Chapter 003
[Chapter 003]
< Born from the Soil >
3
That night.
I walked the hallway with familiar steps.
The smell of disinfectant lingering at the tip of my nose, the dry air unique to hospitals.
I quietly opened the door with the sign "Single Intensive Care Unit" at the end of the hallway.
“So-ye.”
“Oppa!”
My younger sister, So-ye, who was sitting on the bedside by the window, smiled brightly when she saw me.
The youngest of our family with a large age gap from me, she was at the age where she should be running around on the playground.
“You’re here?”
Since the world changed, So-ye had never left the hospital.
“How are you feeling today?”
Red spots were blooming here and there on the back of her hand, visible through her sleeve.
It looked like a severe rash, but it wasn't an allergy.
It must be a reaction to the remnants of mana someone had spilled.
“Hmm? So-ye is always fine!”
Liar.
A small nasal oxygen cannula was placed on the nightstand next to the bed.
She must have been relying on that because she was short of breath until a moment ago.
‘It’s dark today too.’
The window was tightly closed, and a gray-colored mana-blocking film specially made by the Bureau was added to the window frame.
Mana Hypersensitivity Syndrome.
It was a curse-like disease that newly emerged as the world changed.
I noticed So-ye faintly furrowing her brow and pressing her temple.
A terrible migraine.
This was also a representative symptom of Mana Hypersensitivity Syndrome.
It was because the surrounding mana constantly interfered with and shook the cranial nerves like a radio with a mismatched frequency.
“Does your head hurt?”
“No? I’m fine.”
The mana particles leaking from the Tower were the most terrible poison in the world to So-ye’s body.
Even the minute mana emitted by a Hunter caused her skin to break out, and she suffered from tinnitus and a splitting headache. On days when a Rift broke out, she couldn't even breathe properly because of the mana spread throughout the city.
“Give me your hand.”
“I’m fine....”
So-ye waved her hand and spoke bluntly, but I didn't care and pressed her hand with a wet towel to wipe it.
And I confessed what happened today.
“So-ye, Oppa quit the company.”
“The company? Why? Oppa liked going to work.”
So-ye’s eyes were accurate.
Even if I grumbled that it was hard, I had never once shown that I disliked it.
Because this job suited my aptitude, and I was always grateful for the fact that I could protect my only family.
“So-ye, shall we go live in the countryside?”
“What? The countryside?”
“You know, the house Mom used to live in.”
Our deceased mother.
It was a house she had built saying she’d let us stay comfortably if we went down occasionally.
“I couldn't go because of my job, and now there’s no need for that.”
“...Are you not going back to the company anymore?”
“There’s no place to go back to now.”
I worked my bone off for 6 years, but all that returned was a single layoff notice.
“Oppa....”
Just in case.
There was also the expectation that I might be a talented person.
The letters "EX-Rank" I saw inside the Rift.
The last hope when standing in front of the measurement machine.
‘In the end, what remains is....’
The shabby reality of being E-Rank and a layoff notice.
I had no more expectations or lingering attachments.
“Now I just want to let go of everything.”
The only reason I insisted on Seoul until now was one thing.
The vague expectation that I could receive better medical conditions and faster responses in case of an emergency.
But looking back, that was more of a poison.
The mana filling the city tormented my sister every day.
“Why, do you hate going there?”
“...Aren't you going down just because of me?”
So-ye’s cheeks puffed up.
The way she looked up at me with teary eyes was exactly like a puppy watching someone's face for fear of being scolded even though she did nothing wrong.
“Oppa liked working. You’re giving up what you like because of me.”
“No? I want to go? I’m sick and tired of the city now.”
“Why?”
“Hmm··· Because Oppa wants to sleep comfortably too? Every night I couldn't sleep properly for fear of an emergency call coming.”
I forced a smile and stroked So-ye’s hair.
“We’ll have to hear the doctor's opinion, but it’ll be much better than the city.”
Even if the countryside wasn't perfectly safe, there would surely be less danger than the city.
In a rural backwater with a low total mana amount, Rifts rarely occurred, and above all, the population density of Awakeners was significantly low.
“If you’re worried, Oppa will go down first and organize things. How about it?”
“Then, if it’s not right after going, you have to come up right away, okay?”
Right, first it was a priority to check if the house was okay.
* * *
So I ended up going down to the countryside.
I left behind the old built-up villa where the contract period still remained and loaded only the minimum luggage into the car.
My thought was to buy what was necessary there.
“For a sudden decision to go down, the feeling isn't bad?”
I talked to myself while holding the steering wheel.
Of course, I felt lost.
The path to the countryside after being fired overnight from a place I had stayed for 6 years couldn't possibly be hopeful.
But there was no reason to be depressed either.
‘At least I packed a good amount of severance pay.’
Fortunately, the accumulated severance pay became a solid strength.
No matter where So-ye moved her hospital, it was a budget that would cover medical expenses for at least a year.
“With that much time, well, I’ll be able to find a way to make a living.”
I took in the strange yet familiar scenery of the city reflected in the rearview mirror for the last time.
I made up my mind not to be impatient anymore.
Not to look back on the past when I lived bound by rank while watching others' reactions.
“Two and a half hours, huh.”
When I checked the navigation, it was 66km.
Actually, even if it’s called the countryside, it’s only the countryside compared to Seoul; by address, it was the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do.
It was practically a backwater because I had to go in for quite a while even from those outskirts.
Screech!
Finally, I parked the car in front of the destination, the country house.
It was characterized by two buildings divided into a main house and an annex.
“The condition isn't good at all.”
It’s already been 3 years since my mother, who lived in this house, passed away.
