Awakening the Sixth Sense
We arrived at the sub safe point and first laid out a spot to sit.
"Sit here, Master!"
"Heh heh. Yeah. My disciple's got real potential."
Ji-hyang had somehow brought along a large mat from her backpack, knowing just what to pack. We sat cross-legged on the mat, perfectly sized for two people. She disassembled her rifle and carefully stowed it away before sitting in the same position in front of me.
"Um... Master. What should I do now?"
"Hmm..."
I'd never put together a full curriculum before, but starting from the basics I'd learned myself should work fine.
"First, close your eyes."
"Yes!"
Ji-hyang obediently squeezed her eyes shut at my words. Obedient? Or just innocent? To follow a stranger she'd just met today so trustingly.
She must be that passionate about it.
"Stay still."
"Yesss..."
I cautiously brought my index finger close to the space between her brows.
"Eek..."
She let out a small groan, sensing something off. She cracked her eyes open just a sliver and spotted my hand.
"Kyaa! W-what are you doing?!"
"Hm. You pass."
"Huh?"
"The first step to becoming a martial artist. Something like a sixth sense. That was just an aptitude test for it."
"Oh...?"
Ji-hyang tilted her head, clearly puzzled.
"You felt my finger just now, right?"
"Yes!"
"Did it actually touch you?"
"Uh... no! Wait, then how did I know?"
"That's the sixth sense. You felt the energy flowing through your body."
"Ooh..."
Ji-hyang's eyes widened in wonder as she nodded.
"People think martial artists just charge in blindly, but if they did that, they'd all die quick. You don't want that, right?"
"No!"
"Test's over, then. Time for practice."
"Yes! Master! Just tell me what to do!"
Seeing my disciple burning with enthusiasm made me chuckle involuntarily. I wondered if she'd say the same after real practice.
"From now on, I'm gonna flick your forehead. At this speed."
I slowly assumed a flicking position, like a balloon drifting lazily.
"Haha! That's easy!"
"Right? So close your eyes and dodge it."
"...Huh? How am I supposed to...?"
"You'll get the feel for it."
"Ugh... Okay!"
Ji-hyang obediently closed her eyes again. I glared to check if she was peeking, but they were tightly shut.
She's such a good kid.
I slowly moved my hand toward her.
...Snap!
"Ow!"
The sluggish flick landed perfectly between her brows, like hitting a slow worm.
"Ugh... Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for. We're doing this a lot."
"Uh... Okay!"
After a few more, she started getting it and dodged once successfully.
"I did it!"
"Good. Keep going until you dodge three in a row."
"...Yes!"
Half a day later, with a fist-sized lump on her forehead, she finally succeeded.
"Ugh... It hurts so much..."
"Tsk. I told you no '~yong' talk."
"Sorry..."
"Anyway, congrats on succeeding. We'll do this every dungeon run, so brace yourself."
"Yes!"
Ji-hyang stared wide-eyed, her forehead massively swollen, making her eyes look a bit squinty.
A month after our first visit to the Samtaegi Dungeon. We came two or three times a week, repeating the training.
"Haat!"
"Oho."
She'd gotten the hang of it now—dodging far more than getting hit.
"Haha! This is a piece of cake now!"
"Heh heh. Good."
Ji-hyang beamed triumphantly, eyes wide. Her determination made her learn fast, and her complexion had improved too.
"You doing the homework I assigned?"
"Yes! Filling my backpack every day, 10k runs, and sticking to the diet you told me!"
"Good."
Her shoulders seemed broader, and she'd even grown a bit. Was it okay to push a girl this hard? But she loved it.
In between, I taught her straight punches against flame ghosts and earth ghosts.
"P-punch straight into the fire?"
"Disciple. You won't die, so don't worry."
"Ugh... Okay!"
At first, one punch just burned her hand red, but now she could take out a flame ghost with one.
My eye for talent doesn't lie.
And today.
Bam!
Whoosh!
Her straight punch shattered an earth ghost's core.
"Kyaha! I did it, Master!"
Ji-hyang jumped around, face smeared with soot, her slightly wavy hair singed into curly ramen noodles.
"That's enough."
"Huh? Enough already? No way..."
She looked crestfallen, thinking I was calling it quits.
"What're you talking about? I've finally got you to a usable level."
Deleting the game character was still far off. In game terms, this was just first job change.
"Time for your second job change."
"Huh? What's that...?"
"Next dungeon."
In the past month at Samtaegi Dungeon, we'd learned a lot. Ji-hyang had taken her first steps in martial arts basics with straight punches. And I'd realized one crucial thing.
No damn otherworld crops here.
Coming back and forth for a month was to check for useful otherworld crops. Result? Zero.
