TRPM 160

chapter 160

I lowered my weapon as I watched the intruders rush toward Jin Cheon-ha.

There was no hostility coming from them, and Jin Cheon-ha recognized them as well.

“Young master…! I heard you were injured…!”

“Check his abdomen! They said there’s a bruise on his stomach!”

Lee Ha-eun seemed to sense that the situation wasn’t as bad as expected, so she also put away her staff.

…Anyway, was the reason they rushed into this dungeon because Jin Cheon-ha got hurt? I had no idea how they even knew whether he was injured inside the dungeon while still outside it.

‘That Jin Cheon-ha… comes from a pretty well-off family, huh?’

Even as someone who was his friend before my regression, I had no idea. After graduating from the academy, he was doing work similar to a laborer—hardly the kind of background you’d associate with wealth.

Come to think of it, I didn’t even know why he always wore hanbok. I might not have known much about him at all.

‘Now that I think about it, the fact that Jin Cheon-ha wears hanbok instead of a uniform and why he was assigned to Class 0… it might all be because of his family.’

Wearing hanbok and being obsessed with Taoist arts could have been reasons for his placement in Class 0 as well.

Anyway.

Those who appeared to be Jin Cheon-ha’s aides quickly tended to his injuries. There were some quite skilled mages among them, so it didn’t take long.

“…But Geon-woo.”

“Hmm?”

“You said you wanted to make sure Cheon-ha didn’t become arrogant. But is it okay to just let this happen?”

“No.”

Still, this went against my plan of letting Jin Cheon-ha lose to goblins just enough so that he wouldn’t become arrogant.

‘Maybe his aides’ overprotectiveness influenced why Jin Cheon-ha doesn’t understand his own limits.’

It wasn’t a severe injury—just a bruise… a minor injury. People fuss over such a small thing, yet has he ever really felt in danger?

“No, I’m really fine!”

Whether he found the aides’ overprotection annoying or understood that it wasn’t helping him grow, Jin Cheon-ha tried to keep them at a distance.

“But…! What if young master gets seriously hurt…!”

“With my magic, I can’t heal serious injuries, only minor ones!”

Of course, the aides didn’t seem willing to back off. Maybe they felt responsible if Jin Cheon-ha got hurt, or perhaps they genuinely cared for him.

“Geon-woo, what should we do?”

“Well… how about we sit back and eat popcorn until it’s all over?”

“Do you have cola too?”

“Yes.”

I pulled out popcorn and cola from the pocket dimension and started eating comfortably.

Woof!

“Love, you eat too!”

Woof!

Lee Ha-eun had even summoned her familiar, Love, and was feeding it popcorn.

‘…Is it okay to feed popcorn to a dog?’

I’ve never raised a dog before, so I wasn’t sure. Well, even if it’s a problem, Love isn’t really a normal dog, so it probably doesn’t matter.

“We’ll handle the dungeon now! You stay back, young master….”

“I need to get stronger! I have to clear the dungeon on my own for it to mean anything!”

“What if you get badly hurt! Even if it’s just a goblin dungeon, anything could happen…!”

“Why would you come to a dungeon with only three people!”

For some reason, Jin Cheon-ha wanted to tackle the dungeon on his own, while his aides tried in every way to keep him away from combat.

‘…Typical story.’

I could guess. Whoever hired those aides—probably Jin Cheon-ha’s guardian—didn’t want him to take dangerous awakening tasks.

‘There are more guardians with that kind of thinking than you’d expect.’

Even my mother feels that way.

[It’s fine that our son is strong, but still, he’s grabbing blades with his bare hands? And throwing knives? Such dangerous acts…]

[To a non-awakened parent, every action of their awakening child would look dangerous and unfamiliar.]

To civilians, an awakened person fighting looks extremely perilous. So, parents with awakened children naturally want them to stay safe. Even if awakened children must attend special schools due to the law, guardians wish they wouldn’t take the path of dungeon-raiding awakened ones if possible.

“At least fight in front of us!”

“We’ll act as your shield….”

“I said I’ll fight with my own strength!”

Watching Jin Cheon-ha and his aides argue, I realized I had eaten all the popcorn I’d pulled from the pocket dimension.

‘Hmm… maybe it’s time to intervene in that fight.’

I stood up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Check the time.”

“…It’s already eight.”

Lee Ha-eun pulled out her smartphone and got up as well. It was getting late.

‘If we move efficiently now, we can get home before ten.’

Of course, if I really wanted to clear the dungeon, I could finish it instantly.

Clap!

“Hey, shall we get moving?”

I clapped my hands, and Jin Cheon-ha and his aides all turned to look at me.

