Prurprur's First Disciple

Prurprur.

So this really was Turtle Island after all. The old man standing right in front ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of me proved it — even if he was missing the actual turtle shell.

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

A Hawaiian shirt patterned with black flowers. Black shorts. Light footwear that looked like slippers.

"So how did you get here, then?"

The old man spoke like someone spending the last of his years living it up in Vietnam. Nothing about him suggested unease.

"I… came from the sea."

"I said how. This is underground. There isn't even an entrance."

"I got a quest and came here."

"Aigoo, tsk tsk. Can't even follow a simple question. How frustrating. Truly frustrating."

What was this old geezer going on about? I was the one who was frustrated.

Still, I couldn't exactly get angry at him. Ever since this old man had shown up, my Intuition had been sending me a steady, moderate signal.

Who is he?

How had he even appeared? Should I ask? Or just run? But run where?

The Illusion Tower. B1 Island. An isolated scrap of land. There was nowhere to go.

Damn it.

"Elder, where did you appear from?"

The old man clicked his tongue in irritation and answered.

"I've been here the whole time. You're the fool who failed to notice me."

Impossible. In a house this small, where could he have been hiding?

I lowered my eyes and glanced at the little vial.

This is it.

That "Trace of the Night Goddess" thing. This had to be the effect of the Eye Opening I'd received as a reward.

Because of the old man's sudden appearance, I hadn't properly looked at the vague system message still floating in small text beside me.

As I studied the vial carefully, the old man spoke up.

"That's right. Drinking that is why you can converse with me."

"I see. Then are you the Trace of the Night Goddess?"

"What absolute rubbish. I am Prurprur."

Prurprur?

"What's that? Some kind of jelly brand?"

"Tch! You hear an elder's name and that's what you say? Aigoo, tsk tsk. What sort of upbringing did you even receive…"

Son of a—

"Elder, I didn't receive any upbringing, actually."

"…?"

The old man stared at me as if to ask what on earth I meant by that.

"My parents passed away. They're gone."

"…!"

He looked uncomfortable. Seemed I'd managed to put him on the spot a little.

Yes. Got him with that one.

Serves him right for poking at parents who weren't there.

"Well then, I'll be going. Take care."

"Ahem, ahem…"

The old man, lost in thought, cleared his throat and addressed me.

"You can't leave anyway."

"Excuse me?"

"You cannot get out of here."

"Why not?"

"Then go ahead and try."

With that, he sat on the sofa, leaned back, and pulled out a book to start reading.

And where did the book even come from?

I walked straight outside and checked every corner of the island, but I couldn't find any way off it.

"Guess I really can't leave. I'm going to have to ask that old man again."

Something about him rubbed me the wrong way.

Wait. Could anyone else even get here besides me? What was that guy? The more I thought about it, the more questions piled up. The Illusion Tower situation itself was already bizarre enough, but staring blankly at the shoreline was making me lose my grip on reality.

Oh, right. The reward.

I opened the trading window and checked its contents.

I knew what a shop was. But what the hell was Hongdangmu?

Curiosity got the better of me, and I went into Hongdangmu first.

So that's what it was. Karrot Market.

They'd lifted the peer-to-peer trading app system you saw everywhere in the modern world and dropped it straight into the tower.

The Illusion Tower is a total thief. They just copied this?

And they called it Hongdangmu? In this day and age? Straight-up plagiarism. I was not warming up to this tower at all.

Still, one difference from Karrot Market: deliveries actually worked here. Of course, as long as you were inside the tower, you had no choice but to use it.

"I've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠got two hundred, so…"

I had enough points to buy items if I really needed to. But what I needed right now was something else.

Opening the shop window let me buy daily necessities.

"Oh! They even have coffee? Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen?"

Pretty much everything that existed on Earth was there, minus a few things.

My stomach growled.

My belly was already stuck to my spine. Just in case, I picked the cheapest options — one loaf of bread and a bottle of water.

Shhhhk. Thud.

A swirl of light, and barley bread and bottled water materialized on the ground.

I chewed.

"Not bad."

Should I have another? This was my first meal in twenty-four hours. A pleasant feeling rose up — and right on its heels, so did the anxiety.

One hundred eighty points left.

Even if I stretched it, the points would be gone in ten days.

"This is bad. I shouldn't have been celebrating over coffee…"

At this rate, I was going to die. Dropped into a fantasy world, and instead of going down fighting monsters, I was going to starve to death.

"I'm screwed."

I opened the community boards ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to dig into my current situation.

Already knew that.

Quest 7 already?

The tower had only been around for three days… I tapped the post open at once.

So other people had gotten Eye Opening too. And if they meant an NPC, that had to be the weird old man in the red house.

"Right. That old geezer lives here, so there has to be a way out."

I spun up the happy-circuit in my head and kept browsing the community.

"Definitely more people than yesterday."

The number of people on the boards seemed to have grown. More Awakeners filtering into the tower, I figured.

I'd filled my stomach. And the answer was still inside that house.