Too many visitors meant hunters picked everything immediately, even the peddlers at the entrance snuck some.
That's why that scammer guy was grinning ear to ear.
Later I found out he'd dug up one mushroom and was thrilled. Buying and planting was an option, but they usually withered. Best to harvest fresh.
"Next dungeon?"
Ji-hyang's eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
"Yeah. Nothing much left here. Better to go somewhere less crowded."
"Hmm. A less crowded dungeon..."
She rummaged in her backpack for a thick guidebook, searching.
Sorry, but I'd already picked the next one.
"I already found it for you."
"As expected of Master!"
"Heh heh. Right?"
"So where are we going...?"
"Sonaeho Dungeon."
Sonaeho Dungeon. A famous one on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
"...Ah! That one?"
Even Ji-hyang recognized the name. That famous.
Why go to a famous dungeon? Harder to get new otherworld crops.
It's famous for the wrong reasons.
Sonaeho was infamous even before I got dragged to the otherworld. A dam built on the outskirts submerged a small village called Sonaeri. I remembered the compensation uproar.
And a dungeon appeared in that lake.
The problem? Right in the middle of the lake's deepest bottom. Untouched, submerged underwater—a total headache.
"Not many visitors there!"
"Yeah. Plenty to grab."
"Yes! Then tomorrow at Sonaeho..."
"Hold on."
I cut her off and pulled out something I'd brought. A small coin pouch. She'd been nagging about the bag since morning.
"What's this...?"
"Graduation gift from Samtaegi Dungeon."
Opening it revealed leather gloves reinforced with metal plates. Ogre leather with mana core alloy.
Pretty pricey.
About the cost of a mid-size car. But I'd sold materials from here, so I even profited.
Technically, after day one, she did all the hunting, so it's her money anyway.
"Y-you're giving me these?"
"Ahem. Feel like serving your master now?"
"Sniff! Thank you, Master!"
She teared up and hugged me tight.
"Hey! Don't touch your master's sacred body!"
"Hee hee... Sorry..."
"Ahem. Joking aside. You're not ready for bare fists yet, so here. Or think of it as a loan. Goal is to outgrow these gloves."
"Yes! I'll train hard!"
"Heh heh."
Seeing her so happy warmed my heart.
Is this why people whale in games?
I never got cash shops before, but now I kinda did.
Not whaling—more like rice whaling? Similar?
Late night. Taking advantage of the darkness, a gang of thugs prowled near Sonaeho.
[Awakeners Only. No Unauthorized Entry.]
"Dude, you really wanna go here?"
"What? Got a problem? We pay usage fees every dungeon run, taxes too—handing it over nicely."
His buddy bristled at the words.
The thugs were hunters targeting Sonaeho Dungeon. Not scrubs—B-rank from various guilds, decently strong.
"That's not what I mean..."
The man trailed off gloomily.
"Scared?"
"Urk."
Sonaeho was B+ rank. Five B-ranks could handle it.
But rumors lately...
"Hunters who came here just... vanished without a trace."
"Argh! Keep spouting bad omens?"
"..."
"Then what about our gambling debts? Fight the loan sharks?"
"...No."
"Right! They got A- to S-ranks! Pay with savings?"
"..."
"Won't work! That's why we're sneaking into a quiet dungeon! Get it now?"
"O-okay."
He finally clamped his complaining mouth shut.
"Let's go."
In wetsuits, they dove into Sonaeho without delay.
After a long dive, the dungeon entrance appeared deep in the riverbed. Covered in barnacles amid the mud. Small crustaceans scattered from the intruders.
"..."
They signaled and placed hands on the entrance together.
Fwoosh!
"...Pha."
Sonaeho Dungeon's main safe point. The five in wetsuits checked each other and removed oxygen masks.
"Gear up now that we're in..."
"...Hey, look over there."
"Huh?"
As they reached for gear, they spotted a figure.
"Ready!"
Veterans of the field, they swiftly drew weapons.
But something was off.
"Wait. This is a safe point?"
Meaning no monsters. Looking closer, a bald-headed man sat with his back turned.
"Someone beat us here."
"Phew. Jumped at shadows."
Sonaeho's location kept visitors rare. Overlapping teams were uncommon.
"...Hey. That guy's clothes look expensive."
"...What?"
Eyes changed at his words. Some skeptical, some greedy.
"Gotta be at least B-rank to come here. And those clothes? Artifact maybe..."
"Dude! Crazy?"
"What's crazy? Coming here this late? He's no rookie."
"B-but still...!"
"..."
As they argued.
The lone man slowly turned his head. A bright red mask covered his face.
They didn't know.
Beneath the mask, a sinister smile spread.