Chapter 7

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 7

Chapter Title: Blackie, You're Totally Lucifer!!

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"Blackie, you're totally Lucifer!!"

Maybe because Awakens Then Leaves Gallery's voice was so loud, one by one, the people around us started turning their heads to stare in our direction.

Then they muttered something to the companions next to them. Since I heard Woo Jin-seong's name, it was probably about me.

This was so embarrassing. I was so mortified my face felt like it was going to explode. I hung my head low, my shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

"Was my voice too loud? Sorry."

Apologizing now? Way too late for that. Everyone nearby was already staring right at us.

Wait. Everyone was staring only at me? I'd never gotten this much attention even at the orphanage. My heart pounded wildly. Actually, wasn't this kinda great??

Still, the embarrassment was unavoidable…

I just barely stuck out my hand and tugged at the green-haired woman's sleeve. If I didn't get out of here right now, my heart really would burst.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry, sorry. Let's talk inside first. I was so clueless."

"Eut."

"By the way, once you enter the Tower, your phone won't work, so make any calls you need beforehand."

"Yes. Y-Yes."

Thanks to my actions, Awakens Then Leaves Gallery seemed to catch on and adjusted her sunglasses with a nod.

Fortunately, it didn't take long to head inside the Tower. After all, she'd been waiting right at the entrance.

"Even after entering the Tower, there's a safe zone for a while, so I'll explain a bit about it then."

"O-Okay…"

Gripping her sleeve, I walked toward the blue portal, and a chilling sensation wrapped around my body as the surroundings darkened.

When I came to, what filled my vision was a forest packed with trees so massive they made the park near my house look like nothing.

The air inside the Tower was humid, and a musty moldy smell wafted from somewhere, turning my stomach.

As I took a deep breath in and out with a sharp inhale, Awakens Then Leaves Gallery spoke in a surprised, excited voice.

"You're really an Awakener, huh?"

"Y-Yeah?"

I'd already said I awakened. What was that supposed to mean? I tilted my head, and she gave a further explanation.

"Only Awakeners can pass through the Tower portal. Regular people who haven't awakened can't even enter the Tower."

"Ugh."

Was she suspecting me of lying? And she'd lied to me earlier too. She was definitely a bad person. So unfair.

"Right, I forgot to introduce myself. You know what an introduction is, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm not that dumb."

"Good. My name's Im Ji-won. Feel free to call me Ji-won unnie."

I twitched my eyebrows for a moment. Not because of anything else, but because she told me to call her unnie.

No matter that my body had become like this, I'd lived over 25 years as a man. Calling another woman unnie? The manly soul dormant inside me would never allow it.

"J-Just call me Eunha…"

"Got it, Eunha. You've never heard anything about the Tower, right?"

"I looked up Awakener interviews."

"Woo Jin-seong's Awakener interview?"

At Ji-won's words, I blinked in surprise. How'd she know that?

"What's with the shock? You're the one who always posted in the gallery about Woo Jin-seong or wanting to awaken."

"Ah…"

"But you probably don't know everything, so I'll tell you the real basics while we walk."

I glanced at Blackie, then started following Awakens Then Leaves Gallery. The Tower's interior was even more wondrous than I'd imagined.

A tower sounded like it should be enclosed on all sides, but in reality, it was wide open everywhere.

And even though it was a forest with lots of trees around, the sky was as bright as midday, so it wasn't that dark.

"They say each floor of the Tower is huge. From the info so far, each floor is at least the size of a major city."

"Wow…"

Awakens Then Leaves Gallery shared various other facts too.

For example, Tower entrances were all over the world, but only one place let you see the actual Tower structure.

And since there was only one Tower, no matter which entrance you used, you'd run into Awakeners from all over the world…

"That's why I reacted to your summon's name. The Tower has people from everywhere, so if you run into a black person…"

"Wuing?"

"No. You look young anyway; what would you know. It's probably just what they named it. Anyway, continuing—"

The most important part was how to go up to the next floor. The Tower was so vast that there wasn't just one boss room—there were several.

If you found one and defeated the boss, you'd get the key to the next floor.

It sounded simple, but finding a boss room was hard, and getting there meant fighting tons of monsters, so it was tough.

"That's why Tower raids are usually done in guild parties. But now the lower floors are mapped out, so small groups with senior Awakeners handle them."

As I nodded, Awakens Then Leaves Gallery, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

Wondering why, I looked around and spotted a sign right in front of us.

Dungeon Zone? What was different from where we'd walked so far? I looked up at Ji-won, and she shrugged.

"Remember I said at first? There's a safe zone after entering the Tower. Like that, the Tower's divided into three zones."

"Three zones?"

"Yeah. Safe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠zone with no monsters, dungeon zone with monsters, and boss rooms."

She added that higher floors had more variables, but they were generally divided that way.

"Anyway, monsters start appearing from here on."

"Monsters…"

"Yeah. You cleared the Tutorial Tower, right? Floor 1 is beginner level, so mostly goblins like there. The difference is they move in packs here."

I blinked. I'd cleared the Tutorial Tower somehow, but I'd never actually fought goblins. By the time I got there, only corpses were left.

"You even beat Woo Jin-seong for the Honor Hall #1 spot, right? Floor 1 should be easy then."

"Y-Yeah…"

"If anything gets dangerous, I'll help. That was the goal today anyway."

Wasn't the original goal verifying I was an Awakener? I had a fleeting doubt but nodded since she offered help.

