episode_0033

The three of us safely wandered through every corner of the underground shopping center.

Fortunately, nothing like a terrifying monster suddenly appeared.

“For now, I don’t see any notable urban legends.”

“That’s strange. There are so many minor ghosts?”

“Right. That means there’s a lot of yin energy. It’s kind of amazing.”

Every time we walked around, minor ghosts kept popping out.

Although ghosts are common in this world, this many is a bit odd.

A surprisingly large number.

With this many, it’s more common for an urban legend to take root.

“If there are no urban legends, isn’t that okay?”

“I guess so.”

In deep underground places like this, it’s dangerous for urban legends to take root.

They’re left unattended for who knows how long, steadily gaining power.

Then they turn into a den that attracts people.

‘Deputy Director Lee Jaehak probably worried about that, so he gave a separate mission to the trainees.’

Well, in this case, the intention to test me, who is controversial in many ways, is probably greater.

“Anyway, now there’s only one place left, right? Let’s check there and get out. I’m starting to want to take a shower.”

We headed to the deepest part of the underground shopping center.

It was a fairly large performance hall.

Even though it’s a performance hall, it felt more like a school auditorium.

“Wow~ There’s a place like this in the underground shopping center?”

“Maybe they used it for events.”

Like the shopping center, the performance hall was already worn out in many places.

It’s a shame, but this place doesn’t seem suitable for practice either.

“Ah… ahem! Ahem! If it’s okay with you, Do-hyeong and Eun-hye, could you two check over there? I’ll take a look at this side.”

“Why? We can just go together.”

“You have no tact… It’ll be faster that way.”

“? Sure, whatever.”

We carefully looked around the auditorium, just in case.

Fortunately, there were no notable urban legends here either.

‘Even the minor ghosts that were overflowing are gone now.’

Location-wise, this seems like the best place for yin energy to gather.

Why aren’t there even any ghosts to be seen?

Go Ju-yeong checked everything and nodded.

“There’s nothing here either. This job will be easy.”

“Ah.”

“…What is it now?”

“You shouldn’t say that on the job.”

“No, what do you mean….”

*Kugugugung!*

At that moment, a huge roar echoed through the auditorium.

Something appeared with powerful yin energy and landed on the auditorium.

“Ah~ Thanks to Go Ju-yeong, something that was going to end quickly is going to take up another episode’s worth.”

“Are you saying this is my fault?!”

As the smoke cleared, the mysterious object revealed itself.

It was an urban legend in the form of a creature.

“Nyonnyo~”

“……???”

The body and face were a large fish.

But it had three legs under its body.

And for some reason, it was wearing shoes on its feet.

“What is that…?”

Go Ju-yeong frowned at its bizarre appearance.

“T-that’s…!”

“Do you know what it is?”

“Nyonnyo nyonnyo nyonnyo nyonnyo ibe sahure!”

A moment of silence followed my words.

“…No need to overdo it. What is that, you weeb?”

“Nyonnyo nyonnyo nyonnyo nyonnyo ibe sahure!”

“I’m not asking you to say the name again!”

It seemed like Go Ju-yeong didn’t know what it was either.

Well, I understand.

It’s probably set as an urban legend that appeared fairly recently.

‘Even in modern times, it’s a monster-type urban legend that came out recently.’

The first start was a composite image that people made for fun.

It gained a cult following, and gradually, desires began to be attached to it.

In the end, that urban legend is a materialized creature.

In modern times, there are many more urban legends that originate from the internet, but this is a particularly bizarre case.

‘In this world, urban legends are born for all sorts of reasons and absurd things.’

It’s like a kind of Pygmalion effect.

A person was frozen to death in a freezer, but the power was off.

Someone was trapped in an elevator and suffocated, but in reality, elevators have ventilation.

Urban legends born from human imagination and fear.

In a way, the beings from another dimension that targeted Eun-hye before can be seen as that kind of thing too.

That kind of urban legend becomes stronger the more famous it is, and the stronger the power and fear that humans imagine.

