Chapter 63
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Charming Trinkets
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An hour had passed since they entered the cave region.
The first to tire was Ppuri. Perched on Cheon Doun’s shoulder, the little mandragora couldn’t bear the dryness and began to gasp for air.
“Mister. Here's the cream.”
Kim Nari quickly opened the lid of the moisturizing cream and held it out. Cheon Doun scooped some out and spread it generously all over Ppuri.
Once it was applied to its leaves and stem, Ppuri’s breathing eased considerably.
“Alright, time to go in.”
Cheon Doun held out the beaker filled with soil. Ppuri gauged the distance to the beaker, then leaped with all its might.
It was the same thing that had happened back at the snow mountain research lab. Ppuri fell far short of its target, not even covering half the distance before plummeting.
“There it goes again.”
Cheon Doun moved the beaker to catch the falling mandragora. After landing safely inside, Ppuri puffed out its little belly and looked up at him.
As if to say, *Did you see that jump, my helper?* Cheon Doun chuckled at its proud display.
For a mandragora with poor eyesight, that jump was the best it could manage.
“Yeah, that was a great jump. Now go on in and get some sleep.”
Cheon Doun gently patted its leaf. Closing its eyes to savor the touch, Ppuri finally burrowed into the soil, content.
‘I should give this little guy a name. What would be a good one?’
As he mulled it over, nothing coming to mind, his gaze fell upon a cave to his right.
It was faint, but he could see a fluorescent halo of light. Following it, he turned a corner and discovered a cluster of mushrooms completely covering a stone pillar.
“Whoa… Mister. This is amazing. The whole pillar is glowing. It’s so brilliant.”
“It is. I didn't expect them to be growing on a pillar.”
“So… this is what we're going to put on… our house?”
Kim Nari felt a nervous flutter as she spoke. *Our house.* Her heart pounded as she let the simple phrase escape her lips.
“That’s right. We’re going to paint the house with it.”
Cheon Doun didn’t correct her use of ‘our house.’ In response, Kim Nari fidgeted with her fingers and stomped her feet with glee.
“The house… our house is going to be so much brighter. It’ll be beautiful.”
“It will. The color is so bright, it’ll be easy to spot from a distance. And at night, glowing along with the fence, it’ll look quite charming.”
Cheon Doun said as he began picking the mushrooms. They were about three centimeters in size, short and round, resembling little balls.
“How many do we need to pick?”
“Fill up the bags. That should be plenty.”
They had brought four bags in total. Working together, they filled them in no time.
Cheon Doun zipped his bag shut. Kim Nari did the same, slinging one bulging backpack over each shoulder.
“Mister, which way do we go? I don’t remember the way back.”
“I don’t know the path either. We just have to go up.”
“Up?”
Kim Nari glanced up at the ceiling.
Arched stone pillars formed the ceiling, but the gaps between them looked wide enough for a person to slip through.
Kim Nari sized up a stone pillar, then threw a punch. A deafening boom echoed through the cave, but the pillar didn’t so much as tremble.
“Huh? It’s solid. It won’t break.”
Kim Nari’s face filled with surprise. She’d considered knocking down the pillars to stack them like stairs, but that plan was now out the window.
Should she try climbing, then? Kim Nari touched the pillar. Its surface was as smooth as marble, offering no handholds.
Then she would have to break off a piece to create a handhold. Kim Nari clenched her fist again. Seeing this, Cheon Doun smiled to himself.
“If it were that easy to get out, this place wouldn’t be designated a high-risk zone. Even I have a tough time breaking these stones, so don’t waste your strength.”
“Even you can’t break them, Mister?”
“I can break them, but it’s highly inefficient. These stones are made of a material that absorbs impact.”
“Oh?”
“The strange thing is, if you bring other stones in here, they take on the same properties.”
Conversely, if you take one of the stones from this cave outside, its unique shock-absorbing quality vanishes.
“That’s strange. Why does that happen?”
“Who knows. Probably a unique property of this region’s terrain.”
Cheon Doun glanced around.
“On top of that, there are times when an Awakened’s abilities won’t activate in here. Flight is a prime example.”
