013 – Nymph Inoi # 13
“No, in the end, I still have to pay. Wasn’t Yu Ara supposed to buy dinner?”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had been deceived as I exited the meat restaurant. My dinner had been ruined by the sudden appearance of Lee Joon-Hun.
Would I be able to tell Yu Ara later, “You said you would pay, so give me the money”? It would sound really bad, but I desperately needed every penny!
Earlier, I had gone outside with a rather serious expression after receiving a call. Now, having left without paying, it seemed like there had to be something urgent going on.
Is everything going to be alright?
—Kkungkkungi!
A rustling sound came from my pocket as the Squirrel Beast Kkungkkungi reappeared. Why had Kkungkkungi, who was supposed to be with Inoi, come all the way to this meat restaurant?
—Kkungkkungi!
Kkungkkungi continued to bark, as if trying to convey something to me. The sound it made was completely like that of a dog.
“Stop barking already.”
It seemed like it had something urgent to say. With all this barking, there might have been an emergency.
Had Inoi gotten caught up in something bad? Maybe something like accidentally starting a fire while messing with the gas stove?
“I really should have never left him alone.”
It wasn’t on purpose, but Inoi had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on the house. It wasn’t because he enjoyed watching the house; he probably wanted to stay away from Yu Ara out of fear.
Inoi had rated Yu Ara as ‘Nymph-hating’. But if I think about it, isn’t Seo Ye-rim more Nymph-hating than her?
Do the values of Nymphs and humans differ?
As I pondered this, I hurriedly returned home.
The one-room apartment was surprisingly peaceful.
As I rushed up the stairs and opened the door lock, the inside was a complete mess!
“What the hell…? Inoi! Where are you, Inoi?”
It looked like a scene from a burglary.
What could a thief possibly take from this shabby one-room apartment? Suddenly, thoughts about hunters targeting Nymphs crossed my mind.
Could they be after Inoi!?
While I was still in shock, I entered the room and was able to vaguely understand what had happened.
Woooooong—.
A mysterious sound was emanating from a bizarre phenomenon that lay open in the middle of my room.
“Ugh, what is this? A Rift…!?”
It was a phenomenon known as a Rift.
Even though I was a D Rank Awakened and somewhat accustomed to such phenomena due to my experience, it was perplexing to have one opening right in my own house.
“There was no warning about a Rift opening at all, was there?”
Rifts were phenomena that had been studied to some extent but were still inexplicable. It was said that when the space of the world tears, the distortion of mana shows signs beforehand.
Just as seismic activity is detected by a seismograph, there are devices that detect the occurrence of Rifts, allowing local residents to be warned and evacuated a day in advance.
“Is this really one of those ‘Anomalous Rifts’?”
The term “Anomalous Rift” referred to those that opened unexpectedly without being detected or warned. Such was the D Rank Rift that had opened in the city just before Christmas.
This Rift seemed to be of that nature as well.
The opening was just about big enough for a person to fit through.
At this size, it was probably an F Rank Rift.
For reference, Rifts are ranked from F, which is the lowest, to T, which is the highest. When it hits T (Tyrant) rank, it is said that military and S Rank Awakened individuals must be dispatched strategically to close it.
“Anomalous Rifts are becoming more frequent lately.”
Unforeseen Anomalous Rifts used to be seen only once a year at most.
But both the last Christmas and now, with one appearing in my room, it felt like their occurrence was increasing for some reason.
“Should I report this first?”
Originally, when a Rift appeared, it was customary to report it to the responsible agency first. However, if the discoverer was an active Awakened, it was sometimes acceptable to close the Rift on their own and report afterward.
As I contemplated what I should do.
—Kkungkkungi!
The Kkungkkungi, which had been crouched in my coat pocket, stretched out and then leaped. As if unafraid, it dived into the flickering blue Rift.
At this point, there was no choice but to follow.
F Rank Rifts are somewhat safe, but one can never be too sure.
I squeezed myself into the Rift, where Inoi might have gone.
