Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Earth is Doomed!
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“Great work today.”
I finished up my hard day’s labor as usual.
Then I went into the container to change clothes.
Sitting down in the chair, I spoke to the office manager.
“Manager. I’ll only work until the end of this week.”
Office Manager Jo Hyun-gyu kicked back his chair and shot to his feet.
“You’ve been doing so well lately—what the hell, kid! If you leave, this workshop’s done for!”
“It won’t go under.”
“Yeah, you’re right, but still. Tell me the reason first. Why quit?”
Anyone else, maybe not.
But I could tell the manager.
I decided to be honest.
“Manager. I’ve awakened. I’ve got mana in my body now.”
“You’ve got mana? Let me see.”
Jo Hyun-gyu eyed me suspiciously and poked my arm with his finger.
“Your body’s tougher than someone who’s been in this game for thirty years. Damn, kid, you really awakened, huh?”
“Yeah, I awakened, so now I’m gonna try to become a hero. That’s why I’ll only come until the end of the week.”
“Well, go for it then. Can’t argue with awakening. Congrats, you punk.”
Pat pat.
Jo Hyun-gyu clapped me on the shoulder with a big grin.
He seemed genuinely happy about my awakening.
“You awakened and all—how about a celebration party tonight? I’ll cover everything, kid.”
“No can do. I gotta get home quick.”
“Alright then? At least take some good food with you. Gotta feed you something tasty, right?”
50,000 won.
There was a bit of a misunderstanding.
But if he’s offering, no reason to refuse.
I quickly pocketed the bill he handed me.
“Thanks.”
“Get going.”
Jo Hyun-gyu waved me off with a bright smile.
I worried that kind personality might be his downfall.
But he’d survived a long time in this industry, so it was probably unnecessary concern.
In this crumbling world, survivors were the strong ones.
“Guess I’ll buy some meat with this 50,000 won.”
I’d planned on ramen for dinner tonight.
But if I showed up with meat, the kids would be shocked.
I bought some pork shoulder in a black bag like always and headed home.
While cautiously making my way back, avoiding people.
“…When did the building get that big? Did they do some renovations?”
I spotted the building’s exterior looking totally different after just one day.
“What the hell is that? Anyone can tell something’s off.”
I rushed to the building and flung open the door to our place.
Bang!
“Dad’s home!”
At the dining table, I grabbed the rooftop key that was sitting there and headed out.
“Dad’s going up!”
I clutched the key tight and climbed the slightly crumbling stairs to the rooftop.
There, a botanical garden unfolded—one you wouldn’t see in today’s world.
“Whoa—”
I couldn’t help but marvel.
It was a sight that demanded applause.
“Growing trees like this without soil? Whoever did it is impressive.”
Huge clusters of cherry tomatoes sprouting from the dense stems in a small flower bed.
Red peppers rivaling my height.
Super lettuce that screamed personal bias.
They blended with the rooftop painted green, forming a lush blue forest.
“The veggies look great. Could sell for a good price.”
The problem was how obvious it was from outside.
I sighed and glanced at the rooftop door where I sensed presences.
The dragons were peeking out, chatting among themselves.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t closed the door.
“What’s with that hideous green thing! Get it out of my sight!”
“Hmm, this kind of flashy behavior isn’t good. When did they even do this?”
Zap.
Hwaryun and Suryun side-eyed the culprit.
The suspected culprit, Choryun.
She scratched her head and grinned sheepishly.
“Hehe, busted?”
Not a hint of remorse in those clear green eyes.
***
Choryun shed tears as she watched the plants get mercilessly pruned.
“Wahhh, that’s too much.”
“The one who’s too much is you, for betraying Dad.”
I thought she wouldn’t cause trouble.
But in the end, Choryun went and did it too.
Snip.
Choryun pleaded desperately as I pruned the branches.
“Please be gentle! The cherry tomatoes say it hurts!”
“What do you mean they say it hurts?”
“I can hear them all! They say it hurts if you cut too much!”
Suryun chimed in from the side.
“Green Dragon trait. Can hear the voices of plants.”
“Guess it’s real.”
“Yeah! I don’t lie!”
So that’s how it was.
The plants were saying it hurt, apparently.
I started pruning even more carefully than before.
“By the way, when did you grow all this? It wasn’t like this this morning.”
“Oh, well! Yesterday…? No, today! In the early morning when everyone was asleep, I snuck the key and came up to the rooftop! That’s when I shared my breath with them!”
