‘Did that call me?’

I approached with a sense of wonder.I didn't think there were any other living creatures on this land besides me.Even if there were animal habitats, they should be quite far away.This is because, even though it stopped its activity, the dungeon’s surroundings had a unique mana wave flowing out.It affected the atmosphere and the ground.Although there was a small possibility, there were cases where monsters that survived the dungeon appeared.It’s obvious which side would be sacrificed when a normal animal and a monster fight.Animals were instinctively better at catching this than humans.

That’s why, even though it was abandoned, it was difficult for people to live near the dungeon, and development permits were not easily granted.

‘Thanks to that, I bought it cheaply.’

Of course, thanks to that, I could easily get this vast land.Ordinary people would say, "Why buy this desolate land that can’t even be developed?" but I had my thoughts.I could earn my money from investing in this land.Well, if you asked me why, I couldn’t say anything but “intuition” like when I went for a walk today.

“Oh my god! Look at this!”

Kim So-mi, who had run to the source of the sound before me, shouted.

“What is it?”

I also flinched when I saw a small creature struggling in the bushes.It was something that looked like a puppy and a wolf, but its front paw was covered in blood.It didn’t even think about resisting despite the appearance of two strange humans. It looked up at us with wet eyes, as if a human was crying.

“What should we do? It’s so cute~”

Kim So-mi’s expression was full of pity.

“Wait a minute.”

I stopped her when I saw her reaching out to hug the little animal.

“Why? It looks like it will be in a lot of pain if we don’t treat it quickly.”“Kiing~~”

[Wolf-type Awakened Beast]: D-rank. It’s a wild animal, but it’s not impossible to tame.

― Awakened Beasts can be grown by giving them experience points.― Awakened Beasts who grow by gaining your experience points are given a tutoring effect.― In other words, they are more likely to have high loyalty to you.

“Awakened Beast······?”“What’s that?”“Can animals awaken?”“What are you talking about? Awakening is something only humans do. Occasionally some monsters can be tamed, but how can that be considered a pet? Ah! I heard that they’re conducting various experiments on the combination of monster and animal genes. When I heard that, I thought humans were evil, but if it’s a cute creature like this, my thoughts might change too.”“Hmm······.”

So, it seemed that it was right to assume that animals don’t awaken like humans in general.I was witnessing something that shouldn’t be happening, just like the phenomenon I saw inside the dungeon.

“I’ll do it.”“Ah, yes······.”

Kim So-mi stepped back.Her expression was full of pity for the Awakened Beast.

“What happened to you?”

The creature’s belly was thin as if it had starved for days.Seeing the little creature like this made me feel sorry.Even if I lost my faith in humans, I didn’t feel that way about animals.They might even be better than humans.

The system said that growing Awakened Beasts was similar to the tutoring system.I didn’t have plans to make anyone my tutoring target for the time being, but I thought I should make an exception today.

“Kiing~ Kiing~”

The creature flinched when I reached out and stroked its head.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to eat you.”“Eat it? What are you talking about?”“You’re too empathetic. You don’t blink when you kill people.”“What are you saying? It’s cute!”

I ignored Kim So-mi, who was unashamed to speak words that were not only illogical but also went against social norms, and continued to examine the Awakened Beast.

“Where did you get hurt?”

I wondered if there was such an environment in the area that could make only the front paw of this animal, which looked like a cross between a wolf and a puppy, bloody.

‘A trap?’

As I examined the Awakened Beast’s injury, I noticed marks that looked like it had been caught in a trap.

‘Does this mean a human came in?’

It might have been caught in a trap that someone set up in the past, but this little creature seemed to be only a few months old.Besides, who would set up a trap and hunt in the area around the dungeon?

‘Ah, it’s not impossible.’

Hunters look for monsters around dungeons that were abandoned not long ago.They are mostly low-ranking hunters, but I heard that ordinary people sometimes get involved.Monsters that have flowed out of abandoned dungeons are usually weak, and even if they hunt such monsters, they still get crystals.Since they can’t go into the dungeon anyway, some people get income like that.

‘Anyway.’

It wasn’t time to think too much about this now.

I thought about how to treat this creature’s front paw.If it’s an Awakened Beast, it means it has self-healing abilities like human hunters, but if those abilities were strong, it wouldn’t be struggling here.

First, I pulled out a potion from my inventory.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

Kim So-mi was confused when she saw me opening the potion cap.

“This creature isn’t ordinary. It’s an Awakened Beast that has awakened like human hunters.”“What? So that’s why you said that before?”“Let’s see if the potion works.”

I poured the potion on the Awakened Beast’s front paw.

“Kiing~ Kiing~”“Oh, honey~ Just hold on a little. Daddy will treat you.”

