As if it wasn’t already annoying enough to have a pathetic F-rank body, even these damn traits are all F-rank too. What the hell.
I closed my eyes tightly, trying to calm the bubbling irritation in my chest. Chill. Being F-rank sucks, sure, but at least I have something.
If it’s clearly marked as F-rank, that means there’s at least a possibility to raise it.
'...Though I don’t know if I can raise it.'
The biggest issue right now was the probability. If I could just raise that crappy chance—currently not even 1%—the traits themselves would actually be useful.
‘The trait that can stun a target at random when attacking, and the one {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} that spots openings—those are good...’
But that first trait, the one that’s basically just good for drawing sympathy at best... What even is that? If that’s a trait I had from the start, does that mean I lived my entire previous life using that garbage?
Goddamn it. That’s horrifying. I just hoped the 0.5% chance never triggered.
Aside from whatever the hell “drenched kitten” or whatever is supposed to mean, I’ll need to look into how to level up the other two traits. If I can raise the rank, the probability should go up too.
The problem is, who knows how long it’ll take before any of those F-rank traits are worth using. I let out a sigh and looked up, feeling frustrated.
Enough about traits. The next thing was this.
[User Info: Cha Seohu (Supporting Role)]
Age: 26 (28)
That “supporting role” thing was really getting on my nerves.
Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun, who I met right after escaping the lab, were labeled as “main characters.” I brought up the quest window next.
[Main Quest: Meet the scattered main characters and become allies. (Progress: 0%)]
You must find and befriend the main characters scattered around. (Ally condition: Main character’s trust)
[Main Character]
Key figures who will prevent the Catastrophe and save the world.
Without the main characters, the Catastrophe cannot be stopped. Protect them at all costs.
“Hmm.”
Judging by the quest’s content, Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun are main characters meant to stop the villain, Cha Sahyeon. I guess I’m supposed to help them—meaning I’m just a supporting character who has to keep them alive and assist however I can?
‘What kind of supporting role gets shoved into something like this?’
Wasn’t this some kind of error? What if it’s not me but one of the main characters who’s supposed to deal with Cha Sahyeon? Or maybe I’m actually a main character too, but the system’s bugged and labeled me as “supporting”?
No matter how I looked at it, this was way too much responsibility for a supporting role. Whoever made this system UI clearly didn’t know what they were doing. If they were going to assign a mission this important, the least they could do was give me a proper rank. You don’t assign a department head’s job to a regular employee.
“Haah...”
There’s no point stressing over something I can’t change. Might as well keep doing what I’ve been doing.
“Hey, kid.”
The child who’d been sitting in the chair like a doll turned her head at my call. Her face was blank and expressionless, impossible to read.
“Come here.”
I simply wiggled my fingers from where I lay on the sofa. Without complaint, Cha Sahyeon got down from the chair and walked over. I looked up at her and brought up her status window.
[User Info: Sahyeon (Villain)]
Age: 22
Main Skill: Living Shadow (B-rank)
Title: The Master of Shadows
Attack Power: B-rank
Attack Speed: B-rank
Movement Speed: B-rank
Agility: B-rank
Special Traits▼
└Seed of Catastrophe (35% Progress)
‘That age is what really doesn’t make sense.’
No matter how I looked at her, she couldn’t be more than ten years old. So why the hell does it say she’s twenty-two? Is that just a data-entry bug, or is there some meaning behind it?
Aside from the age, the rest made enough sense. Her skill being listed as B-rank probably has to do with the Seed’s progression. The further it advances, the stronger she becomes.
The Catastrophe I saw in my past life was overwhelming. She could wipe out other S-rank Hunters with ease. So it only makes sense that she had power beyond S-rank. Considering that, the fact that she’s already B-rank with only 35% progression... yeah, that checks out.
“Still, the age really bugs me.”
I muttered softly and patted Cha Sahyeon’s head.
“What, are you secretly way older or something?”
“...”
