Chapter 5
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Come Out Right Now!
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“Haa. Haa.”
My hands were trembling. There wasn’t any guilt. But the disgust toward violence, the relief of having survived, and an inexplicable sense of relief all mixed together into a terribly complicated mood.
Maybe it was simply that my arms hurt and that was making them shake. It had been an attack that used every ounce of my strength.
[There are monsters you can command as subordinates. Would you like to revive the Goblin (★)?]
“Make this guy a minion? Is that okay?”
There was the case of Moemoe Kyun, so I figured it might be fine, but I still worried he might attack me again.
[There are undistributed stat points. Please allocate your points.]
“Stat points? Ah! You idiot! If I’d distributed my stats, I could’ve won way easier.”
To make such a stupid mistake… I wanted to punch myself in the head.
Of course, I didn’t actually do it. Instead, to avoid repeating the same mistake, I immediately opened my status window and allocated the stats.
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 3. (2.0%)] [Mana 1/3]
[Strength 12, Agility 12, Vitality 7, Intelligence 20]
[Undistributed Stat Points: 0]
Just in case the goblin turned hostile, I focused on boosting strength and speed to overpower him. Once I raised the stats, I definitely felt stronger than before.
I tested it by picking up the rock from earlier.
The rock that I’d barely managed to lift with my shaking arms came up effortlessly now. It was light. I could probably lift it with one hand at this point.
“My original strength was 6, so it’s exactly doubled? This should be good enough.”
I summoned the goblin as a subordinate with peace of mind. Sure enough, along with the message that my mana had been consumed, the goblin appeared before me.
I observed him from a short distance. Ready to dodge immediately if he charged.
Fortunately, the goblin showed no hostility. No, on the contrary, he politely knelt and showed his submission to me.
He couldn’t speak like Moemoe Kyun, but strangely, I could roughly read his thoughts.
“Kirik! Kick!”
“Yeah. You’ll devote your life to me too, right? Good. I’ll watch for now. But if you show even a hint of anything suspicious, I won’t let it slide.”
“Kiiing—”
The goblin drooped his head with a somehow dejected expression.
Was it the first impression? He somehow seemed insincere.
But I decided to keep an eye on him for now. Either way, having a subordinate capable of physical attacks was a good thing.
“Oh, right, Moemoe Kyun. Next time an intruder comes, we’ll fight just like we did.”
“While I distract them, you sneak up and ambush from behind like a coward?”
“Cowardly… you’re too much.”
“Ah! Being called cowardly is the highest praise on our side.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. You can think of it as roughly meaning, ‘This bastard fights damn well.’”
No, what is this, it’s not even a game…
“People are all the same no matter where they live.”
“Huh?”
“No, nothing. Anyway, I’m tired. How many times did I almost die today?”
“Exactly twice.”
“…I wasn’t asking because I didn’t know.”
“Then why?”
“No, nothing. Anyway, now we can defend the dungeon decently at least. That’s a relief. Yawwwn!”
A yawn forced its way past my lips.
I was exhausted. After suddenly awakening in a dungeon and fighting for my life, all my energy had drained away.
“Man, I’m beat. I want to crash hard, but it’s all stone floor here. Haa. I wanna go home.”
As I lamented like that, Moemoe Kyun tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand.
“If you wanna go, just go.”
“You think I’m not going because I don’t want to? I don’t know how to get back.”
“You have the key, so why not?”
“Huh?”
“You can go back with the key. Just stick it in any door and open it.”
“That’s… possible?”
“Yes. The key doubles as a dimensional mover from the start.”
Moemoe Kyun looked at me with an expression like, ‘You’re the Demon King and you don’t even know that?’
‘Getting looked down on by my own minion… Do I really seem that pathetic?’
Still, it was a good expression to see. And now I knew how to get home.
“Alright. Then I’ll head home. Guard the dungeon well.”
“Yes. Master. I’ll defend it with my life.”
“Kirik!”
“Yeah. Yeah.”
When I held the key to the royal door, it opened, revealing my room.
I hopped over the threshold, and suddenly the space had shifted from the dungeon to my room.
“This isn’t a dream, right?”
I still felt dazed. But it definitely wasn’t a dream. The key was still in my hand, and my socks and clothes were covered in dirt and grass.
When I thought about wanting to see my status window, it popped up. Definitely not a dream.
I headed straight to the master bedroom. I had a ton of questions for Dad. Through the slightly open door, I could see him.
I stopped just as I was about to open it.
“Honey…”
Dad was crying. I quietly turned back so as not to make a sound. Looks like today was a tough day for both me and Dad.
‘Goodnight, Dad.’
* * *
“Dad, what kind of person was Mom?”
The next day, I asked over breakfast.
I had a ton of things I wanted to ask Dad, but what came out in the end was a relatively ordinary question.
“Your mom? Hmm. How should I put it… She was someone you couldn’t pin down. Extremely open-minded and free-spirited. Sometimes she’d make this mischievous face, and everyone would be scared of her. They said she gave off a dangerous vibe.”
“Were you scared, Dad?”
“Me? Haha. Actually, I liked that side of her. My ideal type is a femme fatale.”
Dad didn’t seem to know Mom’s true identity. And it seemed certain that Mom was the Demon King.
She was probably waiting somewhere in another world for me to come find her. Otherwise, there’d be no reason to give me the key.
