Retire 262

262 Tati (1)

Petals of an unknown white flower fluttered down onto the mud.

The petals, as round as eggs, curled inward. The pristine white flower, untouched by even a speck of mud, resembled a lotus, yet I was certain it was unlike any flower found on Earth.

And that made sense, for this was a dungeon.

A dungeon.

And that flower did not bloom on water like a lotus. It had simply fallen from above.

Slowly, I lifted my head. I saw the monster, breathing heavily, clutching a wound on its arm. Golden eyes, brimming with tears, spilled over as its lips jutted out in a pout. It was hard to believe this was the same creature that had tried to attack me just moments ago.

At any rate, it didn’t seem intent on resuming its attack. Not wanting to provoke it, I raised both hands to show I had no intention of fighting. I worried whether it would understand such a human gesture, but thankfully, the monster only watched me warily, making no move.

In fact, it stopped crying and tilted its head, as if curious about what I would do next. As the monster shifted in the air, more white flowers fell from its head. The small, lotus-like blossoms piled up thickly beneath the fairy.

The dungeon had lost all semblance of its original appearance. The once-dense trees were submerged in mud, with only their tips barely visible.

I swallowed hard. It wouldn’t have been strange to die, sinking in mud like this, yet here I was, alive and unharmed.

Feeling around hesitantly, I checked the ground beneath me. It was soft and smooth to the touch. Though I was reluctant to take my eyes off the monster, I had to confirm it. Slowly, I lowered my gaze to look at the ground.

No, this wasn’t the ground.

It couldn’t be called the ground.

A single, enormous leaf. Perhaps because I’d just seen the white flower, the leaf reminded me of a lotus pad.

Of course, an ordinary lotus leaf couldn’t support the weight of a grown man floating on water.

I pressed the edge of the leaf lightly with my fingertip. It sank in and then rose again. All I could confirm was that this leaf was floating atop the mud, supporting my body.

…I am not a mage. Which meant the only one who could do something like this was—

The monster no longer bothered to hide its curiosity. Perhaps realizing I had no intention of attacking, it had subtly drawn closer. When our eyes met, it cocked its head and, hesitantly, raised both hands. It was as if it had learned to mimic the gesture of signaling peaceful intent.

No… it had learned.

Those clear golden eyes were unlike any I’d seen in a monster. Not the eyes of a beast ruled by instinct, but the eyes of an intelligent being.

<%&(_##*>

The voice, which had sounded pained just moments before, now softened, like the chirping of a bird.

A sky studded with countless stars, a land covered in mud, small white flowers and giant lotus leaves drifting above it all. The scene was so dreamlike it was almost absurd—like something out of a fairy tale I used to read to my siblings.

<@~#(#+@$*^>

The monster drew closer. If it intended to attack, it would have done so already; if it meant to kill, it would have simply let me sink into the mud rather than go to the trouble of floating a leaf.

The monster only stopped when it was close enough to touch. It opened its mouth persistently.

<$^&&&!%#>

<_^*@(*_$%(@!>

“……”

I had no idea what it was trying to do.

The monster flailed its arms in frustration, then thumped its chest. Even monsters weren’t so different in their body language. Did it have the same physical structure as a human? Could monsters suffer from frustration?

<)^&^%$#>

Watching it, I started to get a vague sense of what it wanted.

But doing what a monster wanted was another matter….

When I did nothing but stare, the monster puffed out its cheeks like a sulky child. The sight reminded me of my younger siblings back at the lab. They would act just like this when something displeased them.

…I needed to check if they were safe. I couldn’t afford to waste any more time here.

In the end, I gave in and opened my mouth.

“Hello.”

<*#^@#!@%!#)($$(#$&>

I still couldn’t understand its words, but its expression gave me a sense of what it was saying. Flowers bloomed atop its head with a soft pop. The white petals began to blush a faint pink. Did they change with emotion?

The monster’s face lit up as it began to chirp rapidly in its incomprehensible language. But soon, realizing that we couldn’t communicate, it grew sullen. The pink flowers wilted. It glanced at the green leaves now thick in its hair and bit its lip.

Up until now, I’d only suspected, but this made it clear.

This monster was trying to communicate.

Was this really a monster?

It immediately picked up on the meaning of my gestures and tried them itself. No, it wasn’t just intelligent. It felt pain when hurt, grew angry, then swallowed that anger and offered a gesture of reconciliation—capable of emotion and empathy.

…Is this truly a monster?

I couldn’t understand its words, but anyone could tell that was a kind of language.

It was simply too… much to dismiss as just a monster.

There are many conspiracy theories about dungeons. One of them claims monsters are aliens from another world. The monsters I’d seen so far were little more than beasts, but with this one, I could almost believe they were another race.

My deliberation was long, my hesitation brief.

Slowly, I raised my hand and pointed to myself.

“Woo. Hee. Jae.”

I repeated my name, syllable by syllable, then pointed to the other.

At first, the creature only blinked in confusion, but as I kept pointing to myself and saying my name, then pointing to it, it began to understand.

