Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

[Back-to-the-Wall Wailing Pill (B+)

: An explosive made with special ingredients. It contains a massive river current.

※ The balance is distorted. It will explode if subjected to a certain level of impact.]

After confirming the last line, I hastily relaxed my grip. I nearly drowned without even knowing why.

‘I should stick a “Handle with Care” label on this.’

That fleeting thought passed quickly. Still reeling from the unexpected turn of events, I bit my lip absently.

It was exactly like what happened with Amanoiwato. A skill popping up without even being activated. There must be some pattern I wasn’t aware of.

‘There are some commonalities.’

While the specifics differed, in both cases, modifying the item’s circuit triggered a skill activation.

And one more thing: only the innate effect appeared. In a way, this was natural since no other materials were added. But it didn’t sit right with me to just let it slide.

‘Innate means born with, right? If this represents the item’s inherent characteristics…’

Coincidentally, all the circuit modifications I’d made on this floor focused on bringing out the item’s essence. Although I hadn’t relied on skills to manifest abilities, did appropriate names still follow?

The more I speculated, the deeper my confusion grew. No matter how I looked at it, all of this directly contradicted everything I thought I knew.

“H-Hunter Yun Gaho, watch out!”

“Ugh!”

I turned my head at Lee Kang-to’s call, but couldn’t completely dodge the object flying towards me. Feeling a sharp sting, I rubbed my cheek, and blood smeared on the back of my hand.

Judging by the sound of something hitting the floor, it seemed a fragment from furniture broken during the battle had flown at me. To think I couldn’t dodge something like that. I must have been too absorbed in my thoughts.

“Hypotheses can wait until we’re somewhere safe.”

After roughly wiping the blood on my hand onto my clothes, I took out the Thorn Pill, the second one to modify. For now, I needed to focus on the immediate task at hand.

Perhaps because I applied the same variation method, a similar message appeared as I was finishing up. With no choice in the matter, there was only one thing I could say.

“Apply the innate effect ‘Back-to-the-Wall’ to the Thorn Pill…”

“Mr. Ki-im!”

“…do it.”

[Enchantment successful!

– ‘Back-to-the-Wall Thorn Pill (A)’]

Although my words were cut off midway, fortunately, it didn’t affect the enchantment. Behind the translucent system window, I could see the goblin rolling through the mist towards me.

“Mr. Kim, are you okay? I wanted to come quickly, but I had to finish everything you asked me to do. I was so worried!”

As if expressing his displeasure, the brass bell bounced a couple of times on the floor. Then, as he charged straight for my chest, I barely managed to catch him with my hands.

“You’ve done well. It’s just a small cut on my face, so don’t worry too much.”

“That’s not small at all! You’re bleeding so much. Mr. Kim really is like a paper doll!”

“Please forget about the paper doll thing, Sori.”

One overprotective Yun Su-ho was enough. Watching how he acts with Cha Taeyang, this goblin seemed no less fussy. I just hoped that attention wouldn’t turn to me.

“How did you handle the incense burners?”

“Of course I knocked them all over! I even stomped out the remaining embers, so don’t worry.”

I praised the admirable goblin and placed him on my shoulder.

With Lee Kang-to’s item creating a thick mist and some lingering effects still present, Arajin didn’t seem to have noticed this yet. By the time he realizes my machinations, his domain and everything else will have already disappeared.

‘That’ll be the turning point.’

And to avoid holding Lee Kang-to back at that moment, I needed to act diligently now. I steeled myself as I took out the Flame Pill, which at a glance looked like a large pomegranate seed.

“Stay calm, Yun Gaho. Just do what you did before.”

However, much to my chagrin, Arajin wasn’t so easily dealt with.

“Tsk, I wondered what all the fuss was about.”

A chill ran down my spine as Arajin’s voice came from an uncomfortably close distance. What happened to Lee Kang-to?

“Any clever trick is useless before me.”

Once again, a shiver ran down my spine as his voice came from right beside me. No sooner had I spotted the three eyes approaching through the mist that I was using as a shield than a loud crashing sound rang out.

I reflexively wedged my bow between myself and Arajin, not even knowing what was being swung at me. But Arajin wasn’t one to be deterred by such clumsy defense.

“Damn it!”

An incredibly strong impact, unbelievable from such a slender arm, traveled through my arm and into my entire body. Losing my grip on the bow, I was helplessly thrown back onto a decorative cabinet.

With a thunderous crash, the cabinet shattered, and I found myself crumpled among the wooden debris.

How can someone who looks like a bookish scholar be so brutishly strong? Having landed on my lower back, I couldn’t even cry out. Pain surged through me, but knowing I’d be a goner if I stayed still, I forced myself to grip the ground and stand up.

Even to me, it felt like an excruciatingly slow rise, but Arajin merely watched me intently. Like observing a monkey in a zoo.

Then, out of nowhere, he said:

“The other day, I saw human children playing in the village.”

“What?”

“When I chased away the ones gathered in a circle playing ‘ganggangsullae’, there was a butterfly, you see.”

