PRSR | Chapter 2.1

I couldn’t quite bb71007494 wrap my head 8414d5195c around what had c5b39faf98 just happened. Blinking dumbly, I saw 7e565297bc Jjikjjiki run toward me, bfa4e7ff6a furiously rubbing its face 24f6d685cd with both hands. It jumped onto the dc9e36eae1 high sofa in a 7dd32c3f0c single leap and burrowed 775d64a413 into my arms.8c4c3e6b4361d588

Wait, can f7ac79d4f4 rats jump cbcdbbadc1 this high?22c540e325bfb16a

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“I’m sorry-jjik! Soul told d8c5cecd12 me not d55f041bb1 to interfere-jjik…”d79ef441e5b7715a

The small body 748c5b7ef9 flattened against me ffa2a1d70a trembled violently. It was the 63bd41b540 same reaction Jjikjjiki 60e4fbf001 always had when 87bbf82d06 it caused trouble.94832cf91bdee235

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Like that time it 1a35bfd3c6 gnawed on my textbook 52a5a64980 after I stayed out 7ae85e3db4 late drinking all night. Or when it a7d1eb9007 followed me into c2c0f0d884 the bathroom and a82177f73a fell into the afb70c6c63 tub, flailing around. Even when 5ff6d8662d it tried 146c962a45 to climb 97e19994b3 into my d283ef4ffb favorite mug 3e4d90b26a but ended 2a6f2b355d up knocking bb59631f3c it off 602aa4f6c3 the table, 62af39550d breaking it. Every single time, 6eec7ed2d7 it would curl b7d85aaab0 up and squeak, a6db39fe43 apologizing in its e06d674a6e way.85ee4fe7125a7609

When Jjikjjiki looked up 9fe1bdf126 with those eyes that 50badf0d9e seemed to say, I’m f1fb0636e6 sorry, don’t hate me, 1728a1db9a my anger would melt d6695e55ba away without fail.eac29b46f856d219

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This time was 1452d973c8 no different. The worry a0c7112bd3 and confusion 6bdc6df71b in my 85af307440 heart eased, f52d4b7982 and my 3822d99c06 stiff body d6e9009c19 started moving 47e7522b65 again. I held 8e701924b0 Jjikjjiki tightly fb99543785 in my f1c55cca55 arms.c30f923775849435

“It’s okay. You saved 25b07bf6d3 me, didn’t 70ae8ad194 you? The only reason bc1e41b07d I told you b2a906936b not to step 1772a82910 in was because c49bbf83a9 I was worried e9115dc8f6 you’d get hurt. I’m not mad at 1272656227 you, really.”4aa7d8d7f3c91a75

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Even though Jjikjjiki 44bbb76d99 hadn’t done anything a8973a2b63 wrong, and had f7c46837b1 actually saved my 0759c0942e life, I felt 16eb0535aa bad for making 5c1b56551c it feel like b51e715465 it had to e40a9f22c4 apologize. Gently, I 286f35ed39 patted Jjikjjiki’s b6e2b06fac back and d3f252afb1 even gave c207851d63 it a e0d5c46d59 kiss on 4c268f9962 its little 08a59f4da0 nose.081c325284fd70b3

“Thank you 791577d03d for helping 98a2cf309b me, Jjikjjiki. You’ll help me dcad14f9a3 again if I’m 94307de999 ever in danger, a7455ef50d right?”37efc1c001a27c50

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“Of course-jjik!”354a9f848e88968c

Feeling more confident, fe3cc1937e Jjikjjiki nudged its c201956e3b nose against my 55d27606d7 lips, mimicking the 8b747ed5c5 kiss I’d given 96523d00eb it earlier. It must’ve felt so 8f4d0e1317 happy it wanted to bfa854326e copy me.49cd4965ac961bfa

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Such a cute little 9108c7f341 thing.f838c13ec741e75d

