Chapter 23
Translator: Roshi
‘Why is that here?’
Do-yoon’s expression turned awkward.
It would have been better if it were a beautiful mermaid straight out of a fairy tale.
Hanuri would’ve loved that, for sure.
In that case, it might have been ambiguous, but at least he could’ve justified it to himself.
But this… wasn’t even close to that.
Kyaaaak!!
A monster.
Unlike the mermaids of fairy tales, it was a rage-filled creature.
Its appearance was barely convincing at best.
“Ahjosshi… the mermaid is scary…”
Sure enough, Hanuri, who had been excited and started approaching it, shrieked and hid behind his legs.
Though it had a somewhat human-like form, its pitch-black eyes and sharp teeth were menacing enough to terrify a child.
To make matters worse, its upper body was bare, which wasn’t great for either appearances or children’s education.
“Ha…”
Do-yoon sighed and stepped forward to block Hanuri’s view of the creature. Kyup...
Kyuu...
“Kkomi, Kkoma, come here… unnie will protect you.”
Amid the chaos, Hanuri pulled the frightened bear siblings into her arms, and thanks to that, Do-yoon’s anger subsided.
After all, there was no point in getting angry about something he himself had fished out.
Calming himself at the sight of Hanuri’s adorable reaction, Do-yoon slowly approached the mermaid.
Kyaaaak!!
‘What’s wrong with it now?’
The mermaid, pinned to the ground by his shadow, hissed fiercely.
But something about the mermaid’s condition seemed strange.
Its body was partially stained black in patches.
The discoloration was even more noticeable on the exposed skin of its upper body and face.
The sight was far from child-appropriate, so he decided to deal with it quickly.
Tug!
Just as he was about to lift his hand, a tug on his pants stopped him.
It was Hanuri.
“Ahjosshi… the mermaid says it hurts…”
“The mermaid says it’s in pain? Ah.”
Hanuri’s Energy of Affinity had fully bloomed after nearly resolving one of her tangled energies.
Thanks to this, she could hear the mermaid’s voice… probably.
“Hanuri, didn’t you say the mermaid was scary?”
“I-it is scary… but still…”
“Then, what do you want ahjosshi to do?”
“Hmm…”
To be honest, he wanted to get rid of it quickly.
Why on earth had he fished out something like that?
But Hanuri’s answer was different.
“I… want you to fooo~.”
“Huh? fooo~?”
“Yeah!”
“So, you want to make it feel better by fooo~ing?”
“Yeah! That’s right.”
Hanuri looked up at him with sparkling eyes.
It was a gaze full of hope, as if to say, “The goblin ahjosshi can do that, right?”
Seeing her dangling adorably from his leg, it was hard to say no outright…
‘She wants to make it better, huh.’
Do-yoon carefully examined the mermaid’s body, now tainted in shades of gray.
He had seen cases like this before.
Magi contamination.
Most living creatures, be they humans or monsters, possessed pure mana.
But some beings harbored polluted mana, or magi, within them.
These creatures existed in a liminal state, neither fully alive nor dead, harboring hatred for and seeking to destroy beings with pure mana.
‘Where did this contamination come from? That Dragon Tree from last time, too.’
Thinking back, the Dragon Tree, which bore fruit under the influence of magi, had also been in a dungeon.
Could there be a source of magi contamination within the dungeon?
Kyaaaak!!
Judging by how the creature was gradually being consumed by magi even now, it hadn’t been contaminated for long.
To treat the magi, he would first need to locate its source.
Swoosh.
Do-yoon’s shadow merged with the mermaid’s shadow.
Trace.
Following the path of the initial contamination, his shadow swept through the sea.
Tracking magi was one of his specialties.
In the meantime…
Thud!
He struck the back of the hissing mermaid’s neck lightly, knocking it out.
“I just put it to sleep for a bit. The mermaid is sick and needs to lie down for now.”
“Okay, okay!”
He awkwardly explained himself to Hanuri as he moved the unconscious mermaid out of sight for the time being.
'We need to eat.'
The mermaid had completely disrupted things.
Maybe it would have been better to just throw it away.
“Hanuri, aren’t you hungry?”
“Uung, I’m hungry…”
“Let’s eat. The mermaid needs to rest a little longer.”
“Okay!”
Fortunately, with the mermaid out of sight, Hanuri seemed to feel reassured.
She was still just a child, after all.
‘Now then…’
Do-yoon quickly sifted through the fish Hanuri had caught, looking for something suitable.
A blue-backed fish.
One that was both edible and a decent size.
‘Found it.’
He spotted a fish that resembled mackerel or Spanish mackerel. Judging by its shiny blue back, it seemed packed with omega-3.
