The Slap Heard 'Round the Cradle
As soon as Daejang-ajeossi stepped out of the Gate of Rest, the people lost their minds. And for good reason—he was absolutely drenched in blood from head to toe.
Dong-seong came running over, frantically checking the old knight’s body before visibly relaxing once he confirmed the man was unharmed. Following my orders, Daejang-ajeossi led the survivors deeper into the station. I used that moment to slip out quietly.
If the old man does a good job leading and nurturing that survivor group, they’ll become a huge asset to me later. But first, I need to run some experiments. There’s no guarantee he’ll stay functional out there.
I summoned the women from the Cradle of Rest and we moved quickly. Dawn was just beginning to break. The roads were finally visible. I put Juniel at the front and ran hard, putting as much distance as possible between us and the survivor camp.
Any monsters we encountered were wiped out by Juniel. After running for about an hour, we’d put a considerable gap between ourselves and the station.
‘I need to find somewhere high up. A spot where I can still see the survivor camp…’
Unfortunately, the area was mostly low buildings. There wasn’t a single tall structure that caught my eye. Si-eun looked at me curiously.
“Oppa, what are you looking for?”
“A high place. Somewhere with a clear view back toward the station we left. But I don’t see anything good.”
Si-eun scanned our surroundings, then brightened. “Oppa, what about heading up the mountain? There’s XX Mountain right near here. If we climb to the top, we should be able to see the entire city spread out below us.”
“XX Mountain?”
I’d never actually climbed it—I hate hiking—but I’d heard plenty about it. The trails were well-maintained, and it was apparently packed with citizens every weekend. The observatory at the summit was even a must-visit date spot for couples in the area.
Yeah… from up there, we’d definitely get a perfect view of the city.
“Alright. Let’s head for the mountain. Do you know the way?”
Both Si-eun and Ji-yoon shook their heads.
“We’ve never walked there before… We only know the general direction. If we just head that way, we should eventually find it, right?”
Hmm. Guess that’s our only option. I was about to say let’s just go when Ji-su stepped forward.
“M-Master. I know the way. I’ll lead us there.”
“…Really? Then you and Juniel take point and clear a path. We’ll follow behind.”
“Yes, Master.”
We started running again. Even after running for so long, I barely felt tired. Must be the high stats. After about thirty minutes, the entrance to the mountain trail came into view.
True to its popularity, the mountain was beautifully maintained like a tourist attraction. Normally it should have been swarming with hikers, but not a single person was in sight. Only the occasional monster wandering around caught our attention.
We cleaned up the monsters without much effort and began our ascent in earnest. Since you could even drive to the summit, the path upward was surprisingly comfortable. With our overflowing stamina, we reached the observatory at the top in no time.
Huh. So this is what it looks like.
It was my first time here. The observatory was a small three-story building wrapped in transparent glass. I stepped inside. The interior was completely empty. It felt strangely peaceful.
I led the group up to the very top floor. An open, sweeping panorama unfolded before us. From here, you could see the entire city stretching into the distance. The view was breathtaking.
I turned my gaze toward the station where the survivor camp was located. The clear weather made it easy to spot. Alright then… time for another experiment.
I focused my mind and issued a command to Daejang-ajeossi. We were standing at the summit of a mountain quite far from the survivor group. Would he still be able to move without issue? Had my order reached him?
I stared intently at OO Station, nerves tight, when suddenly I let out a triumphant shout.
“It works!!”
Ji-yoon looked at me in confusion. “Oppa? What works?”
I pointed toward the survivor camp. “Look over there.”
Ji-yoon followed the direction of my finger, then her eyes widened.
“Is that… smoke?”
“Exactly. I told him to light a fire and send up smoke if my command reached him. The fact that smoke is rising means my order got through despite this distance. It proves that controlling my thralls and giving them commands has nothing to do with range.”
“That’s amazing! It worked out perfectly!”
“Yeah. So… Ji-yoon, has your decision changed at all?”
“…What decision?”
“That even if you find your parents, you’ll stay with me.”
“Ah…” Ji-yoon nodded slowly. “Yes, oppa. I’ve already made up my mind. I’m going to stay with you until the very end.”
Damn, she’s adorable. How could I not love her?
Anyway, the experiment was done. What now? Since we’d already come all this way, we might as well rest here for the day. We’d spent the whole night fighting with the captain and then ran straight here without any sleep. I was exhausted.
After a good nap, it was finally time to give Juniel some proper attention. With everything that had been going on, I’d left her in that doll-like state for way too long.
I descended to the lower level of the observatory and summoned the Gate of Rest.
“Let’s rest here for the day. It’s still morning, but I didn’t sleep at all last night. I’m wiped out.”
“Ah, oppa. You’re going to sleep?”
“Yeah. What about you three? Won’t you get bored just staying inside the Cradle while I’m out?”
“We’re fine. Talking among the three of us is actually really fun.”
“No, if you three want to do something, feel free. You can look around outside too. Got it? I’ll leave the gate open.”
“Is that really okay, oppa?”
I nodded. Even with monsters around, Ji-su, Ji-yoon, and Si-eun should be more than capable of handling themselves. As long as they didn’t run into someone as absurdly strong as Juniel.