“Even if you’re the young master’s friend, outsiders stay out!”

“You should leave the dungeon to us even now….”

“……”

For some reason, Jin Cheon-ha’s aides ignored me.

Hmm…

‘It’s been a long time since anyone ignored me like this.’

Don’t they know? Aren’t there an Aura Master and Archmage in Jin Cheon-ha’s class? They didn’t even check?

Well, it was refreshing, at least, to get such a reaction after a long time.

‘Refreshing is refreshing… but…’

Unpleasant is still unpleasant.

So I swung my hand forcefully.

Boom…!

The dungeon shook.

“……”

“……”

The quicker-witted aides looked at me in terror. They realized the quake was caused by me. Some, however, didn’t notice.

“Ah?! What… what is this!”

“Wasn’t this a goblin dungeon?!”

The less perceptive ones were just startled by the sudden quake. Fair enough if they didn’t realize I caused it. But…

“It’ll be fine.”

“It’s just a goblin dungeon anyway….”

“By the way, young master, please listen to us….”

These awakened aides seemed somewhat incompetent. Especially the ones who kept making noise—it was a problem. If this dungeon had more than a few goblins, all the nearby monsters would have been drawn here.

“…Haa….”

I exhaled and glared silently at Jin Cheon-ha’s aides.

“You there! Fight with us… geez…!”

“Quiet…!”

“Pay attention!”

Fortunately, the quicker-witted ones shut the noisy ones up, but it still took twenty seconds for complete silence.

“…Phew.”

I sighed and looked at Jin Cheon-ha.

“If you’re going to clear the dungeon, hurry. I want to get home soon.”

“Ah, understood!”

Jin Cheon-ha nodded quickly and headed toward the dungeon’s center. His aides tried to stop him, but…

“……”

“Ugh….”

When I glared at them, they immediately shut their mouths.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

Having subdued Jin Cheon-ha’s aides, I followed him with Lee Ha-eun. Of course, the aides quietly followed behind us.

Jin Cheon-ha was happy.

His friend, Han Geon-woo, had taken his side.

‘Geon-woo is an Aura Master! If he’s on my side, that must mean I have talent as an awakener!’

And he misinterpreted Geon-woo’s intentions.

“Fighting goblins was clumsy at first, but now I can do it easily…!”

Among all the monsters in the world, goblins are considered some of the weakest. Thinking so, Jin Cheon-ha gradually gained confidence.

When he encountered the second goblin, unlike the first fight, he avoided taking any hits.

“Hmm…! Goblins are easy!”

“……”

Han Geon-woo watched him coldly from behind, displeased, but Jin Cheon-ha didn’t notice and continued deeper into the dungeon.

He easily defeated all the goblins he met inside.

“Leave the boss to me!”

Full of confidence, he shouted as he entered the boss’s chamber.

Then…

Wham…!

‘…Huh?’

He got hit in the face by a goblin’s club.

“Young master…!”

“Treat him immediately… ugh?!”

Jin Cheon-ha was in pain but quickly assessed the situation.

‘…They’re no different from the other goblins…?’

There were only three goblins in the boss room. Two were the same as before, and the third was a goblin shaman. He was confident of victory.

But…

Whack!

“Ugh?!”

This time, the goblin club struck his shoulder. Jin Cheon-ha felt it break.

‘Why…?’

They were no different from the earlier goblins. So why am I getting beaten like this? And…

‘The shaman and the other goblin aren’t even doing anything….’

Only one goblin charged at him. The other two stayed put, likely wary of the others behind him. Yet he was getting beaten relentlessly.

Whack!

Whack!

“Ugh…?”

Just by a goblin. Jin Cheon-ha couldn’t understand it.

“Eeek?!”

The goblin, suddenly sensing something, stepped back fearfully.

“Uh….”

“The goblin just now isn’t that different from the ones you’ve killed before.”

Strength, speed—same. But one thing was different.

“That one’s smart.”

Unlike the ones who charged recklessly, it could judge whether to attack or dodge.

“……”

Han Geon-woo said this coldly, watching Jin Cheon-ha. Jin Cheon-ha felt swallowed by his gaze.

“Want me to make it simple? Jin Cheon-ha… you just lost a mental game with a goblin.”

To a mere goblin.

“And if you can’t even handle a goblin….”

You can’t hold your own as an awakener. At best, you’d serve as a laborer.

“…Me… a laborer…?”

“Yes. A laborer.”

Jin Cheon-ha muttered in disbelief, and Han Geon-woo delivered a crushing truth.

“You lack the talent to succeed as an awakener.”

So forget the hanbok, forget the Taoist concept.