WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Gate Summoner Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 19: Saw the Club. Found a Mine.
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"Chaeryeong noona, let's consider what happened today an accident and pretend it never happened. If you tell anyone else..."
Kang Yul did not continue.
Instead, he silently stared at Kim Chaeryeong with hollow, half-dead eyes.
His gaze carried a threat that was not quite a threat, as though anything she imagined afterward would be surpassed by something even more terrible.
"Of, of course, Yul! Noona can keep a secret, so don't worry! You've heard that dokkaebi don't lie, right? The same goes for noona, their disciple!"
Flustered by the resolve in Kang Yul's eyes, Kim Chaeryeong swore on her master's name.
And so, they ended it by swearing to keep Kang Yul's "club" a secret between the two of them.
"I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"Oh, come on, Yul. Noona told you, I don't lie. If you're that worried, you could just marry noona and form a marital bond..."
"Noona! I'm suddenly really, really curious about what this dokkaebi club can do! I'm seriously so, so curious!!!"
"...Ah, right. We should check that."
Incidentally, the Blacksmith muttered, "Tch, he didn't fall for it..." loud enough for Kang Yul to hear clearly. Still, he gritted his teeth and pretended not to notice.
Perhaps because she had seen him at his worst, it felt like they had grown a little closer.
"Then, Yul, could you open your mouth so noona can look at the roof of it?"
"Like thith?"
(Like this?)
"Yes, stay like that for a moment. I need to examine the engraving and figure out what kind of effect it has."
Kang Yul tilted back his head and opened his mouth wide. Kim Chaeryeong slowly began examining the engraving on the roof of his mouth with an enigmatic look in her eyes.
Then, a moment later.
"My goodness... How can a dokkaebi club like this exist...?"
Kim Chaeryeong let out an exclamation and began murmuring as though lost in a world of her own.
"Master's dokkaebi clubs should be made from Korean pepper tree wood, but this engraving... Could it be Jet? But it shouldn't be possible to completely replace the material after the foundation has already been built... How in the world was it completed...?"
...For some time afterward, Kim Chaeryeong continued muttering things Kang Yul could not understand.
By now, he was somewhat used to seeing her like this, so he quietly waited with his mouth open.
Then, suddenly.
"...Haah, seriously. Why does our Yul keep tempting noona?"
"Eh?"
Kim Chaeryeong started saying something incomprehensible, then stopped looking inside Kang Yul's mouth and began looking him over instead.
She continued with a greedy gaze, like someone looking at a treasure chest overflowing with treasures.
"You show noona a dokkaebi club this amazing? Yul, that's flirting."
"Ee?"
(Me?)
Kang Yul stared at Kim Chaeryeong with an incredulous expression.
"Yes. Even that pure, innocent look on your face makes noona unable to stand it. You're lucky noona thinks of you as a younger brother. If you'd fallen into the hands of other greedy women, you wouldn't even have your bones left by now."
But even that reaction of his was apparently flirting.
Kang Yul wondered, 'Is she actually insane?' when she told him he should be glad he had met her first. But after thinking about it for a moment, he accepted that she might not be entirely wrong.
If someone else discovered his Gate Summon ability, a truly hopeless and horrible future would await him.
But if Chaeryeong noona found out...
'...Well, this would be just as horrible, but horrible in a slightly different direction.'
He might get [CENSORED] by a predatory noona every night, but at least he would still be able to live like a person.
Anyway.
"Yul, you can close your mouth now. I've finished analyzing the engraving."
"Ugh, I was only holding my mouth open, but that wasn't easy."
"You're thirsty, right? Drink some water first."
"Thank you."
As he drank the water she handed him and moistened his dry mouth and throat, Kim Chaeryeong continued explaining the dokkaebi club based on what she had learned from the engraving.
"First, as far as noona can tell, your dokkaebi club's ability is Ingestion."
"Ingestion?"
"Yes. When you eat something, you can summon a Jet dokkaebi club in the exact same shape as that thing."
"Hmm... Really...?"
Kang Yul fell into thought with an unconvinced expression.
Hadn't he heard through a text message that a dokkaebi club gained the ability its user needed?
So he had been expecting a dokkaebi club with mineral detection or insanely good mining capabilities once he obtained it...
"...It feels a little underwhelming."
A Jet dokkaebi club that took the form of whatever he ate. Honestly, he was a little disappointed.
It was also strange that Kang Yul himself had wanted such an ability.
"Wasn't it the ability you wanted, Yul?"
"Not really. I was more interested in mining or mineral detection than an ability that turns into things I've eaten."
"Really? That's strange. Master's dokkaebi clubs are supposed to gain the ability their user wants... Did something change during the completion process?"
"Has that ever happened before?"
"It hasn't, so I don't know. I've met several dokkaebi, but I've never seen one who makes dokkaebi clubs besides Master. That's why I was so surprised when you said you'd completed one."
"That's why you reacted that way... Ah?"
Wait a moment. The Worm had completed the dokkaebi club. What if that had affected it somehow?
'Then it isn't so strange that it gained an Ingestion ability.'
The Worm's main interest was eating delicious dirt.
It ate dirt when it was hungry, slept when it was full, and occasionally wiggled and danced on Kang Yul's palm. That was its entire daily routine.
If the creator's intention, the Worm's intention, had been imbued in the dokkaebi club...
"...Noona. I'll just use this club."
"Hm? All of a sudden?"
"Yes. Now that I think about it, it seems pretty useful even as it is."
"If you really didn't like it, I was going to have Master modify it when he comes back..."
"It's okay. I like it the way it is now."
Hadn't the Worm worked hard to make this dokkaebi club for him?
If possible, he did not want anyone else's hands touching it.
Besides, Kang Yul was someone who chewed and ate dirt and coal. If he tried hard enough, he could surely find a use for it.
