111 – Nymphs and Dark Haildo #3
Once, my younger sister had put a liquid monster into my clothes as a joke.
It felt cold, gooey, and very strange.
Slithering, slithering-.
The sensation was exactly the same as that time!
A mysterious parasitic creature suddenly jumped at me!
“Ugh!”
I hurriedly threw off my clothes in response to this urgent and emergency situation.
And I managed to grab the squirming parasitic creature by my stomach with my hand.
“I got it!”
Pik-.
But something astonishing happened.
The parasitic creature suddenly seemed to lose all strength and plopped down to the floor.
Thud-.
It resembled a liquid monster that had collapsed, like melted snow forming a puddle.
Seeing that, I felt a mix of confusion and a frown on my face.
“…Is it dead?”
It stopped moving altogether.
The engineering student was extremely flustered, feeling very disappointed as he said, “Ah, my income…”
Did I accidentally touch it wrong and cause the parasitic creature to disappear?
Although it had attacked first, I felt a strange sense of remorse.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional…”
“No, well, that can happen. It looks like it didn’t have much lifespan initially. It’s unfortunate, but well…”
The engineering student really seemed to be lamenting the loss.
Just then, a beeping sound was heard.
It signified that the hacking of the bag was complete.
“Shall we take a look at what’s inside?”
Swish-.
The engineering student started to unlock the bag he had obtained from Gi Seung-jae.
Clunk, clack-.
Vroom, clack-clack-.
The bag began to open, making sounds more wonderful and romantic than expected.
Pushhhhh-.
As it opened while releasing some gas-like substance, inside the bag was…
Something shiny and chrome-like curled up.
Bang bang…!
The first to react was Kkungkkungi.
Kkungkkungi lifted its left and right front legs alternately towards the object inside the bag, as if greeting a friend.
Then the object inside the bag mimicked Kkungkkungi’s movements with its left and right front legs.
Meow-.
It emitted a peculiar sound.
It sounded a bit like the sound Kkungkkungi makes when it’s in a good mood.
The engineering student was amazed at the sight.
“Wow, this looks like a 7th generation drone? It’s made of self-learning AI and shape memory alloy, allowing for automatic restoration and regeneration. These things can sometimes be found on the deep web, but to see one here…”
Taking out glasses from his pocket, the engineering student admired the drone sitting in the bag, looking around.
Though he called it a drone, to me it looked more like a shiny and cool wolf spider.
It was roughly the same size as Kkungkkungi and behaved similarly as well.
Wow, wow-!
The unique aspect was the sound it made, which was “wow, wow.”
The mix of gray and silver chrome was so stylish that I found it truly impressive.
“It’s really amazing.”
“If I sell this, it could be worth hundreds of millions. If there’s a premium, it might be even more expensive. Should I look up where to sell it? I bet there are plenty of people wanting to buy it.”
The engineering student was intrigued by the mechanical spider.
Seeing that my dreary feelings disappeared just like that due to the mechanical spider’s awesomeness, it must indeed be something remarkable.
“If I sell one of these, how many drones could I buy…?”
Hehehe-.
I felt good that I might have money to acquire new equipment.
But I was a bit worried about Kkungkkungi.
“Hiwoong…!”
Kkungkkungi slowly extended its front legs towards the mechanical spider and swayed its body back and forth.
Then it even sang “Hiwoong, hiwoong-,” looking very pleased as it did so.
A friend.
Is that what it’s thinking?
Although Squirrel Beasts, Great Horned Owls, and Honey Ants had appeared numerous times in our first village, wolf spiders were particularly rare, so Kkungkkungi probably didn’t have any friends.
So it was certain that it felt a sense of familiarity seeing the 7th generation drone that resembled itself.
“Shall I measure its specs and give you an estimate? I think we should take it apart first.”
Hehehe- rubbing his hands, the engineering student got the mechanical spider and put it on a strange measuring device, causing Kkungkkungi to sag.
“Hiwoong….”
It must have realized that a friend it had only just found was going to be taken away.
I had various thoughts, but ultimately steeled myself and reached a conclusion.
“No. Selling it feels a bit wrong. I’ll just keep it for myself.”
“Really? I guess when you have equipment like this, you naturally want to try handling it yourself. Honestly, I want it too. This bag seems to function not just as a case but also as a charger…”
In this way, a mechanical spider was added to my family.
Its name was Mi-ong.
Because it meowed “Mi-oong.”
Kkungkkungi seemed pleased that its friend now had the name Mi-ong.
“Hiwoong…!”
“Mi-oong…!”
# # #
“And that’s how Mi-ong became part of our family.”
Swish-.
I showed the bag-type charger plugged into the outlet to Inoi.
Inoi admired Mi-ong, the mechanical spider, sitting neatly on top.
“What a wonderful wolf spider…! Its elegant metallic figure is superb, ranking among the best spiders I’ve seen…”
Inoi marveled at Mi-ong’s splendid appearance.
Mi-ong’s toes were sharp like a needle, and its form combined curves and sharpness, truly resembling a “final weapon.”
However, its personality seemed shy like Kkungkkungi’s, and it rarely showed itself from within the charging bag.
Seeing this, Inoi said,
“Wolf spiders are known to be fearful when moving homes and prefer to hide in corners for a few days! They will surely adapt over time!”
