Mastore 144 - Dumpster

Magic Realm Convenience Store – Ch. 144/p>

Regular customer assembly (7)/p>

I was the one who opened the iron bars. The third of the five magic potions I got from Elena, the metal solvent.

When I opened the lid, made of some material I couldn’t tell if it was cork or rubber, a liquid resembling mercury flowed smoothly down my hand. It’s called a liquid, but it felt more like a semi-solid.

“Noona. Did you know something like this would happen and ask for this?”

- I didn't plan on melting iron bars, but I requested it thinking we might need to dissolve pipes or other manhole covers.

"Aha."

- But is your hand okay?

It feels about the same as having a handful of sand on my palm. Normally, putting a metal solvent on your skin is extremely dangerous, so unless you’re a convenience store clerk with a bizarre constitution, it’s best not to attempt it carelessly.

When I rubbed the dissolvent pooled in my palm against the iron bars as if spreading it, steam briefly rose from the rubbed area like it was boiling before settling down. It melted precisely in the shape of my hand.

After doing the same in several places and finally dissolving the bottom part I was holding, the iron bars that had become shaped like the character "井" clattered and sank down.

Without a word, we all quietly entered. After several minutes of walking as if swimming through water filling the circular passage.

A gentle upward slope appeared. Above it was the surface of water through which light penetrate through.

The moment I finally stepped out onto land, all the strength drained from my body. Thinking I no longer needed to be considerate, I lay flat on the ground with my arms and legs hanging down and spoke.

“Life, really....”

Just a month ago, when I was flipping through job postings, I never could’ve imagined I’d end up like this…

As I wallowed in sentimentality, two palms began patting my back in succession. The size and strength of each palm were different.

“Lee Chan, you really did great. We're almost there now.”

“Right. You did well, Chan-ah. But are you okay?”

“I’ll let you know once I feel okay. But, more than me, that…”

I was worried about Mongmong. I flipped over and fully unzipped the bag on my shoulder, but there was no sign of Mongmong moving.

Looking inside, the dog was lying belly-up, just staring at the top of the bag. I heard occasional little groan.

"Whine... huff, huff."

“Hey, Mongmong. Just what did you do back there…?”

At least what I saw was this. The charismatic massive octopus just 'froze' right after Mongmong asked it to stop.

And it made way to the path leading to the sewer. Just after Mongmong asked to give us a way for a moment. Even though it must’ve been furious after Noona stole two of its tentacles.

I can’t bring myself to think these two incidents are entirely unrelated, but it's also not easy to think that they are. No matter how you look at it, this is...

“Maybe it was because Mongmong asked with sincerity?”

“Does that look like that to you, Manager-nim?”

“It’s one of two things. Looking just at the results, it might seem like this little one really gave a command..."

As she said that, two small hands reached into the bag and gently picked Mongmong up. Then, I heard Manager’s voice continue from behind me.

“This little one isn’t the type to command or order others around, you know. Right?”

“That is true.”

"Ah, Mongmong fallen asleep.”

I immediately propped up just half my body and looked up at Manager. The puppy was curled up in Manager's arms, and only ragged breathing could be heard every now and then.

It looked more like he was half-passed out rather than asleep, but at least it was still breathing, which was fortunate. Manager was stroking Mongmong's head cradled in her arms as she looked down at me and smiled.

"It must be exhausted since this is his first time doing this, so don't worry too much. Anyway, you worked hard, Chan."

"...What about you three? Noona, how are you? You okay?"

I got up fully and scanned Noona’s body, and her t-shirt, which had been white when she took off her jacket earlier, was now completely discolored to a dark red.

Her leather pants and hair were the same, but Noona snickered at my question as if it were funny.

“Hey, Lee Chan. Since when do you have the leeway to worry about me?"

"Then, um... do something about that squid ink tteokbokki broth first. It looks a bit off."

I couldn’t bring myself to say the word blood. She glanced over herself dismissively, then looked past me as if it were no big deal and added.

“You can tell just by looking?”

“You can tell by looking at it too?”

“Yeah. Look over there.”

Noona jerked her chin toward something behind me. Before looking, I surveyed the surroundings once. Moss-covered rocks, the land we had come up on, an unnaturally high ceiling.

It looked like a hollow space that formed under the seafloor. Maybe the interior of a massive rock had collapsed for some reason, or erosion had hollowed it out. I've seen in documentaries that this could form naturally.

On the other side of the cavern, there’s another small cave wide enough for two people to pass through side by side.

Or was in the process of opening. The cave entrance wasn't just twisted and done, but was constantly creaking like a broken drill spinning without rest.

At the center of the rotating cave wall, something flickered in and out of view. A distortion.

