Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Maeng-i the Familiar
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"Tomorrow's the first day at Cheong-su's school, huh."
I realized it suddenly while washing my face and brushing my teeth in the morning.
"He'll handle it fine on his own. He's not a little kid anymore."
Of course, he was still only seventeen.
"I'm doing absolutely nothing today."
I muttered as I changed clothes.
Then, as I closed my door and headed down the stairs to the floor below...
"Achoo."
I turned around and headed to the room next door.
This time of day, Jang Su-ho would already be down at the training grounds.
Knock knock.
"Cheong-su, come out."
"Come in!"
I told him to come out, so why was he telling me to come in?
Grumbling, I turned the doorknob.
"Hey, why don't you even lock your door?"
"What's the point of locking it? It's home anyway."
As I headed toward Im Cheong-su's partitioned space, a fragrant yet slightly bitter scent wafted over first.
"What are you doing over there?"
He was squatting in the corner of the room, ignoring his perfectly fine desk.
"Feeding Maeng-i."
"Maeng-i?"
I drew closer and tilted my head, spotting a fluffy brown squirrel.
"What's this? It's only the size of my fist."
"My familiar."
"I get that it's a familiar, but..."
Could familiars be this small?
The squirrel was devouring round pellets like acorns on a tiny cushion, so small it was impressive it could even move.
Excluding its tail, it was closer to a hamster than a squirrel.
"It's still a baby."
"Even so, it's not like it just hatched from an egg."
"Well, that's true, but..."
"So what's the problem then?"
I squatted down next to Im Cheong-su and examined the familiar named Maeng-i.
⚔ FAMILIAR STATUS ⚔
Maeng-i
Type: Non-Combat
Imprinted On: Im Cheong-su
Evolution Stage: Stage 1
Abilities: Treasure Hunt, □□□□□...
It had even awakened its abilities.
I could roughly guess what 'Treasure Hunt' did.
In the novel, Im Cheong-su was famous for pulling out top-grade mana stones hidden away every time he entered a dungeon.
"Cheong-su, how much time do you spend with Maeng-i each day?"
"Back home, Maeng-i would roam the mountains all day and come back to sleep with me."
"You let your familiar wander off alone without staying by your side?"
"I-Is that bad?"
Ha.
I'd forgotten that knowledge about familiars was still practically nonexistent.
"Maeng-i needs your power to grow properly. From now on, keep it right by your side as much as possible. Got it?"
Familiars grow by feeding on their imprinter's power.
That doesn't consume much of the imprinter's energy, though.
The more bond they build with their imprinter, the more they grow and awaken abilities.
"You too, stick close to Cheong-su and don't wander outside. Got it? It's not like the mountains here—it's dangerous to go out alone..."
[ ( ´△｀) ]
(Above Maeng-i's head)
What the heck was that?
Strange characters floated above Maeng-i's head as it nodded like it understood me.
"A-Anyway, got it? No wandering outside?"
[ (´O｀) ]
(Above Maeng-i's head)
Now it seemed to understand, its face shifting to one of surprise.
As Im Cheong-su noticed the emotion and petted Maeng-i's head to soothe it, I spoke to the system.
'Favorability, fluttering hearts weren't enough—now it's emoticons?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
This ability allows fragmentary viewing of the familiar's emotions.
'Why did this new ability suddenly appear?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Unlocked due to increased synchronization rate with this world for Nayeo-ju.
'Synchronization rate with this world?'
For a split second, my earlier talk about familiars and imprinters flashed through my mind.
Did I need to grow attached to this novel world too?
"Ha."
Everything now, huh.
Then a sudden curiosity struck.
If it received so little energy from its imprinter, the familiar couldn't survive.
So how had it lived until now?
"What was Maeng-i eating earlier?"
"Oh, these are the familiar pellets I made."
"Familiar pel-what?"
"Yeah. Whenever Maeng-i went out, I made these like packed lunches."
"Give me some."
Im Cheong-su rolled a few black pellets the size of a pinky nail onto my palm.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Familiar's Emergency Ration Allows survival without imprinter's energy.
※ Caution – Emergency ration only.
"Aha."
So this was like an energy bar stashed in an emergency kit for humans.
"You little rascal."
I sternly flicked Maeng-i's tiny head with my index finger.
"No wonder you're not growing—running around the mountains living off these alone!"
[ (ᐢ._.ᐢ;)՞ ՞ ]
(Above Maeng-i's head)
"Playing innocent, huh."
"Hey, why yell at the baby! I didn't know any better!"
"Sigh."
As if a familiar wouldn't know.
They choose their master even before hatching from the egg.
They all knew something like these pellets couldn't provide full nutrition.
It just loved roaming the mountains too much to care.
"No surprise it's Im Cheong-su's familiar."
It acted just like its owner.
The familiar toting energy bars to play in the mountains, or the terrifying owner who could produce energy bars that substituted for imprinter energy.
I dusted off my butt and stood first.
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
Speaking to Maeng-i instead of the equally clueless Im Cheong-su in that regard.
