018 – Nymph Inoi #18
The winter dawn was long.
At 4 AM, before the sun had risen.
As I rose from my place, Inoi also rubbed its eyes and got up.
“This Inoi had a strange dream…! I dreamed of a little crab setting off on a long journey…! For some reason, I felt both sad and angry…!”
It seemed that Inoi also had a peculiar dream.
Perhaps it was because the faintly hidden magical power of the crack between this house and the well affected our hearts and minds, or perhaps it was for another reason.
Inoi and I entered the well once more together.
The chilly dawn well.
The Galactic Crab Grebnoi lay dead on the bottom, belly flat against the ground.
“It makes me very sad to think it died alone after waiting for a long time for a friend…! This Inoi wants to bury the Nymph’s friend Grebnoi in the ground…!”
Despite nearly being injured by the bubbles ejected by Grebnoi, Inoi seemed to feel compassion.
And I felt the same.
It was a crab with a shell so tough that it would break my high-frequency blade with just a few headbutts. Normally, I would have collected the byproducts to sell to a material shop or the guild, but this time, I didn’t want to do that.
“Indeed, the nightmare was right. I shouldn’t have had that dream.”
In the dream, I had turned into a crab.
A crab the size of a human palm.
How long would it have taken to grow to such a size?
The Emperor Ant Angangi began to dig a hole in the ground. Soon, Kkungkkungi also joined in, moving its forelegs to dig.
Ants were originally masters of excavation.
And Kkungkkungi, being a winter-sleeping animal, was skilled at burrowing, quickly creating a large hole in the ground.
“Hup!”
I strained to lift the large crab’s body.
When I was still at D rank, my arms, enhanced by mana, could easily lift up to 300 kg, but this was almost a ton, making it very difficult to move.
As I struggled alone, Emperor Ant Angangi stuck to my leg.
“Zzuz…!”
It seemed to mean it wanted mana from me.
I brushed my palm on my pants and looked down at my body.
Enhancing one’s body with mana was the realm of D (Dynamorphosis) rank.
Bestowing mana onto weapons or adjusting them more finely to influence objects and others was the realm of C (Create) rank.
I had just barely reached C rank.
Honestly, I was still a novice at imparting mana to objects or others.
“I was doing well earlier.”
I had jumped straight into practical application without any practice.
Recalling the sensations from that time, I poured mana into the body of the Emperor Ant.
With a feeling of warmth flowing out of my body, Angangi’s body began to shine brighter.
“I didn’t realize earlier, but this is more tiring than I thought.”
Just then, a wave of dizziness hit me.
The Emperor Ant Angangi started to push Grebnoi’s body vigorously with its horned head.
Sruuuuuk-.
Despite my hard pulling, the crab’s body, which wouldn’t budge before, slipped into the hole.
Seeing that made me think of those animal documentaries that said ant strength was incredibly powerful.
“Now, let’s cover it with dirt.”
We buried the crab and piled dirt around to make a grave.
Inoi placed the ribbon it had brought in front of the grave and stuck a twig in.
“Grebnoi, now you will become a constellation in the sky and rest well…!”
Our mourning ended there.
Now, all that remained was to find the Rift Core to close this strange crack or to bring it out into the outside world.
At that moment, Inoi spoke.
“I’m curious if we really have to destroy the crack…! This is the place Grebnoi was protecting for its friend to return… If we destroy this place… we will never be able to meet again…!”
“I know that. If this crack remains open, people will have nightmares or get hurt. Awakened beings like me are fine, but regular people struggle to endure the influence.”
This was why the Awakened worked hard to close the rifts.
Soon, Inoi slumped down as if it had no choice.
“I’m curious about what this crack even is…! I wonder why Inoi ended up in this strange world….”
“Indeed.”
What is a rift?
What on earth causes it to open?
It was a subject that many people were still researching.
I quietly found the place I had seen in the dream.
The place where Grebnoi had defended with its belly as it died.
When I dug into that soil, a small box came out.
It was a rough box made of wood and nails.
“This must be the Rift Core.”
Creak-.
As I opened the unlatched box, inside were a flower-shaped pin and a small grain. While I was looking at what this grain might be, Inoi shouted.
