Chapter 131: What a Mess (Revised/Shortened)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131: What a Mess (Revised/Shortened)
At that moment, my eyes met Ji-eun's.
She looked at me for a moment before quickly averting her gaze.
I stopped hugging Si-ho and patted her head instead, letting her go.
Si-ho glanced back and forth between me and Ji-eun, then rubbed her head against my hand.
She was being considerate because she knew I had rejected Ji-eun's confession.
“Ji-eun, we're going to move one more time. Are you okay with that?”
When I called her name, she nodded.
“We're not going very far this time, right?”
“That's right.”
After hearing Ji-eun's answer, I turned back to Si-ho.
Just as she had when we came to Iceland, Si-ho took our hands.
In that instant, our vision shifted once again.
A world of wide, stony ground dotted with snow spread out before us.
A puff of white breath escaped my lips, and beside me, Ji-eun was rubbing her hands together.
The wind had grown stronger now that we were away from the city.
“Ji-eun, here are some gloves.”
I took a pair of gloves from my pocket and handed them to her. She took them and looked up at me.
“What about you, Ha-chan-oppa?”
“I'm fine as long as I use my aura.”
I had grown used to constantly handling my aura, so the heat generated by circulating it was enough to ward off most of the cold.
Thanks to that, I didn't need to wear thick clothes.
“I'm cold, too. Should I hold your hand, Ha-chan?”
“Whales swim and live in the Arctic.”
“My ability might be a whale beastkin, but I'm still a person, you know?”
“What? You were?”
What a revelation.
“I've been noticing this for a while, but… Ha-chan-oppa, you've gotten a lot closer with U-jeong unni, haven't you?”
“Closer… is one way to put it.”
Hearing Ji-eun, I glanced at Yu U-jeong.
She flipped her hair with a swish and let out a playful 'yoo-hoo' laugh, which made me cringe.
I have no idea where her initial feigned coyness went.
“It's more like a twisted fate.”
“You know how they say even hate is a form of affection? There's also lustful affection.”
“If you say any more nonsense in front of the kids, I'll bury you right here.”
“Hieeek!”
When I spoke, seriously scraping the ground with my foot, Yu U-jeong fled behind Ji-eun.
“…Lustful affection?”
At that moment, Ji-eun muttered to herself, touching her chin.
A bad feeling washed over me.
“Ji-eun?”
“N-No, it's nothing!”
Hearing me call her name, Ji-eun finally realized what she'd said and shouted, her face turning bright red.
Yeah, it really seemed like burying Yu U-jeong was the right call.
That serial sexual harasser is a bad influence on the kids.
Just then, I realized Eva noona was being quiet and turned my head.
She was standing a short distance away, casually making a small snowman.
Come to think of it, she always had a quirky side, enjoying things on her own.
She was the type to get sidetracked during group quests in the game, too.
Still, considering she wasn't supposed to have survived past this month, seeing her like this filled me with a sense of pride.
“Domi, doesn't this snowman look just like you?”
Seeing her bright smile, I understood why Hyeok-seo-hyeong was so protective of her.
She's a natural airhead.
After being on the receiving end of aggressive advances from several women lately, this felt somewhat refreshing.
‘Have I been taking my good fortune for granted?’
Even so, I couldn't quite say I was completely happy with this situation, so I just scratched my head.
“They're coming.”
The moment Baeksan spoke, everyone turned to look ahead.
In the distance, something was kicking up a blizzard as it poured toward us.
It was none other than a horde of dimensional entities, rushing our way.
“Si-ho, take good care of Ji-eun.”
“Okay.”
As Si-ho replied, Yu U-jeong transformed her arms and legs into their beastkin form and tapped her fists together.
Talismans were fluttering around Eva noona, and seeing that, I was about to draw Thunderbolt.
“Hey, Kang Ha-chan.”
Just then, Baeksan called out to me.
I looked back at him, confused, and he gave me a grin as if to say this was a good opportunity.
“When else are you going to practice your swordsmanship? Take it out.”
“…For real?”
“Yeah. Are you saving it to trade for taffy later?”
He had a point, but…
“That sword is kind of scary.”
“It only acts up because you're scared of it. Don't worry. I already tamed it once.”
Hearing Baeksan, I let out a light sigh and agreed.
“Bazra.”
