Mastore 120 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 120

The Final Squirrel Thunder of Two-Year-Old Thor the Squirrel (1)

When the squirrel unleashed lightning for the second time, I stayed silent. I simply couldn't comprehend the situation.

"Ack, shit! What the hell is this!"

Even as the middle-aged elf screamed and ran away, I remained silent. Because there was something more on the street outside. Something emitting light...

―Chik! Chiiiiik!

When the third lightning bolt flew toward the front door, our store front door no longer front door. I focused all my attention on the squirrel, thinking that I would become a lightning rodif I looked away.

"Hey, you little piece of..."

What the hell was that thing's problem?

If I were to describe exactly what I saw, the squirrel was hugging a purple stone with one paw while raising the other into the air, casting Squirrel Thunder.

So far it has cast Squirrel Thunder a total of three times, once above my head, once above the middle-aged elf's balding head, and the remaining one aimed at the front door...

—Chiiiiiik!!

The front door, struck by the lightning, glowed red and then exploded into pieces in the blink of an eye. I’ve lost count of how many times the front door has been destroyed in just over a month.

—Chik! Chik-chik!

“No, where the hell did that elf pick up this squirrel..."

“Boss, please calm down first.”

That's a lot to ask. My workplace door just exploded after being struck by lightning shot by a squirrel, how am I supposed to calm down in this situation?

Any other store clerk in this world would also lose their mind at this. I desperately wanted to say that, but the elder made his request to calm down in an incredibly composed tone.

It felt like they were saying, ‘I know it’s hard, but try.’ Thanks to that, I managed to calm down a bit.

Alright, damn it. It’s not that strange for there to be a squirrel in another world that can cast Chain Lightning…

"It's not just the squirrel. It seems something strange is happening on the entire street."

Following the direction the gentleman was looking, my barely recovering mental state began to fray again. Something is truly, truly happening.

First, the deer. There was a deer wandering down the street.

But not just any deer. Its mouth glowed with a sinister red light and its neck veins bulged like it had just finished several sets of squats.

Judging by the red light reflecting in its eyes, that creature doesn't seem to be in its right mind either...

As I stared blankly, the deer suddenly let out a loud cry.

―Wuaaaaaagh!!

The sound made the storefront window tremble, and the glass of the nearby bus stop shattered completely. At the same time, something whizzed past the crazed deer and flew straight into the store, and that something was...

―Chirrrrrr―

Ah! A cricket! As a convenience store clerk, I can't help but comment about this cricket.

Between evening and night. During the busy hours when many customers come and go, these crickets somehow slip in one by one, and they hide inside the store and start chirping at the most opportune moments.

The clerk thinks, 'Ah, another bug got in,' but customers at the checkout aren't so nonchalant. They always ask, ‘There’s a bug in the store, shouldn’t you catch it?’

And the store clerk thinks: How the hell am I supposed to catch that?

Sometimes there are the dumb ones that chirp boldly on top of cup noodles or display shelves, but those are exceptions. Usually, these bugs hide so well and chirp so loudly.

When you try to catch them, you end up tearing apart the entire area where the sound is coming from, but when you make eye contact with a cricket, it just jumps up and runs away. Hard to find, and even if found, impossible to catch.

However, the one that just came in wouldn’t be hard to find. Why? Because this goddamn cricket wasn’t just basketball-sized, it was flapping its wings and sending products flying all over the damn store! No!!

“This is fucking crazy, seriously!! SinSince the troublemakers aren’t coming, now weird things are showing up and causing chaos—”

"Boss."

Clap. A single clap sound right next to my ear. I almost had my eardrum burst.

I turned to see Elder Wolf standing behind me, hands still pressed together from the sound.

“Let’s take it one step at a time, Boss.”

"Yes?"

"First, the cricket that just came in looks huge but doesn't seem particularly dangerous. The deer outside also disappeared in the direction it was walking after sending out sound waves. Did you confirm this?"

I hadn’t yet. I quickly checked outside, and the deer that had been screaming earlier was nowhere to be seen.

"Have you confirmed?"