"Then you take the lead. I'll guide the way, just handle the goblin packs that come out."

"Yes…!"

I glanced at the sign, then stroked Blackie's head on my shoulder.

"You can do it, Blackie?"

"Puuu! Ppu pp! Puu!"

Did Blackie sense my tension? Or the monsters ahead? It jumped off my shoulder and took the lead, tapping the ground with its eight legs.

As I did, Awakens Then Leaves Gallery looked at me curiously.

"Did you say something to me?"

"N-No, nothing really."

"Okay. No need to tense up. It's just a bit harder than the Tutorial Tower, like I said."

The moment Ji-won's words ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ended, I followed Blackie—who'd taken the lead—and left the safe zone.

The instant we entered the dungeon zone, a ding! rang out, and a system window appeared before my eyes.

The screen glitched with static, letters scrambling wildly.

I furrowed my brow at the glitching text that popped up.

"Uh… M'Tlblys? What's that?"

I'd been excited for the Tutorial Tower reward, but this weird quest bummed me out.

Even if I didn't do it alone, I got #1. Shouldn't it be some amazing beginner-friendly reward?

I turned my head slightly to look at Awakens Then Leaves Gallery behind me.

"Why're you spacing out all of a sudden?"

"Um, well… I have a question about the Tutorial Tower reward."

"Yeah, go ahead."

"What do you usually get for the Tutorial Tower reward?"

Awakens Then Leaves Gallery let out a small chuckle, like what a silly question.

"You got it too, right? Basic skillbook and low-grade mana storage stone."

I pouted at the system window floating in front of me. Why didn't I get mine?

"So… no quests or anything for Tutorial clear rewards?"

"Huh? Quest? There's something like that?"

"Ugh."

As my shoulders slumped, Awakens Then Leaves Gallery raised one eyebrow.

"Wait, did you seriously not get the Tutorial Tower clear reward at all?"

"Ugh, yeah. But a weird quest popped up, and it said it's the reward, so…"

She tapped her chin with her index finger.

"Weird. So there's quests too, huh. Maybe it's a special reward just for #1?"

"Dunno."

"Yeah? Woo Jin-seong didn't mention it in his interview, so I don't know either. What does the quest want you to do?"

I recited the quest list exactly as it appeared.

"Goblins pop up everywhere, Goblin Lords sometimes too, and Goblin King’s in the boss room so you'll clear it naturally… but what's that M-something?"

I shook my head helplessly. If she didn't know about M'Tlblys, how would I?

"No clue, but I'm curious what it is. Let's hunt some goblins first? Clearing the rest might reveal something."

Yeah, no other way to figure out the quest. I nodded and started walking again.

"Yeeeah…"

After a short walk, the bushes rustled violently, and six goblins with rusted daggers burst out yelling.

"Gob, gobueee!"

"Eunha, stay sharp."

"Y-Yes!"

Unlike the ones in the Tutorial Tower, these were real, live monsters. I held my breath for a moment.

The goblins drooling as they eyed us, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their rusted daggers looking plenty threatening.

And unlike before, they were charging straight at me, making my body tense up instinctively.

I-It's fine. No need to be scared. I've got Blackie!

With a slightly terrified expression, I stretched my hand toward the goblins as hard as I could and shouted.

"B-Blackie! Fight…!"

This was the moment to see Blackie's combat prowess. After it obliterated the dresser last time, there was no way it was weak.

As I pointed at the goblins, Blackie—scuttling along the ground—wiggled its legs confidently.

"Ppu pp puu!"

Then it happened in an instant. I stared wide-eyed at Blackie in a daze.

W-What was that?

The clash between Blackie and the goblin pack couldn't even be called a fight.

The moment I yelled, Blackie's eight legs multiplied unnaturally, dancing in the air.

The tips of those impossibly long legs touched the six goblins' heads, and they exploded with bangs.

And that wasn't all. The goblins exploded by Blackie's legs left no corpses.

Just black ink stains, like watercolor paint smeared in water.

"B-Blackie!"

I scooped up Blackie as it returned with a triumphant look and hugged it tight.

See? My eyes weren't playing tricks. My Blackie really was amazing!

Looks like a cute doll, but totally Lucifer!

With Blackie by my side, maybe even national powerhouse hunter wasn't a pipe dream.

"You're amazing, really. I starved you yesterday 'cause we were broke, but I'll make you tons of yummy stuff from now on!"

"Ppu! Ppu pp!"

Only then did I turn to Awakens Then Leaves Gallery behind me.

After seeing Blackie's strength, she'd surely acknowledge me as #1.

Then I'd get tons of upvotes?? Maybe spread rumors so I'd get as much attention as Woo Jin-seong.

"Huh? W-Why?"

But Awakens Then Leaves Gallery's expression was off. She stared blankly at my face, then cautiously approached, clenching her fist.

"Eunha, your summon's name is Blackie, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"And you just yelled that summon's name."

"Yeah…?"

Awakens Then Leaves Gallery worked her lips, then sighed deeply.

"So… where's that summon right now?"

What kind of question was that? I looked up at her blankly, then held out Blackie in my arms.

"Right here!"

"…It's right there?"

Then Ji-won's face darkened, like she'd seen something wrong.

"A-Alright. Let's keep going forward for now. Figuring out your quest is priority today anyway."

She patted my shoulder with an awkward smile.

For some reason, unease crawled up my spine.

Why…?