When I was very young.

I remember the first time I went down a slide.

The sensation of gliding through the narrow passage, the speed of it, the feeling of falling and gravity all at once. I remember it all.

As I went down the dark passageway, I was able to recall memories from long ago.

Thud.

Of course, there were a few differences.

The final destination of this slide wasn't a soft sand field, but a cold concrete floor.

Even though my body was strengthened by Black Aether, I couldn’t overcome inertia and fell to the floor, hard.

“Ah… damn.”

If it had been my frail body from before awakening, I might’ve already crossed over to the other side.

I slowly raised my throbbing body and checked my surroundings.

A dark, square room without a single light.

On the opposite side of the slide (?) that I had drifted down, there was a large iron door.

If I opened that door, would I be able to go inside?

I walked up to the door and grabbed the round handle that looked like a steering wheel.

Click.

I applied a fair amount of force into it, but it wouldn’t budge.

It seemed like it would be difficult to open unless someone from the other side opened it.

“Hmm……?”

Unlike its smooth appearance, the handle had fine irregularities.

It didn’t seem like it was made that way originally, more like some kind of residue had dried and stuck to the surface?

I soon realized what the residue was.

“Blood……!!”

On the handle of the iron door clung dark red blood, like the wailing of the dead.

I hadn’t expected it to be a welcoming place, but imagining someone turning this handle with blood-soaked hands sent a chill down my spine.

Hey, Kiril.

Why on earth did you send me to a place like this?

Creeeak—

As if answering my question, a faint mechanical whirring sounded above my head.

When I looked up, a small nozzle was aimed right at me.

And soon, black gas gushed out from it.

Chwiiiiiiiiik-

Judging by the color and the smell, it was clearly a toxic gas.

“What the-”

The ground beneath me suddenly gave away.

And now they were releasing poison gas too.

Uninvited guests or not, this kind of welcoming greeting is legendary.

I instinctively raised my sleeve to cover my nose, but quickly realized there was no need.

I was immune to the poison of a poison monster.

If this kind of toxin could harm me, I would’ve died ten times over by now.

“…….”

As expected, there was no unusual reaction in my body.

Far from it, if anything, I felt oddly welcomed.

‘Ha…….’

At first, I wanted to show off how perfectly fine I was, but I soon changed my mind.

“Ugh…...!!”

I clutched my chest and dropped to my knees.

Then, trembling my arms, I buried my face into the ground.

There was no need to fake the expression.

Just recalling the pain I often felt before awakening was enough to contort my face naturally.

After some time passed.

Ssshhh.

The air around me began to clear, and a ‘clank’ sound came from the iron door.

At the same moment, a bright light turned on.

Alright then.

Gotcha.

Creeeaaak—

Squinting, I watched a figure walking toward me.

He was a man with a rather chubby physique.

Perhaps because of the remaining toxins in the room, he was wearing a gas mask.

A worn-out checkered flannel shirt hugged his thick frame, and his curly, unruly hair made him look like a wild beast.

He must be the ‘doctor’ who lived here alone, right?

He truly gave off a different vibe than the typical image of a doctor.

Tap, tap.

He must be a very cautious person.

As if to check if I was really dead, he poked my body with his foot.

“Is he dead?”

Only after a long moment of checking and poking did he remove his gas mask.

A middle-aged face, looking to be in his fifties.

His chubby cheeks closely resembled his stout build.

That man must be Dr. Jin.

He crouched down and examined me from all angles, and I instinctively felt the moment had come.

Even if I was an uninvited guest, releasing such dangerous gas?

Suddenly, I sprang to my feet and roared at the man.

“Roar!!!”

“Eek!!”

Surprise.

Considering I just inhaled poison gas, this reaction was a bit weak, but taking the other guy’s age (?) into account, I decided to keep the prank at this level.

“Ugh….. Ughh!!”

“Uh-oh.”

The problem was that the other party's reaction was even more intense than I had anticipated.

Doctor Jin fell backward, his limbs twisting and struggling on the ground.

His eyes were completely rolled back, showing only the whites, and foam was bubbling at the corners of his mouth.

It was surprising, but I didn’t know it would be such an extreme reaction.

Sensing something was wrong, I approached Dr. Jin in a hurry.

“Mister. It’s a prank. It’s a prank!”

“Aaah!! Help me!! Kiril!! Save me!!”

His eyes, wild with madness, turned toward me, or rather, something behind me.

Only then did I realize that the source of the fear was not me.

What on earth happened between you and Kiril before?

For now, calming him down was the priority.

“Mister! Come to your senses! Kiril told me to come here, so I came here!”

“Eek!! Go away!! Save me!!”

Dr. Jin, caught in a panic, wildly waved both hands.

The hood I was wearing flipped back, even though I didn’t touch it.

“Ah……?!”

Dr. Jin, who had been thrashing his limbs and crying out, suddenly quieted down.

I don’t know what kind of miracle this was all of a sudden, but it was a relief.

If things had gone wrong, one surprise could have ended a person.

If I hadn’t been careful, I could have sent someone to the other side with one surprise.

“Kiril……!! It’s Kiril!!”

Shit.

What the hell is he going on about now?

I was about to ask the man, but Dr. Jin suddenly hugged me tightly and kept crying, so I missed the timing to ask.

"Uheoooong!! I missed you, Kiril!!!"

It didn’t seem to be simply because he was mentally unstable.

Dr. Jin must have seen ‘something’ in my exposed face and concluded that I was Kiril.

Dr. Jin sobbed like a child, regardless of his age.

His shoulders suddenly felt small and fragile.

"……I’m sorry. Mister."

