010 – Nymph Inoi # 10
I attached various devices to my body and entered the round, cylindrical machine.
Vrrrrr-.
For a moment, I felt a slightly warm sensation.
“The examination is complete!”
With Yu Ara’s cheerful voice, the machine’s operation came to an end. It was quite surprising that the examination took less than 10 seconds.
“No way, how can an examination end this quickly?”
From what I remembered, measuring physical mana would at least require 2 to 3 hours of tedious tasks.
Did they say the results would come out a week later?
At my words, Yu Ara, who had been tapping on the computer keyboard, frowned.
“Wow, what era are you talking about, senior? What time do you think it is? These days, any examination that takes more than 5 minutes is considered slow.”
“Really?”
No matter how quickly the world changes, could that really be the case?
I felt like I had become a veteran student returning to society after my time in the military.
Of course, I had done alternative service instead of actually enlisting, so I had no time to attend college.
“Here are your examination results. Let’s see… your mana level has reached B Rank. Just barely! And you have low body fat and high muscle density. Your skeleton is also quite robust! And….”
Even though I already knew, it felt more real to have it confirmed by an official. As for the amount of mana, I could indeed consider myself a C Rank Awakened.
Yu Ara said, “Congratulations, senior, on reaching C Rank! I knew you could do it! You’ve worked really hard, right? You went up the mountain, burned talismans, and consumed them!”
It had been a long time since someone had congratulated me. My feelings were a mix of joy and something strangely sentimental.
Burning the talismans and consuming them were memories I found somewhat embarrassing. After that, I had gotten an upset stomach and had been running to the bathroom for over a week.
“How did you….”
As I hesitated at the embarrassing topic, Yu Ara said.
“Oh… well, senior, you were somewhat of a celebrity, weren’t you? Among the high-ranking Awakened these days, there’s no one who doesn’t know you. I’ve heard rumors about you too. They often mentioned you at the 3rd class reunion.”
“3rd class reunion?”
Was the 3rd class reunion referring to the team that closed the 3rd rift? At that time, I had been leading a squad of F Rank Hunters.
Although I was part of the 1st class, I had been somewhat of a mentor to the 3rd class members. Why hadn’t I been invited to the 3rd class reunion? Of course, many of the 3rd class members, including Seo Ye-rim, were quite successful now.
Even if I had been invited, I might have declined from embarrassment.
“Uh-huh, well. Anyway, rumors tend to follow celebrities.”
As she said this, Yu Ara awkwardly focused her gaze on my examination result paper.
As Yu Ara mentioned, famous people often have rumors following them.
However, could I be comfortably referred to as a celebrity in front of her?
In fact, Yu Ara was probably more of a celebrity than I was.
There was a time when an internet site was split between Seo Ye-rim and Yu Ara.
“I’ve seen a lot of rumors about you, too. There were articles popping up everywhere. You achieved B rank with Ye-rim, right?”
F Rank Awakened were essentially no different from an average person.
It merely meant they had enough mana to withstand the pressure of entering or exiting a rift.
D Rank Awakened could realize that mana and enhance their physical abilities.
From C Rank onwards, they could enhance their physical abilities and eject remaining mana to wrap it around weapons. It was at this stage they could rightly be called ‘supers.’
As far as I knew, achieving B Rank was a level that only a select few among C Rank Awakened could attain, referred to as the ‘elite.’
At this stage, each Awakened would be able to handle a special ability known as a specialty.
For instance, Seo Ye-rim’s specialty dealt with flames.
“Ari, what was your awakening ability? It really felt like a superpower.”
As I reminisced about events from a few years ago, Yu Ara clapped her hands excitedly.
“Senior, more importantly, who is that child? She looks totally small and cute! Is she perhaps your daughter?”
“What? Daughter?”
I was only in my mid-twenties. Unless it was ancient times, would I really have a daughter that size in this day and age?
Soon, Yu Ara opened her slender eyes and laughed mischievously.
“Well, it wasn’t long ago, but you were quite the popular guy, right? I thought perhaps you married and had a daughter back then.”
“Popularity? What are you talking about?”
I waved my hand awkwardly, but the truth was, I had been somewhat popular in the past. While I had never received direct confessions, I often heard things like, “Haildo, aren’t you cool?”
Of course, that popularity stemmed from my achievements as the first D Rank Hunter, not from who I was as a person.
During those years, when I struggled as a D Rank, rather than being popular, I had become a target of ridicule.
“Still, she really doesn’t look like you at all. Her hair is a honey color. She doesn’t even seem Korean. Is she a foreigner?”
As Yu Ara reached toward Inoi, Inoi let out a distressed “Hieek!” and hid behind me.
For reference, “Hieek!” was a sound I often heard from Inoi during Hangeul practice games when a rainstorm hit.
Inoi trembled behind me like a drenched dog.
Why was that?
Did Yu Ara in her white coat seem scary? I didn’t think Inoi was the type to be shy.
I said, “She’s a Nymph. You know what elves are, right? She’s a newly discovered race. I found her first and am currently offering her temporary protection. Her name is Inoi.”