“Ahh…! This is definitely the seed of the Nymph-friendly fruit ‘Marmelo’…! Marmelo is rich in mana and is very good for Nymphs and humans alike…! People would even go to war over a single Marmelo seed, with three goddesses and two nations fighting for it…!”
Marmelo?
It was an unfamiliar fruit name.
I wondered what kind of fruit it was when Inoi added.
“It sparkles with a yellow hue and its flavor is delightful… in any case, it is very good for the body…!”
What does it taste like?
I was getting curious.
Rustle-.
The flower pin I held in my hand seemed to have withered after enduring a long time and eventually scattered in the wind.
In the end, all I could take with me was the seed of the fruit called ‘Marmelo’.
# # #
The rift was completely closed.
And something amazing happened.
Water began to fill the well where the rift’s entrance had been.
“It’s extremely clear and clean water…! It must have similar properties to the pond where the crab was earlier…! It’s water infused with mana…!”
Mana-infused water, huh.
I took a sip of the well water.
It tasted refreshing and immediately revitalized my weary body, infusing it with some energy.
“I see. This is a medicinal water.”
“This Inoi is curious about what medicinal water is…!”
“In Korea, there’s usually a medicinal spring at every mountain. When a rift opens on a mountain, this spring will expel water infused with mana, even if just a little.”
This medicinal water doesn’t have any effect on regular people but replenishes mana little by little for Awakened individuals.
Such medicinal water is used to create the ‘potions’ that replenish mana.
Of course, potions are incredibly expensive, as states or corporations try to monopolize where this water emerges.
There are plenty of stories of a previously unvalued back mountain becoming a medicinal spring and making its owner rich.
“…A well that produces medicinal water.”
A house with such a thing could sell for a very high price.
This rundown and abandoned house would skyrocket in value.
But, at present, only I and Inoi knew about the well’s medicinal water.
Should I just contact the real estate owner and secure the purchase like this?
For a moment, greed welled up in me.
Inoi wouldn’t know anything, so as long as I kept quiet, it would work out just fine.
Rustle-.
I picked up my phone and pressed the number to leave a message.
# # #
The Awakened community was buzzing day after day.
It was because of the talk about the medicinal water discovered at the ‘well.’
“Is it true that land worth 50 million was sold for 1.5 billion? No matter how much you do as an Awakened, owning good land is the best ㅋㅋ.”
“I thought the real estate myth had broken down, but it’s still winning streaks ㄷㄷ.”
“Those Telos guys have dabbled in IT, taxi services, telecommunications, bicycles, and now real estate as well?”
The house with the well was swiftly sold to Telos Corporation.
For a staggering price of 1.5 billion.
In the rapidly escalating financial race, all I had was about 2000, so I had nothing I could do.
In hindsight, I should’ve kept my mouth shut and bought the land before revealing the facts.
“Of all the people, it had to be Telos who bought it. I don’t like how they force people to work so hard after placing orders.”
Most of my last ten years had been spent living off contracts from government agencies and Telos Corporation. Government employees were notoriously stingy, while Telos would pay decently but were extremely picky, making it annoying.
In the midst of such thoughts, Inoi seemed very disappointed.
“I wonder what will happen to the well where Grebnoi lived… This Inoi really liked that well….”
Zzzzz-.
Kkungkkungi and Emperor Ant Angangi also seemed very disappointed. Kkungkkungi had diligently chased off the bugs living in the house, and Angangi had kept the garden tidy.
But that place could not become our home.
“Can’t we find another place somewhere else?”
I typed on the computer to search for a good house.
Just then.
Ding-dong-. Knock knock-.
Someone knocked on my one-room’s door.
“This Inoi has ordered that pizza…! This Inoi is very nervous because it’s my first time ordering delivery…!”
Inoi was delighted.
Was it pepperoni pizza that had been delivered?
I got up from my seat and opened the door.
There, I saw a woman with black hair and sunglasses perched on her forehead looking at me with slightly furrowed brows.
She looked like a model from a high-end brand.
“What? It’s Seo Ye-rim.”
“This Inoi is disappointed because it’s not pizza….”
“What kind of pizza? Can I come in?”
Seo Ye-rim entered my room without waiting for my permission, taking off her shoes.
She seemed not to care if her stockings got dirty on the floor.