<)#*#$#$!_@&=>

When I pointed at it, it chirped back.

Again, I pointed to myself and said my name, then pointed to it.

<)#*#$#$!_@&=>

I couldn’t understand, but the same string of sounds repeated.

I tried to shape the sounds in my mouth, but they were impossible to imitate. When I lowered my hand with a helpless expression, the other pointed at me.

<$&)#… Jae.>

It was clumsy, but the sound was close. I slowly repeated my name, breaking it into syllables so it could follow.

<…Jae, %#$, Jae, Woo.>

“Woo.”

<Woo.>

“Hee.”

<Hee.>

“Jae.”

<Jae.>

“Woo Hee Jae.”

< Woo… Hee, Jae.>

“…That’s close enough. Heejae.”

<Heejae?>

“Yeah. Heejae.”

<))%))))))))>

A high, ringing laughter filled the air. The other dropped pink flowers as it beat its chest with delight.

<Heejae. )#*#$#$!_@&=>

Still, the pronunciation was beyond me…. But I didn’t have the heart to explain, so I tried to mimic it as best I could.

<)))))))))))>

Fortunately, it seemed to understand my predicament. It burst into laughter again, then spoke slowly.

<*#*^^… )#*#$#$!_@&=)#*#$#$!Tati.>

“……?”

<Tati.>

“……”

<Tati.>

When I didn’t catch on immediately, it repeated the word several times.

The unpronounceable sounds faded, leaving only the word. It pointed to itself and said, in a clear, loud voice:

<Tati.>

“…Tati?”

<Tati! Heejae, Tati. Heejae, Tati.>

“Tati.”

<))))))))))>

The monster named Tati clapped its hands in delight. Where a human would have fingernails, flowers trembled.

Each time, the level of mud filling the dungeon receded. It didn’t take long for the mud to vanish and the dungeon to return to its original landscape.

The trees were so clean it was as if the mud had never been there. I looked at the sword lying beside me. Only then did I realize I’d dropped it.

I looked at the monster. When our eyes met, it burst into an unguarded smile.

There were no other monsters in sight. If I killed it now and left the dungeon…

<Heejae?>

“……”

I did not pick up my sword.

Instead, I held out my hand.

<Heejae? Heejae?>

“Like this….”

I clasped my own hands together and shook them, then held out my hand again.

<))))! Heejae, @*@*$(+_#*^>

Tati smiled and took my hand.

Just like a human… small, soft, and warm.

---

The golden eyes in the mud shone with an inhuman, chilling light.

I gripped my sword.

The golden eyes twisted with anger.

<$(^#%(*@*@@%$>

“Kh…!”

The sound bored into my head, making me wince despite myself. If it kept screaming like this, it would be a problem. There was no physical shock to burst my eardrums, but in a tense situation, this would slow my reactions. A single mistake could be fatal.

Crack…

The creature grabbed the shield Kim Chaemin had made. It tried to break it with its claws, but an Archmage’s magic wouldn’t shatter from such force.

In the end, it gave up trying to break the magic by hand. All I could see were those floating golden eyes, bobbing in the mud, but I didn’t need to see its face to know it was furious.

Rumble!

The mud surged violently. Kim Chaemin’s protective magic trembled. Still, the magic held strong around me. But…

Rrrrrumble……

Something pushed me upward, along with Kim Chaemin’s magic. The creature clung to the barrier, coming with me.

“…Urgh!”

I broke through to the surface of the mud. The magic softened the shock somewhat, but I couldn’t escape its effects entirely. I clutched my spinning head and barely managed to regain my balance.

The dungeon’s signature star-filled sky was the first thing I saw.

I looked down, wondering what the creature had used to lift me. The mud made it hard to see, but… there was something, a huge leaf. A plant? Did it use abilities similar to Kim Chaemin’s? Whether that would be a good or bad matchup, I’d have to see.

I looked at the fairy still clinging to the barrier. Mud dripped from it. Even the thorns jutting from its head were caked in mud. It looked less like a humanoid monster and more like a mud creature.

“……”

It only glared at me.

Just as it had in the mud, it made no attempt to break the magic. Did it realize it was beyond its strength?

But I couldn’t do much while trapped inside. Should I just wait for Kim Chaemin? Or…?

<#*##*!!#!@%>

Its voice was much calmer now.

The mud covering it dried in an instant and flaked away like a shell.

Beneath the mud was a small, withered body. Except for the parts that were distinctly inhuman, it could almost be called a fairy. I could see why it was called that, even if it had no wings.

It shut its mouth again.

I couldn’t let my guard down. Kim Chaemin’s magic wasn’t invincible. If it broke… whatever else happened, I had to be sure to take this thing’s head.

<$(^&!#$^>

It looked at the sword in my hand. How many Hunters had it devoured in here? There were no reports of missing Hunters from official raid parties, but you never knew… If it was connected to the Ark.

<Geu, geo.>

“…!”

For the first time, it made a sound almost like human speech.

Words that sounded like Korean. Words that could be called words.

It spoke without taking its eyes off my sword.

<Where, did, you, get, it?>