The moment I quietly uttered its name, a bolt of lightning shot up my arm.
With it, a sword of lightning formed, imbued with my own red electricity.
As I stared at the sword shimmering with red lightning, it suddenly crackled and began firing bolts in every direction on its own.
“Whoa, shit!”
Startled, I quickly dropped Bazra to keep it from hitting anyone, and it shot a bolt into the innocent sky.
The problem was that it was using my aura, and I could feel my energy draining rapidly.
Seriously, how am I supposed to handle this thing?
“What are you doing? Dominate it, you punk.”
“I think it's going to dominate me!”
“Tsk. Then just pump it full of aura. That thing lives on aura anyway. It'll calm down once it's full.”
Dammit.
Following Baeksan's advice, I had no choice but to summon my aura.
As I shot the aura toward Bazra, it immediately began gulping it down.
“That's going to give it bad habits.”
Baeksan watched Bazra with disapproval, but thanks to the feeding, the sword had calmed down a bit.
“Ha-chan, what are you doing? I'm going on ahead!”
With that, Yu U-jeong stomped on the ground and launched herself forward.
She leaped several hundred meters in an instant, brought her hands together like a hammer, and slammed them down on the horde of dimensional entities.
KWAANG!
In that moment, the Okuslies—creatures that looked like a mix between white deer and wolves—were swept away.
They were only B-rank dimensional entities, so they stood no chance of stopping Yu U-jeong's solo rampage.
“Domi, you seem to be in trouble.”
Eva noona asked, looking at me with a hint of concern.
“Isn't the spirit attached to you asking for too much?”
She glanced toward Baeksan as she spoke, and he snorted.
“Too much, my ass. This kid just sucks.”
“I can't hear you clearly, but it sounds like you're criticizing Domi. Don't do that to him.”
Eva noona, who could see Baeksan, couldn't make out his exact words but seemed to understand his tone.
At her rebuke, Baeksan just clicked his tongue and said no more.
Maybe next time Baeksan says something, I should go find Eva noona.
“I'm fine. Let's go, too.”
I said to Eva noona, then summoned my aura and ran toward the Okuslies.
Up close, I saw they were more than twice my size.
The fact that Yu U-jeong was sending creatures like this flying proved she was definitely S-rank.
Meanwhile, Eva noona's talismans flew through the air.
As each talisman attached itself to an Okusli, the creature's body was engulfed in blue flames.
I didn't know the principle behind it, but its power was immense.
‘Forget about the others for now.’
I decided to focus on myself first.
An Okusli that had rushed right up to me thrust its antlers at me.
Okuslies have a habit of goring their targets with their antlers and tossing them into the air.
Knowing this well, I twisted my body to the side, dodging the antlers, and gripped Bazra, aiming for the creature's flank.
During my training, I had learned not only how to use my body from Ahyu, but swordsmanship as well.
I was nothing compared to Ahyu, but I had at least mastered the proper stance for swinging a sword.
So, drawing on that memory, I brought Bazra down on the Okusli.
Slice! Pzzzzzt!
“Wuuuuuuung!”
Bazra sliced through the Okusli's thick hide with incredible ease and dug deep inside.
At the same time, Bazra began to unleash a torrent of lightning inside the creature, causing it to let out a pained scream.
It was a natural reaction, seeing as its insides were being fried by lightning.
Thud!
In an instant, the Okusli, now an electrically-charred roast, collapsed to the ground.
In a way, Bazra was a one-hit-kill sword.
If you were cut by it, lightning would flow inside you, meaning anyone without resistance would be finished instantly.
“…It's my own lightning, but damn, it's scary.”
As I stared at the Okusli, which was giving off a strangely delicious smell, another one charged at me.
Seeing it, I quickly backed away and began swinging Bazra again, clearing out the Okuslies.
Perhaps thanks to Ahyu's training, the fight against the Okuslies was easier than I expected.
That was because I had recently become able to draw out an average of 5% of my aura.
‘I'm finally getting decent at fighting dimensional entities.’
Since dimensional entities had simpler movements than humans…
I felt more at ease than when I fought returnees or other hunters.
Just as I finished off another one, my view suddenly cleared.
The ground was littered with the corpses of Okuslies.
Yu U-jeong and Eva noona had taken care of them all.
Seeing this, I dismissed Bazra, which was still crackling with lightning.
