Chapter 65: Bear Doll Button Hunt

For a moment, it felt like a crack appeared right above the Bear Doll’s temple.

The Bear Doll swatted away Ber’s wing, which was trying to smack its belly, using its plush paw.

While Ber and the Bear Doll were tussling, Kim Chan was busy wiping his messy hands and pants with the tissues Lee Doha handed over.

“Since this Bear Doll will play an important role in the next mission, please give it a warm welcome!”

They had clearly said today’s filming was over.

That’s why everyone had relaxed a bit and was enjoying a Late-night Snack.

But now, the Bear Doll, which everyone thought was just a decoration, had suddenly started moving, and to top it off, they were told it would be important for the next mission.

‘They really don’t know when to stop.’

Roy let out a weary sigh and set down the sandwich he’d been holding.

Trying to figure out what the mission could be had killed his appetite.

Even though he’d placed 10th this time, it wasn’t a stable position.

In Roy’s view, those who had been in the top ranks during the last Ranking Ceremony, even if they dropped a bit this time, were still people who could climb back up at any moment.

Roy had managed to get a higher rank than his actual skill thanks to the cuteness of the spirits.

Luckily, his Hunter Level was now among the highest of all the participants, but his singing and dancing skills were still nothing special.

That meant he couldn’t afford to take any of the upcoming missions lightly.

Roy glanced at the Bear Doll, which had now started bickering with Aqua as well, and couldn’t help but let a faint smile tug at his lips.

“If you look closely, you’ll see what the Bear Doll is wearing.”

The production team kept their promise.

After shocking the participants by showing them the Bear Doll moving as if it were alive, they let everyone finish all the PPL Advertisement food, then handed out blankets for their shoulders and sent them back to the Bada Entertainment Dormitory.

The participants, with awkward expressions, waved farewell to the Bear Doll, which was still standing on the table and waving its plush paw at them.

After spending the night at the dormitory, everyone gathered at the front early in the morning, rubbing their sleepy eyes as the Wake-up Song blared.

Today’s MC was Kim Hanbom.

He had returned for the first time in a while, having recently cleared a top-level Dungeon as Roa Guild’s Guildmaster and making headlines across Korea.

At Kim Hanbom’s words, the participants turned to look at the Bear Dolls lined up beside him.

There were seven Bear Dolls in total. Each wore a shirt of a different color—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, like a rainbow—and they greeted everyone by waving their right hands.

“Each Bear Doll has seven buttons on its shirt.”

The Bear Dolls, all neatly dressed in shirt-shaped outfits, tapped their buttons for everyone to see.

Each Bear Doll was small enough to fit snugly in two hands.

Watching the identical Bear Dolls move around playfully was objectively cute.

But to the tense participants, not knowing what kind of mission awaited them, the Bear Dolls’ gestures looked more like the dance of the Grim Reaper.

“With seven Bear Dolls, that makes a total of 49 buttons.”

The participants exchanged uneasy glances.

There were 50 survivors left.

Of all things, there was one button short.

“To challenge the next mission, each of you must obtain one button from a Bear Doll.”

Their expressions grew complicated.

Some thought it sounded easy, while others grew even more nervous, suspecting there might be a hidden catch.

“The way to get them is simple. You can use force if you want. However…”

Kim Hanbom reached out to one Bear Doll at a speed matching a level 50 Hunter.

Whoosh—

“Is that even possible…?”

Everyone expected Kim Hanbom would easily grab the Bear Doll.

But the Bear Doll, surprisingly nimble for its plump body, slipped right out of his grasp.

None of the participants had reached Hunter Level 50 yet.

The thought flashed through their minds: taking a button from a Bear Doll by force would not be easy.

“The Bear Dolls each have their own will.”

Their expressions soured.

Even in a world overflowing with bizarre monsters, no one had ever heard of a brown Bear Doll-shaped monster.

“If you do something the Bear Doll likes, it might just give you a button willingly.”

Kim Hanbom, like a gentleman inviting a lady to dance, bent one knee and elegantly extended his arm to his chest.

The Bear Doll in the bright red shirt plucked off a button, placed it in Kim Hanbom’s palm, then quickly snatched it back and reattached it to its shirt.

‘…Are we supposed to dance with the Bear Dolls or something?’

While the participants struggled to process this, Kim Hanbom straightened up and glanced around.

“There’s no time limit. But one person won’t get a button.”

Everyone could predict what sort of disadvantage that person would face, even without Kim Hanbom explaining further.

The participants exhaled tense breaths and started loosening up their muscles.

Roy did the same, carefully observing how each Bear Doll acted as if it truly had its own personality.

Most of them never stopped moving, as if their feet were on fire.

The only one standing calmly was the Bear Doll in the violet shirt.