Kim Nari looked puzzled. Listening to Cheon Doun, she felt something was off.
“Mister. It’s almost like… well…”
“Like someone is intentionally preventing people from escaping?”
Kim Nari nodded. The cave region had an uncanny combination of adverse conditions that made it seem impossible to leave once you entered.
“Not much has been discovered about the cave region. It’s so vast that even the Association gave up trying to reach its center.”
Of all the people who went in to uncover its secrets, not one ever returned. After decades of this, it became a place everyone had abandoned.
“You’ve never been all the way to the center either, Mister?”
“Never. I tried to go once out of curiosity, but the caves just kept going on like a maze, and I got bored pretty quickly.”
Cheon Doun looked up at the stone pillars. They were about fifty meters tall on average—roughly the height of a fifteen-story apartment building.
He handed the beaker with Ppuri to Kim Nari.
Once she took it, Cheon Doun hoisted her onto his back and leaped upward. Just as gravity began to pull them down, he pressed his palm against a stone pillar.
It was the same adhesion ability he’d used as a child to stick to Yu Jia’s window, making her faint from shock.
A suction cup formed on his palm, sticking fast to the glossy stone. With a single arm, he pulled himself upward, ascending the pillar.
Reaching the top, he surveyed his surroundings. From up high, the pillars looked like a series of giant stepping stones.
“The way we came from… is over there.”
Since they were still near the outskirts, the surrounding fields and mountains were visible.
Having confirmed their direction, Cheon Doun began to leap from pillar to pillar as if they were stepping stones. As he moved, Kim Nari looked around.
“Is it really this easy to get out?”
“It is.”
“You said this was a high-risk zone. I thought it would be more dangerous.”
Cheon Doun chuckled. In truth, the combination of adverse conditions was more than enough to make it an incredibly dangerous place for most Hunters.
“By that logic, the alpine and volcanic regions were the same. There wasn’t anything especially dangerous there either, was there?”
Kim Nari’s eyes widened at his words. Come to think of it, the places they’d already visited had also been designated as high-risk zones by the Association.
She had always been taught that the inside of a Gate was a desolate place, so this felt strange.
‘I was taught this was a terrifying place.’
That was why she had steeled herself for the worst when she escaped the institute and jumped into the Gate. She had bid farewell to her friends, thinking she might die then and there.
But it was different. This place was warm. Comfortable. A place where she could laugh and sleep in peace.
“Mister. I’m glad I came here.”
Her voice was quiet, but Cheon Doun heard her perfectly. A faint smile touched his lips.
“I agree. I like it here, too.”
He replied as he leaped from the last pillar, landing softly on the ground outside the cave region.
* * *
Back at the house, Cheon Doun set down the bags full of mushrooms. All that remained was to craft a tool to extract their juice.
‘First, I’ll need a basin. I can probably just hollow out the center of a large rock.’
‘I’ll put the mushrooms in there, crush them, then filter out the pulp.’ Cheon Doun searched for a suitable boulder and carried it to the waterfall ravine.
He sized up the boulder, then pressed a finger into its surface.
His finger sank in up to the first knuckle. He then traced a circle and began scraping out the rock within the outline.
Though the boulder was solid, his hands scooped it out as easily as if it were tofu.
Having created a massive basin, he placed it in the stream to wash it out.
“This should do.”
Having fashioned a stone tool in an instant, he carried the basin back to the house. As he set it down, Kim Nari approached, peering at it curiously.
“Did you make this, Mister?”
“I did.”
“It’s amazing. It looks like a giant bowl. Should we put the mushrooms in here?”
“That’s right. Pour them all in. Nari, you can get in and crush them with your feet. I’ll filter the juice once it comes out.”
Kim Nari’s face lit up at his words. To her, this felt like a game.
Kim Nari took off her shoes, rolled up her pant legs, and stepped into the basin.
“This feels funny.”
The sensation of the round mushrooms squishing underfoot was soft and pleasant.
It felt as fluffy as marshmallows, and she couldn’t help but laugh. As she stomped around excitedly, a fluorescent, lime-green juice began to pool at the bottom.
