'Gotta show Daddy the mana-rich, muscwe-buwwging Gwuu...!'
Just then, the red aura seeping from the filial snack caught her eye.
Waver... waver...
'Fiwial snack... kinda wooks dangewous.'
Hmmm.
She pulled up the info window again, rereading the warning: Children should be careful when eating.
And suddenly, she remembered the time she’d introduced the “Fluffy-Cotton Candy” item she’d invented.
'Dat time, Daddy said...'
Guru slipped her left hand into the oven mitt she’d taken off earlier. Crossing her arms, she put on a stern expression and mimicked Jurim in an old-man tone.
“Even if you tink—uh—at da desk, y’know? Dat it’s a good item, aftuh, uh... ‘shimuw-shimuw’ (simulation), when you actuawwy use it, it can be diffewent, y’know.”
Lukshifer stared at her, mouth open, then nodded solemnly.
Satisfied.
Pleased with herself for saying something so complicated, Guru’s mood lifted even more.
“So, wet’s test it juuust a wittwe befowe showin’ off, otay?”
“Kkyu-hmm!”
Lukshifer nodded again.
“Otay! Fiwst, wet’s go to Gwuu’s dungeon.”
[Activating skill: [Dungeon is an Open Door]]
After stepping into the private dungeon her grandpa had sponsored, the first thing Guru did was check whether her filial factory was running well.
Once she’d made a circuit of the dolls working hard—“heave-ho, heave-ho”—she stood with hands on hips beside Lukshifer.
Two things needed checking.
The effect of “Rage of a Loner,” the status ailment she’d accidentally created—
And whether Lukshifer had gotten strong enough to open the cradle without wobbling or collapsing.
“Wiww fiwial snack wowk on a doww too?”
She needed to see what the ailment did, but couldn’t feed it to a person...
Guru was debating in front of Doll No. 1, filial snack in hand, when—
Slip—
The ground sank {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} down in a small patch, and just then, a mole popped its head out.
“Cheep!”
[Burrow Mole (F)]
Crop-exclusive S-Grade. Completely harmless to humans.
“Oooh...”
Found one. Test subject.
Guru crept closer and held out a snack to the peeking mole.
Sniff sniff...
The little black-bean nose at the tip of its snout twitched. Its tiny bead eyes seemed useless; it kept sniffing at the snack Guru was offering.
Snap!
Realizing the thing in front of it was food, the mole scooped it up in its broad front paws and began to eat.
Thump-thump!
Guru and Lukshifer watched in silence.
Fiiiiiiiiing~
As the mole nibbled away, a ring of light suddenly gathered around it.
The glow was so strong she could hardly keep her eyes open.
After a moment, the massive light began to fade, revealing the mole’s form—
“It got biggah!”
The mole, once the size of her sneaker, was now up to her ankle.
And that wasn’t the only change.
Bulging—swelling—its body now muscled and thick, the mole bared its claws at Guru and Lukshifer, growling.
“Drrrnnng...!”
“Eep!”
“Kkyiht!”
Both jumped back fast.
The info window now read: “Burrow Mole (F)” had become “Mole Possessed by Rage (S, Berserk).”
'I... I made it an S-Grade?!'
The mole glared at them with its tiny eyes, and sensing danger, Guru pulled out a fork.
“Drrnnng!”
It licked its sharp foreclaws, advancing threateningly.
Cling!
Lukshifer clutched her leg, trembling, while Guru gripped the fork in both hands, ready to send the mole flying like a home run ball if needed.
And then—
Psshhhh—
Thud.
As it drew near, white steam poured from its body, and the rock-hard muscles shrank back before it collapsed to the ground.
“Huh?”
It... fell on its own?!
With Lukshifer still clinging to her leg, Guru crept up and poked the limp mole with the fork. No reaction.
“Is... is it dead?!”
“Kkyuuu?!”
Their panicked voices were loud enough that—
Wriggle, wriggle.
The mole twitched.
“Phew~ Good. Not dead.”
“Kkyuu~”
Must’ve just collapsed when the effect wore off.
