Chapter 28
Cheonma’s Apartment
Cheonma had completed his move.
There wasn’t much to move in the first place—his belongings consisted only of a few work clothes, shoes, and interior design books.
Moreover, the rooftop already had a sturdy bench and several potted plants, and the penthouse came with essential appliances like a TV, refrigerator, and washing machine.
The only inconvenience was meals.
When he stayed in the store’s storage room, he could freely order whatever he wanted for dinner.
But there was no delivery service that reached this building, right at the edge of the shield boundary.
“Jajangmyeon is the standard for moving day.”
Jang Chaewon, closing the van trunk, looked around and licked her lips.
“The closest place is the convenience store for Awakened only.”
This area, attached to the Safe Dungeon region, had a 24-hour convenience store for Awakened.
It sold not only simple food but also medicines, weapons, and even offered currency exchange for dungeon items.
“It looks like they sell food there too.”
“What they sell there is more like rations than food. It’s tasteless and high in calories. Inside, they also trade in relics and monster by-products, so it smells weird.”
Shaking her head, Jang Chaewon spoke to Mumyung, who was perched on Cheonma’s shoulder.
“Take good care of Cheonma. From now on, there’s a lot you’ll have to teach him.”
[Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything, from using the water purifier to the toilet.]
“Oh, and this too.”
She pulled a small plastic card from her pocket.
It was a check card loaded with Cheonma’s monthly food and transportation expenses.
“This is called a card. You’ve seen one before, right?”
“Isn’t it something the shop owner uses as a method of payment?”
“Exactly. From now on, don’t carry cash—just use this card. Whether it’s the bus, a restaurant, or the convenience store, just present it and it’ll work. Your salary will also be deposited here.”
Jang Chaewon smiled.
“Use it wisely. Only when needed. Mumyung will check the balance for you. If you don’t have the card, Mumyung can also pay for you, so don’t worry.”
Cheonma looked at the card and shook his head.
“I’ve always wondered… how do you put money into this thin thing?”
“Well… if you deposit money in the bank, the bank puts it into the card automatically.”
Cheonma’s expression showed he didn’t understand.
“Then how does the bank manage to put money into such a thin object?”
This guy, who usually just stared blankly when using it, now asked questions the moment it became his turn.
“And how does simply placing this thing make a payment? I don’t get it at all.”
Jang Chaewon licked her lips.
She didn’t know much about banking or card payment systems, and even if she did, she wasn’t confident in explaining it properly.
“Ask the nanobot about that later.”
“Understood.”
Cheonma nodded briskly, and Jang Chaewon waved her hand.
“I’ll be going. Rest well and do your job properly tomorrow. You’ll be taking the bus or subway now.”
“Oh, about the bus…”
Cheonma pointed at the vehicles passing on the street.
“I don’t plan on taking that. I can go to work faster if I use light body technique.”
“No. If you get stopped by the Association or they ask for an Awakened ID, what will you do?”
“You don’t need to worry about flies.”
Jang Chaewon’s expression turned firm.
“Follow the rules of this world as much as possible. If you handle things your own way, you’ll never adapt here.”
“Hmm.”
Cheonma, looking at Jang Chaewon’s earnest expression, reluctantly nodded.
“Understood.”
“Living alone isn’t easy. You’ll need to manage well even without me.”
“Of course.”
But for some reason, Cheonma looked excited.
‘Everyone feels this way when they first live alone. Like they own the whole world.’
Jang Chaewon, guessing at the sense of liberation and happiness Cheonma felt, smiled.
“From today, enjoy living in this world as you like.”
“Hmm.”
At home, Cheonma looked proudly at the books on his shelf.
Not only had the interior design booklets from the store been moved in entirely, but also new ones Jang Chaewon gave him as a housewarming gift.
Taking out a book titled Interior Accessories Made with Simple Materials, Cheonma sat at the large table in his room.
[Cheonma-sama, are you going to read another book?]
“Yes.”
Mumyung, lying in the charging station, spoke softly.
[Why not watch TV instead? There’s a satellite TV here, unlike the storage room.]
“TV, huh.”
Cheonma had seen TV in restaurants before but found it uninteresting, thinking it was full of meaningless chatter.
“I’m not interested. They just talk nonsense.”
[Most of what you saw were news reports of domestic and international events.]
“Hmm?”
[There are various channels and programs. You can enjoy them or get useful information.]
“Information…”
Cheonma perked up, and Mumyung quickly pointed at the black device on the table: the TV remote.
[You can control the TV with this. Do you want me to explain how?]
“Hmm.”
[You can select the channel you want. This is your personal TV—yours alone.]
Personal. Used alone, not shared. After being called the Master of Magic Sky, Cheonma had never shared anything with anyone. From shoes to chopsticks, everything was tailored just for him.
“Mine alone… huh?”
Pleased with the word, Cheonma nodded.
“Then I’ll give it a try.”
[I’ll help you.]
Thanks to Mumyung’s careful guidance, Cheonma grasped the basics of using the remote.
An hour later.
“What kind of bastard…!”
Throwing aside his interior book, Cheonma was absorbed in a TV drama, shouting.
“I will remember that villain’s treacherous face! And soon, I will give him his deserved punishment!”
He didn’t realize it was a melodramatic soap opera that would make even seasoned housewives groan.
[….]
Mumyung watched silently, eyes sparkling with satisfaction.
