023 – Meeting an Old Acquaintance Again # 1

━Keong-keong…!

━Jeuji…!

Living with pets came with one thing that was both a blessing and a curse.

It made sleeping in nearly impossible.

I snapped awake at the ruckus they were making. My eyes still half-glued shut with sleep, I squinted at the clock hanging on the wall. Six in the morning. These days my wake-up time was fixed at six a.m. sharp.

If I didn't get up at this hour, Keong-keong-i and Ang-ang-i would go tearing around the house like lunatics, and I'd never get back to sleep anyway.

"Me, an early-rising, upstanding man of routine? Yeah, right."

It was the start of the year, and winter still hadn't loosened its grip.

The pre-dawn hours, before the sun had even thought about rising, were bitter cold as always.

Shhk—

The moment I opened the door, Keong-keong-i shot outside like a bolt.

━Keong-keong…!

I stepped out into the early-morning wind myself, wrapped in a light padding jacket over my tracksuit. I figured I'd do a casual loop around the neighborhood.

"Young man, up early again today! Two laps today too?"

"Could you take a look at that hole in the wall over yonder? Have that clever little ant of yours or whatever it is check it out."

They say sleep gets shorter as you get older, don't they?

Mornings in this rural village started earlier than you'd think. As I made my rounds, I got to know the faces of the grandmothers and grandfathers, and I seemed to be settling in pretty well as a regular member of the community.

I asked the elderly folk gathered at the community hall doing their morning stretches, "Did anything unusual happen overnight? Any trouble?"

This was a village where an Anomaly Rift had appeared before.

Where a rift has opened once, there's a chance another will open nearby, so constant vigilance was the order of the day.

At my question, the old-timers exchanged a few words among themselves before answering.

"Those squirrel things that bark like dogs have gotten more numerous. They keep popping up behind my house. I've seen at least five myself!"

"They've been running up and down the persimmon tree in front of my place too, having a grand old time! Tsk, those critters bark so much it gets on my nerves. You think they'd quiet down if I gave 'em peanuts?"

"Still, it's nice having them chase off the bugs. Come spring, I might not even need to spray pesticide."

Today's notable report: the number of Dog-Squirrels in the village was on the rise.

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I had no way of drawing a conclusion just yet.

Before long, the elderly folks stuffed roasted sweet potatoes and bananas from the mart into plastic bags and handed them to me.

"Take these to Oinoi, dear."

"Take this too, and share it with that nymph of yours!"

Oinoi was popular with the grandmothers and grandfathers.

Was it because she looked like a little kid? Maybe it was just my bias, but old people do love watching children play, don't they?

Anyway, thanks to them, my breakfast problem was solved in no time.

"Muhehehe! This Oinoi…! This Oinoi intends to roast these sweet potatoes…! For you see, this Oinoi has learned 'Induction,' the flame-magic spell taught to her by Kore Yerim…!"

Oinoi caused an uproar from the crack of dawn, flicking the induction cooktop on and off as she roasted her sweet potatoes.

Induction was safer than an open gas flame, sure, but hot was hot, and dangerous was dangerous, so I had to give her a gentle warning.

"Don't play with fire."

"This Oinoi understands…!"

Then I checked my phone.

Checking whether anything had come in overnight was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠part of my daily routine. Another of my little pleasures was typing my own name into the search bar to see if anyone out there was talking about me.

These past few days, searching the term "Dog-Squirrel" turned up plenty of juicy hits. Where can I get a Dog-Squirrel? What do they eat? That sort of thing. People had been chatting about Dog-Squirrels for a good two pages' worth of posts already.

Ding—

Something had come in overnight from somewhere after all.

One was a loan spam text. The other was… a message from the Awakener Affairs Agency.

"Oh!"

A C-Rank commission had been assigned to me!

This would be the very first C-Rank commission of my life.

Because from C-Rank rifts onward, only C-Rankers and above were allowed through the gate.

"This is my chance. A chance to leave a deep impression on people!"

If I handled today's job well, C-Rank commissions would come pouring in from now on. I'd rake in money, and there'd even be a shot at promotion by absorbing the mana inside the rift!

An absolutely flawless plan.

And yet, a small worry gnawed at me.

Not about the rift, but about the situation with Seo Yerim and Yu Ari.

"Not a single text from either of them."

Yu Ari, who'd taken a taxi and vanished in a puff of smoke. And Seo Yerim, who'd grilled meat for Oinoi and then driven off into the night without a backward glance.

They showed up whenever they pleased, but not one word from either of them all last night.