“Is that so? Inoi? What a fascinating name. Inoi, Inoi.”
Yu Ara made a lame joke and chuckled to herself. It was a silly joke but somehow became funny because such a pretty girl said it.
It felt similar to how women would swoon and laugh if a handsome guy simply said, “This bossam is delicious.”
Could this be how women felt?
Anyway, after Yu Ara’s strange joke, there was a brief silence.
My nape tingled with unease.
We were technically old acquaintances, but we hadn’t seen each other in years, so the conversation ended here. Trying to break the awkward atmosphere, I opened my mouth appropriately.
“Anyway, it’s really nice to meet you like this. I saw Ye-rim not that long ago. You were close with Ye-rim, right? Do you still keep in touch? You two used to eat and train together.”
As a D Rank Hunter, having floundered for years had only improved my interpersonal skills. I had improved my sociability skills to get work rather than combat skills because I needed to network to get jobs.
Bringing up a mutual acquaintance in an awkward situation was one of those fundamental skills.
At my words, Yu Ara tilted her head.
“Was I close with Ye-rim?”
“…Really? Wasn’t that the case? It’s been so long I can’t quite remember….”
“Puhuh, I’m joking. Of course, I’m close with Ye-rim. Back then, 3rd class members kept in touch with each other fairly often. As for me, I don’t really jump into the field anymore.”
“Oh really?”
“Anyway, it was nice seeing a familiar face after such a long time; it brought back good memories.”
“Yeah, well, since we know we’re both doing well, let’s grab a meal together sometime.”
As I said this while trying to leave the examination room, Yu Ara asked.
“How about tomorrow evening? I’m free tomorrow evening.”
Tomorrow evening?
I hadn’t expected her to set a specific date for a meal after simply saying we should grab one sometime. As I felt puzzled, Yu Ara raised her finger and said.
“Senior, now that you’re C Rank, you should also learn new combat techniques. I can give you some tips if you’d like. Wait, does that mean I’ll be a senior now?”
Tips for combat techniques.
That was a conversation I wouldn’t mind having.
In truth, I wanted to learn tips from someone. I had watched enough videos on the internet and Metube to be tired of them, but receiving tips directly from someone had a different level of significance.
“Alright then.”
# # #
“I-I was scared…!”
On the way home.
Inoi, who had been trembling like a drenched dog, finally released the breath she had been holding in. Usually, she would be all over the place, touching the water cooler and turning on the sink, but today she had been unusually quiet in the examination room.
“What were you so scared of? The doctor?”
I had moments where a white coat scared me too. When I became a D Rank Awakened, I had been subjected to all sorts of needles for examinations.
I didn’t know such thick needles could be stuck into my spine!
Inoi shook her head at that time.
“What Nymphs like me… we often get hunted by hunters…! Because the hair or bones of Nymphs like Inoi… are used as materials for talismans….”
Inoi had often mentioned the existence of “hunters” before.
From what I understood, Nymphs were like innocent and naive herbivores, hunted indiscriminately and thus lived deep in forests or mountains.
They were truly pitiful beings.
“And that woman in the coat we just met… gives off a very similar vibe to the hunters I’ve met before…! I-I’m scared…!”
Inoi trembled.
Of course, to me, it sounded somewhat ridiculous.
How clumsy and naive could Yu Ara be?
She became an Awakened in high school and was drafted, trembling if she heard the slightest noise from a rift since then. Her nickname had been “Little One” or “Chick.”
Yet Inoi continued to be scared.
“Nymphs like me… can instinctively sense…! In other words, the distinction between nymph-friendly and nymph-hating… can be discerned…!”
“Really?”
I recalled a documentary about herbivores I had seen on Metube. It suggested that herbivores could instinctively sense harmful and harmless things.
Looking at it, it seemed that Nymphs, who had been hunted and persecuted for a long time, possessed similar abilities.
It seemed that Awakened also developed a sense of ‘feeling’ as they fought in rifts for a long time. A feeling that indicated whether an opponent was stronger, weaker, or dangerous than oneself.
Suddenly, I became curious.
“How do I seem to you?”
“The owner of this house is extremely nymph-friendly like Evian spring water…! Surely, there hasn’t been a person this nymph-friendly since the founding king Cardmos of Thebes…!”
Who could Cardmos be?
Would it come up if I searched on the internet?
As such thoughts crossed my mind, Inoi said.
“When I’m with a nymph-friendly owner… it’s like how Nymphs gather around clear stream water! My sisters will surely gather…! The Nymph sisters of this land… will surely flock around…!”
Really.
It seemed Inoi thought that Nymphs would gather around me.
Would there really be other Nymphs besides Inoi in this world?
As I pondered this, Inoi said.
“Eheehee, this Inoi…! I’ve already found traces of Nymph sisters on the internet…! It won’t be long before we meet Nymph sisters…! I will show you evidence…!”
Hurry-.
Saying this, Inoi rushed into the house and turned on the computer.
