Episode 128: Bulgaram (4)
First, let me organize the current situation.
…I got kicked out by Bulgaram.
Well, it didn’t seem like I was completely kicked out. If I had been fully expelled, I would’ve gotten a system alert.
Anyway, I was kicked out by Bulgaram.
And the kid I’ve been raising turned out to be Yoon Chaeha.
Now, I’ve been teleported to Yoon Chaeha’s room.
She’s sleeping peacefully in front of me.
Outside, someone—presumably her mother—was repeatedly calling her.
This situation…
How am I supposed to explain this?
“Chaeha~ Are you still sleeping~?”
I absolutely cannot let her parents see me like this. I wasn’t confident I could explain.
I quickly approached Yoon Chaeha.
— Tap.
“Yoon Chaeha. Yoon Chaeha.”
I gently tapped her back.
Her sleeping face slowly scrunched up.
She seemed on the verge of waking…
— Tap tap.
“Chaeha.”
“Mmm… Just a bit more…”
Yoon Chaeha drowsily opened her eyes.
Her hazy gaze met mine.
“…….”
“…….”
For a few seconds, we just stared at each other in silence.
“…….”
“Good morning.”
I smiled softly. Her dazed, sleepy face was honestly kind of funny.
But her reaction was more nonchalant than I expected.
“Jung Haein…?”
She looked up at me with half-closed eyes.
Then, without hesitation, she grabbed my arm and pulled me onto the bed.
Caught off guard by the sudden movement, I lost my balance and fell onto the bed.
A strong lavender scent from the bedding tickled my nose.
“Even if it’s in a dream…”
She murmured softly and wrapped her arms around my neck.
Her body pressed tightly against my chest.
Her leg gently draped over my thigh.
“Huuuh… me too…”
Burying her face, she inhaled deeply over and over.
I silently watched her.
“Chaeha, I’m opening the door, okay?”
I didn’t know what kind of misunderstanding she was having, but it was too late now.
It seemed her mother had reached the door.
I gave up.
— Creak.
“I made some brea—”
Before the sentence could finish, the door opened.
And the woman who entered froze on the spot after seeing what was inside.
On the bed—
I was lying in my training clothes in Yoon Chaeha’s bed.
Yoon Chaeha was buried in my arms, her leg wrapped around my waist, breathing in deeply.
Only her right eye, slightly open between us, met her mother’s gaze directly.
“…Mmm.”
The air in the room froze.
Yoon Chaeha slowly lifted her head.
Only then did her eyes gradually widen, as if she finally understood what was happening.
“…….”
Her mother quietly closed the door and walked out.
The door shut again, as if nothing had happened.
Only then did Yoon Chaeha slowly raise her face from my chest.
“…It wasn’t a dream…?”
I was at a loss for words.
For a while, we both stayed frozen on the bed, speechless.
***
“What do I do…? What do I do? But this sounds fun…”
“Put some clothes on first.”
I had my back turned, looking out the window.
I briefly explained the situation to Yoon Chaeha.
That Bulgaram had chosen her.
She was overjoyed, practically jumping with excitement, but then seemed to remember the current situation and got all fidgety.
“I’m dressed now.”
It seemed she had finished getting changed.
I turned around.
“Planning to go hang out somewhere?”
An orange jumper and a white t-shirt.
Not exactly outfit material for entering a Forge.
“Never mind… Whatever.”
Clothes weren’t the issue here.
I led her to the door and stepped outside.
I had roughly prepared what I would say in explanation.
But the ones who greeted us outside weren’t Chaeha’s parents.
On the living room table was a single white note.
> [Chaeha! Mom and Dad had to leave urgently. We’ll be back late tonight! There are side dishes in the fridge, so eat with your boyfriend.]
>
> [P.S. Please use protection. Not joking. Dad insisted I emphasize it. Mom agrees!]
“……”
There went my chance to explain.
Forget it.
Yoon Chaeha, blushing deeply, flipped the note over.
“Let’s explain later.”
Surely, the chance would come again.
I pulled Yoon Chaeha back into the room.
I was wondering how to return to the Forge when I noticed a red tattoo on my arm.
A pattern like a burn mark, as if flames had seared my skin.
As I traced it with my fingertips, I felt a faint warmth and subtle vibration.
I instinctively understood.
If I channeled mana into this tattoo, we could return to the Forge.
But it was designed to be impossible using only my own power.
“Hold this and try channeling mana into it.”
I extended my forearm.
“Okay.”
Yoon Chaeha gently grasped my arm.
I could feel the slight trembling of her fingertips.
As her mana flowed into it, the tattoo glowed faint red and emitted heat.
At that moment, the space around us warped slightly.
Our vision flared white, and all sound and sensation vanished in an instant.
And when we opened our eyes again—
We were standing in the middle of a scorching, hellish space.
“It’s hot…”
Yoon Chaeha gasped for breath.
