023 – Reuniting with an Old Connection #1
━ Kkungkkang…!
━ Zzzi…!
In the life of living with pets, there are both advantages and disadvantages.
One disadvantage is that it’s hard to sleep in.
I was jolted awake by the loud noises.
Rubbing my still-sleepy eyes, I checked the clock on the wall; it was 6 AM. These days, I consistently woke up at 6 AM.
If I didn’t get up at this time, Kkungkkangi and Ahn Ahn would run around nonstop, making it impossible for me to sleep.
“I’m not usually such a disciplined man.”
It was the beginning of the year, and winter hadn’t fully retreated yet.
The dawn, when the sun hadn’t risen yet, was still cold.
Swoosh.
As I opened the front door, Kkungkkangi dashed out into the yard.
━ Kkungkkang…!
I too, dressed in sweatpants and a padded jacket, stepped outside to face the morning breeze.
I planned to take a light stroll around the neighborhood.
“Hey, you’re up early again! Are you going for two laps again today?”
“Can you check that hole in the wall over there? I think it’s those crafty ants or something.”
They say you lose sleep as you get older.
In this rural town, dawn arrived earlier than I expected. As I strolled through the neighborhood, I became familiar with the faces of the elderly people, and it seemed I was being accepted as one of them.
I approached the gathering of grandmas and grandpas doing their morning exercises at the community center.
“Did anything happen last night?”
This town had experienced some unusual rifts.
Once a rift opened in an area, the probability of another rift appearing nearby increased, so caution was always necessary.
After a moment of conversation among the elders, one of them replied, “There are more squirrels barking like dogs now. They showed up just behind my house. I think I’ve seen at least five!”
“They even climbed up and down the persimmon tree in front of my house! Oh, those things, they bark so much, it’s annoying. Do you think they’ll quiet down if I give them peanuts?”
“Still, it’s nice they chase away the bugs. When spring comes, I won’t even need to spray pesticides to farm.”
Today’s unusual occurrence.
The increase in Squirrel Beasts in the village.
I couldn’t determine if this was a good or bad thing right away.
The elders soon handed me a bag of sweet potatoes they had harvested or bananas bought from the store.
“Inoi, take these.”
“Take these too and share them with the Nymph!”
Inoi was quite popular among the grandmas and grandpas.
Maybe it was due to their child-like appearance? It might just be my bias, but old folks usually enjoy watching children play.
Thanks to that, I could solve my breakfast worries quickly.
“Muhuhu, this Inoi…! This sweet potato means I can roast it…! This Inoi has also learned the flame magic spell ‘Induction’ from Core Ye-rim…!”
Inoi had been creating a commotion since morning, turning the induction stove on and off to roast sweet potatoes.
Although induction is safer than gas flames, I still had to remind them to be cautious around heat.
“Don’t play with the fire.”
“I got it…!”
I checked my phone.
It was my daily routine to see if I received any messages overnight.
Also, searching my name in the search bar to see if anyone had mentioned me became one of my little pleasures.
Lately, searching for “Squirrel Beast” yielded a decent amount of information. Where to find Squirrel Beasts, what do they eat, and similar queries. People had already talked about Squirrel Beasts for about two pages worth.
Ding-.
“2 new messages.”
I had received contacts from somewhere the previous night.
One was a loan message, and the other was a message from the agency responsible for Awakened persons.
“Gathering of 4 persons for the disbanding of a C Rank Rift in Gyeonggi Province. Bring weapons to OO Station by 1 PM.”
“Oh!”
I was assigned a C Rank request!
It was my first-ever C Rank request in my life.
Only C Rank and above could enter C Rank rifts.
“This is an opportunity. A chance to leave a deep impression on people!”
If I handled today’s task well, C Rank requests would flood in, I could earn a ton of money, and I might even have a chance to level up with the magical energy absorbed from the rift!
It was a perfect plan.
However, I felt a bit worried.
Not about the rift but about the relationship between Seo Ye-rim and Yu Ara.
“Neither of them sent a message.”
Yu Ara had zoomed away in a taxi.
And Seo Ye-rim had left in her own car after grilling some meat for Inoi.
