Chapter 16
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It thinks it can complete the strange soil!
Having realized the core of the Dokkaebi Club, Worm spoke.
It said that it could complete this unfinished Dokkaebi Club.
Wriggle-!!!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you-!!!
So if Kang Yul wanted to complete it, he should trust Worm completely and follow its lead.
"Sure, let's give it a shot. So, what do you need me to do, Worm?"
And so began the Dokkaebi Club completion project, somewhat by chance.
The first step was…
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of tasty soil!
It was to feed Worm lots of tasty soil.
"Lots of tasty soil… Would the soil I bought yesterday be enough?"
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of tasty soil!
: It thinks it needs to eat a whole, whole lot!
"That's a little vague… Then do I need to feed you more soil than you've eaten so far, or less?"
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of tasty soil!
"…More than you've eaten so far?"
Kang Yul couldn't help asking, dumbfounded.
He'd asked to get a rough idea, but Worm's answer was that it needed to eat even more.
He couldn't even begin to guess how much soil he had to feed it.
'…Buying soil to feed it won't work.'
Worm said it needed to eat lots of 'tasty soil.'
So feeding it soil that only counted as 'tasty soil' when mixed with other soil, like the weathered soil making up the walls of the mine tunnel, probably wouldn't help much.
But mixing soil by hand to get the optimal blend would take too much time and money to be worthwhile.
'But coal is easy to mine, and it tastes good.'
So for now, the most realistic choice was to feed it coal, which counted as 'tasty soil' even on its own.
All he needed to mine coal was a small expense (installing supports) and Kang Yul's labor.
Of course, this wasn't exactly a perfect plan either.
'It won't cost much money if I do the work myself, but it'll take that much longer.'
Even if he sacrificed sleep and focused only on mining, it would take at least two weeks, and possibly over a month.
The harder he pushed himself, the sooner his stamina would run out, so it might take even longer.
And if he also set aside coal to deliver to the workshop, the time would stretch out even more…
'…Huh? Wait a second. Is the Dokkaebi Club worth investing that much time in?'
Kang Yul didn't know the Club's detailed capabilities, or even what kind of help it would provide.
Was it really the right choice to spend at least a month on something like that?
'I don't know. I don't know anything about dokkaebi.'
So, though he really didn't want to…
He decided to contact someone who knew and ask.
───────────
[Perverted Blacksmith]
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▶ [Blacksmith, what is the purpose of the Dokkaebi Club you gave me?]
▷[Ah, Esteemed One! Did you get home safely? I'm making a new item with your energy right now…(abridged)…Anyway, you said you were curious about the Dokkaebi Club, right?]
[It's a supernatural artifact whose effects vary a little depending on the user, so it's hard to explain.]
[But usually, it grants the user the ability they need most, so give it a try!]
───────────
"Ugh… Just looking at that drains my energy."
Kang Yul couldn't take any more, so after replying that he appreciated the information, he put away his phone.
His phone vibrated with a bzzzt a few more times after that, but he decided to ignore it.
Anyway.
'It gives the user the ability they need most, huh?'
Kang Yul thought it over calmly.
Assuming it took a month to obtain the ability he needed most…
Would spending a month on it be a loss or a gain?
'A gain. An overwhelming one.'
He didn't need to think long.
It would take him a month just to guarantee fixing one of his obvious weaknesses, and here he had a chance to obtain a supernatural artifact with just that kind of ability.
In game terms, it was like the difference between having a five-star character's signature weapon and not having it.
So it wasn't a waste at all to invest a month in this.
Wriggle-?
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you?
"Ah, sorry, Worm. I got lost in thought for too long, didn't I? I'm done now, so let's go mining."
Anyway, he'd thought it through enough, and he was properly motivated.
Kang Yul decided it was time to go do what he did best.
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of tasty soil!
: It thinks it needs to eat a whole, whole lot!
"Yeah, I'll feed you until you're stuffed. I'll mine like crazy for a month, as if I were going into seclusion for training… no, into seclusion for mining."
Wriggle-!!!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you-!!!