“…”
So brazen I had nothing to say.
I wanted to get mad, but it was too ridiculous to even feel anger.
Hwaryun and Suryun, though, seemed a bit heated.
“What? If you say it like that, I won’t be able to go out later! Just you wait!”
“She’s hopeless…”
Shake shake.
The two shook their heads at Choryun.
But Choryun wasn’t fazed at all, just smiling with those clear eyes.
“Sorry! But I had no choice! We have to protect Earth!”
“Protect Earth?”
“Yeah, we have to protect Earth! Protect nature! Otherwise, Earth will perish!”
Protect Earth.
What did that mean?
I finished tidying the plant stems and demanded an explanation from Choryun.
“Earth’s going to perish?”
“Yeah, Earth will perish soon!”
“Soon as in when?”
“If things keep going like this, in 10,000 years! No, 20,000 years, Earth will naturally perish! Not much time left!”
“?”
Hold on.
This was hard to grasp.
Maybe I misheard.
“Not much time left meaning 20,000 years?”
“Yeah! Not much time! It’ll perish soon!”
“By then I’d have died and come back 200 times.”
“Huh?”
Blink blink.
Maybe because Choryun lived a near-immortal dragon life.
She couldn’t understand what I meant.
Humans and dragons had different concepts of time.
“20,000 years is enough for 200 human lifetimes?”
“Yeah. Humans live up to about 100 if they’re lucky. Sometimes less.”
“Hmm, humans don’t live long at all?”
“Compared to dragons, yeah.”
“I seeee…”
She really knew nothing.
Choryun seemed lost in deep thought, mumbling to herself.
“Hmm, humans don’t live long… I see…”
She’d learned a new fact.
But I couldn’t wait around while she pondered.
We couldn’t get caught by other residents.
Especially not let Grandma find out the flower bed was like this.
“Let’s head back home first, everyone. We’ve been up here too long. And Choryun.”
“Yeah?”
“You need a good scolding once we’re inside.”
“Why? I was just trying to protect Earth… save the environment…”
Choryun pouted like she was wronged and followed behind.
Anything else aside, what she did today was extremely dangerous.
Because drawing attention from others was bad.
Especially in the Seoul-09 District where I lived.
***
“Wahhh, this is so unfairrr…”
“Stand there facing the wall and don’t move. You did something very wrong.”
Choryun stood slumped against the wall, shoulders drooping.
This solo act was incredibly risky.
“Probably a lot of people saw what you did today.”
“Isn’t getting seen good…?”
“No. Especially not good for you dragons.”
Security outside was pretty bad.
Just look around: the butcher shop growing drugs.
These kids weren’t just growing drugs—they handled other meats too.
A bit further down from my building, there was the homeless zone.
Those guys would do anything for money.
“The surroundings alone aren’t good. And right now, people are crazy about dragons. If they even glimpse you kids who aren’t fully grown yet…”
Even without the homeless, anyone seeing immature dragons would lose it.
Eat a dragon heart for power and immortality.
Drink dragon blood to cure all diseases.
Until the kids could handle threats themselves, no attention-seeking allowed.
“Dad’s strong, but there are plenty stronger than me in this world. I can’t protect you all. Got it?”
“We already know Dad’s weak…”
“…Dad’s strong. That’s wrong info.”
Choryun’s subtle bone-chilling jab.
But Choryun seemed to fully reflect on her mistake.
She stopped staring at the wall and spoke to me.
“Got it… No more actions that draw people’s attention… Starting today…”
“Good thinking, Choryun.”
“I’ll grow nature carefully at home… without getting caught…”
“?”
She seemed to have misunderstood something.
But as long as it didn’t get noticed outside, maybe fine.
She had to live with nature, after all.
“Alright, we’re done. Let’s eat. I bought meat.”
“Meat!”
“N-No, veggies for me, Father!”
Father.
A heartwarming word.
I smiled and patted Choryun’s head.
“I’ll get the lettuce. Eat up nice and tasty.”
Probably.
If I pass the hero qualification exam, I could feed them even better food.
With that thought, I opened my phone and checked the email subject.
[Hero Qualification Exam Notice]
The day I become the hero I’ve dreamed of.
Wasn’t far off.
Assuming I pass first.
“Eat a balanced meal, kids.”
“There’s only rice and meat—how are we supposed to eat balanced?”
“Forget balanced. Just eat tasty.”