chapter_0506

506 – What is this? It’s Scary

506 – What is this? It’s Scary

Today, I decided to spend the day with the children at our home in this world.

Since there was nothing urgent to do, I chose to relax.

“The weather is really nice.”

The sunset sky stirred my emotions.

As I sipped on dandelion tea while gazing at the sky, Levinas approached me.

“Wanga!”

“Yeah?”

I turned to the side, following the voice.

For some reason, Levinas had grown up.

He had matured to about the level of Hanyeoreum, but his voice remained the same.

“Levinas is now an adult!”

“W-Why did Levinas suddenly grow up…?”

“Because Levinas is the Horned Rabbit King!”

Ahem.

A golden crown was placed atop Levinas’s head as he puffed out his chest.

What is this?

Did Bomi use magic to make Levinas grow up?

Just as I was looking around to find Bomi, I heard a loud roar from the sky.

“Kyahhh!”

A black dragon flew overhead.

Its body was magnificent, but the head looked just like Bomi.

“What is going on?”

What on earth is happening?

Have the other kids transformed too?

In a hurry, I tried to find the children when I heard Gaeul’s voice from high above.

“Ju-in!”

“G-Gaeul…?”

After taking a deep breath, I slowly looked up.

To my astonishment, a round Gaeul was floating in the sky like a full moon.

“Ju-in!”

The giant Gaeul moon looked down at me and giggled.

The sound was so loud that my ears perked up.

“How could this happen?”

As I slowly backed away, someone grabbed my ankle.

Turning around, I saw Saebyeok, who was holding my ankle tightly.

“Saebyeok has shrunk, huh?”

“Yeah. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because this is a dream.”

“……!”

With Saebyeok’s last words, I opened my eyes.

I felt the soft touch of a plush bed behind me, and the sun was just rising outside the window.

“Ju-in…”

Gaeul was licking my ear in her sleep, while Saebyeok was holding my leg tightly.

“This can’t be…”

Did the children’s sleeping habits manifest in the dream?

Then what were Bomi and Levinas?

Rubbing my eyes, I slowly got up.

I then spotted Levinas and Bomi sleeping with their arms stretched out like superheroes on either side of me.

“Kyah…”

“Levinas the King…”

The children were mumbling in their sleep about something I couldn’t quite understand.

Then I realized that the children were connected by Mana.

‘Could it be?’

Could their dreams be linked through Mana?

With this thrilling speculation, I stepped out of the bedroom.

“Ha…”

As I opened the door and left the room, I locked eyes with Choi Jin-hyuk, who looked exhausted.

There were splatters of red blood all over Choi Jin-hyuk’s clothes.

I instinctively caught a whiff of his blood.

It was a distinct smell of human blood, easily distinguishable from that of a monster.

“Blood…”

Why was Choi Jin-hyuk covered in blood?

My ears perked up in surprise.

“Oh, this is…”

Choi Jin-hyuk, who had been frozen for a moment, brushed the blood off with his hand.

Of course, a light brush wouldn’t wash it away.

As I watched him for a while, I realized that Choi Jin-hyuk had been out all night, working hard to save my world.

“Thank you.”

I bowed deeply to Choi Jin-hyuk.

His expression softened at my heartfelt gratitude.

“I was trying to do it secretly. Guess I got caught.”

Choi Jin-hyuk scratched the back of his neck.

He must have been helping out quietly like this all the time.

I was simply grateful for Choi Jin-hyuk’s consideration.

“I’ll help out next time too.”

“You’ll help?”

“Yes. It’s my world, after all.”

“Hmm… then…”

After a moment of contemplation, Choi Jin-hyuk lifted me up effortlessly.

He then laid me down on the sofa and said softly,

“Get some good sleep and play hard.”

“Sleep and play?”

“Yeah. That’s how you help.”

I wondered how that could be helpful.

Could it mean that I’m too weak to help right now, so I should grow stronger?

Not understanding, I decided to ask Choi Jin-hyuk.

“How does sleeping and playing help?”

“It gives me strength to see you doing well.”

“Ah.”

Seeing family members doing well does give one strength.

I think I understood what Choi Jin-hyuk meant.

“Then can I sleep a little longer? I’m still a bit sleepy.”

“Sure. Sleep well and wake up.”

“Okay.”

**

“Sniff, are you leaving already?”

“Yes. I’ll come again later.”

“Goodbye, and if you find anything, call me again.”

After saying goodbye to Yoon Dain and Song Harin, I returned home.

On the way back, I felt that the Mana I had faintly sensed was diminishing even more.

Choi Jin-hyuk really worked hard.

Feeling grateful, I held Choi Jin-hyuk’s hand all the way to the portal.

“Alright, now you can play.”

“Okay.”

Back at the park.

