I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

As always, Han Se-ah wasn't good at lying.

Everyone was panicking over the unprecedented phenomenon of Horned Wolves appearing in the city, but her face was a mess for a different reason.

Grace, who walked alongside her, tried to comfort her by stroking her forehead several times.

Grace seemed to think that Han Se-ah's twisted expression was due to the trauma of a novice adventurer witnessing death for the first time.

Of course, having read the chat, I knew her expression was twisted because of the pressure to fabricate a story.

'Somehow, the city and the tower became connected... Not bad, right?'

My lips curled into a grin as I read the plausible opinion among countless opinions posted in the chat.

Following Han Se-ah's guidance through the alleyways, I couldn't laugh while looking at the bloody injured and dead citizens, so I desperately held back.

Neither slimes, horned rabbits, horned foxes, nor goblins appeared in the city—only horned wolves.

That meant the city and the 10th floor of the tower were connected, and perhaps a gate-like function would open.

As soon as I read the long chat suggesting that, I wanted to cheer.

Many people had died, but it was none of my business.

Frankly, more people would die inside the tower than this.

Han Se-ah's burdened face was the same.

No one would feel guilty about game NPCs dying because of a quest scenario.

She was just wracking her brain to make up a story.

I'd play along even if her story wasn't perfect.

"It's this way. I feel a strong magical presence here."

The artisan district was as complex as a maze.

It was a slum-like area where apprentice blacksmiths and poor alchemists who couldn't afford a decent shop on the main street gathered.

Complicated back alleys intertwined with various junk piled up without considering passage.

No wonder the horned wolves, with their habit of hiding in bushes, ambushed people from piles of junk.

Han Se-ah raised her staff as if to claim she was tracking magic and guided us through the alleyways, avoiding the junk.

Of course, her fixed gaze blatantly revealed that she was looking at the minimap, not sensing magic.

"Ah-"

As we made our way through the back alleys, we eventually encountered a horned wolf.

"It seems the guards haven't made it here yet."

We saw the creature chewing on a person.

Even though the corpse had been mosaic-censored, the sight of the upper and lower halves about to part due to torn flesh was difficult to watch.

Grace immediately stepped in front of Han Se-ah, blocking her view.

The wolf had killed someone who perhaps came to the back alley to throw something away, its long horn dripping with blood.

Annoyed at having its meal interrupted, it bared its filthy teeth and growled, but it was still a 10th-floor-level creature.

Was it hard to adapt to the sudden appearance of corpses in a game that had been a peaceful tower climb until yesterday?

Ignoring the stiff Han Se-ah, I stepped forward. The beast sensed danger and growled, but it didn't matter.

Smack-

Even without a weapon, a single slap from me is enough to turn it into a lifeless corpse.

"Take the lead again, Hanna. Don't worry about the corpse; the guards will clean it up."

"Yes!"

In front of the gruesome corpses, Han Se-ah blinked in surprise at Grace's unfazed reaction, who didn't even blink an eye in front of the corpse.

As she quickly gathered the lower-grade magic stones and a few claws from the dead Horned Foxes, Han Se-ah promptly placed them in her inventory.

"People die, but we should collect the spoils of the hunt."

After walking for a while through the maze-like alleyways, passing Horned Foxes and corpses, a suspicious-looking alley appeared.

Grace, our party's pathfinder, was the first to react.

"Here, I smell grass. It's not the scent of materials used in workshops, but the smell of the plains."

A refreshing fragrance amidst the harsh and pungent odors of the blacksmith and alchemy workshops.

Grace furrowed her brows at the unexpectedly pleasant air, flaring her nostrils to take in the scent.

As if to confirm her words, a light breeze carried a few tender green grass leaves, swirling them around the filthy alley floor.

They didn't look like discarded, wilted leaves.

"Hanna, is this the right alley?"

"Yes, this is the right alley. So now..."

As I asked my question, Han Se-ah's eyes darted around, perhaps her quest window hadn't updated yet.