"Yes, I confirmed, but―"

“Then let’s move on to the next issue. Don’t think about anything else.”

The elder’s tone was as calm as if we had just run into each other during a stroll. Even while answering, his gaze remained fixed on the squirrel.

He's telling me to keep my wits. The moment I realized that, I felt a cold sensation trickle down my spine. I could feel my heart rate slowing down.

My head was finally clearing up. Now wasn’t the time for whining.

“That squirrel. It’s used lightning magic three times in a row so far, and it’s been staring at us the whole time.”

“……”

"If it were me, I could snatch the magic stone before the squirrel reacts. However."

"Yes."

“Do you have any other opinions?”

The reason he's asking me this is probably because I'm both a convenience store clerk and a half-mage. Even if he ask me if I have any guesses, nothing comes to mind...

Let's try this once. I didn't get license for nothing.

I took a small breath and looked into the squirrel’s eyes. It was still staring at us. One paw pressed against the floor, the other clutching the purple stone.

Magic stone. That must be a magic stone. When doing inventory with Manager in the storage room, I'd once pulled out a charcoal-like magic stone from the edge of the Light Warrior set. Though the color is different, the shape is similar.

The purple color of the squirrel's magic stone is probably because it hasn't been used much...

"...Um."

Doesn’t something feel off?

Manager had definitely said something about magic stones. Most are simply used as mana batteries.

At the same time, she had repeatedly emphasized that magic in this world required more than just mana. You need an equation.

That squirrel isn’t formulating equations, nor does it have a magic circle engraved on its body. So then.

"...Just a moment."

I focused my gaze once more. Not on the squirrel, but on the magic stone.

The area around the magic stone began to distort. It was warping, but in a strange manner. Until now, other magic stones and enchanted objects appeared to consistently distort like swirling water.

This magic stone was completely different. It looked like someone had grabbed the center of a tablecloth and pulled it upward, as if the distortion was being sucked inward. Moreover, sparks were jumping around the stone's periphery, almost like...

―Chik! Chik!

"Oh shit, Elder!"

I reflexively pushed the elder aside. The moment I pushed him and stepped back, the squirrel unleashed another lightning strike right where we had been standing.

The tiles where the lightning struck cracked and began to emit soot. The elder, pushed to the side, asked while steadied himself.

"Boss, did you sense that the squirrel was about to use magic?"

"Yes. But I don't think the squirrel is consciously casting the magic itself."

“Then…”

“I think the mana stone is discharging spells at random. The squirrel is just holding onto it.”

That’s the feeling I got. The distortion sparking around the stone wasn't just confined to its surroundings but seemed to be engulfing the squirrel's body as well.

I don’t know what effect that has on the squirrel or why it’s still holding onto something so dangerous. But I knew what I had to do.

"...I'll be right back."

“Boss?”

I didn't answer, just approached. I didn't want to hesitate.

As I cautiously approached, the squirrel seemed startled and hesitated slightly. But only for a moment—it tilted its entire body forward and raised its tail.

Then, another lightning bolt. The moment the light beam met my eyes, a single word reflexively burst from my mouth.

-Chik!

"What are you gonna do with your squeaking, you little punk!"

I took the lightning bolt directly to the face. It was blinding.

With the bolt still hitting my face, I lunged forward and grabbed the squirrel. While the captured squirrel struggled in my hand, I wedged my other hand's fingers in and grabbed the magic stone.

I tried to hold it up to my eyes to inspect it, but the moment I raised it to eye level, purple smoke began pouring out of the stone.

It continued to emit smoke for nearly ten seconds before finally calming down and turned into something like charcoal. I tried rolling it around on my palm, but it crumbled into dust the moment I turned it over.

Finally, I lifted the squirrel to my face to examine it. Specifically, the fur on the hand, arm, and chest area that had been gripping the stone.

It's a mess, as if it had been stuck to adhesive and then pulled off. When I tossed it down, it scurried out of the store, limping on the front paw that had been holding the stone.

"...It wasn't holding the magic stone, sir. It was stuck to it."

My guess was that this might have been the state just before the stone was about to burst. Or some equivalent state.