‘It’s different from the guys from another dimension who were easy to deal with because it was inside the mental world. Since it exists in reality, it will have its original power as it is.’

To put it simply, it’s like a Tyrannosaurus rex showed up.

But with spiritual abilities added.

“It’s a monster-type urban legend that originates from the internet. It’s stronger than it looks, so it’s good to be careful.”

“Damn it. Am I behind the times? I don’t understand at all.”

Go Ju-yeong, the young lady of the Go family, seems to not understand at all.

To be honest, I don’t know why things like that are popular either.

But originally, human trends are often hard to understand.

Like how dramas we used to like are now cringey and hard to watch.

‘Honey butter chips, or F4, or something.’

Anyway, what’s certain is that that urban legend has strong power.

“Whatever it is, all we have to do is get rid of it, right!”

Go Ju-yeong shot an arrow right away.

As she said, what we have to do doesn’t change.

But-

*Ting!*

The arrow didn’t hit Nyonnyo Sahure and was deflected.

“It blocked my arrow? A barrier… no, more like a shield?”

*Chwaaaaaaa!*

This time, water gushed out from behind us.

The stream of water accurately blocked the door we came in through.

It quickly cut off the escape route.

“This level of water release in a place without water….”

It’s definitely different from the minor ghosts we’ve met so far.

It’s already gained power that can be called a high-level urban legend.

“Were the minor ghosts scattered because of this? If something like that is standing there firmly, the minor ghosts can’t spread their energy.”

“It’s cheating for an urban legend like that to suddenly appear!”

It was probably hiding its identity and building up its power.

Until just now, we also judged that there were no urban legends.

‘In the original story, the professional exorcist and Lee Jaehak took care of it, so it didn’t appear?’

To meet an urban legend like this in a place where there were no casualties.

We’re just too unlucky.

“Sealing Art 1st Form! Sam-mang-jin!”

Eun-hye scattered four talismans and performed a sealing technique.

An opponent that is hard to beat with just the trainees.

The choice to at least tie it up was an extremely textbook answer, but-

*Kwajik!*

“Ugh! The sealing formation was broken in one hit….”

The seal was easily broken with just ‘Nyonnyo’ lightly moving.

‘It’s not like Eun-hye is bad at sealing techniques either.’

It can’t be said that the combat power here is weak.

It’s just that that monster is too strong.

“Hoo! I don’t want to fight a disgusting guy.”

Go Ju-yeong quickly jumped to the side.

Her arrow was filled with blue spiritual energy.

An arrow specialized in killing demons by imbuing it with spiritual power.

It’s a technique that the Go family is proud of.

She fires arrows in quick succession.

But this time, the opponent didn’t just stand still.

-*Pyooshoot!*

It shoots water from its mouth, dropping the arrows in mid-air.

The additionally fired water aimed precisely at Go Ju-yeong.

“Keuk!”

Unexpectedly, Go Ju-yeong immediately threw herself to avoid the water.

The water with extremely high water pressure and spiritual power could break even a sword.

-*Pudeuk!*

She barely avoided it, but a dull sound spread from Go Ju-yeong’s ankle.

It seems she slightly sprained her ankle while moving forcibly.

“This…!”

Go Ju-yeong gritted her teeth.

No matter how much she is the heir of the Go family, in this narrow space.

If she even loses her mobility, it’s hard to win against an urban legend like that.

‘…I can’t help it.’

I wanted to save it if possible.

I didn’t expect to be pushed this far even with Go Ju-yeong here.

‘If it’s an urban legend of that level, at least a lecturer-level person would have to come to be able to deal with it.’

I approached ‘Nyonnyo’.

“W-wait a minute! Run away! Don’t force yourself trying to protect a woman while acting cool-”

“Die.”

*Kugung!*

With my instant kill, ‘Nyonnyo’ collapsed to the floor as it was.

****

Go Ju-yeong’s family is an exorcist family with a long history.

The Cheok family for swords.

The Go family for bows.

The two were the twin pillars of the Korean martial arts exorcist families.