Now that I think about it, Kkungkkungi also had hidden near firewood when it first appeared near our house, watching the situation unfold every day.
Of course, this one wasn’t a real spider but was closer to a drone, yet Inoi seemed to genuinely believe it was a real spider, and Kkungkkungi seemed to feel the same way.
“Hiwoong…!”
Kkungkkungi danced and sang various songs in front of the bag.
Seeing that side of it made me feel somewhat relieved.
“Thank goodness Kkungkkungi has made a friend.”
Kkungkkungi had Phey as its wing squirrel.
And Ahn Ahn had Elizabeth, who sang “Orolong-.”
But Kkungkkungi was alone, and that sight struck me as quite lonely.
Of course, Kkungkkungi seemed to enjoy singing or dancing by itself every day, but that was just my feeling as I watched it.
“But now I feel reassured.”
With that feeling, we celebrated the arrival of our new family member.
The following morning after a good sleep.
“What a refreshing morning.”
I welcomed another refreshing morning without change.
My body felt lighter than usual, and I had a strong sense of vitality coursing through me.
I felt like my condition was better than usual.
I seemed to know the reason.
“Is the result of my training finally starting to show?”
Daily strength training that I had not skipped even once.
It was clear that the results of that were returning to me now.
“Effort never betrays, they say.”
I went out into the yard.
There stood an A Rank scarecrow made by Cha Yura, which was so solid that it wouldn’t even get scratched by an A Rank attack; “Eternal Ice.”
When the weather got too hot, Kkungkkungi, Kkungkkungi, and Ahn Ahn would rest near the ice, enjoying the coolness.
And it served as a sparring partner for my training.
“Today, for some reason, I feel like I could cut through it.”
Zwoooom-.
I pulled out my beam saber.
Then, I swung my arm with all my might at the ice.
“Iron Cut!”
Pishuu-! Crack-!
With a sharp sound, the top of the ice cracked.
That said one thing.
My internal magical power had risen considerably, almost to A Rank.
“Am I already at this level? I thought it would take several more years! Is this for real?”
What a remarkable thing this was!
I couldn’t contain my overwhelming emotion.
“Inoi! Come here! I smashed the ice! Inoi… is Inoi out taking Kkungkkungi for a walk? Inoi? No one? Kkungkkungi! Kalilnoi! Is nobody here? Huh?”
No one was around!
Nevertheless!
While I needed to check the details further, I was overwhelmed with emotion at the increase in magical power.
Swish-.
I went into the bath to wash off my sweat happily—but then I found something strange in the mirror.
“What is this?”
It was a tattoo.
A tattoo the size of my fist engraved on the area below my ribcage.
The pattern was a circle, and the color was very black.
At a glance, it looked like a black hole punched into my chest.
“What the heck is this?”
Did I inadvertently drink Illinois’s “mood-lifting potion” during Mi-ong’s initiation and welcome party last night, and everything is a blur?
Did I get this tattoo while I was out?
Swish-.
I opened the fridge to see that Illinois’s potions were still at 5 bottles, unchanged.
They neither increased nor decreased.
“What is happening here?!”
I felt the black pattern with my hand.
It was a strange feeling in many ways.
“Could it be…?”
Is it related to the parasitic creature from yesterday?
It was a plausible guess, even to myself.
I thought it might help me understand the current situation, so I sat down in front of my computer.
“Suddenly a tattoo appears on my chest.”
“Parasite creature gives tattoos.”
I searched variously but found nothing specific.
As I rummaged through the Internet, I suddenly stumbled upon a post about “Haildo” that was trending as the best post with the most recommendations.
“Title: Honestly, if you’re envious of Haildo, give it a thumbs up.
Should I hit the thumbs up if I want a Squirrel Beast, Honey Ant, and Ghost Spider too?”
It was a very delightful post.
However, one comment made me frown.
“Honestly, isn’t this all about the Squirrel Beast? It’s a Squirrel Bazooka.”
└Since the Squirrel Beast, Honey Ant, Ghost Spider, and Great Horned Owl were deployed, it should now be called the Aircraft Carrier Haildo, lol.
└Aircraft Carrier, whoa.
A Squirrel Bazooka.
An aircraft carrier?
I liked what that said.
Because it’s true.
To be honest, these days, Kkungkkungi, Ahn Ahn, and the Great Horned Owl were doing everything for me.
Truly, the nickname of an aircraft carrier suited me well.
But for some reason, I couldn’t hold back from this kind of story today!
It felt as if a destructive instinct and negative feelings were bubbling up inside me, and I felt I had to respond to this comment.
“How dare you leave a derogatory comment about me.”
Under normal circumstances, I would have overlooked it without a second thought—but.
Clack-.
Now I had done something I would never usually do.
I raised the mouse and clicked “Dislike” for the first time in my life!
“Dislike!”
At that moment, a strange sense of omnipotence and betrayal flared up within me, making me feel dizzy.
It was as if the mana within me was surging even stronger!
Dínk!
Just then, my phone vibrated.
I wondered who it was, and it was Seo Ye-rim.
“Hey! Inoi said you adopted another animal called Mi-ong?! You should have told me first!”
“……”
