Shoulder Ride with the Heavenly Demon
I stared at the empty bottle from the Domhwangcha smoothie I'd just finished chugging.
Slurp— the moment it was empty, it vanished like it had never been there in the first place. I had no idea how that was possible, but I loved that it left no trace behind.
And even more importantly, something was left over.
You have consumed Goblin Head Smoothie.
Your Agility has increased.
Agility stat has risen by 0.5.
"Yeah, this is what I was waiting for..."
The system message popped up almost immediately after I drained the smoothie, just like the description promised. Thank god the effect was exactly as advertised.
"Ah... power's overflowing..."
I wanted to test out this tiny but definite growth right away, but there was nothing around worth trying it on.
"Sigh, but running laps would be too exhausting for this body."
This pint-sized frame didn't have the stamina to match its volume, so cardio wasn't my idea of a fun test.
As I pondered what to do, another system message appeared.
Congratulations! You have cleared the quest.
You have acquired 5 points as a reward.
"Ooh! Right, there was this too?"
I'd totally forgotten. That was the whole reason I'd stumbled into this mystery gate in the first place.
"More importantly, what the hell are points anyway?"
Whatever. I'd awakened now, so this was a place I should've checked out sooner or later. Might as well chalk it up to beginner's dues and hunt for where to spend these points.
"Sigh, seems different from free stat points."
I poked around the system windows, checking the status screen and recipe tab, but all I saw were my pathetic stats and weird names. No big hauls.
Then.
"Oh, shop... this it?"
The word shop caught my eye. Just a hunch, but my gut said this was where the points went.
"Alright, let's take a peek~"
I tapped the shop button, and a blue window popped up.
"What?! It's a gacha shop? How's this a point shop?!"
My first meeting with what I thought was a shop was a total disaster.
"Sigh— I'll think about this later..."
For now, I could head home and mull it over. I'd cleared the quest, and I needed to figure out my next move anyway.
"Identity issues aside... gotta register as an awakener... and climb the tower too?"
Still a ton left to do.
"Hmm... but I feel like I'm forgetting something..."
I stood up to head home, but a nagging thought hit me that I'd overlooked the most important thing.
Something told me I couldn't just hang around like this.
Then.
"Hmm~ so this is where you were."
Whoosh—!
Grab—
"Eeeeek?!"
Someone lurking in the bushes snatched the nape of my neck and hoisted me up.
"Wh-who are you? Let go—!"
I thrashed desperately, but the hand gripping me didn't budge an inch. The gap in strength was insane.
"...How does a kid like you even think of entering a gate...?"
"Ugh... wh-who...?"
The hand spun me around, revealing my captor.
Long black hair like obsidian, obsidian eyes with a smoky gray tint, and a black xia-ke outfit on a woman. Meeting her gaze gave me a weird sense of déjà vu, like I'd seen her somewhere before.
"So why'd you come into the gate?"
"Uh, n-no, I got dragged in too..."
I glanced at her warily and answered.
"Hmm... that's odd. Getting caught in a low E-rank dungeon like this."
"Ahaha... yeah, I'm kinda unlucky like that, hehe..."
I averted my eyes from her narrowed gaze.
Instinct screamed not to spill any personal info.
Then.
"Ah—! Cheonhwa-unnie, I told you not to go ahead without me—! Huff—!"
Another female awakener shouted as she burst in, shattering the tense atmosphere.
But that wasn't the point.
Ooh~ so it's Cheonhwa~
...
...Heh, we're screwed.
Cheonhwa. China's top awakener. The Heavenly Demon who dominated the awakener martial world. One of the world's rare S-rank hunters.
In short, she could pop my head off like a bottle cap with a flick of her finger.
Tact... yeah, playing it cool with tact was my best bet right now.
"Oh? You found her already?"
"Yeah, no idea how she made it this deep inside."
"Looks like she luckily dodged the goblin packs."
The two chatted about me like I wasn't there. They seemed off-guard, but the grip on my nape showed no sign of loosening.
Let... go... please...
I scanned for an escape angle, but nothing.
As I played it cautious, the other woman—who'd been peeking at me from behind Cheonhwa—approached.
Whoosh—
"Uwaa..."
In a flash, she yanked off my hood and scrutinized my face.
"Oh my... a kid from overseas?"
"That's a look you hardly see in Korea. She's super pretty..."
First time anyone ever called me pretty. Having lived my whole life as a guy, the word hit weird and awkward.
"Ahem. Where you from?"
"...I'm Korean."
"...Really?"
Her reaction bumped my escape odds. She seemed ditzy enough to fool.
"Well, we got the kid. Time to head out."
"Yeah."
I was eavesdropping quietly, minimizing my presence, when—
Grab.
"Ugh—!"
The hand shifted from nape-hold to slinging me over her shoulder like a cat.
"Hold tight. Might fall off."
"Eh?"
What did that mean? Fall?
As I tilted my head in confusion—
Ta—!
"Waaaah—!"
Cheonhwa leaped with me slung over her shoulder and bolted at insane speed.
Argh—! You psycho! I'm gonna dieee!
My silent screams echoed in my head.
Blood drained from my whole body. A rollercoaster would've been less terrifying.
"We're here."
Ugh... the world's spinning...
Felt like forever. When she finally set me down, everything was upside down.
Never getting tangled with her again...
Now I got it firsthand. What happens when you cross a real monster.
"Ah, Yunha-ssi, you've arrived."
A man in a black suit approached from the gate as the world spun.
"Glad you rescued her safely."
"Yeah, saved her while someone was leisurely sipping coffee."
"Ahaha... that was..."
As they talked, I racked my brain for an exit.
Then I spotted the name tag on the man's suit.
Engwha Guild: Park Jinwook
Engwha...? Thought they were association folks, but it's a guild?
Engwha. One of Korea's big three guilds, always topping the strongest lists.
No clue why they'd team with China's S-rank Cheonhwa, but not my business.
Sigh, getting too deep would be a nightmare...
Obvious trouble. News was full of illegal awakener crimes lately, and gallery sentiment toward rogues was in the gutter.
Plus, no ID, no awakener cert, and a gender swap—zero proof of who I was.
...At least they don't suspect me at all?
Small mercy in this mess. Maybe my innocent middle-schooler look, or maybe Engwha being equipped to handle anything.
From Cheonhwa and Yunha's reactions earlier, no heavy suspicion.
Gulp.
Alright, let's try it... better than sitting duck.
I swallowed my nerves and casually approached Cheonhwa, who was standing apart.
"Um... excuse me..."
"...? What?"
She gave a puzzled look at my sudden approach.
Standing before a world-class powerhouse had me shaking—a lot—but sheer will to escape and get home kept me steady.
I hit her with my most innocent puppy eyes.
"Um, I... my parents are waiting, so I gotta go..."
"...Is that so."
I even pulled off some cutesy act I'd never dreamed of as a guy, gazing up like a drenched puppy.
Something inside me snapped, but priorities.
Say something... anything...!
I poured on the estrogen begging, enduring the humiliation, but Cheonhwa stayed dead silent like a mouse.
God, she had a knack for making people anxious.
Then.
"Fine, won't be an issue. Head home quick."
"Yes!"
My efforts paid off with permission.
Jackpot!
I turned naturally toward home and started walking.
Tempted to bolt in case they grabbed me, but running now might spark suspicion.
About 15 minutes later.
"Phew— far enough they can't see me now?"
Finally free from that damn gate.