049 – Nymphpunk 20XX # 1
"Oinoi, I think I found another nymph. No idea whether this one will get along with you girls or not, though."
Once I got home, I told Oinoi about what had happened that day — how there might be a real nymph out there called 'Illinoi,' the very one Oinoi had first uncovered.
Oinoi, who had been crouched in front of the golden apple tree watering it, sprang to her feet and puffed out her chest with tremendous pride.
"It is as this Oinoi foretold…! The moment this Oinoi laid eyes upon the name Illinoi, a deep inner kinship surged forth within her…!"
"That's amazing."
"This Illinoi-whatever, it is clear that the name itself derives from the nymph name Illinoi…! And so, this Oinoi too dreams of one day founding a city called Oinoi…!"
A city named after herself?
That was quite a dream.
Come to think of it, did that make me want to carve out a region called 'Haildo' after my own name, the way Gyeonggi or Chungcheong had been? The Republic of Korea, Haildo Oinoi City — just imagining it made my chest swell in a dozen different ways.
While I was lost in that thought, Oinoi spoke like a politician giving a stump speech.
"Just as this Oinoi saw the name Illinoi and thought of a nymph…! So too will nymphs still rummaging through trash cans in this land see Oinoi's name and come flocking in droves, of that there is no doubt…!"
"That's awesome!"
I decided to cheer her dream on. Naming a city after yourself, huh. Wouldn't that require becoming someone in power first?
"Oinoi, your real dream is to be a politician, isn't it."
A nymph politician. I couldn't picture it from any angle.
Still, it wasn't impossible. These days elves were multiplying, plenty of Koreans were marrying elves, and word was that elves had even taken seats in the National Assembly. In an era where elves could serve as lawmakers, what reason was there that nymphs couldn't?
"Anyway, Oinoi, there's a problem. This Illinoi character seems to be hanging around some bad people. Is that going to be okay? Are there bad nymphs too?"
Humans weren't all good people, after all. There were plenty of villains literally known as villains. The gangs of Macheon City were like that, and so had been Lee Jeonghun, an S-rank awakener. Were there rotten ones among the nymphs as well?
Oinoi sank into deep thought, going "Hmm…." A good five seconds or so passed before she spoke.
"There do exist nymphs of wicked heart…! The sea nymphs in particular delight in singing ships onto the rocks, the wicked creatures…!"
I'd assumed from watching Oinoi and Coris that nymphs were all sweetness and light, but apparently bad nymphs really did exist. When I looked up the myths just in case, I found a nymph who used bees to shoot people's eyes out, and another who went mute as punishment for lying.
"Above all, a nymph that harbors resentment and hatred becomes truly fearsome…! The master of this house must take care…!"
"Fearsome?"
Would Oinoi turn terrifying if she held a grudge too? Was she going to sneak up while I slept and crank the faucets wide open, drowning me in a water-bill bomb? Or blast MeTube videos at max volume every time I dozed off?
But Oinoi's warning was dead serious.
"If this Illinoi is a nymph who harbors resentment toward someone, she may wield a dreadful curse…! Dealing with her will most assuredly be very difficult…!"
A curse. To be honest, I'd never believed in curses. Just a superstition, like not writing someone's name in red ink? Or the kind of feeling that drinking seaweed soup on a job interview day would make you 'slip up' and fail?
But a real curse had been crushing my own body, and it was thanks to Oinoi that I'd been freed from it and could rebuild my strength.
"So you're saying nymphs bearing grudges can use something like the curse I went through?"
"That is indeed so…!"
Got it. So the smart move was not to approach Illinoi carelessly?
Except I'd already accepted the job. A ten-million-won retainer, work expenses included. Paid up front. My bank account was fat and happy right now, and they'd promised another ten million if the job succeeded. Twenty million won — a chance to earn that kind of money for nothing more than a photograph. And if technology as dangerous as Bifrost fell into gang hands and got abused, who knew what kind of horrific tragedy might unfold? The sooner I wrapped this up, the better.
Which meant, first things first — wasn't it time I properly trained my gaming spider, Kwang-kwangi?
"Kwang-kwangi, you around?"
Swish.
I examined the woodpile that the gaming spider Kwang-kwangi had made into her home. She wasn't inside — she'd gone off somewhere. She was probably close by, though.
"Kwang-kwanga, where are you~?"
I wandered the fields looking for her. Weren't we supposed to be getting along? A while back, Kwang-kwangi had come to my room and lifted her front legs one after the other, left and right. I'd done a bunch of research on spiders afterward, and apparently that was a spider 'greeting.' Something like, I'm a harmless spider, let's get along from now on.
"Should I give it a try?"
I sat down on the little dirt path Kwang-kwangi was likely to come and go along, and gathered my breath. Warm spring weather, dusk deepening into evening.
"Mana Deployment."
