I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

In the end, we successfully rescued all three hackers who had been trapped underground.

The moment they stepped outside, messages I’d been expecting started appearing in rapid succession before my eyes.
[Main quest cleared.]
[Objective achieved: Weaken Dongto’s power (3/3 complete)]
[Dongto’s influence has weakened.]
[Dongto’s Exploration Team 1 and Exploration Team 2 have mobilized. Extreme caution is advised.]

[Map skill has been enhanced.]
[Next main quest begins in one week.]
“Extreme caution?”
Along with the welcome news that Dongto’s influence had diminished came a chilling warning: their elite forces, Exploration Teams 1 and 2, were now on the move.

The system had never used the phrase “caution is advised” before.
Just what kind of people are they?
It looked like Dongto’s full-scale operations were finally beginning.

I immediately checked the map skill that had supposedly been enhanced.
Previously, it had only displayed basic terrain and monsters, but now it began showing the names of people and animals closely connected to me.
On the map, hovering over the office location were icons labeled [Bora], [Shun], [Hanbit], and [Sunja].

This was an incredibly useful feature.
Once everything was settled, two of the rescued individuals returned to their homes.
Of course, since there was no way to be sure their homes were truly safe, I recommended they only grab what they absolutely needed and then contact Baekho.

Hackers imprisoned by Dongto.
That was definitely something Baekho would be interested in.
Maybe they’d even be granted protection.

The last one—the woman who said she had a monster fetish—did not return home. Instead, she remained by my side, engrossed in something on her phone.
"...You’re not going home?"
When I asked, she answered absentmindedly, without even lifting her gaze.
"I don’t have one. Nowhere to go back to."

"...Ah, I’m sorry."
The moment I heard that, a pang of guilt hit my chest.
Maybe the reason she hesitated to leave that prison-like place earlier wasn’t because she liked monsters—but because she had nowhere else to go.

Saying she liked seeing monsters might have just been a convenient excuse.
Feeling sorry, I cautiously made a suggestion.
"Then... if you don’t have a place to stay right now, would you maybe want to stay at my place for a while—"

"No thanks."
She cut me off sharply.
"I’ve got money. I’ll stay at that hotel where monsters supposedly appear."

I think I know the one she means.
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
Still... at least she had money.

Dongto really were a bunch of ridiculous bastards.
They’d locked people up underground by tricking them into thinking they were monsters—yet still paid them a regular salary.
I guess if they hadn’t, no one would’ve done the administrative work.

While I stood there stunned, the woman beside me deftly tapped through her phone and seemed to complete a hotel reservation.
She really was fearless.
After booking, she suddenly turned to me and introduced herself.

"I’m Choi Yerim."
Since she gave me her name, I introduced myself too.
"Kim Minjun."

Then, in the corner of my vision, a new icon appeared on the map labeled [Choi Yerim].
So this is how people closely connected to me start showing up on the map.
Right away, Yerim asked about my power.

Her eyes brimmed with barely concealed curiosity.
"By the way, that strength you used earlier to rip the door open—just where does power like that come from?"
"...It’s not an item..."

I couldn’t exactly say it was thanks to Cheat Mode, so it was a hard question to answer.
As I hesitated, she looked at me like she could see right through me and started explaining her own theory—something she’d come to believe after managing various monster gallery sites and forums.
"Whether it’s ability users or item holders, I think they all borrow power from monsters in one way or another."

She presented an idea that was both intriguing and dangerous.
"For example, shamans get their powers through possession, right? The ancestral spirits and war gods they talk about—aren’t those really just high-level monsters we don’t understand?"
"That’s, uh..."

If someone from Jinmyeong Group or a shaman heard this, they’d scream in outrage.
But I couldn’t exactly call it nonsense either.
She continued.

"The reason some items have such blatant harmful side effects is the same. Items are basically vessels that contain monsters. Their malice or quirks manifest as side effects."
"...There are items with no side effects too."
"Right. So I believe there are harmless, even kind monsters out there too."

It was a bold statement.
Exactly what you’d expect from someone with a monster fetish—a monster enthusiast.
And yet... her theory had a strange persuasiveness to it.

"I learned it all from online communities."
Suddenly the persuasiveness plummeted.
"Anyway... I’m sure your power is monster-related too."

My power is connected to monsters, huh.
It was an interesting perspective.
"I only saw you use it briefly, but it looked... just like a monster. That’s a compliment, by the way."

"..."
She said it was a compliment, but I couldn’t help reexamining myself.
Was I really that monster-like?

