Chapter 8: Spiky Rhinoceros and the Electrifying Girl
Sung Mi-Ri recalled the event from earlier.
A man had approached her.
“Miss, I don’t usually do this, so don’t take it the wrong way.”
She initially thought that the guy was hitting on her. As snobbish as it sounded, it was a daily occurrence for her. She had never met anyone like him, though.
The man had pasty white skin that made her wonder if he had ever gone out into the sun. Moreover, he was sporting an unkempt training suit, horn-rimmed glasses, and a penguin-themed bandaid on his forehead. At a glance, anyone could tell that he was a typical jobless man from the neighborhood.
What truly took the cake was what he had told her, though. “Uhm, are you feeling a spark right now?”
Silence ensued between them. Suspecting him to be a pervert, Sung Mi-Ri clenched her fists.
Beeeep!
The man’s face suddenly turned red. “Excuse me, I have to take this call!”
He then swiftly ran away.
Recalling his beet-red face, Sung Mi-Ri chuckled quietly.
What a weirdo. He didn’t seem like a bad person, though.
“Number 49, Ms. Sung Mi-Ri,” the officer-in-charge called in the waiting room for examination. “This way, please.”
“Okay.”
Sung Mi-Ri’s smile disappeared as she clutched her queue number.
Today, I have to…!
***
Slap! Slap!
In a daze, I went to a park and sat down on a bench. All the while, slaps kept raining on my cheek.
“Uncle, are you okay?”
I glanced at Chae Seong-Yeon, my five-year-old niece, who had been unintentionally slapping me. She had her hair tied into twin tails today. How did I even end up at the park with this kid?
After asking the high school girl at the Supernatural Phenomenon Center a ridiculous question, I received a sudden call from Yu Shin-Ja, my older sister.
“Noona, what is it? Huh? You want me to babysit Seong-Yeon? But I’m busy right now…”
— Busy? When you don’t have a job? Stop whining and help me take care of her.
“Tsk, here we go again. Calling writers unemployed just because we hole up at home writing. Do you even know how painstaking and difficult it is to come up with a story?”
— Come on, just help me out. There’s a last-minute seminar that I need to attend. I’ll treat you to a good meal later.
“Hmpf, what am I? A kid? As if I can be bought with food!”
— Il-Shin, don’t you need some allowance?
“Dear Noona, where is my beloved niece right now? I would love to see her.”
It had been roughly an hour since I had become a last-minute babysitter.
“Your uncle had just made the darkest chapter in his life,” I kindly replied to my niece.
Seong-Yeon tilted her head to one side. “What’s a ‘dark chapter’?”
Ugh, she’s so cute!
Such a sweet baby girl coming from my wicked older sister was nothing short of a miracle.
“Come here, Cutie Pie! Let Uncle hug you!”
“Eek! Get your face away from me, Uncle! Your beard is pricking me!” Seong-Yeon pushed my face away with her little hands, which only made me want to tease her even more.
“Aah! Eep!”
Around five minutes later…
“Seong-Yeon? Won’t you look at Uncle?”
Having been hugged for a while, Seong-Yeon had crossed her arms and turned away, refusing to look at me. My ex-girlfriend once did the same thing, which stung my heart a bit. Girls were difficult to understand.
“Hehe, is our cutie pie upset? I only did that because I love you a lot~”
“Hmph, I hate Uncle!”
Ugh, this is more painful than when I broke up with my ex! How do I soothe this girl?
Puzzled, I stared at her back.
Ding!
[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]
[Appraising the target…]
[Appraisal complete!]
[Yu Il-Shin’s Niece]
A female human. Around for 5 years.
Special note: Wants to eat chocolate ice cream.
Just like magic, my ability had come into action.
Does she really want to have chocolate ice cream, though?
Just to be sure, I patted Seong-Yeon’s head and asked, “Seong-Yeon, want to go get some ice cream? Maybe a sweet cone of chocolate ice cream~?”
Seong-Yeon quickly turned around, beaming as if she hadn’t just been throwing a tantrum. “Yes!”