It’s visible even without focusing, and it wasn't simply distorted either. It was nearly like a mosaic. I suppose places with severe mana concentration end up like this.

"All that's left is for you to touch the core gate inside there. But..."

“But?”

"...The guys here won’t just let us take it without a fight."

What’s with, these guys here? There are only rocks all around.

Noona solved this curiosity. She picked up a pebble embedded in the sandy shore at her feet and threw it toward a moss-covered rock near the cave.

After the pebble hit the rock and rolled away, the ground started to shake.

Not only was vibration coming up through the soles of my shoes, but the cavern walls were shaking violently. The surface of the land we had come up on was rippling, and the rock that had been hit by the pebble was growing larger and larger...

“Noona. Is that a golem or something?”

“Huh? You’ve seen a golem before?”

“Well, through a monitor, yeah…”

Back then, those things fell over if you spent 28 MP and threw two icicles twice. But these golems look impossible to handle even if I get my second job advancement.

That's because they're the size of two-story buildings. Over a dozen rocks gathered to form arms, legs, and torso, with the moss-covered rock that got hit by the pebble serving as the head.

There were six of them in total. Though the rocks didn't have eyes, nose, or mouth, I could definitely tell they were looking at us. It’s not like they were moonwalking or anything…

“They’re coming towards us, Noona. Did you really have to wake them up when they’re sleeping soundly?”

“The situation’s a little different now. If we approach without waking them, they'll ambush us. Just one hit would cave in your solar plexus."

“I see....”

“They’re not the kind to step aside just because we ask. They're standing guard so we can’t enter the cave.”

Noona explained that in any gate, there are always magic beasts with an instinct to prevent the gate’s core destruction. Even core gates are no exception to this.

And the number of these creatures will likely remain the same. Noona's opinion is that they'll use the mana from fallen magic beasts as nourishment to turn other rocks into golems, always looking for a chance to cave in our solar plexuses.

“So here’s my plan, Lee Chan. While I’m smashing those rocks, the other two take the neutralizer and you-”

"Miss Yoonha."

“...Yes, Elder Wolf?”

"Are you perhaps quite fatigued?"

The gentleman Elder asked gently. His gaze was directed at Noona's legs. Receiving his look, Noona looked down at her own legs, and holding her thigh with one hand while smiling.

“My leg’s shaking a bit, yeah. Maybe it's because it's been a while since I took down something big―”

“If we leave those golems be, they’ll absolutely try to harm the person I’m meant to protect. Am I understanding that correctly?”

“…Yes. That’s correct.”

Only after hearing this did I understand. The gentleman Elder wants to experience once more that chilling sensation from when he three-minute KO'd the shoulders of over a dozen orcs.

“Elder, those guys don’t even have shoulders…”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Before I could even stop him, he loosened his tie slightly and walked calmly across the sand toward the golems.

Just as I thought they were getting quite close to each other, one of the golems raised the rock on its right arm above its head. The raised rock immediately headed towards the gentleman Elder's side.

The sound of it tearing through the air was incredibly heavy. In that moment, one short clearing of the throat.

"Ahem."

Immediately after, the rock launched upward toward the cave ceiling.

The rock, leaving only an afterimage in the blink of an eye, became embedded in the cavern ceiling, and the golem's body tilted halfway backward from the recoil of its right arm getting blown off.

It tried to stabilize itself with one leg-formed rock, but the Elder kicked that away too, sending it flying into the left wall where it lodged halfway in.

The golem, having instantly lost its hands and feet, fell to its knees, and the part corresponding to its torso came down to the Elder's eye level. Looking at the torso, he mutters in a dry tone.

"Now my hands can reach it."

Then he reached out a hand to the rock at the golem’s torso and pulled it out just like that. The golem, having lost its center of gravity, could no longer maintain its shape and collapsed into rubble right before the Elder's eyes.

He tossed the extracted rock aside with a fling and turned to look in our direction.

"I handled it in the most comfortable way for now, but are there any points I should be mindful of? Miss Yoonha?"

“…No. Once they take a hit, they’ll probably try to block the cave entrance, so just keep that in mind.”

“Then I will finish the rest, so it would be better for you, Miss Yoonha, to rest for a while.”

The gentleman Elder turned back to face the group of golems.

All five rock golems are just staring at the Elder without making any moves. Since they had a specific area they were meant to guard, they were likely planning to simply hold out as long as they could.

Or perhaps they're terrified. At the very least, the gentleman Elder was now demonstrating firsthand what it means to subdue an opponent through sheer intimidation.

“Come.”

A voice honed razor-sharp. Just two syllables, and all five golems took three steps back in unison.