"Maeng-i, wanna go meet a friend?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I placed Maeng-i on Im Cheong-su's shoulder and headed to the underground training grounds.
My guess was right.
It was still morning, but all guild members except the twins were gathered at the training grounds.
Fortunately, it seemed to be a break time—Kang Han and Jang Su-ho were sitting on the sofa chatting.
"I'm here."
"Nayeo-ju! Why so late? Did you sleep in yesterday?"
"No, I went to bed early."
"Then come down quicker! I was bored!"
"Weren't you training nonstop? No time to be bored."
"Still different!"
Kang Han rushed over excitedly, and Jang Su-ho—who'd clearly trained hard, his hair soaked with sweat—followed with a bright face.
"Ah, go away. You're drenched in sweat."
To keep Jang Su-ho from sitting next to me, I perched on the edge where Baek Young's cushion was.
Last time, I'd let my guard down and suffered.
"Hey, Baek Young."
Normally it'd nod back at least, but...
Right now, Baek Young's gaze was fixed across, on Im Cheong-su.
More precisely, on Maeng-i perched on Im Cheong-su's shoulder.
Naturally, Kang Han spotted Maeng-i too.
"Cheong-su has a familiar too?"
"Uh, yeah. I picked it up in that dungeon back then, thought it was a pretty stone, but it was an egg."
Used dialect around me, but switched to standard Seoul speech in front of the guild master he wanted to impress.
The kid was discriminating.
"Baek Young seems interested."
Kang Han said, sounding intrigued.
The one that always curled up sleeping was now lifting its head, staring at Maeng-i.
[ (ⓛ ﻌ ⓛ ) ]
(Above Baek Young's head)
It looked full of curiosity.
Being right next to it, I could see Baek Young's green eyes sparkling.
"This is the first time it's seen another familiar, right?"
"Yes."
Stuck to Kang Han's side every day, Baek Young rarely left the guild building.
Kang Han said he left it sleeping in his room during mining trips for safety, so no arena visits either.
So I fully understood Baek Young's reaction to seeing another of its kind for the first time.
Like a person raised among monkeys encountering another human—what would that feel like?
"Maeng-i seems a bit interested too... right?"
[ ( ´△｀) ]
(Above Maeng-i's head)
Hard to tell with that clueless face.
Then—
Slither...
"Whoa, it's awake."
Baek Young rose from its favorite microsuede cushion and slowly headed to the opposite sofa where Im Cheong-su sat.
It stopped right in front of Im Cheong-su's knee.
As if telling Maeng-i to come down.
It clearly didn't like climbing on a hunter who wasn't its imprinter.
Then Maeng-i hopped down from the shoulder to Im Cheong-su's knee, checking out Baek Young.
The pets seemed to eye each other like new friends confirming first impressions, then...
[ ( ☉_☉) ]
(Above Maeng-i's head)
A beat later, Maeng-i's tiny eyes flew wide.
[ (((( ;°Д°)))) ]
(Above Maeng-i's head)
It bolted and hid completely in Im Cheong-su's pitch-black hair.
Ah, so that's what the hair was for.
[ ( ; ›ω‹) ]
(Above Baek Young's head)
With only the speech bubble visible, Im Cheong-su's hair trembled finely from how much it was shaking.
"Baek Young."
Kang Han extended a hand toward his familiar in a low, gentle voice.
Slither.
Baek Young settled on Kang Han's palm, looking a bit downcast.
[ (◕︵◕) ]
(Above Baek Young's head)
Like it was asking, 'Dad, why does it hate me?'
"Maeng-i must be shy. Give them some time."
Kang Han soothed it while gently scratching under its chin.
"Fascinating."
Having seen the whole thing, I'd learned something new.
'Looks like familiars have affinities with each other too.'
In [Sejong Wall], I'd only seen familiars teaming up to fight, so seeing one avoid another was intriguing.
Familiars didn't all feel friendly toward each other.
And their appearances—a snake and a squirrel, of all things.
Was it just personality, or did they have a power hierarchy too? Hard to say yet.
'To be sure, I'd need one more familiar.'
I pulled out my phone and checked the calendar.
Not much time left until I went to find that one.
"I'll head up and soothe Maeng-i a bit."
Im Cheong-su cradled the flustered Maeng-i in both hands and left the training grounds.
"Gonna do some cardio. Wanna join, bro?"
Jang Su-ho—who'd shown no interest in the familiars—asked as he stood.
"Nah, I'm good."
"What's up with you? Alright."
What indeed was up with him.
Kang Han usually handled twice Jang Su-ho's workout volume easily.
Yet here he was, skipping exercise?
Come to think of it, something was off.
Leg crossed, still soothing Baek Young, Kang Han's complexion wasn't great.
He looked a bit tired.
Wait.
'An S-rank feeling tired?'
The S-rank who worked out by uprooting boulders?
I shot to my feet and strode over to Kang Han.
Grabbing his hand firmly, I demanded.
"What did you do last night?"
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