External wound recovery speed accelerated by 300%
Item Form: High-concentration regeneration ampoule or sheet pack]^
^[Tactile Lv.3: Nerve Stabilization
Calms the nervous system’s hypersensitive reactions to all stimuli touching the skin (pain, temperature, friction). Prevents shock or loss of concentration caused by combat injuries, increasing a hunter’s combat endurance.
Applied Effects: Shock delay upon injury (up to 5 minutes), pain reduced by 50%, concentration loss reduced by 40%
Item Form: Cooling gel or patch]^
^[Tactile Lv.4: Locked]^
I quickly read through the skill tree. The pounding of my heart rang loudly in my ears.
“Muscle Relaxation… Vitality Regeneration. This is it.”
I immediately understood why Mimi had shown me this skill tree.
She clearly wanted me to use this skill to heal her.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I invested the points I had into the ‘Tactile’ stat.
^[Use 2 stat points on ‘Tactile’?]^
Since each stat point corresponded to Lv.1, I had no choice but to invest all my remaining stat points to use the Vitality Regeneration skill.
But there was no hesitation as my finger pressed the “Yes” button.
I knew well from the Hunter Training Institute how difficult stat points were to obtain, but compared to a life, they meant nothing.
Especially when it was someone I had fed and grown attached to for months.
^[Name: Ye Bitna]^
^[Hidden Class: Beginner Owner of Healing Therapy Shop]^
^[Skill: Absolute Sense (EX-grade)]^
^[Sight: 1
Hearing: 0
Smell: 0
Taste: 0
Tactile: 2
??: ?]^
^[Remaining Stat Points: 0]^
After confirming the changed stat window, I immediately ran into the workshop.
An ampoule I had made while developing cosmetics as complimentary service items for customers sat in the corner of a cabinet.
‘Does this also only gain effects if it’s made immediately, like the lavender oil?’
Even while rushing back to Mimi with the ampoule, I wasn’t sure.
But trying was better than wasting time worrying.
I opened the ampoule cap and shouted desperately,
“Vitality Regeneration!”
They say earnest wishes come true.
The status window that flashed before my eyes had never felt so welcome.
^[Perfect Regeneration Ampoule Complete!]^
^[Tactile Lv.2: Vitality Regeneration
Activates skin cell regeneration speed to immediately heal external wounds]^
“It worked!”
I immediately poured the ampoule over the torn area on Mimi’s neck.
Seeing that, Mimi slowly closed her eyes—whether from relief or exhaustion, I couldn’t tell.
^[Title Acquired: Extremely Perceptive]^
Ding-ling.
The bell hanging on the shop door rang as someone entered.
At that moment, the previously noisy bar fell silent as if by prior agreement.
Everyone either widened their eyes as though witnessing something unbelievable or left their mouths hanging open in shock.
And for good reason—Kang Jinseo had never once attended a reunion gathering. Not only was he an incredibly busy figure known as a hunter among hunters, but with Maze Gates breaking out worldwide, he was the last person expected to appear in a bar instead of standing before a gate.
Small murmurs began to spread.
“No way,” “Is this real?” and similar whispers filled the air.
Among them, the bravest person stepped forward.
“Hyung! What brings you here?!”
It was Oh Hyeongtaek.
Fresh from attending the daytime press conference and still dressed up, Hyeongtaek approached Jinseo with a bright smile.
Hyeongtaek poured out words like “Good to see you,” “Thanks for before,” and “You looked amazing today,” but none of them reached Jinseo.
Jinseo merely moved his eyes, scanning the interior of the bar.
The one person he was looking for wasn’t there.
He had come to explain the message he had sent by mistake.
Naturally, his gaze landed on Shin Nara, the organizer of this reunion. She failed to hide her trembling eyes.
“H-he really came…”
Honestly, the reason Jinseo attended such a trivial gathering that felt like children’s play was to use the event as an excuse to see Bitna’s face one more time.
But if his sole reason for coming wasn’t here, there was no reason to stay.
Under Jinseo’s sharp gaze, Nara broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly called Bitna.
After several rings, Bitna finally answered.
“Where are you? Huh? Y-you can’t come because your cat is sick…? Were you crying?”
At that moment, Jinseo opened the door and walked out without a single moment of hesitation.
“A-ah, no.”
Unable to stop him, Nara collapsed back into her seat as her strength left her.
After leaving the bar, Jinseo checked the phone that had been buzzing annoyingly for a while.
[Hyung, are you seriously insane? You’re going to a reunion right now?]
[If news breaks that you’re drinking, the whole world will go crazy!]
[Are you out of your mind? Huh? Answer your phone please! I just got summoned by Chairman Maeng!!!]
[Ahhh you crazy bastard!!!]
There were no messages besides the ones from Ian.
“….”
After fiddling with his phone for a moment, Jinseo walked away, his steps tinged with regret.
Meanwhile, after Jinseo left, someone else exited the bar following him.
A woman with rainbow-colored hair and rabbit-pattern nail art.
Facing Jinseo’s retreating back, she formed a rectangle with her index fingers and thumbs.
The moment Jinseo’s figure fit inside the frame like a camera view—
“Click.”
She activated her skill.
“Huh?”
The woman tilted her head.
The result was unexpected.
“That’s strange. Very strange.”
Even after using the skill again, nothing changed.
Soon, the woman stretched her lips into a wide grin.
“Got you.”
