Not Moving At All
I stretched my whole body with a deep, refreshing sensation and got out of bed.
“Wow… I slept like a rock.”
To be honest, given how exhausted I’d felt before falling asleep, I never expected to wake up feeling this refreshed just from getting some rest.
When I checked the time, I hadn’t even slept that long. Maybe this was another perk of being an Awakened?
Wait, yesterday I didn’t feel this good… Was this some extra Metamorphosis effect befitting the Bug Queen?
Anyway, not being tired put me in a great mood. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this clear-headed.
“Oh, right.”
I picked up my phone, which I’d set aside after only checking the time earlier. I was pretty sure I’d received some kind of message before falling asleep.
Sure enough, looking at the screen brought it all back.
The Silver Wing had moved. That was the message.
I’d specifically told it not to move, yet the damn thing had gone and done it anyway. I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
How long had it even been since I boxed it up? It had already been caught. There weren’t any new messages right now, but looking at the pile of notifications…
They might have already figured something out.
“Tsk. Did my whole plan just go down the drain?”
I’d been planning to keep selling bugs for a while…
Honestly, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal. It was a shame I wouldn’t be raking in a huge sum of money at once, but…
With a nervous heart, I opened the messages. What had they said?
As I slowly read through them, it wasn’t what I’d expected at all.
They were just asking if the weapon seemed strange and if I could take a look at it. Or, if I couldn’t, maybe at least tell them where I’d gotten it from. They’d look into it themselves.
I’d assumed someone like Cheon Ga-ryeong, who also had Appraisal, would have seen through the disguise.
I thought they’d demand a refund or something.
For now, I replied that I’d meet up to check it and waited for a response.
Since the Bug Queen had been strengthened this time, maybe my commands had gotten stronger too?
The description didn’t explicitly say so, but I figured it was possible.
“Alright, then…”
There wasn’t much to prepare. Sword was currently in Metamorphosis, so I couldn’t take it, and aside from the swarm bugs, I didn’t have many others anyway.
I packed only the swarm bugs and got ready to head out.
They’d probably reply quickly. I should grab something to eat first and then go meet them.
The moment I finished getting ready to leave the house, another message arrived. Figures, I thought, and replied suggesting we meet after I finished eating.
I needed time to figure out what to say while I ate.
If I just said I didn’t know, that would be the end of it, but then they might go investigate on their own and find something.
To think I was going this far just to sell some bugs… Man…
“Hey, Swarm, what do you want to eat?”
I asked the swarm bugs, who had already transformed into clothes and couldn’t answer, as I left the house.
The door creaked loudly. Yeah, I really needed to get out of this place soon.
I could make money quickly anyway. Living in a dump like this was…
It was strangely comforting in its own way, but it was definitely time to move.
“Ah, I should get some jajangmyeon.”
Thinking about moving made me crave black bean noodles. That salty-sweet, greasy goodness.
Feeling my mouth water, I headed to the nearest Chinese restaurant.
It shouldn’t be a problem if I was a little late, right?
*
This time, we weren’t meeting at the cafe. The address they sent led to an empty lot.
I was surprised such a place still existed in the city, but it also made me a bit uneasy.
Why an empty lot of all places…? They weren’t planning to do something shady to me, were they?
I wasn’t that strong yet…
Honestly, I’d never directly experienced how strong other people were, so I couldn’t say for sure.
Ah, I definitely couldn’t beat Cheon Ga-ryeong yet.
Her presence alone was on another level. It felt like a stretch right now, but my instincts told me I’d catch up soon.
Thinking like that, I really needed to clear the Tower more often. It would get more dangerous the higher I went, but the rewards were worth so much more…
No point in dragging my feet.
“Ah, there they are.”
In the middle of the empty lot, the spear was trapped inside some kind of cage. What the hell were they doing?
Don’t tell me they’d actually brought it all the way here in a cage just because it moved?
Even so, that seemed a bit much. I hadn’t seen it move since then, yet they’d gone this far…
I had no idea how wildly the Silver Wing must have moved to warrant this kind of reaction.
“Excuse me.”
“Ah, you’re here!”
“Yeah, I’m here… but, um, what is all this?”
“Oh, this… It might move again, so…”
Up close, it was even more ridiculous. Not only was it trapped in a cage, it was chained up, and beneath the chains was a layer of scales wrapped around it.
The chains I could understand, but covering it in scales too? They must have been really desperate.
Otherwise they wouldn’t have gone straight to the scales.
“So you’re saying the spear moved?”
“Yes. It was moving like it was actually alive. There were eyes, and legs, and everything.”
“Not moving at all.”
“Huh?”
“How can a spear be alive? Did something… bad happen to you?”
“No, I’m telling you it really moved! I’m not lying. It was crawling on the walls and everything!”
Seeing her insist that she’d seen it with her own two eyes, I just shrugged.
The way she was talking, it sounded like the Silver Wing had really gone all out.
Still, the good news was… there was a high chance that hunters weren’t exactly mentally stable.