I gently patted Dr. Jin’s shoulder for a long time.

* * *

"……So that’s what happened. Kiril…."

Having stopped crying, Dr. Jin soon regained his composure, and I explained everything that had happened.

After hearing the whole story, Dr. Jin told me something unexpected.

“You said your name is Haesun, right? You look so much like Kiril when she was young.”

“Huh?”

“Kiril looked just like you right after her awakening. Her whole body was covered in red and blotchy spots.”

“……!!”

I had heard quite a few stories from Kiril, but she didn't say anything like this.

“It must not have been easy living with that appearance. You must have gone through a lot.”

Dr. Jin, who returned from his panic, treated me like a warm neighborhood uncle.

Seeing him like that made me feel even more sorry about what had just happened.

“The spots were one thing, but I also had frequent health issues, so I couldn’t attend school regularly.”

“That must have been the case. If you were an ordinary person, you would’ve left this world long before awakening. But it’ll be alright now. Just like with Kiril, those spots will soon disappear.”

Dr. Jin gave my shoulder a gentle pat, then nodded toward the door.

“Let’s go in. That’s the place where I live.”

As he opened the iron door and stepped inside, a view completely different from the previous place unfolded before us.

“Wow……”

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

An alloy gauntlet that looked sturdy just by looking at it.

Various weapons and equipment that made my heart shiver, and electronic devices of unknown identity.

All kinds of fancy devices were hanging on the wall, and the large table was lined with what appeared to be advanced equipment.

It was an environment that looked better than some of the guild research labs I’ve seen on YouTube.

“Rather than a home, you can say it’s a collection of my twisted hobbies.”

Dr. Jin guided me to the sofa with a bitter smile.

“It’s been five years since someone last visited my house. Occasionally, unwelcome guests have tried to come after me, but they lost their lives in that room just now. Oh, and by the way, the floor doesn’t open for civilians. To avoid harming innocent people, the trap device opens after determining whether or not someone is Awakened.”

So the blood on the handle that looked like a steering wheel belonged to ‘uninvited guests’.

“There are people targeting you, Dr. Jin.”

“Yes. I transformed the Black Aether that Kiril had into poison gas. There is no better weapon to deal with uninvited guests.”

Ah.

So that’s why I felt oddly familiar with that poison gas.

There was a reason Kiril didn’t give me any warnings.

From the start, I wasn’t meant to die in that space.

“Just who exactly is targeting you, Dr. Jin?”

“……To explain that, we’d have to go way back to a long time ago. But right now……”

A slight twitch appeared on Dr. Jin’s cheek.

Just bringing up the story seemed to trigger his PTSD.

“No, it’s okay. If it’s too difficult, you don’t have to talk about it now. Please tell me when there’s a better time.”

“Really? Thank you.”

Of course, I was curious.

What had happened between Kiril, my lifesaver, and Dr. Jin?

And what on earth are these ‘Poisoners’?

But there was something more important than that right now.

“My sister has been poisoned by a Poison Monster’s venom. Kiril said that if I meet Dr. Jin, we could get an antidote.”

“Really?”

Dr. Jin grinned broadly.

There was a strange nuance hidden within his smile.

“You can’t make it?”

“No. I can make it right away. I’m the one who came up with the MMPT test, after all.”

“Ah, really?”

“Yes. An antidote is no problem at all. But……”

Maybe he was reminded of Kiril.

Dr. Jin smiled like a mischievous child.

“I think your sister has already been cured.”

“Huh??”

What’s that supposed to mean?

If she was already treated, then why did Kiril tell me to bring back the antidote…?

Wait.

Could it be that…?

“To make me meet you, Dr. Jin?”

“Seems like it. You see, curing the symptoms of poisoning isn’t directly tied to the person’s physical condition. Most likely, when her injuries were healed, the poisoned parts were healed as well.”

“That damn liar, again…….”

“Pwahaha! I haven’t seen her face in ages, but it seems Kiril hasn’t changed one bit.”

Dr. Jin laughed heartily, clapping his hands.

This side of him was probably his true nature.

"Why is that? I don't understand why Kiril went so far as to lie to bring me here."

"Maybe Kiril wanted you to meet me as soon as possible."

"What? Why?"

Dr. Jin asked an unexpected question instead of answering.

“The Hunter Qualification Test. You haven’t taken it yet, right?”

“Uh… no. It’s only been a few days since I awakened.”

“That’s the reason.”

“Yes?”

"From the moment Kiril became an Awakened until now, I'm the one who helped her develop her abilities."

Oh?

Now that was something worth paying attention to.

Dr. Jin’s story didn’t end there.

“Kiril and I have always gotten along well since way back. She’d know exactly what kind of life I’d be living.”

“Your life, you mean……”

“Exactly. I’ve been creating devices perfectly suited for her, in preparation for the day I’d meet Kiril again.”

Devices suited for Kiril.

In other words, devices suited for ‘Poisoners.’

“Oh, then…”

“It would have been better if Kiril had come with you, but I think the reason she sent you here alone is because of these guys.”

Dr. Jin pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

Countless cutting-edge devices hung on the wall.

If I understood Dr. Jin correctly, it meant he intended to hand those devices over to me.

“The poison symptoms should be cured by now, but since your sister must be worried, I won’t keep you here long. Stay here for just two days.”

“...I’ll do that once I’m sure my sister has recovered.”

“I plan to give you two things during this time.”

“Two things?”

“Yes. One is to set up a device that suits you well. And the other is……”

Dr. Jin looked at me with a face that seemed to have become much younger.

“I’ll teach you the training method that Kiril used.”