“Then, let’s begin the ‘Bear Doll Button Hunt’ mission!”

There was no time to complain about the silly mission name.

As soon as Kim Hanbom finished speaking, the Bear Dolls scattered in all directions.

Roy’s eyes sparkled with surprise.

The Bear Doll in the violet shirt, which had seemed the calmest, was actually the first to dash into the forest.

“Good luck, everyone!”

Kim Chan cheered loudly and ran after the Bear Doll in the yellow shirt.

Everyone else chased after whichever Bear Doll they fancied.

The violet shirt Bear Doll was followed by eight participants, including Roy.

Apparently, Roy wasn’t the only one who thought the violet Bear Doll looked approachable.

“One of us is definitely not getting a button.”

Lee Chulhun, one of the eight, sidled up to Roy and snickered, as if to say Roy would be the unlucky one.

“Por.” (What’s with this arrogant jerk?)

Aqua, sitting on Roy’s shoulder and swishing her tail, shot Lee Chulhun a sidelong glare and cursed in her elegant voice.

Ber, meanwhile, was perched atop Roy’s head, enjoying the view.

“What’s with these spirits? They’re so tiny. Not cool at all.”

Lee Chulhun muttered under his breath, just loud enough that the microphones might not catch it, but Roy, Ber, and Aqua heard him clearly.

“Pihit—.” (Looks like he wants to go bald again.)

Whether he’d bought an expensive wig or somehow regrown his hair, Lee Chulhun now had a full head of hair.

Even the top of his head looked natural, so it seemed like it really had grown back.

“I’ll definitely get my revenge for that humiliation.”

Grinding his teeth like a Three-rate Villain, Lee Chulhun glared at Ber with fierce eyes.

Roy ignored Lee Chulhun and raised his right hand to Kangchul, who was walking beside him.

Kangchul waved back, making sure Lee Chulhun couldn’t see.

If Kim Jaemin had survived in 50th place, Kangchul had barely made it in 49th.

“Pororor.” (He’s the kind of guy I’d like to drag into a dark alley and drown.)

Roy pressed his forehead, listening to Aqua’s chillingly casual threat.

“Huh, huh?”

Just then, the violet shirt Bear Doll was climbing a tall tree, heading all the way to the top.

One of the participants following the Bear Doll let out a startled gasp.

The tree was too slender for a person to climb.

If you wrapped your hand around the trunk, your thumb and middle finger would touch.

“What’s there to hesitate about? If you can’t climb, just cut it down.”

Lee Chulhun, not understanding the hesitation, pulled a sword from his inventory and chopped down the tree at its base.

“It’s falling!”

The Bear Doll, which had climbed to the top, was now plummeting toward the ground.

The participants tensed up, ready to catch it and snatch a button.

With eight participants all vying for the same Bear Doll, everyone was anxious about missing out on a button.

“Ber.”

“Pii.” (Trust me, Contractor.)

Ber shot toward the falling Bear Doll.

Just as he was about to snatch it with his claws, the Bear Doll twisted in midair and grabbed onto a nearby tree.

Ber’s sharp claws sliced through empty air.

“How can a Bear Doll move like that…?”

Roy had already noticed during Kim Hanbom’s demonstration that the Bear Dolls were far more agile than their bodies suggested.

When the Bear Doll tried to climb to the top of the tree again, Lee Chulhun simply cut down all the trees nearby.

“Let’s see if it can climb now.”

Ber and Aqua’s expressions darkened.

Spirits love nature.

They wouldn’t stop someone from cutting down a tree if necessary, but it was clear this situation didn’t require it.

Watching Lee Chulhun hack away at the trees like a fish in water made them dislike him even more.

“Hey, you!”

With no trees left to climb, the Bear Doll started running away.

It seemed to enjoy the chase.

“That’s a swamp up ahead…”

Using its light weight, the Bear Doll bounded across the swamp, then perched on a rock in the middle and waved its right hand at the participants, as if taunting them.

Then, at some point, it picked up a stick—no one saw where it got it from—and began swinging it around.

“Is it practicing swordsmanship now…?”

One participant let out a disbelieving laugh.

Even its movements looked unusually skilled.

“There’s not a person inside that thing, right?”

The Bear Doll was starting to seem more and more human, to the point where that absurd suggestion didn’t sound so crazy.

“What are you all waiting for? You should be thinking about how to get a button!”

Lee Chulhun barked at the others, even though he himself had just tried stepping into the swamp and immediately pulled his foot back.

“Aqua, can you freeze the surface?”

“Por!” (That’s easy!)

At Roy’s request, Aqua walked up to the edge of the swamp and blew a gentle breath.

Like sunlight sparkling on melting ice crystals, her Ice Breath swept across the swamp in a straight line.

“Amazing.”