Narrow Alley #007
Narrow Alley #007. We’d tried to run, but in the end they dragged us in. The dim passage reeked of old gunpowder and lingering magic. Five middle-school punks, already half-rotted and mean as hell, had us surrounded. One of them smirked and crouched down.
“Hey. How much you got?”
“Hah, not a single won…” I lied, hunching my shoulders and playing broke. No way I was handing my hard-earned cash to these losers.
“Huh? Really nothing?”
“N-no, sir…”
“What happens if even one coin shows up?” He cracked his knuckles. The sound promised violence. Beating up elementary kids? If they had the brains to worry about that, they wouldn’t be shaking us down in the first place. At this rate, the only way out was a full-blown fight.
“……”
“Hah, look at this. Want a taste?”
Despite the age gap, our heights weren’t that different. The punks were short for their age while we were tall for ours, so physically we weren’t at an obvious disadvantage. The real problem was everything else—magic, techniques, all the things I’d never properly learned.
If only I’d studied real magic…
Fighting skills? Middle-schoolers probably weren’t that great either. After three years of trading blows with Cheon Mari, I might actually be better. The real threat was magic. Offensive magic.
Most people in this country were Awakeners who possessed mana. That was why I had even a little myself. Naturally, magic was part of the regular curriculum. Small-scale wind magic. Cooling magic. Tiny ice pellets. God-tier ice-cream-making magic. All safe, practical stuff. And that was it. Students following the normal track never got the chance to learn anything stronger. Only the hunter aspirants—those aiming to hunt and fight—were taught the dangerous spells: icicles that could impale, pillars of ice that could crush, magic that could freeze a person solid.
These middle-school thugs were hunter-track students. Even the weakest among them could seriously injure someone. That put ordinary kids like me at a massive disadvantage. The more I thought about it, the worse the anxiety grew. I edged backward until my back hit the wall.
“You. Platinum-blonde runt. You got money?”
“Yeah. Plenty.” Cheon Mari pulled out her wallet and casually tossed several hundred-thousand-won bills onto the ground like she was tossing scraps to beggars. Then she showed them the now-empty wallet. “Satisfied?”
“Uh… y-yeah. You can go.”
Even these thugs could tell the amount was ridiculous. Or maybe they decided messing with someone who carried that kind of cash was asking for trouble. They scooped up every bill and immediately stepped aside.
“Then……”
“Not you. You didn’t hand it over when we asked nicely.”
Kyaaaaak! Take me with you, you evil girl! At least record an apology! But Cheon Mari walked away without a single glance back, the very picture of a regressor who had long since normalized abandoning people.
“See? Should’ve given it up when we asked nicely. Then the big brothers here wouldn’t be so pissed.”
“Right, right.”
“We’ll give you one chance to take just a couple hits. Hand over everything you’ve got.”
Take a light beating or take a heavy one. Such reasonable options. I pretended to be terrified while sizing up my first target—trembling shoulders, head bowed, eyes glistening, hands shaking as I reached for my wallet. I looked like I was about to burst into sobs.
“Ugh, just give it here already.” One of them snatched the wallet. Of course, it contained nothing but air.
“Hey, is this really all you have? You a beggar or something? Your parents don’t give you money?”
“I don’t have parents……”
“……”
A sudden, heavy silence fell. The four thugs stared at the one who had spoken, their eyes silently asking, You piece of trash, how could you do this to an orphan? Never mind that they had all been participating.
“Hey… we already got money from the girl. Why don’t we just let this one go?”
“Yeah. The kid said their parents are gone.”
“Honestly, messing with an orphan feels kinda……”
“No wonder they looked so scruffy, like someone had been yanking their hair out.”
“Why are you all ganging up on me?! You’re the ones who wanted to rob them in the first place!”
The excuses were in full swing. It almost felt like they were about to let me go.
“Tch. Damn beggar brat.” They tossed the wallet back onto the ground. Couldn’t even hand it back nicely? I kept my head down so they wouldn’t see my scowl.
“Still, like I said earlier, you’re gonna eat two or three hits before you leave, right?”
Wait, you’re not letting me go? The promise of violence froze me in place. I made helpless whimpering sounds, acting like resistance was pointless. The thug stepped forward with clear intent. A shadow fell over the discarded wallet. Just as the fist clenched—
Wham—!!!
A dull, meaty impact rang out. Definitely not from my body. I snatched up the wallet and looked ahead. One of the punks was collapsing with a strangled groan.
“Hey! Get the hell away from that kid right now!”
Cheon Mari stood there holding a steel pipe she’d pulled from who-knows-where. Thank god. At the same time, relief washed over me—I wouldn’t have to move according to the original plan after all.
“W-what the hell is wrong with that crazy bitch?!”
“I won’t say it twice. Step away from the kid.”
“Hey, do you even realize what you’re—”
Her expression twisted. Blue particles began swirling around the pipe. She had effectively drawn a blade. Now she wouldn’t stop until she had beaten someone senseless. Sure enough, she advanced on the nearest thug.
“Y-you insane lunatic! I-I’m calling the police—”
“Huh? Police? I already paid you two and a half million won in protection money and you accepted it. What are you gonna report? Think you can handle the fallout?”
Threats and nonsense. The flustered thug tried to guard the obvious target area. It was pointless.
“Huh…? Aaaagh!”
The pipe swung. The silver arc that had been aimed at his head abruptly changed course and slammed into his pelvis. The sickening crunch of bone meeting metal echoed through the alley.
“Stupid bastard. You’re supposed to block what you can see. Blocking what you can’t see?”
She struck the same spot again. The thug collapsed, retching from the pain. Time seemed to slow in those moments, etching everything into my memory.
“Weakling.” She spat and twirled the pipe with practiced ease as she stepped closer.
“An elementary kid wrapping aura around a steel pipe?!”
“W-what the hell are you?!”
“Is she from some famous hunter family…?”
Three thugs remained. I stood in their midst—vulnerable, yet perfectly positioned to see and hear everything.
“Magic! Prepare your magic, quick…!”
“What magic?!”
“Anything! That crazy bitch is about to kill us!”
“E-eek…!”
Mana surged into their palms, forming magic circles. Whatever they were about to launch, it was going to be dangerous—and they clearly weren’t thinking about the consequences. The moment Cheon Mari saw the circles, she sprinted toward me. But the spells were already primed. Dodging in this cramped alley was impossible.
For someone like me who couldn’t fight them head-on, the next move was painfully obvious.
“This is so damn annoying.” I clenched my fist and muttered. Before anyone could react, I drove my knuckles straight into the face of the thug on my right.
“Huh? Gah!”
No dramatic impact. I didn’t have the strength for that. But if power was lacking, I could just increase the number of hits. I rained punches on his face, then uppercut his jaw with my other hand. He didn’t go flying dramatically—he just staggered and collapsed with a groan.
“Donghyuk!”
No time to savor it. I twisted around. Another thug had already aimed a spell at me. With a curse, he fired—an icy projectile, small, glittering, and razor-sharp. Countless shards were about to hit me.
Yet something felt strangely off, as if this wasn’t how it was supposed to end.