“Ahjosshi, what are you gonna do?”
“Grilled fish.” "Umm... grilled fish isn't tasty."
"It'll be different from hospital grilled fish?"
The fish served in hospitals couldn’t compare to freshly grilled fish cooked over a flame.
To cheer up the pouting Hanuri, he quickly got to work building a fire.
He brought out pre-prepared firewood, charcoal, a grill, and the blue-backed fish.
Perfect.
He cleaned the fish by removing the guts, head, and bones, then split it open on both sides.
Over the top, he sprinkled a generous helping of coarse salt.
“Ah! Ahjosshi, Hanuri wants to try too!”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Hanuri ran over eagerly, her eyes shining like a puppy’s, clearly thinking it looked fun.
Since the excess salt would just fall off while grilling anyway, he let her give it a try.
Yap! Yap!
Imitating his movements, Hanuri began sprinkling salt… and then,
Kkyung!!
By accident, she managed to coat Kkomi’s golden fur with a snowy layer of salt.
Shake, shake!
When Kkomi shook herself off, the salt scattered everywhere.
Kkyung! Kkyung!
“Ah! Kkomi, you!”
Kkyung!
Suddenly, the salt-sprinkling turned into a full-on game.
Hanuri sprinkled more salt on Kkomi, and Kkomi, in turn, shook her fur to shower Hanuri with salt.
‘So cute.’
Do-yoon slyly pulled out his phone to capture the moment.
A child and a baby bear playing together, how could it not be adorable? The cuteness was exploding, just like the salt scattering everywhere.
“Huh?”
While they were playing around, one of the cubs stood off to the side, staring intently at the fish on the grill.
It was Kkoma.
“Hungry?”
Kkyuung…
“Alright, I’ll cook it quickly for you…”
Forget playing around, Kkoma, driven by its appetite, was clearly hungry.
Half its saliva dripped out while the other half was swallowed as it stared at him. Seeing the bear cub, looking so much like a teddy bear, gazing up at him like that was both amusing and endearing.
Do-yoon patted Kkoma’s head and began cooking faster.
But just then, a signal came from the shadow he had sent out to trace the magi.
It was coming from directly beneath the boat!
Rumble!
The boat trembled.
To be precise, the waters surrounding the boat churned violently as if they were boiling.
Something massive was rising from deep beneath the boat.
And it was filled to the brim with magi!
Judging by the intensity of the magi, it wouldn’t quite compare to “The Evil Dragon Kaisar” but it seemed like it could at least put up a fight.
“Uung? Ahjosshi… is the boat feeling sick because Hanuri ran around too much?”
“Huh? Ah, no.”
Hanuri, who had been running around with Kkomi, stopped at the boat's vibration. She seemed worried as the boat's shaking got worse.
But to think the boat was sick because of her running around, how could she think of something so adorable?
“No, it’s not because of you, Hanuri.”
“Then? Is it because of Kkomi? Kkomi was only running because Hanuri played with her.”
“It’s not because of Kkomi either.”
When he denied both, Hanuri tilted her head in confusion.
“Then it’s…”
Rumble!!
At that moment, the cause of the disturbance began to surface from beneath the ocean.
And its position was directly under the boat. If it surged upward, the boat would capsize.
If the boat overturned out here in the open sea… it would be nothing but a huge hassle for him.
He’d not only have to protect Hanuri and the two baby bears, but the enjoyable sea trip he’d planned would also be ruined.
Above all…
‘I was just about to eat.’
The mermaid had already caused enough trouble earlier.
Now this? This situation was the equivalent of pouring oil onto the fire of his growing frustration.
It wasn’t exactly a fully prepared meal, but flipping the table over felt about the same.
"Where do you think you're going."
In his hand, his shadow began to gather.
It elongated, growing thick like a heavy club.
The shadow club, nearly as tall as himself, swung downward onto the floor.
Srrrk.
The club silently passed through the surface of the boat.
But the outcome was far from silent.
Boom!!
A deafening explosion erupted from below, as if a bomb had gone off.
And then…
Fwoooosh!!
With a massive roar, something enormous emerged from the water beside the boat.
Its sheer size created waves that resembled a tsunami.
The creature was twice, no, three times, the size of Do-yoon’s ship.
“Uung? ……Whoa! Ahjosshi!! Look! It’s Daddy Shark!!”
Thanks to Do-yoon’s shadow muting the sound, Hanuri hadn’t heard the explosion. Now, she was screaming in excitement at the sight.
***
“Shark… It’s not a shark… Whale? No, it’s not a whale either… Hiiing.”
Something massive had certainly risen from the sea, so Hanuri began listing all the big sea creatures she knew. But when none of her guesses were correct, her excitement quickly turned to disappointment.
