Retire 263

by Cristae

263 Tati (2)

I hadn’t misheard.

The creature pointed at my sword and repeated the question several times. Where did I get it? When I didn’t answer, it began pounding furiously on the shield.

<Where!!!>

Bang! Bang! Bang bang!!

Bang!!!

The shield shuddered in fine tremors.

Hong Seokyoung had mentioned it, too. There had been monsters capable of speaking human language. He said the one he met only muttered his name or screamed for him to die as it attacked. But there’s no reason to take that at face value. Who knows what else Hong Seokyoung might have heard from the fairy? Maybe the one he met also demanded to know where he’d picked up that spear.

Whatever the case, it was surreal.

A talking monster was shocking enough, but for that monster to demand the origin of my sword—

I hadn’t planned on answering, but I didn’t have an answer to give, either. My sister’s keepsake? All this time, I’d thought she picked it up from the Mud Dungeon. Only recently did I learn that wasn’t the case, and that’s why I came here—to find out more.

What is it saying?

The creature pounded the shield a few more times, then let its arms drop limply.

Was it about to try something more forceful?

Its pronunciation was clumsy. Unlike Alex Hope, who could speak Korean fluently.

‘This? It just means I’m that special!’

Only after getting smacked on the back by Gamble did Hope finally pout and explain.

‘It’s kind of like interference… Not that you’d understand if I tried to explain, and I’m not confident I could anyway. It’s like, your head just…’

Hope waved his hands beside his head.

‘The ones that sparkle can do it. There aren’t many, so you probably won’t run into them.’

After a moment’s thought, Hope added,

‘Still, there are some smart ones… If they learn, there’s nothing I can do about them speaking. I don’t know how many would be kind and innocent enough to learn human language, though.’

I looked at the monster before me.

Maybe it was because of its small build. It didn’t have the body of a human child, but somehow, it felt young….

Maybe it was the expressions. Puffing out its cheeks, pouting its lips, scrunching up its face in frustration.

I knew the look well, raising a ten-year-old who’d become much more expressive lately. When Woo Irok didn’t get his way, he’d scowl and yell just like that.

The creature bit its lower lip.

To my surprise, its golden eyes began to fill with tears.

<…Heejae’s, that.>

“What?”

The creature spoke clearly, tears streaming down its face.

To hear my name from the mouth of a monster, here of all places—something I’d never imagined.

<Heejae’s, give it back.>

“Mr. Woo! Mr. Woo, can you hear me?!”

Kim Chaemin ground her teeth and sat down, crossing her legs and placing her hands on her thighs, eyes closed in concentration.

A rose arch stood tall in the pitch-black space.

Beyond the arch, deeper still.

Mana.

Mana. Mana. Mana.

My mana.

The mana.

Kim Chaemin opened her mouth, voice infused with mana. The connection was still holding.

“Mr. Hong, I’ve lost contact with Mr. Woo. Something’s interfering with my magic, but I’ve pinpointed his location. He’s up on the surface of the mud. Looks like it’s the monster’s doing. Let’s meet up first, then look for Mr. Woo together.”

Kim Chaemin drew on the sense of connection to the mana surrounding Hong Seokyoung, pulling it in quickly but carefully, so it wouldn’t snap.

Just as Hong Seokyoung and Woo Heejae had said before entering, there was no artificial mana in the mud itself.

No, there was plenty of mana in the dungeon compared to outside, so naturally the mud was infused with it, but not in any controlled or artificial way. The most the fairy could do was raise or lower the level of the mud, like now.

Of course, even that was threatening. She’d never imagined it would actually bury the gate in mud. Remembering the trouble in the Siren Dungeon, she’d cast her spells just in case—and thank goodness she had.

Kim Chaemin glared at the pitch-black mud. Since the mud wasn’t affected by the fairy’s magic, she could probably use it. She wasn’t sure what the surface was like, but judging by what she’d heard, there might not be anything like vines to use as footholds, unlike in the Siren Dungeon.

In that case, she’d have to use the mud as soil to sprout something… Even if it was ordinary mud, the fact that the fairy could control its level was concerning. Was that its ability? It must be.

“Ah. I’m here. I’m going to merge our spaces so we can talk, so don’t be startled, just stay still.”

Hong Seokyoung would probably grumble that he didn’t need to be told, that he wasn’t some rookie Hunter.

…Though, falling into a sea of mud was probably an experience few Hunters had.

Kim Chaemin rose from where she sat. Thump—a soft shock pressed against the thin shield. Since it was her own magic, there was no resistance. Under her guidance, the mana merged smoothly.

Through the merging, a man with a fierce scowl poked his head in.

He spoke curtly.

“This is a nasty dungeon.”

“Mr. Hong, haven’t you dealt with quite a few like this?”

“Mm.”

Hong Seokyoung glared at the mud, displeased.

“Most of the dungeons I cleared were assist jobs. Ones that failed in Europe.”

