Chapter 18
A subtle mood and a strange sensation hung in the air.
“What exactly is this favor, anyway?”
“Hss—didn’t I tell you to stay still until I gave you the signal?”
What on earth was she doing?
Calling this a favor and getting me all tense, only to turn it into some kind of touching game.
Unable to understand what she was doing, I shot Cheonhwa a sulky look.
‘...But I can’t exactly push her away, either.’
If this had just been a favor, I would have brushed her hand away.
But I was the one paying the price right now.
The price for getting those two things: an ID and an Awakened license.
“So how much longer are you going to keep doing this...?”
“Just wait a little longer.”
Cheonhwa’s gaze seemed to be looking at someone through me.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
That wistful look made it even harder to pull away.
How much time had passed?
“All right, that’s enough.”
Apparently satisfied, Cheonhwa took her hand off my cheek and returned to her seat.
How long had she been touching me, anyway?
I rubbed my tingling cheek with both hands and glared at her.
I wasn’t sure if she was really satisfied,
but Cheonhwa’s expression had relaxed considerably.
And I didn’t miss my chance.
“So that’s the end of the favor, right?”
“Th-that’s not it. There’s still one left.”
“Tch—”
‘Not so easy.’
As expected of an S-rank.
She’d instantly seen through my attempt to ride the momentum and slip out of it.
‘Goodbye, gold farming... I’ll get it right next time.’
“So what’s this second favor?”
Anyway, I put the gold-farming matter aside and asked what the next favor was.
Cheonhwa, as if she’d been waiting, opened her mouth.
“My second favor is for you to make me an elixir.”
“An elixir...?”
I repeated her outrageous request with a dumbfounded look.
Elixirs.
They were the essence of the elves, and were said to be panaceas.
And she wanted me to make one?
I looked at her in disbelief.
“No, an elixir wouldn’t be worth the cost. And how am I supposed to make something that belongs to the elves in the first pla—”
“Five billion won.”
“Ten billion won.”
“...How bold of you.”
I got her good.
This time, I didn’t panic.
The moment she named a price,
I kept a cool head and countered.
‘I’ve grown.’
“Sigh... Fine. I’ll pay ten billion.”
Success.
A tingling sensation ran from head to toe.
Ten billion won.
Not a hundred million or a billion, but ten billion.
Of course, how to make an elixir was still a problem.
I could think about that when the time came.
“Then it’s settled... Here are the ID and Awakened license you asked for. Take them.”
Thump—
“Thang you.”
I snatched the ID and Awakened license off the table in an instant.
Of course, I didn’t forget to thank her.
I shoved the ID and license haphazardly into my wallet and stood up.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yeah. Is there anything else you want to trade?”
It was a deal neither Cheonhwa nor I had any reason to regret.
I asked if she had anything else she wanted to trade,
but she shook her head as if she didn’t.
“Then I’ll be going.”
With that, I gave Cheonhwa a light bow and left the café.
Or tried to.
Just as I grabbed the café door to leave,
Beep—. Beep—. Beep—.
Along with a familiar warning tone I felt like I’d heard somewhere, my phone started ringing like crazy.
“What the hell, all of a sudden?”
“In front! Look in front of you!”
As I was reaching into my pocket to pull out my phone and silence the obnoxious alarm,
I heard Cheonhwa shout urgently.
When I looked in the direction of her voice, Cheonhwa was rushing toward me.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
“Why should I look in fro—”
At that strange, uncanny sensation, I looked in the direction Cheonhwa was pointing.
Crash—!
Kieeek—!
An unknown monster burst through the café door and windows.
The gray creature, shaped like a scorpion, raised its pincers and charged at me.
I slowly watched the thing radiating such a savage aura that it looked ready to tear me apart on the spot.
Then I carefully pulled out the kitchen knife I’d tucked into my pocket that morning.
“I got a new skill and raised my stats, so I’ve been itching to try them out. This is perfect.”
Whoosh—!
A pincer came flying toward my neck.
I ducked and easily let it pass.
Then, as if it had anticipated my move,
the scorpion tried to stab me with the stinger on its tail.
But I was already used to this attack pattern.
Its tail was much slower than King Slime’s tentacles, so I grabbed it and climbed right up.
“You’re perfect for grilled scorpion.”
Kieeek—?!
It clearly hadn’t imagined I’d climb onto it.
It thrashed around wildly, but it was no use.
Slash—!
Kieeek—!!!
I sliced off the poison gland and stinger at the end of the scorpion monster’s tail,
then immediately jumped off its tail,
and just as I was about to cut off its head—
Whoosh.