'I've been overworking my rock drill lately, and it's in pretty bad shape. Should I buy an expensive one, eat it, then turn it into a dokkaebi club?'
For a moment, he pondered the best way to make practical use of the precious gift the Worm had given him, so that it could proudly say, "The gift I gave you is awesome, right?"
"Still, noona can't just watch our Yul remain disappointed like this. Yul, wait here a moment."
"Huh? Where are you going all of a sudden?"
"Noona will give you something good, so just wait quietly."
"Mom said I shouldn't trust an older sister who gives me something good for no reason..."
"You don't have a mom, Yul. You said you grew up in an orphanage."
"Ah."
Right, I don't have a mom?
Ever since last time, he had this strange feeling that he had somehow gotten a mother. It felt a little odd.
'That doesn't mean it's entirely bad, though...?'
Anyway, as Kang Yul wondered, 'Am I drained of energy or something...? I should eat something healthy,' Kim Chaeryeong soon returned and handed him a large hard case.
"Here, take it, Yul. It's a gift noona made herself."
"What is it?"
"It won't be fun if noona tells you first. Open it and see."
"...?"
Kang Yul looked at Kim Chaeryeong curiously, but he did not stop himself from undoing the hard case's latch.
His beggar instincts, honed by life at the orphanage, did not refuse something freely offered. He was also curious about what could be inside.
Then.
Click!
Inside the hard case, its lock released with a pleasant sound...
'...A pickaxe?'
It was a rough-looking pickaxe, yet one that gave off a strange aura.
It gave off such a strange aura that Kang Yul picked it up as though possessed.
'It's light.'
That was his first thought upon picking it up.
It was at least twice the size of the mining pickaxe he had at home, yet he could barely feel its weight.
To exaggerate slightly, it was lighter than the pink one-kilogram dumbbell he had once bought to start exercising.
'And it fits my hand perfectly.'
That was his second thought.
It fit snugly in his hand like a pickaxe custom-made for Kang Yul. It felt so good that he even experienced a slight orgasmic thrill.
Again, to exaggerate slightly, it felt like he had become a hero drawing a legendary sword.
'What... What is this pickaxe...?'
Kang Yul could not take his eyes off this perfect pickaxe.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say he had fallen in love at first sight.
The moment he held it, his desire to mine surged past MAX and beyond.
If this had been his house rather than the workshop, he would have summoned a Gate and started mining immediately.
So.
Inhale!
Exhale!
Kang Yul took one deep breath in, then slowly let it out to cool his overheated head.
Only when he felt a little reason return did he finally ask Kim Chaeryeong.
"You said you made this pickaxe yourself, noona...?"
"That's right. Remember when you came last time? I made it after hearing you mine."
"Two weeks ago?"
"Yes. Noona wanted to get close to you somehow back then. So I gathered the energy you left behind and made that pickaxe..."
Kim Chaeryeong glanced at Kang Yul, then grinned.
"Well? It looks like you like it."
"...Is it that obvious?"
"It's hard not to notice when you react like a child receiving their first toy."
"..."
Kang Yul had not looked in a mirror, but he instinctively knew his face had turned red.
He wanted to crawl into a hole and hide immediately, but unfortunately, there was nowhere to hide here.
"Don't be so embarrassed. Everyone who sees something noona made for the first time acts like you do. It's not as though noona is merely good at what she does."
"...You're obnoxious, but cool."
"Was that an insult or a compliment?"
"The highest compliment."
"I see...?"
At that moment, Kim Chaeryeong murmured, "Hmm...? No matter how I look at it, that sounded like an insult..." But Kang Yul sincerely thought she was cool.
Being able to boast about one's work so confidently also required ability.
It was not something just anyone could do.
'If I'd seen that side of her when we first met, I might have fallen for her by now...?'
Of course, with all the karma she had built up, that would never happen now.
Still, this was this and that was that. Kang Yul sincerely thanked her.
"Thank you, Chaeryeong noona. I'll really treasure this."
"Yul. Noona keeps telling you that every one of those pure, innocent expressions is flirting that drives noona crazy..."
"Noona, can I go home now?"
"...It's not really noona's place to say this, but isn't it a little cold to take the gift and immediately leave?"
"I know. But I can't hold back anymore."
"W-what can't you hold back...?"
"Obviously...!"
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Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Rumble...!
"Bwahahaha! Worm, did you see that? The coal is mining like tofu!"
Wiggle!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep affection for you!
: It thinks it is happy to see you happy!
"With this pickaxe, finding a new vein is only a matter of time!"
Wiggle!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It thinks it is happy at the thought of eating delicious dirt!
"Don't worry. I'll let you eat until your stomach bursts! I'll definitely find a vein by the end of this week!"
Wiggle!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep affection for you!
Unable to overcome his desire to mine immediately, Kang Yul ran out of the workshop and headed home.
Watching his retreating back, Kim Chaeryeong thought.
'Right. You can't fill up on the first bite. But...'
Kim Chaeryeong was certain.
Once Kang Yul had tasted the pickaxe she made, it would only be a matter of time before he was wrapped around her finger.
Of course, Kim Chaeryeong's thoughts were merely a fantasy, because she did not know that...
Crack!
Crack!
Wiggle!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It says delicious dirt smells are coming from this direction.
: It thinks it wants to eat delicious dirt.
"What? Over there?!"
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Clang!
"Worm... That sound and shine, could it be...?"
Wiggle!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It thinks it is delicious dirt!
"G-ginseng... No, I found a vein!"
...Kang Yul had discovered an iron vein for the first time inside a Gate, and Kim Chaeryeong would become its slave.
Footnotes:
Kang Yul begins with the traditional Korean cry for finding wild ginseng, then corrects himself to say he found an ore vein.
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