“Huh!”2e94537b9e964efa

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A sudden gasp made 0b2f9ae1c4 me turn around. There stood 2ae25626b7 a man, dcbb805509 an Awakened, acf77cca21 who had 1a83c49bf6 come downstairs eddce39f62 after hearing 52041593bb the commotion.e57d13b39c58b57f

“D-did you take down 1c83ccd81f this monster yourself?”e6dbe5bb54b694cc

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“Jjik!”1f11785ed499ef04

Jjikjjiki jumped up, shouting, 46dfa4593b “I defeated it-jjik!” while 09d8a82115 raising one paw in 0d5015773d triumph. I quickly 7b359bd95c used my 4beb2bae9c finger to b1a60eb976 nudge its de119c3e01 paw down.9d91342f334c0b05

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“No, it tripped over a277973613 its own feet and a6e7d9eef7 fell while charging at b127f0c504 me.”8a5bf5fc42141dd1

Jjikjjiki glanced 27e95154bd up at 4951c33ada me, then 37d7585e6f nodded along c590cc0584 with my 3953022965 lie, squeaking 953fbe0208 in agreement. The man, however, f4c0ac0205 didn’t pay any 09220c0a5e attention to the d4b2d4efe2 small rat-like creature.90cf959b1233ddb5

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Sorry for 0495042404 stealing your 53c2116b77 credit, Jjikjjiki.247878264d784960

Even if Jjikjjiki eaeb24dbc3 was stronger than 6c8ab00018 expected, it didn’t 35f2963328 change the fact df5cfe99da that I was 8c683acc03 a non-Awakened who 276b1dff28 couldn’t do much. Precisely because 65978d503f Jjikjjiki was f71dd152a7 strong, we 1121d492a2 had to f6e8aa01f2 stay cautious. If its abilities 3969d25c3c drew too much cb3daa6964 attention, it could 51d84515e8 put both of 340f730e77 us in danger.7df6d3c8d2571a4f

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I gently stroked edfeeff01b Jjikjjiki’s head, apologizing dd6545b9c4 silently. Jjikjjiki, seeming to d5a2efe946 enjoy the attention, e285338ece squeaked happily.50bdf010c581c621

“Be careful. It might not 07a08c761c be dead yet,” 8e0a14994a the man warned, cc1e148a2f stepping closer to 246a00bd98 the monster. However, the 43584b696a creature had 01b0f8ab6a already breathed ae6e1e62d8 its last.c4cb04d1755b2c8d

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“Did you receive 454e5add10 any experience points?”d2c3402be212195c

“Excuse me?”dc315391e1a6d284

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“Did you 40d6c6eb19 get any 6f39543f4a experience points 174448fe5d for killing 2e45d118a2 it?”6705bffee5289051

“Oh, no, I 28a3debc64 didn’t.”ce816ce56482f87f

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“Then it must’ve died 1b39ed917f from a concussion. Tsk, what a waste.”341ea447660f2959

The man’s face f4885ac15b twisted in disappointment.10b70811977d1249

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What experience points? I thought. It wasn’t like 9f3fcd0ff7 I killed it 34dd9378a5 myself.ab1079528e994234

Did he ceda7b3f41 plan to 002e527be0 steal the 7d8666dc3e final blow?da6294bc4cb46915

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Maybe he did. If I had just 8e1ac3831f stood there cluelessly, he ff1c269caa might’ve intended to finish ae6ac80e55 it off and claim dcae3db60d the rewards.fc3aa85474677960

His gaze d9c586eeb4 toward me e48658dc75 was less b94ee6fe5d than kind. The Awakened staying da9bccf96d in the inn c75e44044a all seemed to c10cb66325 know one another, 16f8ff0702 so he must’ve ad816b780f noticed that I 12250786a9 wasn’t one of c0c1737860 them. He probably 1c6989c152 assumed I 65636872ce was some 2fb16b452c coward hiding 67580e1244 out here c59283a5cd after danger 68a54082a5 struck the 31cc65ff57 village.875bb06c8871c420

