Chapter : 09
Gluttonous Dragon Aldebaran
An abandoned building in Sillim.
“Kuaaaak! What on earth is that?! A centipede? Can a centipede even get that big?! There was never anything like that here before!”
“Uwaak! I don’t know either! Let’s just run for now!”
Two men were sprinting down the stairs of the dilapidated building. Chasing right behind them at a terrifying speed was a massive centipede.
It was the size of a house—wide enough to completely fill the staircase where two adult men could walk side by side.
“Damn it! When do these stairs end?!”
“I-I don’t know either!”
“Uwaak! Why the hell did you even come in here?! Huh? Now I’m screwed too! You wanna die?!”
“Keuaak! A-Ahjussi, wait a second…!”
Suddenly, the man twisted his ankle and fell over with a scream. Clicking his tongue at the pathetic sight, Kim Kang-baek hoisted the streamer onto his shoulder.
He couldn’t just leave him behind. If he did, coming all the way here would end up being a total waste of effort.
Since he never neglected his daily workouts, carrying this much weight wasn’t overly difficult.
Except.
“Damn it! That crazy centipede bastard…!”
Kim Kang-baek exhaled scorching breath as he sprinted down the stairs.
Down a winding, infinite spiral staircase that seemed to stretch on forever.
“Please come again! Hehehe!”
Jingle— Jingle—
With a pleasant chime, the convenience store door swung open. As Do Min-hyuk stepped outside, the cheerful voice of the female part-time worker reached his ears.
He had often heard people say that kids these days lacked manners, but he wondered if that was just an outdated stereotype.
After all, the clerk just now had gently struck up a conversation, mentioning that if he lived nearby, she could even give him the expired food products.
Lately, he couldn’t help but feel that there were a lot of kind people around him.
Was he just lucky?
Or maybe he was simply blessed with good people in his life. The taxi driver from a few days ago had also been a wonderful person.
Even though Min-hyuk told him it was fine if it was too difficult, the driver had driven him all the way up the steep hill. Out of gratitude, he remembered giving the driver an extra ten thousand won.
Do Min-hyuk unwrapped the ice cream he had bought from the convenience store.
A GooGoo Cone.
It was Do Min-hyuk’s absolute favorite ice cream, one that easily deserved to represent all cone ice creams.
Since returning, he had eaten plenty of modern foods like cup ramen and pork belly, but this was his first time having a snack.
Crunch—
Taking a bite, the crispy waffle cone broke apart, releasing a sweet and rich milky flavor.
It washed cold over his mouth before smoothly melting down, coating the tip of his tongue with a sticky sweetness.
“Haa. As expected, coming back was the right choice.”
Ignoheim hadn’t been a terrible place, either.
When he first dropped into that world, he frequently walked the line between life and death, but that only lasted a short while.
By his third year, Do Min-hyuk had grown to the point where nothing was dangerous to him anymore.
Min-hyuk possessed talent. Whatever he was taught, he picked up with ease—be it swordsmanship, magic, or even ancient sorcery.
‘…It felt as if the restrictions placed on my body had been lifted.’
It was truly inexplicable.
In the modern world, he was nothing more than a mere E-rank Hunter, yet over there, he possessed a talent of a thousand forms.
Either way, what was good was good.
Thanks to that, he was able to survive that hellish land and return to the modern world. He could even taste delicious vanilla ice cream like this.
It was right at that moment.
“…Hm?”
Just as Do Min-hyuk finished about half of his GooGoo Cone.
Vrrr— Vrrr—
A vibration rang out from his pocket.
It was a budget phone that Kim Kang-baek had personally set up for him, telling him to use it until his identity reissuance was complete.
Though second-hand, it was in almost brand-new condition due to careful use.
Kang-baek was a reliable guy. Contrary to his rugged appearance, he was quite a polite young man.
No, wait. Was he a bit too old to be called a ‘young man’?
Do Min-hyuk chuckled softly and checked the caller ID.
[Nayeon-i Niece♡]
Initially, he had saved the contact as ‘Kim Na-hyeon’, but Na-hyeon had snatched his phone and saved it under this new name.
He recalled how, when he asked if the heart icon wasn’t a bit embarrassing, she had blushed and brushed it off, saying that much was fine.
Perhaps because she was his niece, she was still adorable.
Well, she had grown up enough that the word ‘pretty’ suited her far better than ‘cute’ now, though.
Click—
“Yeah, Na-hyeon.”
— Uncle. Are you busy right now by any chance?
Her voice sounded urgent.
Wondering what was going on, he asked.
— …Well, I can’t get in touch with Ahjussi Kang-baek. Are you together by any chance?
“Kang-baek?”
— Yes. You received the text too, right, Uncle? We decided to eat pork belly again tonight. The other residents said they’d join us if they have time, too.
He remembered that.
Kang-baek had pleaded so earnestly, saying he wanted to show off his special secret sauce, that Min-hyuk had given his permission. Pork belly was a food Do Min-hyuk enjoyed as well, after all.
— He clearly said he’d be back around six o’clock to teach us how to make the sauce… but no matter how many times I call, he isn’t picking up. He even called mid-way to say he was close to home.
“Hmm. First, I’ll look into it.”
Do Min-hyuk gave a short nod. It wasn’t something to just brush off.