# # #
Woooooong—.
As if my insides were soaring when a roller coaster drops vertically, my world shifted.
The messy one-room apartment was gone, and I found myself in a field.
Indeed, it was a field.
It was a majestic field where barley or wheat swayed gently in the wind.
“Is this a grassland field?”
I recalled what kind of demons typically appeared in grassland-type Rifts. Wasn’t it mostly creatures called Garlums that resembled wild dogs and possessed six eyes, bipedal monsters?
There were also places teeming with giant mantises called Kill Mantis.
I looked around, pondering which kind this place belonged to, but there was nothing that could be called a ‘demon’ in sight.
Instead, a brown-furred Squirrel appeared from the bushes.
—Kkungkkungi!
It was Kkungkkungi again.
Kkungkkungi hopped toward a certain direction.
Was it leading me somewhere?
“Hey, wait up!”
I began to run hard alongside Kkungkkungi.
After running for about five minutes.
I could see a strange architectural structure hidden among the reeds ahead. It appeared to be made of white marble, but the lush vegetation indicated that it had been abandoned for quite some time.
Just as I thought it was a fascinating structure, I noticed something wriggling.
It was in red tracksuit.
“Inoi!”
I called out.
Soon, Inoi, who had been hiding among the crumbling marble columns, suddenly raised his head.
“The owner of the house…! This is a delightful surprise…!”
“Inoi, what are you doing here?”
“I followed the nostalgic scent…! This place is probably the ruins of an abandoned shrine…! I don’t know which god it belongs to, but… it’s a Nymph-friendly location…!”
Whiooow—.
The wind picked up.
The sight of the field swaying beautifully under the warm sunlight was truly magnificent. It appeared to be just the kind of place that’s labeled as Nymph-friendly.
However, I regrettably had to close the Rift.
Otherwise, various things could be sucked into this open hole.
“Inoi, we need to get out of here. I’m going to close the Rift. But first, I want to find the core of the Rift. Do you have any ideas?”
Rifts are spaces created around something that has a certain ‘cohesion’. That cohesive object could be a powerful demon or a special treasure with unique powers.
We refer to such substances as ‘Rift Cores’.
What kind of Rift Core could be here?
Soon, Kkungkkungi started bouncing around left and right.
—Kkungkkungi!
I wondered what it was doing when I spotted something black, about the size of a thumbnail, wriggling on the ground.
The identity of that strange creature was….
“An ant?”
Had ants ever been found in an F Rank Rift?
In D Rank Rifts, giant ants called ‘Genocide Ants’ as big as puppies often threatened Awakened individuals. But this one was smaller compared to the Genocide Ants.
Perhaps because of its small size, it appeared harmless.
Inoi suddenly shouted.
“Ahh…! This is definitely a line of honey ants…! Such black and shiny ants can only be honey ants…!”
Honey ants?
I wondered what they were when Inoi shouted again.
“Honey ants are, quite literally, honey ants…! They are remarkable workers blessed by the goddess of harvest…! Just like honeybees, they love gathering nectar…! They are amazing and Nymph-friendly ants! We should hurry and find the leader, the queen ant…!”
The queen ant?
Isn’t the queen ant typically the head of the ants?
Soon, Inoi started inspecting the line of ants.
Kkungkkungi also hopped around curiously observing the line of ants.
Reluctantly, I decided to help find the ‘queen ant’. But how on earth would we find a single ant in this vast field?
While I was deep in thought, Inoi spoke.
“The queen ant is extraordinarily beautiful…! It makes a sharp sound with its jaws…! If we can hear that sound, we’ll surely find it…!”
Sound?
That was a better hint than nothing at all.
I took a moment to breathe in the air, focusing all my senses on hearing.
Perhaps due to the rich mana coursing through me, amplifying my physical abilities beyond the norm, various sounds began flooding into my ears.
Rustle—.
Rustle—.
“I’m curious if something is hearing…!”
—Kkungkkungi!
“Shh, be quiet.”