I hadn't had time to take care of it properly because I was busy working and nursing my sister, so it was in a terrible state.
I got out of the car and began to scrutinize the old house carefully.
“First, I’ll have to fix the roof. If rain leaks from that crack, there’s no answer.”
Waterproofing work alone is at least 2 million won.
Creak-
I opened the creaking wooden gate and stepped into the yard.
Some windows were broken.
“It costs 50 to replace windows, and roughly 100 to repair the broken boiler? To tear out the rotten veranda and lay a new one....”
The more I estimated, the more my head throbbed.
I heard it cost quite a bit of money because they used good materials when building it.
But since it was neglected like this, the repair cost was going to be higher.
“Hehe, what is a young gentleman doing loitering in front of someone else's house.”
A husky voice was heard from behind.
Turning around, an old lady wearing baggy pants and a straw hat was standing there, tapping me with a cane.
“Ah, yes. I’m the son of the owner of this house. I’m going to stay here starting today.”
“The son? The son of the Yun-seong woman?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, your frame is decent, but your appearance is not much at all.”
The old lady looked me up and down, from my sweat-soaked T-shirt to my dusty pants, and clicked her tongue.
“This house has been a Gorani den for a long time, will you be able to sleep properly tonight? The rats are as big as people.”
“Goranis and rats?”
“Make sure to lock up well and sleep.”
...Rural life won't be easy?
* * *
That afternoon.
While I was temporarily adding vinyl to the broken windows, that old lady appeared again.
This time, carrying something in both hands.
“Hey, young man. Take this.”
“Yes?”
What the old lady held out was a soil-covered hand hoe and a heavy hoe.
“If a Gorani pops out at night, do you intend to fight with your bare hands? Think I’m joking? If those guys ram you, your ribs will just go.”
I laughed because the words were so absurd, whether it was a joke or serious.
To catch a Gorani with a hand hoe.
“Don't worry, old lady. Even though I look like this, I’m good at fighting.”
“Fighting my foot, looking at your appearance you’ll be knocked down in one blow. Just take this quietly and till the field.”
“....”
The words were harsh, but it was clear she was taking care of me out of concern.
I accepted the hand hoe and hoe without a word.
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
The old lady looked at me intently and said.
“I owe a lot to the Yun-seong woman.”
“My mother?”
“When I fell at the orchard in the village below and my leg broke, it was the Yun-seong woman who ran to the hospital with me on her back. She had just come down to this house and her body wouldn't have been whole then. Even after that, she led her sick body to help with my field work... She was a person with a lot of affection and a good person.”
The corners of the old lady's eyes became moist.
“But young man, do you know? This field is a bit strange.”
The old lady suddenly pointed to the field.
“After the Yun-seong woman came to this house and started cultivating the garden, energy strangely comes from the field. It might be just an old person's mood, but whenever I come near this field, my aching back seems to straighten, and the vegetables from the field she shared a few times were uniquely good.”
Mom had mentioned that she had made a large garden plot between the main house and the annex.
“This field?”
It was strange.
The house was in a state with thick spiderwebs that could be considered a haunted house, but the field was in a clean state without a single weed.
‘Moreover, energy comes from the field?’
That word also sounded strange.
“Yes. That's why among the villagers, this house's field is called a spiritual field. Finally, someone to look after this field has appeared.”
“If it’s such a good field, it would have been okay to use it. Why didn't you use it? It’s just a garden plot left abandoned anyway.”
“Aigoo, don't even mention it, young man.”
The old lady waved her hand.
“After the Yun-seong woman cultivated it, everything died as soon as anyone else planted something. If you planted seeds, they wouldn't sprout, and if you transplanted seedlings, they would dry up and twist overnight. It’s as if the field recognizes its owner.”
“Recognizes its owner?”
“I’m telling you, so everyone kept quiet saying that field belongs to the Yun-seong woman and we shouldn't touch it carelessly.”
After the old lady, who told an anecdote like a rural legend, went back, I focused on house cleaning again.
At least I had to block the broken window frames so I could sleep with a mind at ease today.
To cool my sweat, I sat on the veranda and stared blankly at the field.
‘How is there not a single weed like that?’
Unable to overcome my curiosity, I got up and headed to the field.
As I walked to the middle of the field and stood, a strange energy was felt from the tips of my toes.
‘Warm and comfortable energy.’
A feeling as if being held in Mom's arms.
Inadvertently, I bent my waist and picked up a handful of soil that looked exceptionally black and soft.
In that instant.
[The final condition has been met.]
[The player's mental liberation and physical potential resonate with the energy of the earth.]
The soil I held in my hand seemed to emit warmth, and then a semi-transparent system window appeared before my eyes.
“!”
It was the window that said it appears at the moment of awakening and the moment skill conditions are perfectly matched.
[Awakener Jang Kang-hyun]
Rank: EX
Trait: [Earth's Contractor]
Skill: [Absolute's Herb Garden (EX)]
“...What?”
It wasn't an illusion.
The EX-Rank was real.
Except for those two letters, nothing else entered my eyes.
Tap, tap, tap.
Right then, a strange sound was heard from right under my feet.
“...What is it?”
The dust swelled up and the ground cracked little by little.
As I stepped back to prepare for a possible danger.
[A stray who crossed dimensions is looking for an out-of-spec (EX) Awakener master.]
A message suddenly popped up.
Before I could even understand what that meant,
Pop!
From inside the cracked heap of soil, something small and white crawled out while squirming.
“...?”
Pffft!
Soon, it shook off the soil on its body and raised its head.
What on earth is that?
What entered my bewildered eyes was a pair of cute horns sprouted on its head.
And it made eye contact with me.
-Hmyoot?
< Born from the Soil > END