Usually, she would sulk for at least an hour. Had it always been this easy? Despite being the worst, my ability had just come in handy during babysitting. It still had some use, it seemed.
Silver lining, I guess.
Holding Seong-Yeon’s hand tightly, we headed to a nearby fast-food kiosk. I wasn’t fully sure yet, but my innate power didn’t seem like a complete sham anymore.
At that moment, a question crossed my mind.
What electrified that girl?
***
“What would you like to have today, sir?” the Deria server asked with a bright smile.
“A cone of chocolate ice cream, please,” I replied, then dug up some coins in my pocket.
When I handed her a handful of 10-won coins, the server’s smile twitched. Nevertheless, she remained professional. “Please wait for a moment.”
With a cone in hand, she pressed a few buttons on the ice cream machine.
Rumble!
The machine then shat some ice cream into the cone in a swirl. A bit of a strange analogy, but I couldn’t think of another way to describe it.
“Wow, wow!” Seong-Yeon’s eyes sparkled as she watched the entire scene unfold. She truly seemed to be craving some ice cream.
Just as I was about to assume my doting uncle’s smile, I noticed that something was amiss.
Huh? That’s it?
From what I could see, the cone had 20% less ice cream than usual, yet the server had already let go of the button. Shouldn’t she be more generous? Think of the child! Was it because I paid in coins?
I had no choice but to assert my rights as a consumer.
Swish.
I pointed my index finger at the button on the ice cream machine. I then secretly whispered, “Crushing Forefinger of God.”
A miracle ensued.
Brrrr!
“Huh? What?! What’s wrong with this machine?”
The flustered server didn’t know what to do. Ice cream kept flowing out even though no one was pressing the button!
“Wow, you’re giving us so much ice cream. Thank you.” Smiling, I reached out and accepted the ice cream cone, which was three times taller than usual.
“What do you think, Seong-Yeon? Is it delicious?”
Lick lick!
Seong-Yeon stopped licking the ice cream that was towering over her head. She then looked at me, smiling from ear to ear.
“Yes! It’s so yummy!”
“Aigoo, don’t make a mess.”
Her mouth was covered in ice cream. I fished out some wet tissues from the bag that my older sister had packed and wiped Seong-Yeon’s face. The ticklish feeling made her giggle.
Eat well and grow up healthy, my dear niece. I’ll cry if you hit puberty and start complaining that I smell and refuse to sit next to me.
“Seong-Yeon, won’t you let Uncle have some?”
“No! You ate it all the last time you said that!”
“Hey, don’t be selfish. I’ll only take a bite, I promise.”
“Ack! No!”
We were having such an ordinary day that it felt like a portrait of a peaceful daily life.
Beep!
… At least until my phone rang with a sharp notification sound. Sighing, I checked my phone, wondering if it was the annoying ants from before. True enough, it was a message from God-Maker, but it seemed different.
A warning?
[Warning! Warning!]
[The title Brutal Killer (F) has been activated!]
[The Nameless God’s combat luck has increased significantly!]
At the same time, an eerie, malicious voice echoed in my ears.
-Oh great being walking the malevolent path, overcome the incoming trials, and become a true malevolent god! Keke!
Pzzz! Pzzzt! Plop!
The ice cream in Seong-Yeon’s hand fell to the ground.
The alarmed passersby looked into the air. “W-what’s that?”
Pzzt! Pzzzzt!
A crack, akin to a spiderweb, had appeared in the air and was gradually opening up. A huge black horn then emerged from it, soon followed by a head, revealing red eyes as huge as a watermelon.
-Graaaaaa!
Rumbleeee!
The thunderous roar shook the ground—a sign that my peaceful daily life was crumbling down
My face paled with fear. “A-a gate?”.
I could only watch as a monster the size of a dump truck came out of the crack in the air. Although it bore a resemblance to a rhinoceros, the dozens of spikes jutting out of its body told me it wasn’t from this planet.
