Startled, Guru flinched when their eyes met.
‘How did Guild Master-nim get here?’
Gasp! Guru quickly checked his smartwatch.
The alert from tumbling just now must have sent his location to Guild Master-nim.
Jurim, pressing down on Gidan’s shoulder to keep him from moving, slowly turned his gaze.
At some point, Malikian had vanished, and the spatial tear he had ripped open had shrunk to the size of a fist.
Jurim frowned.
"...Still quick to run away."
Watching an S-rank monster flee so disgracefully, Guru gaped.
Yeti Tribe Boss < S-rank Monster < Guild Master-nim
Dun-dun—
"The strongest!"
Jurim lazily scanned the field, then shifted his gaze toward Guru, who was hanging onto the rooftop railing.
"Hic!"
Scary!
Guru quickly ducked his face below the railing.
"He’s scarier than the S-rank monster."
While Guru shivered beneath the railing, Jurim tightened his hold on Gidan, preventing him from struggling.
"Let go! Let me go!"
"Gidan, you can’t handle this alone. Get a grip."
"I’ll kill him!"
But it was clear that he was beyond reason. Gidan couldn't contain his frenzy.
With a sigh, Jurim bent down and whispered something into his ear.
The moment he finished speaking, Gidan instantly lost consciousness.
Guru, peeking over the railing with just his eyes, trembled harder.
‘R-Run!’
He tried to crawl away on all fours, hoping to escape unnoticed, but stopped as soon as he saw a pair of shoes blocking his path.
Guru gulped.
Lifting his gaze, he found Jurim standing right in front of him.
Had he rushed here the moment he got the signal? His shirt was slightly disheveled, and his tie hung loosely.
Their eyes met, and Guru forced an awkward, wobbly smile.
"G-Guild Ma—Hic!—ster-nim!"
Jurim’s face remained unreadable as he slowly asked,
"Didn’t you say you were going home with Executive Manager Yun? Is this your home?"
"Hic!"
His heart plummeted. His vision spun, and he lowered his head, fidgeting with his fingers.
"I’m going to get scolded. Scary..."
"You know you deserve to be scolded, right?"
"Uuuugh~"
Guru pouted and shook his head.
Jurim let out a low chuckle, but his face quickly hardened again. Steeling himself, he crossed his arms.
"Hanguru. Are you allowed to run off and do whatever you want without telling anyone?"
"Nuuu..."
Guru knew it was wrong. But the weight of his emotions made him pout harder.
"But..."
He had his reasons, too.
But explaining them right now wasn't an option.
Instead of making excuses, Guru curled in on himself and mumbled.
"Guru made a mistake... Hic!"
His big round eyes rolled as he anxiously peeked at Jurim.
After opening his mouth a few times as if to scold him, Jurim ran a hand down his face in frustration.
Guru trembled like a tiny squirrel, sniffling as he peeked up at him.
In the end, it was Jurim who surrendered.
Glancing over him to check for injuries, he grumbled.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Nooo... Hic!"
"You’re not hiding anything because you’re scared of getting scolded, right?"
nod nod
To prove he was fine, Guru bounced in place, showing off his energy.
"...Not hurt at all."
His coral-colored eyes flickered between Jurim and the ground.
After hesitating for a moment, Guru suddenly lifted both arms toward him.
His expression made it clear—he wanted to be picked up.
Jurim sighed.
"...Haah."
Unable to scold him any further, he scooped Guru up.
Guru immediately wrapped his arms tightly around Jurim’s neck.
"He picked me up! Hehehe!"
The relief of knowing he wouldn't be scolded any further made Guru's lips curl into a satisfied smile.
As he nuzzled his flushed cheeks against Jurim’s warmth, a sense of calm spread through him.
"So warm."
Like some kind of magic, being held by Jurim made his racing heart settle.
Then, as his nose began to run, Guru wiped it on Jurim’s collar.
Feeling the sudden dampness on his shoulder, Jurim’s eyes narrowed.
Guru, oblivious, looked up as Jurim pressed a hand to his forehead to check for a fever.
"By the way, hic! What about Dani-oppa?"