“You do tend to take on the infamous dungeons.”

“The intelligent ones in those places usually get a taste for hunting humans. Didn’t you take one down yourself? Was it in the Czech Republic?”

“Hungary.”

“Right, there.”

Raiding dungeons was never pleasant, but the one in Szolnok, Hungary, was a particularly bad memory—one she never wanted to revisit.

Kim Chaemin forced her frown to relax.

Hong Seokyoung looked at her and asked,

“How was it?”

“…They never tried to end things so cleanly.”

“Right?”

At least, that was what Kim Chaemin knew. Humanoid monsters, presumed to have their own languages and cultures. For clarity, they were called “intelligent beings.”

“The one in this dungeon must be either too mature or too naïve to play those games. Personally, I hope it’s the latter.”

There had been people who tried to make contact when intelligent beings were first discovered. After they were brutally torn apart, no one tried again.

Every intelligent being Kim Chaemin had encountered or heard about had been cunning and cruel.

And now… to bury the gate in mud? Hunters wouldn’t die immediately. With a decent mage and enough time, they could escape. If not for her own precautions, she might have had a hard time getting out herself.

Of course, there was no guarantee the intelligent being would wait around. Usually, the reason for these tactics was to scatter Hunters and pick them off at leisure.

In that sense, Hong Seokyoung was right.

The intelligent being here had just driven two Hunters away. For one of its kind, that was a remarkably gentlemanly approach.

Han Taekyung’s theory wasn’t entirely wrong, either. When an intelligent being let a Hunter live, it was either a warning not to come back, or an invitation to bring more prey.

‘…Calling a monster gentlemanly is ridiculous, though.’

Kim Chaemin snorted.

She still didn’t know what this intelligent being wanted. There had been one shock to the shield, so it had noticed the intruders. But there had been no further attacks.

Was it planning to let them suffocate? That seemed unlikely.

Kim Chaemin’s tone was laced with mockery, as if she couldn’t stand being ignored by a mere monster.

“Is it just clumsy, or is it confident?”

She checked the two merged shields once more. She could escape the sea of mud if needed, but she didn’t want the hassle.

“Mm.”

“I’ll admit, my pride’s a bit wounded.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Hong Seokyoung shook his head.

“It could be trying to pick us off one by one.”

“That would be the standard tactic.”

“What about Heejae?”

Kim Chaemin checked her mana. Everything seemed fine, but you could never be too careful when you couldn’t see with your own eyes.

“The shield’s intact, and he’s not injured.”

“He can get up to the surface?”

“Of course. What do you take me for?”

Hong Seokyoung, arms crossed, glared at the mud as Kim Chaemin did.

Staring at the undulating mud didn’t help much, but there was little else they could do to show hostility.

When Hong Seokyoung fell silent, Kim Chaemin glanced at him and asked,

“Should we go up now?”

Hong Seokyoung nodded slowly.

“…Carefully. We don’t know what’s up there.”

“It tried to break my magic and failed. That means even the intelligent being can’t touch us right now.”

Kim Chaemin carefully traced the remnants of mana she’d left on Woo Heejae.

She spoke with confidence, but in a situation full of unknowns, it was best not to create unnecessary variables. Just surfacing was simple enough.

“……”

Kim Chaemin’s hands moved quickly.

It had been called a mud wave, but originally this dungeon had a forest and solid ground. Even if it was flooded with mud, it wasn’t impossibly deep.

‘Ten meters, maybe? I should set something up, just in case. In the heat of battle, I won’t have time.’

As she gauged the depth, Kim Chaemin narrowed her eyes. She was close to the surface.

“They’re right above us. Should we go out now?”

“That… can you do that thing?”

“What thing?”

“Make us invisible.”

Kim Chaemin looked troubled.

“Uh, well… That’s not really my specialty. But, hmm. Wait a moment… There’s a rune Mr. Woo taught me. With that, I can manage a bit of camouflage, at least for a while.”

“Please do.”

Kim Chaemin finished her preparations, checking her mana. The intelligent being’s interference didn’t last long. If only it would give up now, but Hong Seokyoung just scowled up at the surface.

Sensitive to mana but, unlike Awakened, dull to the presence of living things, Kim Chaemin had no idea what Hong Seokyoung was seeing.

‘Must be the intelligent being up there.’

She’d have to rely on her instincts.

Kim Chaemin rose slowly, magic still active. If a fight broke out, she planned to grow roses. If that failed, she could scatter shield bubbles like soap bubbles for footholds—Hong Seokyoung would need them to fight properly.

However—

“…?”

What awaited Hong Seokyoung and Kim Chaemin was a scene they hadn’t expected at all.

“You’re here?”

All their efforts to hide themselves were for nothing. Woo Heejae greeted them with a calm face, waving his hand.

“Come, say hello.”

Opposite Woo Heejae, the intelligent being in question tilted its head, golden eyes shining.

“You can call it Tati.”

“……”

…What on earth happened here?