“Dad’s heading out first. Eat slowly. Do the dishes right away. Got it?”
“Yeah. See you later.”
“Alright.”
“Oh, Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“…Never mind. See you later.”
“Yeah. Alright.”
Dad ruffled my hair with a proud smile and left.
For some reason, it felt like he’d seen right through me. Next time, I have to tell him ‘I love you’…
* * *
“Yawwwn!”
I passed through the school gate with half-closed eyes. The principal was glaring, but after finals were over, it didn’t feel scary at all.
I bowed my head in greeting and walked slowly. Winter had fully set in since finals, and it was freezing.
“Yawn!”
My mouth kept opening. The cold wind woke me up a bit, but the fatigue wouldn’t go away.
Unlike what I’d thought last night about wanting to rest easy, I couldn’t fall asleep easily. The sensation of killing the goblin kept coming back, keeping my nerves on edge.
To calm down, I rewatched Kage Gatsu all night. At first, I couldn’t focus, but once I hit my favorite episodes, I got sucked in like a ghost.
After looping Kage Gatsu for about three hours, my mind finally settled.
‘Kage Gatsu really is my sanctuary and cure-all.’
Thinking about it, I’d overcome the succubus’s temptation thanks to Kage Gatsu. Going further back, I’d endured the school bullying because of it too.
‘It’s seriously helpful for life in so many ways.’
With my composure restored, I binged Magical Girl Lilia season 3 until morning. Sleep? I could catch it in class.
‘Why does Magical Girl Lilia’s art get worse as it goes on?’
Lilia’s cute, round face had turned sharp in season 3. The action scenes had so much art collapse that it broke my immersion.
‘Anyway, for pulling an all-nighter, my condition’s pretty good? Must be thanks to the stats.’
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 3. (2.0%)] [Mana 0/3]
[Strength 12, Agility 12, Vitality 7, Intelligence 20]
I’d focused on strength and agility, but vitality had nearly doubled from 4 to 7. Maybe that’s why my head was still mostly clear despite the all-nighter.
Plus, my eyesight seemed better; my glasses didn’t fit right. It was clearer without them, so I wore my fake glasses—lenses removed—to school.
‘At this level… maybe I could even beat that guy?’
I thought of Kim Cheol-min and raised my fist.
With Moemoe Kyun’s help, sure, but I’d killed a goblin with these hands. No, I was more than twice as strong now. Maybe I could take on Kim Cheol-min?
‘No. I haven’t fought properly yet. I only beat the goblin thanks to Illusion.’
I wanted revenge right then, but decided to play it safe. Rebelling rashly might just piss him off more.
As I was calming my excitement, someone smacked the back of my head.
“What’re you doing, you retard?”
It was Kim Cheol-min. He threw his arm around my neck and whispered quietly.
“Hey, you bring the money?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, sorry. The figures didn’t sell as well as I thought…”
Truth was, I’d completely forgotten. I’d learned Mom was alive, become a dungeon master out of nowhere, and fought a goblin for my life. No way Kim Cheol-min’s words would stick.
“Fuck, that’s your problem. I told you to bring the money no matter what by today. You ignoring me? Wanna get expelled?”
“N-No, not that.”
“If we’re short because of you, you’re fucking dead. Got it?”
“Yeah. Got it.”
Kim Cheol-min walked off spewing curses in annoyance. I slowed my steps to put distance between us.
That’s when someone popped up from behind.
“What? He shaking you down too?”
“Wah, you scared me!”
It was O Deok-hun, a friend who shared my hobbies.
“Hmm. Dark circles under your eyes—you binged Lilia season 3 last night, huh? Am I right?”
O Deok-hun smirked meaningfully and pushed up his glasses.
“You a detective or something? How’d you know?”
“Your patterns are obvious. Anyway, you couldn’t scrape the money together?”
“Yeah. He wants 500,000 won. Said sell figures if I have to… Sigh. This sucks. Why’s he suddenly like this? One last big score before graduation?”
“Probably because of Lee Joo-hyuk.”
“Huh? Lee Joo-hyuk? You mean the top dog?”
Lee Joo-hyuk was on a whole other level from punks like Kim Cheol-min who just shook kids down.
Rumor had it he was connected to a mafia guild—even teachers and cops didn’t touch him.
“Word is, Lee Joo-hyuk’s joining a mafia guild after graduation. But they demanded a huge ‘membership fee.’”
The mafia guilds pretended to be legit hunter guilds, but they were no different from old-school gangsters. Instead of protection money, they guarded their turf.
There were voices saying we couldn’t entrust security to them, but the government turned a blind eye. Outside the capital, government control hadn’t reached yet.
Korea right now… no, the whole world was like a civil war. They had to borrow hands from gangsters or mafia just to maintain order.
As a result, guys like Lee Joo-hyuk scraped together cash to join mafia guilds, and the gangs built their power with money and manpower.
“Lee Joo-hyuk’s orders… He’ll do anything to make quota.”
“Yeah. Fail that, and he’s the one getting beat.”
“…Guess I really have to sell a figure.”
But my worries came too late.
At lunch, Kim Cheol-min stormed back into the classroom snorting like a bull.
“Cha In-hyeok, you fucking prick! Get out here right now!”
A clear handprint marked his cheek.