Now that I think about it, whenever I showed my strength, my teammates always gave me these awkward half-smiles.
Maybe I should be more careful?
Pretending to struggle next time might be a good idea.

Just before parting ways, Yerim and I exchanged phone numbers.
Even as we said goodbye, she kept urging me to help her see a monster as soon as possible.
I gave a strained smile and said I’d try, but honestly, I had no clue how to make that happen. There was no way I could take a civilian along on Baekho’s official missions.

Most of them were urgent rescue operations—it’d be reckless to bring her.
"...Guess there’s no choice."
Once I got home, I turned to Daeho to consider another option.

Appearance-wise, he was just a very normal-looking tiger—but his glowing body and ability to change size made it clear he wasn’t a normal creature.
If I could just get him to show off a bit, that might fulfill my promise to Yerim.
"Daeho. Hmm?"

"Grnnn..."
I approached him as he lounged on the sofa and gently tried to coax him.
He looked a little wary at my sudden friendliness, but when I scratched under his chin, he accepted the gesture with pleasure.

"Daeho, can you flash that light from your body again? Like last time? Just once?"
"...Grnn."
When he responded with indifference, I pulled out my secret weapon.

"Check this out. Your favorite item. If you do it once, I’ll give this to you."
I held up a small compass I’d picked up at the supermarket and waved it in front of his face.
He’d chewed on a few items before, so I figured this one would please him.

Then Daeho made a sound I’d never heard before—“Woof!”—like a dog.
His vocal range was expanding. At this rate, he’d be talking like a human soon.
"I thought you liked items?"

That’s when Leo, who’d been silently observing, quietly approached.
He looked up at me and let out a low “Grnn...” It sounded just like: “If he doesn’t want it, I’ll take it.”
His eyes were fixed on the item.

I snorted.
"You don’t even realize how dangerous items can be—huh?"
Suddenly, Leo leapt and bit the compass right out of my hand.

"Hey! Leo!"
I reached out to snatch it back, and Leo opened his mouth—dropping the compass.
I thought it would just fall to the floor.

"Huh?"
Chomp!
Before it could touch the ground, Leo’s shadow—stretched beneath my feet—sprang up, snapped its jaws around the compass, and swallowed it whole.

Like a living creature.
I couldn’t believe my eyes, but I had definitely seen it.
The shadow opened its mouth and devoured the item.

"...Leo, don’t tell me—"
"Gr-Grnn..."
Leo’s eyes trembled violently.

As if he hadn’t meant to do that.
And his shadow, now that it had swallowed the compass... seemed just a little darker, a little longer.
For the first time, I looked at Leo with serious eyes.

I activated my map skill—something that rarely worked at home—and checked the interior.
On the map, two red dots glowed sharply over our house. The unmistakable red dots that symbolized danger. Monsters.
And above those two points floated two very familiar names.

[Daeho]
[Leo]
Daeho, sure. But Leo—my cat, who I’d always thought was just a stray—was a monster too.
My normal-looking cat had been a monster all along.

"You... you little...!"
Overwhelmed by betrayal, I scooped up Leo, who was still calmly gazing up at me from the floor.
I scolded him, asking why he’d hidden it, why he hadn’t said anything, while gently shaking his tiny body side to side.

His limber form wobbled like jelly.
"Why didn’t you tell me?!"
"Mrrrow..."

Leo let out the most pitiful meow I’d ever heard, his eyes brimming with injustice.
At that sound, I burst out laughing, helpless.
What was I doing? As if he could talk.

Even if he was a monster, he still looked like a cat.
"...Sheesh..."
With a heavy sigh, I set Leo back on the floor.

And then, like a wave crashing through me, all the strange things I’d overlooked about him began coming back to me.
Come to think of it, Leo had never meowed properly since the day he arrived. Not once.
He always growled lowly, even when he was happy.

Exactly like Daeho.
I had just thought he was a quirky cat. But now it all made sense.
The way he ate meat. How he kept growing bigger. The way he understood me too well...

"...Unbelievable."
Maybe it wasn’t wrong to call my house a small-scale monster zone.
I let out a bitter laugh.

Keeping my promise to ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Yerim would be easier than I thought.
"...Grnn."
Leo and Daeho both looked up at me.

Their expressions and gazes were oddly cautious.
Yeah... even if they were monsters, Daeho was Daeho, and Leo was Leo.
"Don’t worry. I’ll raise you both—monster or not."

"Grnn."
Daeho gave a satisfied growl, and Leo made an oddly complicated, conflicted face.