The Little Merman (4)
Most people assume that the deeper the forest, the taller and tougher the grass growing there will be. But surprisingly, in places where trees grow thick and massive, most of the grass is short and weak. Why is that? Because the tall trees block the sunlight the grass needs, and the powerful trees suck up most of the nutrients from the soil.
The forest that served as the starting point for my competition was the same. The grass here was on the shorter side.
Crunch. Crunch.
Dry grass and fallen leaves that had never seen sunlight covered the ground, crumbling with a ticklish sound beneath my feet. And standing straight atop them was a child. The little merman who had just stepped through the portal and onto the forest floor slowly opened his tightly shut eyes.
‘Seo Seyeong always closes her eyes when passing through a portal.’
I wondered if it was because of the subtle nausea that came with spatial movement. Still, it wasn’t exactly a good habit. Of course, it wouldn’t be a big problem if you were moving with allies, but in a situation like this, it left you wide open to someone who had already secured their position.
Shing.
A chilling presence.
People have what’s called a sixth sense. They can vaguely feel when someone is watching them, and that sensation doubles when someone is following. Even with your eyes closed, if a blade is pressed directly against your throat, no one would fail to notice.
“……Huh?”
“Nice to meet you, kid.”
The little merman’s pupils dilated dramatically as he looked at me. The bewilderment of someone who instinctively realized something had gone wrong. But a moment later, I caught something like a strange resolve in his eyes.
“Who are you?”
“Oh?”
I couldn’t help letting out a sound of admiration. His voice was far calmer than I’d expected. He clearly understood that his current situation was unsafe. But the explanation that you don’t die here seemed to have given him a certain amount of confidence.
“I don’t know if explaining would even help you understand. For now, let’s just say I’m someone who doesn’t want to waste energy.”
In truth, I could simply slit the boy’s throat and continue on my way. But I was still a human being with enough dignity and humanity left to not want to harm someone who wouldn’t cause problems if left alone.
“Then… could you please put that sword away?”
“How do I know you won’t try something?”
At my words, the child’s face darkened once more. But apparently deciding that this approach might put him in even greater danger, he carefully drew the dagger he was holding and tossed it to the ground.
“I can’t fight.”
“Yeah, I can tell.”
After living in the martial world for a month, I had developed my own standards for judging how strong someone was. The calluses on their hands told me what weapon they favored, how clean their movements were, and how much confidence they showed in their actions. It was the kind of instinct that said, ‘If you get into a fight on the street, never pick one with someone who has dumpling ears.’
Based on the information in my head, this young merman was clearly a weakling.
‘Of course, I won’t let my guard down.’
I slowly sheathed my sword and stepped back from the child. Let me say it again: I am not a psychopath who kills innocent people at random. And especially not a child like this.
“U-um…!”
But my plan to turn my back on the child and immediately throw myself into the mission had to be put on hold when he called out to me.
When I turned around, the child was staring at me with a stiff expression. His lips moved as if he had a lot he wanted to say. Sensing that I was listening, he cautiously opened his mouth.
“Would you… travel with me for a while?”
“Why should I?”
I asked him directly. From the way he’d been acting, I assumed he was simply scared and trying to cling to me. But the child was surprisingly not that simple or foolish. In fact, he was quite clever. The moment the sun began to fully set, he made an offer that was hard to refuse.
“L-let’s make a deal!”
“A deal?”
I listened to the child while keeping an eye on our surroundings. Of course I scanned the area just in case, but it didn’t seem like this kid was planning some cowardly trick.
“Um… Human sir? What should I call you…”
“Call me Siin.”
“Ah, understood. Siin-nim.”
A race with human faces but fish gills and webbed hands. The child who was called their king began to speak.
“You said you dislike troublesome things, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Our merfolk hate humans. Or more accurately, we don’t trust them.”
“And?”
When I responded indifferently, the child quickly continued.
“So if Siin-nim encounters other merfolk, nine out of ten will probably attack you first. And I am in the position of supreme ruler over the merfolk.”
I frowned at his words. He called it a deal, but depending on how you heard it, it could sound like a threat. The implication was that even though you don’t die here, if I harmed him, I might face retaliation someday.
“Is this a threat?”
“Eh…? N-no! That’s not what I meant!”
The child waved his hands frantically, worried he had chosen his words poorly. His flustered reaction made it clear he was remembering what had happened earlier that day.
“For example, if you travel with me, you won’t be attacked by merfolk. I’ll make sure of it. In return, all I ask is that you protect me until I meet one particular merman.”
From what he said, I could guess who this “one particular merman” was.
“That ‘Cheongrin’ guy?”
“Huh? How did you…”
“I saw you facing off against other people with him earlier today.”
What he wanted from me was clear. Protect him until he met Cheongrin. In exchange, I wouldn’t be attacked by merfolk. But this deal had two fatal flaws.