“Mister, look! My feet are glowing!”
“You’re doing great. Keep it up.”
Once they were sufficiently crushed, he would need to filter out the pulp. For that, he needed a strainer.
‘For a strainer… I guess I’ll have to tear up a shirt.’
Cheon Doun went into the dressing room. He picked out a sturdy-looking cotton shirt.
He tore open the side seam and spread it out, creating a wide piece of fabric.
‘This should do.’
Returning to the yard, he scooped the crushed mushrooms into the cloth. He twisted it forcefully, and the juice it had absorbed poured into the basin.
He repeated the process of straining out the pulp, and the juice in the basin grew clearer and clearer.
“Looks like we’re about done. Time to paint the house.”
Cheon Doun looked back at the house. A paintbrush would make the job easier, but without one, he could just rub the liquid on by hand.
Cheon Doun looked down at his hands, which were already stained with the fluorescent liquid.
Since they were already stained, he might as well use them to paint. He stood before the log cabin, ready for the final step.
* * *
Nam Giseok, a B+ rank Hunter, was astonished by his own growth.
The time it took him to purge demonic energy averaged three to four days. That was already fast compared to others, but recently, the time had shortened dramatically.
‘Whoa, what is this? It’s only been a day and a half, and I’m already recovered enough to enter a Gate. Is this even possible?’
Not even A-rank Hunters could recover this quickly. Knowing that, Nam Giseok was thrilled. He had a great feeling about this year’s promotion exam.
‘Incredible. The Boss’s training method really is something else.’
This was why having a good mentor was so important. Nam Giseok grinned, stroking the fur clothes he wore.
“Alright, time to head out.”
Nam Giseok picked up the bags he’d prepared. This time, he’d brought much more than just food.
Inside a box were camping lights—the string kind you could wrap around walls or trees for decoration.
‘I also bought a wind chime to hang in the window.’
The kind that made a clear, ringing sound in the wind. He’d carefully chosen one with a glass bell design.
He’d also bought a few picture frames to hang on the exterior walls—paintings by a famous artist, depicting vibrant flowers.
‘The Boss’s house has a pretty terrifying vibe. I’ll hang these frames on the outside to give it a cheerier feel.’
He planned to hang them over the spots where that green liquid had dripped down and hardened.
He’d even gone to the trouble of custom-ordering waterproof frames so the rain wouldn’t be an issue.
Beyond that, he had purchased several other charming interior decorations.
The house was already unique-looking. He planned to lean into its peculiar exterior and decorate it to feel like an art gallery.
‘That should help tone down the horrifying atmosphere a bit.’
He crushed the return stone and stepped into the Gate, carrying the boxes. His heart pounded with excitement at the thought of making the monstrous house look more like a home.
“Boss! I’m here! I brought a bunch of stuff this time! If you’ll let me, I was thinking I could… decorate the… house…”
Nam Giseok’s voice trailed off. He froze, staring at the house, which looked like it was in the middle of its own renovation.
“Oh? It’s Uncle Giseok!”
Kim Nari, still stomping mushrooms in the stone basin, waved at him.
Nam Giseok couldn’t reply. His gaze was fixed, unmoving, on the house where Cheon Doun was working.
Fluorescent handprints were stamped all over the walls. Hundreds of them. The eerie streaks dragged down from them gave the place a sinister air.
If the color had been red instead of fluorescent green, it would have looked like the scene of a gruesome mass murder.
‘No, the fluorescent color just makes it even more grotesque.’
It looked exactly like the alien blood from that movie he’d seen. Nam Giseok broke out in a cold sweat at the memory.
The house, which had previously looked like something out of a horror movie, had just been upgraded to a sci-fi horror movie.
Now, it felt like aliens might join the ghosts in crawling across the ceiling.
“Ah… um… Boss. I…”
This was a mistake. It was terrifying. He didn’t want to go inside. Could he possibly salvage this?
His mind reeling, Nam Giseok dropped the box he was holding. Its contents—an assortment of charming trinkets—tumbled out feebly onto the ground.