Who’s Daddy?Ignoring Kim So-mi, I poured the remaining potion into the Awakened Beast’s mouth, grabbing its jaw.The creature, thirsty as it was, didn’t resist and swallowed the potion.

“Hmm······.”

I’ve done all I needed to do.I had to see the progress.

“Shouldn’t we take it inside and check it out?”“I told you. This creature is different from ordinary animals.”

The moment I said that the creature’s whimpering stopped.Sensing something strange, the creature cautiously stood up, then carefully tapped the ground with its injured front paw.

“Wal!”

Having confirmed that it wasn’t hurting, it kicked the ground more boldly.

“Wal! Wal!”

The energized creature started spinning in the same place.

“Oh my god! It’s healed! Good for you, honey~!”

The little Awakened Beast made a happy gesture and came towards me.I was wondering what it was doing, but it licked my palm.

“Ah, okay, okay!”

I shook the potion bottle in my palm.I let the creature lick all the remaining potion.It was smart enough to know that the potion healed it.

I thought it was only interested in the potion, but it rubbed its face against my thigh, between my legs.It was cute because it was small, but I didn’t expect this behaviour from a creature that was close to a wolf species.

“Wal! Wal!”

It stuck out its tongue, panting, and looked at me with bright eyes.

‘This is something.’

“Oh, my? It seems to be like Hyun-ho. It knows that Hyun-ho treated it! It’s so clever~!”

Kim So-mi squatted and happily watched the Awakened Beast’s actions.

― The D-rank Awakened Beast is requesting your selection.

‘Selection?’

Is it asking to be my tutoring target?Or maybe, because it’s not a human hunter, there might be another way.

‘Ah!’

I saw a message saying that I could grow Awakened Beasts with experience points.I had some experience points left, so I decided to try it.

I placed my hand on the Awakened Beast’s little head.When I activated mana, the light that spread through my hand made the creature’s entire body flash brightly.

“Wal! Wal!”

The Awakened Beast’s size instantly increased.It wasn’t fully grown, but it was three times bigger than before.

― The Awakened Beast has become C-rank.

It didn’t take much experience to grow from D-rank to C-rank.I decided to grow it to A-rank while I was at it.

A brighter light burst out, and the creature’s body grew even larger.

“Oh my god!”

Kim So-mi, who was watching from behind, was surprised.

“What did you just do?”“Woof! Woof!”

― The Awakened Beast has become A-rank.― This Awakened Beast’s special ability is ‘Command’.― It can command a subspecies pack.― It has excellent physical abilities, attack power, and defence abilities.

‘I see.’

Humans and animals are different.Human hunters were classified as dealers, tankers, and healers depending on their awakened abilities.It’s impossible to list all of the detailed classes.What about animals? Well, it felt like these creatures simply developed their inherent constitutions.Well, I only grew one, so I can’t say it’s enough data.

‘Command… ’

I stood up and looked into the distance.To ‘command’, I needed other Awakened Beasts.Even better, the same or similar species as it.But I only encountered this one creature.

As if reading my mind, the Awakened Beast stood up abruptly and looked towards the distance.

“Aauuuwoo~~~!”

The creature let out a long howl.I was wondering what it was trying to do, but, surprisingly, I heard responses from everywhere.

“Aauuuwoo~~~”“Aauuuung~~”

“Oh my god!”

Kim So-mi grabbed my arm in surprise.

“It seems there are more of them.”“This is something. Something’s wrong with this land, isn’t it?”

Something’s wrong…I didn’t think so.Rather, the opposite might be true.If mana berry trees grew in an abandoned dungeon, and Awakened Beasts that ordinary people didn’t even know existed were found, then this land could be said to have immense potential.

‘So, did this place call me?’

I had a completely unfounded thought that this place had called me, not me choosing this place from the map.If this place has tremendous potential, the person managing this place shouldn’t be an ordinary hunter.

‘At least someone with my abilities would be necessary.’

I don’t know what kind of mechanism is being activated, or what’s going to happen, but it all intrigued me.

“Kiiiing······.”

The Awakened Beast, who had given a wonderful howl, suddenly slumped down and made a weak sound.Kim So-mi smiled and said,

“It must be hungry. Let’s take it and feed it something.”“But what should I feed it?”“Well, this creature seems like it would like meat. There’s not much left in the fridge. How about we order something?”“Alright.”

I turned towards the house and walked.The Awakened Beast quickly followed, trailing behind me.

“What should we name it?”“I don’t know?”“How about Semo?”“Semo?”“It has oddly shaped triangular ears. Like a Fennec fox.”“Hmm······.”

I looked down at the Awakened Beast.The creature had grown quickly after eating the experience points, and its standing height reached my waist.

“Woof!”

It met my gaze and wagged its tail, making a smiling expression.

‘My first pet ever is an Awakened Beast.’

“It’s good.”“Right? Hehehe!”