“Just make sure you take weapons with you if you go outside.”
“Understood, oppa.”
I stepped into the Cradle of Rest and collapsed onto the mattress. Si-eun, Ji-su, and Ji-yoon chatted excitedly as they headed back down the observatory. Looked like they were planning to explore outside.
Man, what a tiring day. Couldn’t even sleep properly because of Daejang-ajeossi. Sleeping alone felt strangely empty, though. I’d gotten used to falling asleep with someone in my arms every night.
“Juniel, come here.”
The doll-like woman who had been standing blankly shuffled over. Guess I’d have to settle for hugging Juniel tonight.
I lay down and tried to pull her into my arms, but immediately clicked my tongue in annoyance.
“Ugh, these damn horns are in the way. Turn the other direction and lie down, Juniel.”
At my command, she rolled over so her back faced me. I wrapped my arms around her from behind.
“Mm, that’s better. Keep your eyes closed, Juniel.”
I held her like that and quickly drifted off. My body, exhausted from staying up all night, fell into a deep sleep almost instantly.
‘Mm… what time is it…?’
When I opened my eyes, the entire Cradle of Rest was pitch black. Juniel was still nestled against me, back turned.
“The sun must have set. It’s completely dark now…”
I grabbed a lantern and lit it. The darkness inside the pocket dimension brightened immediately. Speaking of which, where were the girls? Why hadn’t they come back yet?
I wasn’t particularly worried. Like I said earlier—they were all incredibly strong.
I stretched and looked around the Cradle of Rest. Since I’d placed it inside the observatory, there was no extra space spilling out this time. Too bad. That meant I wouldn’t get to play that little game with Ji-su and her fear of heights.
But today I had something else planned. A very fun game I’d been looking forward to. And since the others still weren’t back yet… I might as well get started.
“Juniel, open your eyes and wake up.”
That’s right. Today was the day I restored Juniel’s sanity.
I had deliberately left her untouched until now just for this moment. Well, to be honest, there were plenty of other women I could have played with, so I just never got around to her… but right now, it was only the two of us.
I was incredibly curious what kind of reaction she would show once her mind returned.
I stood facing her. Juniel was truly beautiful—crimson hair, matching red eyes, and delicate, refined features. I activated the Restore Sanity skill on her.
Black energy flowed from my hand, wrapping around her head before slowly seeping inside. The hazy, unfocused look in her red eyes gradually sharpened.
And then—
With a sharp whoosh, her hand axe stopped dead right next to my neck.
Yeah. She really was a crazy red-haired bitch.
Juniel looked shocked that her own hand had stopped moving. She struggled desperately to swing the axe again.
“W-Why… why won’t it move?!”
Keep struggling all you want, you crazy bitch. You’ll never be able to kill your owner.
“Lower your hand.”
Her arm slowly dropped at my command. Juniel’s eyes widened in panic.
“W-What the hell? Why… why?!”
She stared at me in utter confusion, desperately trying to raise her arm again. I spoke calmly.
“Don’t waste your strength. You can’t attack me.”
“Shut up! Don’t flap those filthy, stinking lips at me!”
“Hmm. You’ve got quite the mouth on you. But you seem surprisingly sane. Don’t you remember dying?”
“What the fuck are you—!”
She suddenly flinched, shoulders twitching as her brows furrowed.
“Uh… huh? N-Now that you mention it… I… I definitely…?”
That’s right. I smashed your skull with my nunchucks and you died. It’s finally coming back to you, huh?
I gave her a bright smile. “Remember now?”
“I told you to shut up! How dare a piece of trash like you speak to me—!”
The crisp sound of my full-powered slap echoed through the Cradle of Rest.
With my current stats, it probably didn’t hurt her physically that much. But the mental shock? That was something else entirely.
Just as I expected, Juniel looked completely dumbfounded.
“W-What did you just do? You just hit—!”
Another slap across the face. A dog that doesn’t recognize its owner needs to be trained with the stick.
It probably didn’t hurt much physically, which was a shame. Still, it must have been humiliating.
I kept slapping her. Again and again.
Whew. Strangely enough, I could feel the stress melting away. So refreshing.
While my expression grew brighter with every slap, Juniel’s face twisted more and more with rage.
“After doing something like this to me—!”
That one landed perfectly. Her head snapped to the side, and a wisp of black smoke leaked from the corner of her mouth.
Even then, she kept struggling to move her body, trying to stop me. It must have been incredibly frustrating—being unable to do what she wanted.
“Why… why can’t I move… why…” she muttered, face completely contorted.
I looked at her calmly. “When you’re ready to talk, say so. We’ll have a conversation then. Until then, I’ll just keep hitting you. Understand?”
“You… you bastard…”
“Ah, and from now on, you will address me as ‘Master.’”
“Shut up! Why the hell would I call you—… eh?”
“There we go. Good girl. From now on, you will call me Master.”
“W-What? Master! What the hell did you do to me?!”
“Perfect. You’re learning fast. Anyway, let me know when you’re ready to talk, okay?”
I started slapping her again.
Ah, this is so much fun.
Tonight was going to be an incredibly, incredibly enjoyable night.