“A Spiky Rhinoceros…”
Thanks to the information I had collected to write a novel about Hunters, I quickly identified the monster. It was an A-rank monster, capable of destroying an entire city.
Why would a gate open here…?
Monsters first appeared on Earth twenty years ago using this exact method. Gates and dungeons would emerge through cracks in the air, destroying cities at random. However, humanity quickly adapted and neutralized the threat.
Now, we had a defense system that operated around the clock and S-rank Hunters with 99% predictive abilities intercepting the gates and dungeons. These days, Hunters and soldiers would normally arrive on the scene and keep the situation under control before a gate could even open. However, that wasn’t the case now.
“Kyaaaa! It’s a monster!”
“Aaah! Save me!”
The streets were instantly thrown into chaos. Screams of terror reverberated in the air as people scrambled like ants.
“U-uncle…”
Seong-Yeon’s shaky voice pulled me back to reality. My niece looked pale—she only had me to rely on. Without hesitation, I lifted her and dashed away with all my might.
I had to escape! At least, until the Hunters and soldiers had arrived!
Now completely out of the gate, the Spiky Rhinoceros let out a voracious roar as it went for the fleeing people!
-Roaaar!
Baaaam! Baaaam!
As if bombs were being detonated, I heard loud explosions go off. I couldn’t afford to turn around and face the situation, though. I rushed toward the least crowded area, hoping the monster would chase the fleeing crowd.
Baaaam! Baaaaam!
However, the roars didn’t seem to be moving away from me at all. On the contrary, I could hear it slowly growing louder, making me feel as if I was about to be trampled at any moment.
“Waaaah!”
Despite carrying her in my arms, I didn’t know when I had stopped registering Seong-Yeon’s cries.
Clang!
The front leg of the Spiky Rhinoceros came crashing down from behind, making the ground shake as if another bomb had exploded. The impact sent me tumbling down.
“Waaah!”
I didn’t know how long I rolled on the ground, but I kept my arms around Seong-Yeon the entire time. Considering she no longer moved at all, she seemed to have fainted from the shock. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to check on her.
Huff! Huff!
The monster spewed revolting, pungent breath as its spikes, which jutted out of it like mountain peaks, cast a shadow over us.
All of a sudden, information about the Spiky Rhinoceros appeared before my blurry vision. I seemed to have unconsciously activated my ability.
-----
[Spiky Rhinoceros]
An asexual monster. Around for 400 years.
Special note: Wants to devour the Nameless God to gain divinity.
-----
Chills went down my spine. God-Maker usually referred to me as the “Nameless God.”
It’s not a coincidence? That monster is really after me…?
Driiip!
As if to confirm my suspicion, the maw of the Spiky Rhinoceros opened wide. Sticky saliva dribbled down as a repulsive stench touched my cheeks.
Death.
The realization of inevitable death came to me.
Was this how I’d die? Really? Just like that?
“S-save me! Someone, please save me! Please! Anyone!?”
Where are the Hunters?! The soldiers?!
Hot tears flowed from my eyes. It might be embarrassing coming from a man, but this was a fear that no human could resist.
Amid this crisis, a thought flashed in my mind.
Is this how the ants in God-Maker felt when I was about to kill them?
I stared at the set of hideous teeth and the seemingly bottomless throat that was about to swallow me whole.
Just then, the voice of a little girl reached my ears.
“Un…cle...”
She was crying.
In an instant, I got a hold of myself.
No.
It doesn’t matter if I die here. I can totally see myself writing a third-rate novel that won’t even sell in the foreseeable future.
But Seong-Yeon is still a child. She still has many years ahead of her. And what about my precious family? Dear God, please… If you really do exist, please grant me a miracle.
“Don’t worry. Believe in your uncle.”
I covered Seong-Yeon’s eyes with one hand and raised the other toward the mouth of the Spiky Rhinoceros.
-Graaaaa!
Finally, I stuck out my index finger.
“Crushing Forefinger… of God!”
… Click!
Flash!
Rumble! Baaaam!
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