Didn't want it to throw another tantrum if I kept it out.
It seemed like it was going to take a long time to get along with Bazra.
Thunderbolt, on the other hand, had been a perfect fit from the start.
“Ha-chan-oppa!”
Just then, Si-ho and Ji-eun approached.
Ji-eun looked from the fallen Okuslies to me, her eyes sparkling.
“Ha-chan-oppa, you were really strong.”
Come to think of it, was this the first time I'd fought in front of Ji-eun?
“I only took down a few of them, though.”
“I've never even fought a dimensional entity before.”
Ji-eun wasn't officially registered as a hunter yet.
So, while she had studied dimensional entities, she had no actual combat experience.
“You'll be fighting for your life soon enough anyway.”
Yu U-jeong said, wiping the blood from her hands with a handkerchief as she looked at Ji-eun.
“So you need to get stronger before then.”
“Unni, thank you.”
“Ooh-hoo-hoo, Ha-chan. Ji-eun said thank you to me.”
She nudged my side with her elbow, a smug look on her face. I kicked the back of her knee and said,
“Alright, let's move. We have something to find.”
Something that would make the most of Ji-eun's empathy ability.
*
4
Iceland, a world lost to dimensional entities.
Why had we come here?
The reason was none other than to make use of Ji-eun's empathy ability.
According to Yu U-jeong, Ji-eun's empathy could allow her to form a contract with a spirit.
And the only dimensional gate connected to the Spirit World was in Iceland.
I felt a slight sense of anticipation.
I've always had a bit of a fantasy about spirits, after all.
Spirits, which have appeared in myths and fairy tales since ancient times, were mystical beings.
They were particularly famous for being dimensional entities that didn't attack people first.
Of course, that didn't mean they could be left alone, as their very presence affected the environment.
“There they are.”
Eva noona spoke again.
I followed her pointed finger and saw them: below a cascading waterfall, pure white snow spirits were floating above a lake.
They looked like clumps of cotton balls—low-rank snow spirits called Slichers.
“Wow, they're so pretty.”
Ji-eun's eyes sparkled as she watched the Slichers.
It seemed she had taken a liking to them.
“Oppa, I'm going to try and make a contract!”
Hearing her enthusiastic words, I nodded.
I then glanced at Eva noona, who understood my intention and naturally went to Ji-eun's side.
Eva noona knew how to form contracts with spirits.
So she was going to teach Ji-eun how to contract with a spirit.
Just then, the spirits began to slowly gather around Ji-eun.
The curious spirits had started to move, drawn by the sudden appearance of humans.
“Ah, it's cold.”
As a Slicher touched her hand, Ji-eun let out a playful laugh, one that perfectly suited a girl her age.
Meanwhile, one flew over to Si-ho.
Si-ho gently opened her hands, and the spirit landed softly upon them.
Finding it cute, she held it out for me to see.
“Manager, it's a spirit. It's cute.”
Si-ho was cuter.
Is this what it feels like to be a doting fool?
Meanwhile, Yu U-jeong stealthily approached a Slicher.
Her eyes were sparkling, too; it seemed she was also interested in the spirits.
But as she got closer, they all scattered with a flutter.
“What the heck, why are they only running from me? This is discrimination!”
I looked at her and said quietly,
“I hear spirits like pure people.”
“That's me.”
Shameless.
I shook my head at Yu U-jeong and turned my attention back to Ji-eun.
Ji-eun was holding a Slicher in her arms, seemingly using her empathy to form a contract.
It didn't seem easy, as it was her first time; she frowned from time to time.
Then, she slowly opened her eyes and gently lifted the Slicher.
The Slicher flew up into the air, spun around once, and then landed softly on Ji-eun's head.
“Ha-chan-oppa!”
Seeing this, an excited Ji-eun ran over to me.
She hugged my arm and began to proudly show off the spirit she had contracted.
“I did it! I made a contract! From now on, its name is Snow Flower!”
Snow Flower, huh.
It just looked like a cotton ball to me, but the name suited it.
“Huh?”
Just then, Ji-eun let out a flustered sound.
I turned to look at her, and she was staring at me with a bewildered expression.
“H-Ha-chan-oppa… Snow Flower just showed me something. I think someone's stranded.”
Her next words were completely unexpected.