When the [Rat King] said there was nothing more to discuss today, I simply turned and headed back to the [Guard State], but my appearance was in no shape for duty, so he just told me to go home.
"Ugh…ahh, that's better!"
After a quick wash and collapsing onto the bed, the reality of my situation hit me again.
I'm a fucking nobody.
So far it's been pure luck. At every critical moment it was the [Mountain Spirit] bastard, [Behemoth], and Claw… I've never truly overcome a crisis on my own.
Shit.
My neighbor and friend, with only a wall between us—my resolve to protect Talulah shattered as easily as a training dummy I'd slashed through.
'[Black Cloud Society]…[Kashei]…maybe I took everything way too lightly.'
'Could be.'
'So, what do I do now?'
Yipsae—a sapling racked by every breeze—and Magpie, still too fragile, suffered deeply. It felt like we'd been thrown headlong into the world's storms.
"This is fucking complicated."
Part of me thought about running away. But a pitiful, miserable reason I could never abandon had become crystal clear.
'I won't hand Talulah over to that bastard.'
It was terrifying and repulsive, but all the more reason I couldn't let him force Talulah into being his successor and watch her collapse.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Fuck…"
My ambitions soared, but my skill lay in the gutter.
'…Hey, kid. Calm down.'
'I'm calm…there's no point in getting angry…'
'It'll be a bit of a hassle, but there's a way for you to get stronger.'
'What? Really?'
'Don't ask why I didn't tell you beforehand. I'd never bring it up ordinarily, but seeing your sorry state now, it seems necessary.'
If such a method exists, it would help more than anything right now. What is it? What's the method?
'…For now, sleep. I'll explain the rest afterward.'
'Sleep isn't something you just drift into…'
'Worrying is pointless. Say hello to my right hand. They call it the sedative.'
'What—sleep—'
A searing pain exploded in my gut. My vision blurred and I felt it instantly.
'This fucker's a bastard…'
'Oh, come now! Heh heh heh!'
No wonder he's been acting so polite these days.
"Ugh…my head…"
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't on my bed but lying in those fucking back alleys of [Danguk].
"You're up. Open the gate."
A coarse voice called from inside a rather spacious room. When I slipped inside, I saw a hulking Demon standing atop my corpse, wreathed in blue flames.
"It's awkward to see your face like this…uncomfortable in many ways, huh?"
"Fuck off. I only managed to pull you here because your body had grown by a goddamn hair's breadth—barely the size of a single acorn."
Thanks a fucking lot.
"So what's this method?"
"You're so impatient...you'd botch it the moment you got into bed. Heh heh heh!"
"This is pointless. Just tell me already."
"Tch. Your manners...here, that door. Get inside while I'm holding it."
"The door? Sure, whatever. What's so hard—"
Shupabak!
"Hoo! You sure know how to kill cleanly."
Something slid through my skull like carving ham. That was my first death.
"...Ugh...! Ughh!"
"Lucky for you you're not bleeding, otherwise this would've been disgusting."
What? My head just…
"A c-corpse? Is this...me??"
From the corpse that demon had been stomping, I rose. Or rather, an exact clone of me sprung from that body.
"What the hell...?"
"That's your [Vessel]. Meaning your outer shell. I stood on it because otherwise you'd have been crushed in this room."
Crushed? Now that I think of it, the room did feel slightly smaller.
"Inside there, Claw is imprisoned. As long as I'm stuck to the door, he can't get out. Thanks to that, he's furious—as furious as can be!"
"And you locked me in a place like that."
"I've never seen anyone as combat-efficient as that bastard. If you could land even a single blow on him, you'd grow stronger, wouldn't you?"
"I couldn't even get close, let alone strike?"
"Then let's start by getting close. Hurry up. The room's shrinking."
"Thanks!"
Good. Now I know I resurrect, and I can spar endlessly with this combat machine as a teacher—as long as time allows. It'll hurt like hell though…
"Nice to meet you, you as—"
"Again."
"Knock knock! I'm starti—"
"Again."
"My name is Shanghainese g—"
"..Again."
"I am Kim Du-han—"
"Again!"
"Say my na—me—"
"Agaiin!!!"
"I am Sana—"
"...Wait a moment."
Fuck. How many times is this now? Felt like I've tried it twenty times.
"Have you even gotten a glimpse of his face, let alone gotten close?"
"No. Not at all...."
Far from touching him, my best feat was dodging an attack aimed at my face—only once, and the moment I dodged, my chest was cleaved.
That must have been [Flesh Rend].
"Where did that hit me?"
"That's something you must discover yourself. I'm closing the door. It's getting hard to hold."
Before I knew it, the room had shrunk so tight it began pressing down on the demon's head.
"Come to think of it... when [Ling] guided you here it felt like a dream, so I wasn't sure. But seeing you now..."
"Well, hurry up and go."
"...You look pretty badass?"
"...Badass?"
"He's flashy as hell—that means badass."
"...Badass. Badass, huh? All right, thanks. Now scram."
He kicked me out the door. In the last glimpse of that demon's face, he seemed to be smiling—just a little.
"Paha!!!! ..haa..haa..? What the fuck."
Drenched in cold sweat, I staggered upright in bed. It was four A.M. I'd come home and fallen asleep at four, so I'd been out cold for almost half a day.
'Oi.'
'...'
'..Busy?'
'...'
'If you're busy, one bong—if not, two bongs.'
Thud!
It hit my chest irritably. It sounded a sharp thump. Looks like there's a lot of cleanup to do.
"So I didn't really gain much, huh?"
To be precise, I had plenty of chances but never managed a proper encounter.
"[Rat King]...Claw...and between sparring and real combat..."
I have to use these—and in seven months—be strong enough to protect Talulah from [Kashei].
"...First, I'll go wash up."
Right. I have to tackle the problem set that [Lee Sang] and [Faust] made for me.
"...Maybe I'll solve a few before heading into work."
Those insane geniuses. I kinda want to see them today.