What if, by a one-in-a-million chance, something had happened to Kang-baek?
That would be truly undesirable.
‘Because it would feel like I’ve only received without giving back.’
Although he hadn’t dropped his formal tone completely yet, he intended to speak casually with him soon.
He was a good person.
He had taken care of Na-hyeon all this time, and when Min-hyuk mentioned there was nothing to eat this morning, Kang-baek had even offered his own food.
He had even set up a budget phone for him, saying it would be inconvenient until his identity was restored.
Do Min-hyuk did not wish for such a person to get hurt or suffer something bad.
Therefore.
“It won’t take long, Na-hyeon. Just wait a bit. Got it?”
— Yes, Uncle! Please!
Hearing his niece’s aegyo-filled voice, Do Min-hyuk let out a soft chuckle.
Not bad at all. A daily life like this.
Sssss—
After ending the call and sliding the budget phone back into his pocket, a warm breeze happened to pass by, brushing against his cheek.
He didn’t dislike the scent of the city brushing against the tip of his nose.
It was cozy. Peaceful. There were no sharp, thrilling stimuli, but it was more than enough.
“…Heeem.”
This was the kind of life he had wished for—this very peace.
Do Min-hyuk hoped that his daily life would continue like this in the future. This gentle, quiet everyday routine.
If there were anyone who dared to disturb it—
Crunch—
Do Min-hyuk reached out his hand and squeezed the empty air.
In the middle of empty space, the sound of metal twisting rang out.
Along with it—
Rumble—
The air cracked open, revealing a shredded, irregular fissure.
Crack— Creak—
Inside the black fissure, something was writhing. It was a giant eye—a reptile’s pupil dyed in a deep, pitch-black color.
Through the gaps of the open fissure, a monster of absurd size whose true body could not be fully seen revealed itself.
It had a gruesome, massive pupil and a solid black magical hide that, even at a glance, looked far too tough for any bladed weapon to pierce.
In reality, who knew how many empires had fallen just trying to kill that monster?
In the end, they had failed to kill it, too.
Do Min-hyuk stared at the existence beyond the fissure and lightly extended his right hand.
Then—
Hummm—
The reptilian monster—so vast that seeing its eye through the gap was all that was possible—began to shrink its body.
And soon after—
Pop—
The monster transformed into a lizard the size of a small palm and crawled out of the fissure.
— Kyuuuu.
With no trace left of its overwhelming pressure from a moment ago, it began enthusiastically rubbing its head against Do Min-hyuk’s palm.
At that sight, Do Min-hyuk burst out laughing and gently stroked the lizard’s head with his finger.
“Aldebaran, there should be a scent left on my body. I’ll grant you permission to devour the lingering remnants of memory, so go find him. His name is Kim Kang-baek.”
As he spoke in a gentle voice, the lizard raised its head and stared intently at Do Min-hyuk.
Its thin, long tail began to wag gently back and forth.
“Kyuut…!”
From Aldebaran’s perspective, this was a joy so immense it warranted a scream. The remnants of Do Min-hyuk’s memories were its absolute favorite thing to eat.
Taking the form of a lizard, Aldebaran closed its tiny eyes and focused its mana.
Simultaneously—
Fssss—
The residual mana swirling around Do Min-hyuk began to seep into Aldebaran’s hide skin.
The absorption didn’t last long. It wanted to eat a lot, but that was impossible. It had been true in the past, and it was true now.
At most, it was a mere handful of mana.
By the time it absorbed just that much, Aldebaran felt its skin heating up intensely and stopped absorbing the lingering scent. Pushing any further was impossible.
— …Kyu, kyuuuut!?
“You should have eaten in moderation. You’re always too greedy, that’s your problem, Aldebaran. That’s why those empires kept trying to hunt you down.”
— Kyu, kyuut!
Aldebaran protested that the empires were the ones in the wrong first, but it was useless.
It was hard to sway Do Min-hyuk’s thoughts.
Well, either way, empires and all that were things of the past now.
The past didn’t matter. What mattered to Aldebaran was the present. Being beside Do Min-hyuk like this was far more enjoyable and happy than the days when it was called the Despair of the Continent or the Gluttonous Dragon—enough that it was willing to give up everything it possessed.
Swoosh—
Regardless, what needed to be done had to be done.
It wanted to stay by Do Min-hyuk’s side, but finding the man named Kim Kang-baek came first.
Aldebaran slowly closed its eyes.
And then—
Rumble—
Leaving a streak of black lightning in the air, it vanished somewhere.
“Looks like it found him.”
Since Aldebaran had stepped in, it wouldn’t take long. It was a dragon that tracked the scent of the living, the scent of things that could be eaten, and the scent of everything that could be gluttonously devoured.
Do Min-hyuk closed the fissure and sat down on a chair near the convenience store.
The sunlight beginning to pour down from the sky was heating up the asphalt road.
It was great weather to eat ice cream.
A pleasantly sweltering summer day, perfect for going on a picnic.
“Hmm. Should I eat one more…?”
Having already finished his ice cream before he realized it, Do Min-hyuk fell into thought.
As he was eating, it was already gone.
Since he hadn’t gotten a job yet, he needed to spend his money frugally, but his hesitation didn’t last long.
He could feel the gaze of the female clerk from beyond the convenience store’s glass window, her eyes sparkling as she stole glances at him.