Climbing the Tower without knowing when they might die, fighting monsters every day. No one could endure that without going a little crazy.
So if I steered the conversation toward a mental issue… It was a bit of a dirty tactic, but it seemed like the best option.
Not full-on “you’re crazy,” but something like “you were tired” or “you saw something because you were under the influence.” That should work.
“Want to take it out and see?”
“Uh… sure.”
Every time she touched it, she flinched like she was remembering it moving. It was almost pitiful.
Was it really that bad? I mean, honestly, the Silver Wing looked cooler and more stylish than Sword.
Did growing legs really make it that creepy?
Maybe I’d just gotten used to it, but these days when I saw a bunch of legs, I didn’t think “gross” so much as “I wonder how fast it can run.”
Watching her carefully undo each lock and pull the spear out, I took the Silver Wing and gave it a mental command.
Do not move under any circumstances. The only time you’re allowed to move is if it looks like you’re about to break, or if someone is trying to steal you from me or destroy you.
I gave the order firmly, then swung the spear around in every direction.
The first time I’d done this, it had reacted a little. This time, there wasn’t even the slightest twitch.
It really was obeying perfectly. Not moving a single inch. I looked at Su-jeong.
“See? Nothing’s happening.”
“No, that’s… You can’t tell just by swinging it around like that.”
“But if it were alive, wouldn’t it react somehow when you swing it this much?”
I spun the spear in fast circles until it was almost a blur, making my point crystal clear.
If I were the Silver Wing? I would’ve ditched this crazy owner immediately and reported them.
Still, the more I swung it, the more I realized I might actually have some talent with spears…
Not that I planned to use one in the Tower. Well, maybe once, but it would probably be a bug version anyway.
It definitely wasn’t a normal item.
“Look. It’s not moving, is it?”
“But I really saw it…”
“Come on, aren’t you just tired? That’s what happens when you don’t get enough sleep.”
“It really… moved… The legs were wiggling and it was staring right at me…”
“Well, sometimes the mind can play tricks on you.”
Just a little more and I could wrap this up cleanly.
Next time I sell something, I’ll have to give much stricter commands. I can’t let this kind of thing mess up sales again.
“Anyway, it’s not moving. And I didn’t get it from anywhere suspicious.”
“…No, it is suspicious.”
“What is it this time?”
“It clearly mo—”
“Not moving at all. See? It’s not moving.”
She looked like she wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words. I shook my head at her.
Wow… If she’d dug just a little deeper, I would’ve been caught.
It was a huge relief that she hadn’t told the guild leader and had come alone.
If Cheon Ga-ryeong had shown up? Money wouldn’t have been the issue. My own safety would’ve been.
She could’ve pressured me with raw power until I spilled everything about the disguise.
That I could turn bugs into items with Metamorphosis, and that I didn’t feel entirely human?
Honestly, even if there wasn’t much visible difference on the outside, I could tell that the current me had drifted a bit from humanity.
So it wouldn’t be surprising if someone treated me like a monster.
Knowing Cheon Ga-ryeong’s personality, she probably wouldn’t, but still. Better safe than sorry.
“Got it?”
“Ugh… So where did you really get it?”
“What do you mean, where? I got it from the Tower, obviously.”
“Wh… What floor?”
“That’s a secret. I can’t just tell you, can I?”
“I guess that’s true.”
She looked so dejected that I smiled and handed the Silver Wing back to her.
She took it with clear reluctance, but she still seemed suspicious, gripping it awkwardly.
Still, this should mean I wouldn’t get caught anymore.
If she’d pushed just a little harder, I wouldn’t have had any excuses left.
Now I didn’t have to worry. Unless the Silver Wing was literally about to break, it wouldn’t move again.
Well, I had also ordered it to run away on its own if someone tried to buy it, but…
I really hoped that wouldn’t happen. If a spear I was selling actually ran away, it would prove that the items I sold could move.
I’d love for that to never happen in my lifetime… but that probably wasn’t realistic.
I needed to sell as many as I could before then.
I should still have some B Points left… Time to clear the Tower a bit more and crank out some new ones.
What should I make next?
It was a tough decision. Looking at the swarm bugs, armor didn’t seem like a bad idea either…
“S-Sorry for calling you out over something like this.”
“Hey, it’s fine. These things happen.”
“Ugh… I must have really seen it wrong. There’s no way an item could move on its own, right?”
“Of course not. How could an item move by itself?”
“Ugh…”
I almost said it definitely wouldn’t move anymore, but I managed to hold it in.
If I had, I would’ve immediately blown my own cover after working so hard to hide it.
Whew. I really need to be more careful.
Still, the little chat we had before parting ways helped me decide what to make next.
It didn’t have to be just weapons.
Sure, weapons sold for the most, but there were reasons to make other things too.
I could borrow abilities from different bugs. If I kept making similar items, it would get boring…
I should head back and organize all the ideas I had.
What should I start with…?