STM 6

What’s this? Miss Petal is still on my back, right? Her arms are still hanging limp in front of me, and the body I’m holding in my hands hasn’t changed either.

Then why can’t I feel her weight? The question came, and the answer followed right away. When I looked up at the air, the spirit was tilting its head and staring at me.

“Did you do this?”

[I can’t lift Petal~ but the Shiny Eye can~ the Shiny Eye blows wind very well~ Hoooo~]

Shiny Eye? I turned my head without thinking and met a huge eyeball floating outside the window.

It was one of the gobies that had harassed me when I first crawled out of the pond. Back then, it had laughed and floated boldly before me, but now it rolled its eyes restlessly, unable to meet mine.

Why’s it acting like that? It’s suspicious for something that obediently helps.

But now wasn’t the time to question it. Maybe spirits got along with each other. I took the chance and ran down the stairs.

I stopped a few times on the way down, afraid someone might see me, but fortunately, everyone seemed to have gone to the shelter, and the building was empty.

The open doors and the scattered furniture showed how desperately everyone had fled.

Thinking about those panicking people made me feel a little sorry that all this happened because of a fake monster.

While I stood there, looking around with a heavy feeling, the spirit spoke urgently.

[Quickly~ quickly quickly~ you must go~~ humans walk too slow~~]

“Yes, just a moment.”

I apologized briefly and ran toward the kitchen I had seen earlier on the first floor.

I needed a weapon to escape.

I didn’t know the roads in this strange world, and now I even had an unconscious companion.

Even if we got out of the resort safely, who knew what dangers would come during the journey?

So I looked around to find anything usable as a weapon, but I couldn’t see one.

Ah, this will do for now.

Fortunately, in front of a wooden shelf, I found a long kitchen knife. It was a bit old, but I wrapped it in a towel and quickly tucked it into my clothes.

The spirit, impatient as ever, started to rush me again.

[Too late~ too late~ humans are too slow~ humans are slower than caterpillars~]

Was being compared to an insect really necessary just because I picked up a weapon? It was unfair, but I still said yes, yes, and left the kitchen.

But even when I ran as hard as I could to ignore its voice, the spirit still wasn’t satisfied.

[Ah, too slow~~ faster~ faster faster~~]

Are you a Korean spirit? That nagging felt strangely familiar.

The problem was Lu’s weak body. I hadn’t even run far, yet my lungs felt like they were tearing apart.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

[More~ more more~ move your legs~ why don’t humans run on four legs~]

If I could, I would’ve run on four legs.

[Ahhh~ can’t even run on four legs~~ worse than a dog~~ ahhh~~]

Are you picking a fight? I wanted to argue, but honestly, my state was pitiful.

Even though I couldn’t feel any weight on my back, my legs still shook. Still, I finally rounded the corner and reached the stable…

“Ugh!”

A strangled scream burst escaped from my mouth. Suddenly, I felt the full weight of the person on my back.

Without warning, really?

I barely stopped myself from falling and looked up at the air.

[Oh dear~ the Shiny Eye ran away~~ the Shiny Eye gets scared so easily~]

Scared? Then why did it torment me so badly last night? Tch.

I wanted to get angry and shout, but the weight made it impossible to open my mouth without groaning. I calmed my breath and gritted my teeth.

“Fine. From now on, I’ll handle this mysel..”

‘Krrrrik”

At that instant, a terrifying screech, like nails scraping iron, echoed inside my ears.

I froze.

It came from inside my body, a sound I couldn’t block even if I covered my ears.

The first time someone heard it, they often vomited or fainted.

And there was only one kind of being that produced this sound.

“Why… a monster?!”

I murmured through clenched teeth, then realized something in an instant.

Wait, no way?!

I looked up at the spirit in disbelief. Did you actually bring a real monster just to ring the bell?! How, in the world, did you do that?!

***

‘Krrrrik’

My first memory of a monster was that same strange sound I’d never heard before.

A gigantic creature shaped like a spider, with eight legs.

The monster’s head was covered with bumps like eyes, but those weren’t eyes.

They were organs that sensed scent and sound instead of sight.

And another thing, these creatures could detect fear.

That’s why they hunted humans who thought they were hiding safely so easily.

The monsters blackened entire cities like swarming insects and reduced everything to ruin.

Anyone who saw them, even once, was ruled by fear.

The real problem was that no ordinary chemical weapon could scratch their armor.

No matter how powerful the bomb, they absorbed the force and released it back.

Like a mirror reflecting light, they neutralized every attack effortlessly.

The only thing that worked against them, ironically, was physical impact.

The first Eye of Hell had opened for only five hours, but the monsters that poured out then weren’t even half destroyed when the second Eye of Hell opened six months later.

“Shit.”

I cursed and started running toward the carriages.

The distance wasn’t even ten meters, but it felt like ten kilometers.

I didn’t know how I made it there. By the time I reached the carriage, my back was bent like the character “ㄱ,” and the feet of the person on my back dragged along the ground.

Still, I barely stretched my hand and grabbed the carriage handle.

Click.

It’s locked, fuck.

My breath stuck at my throat as I pushed again, but the door did not open. I dropped Petal onto the floor without hesitation. I smashed the window with my elbow.

Crash!

Glass shattered everywhere, but I ignored it and thrust my arm through the hole to open the inner latch. Right now, only one thing mattered: shove Petal into the carriage and squeeze out one last surge of strength.

“Ugh… ugh.”

My face burned red as I forced her into the carriage floor. I closed the door, panted, sat on the driver’s bench, and grabbed the reins. Then I told Mo,

‘Tell me how to drive this carriage.’

[Impossible. You must use carriage-control magic to operate.]

‘Impossible? You said Lu barely passed graduation by using that trick, right?’

[Yes. He used an expensive artifact worth as much as several manors to succeed.]

What? Several manors? Lu, you bastard.

I wanted to drag that dead man up from the grave and throttle him. Right now, dragging my own throat felt like too much. I hopped out of the carriage and told the spirit,

“Keep your Petal safe here. I will lure the monster away. If a person comes, block them. If you can’t, call Shiny Eye back and ask for help…”

[I can do it alone~~~!]

Right, you did bring a monster. How you did that stays a later question. For now, I had to remove that monster and get out.

‘Krrrrik’

The monster’s noise stabbed my nerves; it seemed close.

I bent down and stepped out, then I spotted a stake driven into the ground beside the carriage with a rope looped over it. Knife and rope. Fighting looked inevitable. I smiled reluctantly and scanned the area.

‘Mo, combat mode.’

My heart started racing the instant I gave the command. Mo focused all functions on combat data. Three-dimensional lines layered over my vision.

‘Analyze terrain around the pond.’

Useful data poured in within seconds.

[Two pits for cover, two narrow cracks the monster cannot pass, three drops under one meter, one anomaly.]

Mo marked those features as colored dots and lines.

‘Mark forest paths that slow the monster. Did you learn my favored attack?’

[Yes. Two paths suit your attack route.]

A red dashed line blinked and formed a route. Even though this land felt new, I sensed how to use the route and where to lure the monster. The problem remained: this body.