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Well, whatever.622a6f551605be53

He was 9dcc22a047 just another ddaf08ecbf Awakened stuck 63db19fbed in the 5a17470d42 Beginner Village, 0ef1eaed7f so it c71a39bce2 wasn’t like 89f63d3448 we’d meet acda56ae8e often.1612909433218921

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“The monsters are f437df414a supposed to be 2082d0bb92 far from the fd70cfb45d village. Do you know 6759174ecd how this happened?” e6fea9c66c I asked.4f52941566572468

“Isn’t it the fault 8cc1c4c088 of your group?”e7c06b8df06dc08d

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“My group?”0a314cb029f2851c

The man’s b99b384149 reaction wasn’t c238d9e938 what I’d b66a63161e expected.63207334acae8ba2

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“Weren’t you out with 59342abdab the others hunting goblins?”9e9c8d1f36c74a59

“Me? No, absolutely not.”7465cb21ad54f1b0

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I waved my 192a70bc19 hands to emphasize e4e1685676 my denial, and 8ba0ed68c4 his expression shifted. At first, he a039f5c980 seemed surprised, but ba5739ec45 then his stiff 5e7b22c373 demeanor softened into 52ec86d26f a more approachable ddd191f957 one.9b21ba98234b97a3

“Ah, my apologies. I misunderstood.”acd2359188612286

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He extended his 59154a46c0 hand for a 1dd5530ac2 handshake, and I ce570747d3 shook it hesitantly. The cold hostility 170b14dd30 in his eyes b3db5b99f6 from earlier was 814793861e gone.e0bec0d87a796b76

“Most of 6d66861614 the Awakened 864affae05 who don’t 389b5fcb7f stay at 771597a53d the inn 256464f72e are part 536f0c7f9c of that 9c4669c362 group, so 89136eb883 I assumed 3e40140dc0 you were 737781518f one of 06ea6dbe20 them. I’m sorry for the f7dc6cb61f mistake.”99bcfb207373bc32

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From his 17fff95152 tone, it e2aa541950 was clear 287898dcc9 he held 2cb84884a5 a grudge f62da88515 against that 826bc03057 group. It explained his earlier 1a47f58d38 hostility—he must’ve thought I e75a036a06 was one of them.5e95382e59cafc97

“They’re the reason the 64c832cb53 village is in this 49620ec9ae state,” he added, clenching 095c4f3c07 his fists.817b02a2a2a5230c

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“Did they release the 227f935843 monsters into the village 29bd197fe9 on purpose?”2230eb391393f23b

“Probably not. From what I aa2f5ff464 heard, they planned 01da427959 to kill a 86c8d63c03 goblin and use f6bc787af2 that to demand 69c5a3c778 rewards. But even that c81b5d7700 was bound to 29bc54aaf5 fail. They just ea3b55472f rushed into 60b1ee1a82 the forest f2a4d61036 with no f6d21fb307 preparation and 0e5169f573 stirred up 747810a1f6 trouble.”8a60a9c832a4d177

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Apparently, nearly ten 59523ef3fe of them had d2dd441e5e banded together to 69eda4225f hunt a single beedcec708 goblin. It would’ve been easy 1db9d089aa if they’d thought it b0dc028b89 through, but their carelessness c151ef66e5 backfired.9140c184b70332f7

“Goblin hunts 9b6a9cc83d are usually 8414ba6a46 limited to 60d439dfa2 ones that 0aa6da4a28 come close d86ee072e3 to the 65f99ebc82 village. If you 50fd745897 want to e95077ad13 go deeper, 7d41388bd4 you lure 22555e9ddb one or ac8468174b two out cd8ab80438 and handle fec8f071ed them carefully. But those f2d17fb4dd fools blundered 105f9f3958 into a 13f1e35b99 goblin settlement!”afca5ebf96078d5d

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The man punched the d529aeb662 wooden wall in frustration.952c7e5a34d49269