Or maybe the updated quest had a long description that took time to read.

Regardless, I knew what I had to do.

"I'll go in first."

"What?!"

A sense of excitement that perhaps a gate connecting the tower and city would open surged through me.

My heart raced pleasantly, like the tension before a battle.

Despite being unarmed, I didn't hesitate to step into the alley.

My vision darkened, as it did when entering the tower.

***

***

After a brief flicker, my sight returned to reveal not an alleyway, but a vast plain.

Awoo――Oooooh!

It was a nighttime plain, teeming with packs of wolves.

"Damn, this isn't a quest designed for beginners?"

I muttered a curse under my breath after confirming Han Se-ah and Grace weren't behind me.

With at least thirty Horned Wolves and an enormous alpha wolf in the center, a party of intermediate adventurers could be wiped out.

Isn't this supposed to be a beginner's first quest?

I stopped for a moment, unable to comprehend the difficulty.

Why? Because it reminded me of the forced defeat events common in RPG games.

With such a difficulty, other gamers would surely face a game over, losing all their beloved party members.

As if to prove my suspicion, the enormous Horned Wolf didn't attack, but merely stood still.

While the other wolves had dirty gray fur, this one boasted a silver coat that seemed to hold the moonlight.

Its design was undeniably impressive.

'Should I kill it?'

The nighttime plain, with the full moon hanging in the sky, was different from the ever-bright daytime plain.

Engaging in a staring contest with the alpha wolf under the moonlight, I heard a faint whisper from behind.

"What is this...?"

It seemed Grace had followed me into the alley after I disappeared.

She seems confused, Horned Wolves after all, don't roam in packs.

If the first boss monster for beginners roams in packs, that would be ridiculous.

The sound of rustling footsteps increased by one: Han Se-ah had entered after them as well.

I glanced back to see her holding her staff high and maintaining her shield spell as she entered.

Like Grace, she seemed surprised by the sight of the pack of wolves, her mouth agape.

Of course, her instincts as a streamer didn't fade, and the camera drone flew over my head to focus on the horned wolf leader.

"This space, it's clearly strange. Can you go back outside and report this to the Adventurer's Guild and the Magic Tower?"

"But..."

She hesitated as if troubled by something.

On second thought, missing out on a main event like this would be a disaster for a streamer.

I quickly changed my request.

"Or, keep your shield up and analyze the surroundings. If you were able to find this place, you should be able to figure something out, right? It's better than waiting for those lazy guys from the Magic Tower."

"Yes! I'll do that!"

With Han Se-ah nodding energetically and Grace clinging to her side looking somewhat anxious, the plain fell silent except for the rustling sound of grass swaying in the wind, as the howling of the wolves ceased.

The mere low-level boss monster glared at me with the moon at its back.

The plan was to charge in, smash the leader's skull, and then protect the others while fighting the rest.

Drawing up all my magic power, I step onto the grassy plains, shattering the ground underfoot, while it arrogantly looks down on me.

At that moment.

Wooo, wooooooo―

The leader of the horned wolves looked up at the moon and howled long and loud.

Regardless, I stomp on the ground, cut through the wind, and stretch out my fist. An inconceivable force that could kill not only the horned wolf but also the forest's orc hunter in a single blow extends out—

"W-what the—?!"

"Oh, we're back."

With a crash, I destroyed an innocent wall and toppled the back wall of a small workshop behind it.

An alchemist, who suddenly lost the walls of his workshop, is startled and squawks, but soon quiets down upon seeing the debris tumbling on the floor.

Damn, was it just a cutscene boss?

"Why did you break the wall of someone else's house... What's this?"

I clenched and unclenched my fist, feeling unsatisfied, when the noisy alchemist came out to the alley and found something.

"Is this strange marking the reason for all the commotion?"

He pointed to the strange symbol etched into the alley ground, as if branded by fire.

The symbol bore an uncanny resemblance to the markings that appeared when entering the tower.

***

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