First, I decided to look for Haneul.

“Haneul.”

As I moved to the Ggaemmi Guild’s forge, Haneul burst through the door and ran out.

“Master…!”

“Haneul, how have you been?”

“Yes…!”

Haneul fidgeted with her hands, hovering around me.

She seemed to have something she wanted to say.

‘What is it?’

As I slowly examined Haneul, I noticed that her silver arm had changed a bit.

“Haneul, your arm seems a little different?”

“Yes, yes…! I made this…!”

Was she happy to be acknowledged?

Haneul beamed and showed me her arm.

“Haneul has already made something like this?”

“Well, actually, my master did the making, and I just assembled it…”

“Even just assembling is impressive. I’m proud of you, Haneul.”

“……!”

Haneul’s tail wagged rapidly.

Just then, Levinas approached Haneul.

“Blue Haneul! Did your arm get a new function?!”

“Yes. It’s a building demolition function.”

“Demolition…!”

The children’s tails perked up, knowing about Haneul’s building demolition ability.

Among us, Saebyeok showed the most interest.

“Let’s go demolish a building with Haneul’s arm.”

“But there’s no building to demolish.”

“That’s true.”

Nod.

Saebyeok seemed disappointed and licked her lips.

Would we have to use it only at the training ground again?

Just then, Bomi made a suggestion.

“What about the dungeon?”

Indeed, in a dungeon, we could use our skills without any worries.

“But isn’t it dangerous for Haneul in the dungeon?”

“We can go to a weak dungeon.”

“That would work, but… Haneul, can you catch monsters?”

At my question, Haneul clenched her fist tightly.

She looked surprisingly confident.

“Yes…! I can catch bugs well…! But why monsters…?”

“To test Haneul’s arm.”

“On monsters?”

Haneul’s eyes widened.

She seemed puzzled about catching monsters with her building demolition arm.

“Well, Haneul’s arm… uh…”

I couldn’t think of a proper explanation.

I glanced at Saebyeok for help, and she gave Haneul a serious expression.

“Adventurers clean up monsters.”

“Cleaning up monsters…!”

“Shall we go clean up the dungeon together?”

“Yes! I really want to go…!”

Haneul really loves cleaning.

Catching monsters is indeed a form of cleaning the dungeon.

In the afternoon, I decided to go to the dungeon with Haneul.

**

I moved to a beginner-level dungeon with the children after a long time.

It was a goblin dungeon, but for some reason, I couldn’t see Uncle Kim Min-jun.

Worried, I asked the official in charge of the goblin dungeon.

“Excuse me, where did Uncle Kim Min-jun go?”

“He went to a higher-level dungeon.”

“Ah.”

A higher dungeon, huh.

Did he get promoted or something?

My tail wagged at the joyful news of someone I knew.

“We might run into him while exploring dungeons later.”

“Yeah!”

After completing the simple procedures, we stepped through the portal into the dungeon.

To use Haneul’s arm, we moved to a place where there were no people.

“This should be good.”

In a slightly distant forest, there was a group of goblins.

Among them was a hobgoblin, the leader of the goblins.

“Haneul, do you see those goblins over there?”

“Yes…!”

“Let’s clean up the goblins.”

“Yes…! I’ll clean it up neatly…!”

Neatly, huh.

I hope she doesn’t leave any traces behind.

As I chuckled to myself, Haneul reached out toward the goblin group.

Then, with pure eyes, she looked up at me.

“Master, I still don’t know how to use Mana.”

“Okay. I’ll help you.”

I placed my hand on Haneul’s back and poured Mana into her arm.

Even though I poured in more Mana than last time, Haneul’s arm only hummed, gathering energy.

‘Do I need to use more Mana?’

Woom-!

“Gruk?”

The sound of Mana gathering made the goblins perk up their ears.

At this rate, we would get caught.

I quickly poured more Mana into Haneul’s arm.

Then.

Boom-! Bang-!

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-!

“……!”

A beam shot straight from Haneul’s palm, striking the goblin group.

After that, something shot out from her wrist, launching a blue Mana ball.

It resembled the energy balls used by magicians, but its power was on a different level.

Boom-! Whack-!

The energy ball slammed into the goblin group and the nearby trees.

The goblin group exploded, and a massive tree fell, covering them.

Thanks to that, the goblins couldn’t even find their corpses.

“Master…!”

Haneul looked up at me with sparkling eyes.

“……”

What is this?

It’s terrifying.

I trembled as I looked at the goblin group that had vanished without a trace.

The other children felt the same way, except for Saebyeok, who held on to Haneul to keep her from getting overwhelmed, her eyes shining brightly.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you so much for reading today, PIA1747014585384!

Thank you for the comments and recommendations! They always give me strength!

Scary Haneul…!