Crunch—!
Crack—!
As I was coming down from the tail,
Cheonhwa appeared in front of the scorpion monster in an instant and crushed its head with one hand.
“Seriously, stealing my kill... Isn’t that a little much?”
“Stealing your kill? I saved you. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Cheonhwa asked worriedly, holding the scorpion’s crushed head,
“Hurt? By this pathetic thing?”
Showing kindness to a kill-stealer was a luxury.
“Huh...”
Cheonhwa gave me an incredulous look after hearing my curt answer.
But honestly, what could I do?
She’d just swooped in and stolen my cool moment.
I casually ignored Cheonhwa’s gaze and approached the scorpion’s corpse,
then began asking her about the monster I’d never seen before.
“Do you know what kind of monster this is?”
“...They’re called Ashen Swarms.”
“Ashen Swarms?”
What were Ashen Swarms?
Just from the name, they sounded like there were a lot of them.
“Yes. Normally, they don’t appear much during a Gate Break situation like this.”
Swish.
Cheonhwa lifted the scorpion monster’s tail and showed it to me as she spoke.
“But now and then, they show up like this.”
“As you can see, they’re mostly just random insect-type trash. And today, it seems to be scorpions.”
In short, bugs were running rampant.
My knowledge had grown by one line.
As expected of an S-rank kill-stealer, her savage demonstration as she explained while holding a corpse left quite an impression.
After hearing Cheonhwa’s explanation, I looked outside, and it was a sight to behold.
The Gate Break had happened so suddenly that the area was completely out of control.
The outside was teeming with scorpions—a total hellscape.
“Shall we clean things up, then?”
“We should.”
Seeing Cheonhwa nod, I walked out of the café before she could say anything else.
All over the streets,
the creatures moved as if they were searching for humans.
Scorpions filled the streets, from the rooftops to every alleyway.
Their overwhelming numbers and appearance should have made me tense,
but instead, I was smiling.
“You rushed out all of a sudden. What are you planning to do now?”
Cheonhwa followed me outside and asked, looking at me as if I were being reckless.
“I have a plan. First, gather all of those guys over here.”
“...”
I had a plan of my own.
A way to wipe out all those swarming bugs at once.
“All right, then.”
Cheonhwa replied in a tone that suggested she was curious what I planned to do, given how confident I sounded.
And then.
Whoosh.
Kwoooom—!
She slammed her right foot hard into the ground.
Kieeek—?!
A tremendous noise spread out with Cheonhwa’s stomp.
At the same time, the number of scorpions kept increasing.
Dozens, then hundreds, of scorpions wandering outside followed the noise and surrounded the café.
Once I confirmed they’d gathered enough, I stretched both hands out in front of me.
“This should be enough.”
Kieeek—!
The bugs sensed something was wrong as I held out my hands and started approaching.
My vision turned gray in an instant.
Just a little longer, and they’d tear me to shreds.
“This is what you call bug spray, you bastards.”
A crimson spark gathered at my fingertips.
It did more than simply blaze—
It roiled as though sucking in the air around it,
and grew so large it completely obscured me.
I’d already confirmed there were no people around here.
“Boom—”
KRAAAAA—!
At my signal, the spark swelled and burst.
A wave of flame that instantly reduced every scorpion and bug before my eyes to nothing.
It raced along the ground and climbed the walls, swallowing the gray scorpions.
Kieeek—!!!
The Ashen Swarm burned away amid screams and heat.
But it didn’t end there.
‘It’s my first time, but it’s worth giving it a try.’
I immediately lowered my outstretched hands
and glanced over the street, which had become a scene of utter chaos.
And then.
Snap—!
I snapped my fingers hard.
“Hellscape (地獄圖)”
BOOOOM!!!
A wave of annihilation surged.
The flames that had been slowly burning the scorpions gathered and exploded violently,
smashing and incinerating the gray creatures before my eyes.
The scorpions caught in the explosion were torn apart, their limbs flying everywhere,
and their corpses soon burned away.
It was just like fireworks.
And then.
Kiee...
Once even the last scorpion had been burned away,
only then did the flames gradually die down.
All that remained was ash and dust.
Not a single thing remained—not the scorpions’ shells, nor their bodies.
Turning my back on the scene of carnage, I looked at Cheonhwa and said,
“How’s that? Cooked evenly, right?”
“Good grief...”
Cheonhwa looked at me as I made a V sign with my fingers and spoke playfully.
She could only let out an incredulous groan.