Thud, thud.

"Elder! Coming in!"

I pushed open the creaking wooden door, and just like when I'd left, the old man was reading his book.

"So. Finished looking around outside, have you?"

"Yes. All done… Elder Prurprur."

"Hm?"

"Please help me. I have to get out of here. I want to live."

I begged. Put on the most pitiful face I could manage. It bruised my pride a little, but so what? I had to survive.

"Hmm…"

He put on a show of deep thought. Brooding didn't really suit the Hawaiian shirt, but I waited.

"Fine. I'll help you. And about your parents earlier — I'm sorry."

"It's nothing. You didn't know. I should have explained first."

I hated saying this kind of thing, but for the record: my parents were alive and well.

I'd practically been kicked out of the house for breaking everything and causing accident after accident.

Being an unlucky person is a miserable way to live.

Still, Intuition seemed to have offset some of that bad luck, at least a little.

"Then let's begin."

"Begin what?"

A new quest had updated.

A request?

I had a feeling this third quest was going to be exhausting. I asked Elder Prurprur.

"Elder. What exactly are we starting?"

"Boy. You wouldn't happen to have anything spicy, would you?"

"Is it good?"

"Wh… what is this flavor? No — how can something taste like this!"

Slurp. Chomp chomp.

Prurprur swallowed Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen without the slightest concern for the sauce clinging to his white beard.

Ah, for— my thirty points…

The old man was really enjoying it. One hundred fifty points left. I could eat some myself if I wanted, but… I didn't have the points to spare.

They say even a ghost that dies well-fed has a better complexion. Should I just eat some?

The thought had barely formed when—

"Hssss! Haaah! Spicy! So spicy! Hahaha! That hit the spot!"

Oh!

Thankfully, the Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen had been the request. And I'd earned five days' worth of food points.

"Well then — time to begin in earnest!"

"Begin what already? Stop building suspense and get to the point."

"Hahaha! Good, very good! Manly of you!"

Dabble in magic?

Finally, something that actually felt like fantasy.

Right. Back in the day, I was a menace at games.

Especially magic characters. Flashy spells that fired at a click. Explosive AoE damage. Thinking about that, if all Prurprur wanted was Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen… I could supply that all day.

Snap! Fwoom!

Prurprur flicked his fingers, and a purple tome appeared.

Thump. Thump.

Oh! My heart was racing! What was this thing, that it could get me this excited?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But why am I getting goosebumps?

Clutching the purple tome, I turned to Prurprur.

"Elder! What is this?"

"The magic you shall learn starting today!"

"Holy crap! Magic!"

"Indeed! Magic! Hahahaha!"

Prurprur threw his arms wide and declared it with absolute pride, as if nothing in the world could please him more.

Why is he like this.

He was overdoing it a little, but I wasn't about to ruin the mood, so I played along.

"Amazing! Hahaha!"

"Yes! From this day forth, you are my disciple!"

"What?"

"Ahem! Enough of that vacant expression. Disciple — henceforth you must cultivate dignity, refined allure, and outstanding skill."

He'd randomly declared me his disciple, and now this? What kind of nonsense was this?

Snap!

He flicked his fingers and summoned a sun visor and sunglasses, slipping them on as if to block the light. Then he crossed his legs and said:

"Perform the Nine Bows of Respect."

"……"

Insane. Vacant expression or not, how was I supposed to look normal after that?

Nine Bows of Respect?

What even is that.

Was this a martial arts world? I'd thought I'd been dragged into a fantasy setting… Don't tell me this old man was from some demonic cult.

Look at that expectant face on Prurprur. I carefully ignored it and asked a question to settle my curiosity.

"Elder."

"Ahem! Elder? You will address me as Master!"

A groan slipped out of me, but I carefully continued.

"M… Master. How long have you been here?"

"Hmm… roughly three hundred years?"

"Huh?"

"Or was it five hundred?"

This guy was genuinely unhinged. I asked him as calmly as I could.

"Then why haven't you left?"

"I did not stay by choice. I could not leave."

"Why… why not?"

Was I going to be stuck here for life?

"Hmm… how to put this…"

Prurprur seemed to think it over with unusual seriousness, then said:

"I fought."

"…With who?"

He pointed a finger upward and grinned.

"With the one up there. And I lost. So I was sealed here. The end."

"I see. But who exactly did you fight?"

"Enough. I shall tell you the details another time!"

I flinched. I'd been trying to dig deeper and scratch that itch of curiosity, but no luck.

"Now then. Begin the Nine Bows of Respect. First, look upon the opening chapter of the magic tome."

Making Prurprur my master still sat a little wrong with me, but I did as I was told.

Flutter.

Table of contents. Nine Bows of Respect.

As my Magic Power rose, a sudden headache slammed into me.

Ugh. What the hell.

"Oho! What did you see?"

See? See what, you old geezer! I'm dying here!

Ding!

What now?

So either I do the Nine Bows of Respect, or I die?

"Disciple."

"…"

On Failure: Death.

"Go on, then."