Something had been off.
Especially his eyes—they had looked unbearably sad.
"...Dani is."
"Is he hurt? Hic!"
Jurim gently patted Guru’s back, soothing his hiccups.
"His heart is hurting."
With that, he stepped out of the dungeon.
Chapter 6 – Walk-off Home Run
Back home, Guru immediately headed for the study.
There was no doubt about it.
Dani had changed the moment he met Malikian.
"Malikian might have used some weird skill!"
Lying on the study sofa, Guru flipped open a thick dungeon encyclopedia.
"Malikian... Malikian..."
Finding Malikian’s entry was easy—there was a newspaper clipping tucked inside the page.
The article’s date was from a year ago.
[Mass Dungeonization in Jumunjin, Casualties Being Assessed]
"A mass dungeonization event occurred # Nоvеlight # in a single-family home in Jumunjin..."
Guru traced the words with his finger as he read.
A dungeonization event was when an entire area transformed into a dungeon. When it happened, the monsters that poured out would claim the region as their territory.
Such cases were extremely rare worldwide, and Jumunjin was officially the fourth place where dungeonization had occurred.
The article described it as a massive crisis, with two S-rank monsters emerging.
Fortunately, it had happened in a sparsely populated area, minimizing human casualties.
"Confirmed casualty: A man in his 40s, Mr. Gi... Survived: His middle school-aged son..."
A year ago, the middle school-aged son of Mr. Gi.
And the overwhelming, almost unnatural rage Gidan had displayed.
Guru felt his chest tighten as he turned to the next clipping.
[On Jurim Successfully Subjugates the Mass Dungeon]
[On Jurim Confirms One S-rank Monster Escaped... The Three Major Guilds Join the Search]
[Escaped S-rank Malikian, Status Unknown?]
[Two Months Since Malikian’s Escape, Search Officially Ends]
"Malikian... escaped."
A monster that tore through space as it moved.
Gidan had wanted to face Malikian—the one who killed his family.
"But..."
Guru had witnessed Malikian standing unaffected by Gidan’s relentless attacks.
Gidan’s moves had been sharp and well-executed, yet it seemed impossible to actually harm him.
"Does he just have high defense?"
If Malikian’s defense were lowered, would Gidan’s attacks finally land?
Guru pulled out his Duck Tongs from his inventory.
The moment he did, a series of notifications popped up.
[Calculating Filial Piety Points...]
[Conditions Met! Enhancement Function Unlocked.]
[Items Can Now Be Upgraded Using Filial Piety Points.]
[Filial Piety Points Required: 500]
"Enhance!"
Could his Duck Tongs finally escape its status as a defective item?
And if so, would that mean he could apply debuffs to Malikian?
Countless past failures flashed through Guru’s mind, but he clasped his small hands together in determination.
"Let’s do this! Enhance!"
Go, Normal Duck Tongs!
[Enhancement Successful.]
[Mephisto-Infused Prickly Duck Tongs (Usable)]
"...Usable?"
Guru narrowed his eyes.
Instead of upgrading from Defective to Normal, it became Usable?
Puffing out his cheeks, Guru scowled.
"Who came up with this ridiculous ranking system?"
[A Hidden Function Has Been Unlocked.]
[Absolute Command: The user’s attack has a slightly low chance of ignoring target’s effect resistance.]
"Effect resistance ignore!"
The "slightly low chance" was a bit concerning, but if it truly ignored effect resistance, that meant debuffs would always land.
"With this...!"
This was practically another way to fight back against Malikian.
Finally, spending Filial Piety Points had been worth it.
"Did you think you could dodge my debuffs forever?"
Guru let out a sly chuckle, raising the corner of his lips.
"I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he panics."
One day, he’d be able to show the true power of Guuuuungjuuuung. Kukukuku!
Just as Guru was basking in his triumph—
—“With a bumpy, cool body~ Wearing red clothes~ Smelling sweet and sour~ The stylish tomato~”
His ringtone blared.
Guru immediately leaped onto Jurim’s study desk.
Right in front of him was the smartwatch Jurim had given him.

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