Both were carefree about reaching out while they had no communication overnight.
“I hope they can get along well.”
With that thought in mind, I prepared to head out for the rift.
“Inoi, make sure to guard the house. If the staff from Telos come to investigate the well, open the door for them. If you get bored, turn on the TV and watch.”
“Muhuhu, the owner of the house doesn’t need to worry…! This Inoi will grow the Marmelo tree without having time to be bored…! I will grow it into a very big tree…!”
So it seemed.
# # #
“Are you C Rank Haildo?”
There are always many people coming and going in front of the station, but it’s easy to spot Awakened individuals. Their gear is made of special leather and helmets, making them look like futuristic soldiers.
I was one of them.
I wore a technical rider suit covered with thermal plates underneath my coat, which was uncomfortable as it squeezed my butt and thighs every time I moved.
Anyway.
“Looks like everyone’s here.”
It was one o’clock, the meeting time.
I hurriedly tried to arrive ten minutes early, but it seemed I ended up being the latest.
Everyone else had come out early.
Swoosh.
I casually glanced at the people around me without being too intrusive.
Three people besides me.
Two women and one man, and seeing that their suits were worn out, they looked like veterans who were quite familiar with C Rank rifts.
Was I the only newbie in C Rank?
A woman carrying a case as large as a human clapped her hands.
“Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m team leader Jo Jang Hee. I’ve participated in about 60 C Rank rift extermination operations, and I work for the Awakened dispatch company Martians.”
The woman with long hair tied back described herself. She looked around 25 years old.
It was a name I had never heard before.
She was probably an Awakened who had been around for more than five generations.
Jo Jang Hee—
A name that sounds like a group project leader— I thought to myself while the woman with hair dyed yellow nonchalantly spoke up.
“I, Lee Jin-A.”
It was a brief introduction.
When the team leader asked, “Anything else? A nickname or something?” the woman who introduced herself as Lee Jin-A simply replied, “No.”
It felt more like annoyance than shyness.
It’s common for Awakened ones who have awakened since their teenage years to have peculiar personalities.
Now, a robust man with glasses spoke up.
“I’m Seol Myeong Hun. The weapon I use is a 67 caliber rifle equipped with ultra-vibration bullets. During the 37th C Rank rift extermination, I primarily handled long-range support—.”
He was a talkative guy, sharing various stories as if he had been waiting for his turn. The cold girl was quiet, and this guy spoke a lot.
This is the fun of gathering such diverse characters for rift extermination.
Now, the attention shifted to me.
I felt a bit shy and regretful about needing to “introduce” myself. If I were a celebrity like Seo Ye-rim or Yu Ara, everyone would already know who I was without me having to say anything.
I was even a celebrity once.
But now I realized clearly.
I was not particularly famous.
Of course, it didn’t matter if I became famous in the future.
“I’m Haildo. I recently ranked up to C Rank. This will be my first request at this level, so I’ll follow along quietly and learn.”
Everyone reacted with “Ooh” and “Heh-” at my introduction.
The person who reacted the most was the team leader, Jo Jang Hee.
“I’ve seen your information, Haildo. You really stepped up to C Rank. Congratulations.”
Soon, Seol Myeong Hun adjusted his glasses and added, “When it comes to C Rank rifts, one major point to be careful about is that the surrounding environment can change at any moment. There are many traps as well. I remember when I was on alternative service in Gangwon Province exterminating a C Rank rift…”
People were paying me attention.
In a world where many people are indifferent to others, being a newbie can sometimes be a nuisance, but luckily they were nice people.
Of course, there were also prickly ones.
“How long are we going to keep introducing ourselves? Let’s get going already.”
The girl with the yellow hair frowned as if she was annoyed by something since we first met.
Her words were also correct, so we boarded the van driven by Seol Myeong Hun and headed for the rift.
The rift was located in a mountainous area near Gyeonggi Province, which was quite remote and high up, making it tough to carry the gear.
Anyway, we arrived at the rift.
Soldiers from the military stationed there checked our identities and gave us a casual salute.
Chop-.
The team leader lightly saluted them and headed to the coordinates of the rift. There was a reddish elliptical shimmer that looked quite ominous.