"I hope they're getting along."

With that thought, I got ready to head out to the rift.

"Oinoi, guard the house well. If Telos sends people over to inspect the well, let them in nicely. If you get bored, turn on the TV."

"Muhehehe! The master of the house need not worry…! This Oinoi has no time to spare for boredom—she must tend the Marmelo tree…! She shall raise it into a very, very grand tree…!"

So she claimed.

"Excuse me, would you be C-Ranker Ha Ildo, by any chance?"

Plenty of people came and went in front of a station, but spotting awakeners was easy. Their gear—helmets and suits made of special-treated leather—made them look like something straight out of a sci-fi movie about futuristic soldiers.

I fit the bill myself, come to think of it.

Right now I was wearing something like a rider's suit with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠technical heat-dissipation plates layered underneath my coat, and every time I put it on, it cinched around my hips and thighs in a way I couldn't quite get used to.

Anyway.

"Everyone's here already, I see."

The assembly time was one o'clock. I'd hurried as much as I could to arrive ten minutes early, yet somehow I was the last one there.

So everyone else showed up early, huh.

Shhk—

I casually took stock of the others, staying within the bounds of politeness.

Three people besides me.

Two women and one man. Their suits looked worn-in enough that, aside from yours truly, they all seemed like grizzled C-Rank veterans.

So I was the only C-Rank rift rookie here.

The woman hauling a case nearly the size of a human body on her back clapped her hands together.

Clap!

"Let's start with introductions. I'm Jo Jang-hee, team leader. I've got roughly sixty C-Rank rift clear-and-retrievals under my belt, and I work for Marsions, an awakener dispatch firm."

The woman with her hair tied back in a long ponytail introduced herself. Mid-twenties, maybe?

Never heard the name before.

Probably a 5th-generation awakener at least.

Jo Jang-hee.

A name that screams 'group project team leader'— I was entertaining that inane little thought when the woman with the long, yellow-dyed hair spoke up in a bored drawl.

"Lee Jina."

Short introduction.

The team leader asked, "Anything else? A nickname, maybe something like that?" but the woman who'd identified herself as Lee Jina replied with a flat "Nope."

She didn't seem embarrassed—just annoyed at the effort.

It's a well-known fact that awakeners who awakened in their adolescence tend to have wildly eccentric personalities.

Next, the sturdy man with the glasses opened his mouth.

"I'm Seol Myeong-hoon. My weapon of choice is a 67-caliber rifle loaded with hyper-vibration rounds. Across thirty-seven C-Rank rift subjugations, I've primarily handled long-range support—"

The man went on and on, as if he'd been waiting all day for the chance. The delinquent-looking woman barely talked; this guy never stopped.

But that's the fun of rift subjugations—all these colorful characters thrown together in one place.

And now everyone's eyes turned to me.

I felt a strange mix of embarrassment and regret at having to "introduce" myself. If I were somebody famous like Seo Yerim or Yu Ari, everyone would have known exactly who I was without a word.

There was a time when I was that kind of famous person too.

But this much was enough to make me finally, painfully aware of the truth.

That I wasn't particularly famous anymore.

Well, whatever. I'd just have to get famous again, that was all.

"I'm Ha Ildo. I was recently promoted to C-Rank, and this is my first C-Rank rift commission, so I'll keep my head down, follow along quietly, and learn what I can."

At my greeting, the group let out a chorus of "Oho—" and "Heh—."

The strongest reaction came from the team leader, Jo Jang-hee.

"I actually looked you up, Ildo. You really did just make C-Rank. Congratulations."

Seol Myeong-hoon chimed in, adjusting his glasses.

"If I had to point out what to watch for in a C-Rank rift compared to a D-Rank, it's that the environment can change from moment to moment. Plenty of traps, too. Back when I served my alternative military duty in Gangwon Province and cleared C-Rank rifts, there was this one time—"

They were all taking a genuine interest.

In a world full of people who couldn't care less about anyone else's business, a rookie could sometimes be a genuine nuisance, so it was a relief that these were good people.

Well. Most of them, anyway.

"How long are you two planning on doing introductions? Time to move."

Ever since we'd met, the yellow-haired delinquent woman had been scowling like something about the whole situation displeased her.

But she had a point, so we loaded into the van Seol Myeong-hoon drove and headed for the rift.

The rift was up in the mountains of Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province—tucked away in a high, hard-to-reach spot, so hauling our gear up the slope was no joke.

Anyway, we made it.

The soldiers from the military post stationed nearby checked our identities and gave us a crisp salute.