The Elder, who had been staring blankly at this, let out a faint chuckle, then opened his hands once before clenching them into fists. Tendons bulged on the backs of his hands, gradually taking on a beast-like form.

"Then, I shall go."

The moment I thought he was making a step forward, the gentleman Elder closed the distance of dozens of paces in an instant. Within striking range, he swung his fist and turned one golem's leg back into mere rock.

The rock shattered into pieces so cleanly, I couldn’t help but think he had been careful not to create debris that would block the path. I immediately asked Noona.

“Noona. How many minutes do we have left?”

"20 minutes. Take out the magic neutralizer you got earlier, half for Unnie and half for me—”

"I'll go, Yoonha. With Chan."

I'm not sure if it was just my impression, but her tone seemed slightly urgent. Manager immediately added.

"It's much more effective for one person to take it than to split it. You rest here, Yoonha. Help the Elder if something happens to him.”

“It’s hard, but stuff like this is my job anyway…”

"If Manager and I can handle it, we'll just go by ourselves."

I chimed in too. It seemed Manager had her own intentions. And besides, even if the elder was cutting through golems like butter, it was still worrying to leave him alone...

Same went for Noona. Though I'm hardly in a position to worry about others, at least I'm trembling less than Noona.

“Unnie. Will you be okay?”

“I’m saying I’m fine because I’ll be fine. It’s not like I’ve never done this before, and someone has to stay behind to look after Mongmong while he sleeps.”

“.......”

Noona still seemed conflicted, but she knew better than anyone that this wasn’t the time to hesitate. Frustrated, she scratched her head roughly before reaching into Manager’s arms and pulling Mongmong into a hug.

"Unnie. Save one magic use, and if there's a situation where you need to call me, use it for that. I'll be there within 3 seconds."

"Un."

“You too, Lee Chan. No matter what the structure’s like inside, don’t go jumping off anywhere. Got it?"

“Of course I won’t. Why would I break my legs..."

“Then I won’t say anything more. Take care. Both of you.”

I'll take it that having the field commander's permission means it's okay. I stood next to Manager and glanced toward where the elder and the golems were clashing.

Boulders the size of park landscaping granite were being hurled, shattered, and sent flying everywhere... but I’m sure the Elder would make them don’t bounce our way.

"We'll need to go around a bit. Right."

"Un."

Manager took the lead, but I felt uneasy about falling behind, so I ran beside her. We passed at a trot behind one that had just collapsed after losing a leg, and stood before the cave entrance.

What I realized after standing right in front of it was that the inner wall was twisted and formed in a way that even the roughest terrain couldn't handle it. How are we supposed to get through this...

While pondering, I heard the sound of fingers snapping beside my ear. In an instant, moss and weeds sprouted from every crevice, covering the walls completely.

The wall that had been writhing now rattled with all sorts of plants wedged into it. Manager tested it by tapping it with her foot, then flashed me a grin.

“I’ve stuffed a bunch of stuff into every nook and cranny, so you won’t have to worry for a while.”

With that, she hopped onto the moss and began walking on the slanted cave floor. She walked with her arms stretched out to the sides like a tightrope walker, looking somewhat precarious.

I followed and grabbed her hand. I’ve been told my sense of balance wasn’t bad. She seemed surprised at first but soon gripped my hand tightly in return.

“Thank you, Chan-ah.”

"It's nothing."

We walked side by side in silence. Since the writhing hadn't completely stopped, we had to pay attention to the occasional changes in the floor's terrain.

It was also annoying how our feet kept sinking deeply into the plants. At one point, my foot sank in so deeply I almost fell flat on my face, but Manager grunted and hauled me back up with both hands.

This was precisely the midpoint.

After regaining my posture and looking once at the front and back of the cave, I noticed the hole size was consistent. I tried to speak to Manager in as comfortable a voice as possible.

“Nothing has happened yet, Manager-nim.”

"Mm."

Then she went silent again and kept walking.

Manager is unusually quiet today. This isn't just my impression.

To be fair, there wasn’t much to talk about. The situation was urgent, and we had already suffered through a giant octopus and anglerfish with four dozen teeth underwater.

If we hauled just one of those things to a fish market, a statue of them would have been erected there that very day. But the fact that she still wasn’t talking made me think there had to be a reason.

At least Manager doesn't seem to think the current situation is critical. Otherwise, she would’ve told me to stay quiet so we could stay tense…

“Chan-ah.”

"Yes."

Manager finally opened her mouth. Her voice was somewhat, quite considerably, melancholic.

"I'm sorry."

“What now, Manager-nim?”

“For making Chan do something like this...”



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