Running an Errand (2)
Kang Minjeong leaned against the counter, peering down below.
“Gasp!”
She had to swallow hard.
A sky-blue water spirit stood under the counter, its entire body shimmering.
“Hnnngh……!”
Kang Minjeong let out a foolish groan in surprise and instinctively covered her mouth.
Too cute……!
The water spirit, Aqua, held a bottle of cooking oil above her head and shook it as if asking to be handed it over. Being too short to place it on the counter, she seemed to be straining with her heels fully extended, the bottle bobbing up and down.
Without thinking, Kang Minjeong took the cooking oil bottle.
Aqua beamed a bright smile as if saying thanks.
Aqua extended her hand again. In that tiny palm was a card.
With trembling hands, Kang Minjeong took that too.
Upon closer look, a small salamander, Mandu, was perched on Aqua’s shoulder.
Kang Minjeong had to clamp her mouth shut to stifle the groan escaping her lips.
Mandu flicked out its tongue and chirped softly, but Aqua shot it a stern glare.
Mandu’s face fell a bit.
Aqua gently comforted it.
Even amid her shortness of breath, Kang Minjeong channeled her professionalism and barely managed to ring up the cooking oil.
Handing back the oil and card with shaking hands, Aqua tilted her head.
Oh right—Kang Minjeong hurriedly tore off the receipt and handed it over.
Aqua took the receipt neatly too.
Aqua hugged the cooking oil preciously and pushed open the convenience store door again.
“…….”
Kang Minjeong stared blankly at her retreating figure, then belatedly realized she hadn’t taken a single photo and sighed.
Is that the Spirit King those customers were talking about?
Regretting the missed photo op, Kang Minjeong started scouring the internet on her phone.
Oh, a photo collection.
Arriving at a community post, Kang Minjeong smiled as she scrolled through dozens of photos. Her fatigue had vanished before she knew it.
I should save these and share with friends.
Kang Minjeong meticulously examined each one for the best shots. But when she snapped out of it, she’d downloaded every single photo and even made a special ‘Aqua’ folder on her phone.
Where can I find more Aqua pics? Huh, the source is…… Aqua Fan Club?
One more fan club member had just been born.
After stuffing all the mattresses into the guest rooms and waiting briefly in the kitchen with Mom, Aqua returned triumphantly like a victorious general.
I took the cooking oil Aqua clutched so preciously.
“Made it back without getting lost, huh?”
Puffing her cheeks as if to say don’t treat me like a kid, Aqua then flashed a radiant smile.
“Hee hee hee……”
I set the oil on the table and gently scooped up Aqua, stroking her plump cheeks.
Mom stroked the other cheek, smiling.
“Our Aqua did such a great job on her errand.”
Mandu chirped as if to say he’d been part of it too, asserting his presence.
“Mandu worked hard too.”
Mandu’s eyes curved into happy crescents at my praise.
“Brought everything back so thriftily.”
Mom smiled and asked, “You did your errand, so time for errand pay. What do you want to eat?”
Aqua’s eyes sparkled.
Mandu chirped excitedly too.
“Hee hee hee……”
Mom smiled and handed over watermelon slices she’d cut earlier, just the right size for one bite each for Aqua and Mandu. Of course, they were sprinkled with just the right amount of Spirit Realm Pink Salt.
They dove into the watermelon like it was a race, chomping away.
Crunch crunch!
The sound alone made it seem delicious.
“Eat slowly. You’ll get a tummy ache.”
Spirits couldn’t get tummy aches, but it was a worry all spirit users shared.
Aqua and Mandu devoured the watermelon under our gentle petting.
That’s when it happened.
A notification window appeared after a long while.
Salamander's Fattening Season Quest
🎁 Reward: Spirit growth. Spirit user's growth.
⏰ Receive reward?
Mandu’s first quest was complete.
We returned to our room to check the quest.
Mandu’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the completion window.
This quest took a bit—about ten days, right?
I thought that was still fast. It was a growth quest for Mandu, after all.
Aqua giggled and patted Mandu’s forehead.