Of course, the floor was spotless because Emperor Ant Angangi had diligently cleaned it.
“I heard, Haildo. You were planning to buy a house and reported it honestly because medicinal water came out, right? Why didn’t you just keep your mouth shut and enjoy it? Why did you do something so foolish?”
Seo Ye-rim wasted no time criticizing me as soon as she arrived.
I answered her honestly.
“What if rumors spread later that I secretly speculated?”
“Who would say such a thing? You’re not even a celebrity.”
Seeing Seo Ye-rim smile lightly, I momentarily fell silent.
I had also struggled with it a lot.
However, I still thought that the choice I made was the right one and said it earnestly.
“It’s going to happen. I’m really serious about aiming for the top.”
“The top?”
“I’m going to make my name appear in the newspapers every day, so I can’t afford to have any blemish.”
More than anyone, I had received a lot of criticism.
I knew very well how painful it was to be criticized.
Now that I was aiming for S Rank, I wanted to be a hero, an idol for everyone, rather than someone to be criticized.
Was I to knowingly buy a house with a well that produced medicinal water while pretending not to know?
I couldn’t allow that for myself.
Seo Ye-rim looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“…Do you think anyone can just become S Rank? It requires blood, sweat, and money. Someone who can’t even find a house …how can they aim for S Rank? So have you picked out a new place?”
Seo Ye-rim was indeed a witch from S Rank.
Every word she spoke contained facts and targeted weaknesses.
It felt like my resolve might come crashing down.
Ding-ding-.
Seo Ye-rim held out keys.
“I just bought a new piece of real estate, but I want to make it a monthly rental since I can’t just leave it empty. Pay me 500,000 won each month with a deposit of 20 million. The address is written there.”
The keys Seo Ye-rim offered had a label with the address on it.
That address was not unfamiliar to me.
Searching it up revealed a lot of news articles and pictures of the well house.
“This well house, wasn’t it purchased by Telos Corporation?”
Why was Seo Ye-rim giving me the key to a well house?
Soon, Seo Ye-rim frowned.
“…You, didn’t you know who I am? Seo Sang-yong, the CEO of the Telos Strategic Management Team, is my father.”
Oh, damn.
The unfairness of the world made me curse.
How could the world be so unfair?
An S Rank Awakened being, a celebrity, and the daughter of a conglomerate? This was why her house was as big as a castle and had koi swimming in the pond.
I was truly grinding my teeth at the world’s unfairness.
Soon, Inoi spoke.
“Ahh…! The owners of the house are the cruel villains who are known to expand their monopolies and kill the common people…! They are the wicked ones who solve everything with money…!”
“What!?”
Seo Ye-rim furrowed her brows violently.
Feeling the temperature in the room rise rapidly, I put a hand over Inoi’s mouth.
“No, when did I ever say that? Where can you find a company as challenging and passionate as Telos? Wow, they are amazing. I’ve worked with Telos a lot, and I know well. They have a good influence….”
“What are you saying? In fact, I don’t like the management policies of my family either. So I don’t like to reveal that I’m a daughter of Telos. I’m rich because of my family, but that doesn’t mean I’m rich.”
…But even without mentioning Telos, it seemed like Seo Ye-rim was sufficiently wealthy.
Of course, I swallowed those words.
Ding-dong-.
“Ahh, it must be the pizza this time…!”
We shared a hot pizza.
Seeing the daughter of a conglomerate eating pizza in a one-room made my understanding of the world shatter.
“So, Inoi and the house owner buried Grebnoi…!”
“Is that so? What a waste. If a high-frequency blade could break it, it must have been a solid and new material. Even with that crab, it was a rift that didn’t get detected by rift detectors… The rift is really mysterious.”
It happened when Seo Ye-rim fell into thought, contemplating the rift.
I decided to ask a question that had been on my mind for a long time.
“You know more about things in certain locations than others, right? I’ve always been curious, what exactly is a ‘rift’? And what’s a ‘drifter’?”
A rift and a drifter.
I had been curious about these strange entities but since I had been D rank for ages, I couldn’t find out the answers.
However, it seemed now was the time I needed to be curious.
To find a way to return the peculiar Nymph Inoi to its original world.
Because there might be someone in its hometown waiting for it, just like Grebnoi.
