Chapter 4
Tye stopped among the massive trees after walking for another fifteen minutes and thought.
“Uh-oh!”
He had set out to reach Jedo, but no matter how far he walked, he couldn’t see it anywhere.
“Eek… In Jongno-gu, I could reach a huge city just by walking a little.”
It seemed that Jedo in this world was much farther away than he had imagined.
“What should I do….”
Birds chirped above his head as they flew about.
“If only I had wings too, I could just zoom through the air.”
Wait—wings?
“…….”
His eyes sparkled.
Tye quietly turned toward Kkamang-i.
Kkamang-i was leaning against a tree with arms crossed, about five steps away.
“Kkamang, you know…”
“You can’t ride me.”
“Oh… I see…”
Tye’s face immediately fell. He had been secretly hoping he could ride on Kkamang’s back. It was disappointing.
Now that he looked closely, Kkamang’s wings did seem a little small for a legendary Pupetmon.
But Tye didn’t give up and thought of another idea.
“Kkamang, then…”
“I can’t teleport either.”
“Gah… really?”
Tye was shocked.
Kkamang was a legendary Pupetmon. He had even helped Tye cross over from Korea to this world.
Looking troubled, Kkamang added,
“I’ve already pushed my power to the limit. Do you think bringing you here was easy?”
Tye was too surprised to speak.
Now that he noticed, Kkamang’s face did look a bit pale.
“I had to manipulate dimensions to save your dad, and in the middle of that, you fell asleep… and I had to make sure you had a place to rest…”
Kkamang stopped, muttering to himself, “…Why am I even saying all this?”
But then he looked at Tye again, as if it didn’t matter.
“Anyway. I can’t do anything right now.”
Tye pursed his lips.
Suddenly, he felt sorry for Kkamang.
Kkamang was Tye’s benefactor—
He had saved Tye’s dad from almost being lost forever and even brought Tye safely back home.
“…I shouldn’t nag endlessly without being grateful.”
Tye didn’t want to become a burden to Kkamang after already being one to his dad.
He hesitated, then approached Kkamang.
“Kkamang, want me to massage your shoulders?”
Kkamang gave him a strange look.
“What?”
“I learned a ‘good-child massage’ at kindergarten! Top of the Quail class!”
“Don’t need it.”
Tye reached out, but Kkamang quickly stepped back.
Still wearing an uncomfortable expression, he added,
“No need. Even if I had leftover power, I still couldn’t use high-level magic.”
“Huh?”
“High-level magic. Especially ones that leave traces, like teleportation, can easily be tracked.”
At the word “tracked,” Tye went blank.
Whenever he saw “tracking” in newspapers or news, he remembered his dad’s dark expression.
He actually knew why his dad looked that way.
“If you get tracked… you get exiled…”
Exile meant being forced out.
He didn’t know exactly why his dad could be exiled, but the adults had said that if it happened, Tye and his dad could be separated by a great distance.
Tye shook his head fiercely.
Tracking—exile—absolutely could not happen.
He had come this far. He had returned to the place where his dad was still alive.
Tye lifted his head urgently.
“Kkamang!”
He had meant to tell Kkamang not to use magic, but…
“Kkamang?”
The place Kkamang had just been was empty.
Tye dashed forward and saw a black stone lying among the leaves.
Shocked, he picked it up.
Then he opened the kindergarten bag he had brought, anticipating this moment.
“Kkamang…”
Having used so much power, it seemed Kkamang had fallen asleep.
Even Pupetmons return to their Pupetballs to rest when they’re exhausted.
“Don’t worry, Kkamang.”
Tye carefully placed the stone in the inner pocket of the bag and zipped it up completely.
After double-checking, he put the bag on his back.
“Even if it’s tough, I have to go!”
He recalled what the 107th grandmother used to say: “Life is tough, but keep going.”
Tye took firm, courageous steps, unaware of what awaited him.
“Ugh, this tastes awful.”
Basto muttered while crunching on a wild carrot.
He knew it wasn’t the time to be picky, but after three days of eating the same thing, he was starting to get tired of it.
Leaning against a tree trunk, he quietly surveyed the area.
Two hours had passed since he set the trap, but there was no sign of prey.
“Damn monsters.”
This forest had once been full of rabbits, deer, and other wild animals.
The monsters were clearly the reason it was now empty.
“No matter how many mercenaries or imperial soldiers we set against them…”
When one magical stone was attacked, another would appear somewhere else.
The monsters never ran out, no matter how many you killed.
“Ugh.”
Basto spat out the carrot he was eating and stood up.
He twisted his stiff body, making his joints crack.
After brushing aside his overgrown beard, he pulled out a map from his armor with his rough hands.
[Briowood]
He was in a medium-sized forest five days’ journey south of Jedo.
The forest stretched horizontally, almost surrounding Jedo from afar, with three red dots clearly marked on the map.
Basto took some charcoal and drew an X on one of them—the site of a small magical stone he had assaulted last night.
“I almost died yesterday.”
Recalling yesterday’s skirmish, he let out a hollow laugh.
Even a small magical stone could be troublesome—he had been caught off guard by a sudden flying monster.
Sometimes, the dangers of this job made him feel disillusioned.
But…
“…It’s fine.”
Basto shook off the thoughts and strapped on his armor again.
The important thing was that he had survived once more.
Being a wandering mercenary, killing monsters like a murderer, and covering himself in their blood—all of it would end the moment his life did.
“I should dismantle the traps and head back to Jedo.”
Just as he put away the map and started to move,
Ping-
A small, familiar sound pierced his eardrums.
The taut rope of the trap loosened—a signal that something had been caught.
Basto grabbed his weapon, a war hammer, leaning it against a tree, and ran toward the trap.
‘I thought the forest was empty of game.’
A rabbit? A mouse or marten?
A wild boar or deer would be perfect, but even a mouse would do.
Mouse meat wasn’t particularly tasty and hard to debone, but it was edible.
Then suddenly,
“…Hic.”
His hearing picked up another sound from the trap.
It definitely came from the direction of the trap.
He slowed his steps.
‘Sounds like… a human.’
“Hic!”
Basto frowned.
He was right.
The sound coming from the trap was definitely hiccups.
He quietly lowered his posture and quickly made his way through the trees.
If there was someone in a forest with three magical stones, it was likely a mercenary or a knight.
But he couldn’t let his guard down.
If it really were a person caught in the trap, they would have screamed or begged for mercy.
Or they would have cut the net with a weapon and escaped by now.
But there was no cry for help, no scream.
Only hiccups. He had never seen that before.
Finally, Basto reached the trap and quietly peered through the bushes.
The net he had woven hung from a high branch.
He tried to see what was inside—and then froze stiff.
“…Hic.”
Inside the net,
He met vivid green eyes.
Someone was trembling inside, looking at him.
A terrified little child.