The squirrel must have picked up the stone just before it was about to explode, and it ended up sticking to its body and arm. Then it hopped around everywhere until it was caught by the drunk middle-aged elf and stuffed into his pocket.

As for the squeaking every time lightning shot out, well... I'd probably squeak too if lightning was shooting from my chest. Or maybe it just sting like hell.

I mentally settled on this conclusion and looked toward the elder, who was holding a cricket's leg—

"Ueeogh!"

The cricket was going crazy. The thing was the size of a basketball, and its wings and legs were flailing so wildly it was dizzying to watch.

Every time it flapped, gusts of wind tore through the store. But Elder Wolf barely seemed fazed. He simply lifted it up slightly and said,

“Could you check this one as well?”

I focused my gaze right away. This giant cricket didn't have anything like a magic stone visible, but various parts of its inner body were rippling without exception.

When I touched it lightly with clenched teeth, it immediately released a thin wisp of smoke and shrank. The recoil from shrinking allowed it to barely escape the elder's hand, and it staggered away into the night street.

After confirming it had flown away, I immediately suggested to the elder.

"Elder. If you want to wash your hands, there's a utility sink in the back office? The one we use for washing mops."

"Before that, I'd like to check outside once. Would you come with me?"

“Oh... ah. Yes.”

There might be more than just one cricket or squirrel. I followed the elder outside and scanned the street, but there was no lightning striking or wind blowing anywhere.

The deer also seemed to have disappeared completely. As I watched the elder looking around, I remembered something I hadn’t said yet.

“Elder.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“Thanks for earlier. It was my first time experiencing something like that, so I was really flustered.”

I had experienced lightning falling where I was standing for the first time, and until last year, I had never even imagined experiencing something like this.

The imagination of taking a lightning bolt directly to the face... I think I had a similar imagination back in middle school. Either way, if Elder Wolf hadn’t been there to keep my mental state in check, I had no idea what I would’ve ended up doing.

"...When I was performing escort duties."

While I was imagining myself rummaging through a pest control company's phone directory, the elder spoke softly.

“There was one time when the person I was protecting panicked. We needed to relocate, but they collapsed on the spot and kept mumbling, unable to move.”

“Yes, Elder.”

"It took approximately 3 minutes to soothe them into moving, and during that process, I had to fully absorb all the threats."

"Uh...."

"I remember it took Boss approximately 15 seconds. Or was it 10?"

I don’t even know. It felt like I was sitting there for about 30 minutes. And the situation the elder is describing probably isn't the same as a squirrel shooting lightning...

“I was saying that Boss have the aptitude for it. Or maybe Boss just cut out to be a soldier.”

“Ugh. Please don’t say such horrible things, Elder.”

I did my military service for 1 year and 9 months and finished reserve training, what aptitude? What soldier? I had absolutely no interest in this topic, so I immediately shifted the focus elsewhere.

“Is it all over now, Elder?”

The squirrel, the cricket, the deer—there wouldn’t be more, right? Did we clear this mess?

“That, I cannot say for certain. It is not my area of expertise.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense… area of expertise?”

Wait, something’s coming to mind. Didn’t we have a conversation about this kind of situation yesterday?

[Anyway, be careful because strange things might happen soon.]

That’s what Yoonha Noona said when we were talking about gates. And now, the store was just about to become an animal kingdom. If this isn't a strange thing, what is?

Since it's my day off, she should answer her phone. I immediately sought the elder's understanding.

“Elder, I’ll just make a quick call and come back.”

"Go ahead. I'll just..."

He trailed off while pulling a cigarette from his pocket and putting it in his mouth. After confirming, I rushed to the counter, grabbed the phone, and called Noona.

The phone rang three times before she answered, and again, there was a lot of wind noise.

"Noona. Noona?"

[You called at just the right time]

“No, can't you stop and speak normally?"

[Ah! Close the front door quickly!]

The front dorr was already sshattered and can't be closed. I tried to explain it to Noona calmly, but it seemed like she had a lot more to say.

[I said close the front door!! Right now there's—]

I couldn't hear what was about to happen. Because a pigeon flew in and shattered the display window.


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