Chapter 8

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 8

Chapter Title: The Trumpet Puppy Summon

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Isn't the kid's mental state too unstable?

"Eunha, did you really awaken a summoning ability?"

"Uh, yeah? Uuuum... I think so. When I woke up, Blackie was here."

"I, I see."

Im Ji-won was utterly flustered right now.

More than a little flustered, in fact.

And with good reason—today, she'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠come out here with such a light heart.

She'd simply taken an interest in that idiot from the Awakener Aspirant Gallery who always posted awakening attempt reviews and now claimed to have actually awakened.

Judging by his posts so far, he was obviously a moron anyway, so she'd figured she might as well help out while she was at it.

Even when this cute little purple-haired girl had shown up claiming to be "Woo Jin-seong's Successor," it had been amusing.

'No wonder she seemed so pure-brained and innocently naive somewhere. Turns out she's just a kid. Cute, though.'

Even when she'd realized Eunha was a real awakener, it had only surprised her briefly—no real fluster.

'A real awakener? Hmm, last time she mentioned having no guardian. Guess I'll have to stick close and help her out for a while. The Association and guild folks would suck her dry.'

Up to that point, no issues. Just a unique case, nothing to shock Im Ji-won.

It definitely should've been that way...

"Blackie, you're all set!"

Every time Eunha pointed dramatically at thin air and called out a nonexistent summon's name, Im Ji-won's mood grew stranger.

When Im Ji-won had first awakened, panicked goblins had exploded out in droves—clearly a powerful ability. But watching her pet, hug, and praise empty air after every fight made Im Ji-won feel not envy, but pity.

'She's got something that strong, so first place probably isn't a lie. But isn't her mental state way too unstable?'

Of course, it wasn't hard to imagine why this tiny girl had ended up like this.

Among her Gallery posts, several had subtly revealed she was an orphan.

Maybe, without family, she'd created imaginary friends to overcome the loneliness.

'Abilities awaken under extreme stress, after all. Something that powerful means she endured stress I can't even imagine.'

The more she thought about it, the more pity filled Im Ji-won's eyes as she gazed at Eunha.

No matter how much stronger awakeners fared in modern society the more powerful their abilities...

She couldn't envy a tiny, cute girl like that—especially one whose smarts didn't seem all that great—having such an unstable mental state.

'Was all that effort to awaken part of it too? How tough must it have been? I was too casual asking to meet up. What do I do?'

As Im Ji-won watched her worriedly, Eunha suddenly toddled over toward her.

"Huh? What's up, Eunha?"

"Oh, um... I took down a hundred goblins and ten goblin lords. Heh."

"A-already?"

"Yep! Blackie went shwoosh, chop-chop-chop!"

Im Ji-won watched Eunha, closing her eyes tightly for a moment before reaching out to gently stroke her head.

Eunha, unused to such touch, hesitated awkwardly, shuffling her feet back a bit.

This only solidified Im Ji-won's thoughts.

'If she's really living alone, she's definitely in a rough environment. I'll offer to take her home today and check it out.'

***

The sensation of being an awakener for the first time in my life was simply incredible.

A refreshing clarity washing through me.

Especially here—I hadn't seen Blackie's powers properly in the Tutorial Tower, but now I knew just how awesome Blackie was.

'It's only been about an hour, and we've already taken down a hundred goblins.'

I hugged Blackie, who'd just returned from hunting monsters, and stroked her head.

Good girl.

"Pbuu! Pbuuuu!"

Watching Blackie go shwoosh?? and chop-chop-chop-chop! on the goblins made it clear she was my treasure, so I wanted to treat her well.

If Blackie could grow more here, she might even reach national powerhouse level!

"Uuugh, uuhihi. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Good job, Blackie. Now, what quests are left?"

No sooner had I spoken than the system window popped up. I squinted at the quest list.

'Just head to the boss room now?'

I checked the quest window and swiped it away.

One weird thing: we'd killed a hundred goblins, but no sign of that M'Tlblys thing—not even a hair.

It said "recovery," so probably an item. Maybe a treasure chest in the tower? I looked up at Awakens Then Leaves Gallery.

"Th-that, um, so. Awakens Then Leaves Gallery..."

"Just call me sis. Nice and casual."

As if I could call her sis. The blazing pride of a true man inside me wouldn't allow it.

I awkwardly glossed over it and spoke up.

"A-anyway. So. Any treasure chests in the tower?"

"Treasure chests?"

"Y-yeah."

Awakens Then Leaves Gallery, who'd been looking awkward, pondered briefly then nodded.

I didn't know why she kept spacing out staring at me, but she was probably awed seeing Blackie's strength firsthand.

"There are treasure chests, yeah? But that 'recovery' thing in your quest, M'Tlblys or whatever? That why?"

"Y-yeah. Says to recover it, so probably an item."

"Hm. Then we need the boss room."

What did treasure chests have to do with boss rooms? I tilted my head.

"Treasures usually drop in boss rooms. Higher floors are different, but on Floor 1, yeah."

"Ooh."