Chop!

Our team leader returned the salute lightly and walked toward the coordinates where the rift had opened. There it hung: a rippling, oval shimmer of red light—a color that looked distinctly ominous.

Seol Myeong-hoon, standing beside me, offered a helpful note.

"C-Rank rift entrances look like that—red."

Yeah, I know that much.

It had just been a very, very long time since I'd seen one in person. Back then, my body couldn't withstand the distortion and rising entropy of a C-Rank rift.

But that was then. Things were different now.

"Alright. It's 1:54 PM. Team leader Jo Jang-hee and three others—entering the Gapyeong C-111 Rift."

Whoosh—

The team leader went first, and the others followed one by one.

I held my breath and pushed my body through the rift.

For an instant, my stomach lurched.

It was always like this—like riding an amusement park attraction.

Once I was past the entrance and had steadied myself, Seol Myeong-hoon spoke up.

"The mana density of a C-Rank rift is roughly 1.2 times that of a D-Rank, so it can be a little hard to breathe at first. Any discomfort breathing or moving around?"

The higher mana density certainly seemed real.

Every breath sent a tingling buzz through my body.

It wasn't bad enough to be a problem, though. After five slow, even breaths, it had settled down considerably. I looked around and took in the scenery: a landscape like a summer valley. Somewhere nearby, water babbled coolly over the rocks—brr, brr, brr.

If Oinoi saw this place, would she gush, "This is a nymph-friendly valley, the likes of which…!"?

"Alright, everyone! Gear down and let's get to work!"

Click, clack, sliiide—

Following the team leader's instruction, everyone began pulling their weapons out of the cases they'd brought.

Jo Jang-hee and the delinquent woman each drew silver-coated, high-tech blades, while Seol Myeong-hoon produced a gun so long and thick you'd think it was designed to put down an elephant.

Sensing my stare, Seol Myeong-hoon explained.

"It's Win Company's large-rift hunting rifle. The rifle itself costs a fortune, but the ammunition costs even more. We use specially manufactured rounds fed with mana—20,000 won a shot."

"Twenty thousand won a shot?"

One bullet the price of an entire fried chicken meal.

Knowing myself, I'd be too stingy to ever pull the trigger.

Clunk—

Just then, the case strapped to my back started wobbling violently from side to side.

"Hold on. I'll get you out in a second."

I undid the latches and opened the case.

Sure enough, a Dog-Squirrel shot straight up my shoulder the moment the lid opened, as if it had been waiting for exactly this.

At the sight, team leader Jo Jang-hee let out a gasp of open admiration.

"Whoa, that's an actual squirrel?! Your registered weapon said 'squirrel,' so I wondered, but still. Wait—is that viral post on the Awakener SNS about the squirrel-barking thing… about you, Ildo?"

So the Dog-Squirrel was more famous than I was.

I nodded. "Probably, yes."

I was just about to elaborate when—

Fwoosh—

BOOM. BOOM—!

Something massive and heavy and seething with raw force came crashing through the brush.

Its true form: a bear-sized lizard—practically a dinosaur, honestly, it had that much presence. Its greenish-brown hide looked incredibly thick, and its hook-curved claws gouged into a tree and shattered it in an instant.

━Sriip, sriip. SBUP—

"That's a Nidhoggr King ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lizard! Do NOT let it bite you—it carries bacteria in its mouth! And nothing below C-Rank destructive power will so much as scratch that hide, so we need full firepower on it immediately!"

Chak-chak—!

Seol Myeong-hoon shouted as he racked a round into his rifle.

Jo Jang-hee and the delinquent woman leveled their blades, the air going taut with tension.

And at that exact moment, Keong-keong-i shot between them like a brown bullet.

━Keong-keong…!

This was the technique he and I had been drilling together these past few days.

The name of the technique was—

"Go, Keong-keong! Squirrel Dive!"

Squirrel Dive.

A technique in which a mana-infused Dog-Squirrel charged in at blistering speed and hurled itself at the enemy.

━Krrrung…!

PA-BOOM—!

Keong-keong-i's Squirrel Dive slammed dead-center into the bear-sized lizard.

━Sriip, sbaar, sbal….

The enormous lizard took the crushing impact, staggered backward a good three meters, flipped belly-up, and rolled its eyes white.

Dead on arrival.

Everyone stood speechless at the sight.

Even me!

The first to find his voice was, naturally, the chattiest one among us.

"Un… unbelievable…. A mid-tier C-Rank monster, a Nidhoggr King Lizard, in a single hit…!?"