Soon, Seol Myeong Hun spoke next to me.
“The entrance of a C Rank rift looks red like that.”
I knew that much.
It was just that I hadn’t seen it in a long time. At the time, my body couldn’t withstand the distortion and entropy increase of the C Rank rift.
Things would be different now.
“Alright, it’s 1:54 PM. Team leader Jo Jang Hee and three others are entering rift C-111 in Gapyeong.”
Swish-.
The team leader and the others entered one by one.
I also inhaled deeply and plunged into the rift.
At that moment, my stomach flipped.
It always felt like riding a roller coaster.
After crossing the threshold, I felt slightly exhausted, and Seol Myeong Hun asked, “The magical density of a C Rank rift is about 1.2 times higher than that of D Rank rifts, so sometimes it can be hard to breathe. Are you feeling uncomfortable while breathing or moving?”
It seemed that the higher magical density was real.
Every breath sent a tingling sensation through my body.
Since it wasn’t to the point of discomfort, taking five steady breaths made it quite manageable. Looking around, I saw a landscape resembling a summer valley. The sound of water flowing pleasantly could be heard.
If Inoi saw this place, would they have said, “This is nymph-friendly valley water!” with delight?
“Alright! Everyone, unpack your gear and let’s get started!”
Clink, clank, rustle-.
Now the people began to pull out weapons from the cases they brought, following the team leader’s words.
The team leader and the rebellious girl pulled out technical blades coated in silver, while Seol Myeong Hun retrieved a long, thick firearm that seemed capable of taking down an elephant.
Noticing my gaze, Seol Myeong Hun spoke.
“It’s a hunting rifle from Win Company designed for rifts. The rifle itself is expensive, but the bullets cost even more. They use specially made bullets fed with magical energy. Each bullet is 20,000 won.”
“20,000 won per bullet?”
A bullet costing as much as a chicken?
I would probably hesitate to shoot it out of concern for the cost.
Clank-.
Just then, my case on my back started to wobble side to side.
“Wait a minute. I’ll pull it out now.”
I unlocked and opened the case.
Suddenly, as if waiting for the moment, a Squirrel Beast rushed up onto my shoulder.
Seeing that, team leader Jo Jang Hee was greatly impressed.
“Wow, it’s really a squirrel? I wondered because you wrote Squirrel Beast on your weapon. Was the post about Squirrel Beast on the Awakened SNS talking about you?”
My Squirrel Beast was more famous than me.
I nodded my head.
“It’s probably that.”
Just as I was about to explain more,Suddenly—
Whush—
Kuurm, kuurm—!
Something heavy and large yet intense shook the bushes and appeared.
It was a lizard the size of a bear, and it was so powerful that you could call it a dinosaur. Its olive-green skin looked very thick, and its claw-shaped hooks easily shattered the trees as it scratched them.
━ Swish, swish-. Swoosh—.
“It’s the Nidhogg King Lizard! Please do not get bitten! Its mouth has bacteria! And weapons with destructive capabilities below C Rank won’t even scratch its hide, so you need to project firepower immediately!”
Clank—!
I heard the sound of Seol Myeong Hun shouting and loading his rifle.
The team leader and the rebellious girl also tensed up, aiming their swords.
At that moment, Kkungkkangi shot out like a brown bullet between them.
━ Kkungkkang…!
It was a technique I had coordinated with Kkungkkangi over the past few days.
The name of the technique was—
“Go, Kkungkkang! Squirrel Dive!”
Squirrel Dive.
It was a technique where a magically imbued Squirrel Beast charges at an enemy with intense speed.
━ Grrooooar…!
The Squirrel Beast Kkungkkang’s “Squirrel Dive” hit the bear-sized lizard.
━ Swish, bam, splat….
The immense impact sent the bear-sized lizard flying about three meters back as it flipped over, rolling onto its back with white eyes.
It was dead.
Everyone seemed speechless at this spectacle.
Even I!
The first to speak up was the talkative Seol Myeong Hun.
“A…amazing…. You took down a C Rank mid-tier demon Nidhogg King Lizard in one blow!?”