After the Cheok family was destroyed by the rampage of their heir, they were virtually holding the top spot.

Go Ju-yeong, the heir of that family, lived a prosperous life.

That’s not to say there weren’t any hard things.

In order to learn the family’s vision, she picked up a bow before even toys.

The weight of being the family’s heir was quite heavy.

But she also knew how fortunate she was to complain about that.

Numerous people get caught up in urban legends and die because they don’t have the power.

In comparison, how blessed is her life, born with the ability to protect herself?

“I am still lacking. I will enter Cheonjihae and gain more knowledge.”

The reason she didn’t stop trying even so was probably because of her nature.

If you are born with power, you must fulfill that much obligation.

It was the family’s teaching, and she also thought so.

Cheonjihae, which she entered that way, was interesting, but also disappointing at the same time.

She didn’t regret it.

There were many good things in Cheonjihae, and there was a lot to learn.

The first was that she could see the work of outstanding and famous exorcists directly.

And she could see other geniuses living in the same generation.

Like Cheok Ji-yeon, Yoo Yeon-hwa, and Han Mi-na.

She realized that there were also plenty of outstanding talents whose names were not known.

Like Nam Do-hyeong, Kang Soo-ho, and Mina Hye.

But… not everyone was like that.

“Go Ju-yeong-ssi. If it’s okay with you, would you like to have tea sometime?”

“I know a good omakase place.”

“I have admired the Go family since a long time ago. Maybe even just a story….”

Seeing the numerous people approaching her while looking at her family.

Go Ju-yeong felt disappointed seeing them.

Those who have their own beliefs and climb fiercely are rather a minority.

‘Cheonjihae is supposed to be a collection of talents. Is this the level even here?’

She was tired of those who flattered her while looking at the prestige of her family.

It was even worse knowing that those who were rejected were badmouthing her behind her back.

“If it’s okay, would you like to do an urban legend investigation with me? They say they’ll give entrance points.”

The reason she accepted Nam Do-hyeong’s proposal was also because of that thought.

An all-time talent who defeated all sorts of geniuses and took the top spot.

A pair that prevented her from even taking the second place, let alone the top spot.

She wondered if he was ‘real’.

Whether he was the type to believe in his skills and move forward.

Or a human who only looks at the family and flatters, like others.

-“Oh, minor ghosts are coming! Catch those quickly!”

-“What are you talking about? I called you to hide behind Go Ju-yeong-ssi.”

-“Ah, is that all the Go family’s heir can do? Shoot faster!”

…Flattery my ass.

It was to the point where she wondered if he called her to piss her off.

‘There’s no way the top student is weak. Is he trying to observe my skills?’

Whatever it was, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

There aren’t many people who treat her this comfortably.

Someone you can find very occasionally even in Cheonjihae.

He was someone she felt like she wanted to get close to.

‘Eun-hye-ssi would like a type like that. His face is decent, and his personality is easy to get along with.’

Yoo Eun-hye, who was with them by chance, was also a good person.

She was scared of the family and that was it.

Because of that, she doesn’t have prejudice or try to look good.

She was just a person who worked silently in her position.

She was so cute when she was in her budding love that she even wanted to cheer her on.

‘I think I can be good friends with these people.’

She made good relationships.

She thought that was worth coming here for.

That was exactly what she was thinking.

“Die.”

An urban legend that even she can’t beat.

Standing proudly in front of it like protecting her.

Nam Do-hyeong, with his overwhelming skill, instantly knocked down the urban legend.

‘What….’

Go Ju-yeong is the heir of the Go family.

She always had to be strong and perfect.

So, it was been a long time since she had been protected by someone.

‘He’s so different from earlier.’

His broad back had too much of a gap from the comfortable appearance he had shown so far.

Before she knew it, she was staring blankly.

“Ah….”

For the first time in a while, she made good friends.

She thought that was enough.

Yes, everything was definitely fine.

“Are you okay?”

*Thump.*

Reaching out her hand to the fallen her.

Except for the fact that her heart was pounding when she saw this man’s face.