After giving everyone a warning, I concentrated once more.
Then, among the sounds of the wind brushing through the blades of grass, something peculiar began to emerge.
Clack—. Clack—.
It was the sound of something hard colliding.
It wasn’t too far from where I was.
I took about five steps and began to search through the bushes.
Soon, I spotted a large object the size of my palm.
It was an ant that had three towering horns like a foreign rhinoceros beetle.
It looked big and sturdy, and its color was a stunning golden.
“Is this the queen ant?”
As I grabbed hold of the large ant, the golden ant began to thrash around.
I was surprised at how strong it was, more than I expected.
“Ahh! I’ve never seen such a large honey ant before…! With horns like this and the golden color, it must be more than just a queen ant; it’s undoubtedly the emperor ant…! This is truly remarkable…!”
The emperor ant.
Kaiser Ant, perhaps.
What a fitting name.
From this creature, I felt a strong force and a subtle mana.
In my opinion, this creature was the ‘Rift Core’ of this bizarre field and the abandoned shrine.
If I eliminate it, the Rift will close.
Or I could take it out with me.
I felt it was too much of a waste to kill it, so I decided to bring it with me.
Swish—.
After taking out the emperor ant, the Rift closed about ten seconds later.
It turned out, this creature was indeed the Rift Core.
“How fascinating.”
“Yikes…! My house is a mess…!”
Inoi was in shock as he looked at the disarrayed one-room apartment. It appeared that the room was intact until Inoi entered the Rift.
When would I ever clean this up, I was worried in various ways.
—Suuuu—
The emperor ant that I held in my hand climbed down my knee and started tidying up the messy blankets and scattered clothes.
I was astonished by this incredible sight when Inoi said.
“Honey ants once helped Princess Psyche tidy up the goddess’s temple grain…! In other words, honey ants are masters of organization…!”
“Really?”
I figured that was the case.
Anyway, I reported the anomaly of the Rift and how I handled it to the agency through the app.
About twenty minutes later, an investigator was dispatched, and it was someone I recognized.
“Seo Ye-rim, you came to verify an F Rank Rift?”
“Don’t you know that the highest-ranking officer responds to Anomalous Rifts? How am I supposed to ignore it when it’s my shift today? Besides, is this your home? There’s a squirrel, and what is this ant…? An ant?”
“It’s an emperor ant. This guy was the core of the Anomalous Rift.”
I showed the emperor ant to Seo Ye-rim.
She was too busy exploring my house to pay attention to the ant. Her expression looked like a rich kid seeing a goshiwon for the first time.
I said to Seo Ye-rim.
“You need to come inside to report what happened. The place is a bit untidy, but you’re a busy person, so it’s better to finish quickly, right?”
In response to my words, Seo Ye-rim looked at the dusty floor, which was covered with dirt from the Rift’s aftermath. Soon, she seemed about to enter with her shoes on, and I got angry.
“No, you have to take off your shoes, no matter what.”
“My stockings. They’re made from insulation material by Foxford Company, and they cost around $5,500. If they get dirty, will you do the laundry for me?”
“Well then… just wear your shoes. This room needs cleaning anyway.”
Even if you combine the price of the flooring in my room, it would still be cheaper than the stockings Seo Ye-rim was wearing.
Swish—.
Although I told her it was okay to wear shoes, Seo Ye-rim removed her heels and stepped into the dusty room wearing her black stockings.
She asked me.
“So, what happened?”
Explaining what had happened wasn’t a difficult task at all.
I, being a veteran used to long-standing operations, detailed the entire situation.
“I didn’t catch the scene of the Rift opening. I was outside at that time. You know Yu Ara, right? Your classmate. I was having dinner with her when suddenly Kkungkkungi showed up. By the way, Kkungkkungi is a Squirrel Beast. Anyway, when I followed Kkungkkungi back home, I saw the Rift—”
“Yu Ara? You had dinner with that Yu Ara?”
Seo Ye-rim’s brow furrowed immediately.