Right then, Lukshifer, too, let out a little hiss of steam and returned to his cute baby rabbit form.
“Kkyuuuung...”
He swayed as if overcome with sudden exhaustion, and Guru quickly caught him in her arms.
Maybe the mole had gone down faster because its body couldn’t handle the sudden power boost.
Still—
Guru hunched her shoulders, recalling the growl of that enraged mole.
It had been scary.
An item that gave strength but caused berserk mode...
'Dat’s wike somethin’ a viwwain uses!'
Way too dangerous! She stuffed the rest of the filial snacks deep into her bag.
'Seaw it away...'
Her chest prickled with the urge to brag—
'But... Daddy might scoww me...'
Fear of getting scolded was stronger.
After glancing around, she tucked the exhausted mole into some leaves so it could rest, then left the dungeon.
Whoooosh—
She didn’t see the mole’s shadow stir.
After Guru and Lukshifer left—
The shadow moved. Black stems and leaves rustled eerily.
[Penbraum (S)]
A plant-type monster that grows by parasitizing the shadows of animals or plants. Gentle by nature, almost never attacks first.
Rising from the shadow, Penbraum’s roots wrapped around the mole.
The roots burrowed into its body, and the leaves shimmered as a red aura settled into them.
At the same time, “Rage of a Loner” began to take hold.
'Flex.'
An unknown anger and power surged through Penbraum.
It wanted more of that empowering item.
It wanted to unleash its rage.
Overcome by the craving that filled it to its root tips, Penbraum began to slip through the shadows, hunting for the scent of the snack.
The next day, lunchtime.
Today was the long-awaited day the prince role would be decided.
While the Chick Class kids sat in little groups, chatting and eating lunch—
Mephisto perched on Woojoo’s shoulder, eyes sharp as awls.
He had to be ready for the moment Woojoo handed the blood to Veilach.
Then, one of Woojoo’s lunch buddies asked:
“Why’s Guru’s bird on you?”
The bird that was always on Guru’s head was with Woojoo now, so of course it seemed odd.
At the question, Woojoo flinched and rolled his eyes, while Guru stuck out her lip.
“Mephi says he doesn’t wanna be Gwuu’s biwd anymowe.”
“Piii!”
Mephisto squawked in outrage, but Guru turned her head away.
He had to clear up the misunderstanding!
Mephisto was about to fly back to her—
When Park Geonwoo, led in by Veilach, appeared at the classroom door and beckoned.
Woojoo’s eyes widened; he grabbed his bag and stood.
“I’m done eating, I’ll be right back.”
Mephisto abandoned his flight to Guru and settled back on Woojoo’s shoulder.
Guru, shocked, watched as Mephisto left with Woojoo.
On his perch, Mephisto kicked Woojoo’s shoulder with tiny feet, his eyes wet with tears.
Woojoo ignored him, leading the boys down a quiet hallway.
There, he pulled from his bag a tiny vial containing a drop of blood—and a stack of photo cards and merch.
'Bwood...!'
Mephisto’s eyes gleamed.
The moment Woojoo handed the vial to Veilach, he would snatch it and bolt.
His claws twitched.
Park Geonwoo, having received the photo cards and merch, nodded in satisfaction. Next, Veilach reached out his hand.
Now! Mephisto launched himself into the air.
“As I thought—you were aiming for this.”
With lightning speed, Veilach shattered the vial and grinned, baring shark-like teeth.
"Pitt?! (How?!)"
“Did you think I was that stupid?”
"Pitt! (But the first to drink owns the blood!)"
Mephisto dove at light speed, aiming to lap up the blood from the broken vial—
But...
"Pitt? (This... jam?)"
“I got the blood yesterday. Today, knowing your scheme, I came with jam instead!”
"Pi! (No way!)"
“Keh-heh-heh. Revenge, Mephisto!”
While Veilach laughed wickedly, Mephisto flapped in frustration.
Meanwhile, Park Geonwoo pushed up his glasses.
“Seo Woojoo, can your friend talk to birds?”
“...Dunno.”
Woojoo looked away.

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