I looked for an opening as he fell into the cliché of villains becoming talkative at crucial moments, but wasn’t he slowly approaching me? As I unconsciously stepped back, my foot caught on the cabinet debris, and my body tilted backward precariously.

“Oh my.”

He should have just left me be. Arajin approached with smooth steps and wrapped an arm around my waist to catch me. With my back arched, I glared at him, and his fox-like eyes curved into crescents.

“The butterfly I saw then was just as pitiful as you.”

All talk and no action. Taking advantage of his rambling, I kicked at Arajin’s shin, but he dodged it effortlessly. This only made my position more uncomfortable, causing me to furrow my brow.

Adjusting his hold on my struggling form, Arajin suddenly bent down, bringing his face close to mine. His prettily handsome features might have made him a popular idol, but I found nothing pleasant about this situation.

‘His presence is so faint, I didn’t even notice him approaching.’

Despite being close enough that our foreheads could touch, eerily, I couldn’t sense even a breath from him, let alone any presence. It was chilling.

“What are you playing at?”

I made no effort to hide my disgust, but Arajin wasn’t the type to care about such things.

“Even with its right wing completely torn off, it kept fluttering, fluttering, trying to live. Such a futile effort.”

“…So what did you do?”

Arajin raised the corners of his mouth and, instead of answering, placed his hand on my cheek. Guessing what he might do, I gripped his wrist, but it was a meaningless resistance.

“I stepped on it. Crunch, crunch.”

His sharply honed nails scraped down where the bleeding had just begun to stop. Blood trickled down along three lines of nail marks.

Belatedly, I recalled the butterfly pattern etched on my cheek.

“What a twisted hobby.”

“Is it any worse than playing at being a grim reaper?”

Arajin rubbed my eye area with his blood-soaked fingers. While all of his actions were unpleasant, his tone completely upended my composure.

What’s the point of smiling with just your eyes? Even as he toyed with me, I could sense neither emotion nor passion in his voice.

“I wonder how you’ll flutter?”

As if about to draw blood, Arajin turned his finger sideways and pressed the side of his nail against my eyelid. My eye area trembled, but it was merely a physiological response. Did he think such threats would make anyone flinch?

“Go ahead and try to step on me. If you can, that is.”

“How long can you keep talking like th—ugh!”

A tail, shooting out like a bullet, constricted Arajin’s neck like a noose. Immediately after, red petals showered down on Arajin, forcing him to release me and dodge.

Lee Kang-to, who had landed on the floor after a somersault, pointed and shouted:

“Th-that’s not beautiful at all!”

“For once, I agree with Hunter Lee Kang-to’s aesthetics.”

“Hup! Then, my equipment…”

“That’s a separate issue.”

You can’t give this guy an inch. After I drew a firm line, Lee Kang-to deflated like a punctured balloon. Even so, he didn’t loosen the tail gripping Arajin, so I couldn’t really blame him.

‘Besides, he fought without showing any signs of strain until he ended up in that state.’

Lee Kang-to was in tatters from facing Arajin, who outranked him. The disappearance of the tricolor sash he had cherished as his tail was enough to show how hard he had struggled.

Wait a minute. If I can see Lee Kang-to’s condition this clearly…

“Huh? But somehow, you seem a bit weaker now?”

Lee Kang-to’s words drove the point home. The time has come.

Arajin, who had been dragged quite far from me by now, let out a dry laugh.

“Hah, when did you…”

Arajin muttered, summoning a dark energy. Then, as he stomped his foot, the energy swirled, gathering what little mist remained in the center.

Only then did he seem to notice the overturned incense burners, as interest and killing intent frosted over in his eyes. Conversely, a smile played on my face. Even Lee Kang-to, who usually detested goblins, smirked at the cute handiwork.

“Wh-what were you plotting?”

“That wasn’t my instruction. Sori, did you even have time for that?”

“Ahem, that’s right. How is it? Impressive, isn’t it?”

The tiger face drawn with black ink on the surface of the incense burners was utterly amateurish. Although an attempt was made at patterns, it looked more like a cat than a tiger. No, perhaps I should commend him for managing to draw that much in the mist?

“You noticed quite well.”

“My eyes are a bit special too, though not as much as yours.”

As I tapped near my eyes while speaking, Arajin narrowed his eyes. He seemed to be gauging whether my statement simply referred to his odd eyes, or if I was pointing out his third eye.

Watching his expression, I inwardly clapped my hands. Yes, keep pondering. And waver. If he shows even the slightest hesitation, we won’t miss that opening.

“This is troublesome. The tables have turned.”

“Do you really think so?”

Irritated by my words, Arajin twisted the tail he was gripping, causing Lee Kang-to to release him in panic. Fortunately, I immediately blocked Arajin, but it was undoubtedly a hair-trigger situation.

“You called me a butterfly, didn’t you?”

Without even glancing in his direction, I picked up my bow, Wonhwasobok, which had fallen to the floor, and continued my speech.

“In this world, there are flutters that can become storms.”