#####
It had already been two weeks since Kang Yul started his secluded mining.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
At first, he'd started his secluded mining with the sole aim of completing the Dokkaebi Club.
But after a few days, that thought took a back seat.
Was he being chased by something or risking his life?
So at some point, he began enjoying the act of mining itself, rather than mining to achieve a goal.
Thanks to that, he lost himself in mining and lost track of time.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Of course, anyone who saw Kang Yul like this would have one question.
Namely, 'Doesn't he get sick of eating nothing but soil and mining all day?'
And Kang Yul's answer to that was, 'Of course I get sick of it.'
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
It was an obvious answer. Kang Yul was human too.
People were bound to get tired of doing the same thing day after day.
Eventually, they would look for something new and find another way to have fun.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
But Kang Yul didn't give up. The reason was simple.
Even after mining nonstop for two weeks, he hadn't had a chance to get bored.
If anything, every day felt fresh and thrilling.
After all, wasn't this the Gate Kang Yul had summoned, [Primordial Land - Terra]?
The status message, 'Mineral Resources: Reserves Unquantifiable,' was always enough to fill Kang Yul with anticipation.
Of course, after finding nothing for two weeks, even Kang Yul had shouted, "Please, let something show up already!"
Fortunately, just when he was about to lose heart…
A mineral he'd never seen before appeared before Kang Yul like a savior.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It says there's a smell of tasty soil coming from over here.
"Please, let something show up… Huh? There's something over there?"
Kang Yul picked up his geological hammer and carefully began digging in the direction Worm indicated.
Crack-
Crack-
Crack-
Craaaack…!
"A black stone…?"
And so, in the second week of his secluded mining, Kang Yul succeeded in mining something that wasn't coal.
"It doesn't look like coal… What on earth is this?"
The black stone looked similar to coal, but felt a little different to the touch.
The moment he held it, he felt a faint warmth. It was darker than coal, yet had a strangely soft-looking black sheen.
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It says it smells like tasty soil!
"Worm's reacting like this, so it can't just be coal…"
In the end, Kang Yul was curious about the black stone, so he paused his mining and started looking up information about it.
It didn't take him long to find the information.
Once he learned that gemstones could be found in coal seams, the identity of the black stone became clear as well.
<Hunter Gallery - Information Archive>
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【Jet (黑玉 / Jet)】
─────────────
An organic mineraloid (gemstone) derived from plants (wood) that fossilized under pressure underground over millions of years. It is a type of coal (lignite).
▪ It is sometimes found inside supernatural phenomena [Gates], and its value varies greatly according to the purity of its mana.
Research has confirmed that the darker the jet, the higher the purity of the mana accumulated within it and the properties it contains.
▪ Jet has long been…
considered a protective stone that wards off evil energy
and has been widely used in burial ornaments and talismans.
▪ Perhaps due to this tradition, it shows…
a certain degree of suppressive effect
against damage caused by supernatural phenomena and curse-type phenomena.
It is also soft and easy to work with, so it is often used as a material for supernatural artifacts engraved with occult patterns.
▪ However, it is weak and easily damaged by external impact; when its internal moisture evaporates in a dry environment, cracks form and its spiritual efficacy is greatly reduced.
※For long-term storage, avoid impacts and dry environments.
─────────────
"So, in the end, jet is basically coal that became a gemstone? That's amazing."
He knew there were many kinds of gemstones, but had no idea coal could contain something worthy of being called a gemstone.
Of course, unprocessed, it just looked like a rough black stone, but it was certainly valuable.
If it could ward off evil energy and even suppress supernatural phenomena, then it was worth whatever price someone cared to name.
"Ha…! Mining is so fun! This is a real dopamine party!"
Kang Yul felt his brain practically melt with satisfaction that his efforts over the past two weeks hadn't been in vain.
His body was already exhausted, but his desire to mine other minerals as soon as possible surged even higher.
That desire alone was enough to make him drag his tired body back to pick up the rock drill.
"All right, let's mine like crazy!"
But that was only for a moment.
Wriggle-?
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It says it smells like tasty soil?