“What happens after we part ways? Will I have to fight every merman I meet after that?”
“You don’t have to worry about that! Here…”
The child reached into his clothes and carefully pulled something out. Something that sparkled… a golden scale small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.
◈ Symbol of the merfolk royal family
◈ Those who possess it are treated as equals by merfolk
“This is the symbol of Critias. By ancient custom, anyone who carries this is to be treated the same as a merman.”
“It does look valuable… but how can I trust it?”
You never know. Maybe this scale actually meant something like, ‘Ah, this bastard is our mortal enemy. Be sure to take his life.’
“If you can’t trust it, I understand… but I swear on the name of the king. I have not lied to you, Siin-nim.”
“Hmm… is that so?”
The child bowed his head and touched his forehead with his finger before lowering it again. It looked similar to a Muslim prayer gesture. It seemed to be the sign merfolk used when making an oath.
“That’s all well and good, but there’s still one other problem.”
“What is it?”
“Is there any guarantee that this Cheongrin will still be alive by the time we find him?”
“Ah…”
The child nodded at my words. This was a survival competition. The treasures that could be obtained here were limited, and they could be taken from others. Asking me to search for someone who might have already been eliminated in such a dangerous place was like signing a contract with no expiration date.
But.
“Yes. Cheongrin will still be alive.”
“On what basis?”
“Because he’s strong.”
I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head, looking at the child as if I found his answer absurd. He grinned proudly and continued.
“Siin-nim, are you aware that there is a maximum limit to the stats you can raise on each floor of the tower?”
“……”
Of course I knew. I had pushed every single one of my stats to their limit when sparring with Hwayeong. I also knew what problems arose when the balance was thrown too far off. But the child seemed to interpret my silence as ignorance.
“The limit on the 1st floor is Lv.20. On the 2nd floor, it’s Lv.30. That means here on this floor, the limit would be around Lv.40.”
“Well… I suppose so?”
“But don’t be too surprised.”
The child lowered his voice and stepped closer. His face and tone were far more excited than before, so lowering his voice seemed rather pointless.
“Cheongrin… is a player who raised his stamina to the absolute maximum on the 2nd floor.”
“……”
“It’s only stamina for now… but aren’t you surprised!?”
Oh, is that so?
I thought of the four stats boiling inside my own body and felt an indescribable emotion. The stats that had surged once again after completing the 2nd floor’s mission.
‘That merman… and the Red Knight too…’
I had thought they were strong, but that wasn’t actually the case. The weak cannot truly measure the power of the strong. Without having reached that level themselves, there’s no way to know no matter how much they want to. At best, someone who knows where they need to climb might make a vague guess.
‘Have I… gotten that strong?’
The little merman’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as he looked at me. It was the pure gaze of a child proudly showing his parents a test score of 80 points. A parent would be proud. But a high schooler who had seen his younger sibling’s score while struggling with classical poetry would feel nothing in particular. When you’re busy trying to understand the hearts of people from hundreds of years ago, what does an 80 on a dictation quiz matter? Especially when it’s not even a perfect score.
Memories from Sky Games headquarters, the 1st floor, and the 2nd floor flashed through my mind. I had become far stronger than I had realized.
“So what’s your name?”
“It’s Geumrin.”
Geumrin. Now that I thought about it, both Cheongrin and Geumrin sounded like names randomly thrown together—‘blue scales,’ ‘golden scales.’
“I do have a real name, but everyone calls the king Geumrin. Cheongrin is the title given to the captain of the royal knights.”
Geumrin turned out to be far more talkative than I had expected. We had been wandering through the forest for nearly an hour now, and he hadn’t stopped talking once. My ears were starting to feel sore.
‘Is this really the same timid kid I saw before?’
When I first saw him among the crowd, I thought he was an idiot who couldn’t even speak properly. He had been so intimidated by Cheongrin’s words that he couldn’t even respond. It was hard to look at him favorably. But after listening to him talk for an hour, it was clear he hadn’t been unable to speak—he had simply chosen not to at the time.
“By the way, how did a kid like you end up becoming king? In a situation like this, that Cheongrin guy seems more like the leader.”
“Ah… that’s…”
The moment Cheongrin’s name came up, I could see the child shrinking back again. And yet he still wanted me to take him to the man. Just how deep was their story that he reacted like this?
I suddenly stopped.
“Actually…”
“Shh.”
I cut Geumrin off as he tried to explain. I focused my ears on the sound ahead and placed my hand on my sword.
Step…
A faint sound that seemed to be someone’s footsteps came from up ahead. And the moment we stopped, the sound cut off as if on cue.
No matter how I looked at it, this was thick with the intent of an ambush. It looked like I was going to have to go through a proper fight this time.