"I know where the boss room nearby is, so we can get there quick."

"Ah, o-okay...!"

As Awakens Then Leaves Gallery said, the boss room wasn't far.

We passed through slightly curved trees and along damp dirt paths, arriving soon.

Goblins even fled at the sight of Blackie after I'd taken down a hundred, so it felt faster.

"Eunha, that's the boss room. Something different from before will come out once you're inside, so be careful."

I looked at the scene ahead.

The dense trees parted to reveal massive ramparts.

"It's a hundred times bigger than my house..."

I unintentionally gasped in awe, and Awakens Then Leaves Gallery glanced over pityingly.

My reaction too bumpkin-ish? But I'd only been an awakener a short time—this was fair.

"Shall we head in right away?"

"Y-yeah!"

No reason to delay anyway.

Blackie had shone, but using mana left me a bit drowsy—still plenty of strength left.

"Pb, pbuuuu!"

Blackie brimmed with enthusiasm too, so the goblin king should be no problem.

Kiiiiiiik———

Awakens Then Leaves Gallery knocked on the rampart door three times, and it slowly creaked open wide.

We stepped right through, and the system window appeared again.

Citadel sounded cool, but inside, it wasn't that impressive.

The vast space made the outer walls seem pointless—empty and shabby.

The half-collapsed ceiling let in patchy light, with broken pillar debris and weeds everywhere.

Less a citadel, more a ruined hideout.

'Is that the boss?'

In the center of the rundown ruins, atop a worn, massive stone throne, sat a green-skinned figure.

"Me, Goblin, King, Gob..."

Its size dwarfed normal goblins.

The goblin king wore a ragged cape, a crudely carved stone crown tilted on its head, breathing roughly.

"Eunha, you okay with this?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Blackie, you can take that guy, right?"

"Pb! Pbpbpbuuu!"

Honestly, it looked scary enough to make me need to pee, but I trusted Blackie.

Look—Blackie was even lifting both legs in a muscle-flexing pose!

Though Blackie had no muscles, of course.

"Blackie says she's confident. I'll give it a shot."

"Okay. But don't let your guard down. Bosses are different from regular monsters."

"Got it."

As I stepped up confidently, Awakens Then Leaves Gallery fell back a bit. Pulling on gloves suggested she wanted to help.

"Who dares invade great citadel? I am King Goblin..., Gob..., Invaders not forgiven..., ever..."

Soon, the goblin king rose from the stone throne. Its sheer size forced my head back.

Too big!

"Blackie, go get 'em! Show your power!"

I pointed my index finger at the goblin king, and Blackie charged without hesitation.

But Blackie's legs never reached it.

One reason.

"I am..., Goblin, Kiiiiing..., wha, what?"

The hideous goblin king stared at me, eyes bulging wide, then froze solid.

"Huh?"

"What the—why's it acting up like that?"

Awakens Then Leaves Gallery, watching from behind, voiced her confusion at the unfamiliar sight.

But that wasn't the end.

The suddenly motionless goblin king began babbling nonstop in some language I'd never heard, lips flapping wildly.

All I could make out was the initial "Her"—like the orphanage teachers' frequent gasps of "Huh!"

'But what shocked it? Blackie?'

As I furrowed my brows, the lip-smacking goblin king suddenly clutched its head with massive hands.

Then, like yanking off a Lego head from childhood memory, it pulled upward with a pop!

With a crisp sound, the goblin king's huge head detached from its body.

Further, the body hurled the head it had just worn to the floor.

Thud. Roll roll roll.

The crude head rolled across the stone floor and stopped at my feet.

"Ugh, what the hell?!"

As I stared blankly at the goblin king's head, Awakens Then Leaves Gallery clapped a hand over her mouth beside me.

I was shocked too, instinctively backing away from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the head.

"Eunha, come ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here...!"

Silence fell briefly. I gawked slack-jawed until she pulled me into her arms.

'Feels like an orphanage teacher.'

The odd part: Awakens Then Leaves Gallery's body trembled as she hugged me tight.

"Eunha, this pattern's new to me too, so let's get out of the boss room—"

As she spoke, before she finished, a psshhh hissed from the goblin king's head.

It began vanishing, turning to black smoke that briefly obscured vision.

"Pbuu?"

The thick black smoke soon dissipated into the air.

Where the massive head had been, something astonishing remained.

"Pb, pbuuu...?"

"Jju, jjjuuuing...?"

It was a puppy.

A fluffy black furball like Blackie—cute and pitch-black—sat wagging its tail.

Even more amazing: the puppy held a golden trumpet in its front paws, from who-knows-where.

"A-a puppy?"

"S-sis, is that the boss too?"

"First time for me in a situation like this... Seriously, what's with today?"

"Jjjuing, jjjuuuing...?"

Too amazed by the situation, I stared at the puppy from the head. It eyed me cautiously, then...

"Jjjuing."

It bit the trumpet, puffing its cheeks.

Bam-baba-bam!

A bright, cheerful trumpet blast echoed through the shabby citadel.

Ding-!