Ssssss—
As mana poured out of my body, a radius of about twenty meters around me became my domain. From my recent days of training my mana, one thing I'd noticed was that animals liked this territory I created. Keongkeongi did, Ang-angi did, even the sparrows flitting about did. Maybe my mana carried some kind of wavelength that drew animals in?
"Kwang-kwanga, come here."
I released my mana charged with that wish. My body had picked up a real feel for projecting mana during the fight against the Troll King Kurish. Experience in the field and in real combat really was the best teacher, I thought — and just as I was deep in concentration—
Rustle.
The underbrush quivered, and a colorful little spider emerged.
The gaming spider, able to set her body's RGB values however she pleased.
━Kwang-kwang…!
"Oh!"
At her eerie cry, I rose to my feet, and before Kwang-kwangi could bolt, I raised my left arm and right arm in turn, swaying my hips.
Wiggle, wiggle.
This was the spiders' greeting — a signal that I, too, was a harmless presence.
━Hio-ong…!
And then something remarkable happened. Kwang-kwangi copied my exact movements, lifting her left and right front legs in alternation — well, to be precise, her left and right front legs!
"Are you copying me? Did you just say hi back?"
I genuinely felt like we were communing. A strange sensation washed over me, along with a swell of pride.
"From now on, we're friends, okay?"
Just as I thought that and took a step forward—
Rustle.
Kwang-kwangi took a step toward me as well. Perfectly symmetrical behavior. The timing was uncanny — as if she'd read my mind!
On a hunch, I raised my right arm.
Swish.
The gaming spider raised her right front leg. My jaw dropped.
"Is this actually happening?"
I lifted and lowered my hands, left and right, cycling through all kinds of motions — and every single time, Kwang-kwangi mirrored me perfectly. It was fascinating. Astonishing, even.
"It's like I'm controlling you, isn't it?"
No, 'controlling' was the wrong word. It felt like our minds had connected and become one. Yes — it felt exactly like a link. Like I was piloting a remote avatar of myself.
"So I had this talent in me all along. Is it because my mana is a manipulation type? Could I link with any animal, maybe?"
Swish.
I looked at a sparrow hopping around inside my twenty-meter mana domain. I focused my consciousness on it and lifted my left leg, but the sparrow stayed still.
━Chirp! Chirp!
It must have sensed me, because it fluttered off and flew away. Apparently I couldn't link with just any animal.
"So what's the criteria?"
Could I link with Keongkeongi or Ang-angi too? As these thoughts tumbled around, I felt like I'd been thrown back to my childhood, exploring what I might be capable of.
━Kwang-kwang…!
Kwang-kwangi climbed onto my shoulder, and I headed home with her.
"Keongkeonga! Ang-anga! You there?"
I called for my friends. Keongkeongi, sprawled on the cushion, sat up and tried to slide right up my knee — then apparently caught sight of Kwang-kwangi perched on my shoulder.
━Keureung…!
━Keureung…!
The two of them locked eyes and let out fearsome growls of warning. Two territorial animals. Maybe they simply couldn't tolerate each other.
"Keongkeonga, behave."
I spread my mana toward Keongkeongi and focused my attention on him, but it felt like something bounced my mana right back off, and a moment later Keongkeongi darted out the window with a pff and vanished.
━Keong-keong…!
So that one's a no-go for Keongkeongi. Ang-angi was no different.
━Zzji…!
Ang-angi shook his head hard from side to side, in a way that seemed to say, Do not presume to control me, an Emperor, you mere human.
Ang-angi was a more independent, self-determined honey ant than I'd expected.
"So whether a link works or not comes down to each individual's temperament? Watching the sparrows, it seems affection or closeness plays a part too."
Anyway. Even just being able to control Kwang-kwangi was a huge deal. I fetched the rift-grade bodycam I'd bought a while back and strapped it snugly onto her body. The camera riding on her back seemed like it might be a little awkward, but Kwang-kwangi seemed to like it.
━Hio-ong…!
Is that the sound she makes when she's happy? If Lee Jina were here, I could've asked her.
I deployed my mana again and linked my mind — or my spirit, I suppose you'd call it — with Kwang-kwangi's. Then I had her climb up onto the desk and dangle upside down from the ceiling.
"Harder than I thought."
The sensation of moving eight legs was extremely unfamiliar, and I could only hold the link for about ten seconds. Any longer than that and my focus would fray, sending Kwang-kwangi scrambling around in ways I never intended.
"At my current C-rank mana capacity, I can hold a domain for about ten minutes at full condition. And within that, I get ten seconds of link time. Should be enough, right?"
Somehow, mercifully, everything had worked out roughly as planned. First thing after sunrise tomorrow, I'd take Kwang-kwangi to the office of the gang called Fairytail.
Just then, Oinoi spoke up.
"This Oinoi requests to be taken along to that Fairytail place as well…! For this Oinoi believes that the matter might be resolved through simple conversation between nymph sisters…!"
She was the one who'd warned me about bad nymphs, but apparently the thought of meeting a new nymph had her excited all the same.