Her adorable reaction softened Do-yoon’s mood. Smiling faintly, he patted her head.
“That’s called an Imoogi.”
“Imoogi?”
“Yeah, an Imoogi. A really, really big snake.”
Of course, not all snakes were Imoogis, but that detail could be skipped for now.
“Woooow… So, did you use your goblin club to make it go poof and come out?”
“Huh?”
Her unexpected comment made him let out a ridiculous sound.
To think she believed he had used his "goblin club" to summon it, was that how it looked in her eyes?
“Well… yeah, something like that.”
“Woooow…” He just went along with it.
It would be easier to explain if something like this happened again later.
That said…
‘Why was that thing contaminated with magi?’
The unconscious owner of that enormous body floating in the water, the Imoogi.
With a form clearly different from dragons, it was definitely an Imoogi, a being that failed to become a dragon.
With a massive form almost identical to a dragon, but its scales had lost their original luster and were stained grayish-white.
Its enormous horns, legs, and whiskers around its mouth only added to its threatening appearance.
Unlike the mermaid, its entire body showed signs of contamination.
It seemed to have been infected with magi for quite some time, as it was now completely consumed by it.
‘Killing it would be the simplest solution.’
Facing such a hostile creature, it wasn’t an option to simply hold back.
But Hanuri was watching.
With eyes brimming with curiosity.
“Ahjosshi… but why is the Imoogi sleeping?”
“Huh? Oh, maybe it’s tired.”
“Ohhh, it’s tired… That’s too bad. I wanted to play with it.”
Playing with the Imoogi would have turned into a disaster, just like with the mermaid.
“Ah! Ahjosshi.”
"You can't play with the Imoogi. It’s… a bad crea, uh I mean, a bad friend.”
He deliberately lied, just in case Hanuri decided to suggest healing the Imoogi like she had with the mermaid.
Of course, considering the magi contamination, it was clear this creature wasn’t good by any means.
“Nooo, that’s not it. Over there!”
“Over there? Where?”
“Over there!”
Hanuri pointed toward a specific part of the Imoogi’s body.
It was near one of the two legs on its massive form.
There, something round and shiny stood out.
On the grayish-white body of the Imoogi, the object was the only thing that was pure white.
‘An egg?’
It looked just like an egg.
Since it didn’t seem contaminated, Do-yoon didn’t hesitate to reach for it.
An Imoogi’s egg, of all things.
Snap!
“Whoa! What’s that?”
“An egg.”
“An egg?”
"Yes, it's that creature's egg."
The moment he grabbed it, he was sure of it.
This was definitely an Imoogi’s egg.
‘Dragon eggs were pretty tasty… I wonder if this would be similar…’
Roaaaaar!!
Just as he was licking his lips while holding the egg, the Imoogi suddenly rose and let out a thunderous roar.
Its body, now awake, radiated an explosive surge of magi.
Its color shifted from grayish-white to an almost pitch-black hue, as if its entire body had been further tainted.
Rumble!!
Startled, Kkomi and Kkoma clung tightly to him, trembling in fear.
Hanuri, despite him shielding her, was also visibly shaken.
And then, a deep, guttural voice echoed.
-Give it back! My baby!!
Moreover, the Imoogi that had stretched out its body over the sea looked down at the boat and growled.
If it was this contaminated with magi, it shouldn’t have any rationality left, yet it was showing such obsessive behavior.
“This? Is this what you’re talking about?”
-My baby!
When Do-yoon held up the egg, the creature’s fury intensified.
The surrounding sea churned violently in response to its rage.
Rumble!!
The boat barely held up precariously on the angry sea that seemed about to flip over any moment.
Even with the power of his Ogre Shadow, this was the limit.
“Ahjosshi…”
Cling!
Hanuri clung to him even tighter, her small hands gripping him with all her strength.
'You mudfish that couldn't even become a dragon.'
First, the mermaid had caused trouble, and now this Imoogi had interrupted his meal, frightening Hanuri and the bear siblings in the process.
“How dare you.”
“Ahjosshi… the Imoogi looks sad…”
“Huh?”
“The Imoogi… it’s crying…”
Just as he was about to act and take down the creature without holding back, Hanuri’s words made him pause.
What was she talking about?
Confused, he stopped to interpret her words.
And in that moment, Hanuri stepped forward.
“Moogi… are you sad because of this?”
-My baby!
“It’s your precious baby, isn’t it? I’m sorry… Hanuri will apologize for you.”
At some point, Hanuri had taken the egg. Now, she held it out toward the Imoogi.
The massive creature slithered forward, gliding smoothly through the air.
Then, with a sharp, clawed leg, it reached toward Hanuri, who was still apologizing.
*****