Chick 168
by Cristae168
In truth, having just spent such an enormous sum for the first time, Gru’s heart was pounding wildly, her whole self swaying like an inflatable balloon figure.
If she ever made a purchase like this again, her heart might not survive the ordeal.
Still—
‘So this is the end of living like a nouveau riche.’
Twenty billion won from the auction, another ten billion as rental fees for the chickling drone—a total of thirty billion.
‘I’ve spent it all…’
Now Gru was no longer wealthy. Lost in hollow disappointment, she suddenly heard a burst of fanfare.
‘Eh?’
[An achievement has been unlocked thanks to (an unknown title).]
[Achievement: unlocked!]
[The function ‘The more you spend, the more you (self-proclaim as) a nouveau riche!’ is now available.]
-Each time a child spends money, the hidden stat “Wealth Luck” increases in proportion to the amount.
Experiencing various kinds of consumption helps the development of children. Going forward, under a guardian’s guidance, try to experience many forms of spending!
Gru stared, mouth agape.
‘Right. It’s not yet time to seal the wallet of justice!’
Living as a nouveau riche helps a child’s development!
Let’s make loads of things like drones!
And become rich again!
Resolute, Gru fixed her gaze on Kang Je-i.
Startled, Kang Je-i flinched as Gru approached and tapped her leg lightly.
“Unni, you mustn’t look down on children anymore.”
“…!”
To be scolded by a five-year-old—Kang Je-i, at nineteen, struggled to compose her expression.
Gru then turned to Hang-hang-gi.
“Hang-hang-gi. Let’s live kindly together from now on.”
“Yes!”
Ham Hong-gi bowed deeply.
Gru, letting her skirt twirl, spun and turned away with style.
“Um!”
“Where are you going?”
“Gru has to use the restroom. Well then…”
Drawing out the last words for effect, Gru trotted toward the restroom… only to return once more and whisper quietly.
“It’s not actually urgent. I’m going to find someone.”
“Understood!”
“Ahem!”
Ham Hong-gi answered with renewed focus.
Gru, chin lifted with dignity, once more headed for the restroom.
‘Is Serhi still not back?’
Could something have happened?
Unable to enter the men’s restroom, she hovered nearby—
Suddenly her bag began to squirm.
It was the sign that Bailak was transforming into a person.
Gru quickly moved into a corner and released Bailak from her bag.
The hamster promptly turned into a young boy, looking toward the restroom.
“Whew—”
She had just managed the timing. Any later and her bag might have burst.
But why was he staring at the restroom the moment he appeared?
“Bayi, why?”
Was it about Serhi?
“Did Serhi oppa fall into the toilet or something?”
He’d sure been gone a long time.
Then Bailak looked at Gru, as if wondering how she could possibly think such things.
“That’s not it. There’s a human inside talking to Serhi, and he’s got my ‘star.’”
“Star?”
Bailak’s “star”!
Gru’s eyes went wide.
“What’s a star?”
“What you humans call a magic stone. I thought it vanished when I was sealed, but here it is.”
Without a hint of concern, Bailak dropped his next bomb.
“If it stays on that human, I suspect he’s going to die soon…”
“Ehh?!”
A boy exited a bathroom stall, his face pale and his breathing ragged.
Serhi, wiping his hands with a paper towel, glanced at him through the mirror.
He had sensed an unstable mana and kept watch, but the boy he finally saw was a familiar face.
“…”
Lee Taemin. Sixteen years old. An A-rank awakened.
An A-rank whose mana surpassed even that of S-rankers—a rookie among first-years, so they said.
Though they were in the same class, Serhi, who prided himself on being an outsider, hadn’t properly spoken to him before.
Taemin must have recognized Serhi as well, because he frowned.
“Did you see?”
Serhi, chewing gum, replied in a mocking tone.
“You know what? I’m blind.”
“Don’t even try it. I know you speak Korean, bastard. Isn’t it hilarious that you can’t say a single word, but your listening is perfect?”
Humming, Serhi blew a bubble.
He kept up a persona at school, speaking only English and pretending not to know Korean because he was foreign.
“So?”
“God, you and your stupid act.”
Yeah, whatever.
As everyone at the company knew by now, Serhi’s chuunibyou act was unshakable.
“You’re strong, right? That’s why you’re in the Hyun-ak class.”
“Fucking I don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Forget it, asshole.”
Irritated by Serhi’s stubborn aloofness, Taemin gritted his teeth.
Just then, the unstable mana around Taemin rippled again.
Perhaps nervous that Serhi would notice, Taemin quickly left the restroom.
Serhi watched him go, brows furrowed. There was something dangerous about that guy.
‘Is it a magic stone item?’
The grade seemed high, but perhaps the maker was shoddy…
This world has plenty of subpar items.
No matter how high-end the material, the item’s usefulness depended on the maker.
Even if the material was top-class, if the item ran wild, it was almost worthless.
Like the earring Taemin wore now.
That was why the creator was everything.
Serhi thought of the earring that looked like black obsidian. It was no doubt constantly infusing Taemin’s body with mana at the expense of his stamina.
He had seen such items at Gnosis before.
One of the easiest ways to boost your abilities was to use a high-grade item.
But those things—
“They’re trash.”
That was how Irina explained it.
Items that artificially supercharged certain stats at the cost of physical strength, like a berserker’s enhancement—only a handful of creators could handle such mechanisms, so most of these items were just junk.
Either they offered unsatisfying results for the danger, or, if the item’s level was too high, it pumped energy into the user until death.
Usually, it was one of these two types, and Taemin’s seemed to be the latter.
For a sixteen-year-old whose body wasn’t yet fully matured, it was especially deadly.
His life force was likely being drained in real time even now.
‘Does his guild just let him wear that?’
Word was he belonged to a guild called “Chase.”
‘I thought Hyun-ak had a rule against wearing overpowered gear that put too much strain on the body…’
Serhi shook his head.
There were countless people desperate to get stronger.
Na Oh-hyung was like that, and those who bought Sun Woo-kyung’s suspicious potions were, too.
They all thought their foolish, desperate choices were the best.
Taemin too might end up getting consumed by his own item, but that was none of Serhi’s concern.
It didn’t seem ready to blow up, so Gru wouldn’t be in danger for now.
But…
What was that kid doing there anyway?
Taemin sat slumped on a sofa.
Serhi—that was his name, right? The girls talked about him so much his face was notorious.
Handsome, sensitive, a boy who shunned others to the utmost degree.
Taemin closed his eyes in annoyance, then snapped them open.
And found something thrust toward him.
A twig and a fork.
Two children, a boy and a girl about five years old, were brandishing steam-twig and fork at him threateningly.
The girl, with platinum-blond hair the color of beige, spoke in a deliberately odd voice.
“If you don’t hand over that earring, I’ll stab you with this fork.”
“Beep!”
This time, a squeal issued from atop the fork.
A plump, snowy bird squinted its eyes like crescent moons, nodding along while sharpening its wings toward him.
“…”
The girl nudged the silent boy next to her.
With obvious reluctance, the boy said,
“I will too.”
The girl then whispered,
“Bayi, you don’t have a fork.”
“Uh… then I’ll stab with this.”
“Whoom!”
The girl arched her brows, as if to say, “What do you think of that!”
Taemin couldn’t believe he was being shaken down by five-year-olds.
“…”
Again the fork drew closer, brandished with intimidation.
“Hand it over.”