I lifted Mandu with both hands. He fit perfectly in my palms.
Small compared to full-grown salamanders, but a huge growth from when we first met.
Can’t fit in one hand anymore.
At least three times bigger than before.
Mandu craned his neck to look up at me.
Bigger body, but still adorable. If the first Mandu was a baby, now he felt like a mischievous toddler.
To think this baby lizard will grow into a grumpy Komodo dragon face.
What a massive transformation.
Aqua buzzed with excitement like it was her own.
Mandu stared intently at the window, then tapped the ‘Yes’ button with his short foreleg.
[Spirit grows.]
[New power awakens in the spirit.]
New notifications popped up alongside Mandu’s status window.
The second spirit status after Aqua’s.
Mandu flicked his tongue as if recognizing his own status window. He looked thrilled.
A line glitched into existence at the bottom of the simple status.
“Oh……!”
We all exclaimed in admiration.
For a fire-breathing salamander, was undoubtedly the most crucial.
Mandu looked up at me, eager to test his power right away.
“Shall we go test it?”
Mandu wagged his tail furiously. Three times bigger, but still that stubby tail.
I led Aqua and Mandu up to the rooftop.
As soon as I opened the rooftop door, they dashed off like something fun was there, scampering around.
The rooftop reeked of meat. Guests must’ve had a late BBQ lunch.
Aqua’s urgent voice drew my gaze down—Mantu was trying to snatch a scrap of meat off the floor. A remnant not yet cleaned.
Mandu stubbornly insisted he wanted it.
Mandu looked dejected.
Her resolve softening at his expression, Aqua let out a small sigh.
Aqua manipulated water to clean the meat thoroughly.
Mandu snatched it and gulped it down.
His eyes curved happily at the taste, drawing a smile on Aqua’s lips too.
Aqua hugged Mandu tightly with affection. Like a kid clutching a doll.
Spinning a few times with Mandu in her arms, Aqua said,
Mandu’s body was now thicker than Aqua’s arm—perfect hugging size.
Mandu hopped down from Aqua’s shoulder and climbed onto the rooftop railing, looking at me.
His eyes asked if it was okay to breathe fire.
“Of course. Let it rip.”
Mandu tilted his head to the sky, inhaled deeply, and unleashed flames.
WHOOOOSH—!
A massive blaze at least four meters long shot skyward.
My face prickled with heat from a distance. Unbelievable how that tiny body held so much fire.
Aqua peeked from behind me, safe from the heat, and marveled.
I felt the same.
Compared to the flames during the Niagara fight, this is tremendous growth.
Mandu was a low-grade salamander, but that breath was far beyond low-grade.
Mid-grade salamanders could barely match that firepower.
The power of , the quest reward specialty.
Though only was gained; other powers hadn’t increased.
Thrilled, Mandu panted soon after, tongue lolling from exhaustion.
Flames were top-tier, but stamina and endurance were still baby salamander level.
Even so, impressive.
“Impressive, right?”
I scooped Mandu into my hand and crouched.
Aqua quickly stroked his back.
Mandu chirped happily, grinning brightly. Seemed satisfied himself.
His body was toasty from all the fire.
Then—
Piiiiew—.
Someone shot off fireworks from the beach. Our eyes turned that way.
Bang! Bang!
The fireworks painted the sunset sky beautifully before fading.
Mandu watched in awe, then opened his mouth again.
Phoong~.
A small fireball floated up about 50 cm, trembled, and burst.
Bang—!
Sparks scattered everywhere. A makeshift firework.
Aqua marveled repeatedly.
I was stunned too.
That’s a common salamander attack.
Salamanders favored breaths and fireballs. And Mandu’s matched fireball traits exactly.
No one taught him—how?
Maybe instinct. Or learned from the fireworks.
Either way, amazing.
“Incredible, Mandu.”
I stroked his back.
Drained of his last energy, Mandu went limp, blinked, and fell asleep.
Aqua took him and cradled him like a baby.
Mandu slept belly-up in her arms.
Seeing my spirits cherish each other like this, I couldn’t help but smile.
Then, the second reward arrived.
The second random box.