Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Became the Gallery's Only Reptile
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Alkatern's Gem Shop.
Despite the name, stepping inside revealed it was an antique shop selling all sorts of miscellaneous items.
But this shop hid an enormous secret—one that probably only a tiny fraction of the hardcore players who'd grinded Jijiyong to death even knew about.
Kung. Kung.
"I-Is this an earthquake?!"
The shop's interior suddenly began to shake.
The startled user, along with the talking black sword gripped in her hand named Twinkle Twinkle, seemed to know the cause of the vibrations and called out happily to someone.
Kung!
"Kyaaak?!"
"I came up because someone touched my stuff all of a sudden... and it turns out it was true."
The vibrations stopped as an unidentified man suddenly appeared in the shop.
The man, boasting a height that easily surpassed 2 meters, stared straight at the outsider who'd entered his shop and spoke.
"Hah. How did you ignore all my alarm spells?"
The man scratched his head in amazement at this bizarre event before striding boldly toward her.
Kung. Kung.
'J-Just walking is shaking the whole shop like this?!'
With every step closer he took, the ground heaved dramatically.
She unconsciously gripped the dagger in her hand tighter and met the man's gaze head-on.
'I-It's scary! He looks like he's gonna kill me right now! Senpai, what do I dooooo?!'
The man's face looked ready to devour someone whole.
Meeting that stare directly, she recalled the senpai who'd brought her here: El.
'R-Right! Ten minutes. He said just endure eye contact for ten minutes!'
He'd clearly told her to hold her ground without flinching for ten minutes.
He said the guy wouldn't actually attack, just put on a scary act—so as terrifying and shaky as it was, with an urge to bolt, she had no choice but to tough it out.
"Hm? You've got some guts, missy!"
"What nonsense are you spouting now?"
The shopkeeper.
Alkatern sneered at the talking sword.
"This lovely customer is holding you right now."
"Hm? What's that mean... Oh. I see. So that's how it is."
Alkatern paused, not grasping the sword's words at first, then nodded as he looked at 'Twinkle Twinkle'.
"That's far too immense a power for a human to possess."
"Y-Yes?!"
"Unless you're a powerhouse on my level, you couldn't detect your form, voice, or presence. This is either the goddess's blessing... or her curse."
The silver lining was that the tiny human before him harbored no killing intent.
If someone with that level of talent were a bloodthirsty murderer, it would've wreaked havoc on the world.
"Very well. With talent like yours, you're more than qualified for my treasure."
"I-It hasn't even been ten minutes since we made eye contact yeeet."
"I don't know where you heard that, but you've shown me impressive talent, so no issue."
Kung. Kung.
"This place is just full of junk for show. Head to the back. Follow me."
"Okaaaay..."
But she didn't follow the departing Alkatern.
There was one reason: she needed to report this to senpai and confirm if following was okay.
The reply said it was fine to follow.
Only then did she start walking after him.
Alkatern, who'd paused to check if she was following, watched her approach and inwardly marveled once more.
'Hah, even seeing her right in front of me, it's unbelievable.'
He could see her clearly, yet couldn't perceive her at all.
Which foot she stepped with, how many steps, her speed, direction—nothing registered as out of place.
It felt alien, as if the world itself willed her actions into oblivion.
Alkatern's slit pupils gleamed faintly as he activated his Dragon Eye in secret.
'I wonder how much you can resist the eyes of Alkatern.'
If the world erased her traces, his eyes would uncover the erasure itself.
A unique ability of Alkatern alone, combining draconic Dragon Eyes with self-developed spells to pierce the truths of all creation.
Gradually, the customer's faded traces emerged in his gaze.
Chijik. Chijijik.
'What is that?'
The emerging traces drew his attention, but something else captured it more.
An unidentified blue something floating in the air.
She kept staring at the rectangular blue mass, seemingly 'reading' something from it.
He couldn't make out the contents, but he recognized the power emanating from it.
'Why is the goddess's power emanating from that?'
It was unmistakably the goddess's power.
Was this girl a hero chosen by the goddess?
Whatever the case, this customer was undeniably linked to the goddess.
Masked by that power at first, a faint trace now stirred Alkatern's interest anew.
'An Imoogi?'
A trace so subtle it evaded notice unless scrutinized past the goddess's power.
It was unmistakably an Imoogi's mark.
Those preparing to become dragons, wielding the pearl Yeouiju—unlike dragons.
Relations between magic-wielding dragons and aspiring dragons were poor, so Imoogi earned no favor either.
'But how does an Imoogi...?'
How did it possess such power?
From the faint trace in the blue mass alone, Alkatern realized this Imoogi surpassed an ordinary dragon.
Having lived among humans for centuries, hauling his entire dragon lair, this was the first time he'd encountered such an anomaly.
He halted unconsciously and blurted a question at the customer.
"Who the hell is that Imoogi?"
"Huh? I-Imoogi? Whaaat?"
"Don't play dumb. You came here because of that Imoogi, didn't you?"
Twinkle Twinkle's face paled instantly.
Her blatant panic confirmed Alkatern's suspicions.
"H-How do you know about Galjuuu?!"
"Galju? So that's the Imoogi's name."
Galju. Quite a potent name.
The nuance suggested 'master of the Gal'—likely a place harboring folks with unique abilities like her.
'Master of such a place. No wonder an Imoogi wields that power!'
"T-Tell me! How do you know Galjuuu?!"
"Hm. I just saw it with my own eyes..."
Chijik. Chijijik.
"......"
"Um, excuse me? Shopkeeper?"
Twinkle Twinkle tilted her head at Alkatern suddenly going blank mid-sentence.
Gathering courage, she waved her small hand in front of his face.
"Sh-Shopkeeeeper."
"......"
"A-Are you ignoring meee? If you ignore me like this, I'll really get huuurt..."
Only when tears welled up near crying did Alkatern finally react.
"What? Why did I even come out here?"
"Don't tease meeee."
"Ugh. Why's my head suddenly hurting like this?"
"A-Are you okayyy?"
His odd behavior mid-conversation must've shocked her.
But the surprises in store for her were far from over.
"What? A customer? How'd a customer get all the way back here?"
"......Huh?"
As if seeing her for the first time.
Alkatern scowled, grumbling about why the bell, floor sensors, and alert spells hadn't triggered, then took in her appearance.
"Oh. That talent. No one short of my caliber would've noticed. Indeed, far too immense for a human. A blessing or curse from the goddess, I wonder."
"Um, excuuuse meee? I'm starting to get scared... you're joking, right?"
Why was he repeating his exact words from their first meeting?
Sensing something off, she hurried to ask—
*Ding.*
"......Gasp."
Thud.
For the first time in this world, the system displayed words with apparent intent, shocking her so badly she fainted on the spot while standing.