She blinked slowly. Her green eyes, nestled under long lashes, were as unreadable as ever—completely emotionless.
“...Nah, no way.”
I gave a quiet laugh and withdrew my hand. Just then, a knock at the door signaled the arrival of room service.
“Let’s eat.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
As I got up and headed for the door, Cha Sahyeon trailed after me. It wasn’t like I was going anywhere far, but she always followed me the second I moved, which was kind of funny.
Her lack of reaction to her surroundings and her oddly calm demeanor were a bit concerning, but little things like that reminded me she was still just a child. I figured she was only following me so obediently because she didn’t know any better.
No adult in their right mind would ever follow someone like me.
After Hyun Dowoon helped clean the second floor and get it furnished, the place was finally livable.
The front room worked as an office, and the back room had a bed and a wardrobe. Even a tiny kitchen was tucked into the corner, which made it more than enough to survive in.
“Hey, kid.”
I crouched down and placed a hand on Cha Sahyeon’s shoulder as she looked around the office. Once I met her eyes, I said,
“You’re gonna live here with me from now on.”
“...”
“Don’t go outside without my permission, and don’t talk to anyone if I’m not around. Got it?”
She tilted her head slowly, expression blank as ever, in response to my abrupt rules.
“Other than that, you can do whatever you want. If there’s something you want to eat, just say it, and... well, there’s a TV set up too, so you can watch whatever.”
I hastily added that so she wouldn’t feel like I was being too controlling. But her face didn’t change in the slightest.
I couldn’t tell if she liked it or hated it. I’d never lived with a kid before, so I had no idea what I was doing.
And since she was someone who could potentially become the Catastrophe, I had to be especially careful. It wasn’t like I wanted to keep her locked up, but letting her wander outside and risk increasing the Seed’s progression... yeah, no thanks.
“Is there anything you want to do?”
I asked, mostly out of guilt, trying to make myself feel a little better.
“...”
But once again, there was no answer.
She just blinked, head still tilted, like she wasn’t refusing to answer, but rather didn’t even know what she liked or disliked.
“Well, alright. Take your time thinking about it.”
It wasn’t like I could teach her personal preferences, so I ended the conversation there and turned around.
After a full day of cleaning, I was hot and sticky with sweat. Time for a shower. As I headed to the bathroom, I heard footsteps behind me and then a quiet, urgent voice.
“M-Me too...”
“Huh?”
Cha Sahyeon was tugging lightly at my shirt with a small hand as she whispered,
“Me too...”
“Hm?”
What are you saying? Me too... what? Confused, I finally spotted the bathroom.
“Ahh.”
She must mean she wants to shower too. I opened the door wide and nodded for her to go in.
“Go ahead and wash up first.”
But she shook her head. That’s not it?
I looked down at her, puzzled, and after a long pause, she stammered out:
“T-Together...”
“Together?”
“T-Together... shower...”
“You wanna shower together?”
Of all the things she could’ve said now that she finally opened her mouth, it had to be that?
More than surprised, I was just dumbfounded. I guess the bath we took at the hotel a few days ago left a big impression on her, but she’d been bathing by herself fine since then, so why ask this now?
‘Hah...’
Honestly, I didn’t want to. I only did it last time because of the quest, and it was annoying and tiring. But... this kid, who always just clammed up and shook her head, finally opened her mouth to say something she wanted. I couldn’t bring myself to shoot her down.
Maybe this was her answer to my earlier question—if so, I definitely couldn’t say no.
“Alright.”
Maybe this kind of request wasn’t so bad. Annoying, sure, but manageable.
At least she wasn’t asking for something I couldn’t do. Hopefully all her requests would stay this simple from now on.
As I nodded and stepped into the bathroom with her, Cha Sahyeon’s expression visibly brightened. She must’ve thought I would say no.
I didn’t get it. What was so exciting about this to make even her smile? It was just bathing together. Maybe she just liked having someone wash her?
‘I really don’t get it...’
Sighing to myself, I started undressing.

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