At that moment, Worm came over to Kang Yul and stared intently at the jet.
As if it wanted to eat that soil (jet).
"Huh? You want to eat this too…?"
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of tasty soil!
: It thinks it needs to eat a whole, whole lot!
: But it thinks that one piece of that soil is enough!
"Really? If you eat this, we don't have to mine coal anymore?"
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you!
"Hmm…"
…Kang Yul hesitated over his choice for a moment.
Just like with the amber last time, he thought it was too precious to give up his first hard-won find just like that.
Of course, that time he'd learned how to eat soil in exchange for giving up the amber.
This time too, giving up the jet would probably bring forward the completion of the Dokkaebi Club by about two weeks.
'So feeding the jet to Worm wasn't automatically a bad deal…'
…To be honest, Kang Yul wanted to experience the fun of selling things at least once, not just the fun of mining.
So…
'I'm sorry, Worm, but I need to save this one for myself.'
Kang Yul decided to compromise by giving Worm the next piece of jet he found.
He planned to keep the jet he'd mined this time safe and sell it to the Affectionate Merchant or the blacksmith.
Yes, that was definitely what he'd thought…
Wriggle….
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you….
: It thinks it understands your choice….
"…"
Seeing Worm's body droop, he felt a little uncomfortable somewhere in his heart.
How should he put it? Like a son who'd done something unfilial?
Kang Yul didn't know why he felt that way, when he was an orphan who'd never even had parents.
He just vaguely felt that way.
'Sigh… I don't know if this is the right thing to do.'
And so, in the end…
It wasn't a choice his head could understand, but Kang Yul carefully set the jet he'd been saving down in front of Worm and said,
"Let's let Worm eat this."
Wriggle…?
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you…?
"It's fine. There should be plenty of minerals lying around here, so we'll find more later. Right?"
Wriggle…!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you…!
: It thinks it understands your choice…!
"No, I'm really fine. So Worm should eat this."
When Kang Yul told Worm to eat it, Worm hesitated and refused.
And when Worm refused, Kang Yul would hesitate and urge it to eat again, and this absurd back-and-forth went on for about an hour.
Crunch…! Crunch…! Crunch…!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you…!
In the end, you can't win against your own child(?), and Worm reluctantly began eating the jet.
Crunch…! Crunch…! Crunch…!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It thinks it will do its best to complete the strange soil!
After eating all the jet, Worm then started eating the Dokkaebi Club too.
For the record, Kang Yul didn't know why eating the Club would help Worm complete it.
Its thoughts didn't explain the process in that much detail, so he only vaguely understood that it could complete it by eating.
Anyway, a little while later…
…Crunch!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It is doing its best to complete the strange soil.
After chewing up all the jet and the club, Worm sat perfectly still for a while.
Then at some point, its body began to convulse as if it were about to spit something out.
Bwaaack-!
Thud-!
Before long, it spat out a black rod about the length of a finger joint and said,
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It has completed the strange soil!
"Uh… is this the Dokkaebi Club…?"
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It hopes you like the gift!
"Thanks. I'll take a look."
Though puzzled, Kang Yul didn't doubt Worm's words.
Seeing how confidently Worm spoke, he figured it had to be an extraordinary item.
So Kang Yul reached out to inspect the black rod lying in front of Worm.
The moment his finger touched the rod…
"Ow, that stings!"
He was startled by the pinprick of pain at his fingertip, but only for a moment.
Notifications appeared in a dizzying flurry before his eyes, obscuring his vision.
Ding-!
['Dokkaebi Club - Jet (黑玉)' has been discovered.]
[It will become bound to you once the conditions are met.]
[You have already met the conditions.]
['Dokkaebi Club - Jet (黑玉)' is now bound to you.]
[You can now use the power of the dokkaebi.]
"…? What is this?"
And so, though he didn't really know what it was…
Without knowing why, Kang Yul became the owner of the Dokkaebi Club.
"No, so what is the ability?!"
The problem was, he had no idea what ability he'd gained.
So he had to go meet the blacksmith at [Dokkaebi Workshop] to find out.