It was better than Cheonma just reading books or meditating—seeing him get worked up over a drama was enjoyable.
Boom.
At that moment, the building shook slightly, and a distant explosion-like sound echoed.
Bang. Crash. Kiiiii.
Annoyed by the noise, Cheonma frowned.
“Hmm.”
Trying to focus on the TV, Cheonma eventually lost his patience.
“What are you doing in the middle of the night?”
As he leapt out of the penthouse:
Ba-bam-ba-bam.
The TV suddenly switched to a news broadcast, showing an anchor in a neat suit.
Breaking news: Due to mistakes by Awakened in the Safe Dungeon of ●● City, the hidden monster “Gigant Pep” has been released.
It has now entered the shield boundary area. The Awakened Association is urgently gathering senior Awakened…
Cheonma looked over the city.
His eyes, glowing with blood-red brilliance, could see through darkness as clearly as daytime.
“Hmm?”
But he didn’t need to. About 25 meters away, a massive centipede had raised its body.
It was the Gigant Pep, a monster with a threat level of 10,000.
“That’s… a black ogong?”
Having no knowledge of monsters in this world, Cheonma assumed it was just a huge black ogong from martial arts lore.
But he’d never heard of one approaching 25 meters.
Boom! Crash!
Gigant Pep’s long forelegs thrashed above Cheonma’s head, making dull sounds but not crossing over.
“It’s trying to come over.”
Monsters outside dungeons instinctively target humans. Gigant Pep was trying to break the transparent shield of the Safe Dungeon and reach the humans inside.
“Hmph. Judging by its size, it must be at least a thousand years old.”
Cheonma squinted, eyes blazing red.
Every spiritual creature should have an internal core to enhance its energy.
[Gigant Pep: Threat level near 10,000. Simple appearance conditions for a high-value relic, often summoned by first-class Awakened in Safe Dungeons.]
Mumyung climbed onto Cheonma’s shoulder.
[But appearing at the Safe Dungeon entrance suggests inexperienced Awakened overreached. They couldn’t handle it and fled.]
Boom! Crash!
Gigant Pep struck the shield repeatedly with sharp forelegs.
Sparks of blue light flashed from the transparent shield, gradually weakening with each hit.
[So that’s why everyone ran.]
The penthouse, right at the shield boundary, was the best seat to watch monsters trying to enter the city.
The only problem: when the shield breaks, whoever is inside gets eaten first.
Crack. Boom.
A fissure appeared in the shield, and Gigant Pep began pushing its head through the gap.
“How dare you invade my space.”
Cheonma crouched, drawing up his martial energy. Blood-red brilliance erupted from his eyes.
“Today, I will practice my art by defeating you! Cheonma Supreme Technique!”
A red mist rose as Cheonma unleashed his power.
He crouched low, and Mumyung hurried to the floor.
“Fist of Seven Powers…”
Leaping past the shield to the monster’s head, Cheonma shouted.
“Thousand Hands Strike!”
“What… is this?”
The first-class Awakened team from the Dungeon Defense Association rubbed their eyes upon arrival.
Gigant Pep, which had been breaking the shield, lay collapsed with its head destroyed.
“What skill could crush a Gigant Pep’s head?”
Lee Jinhyuk, with a large sword on his back, couldn’t believe the sight.
Its head alone was said to be as strong as titanium alloy. And yet… it was smashed like tofu.
“Captain, the relic is intact.”
Lee Jinhyuk held a glowing orange stone.
Park Myungjun, team leader, nodded knowingly.
“Seems a first-class Awakened team was in this city. Gigant Pep is hard to handle as stolen goods, so they left it.”
Sometimes, skilled Awakened teams enter dungeons without authorization to evade taxes.
“Well, they left the relic, so let’s leave it. They did a good thing.”
After collecting the relic, Park Myungjun shouted to his team:
“Alright, let’s withdraw.”
He sighed while looking at Gigant Pep’s head.
“A team capable of crushing a Gigant Pep’s head in one blow… I wonder who they were.”
Swoosh.
Back in the penthouse, Cheonma was washing his hands covered in yellow fluid.
“How long has it lived for its internal core to harden into stone?”
He cleaned his hands and looked at the mirror, disappointed.
He expected a core that could enhance his energy, but inside the black ogong’s head was a yellow rock.
He bit it with his teeth just in case—it was harder than metal.
Moreover, it lacked the spiritual energy unique to a true internal core.
“A core that doesn’t harden even after 10,000 years… turned to stone. Have these spiritual creatures lived tens of thousands of years?”
Grumbling, Cheonma entered the room.
The TV had switched to a variety show.
“What the… why is this on?”
[The program ended.]
Annoyed, Cheonma turned off the TV and picked up a book.
But the stone core lingered in his mind.
“Internal core…”
Muttering, Cheonma went outside to the bench, sitting cross-legged.
“I’ll just practice energy control then.”
Looking at the distant sky, he closed his eyes.
He remembered countless internal cores from the martial world, soaked in blood and fluid…
“They too are living beings like humans!”
He recalled Jang Chaewon flailing when talking about the Imugi’s core.
“Humph.”
Opening his eyes, Cheonma shook his head.
“I can’t expect internal cores in this world.”
Muttering lowly, he focused his mind and began his energy practice.
No one knew:
Since Cheonma began living in the penthouse, this neighborhood had become so safe it was almost like a personal territory, free from monsters.