I quickly pulled a Magma Booster from my coat and handed it to her.
> [Magma Booster]
[Absorbs surrounding heat and converts it into a protective barrier.]
I had brought it as a backup, not expecting to actually use it.
Yoon Chaeha carefully took the small switch in hand.
“Just press the button. It’ll help.”
I gave her a simple explanation.
The moment the button was pressed, the booster would absorb heat and form a protective shield.
She’d likely breathe easier and move more freely.
But instead, she rolled the switch around in her fingers, sniffed it…
Then, suddenly and without any hesitation, popped it into her mouth.
“Nom.”
“?”
The switch disappeared between her cherry-colored lips.
—Suck, suck.
She began tasting the artifact as if it were candy.
—Slurp, slurp.
She rolled it around with her tongue, slowly savoring the odd metallic flavor that filled her mouth.
Her eyes fluttered briefly, and then her lips curled into a smile.
Satisfied, she gave a small nod.
“Ptoo.”
Next moment, she spat out the hollow shell of the switch onto the ground.
And with that—
The heat around us began to rush toward her like a wave.
Yoon Chaeha’s aura absorbed the surrounding heat as if devouring it. A crimson glow rose from her fingertips.
The Intense heat spiraled into her body like a vortex.
In the next moment, all the heat was sealed off, and a red, semi-transparent barrier formed around her.
“Tasty.”
She licked the corner of her lips with the tip of her tongue, as if savoring the lingering sweetness, and gave a small, satisfied smile.
“This… is the gift you gave me.”
Ah.
As I watched her bizarre behavior, something suddenly came to mind.
“…Seeker of Hunger?”
“Yup.”
The strange act she just performed was a manifestation of the Authority Yoon Chaeha had recently awakened—
The Seeker of Hunger.
It had been awakened by absorbing the remnants of an evil god.
Yoon Chaeha had swallowed the essence of the Magma Booster and made it her own.
It seemed the ability of the Seeker of Hunger wasn’t just about absorption.
She could deconstruct the power and principle of an artifact, reinterpret it entirely, and digest it in her own unique way.
The discarded switch on the ground was now nothing more than a useless scrap of metal.
Watching that, a strange sense of anticipation began to rise within me.
Possibility. I could see possibilities.
“How much do you think you can eat?”
At my question, Yoon Chaeha paused to think.
“Hmm… you?”
What nonsense.
“…Oh, right.”
Come to think of it, she wasn’t wrong.
Yoon Chaeha had already copied both my Cadenaccio and Phalanx and modified them into her own versions.
“Just kidding. I think I could probably handle most artifacts?”
She deflected with a playful smile.
It seemed she had awakened an Authority far more powerful than expected.
A completely new kind of ability.
It must’ve happened because the remnant of the evil god was so strong and unpredictable.
The Forge was still quite far away.
Now, it was time to move forward.
***
“This is so much easier.”
Jung Haein muttered to himself. It was different from when he had been wandering alone.
He could feel it clearly—finding the path, fighting, and everything else became noticeably easier.
He was beginning to understand why Bulgaram had emphasized “companionship” so much.
Moreover, the combat synergy between Jung Haein and Yoon Chaeha was far better than expected.
Maybe even on par with the bond he had with Ha Sion, who had been with him for a decade.
His teamwork with Ha Sion was built upon years of trust and mutual care, but with Yoon Chaeha, it was a different kind of connection.
Yoon Chaeha constantly observed Jung Haein’s actions, tried to learn, and understood him.
As time went on, their trajectories naturally aligned.
Jung Haein wanted to show her everything he had.
And Yoon Chaeha had no hesitation in taking that and making it hers.
They moved selfishly, without holding back for one another, yet somehow, their synergy became perfect.
Yoon Chaeha was growing more and more excited.
A smile spread on her face.
She suddenly felt grateful to Jung Haein for introducing her to this thrilling new world.
“Jung Haein!”
Unable to hold it in anymore, Yoon Chaeha called out to him.
Jung Haein turned his head with a soft smile.
But in that moment—
His face, and the scenery behind him, briefly overlapped with a strange, unfamiliar image.
A sudden memory surged from deep within her mind—a massive tower crumbling like hell itself.
And standing alone in the center of that collapsing tower—one person.
“…Huh?”
Yoon Chaeha’s gaze wavered.
The face she just saw looked both familiar and unfamiliar.
Like someone long forgotten, overlapping like a shadow.
An indescribable, unknowable sense of wrongness. A sense of déjà vu.
She took a deep breath. And soon, that strange sensation began to fade.
“What’s wrong? Something up?”
Jung Haein asked with a playful smile.
Yoon Chaeha stared blankly at his face for a long moment before slowly shaking her head.
“No… nothing.”
Yoon Chaeha felt like she had just woken up from a dream.
And for some reason, her chest ached faintly with a strange, unexplainable twinge.
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