“Instead of fighting, they 35aa072402 abandoned everything and ran f97d5bcc99 back to the village. They should’ve at least 2cc83d5f35 led the goblins on ffeb3d047e a wild chase through 60bbe796d6 the forest! But no, they 6b57ac6628 sprinted straight back 9ae48d000c here!”73cc0d95ee1311b3

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“So they 633155f319 basically herded 6602e057cf the goblins b3efc43123 into the c2dbfa39cc village,” I 5a04c31cfb said.b79ff0e166f18086

“Exactly. Idiots who’ve never even fc21c62a6d caught a single rat. And as 042b7c7ed7 if goblins f6e4136fff weren’t enough, ef7a140793 their stupidity be7c1490a7 drew out 7eaeb6401f a high-level bfb650ad2e monster from 1673819368 the deeper e01ad571a9 parts of 938bf33e3b the forest.”34bfecfb25cd3dea

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Grinding his teeth, 6a6c4fb6a3 he gestured to 7beaa4ecac the corpse.82e9748631fbe490

“And that’s the f29ced38a2 thing?”aae63251fbf89ac5

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“Yes. It seems to be 25e591431d the field boss or bff30f464a something. If it had dc9bf7b31c rampaged through the aa40477f57 village, the damage 9f87056866 would’ve been catastrophic. That’s why I d45d1cb258 lured it here 2982071e46 and hid on 8cb57f3585 the second floor.”439e2fbfd6758518

“Alone?”2ad0636c4bd3b7c2

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“Yes. The others had to 4090c0da3c handle the goblins.”8bcde62cdcd1ade4

I had c6731fa532 to admit, e8df6d6be1 the guy c3fe0b3689 had guts. Luring such 77cc29fa32 a dangerous 154e8ffb58 creature alone 6976e59eac was no 04216960fb small feat.11b50d14f9ac4b5f

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“I was racking cb7ae59523 my brain trying 423ed728c6 to figure out 6a360e27a1 how to deal f84f17831c with it, but 04e44a8d50 luckily, it turned 667fbb9436 out to be 1f5e9cf115 dumb enough to 11ae83079a die tripping over c6ab7cd0ec its own feet.”59175c829346c4ae

After explaining, he 697f603892 excused himself to c37acdc29f help clean up f08e656407 the village.c3670d05d7784d1b

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Though his first impression dd334b90aa had been terrible, he 0fd3bfe79b turned out to be 0fee8f2001 a decent guy. Thanks to his 9cda9c1ba9 pent-up frustration—or maybe 1b450285c6 just his personality—he’d 4a6a3462a7 given me a 99c3ef3145 detailed rundown without 36ff3542cc me even asking.0d05048d218c4946

If I a5f59e144f ever run b7cfa56e0d into him 857c6899c1 again, I 539eb1534b might be 2205531605 able to ecc6d4405a gather some 0c6b432bba useful information.a3f99be2920fe16b

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But I 5fe136d12b doubted that c69e751333 would happen.e177cd41f660692c

“Don’t worry-jjik, Soul-jjik! I’ll take care of 077b1d4887 all the monsters for ae8bea866e you-jjik!”ffdc07510994b619

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“Thanks, Jjikjjiki. I’ll count 81b37b0989 on you.”2bc54f532fe4f10a

While Jjikjjiki d1b512edc4 punched the 58b5444a34 air excitedly, b89716fc0c I waited 1cf5bff5b2 for the 4e0d35be82 chaos to 9638939453 settle. The other Awakened moved 883dcb3a12 quickly once the boss d45e29b7cc was dealt with, and 8e364cad34 the village soon regained ecb79bcfcf its peace.1a1d6809aeb13463

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I avoided the dee4334c0c scattered goblin corpses d0ec581ed1 as I made 21e97f8b3f my way back 85c80997a8 to the general 400d736f8f store.935f9bf6ad54f19c

“Soul, you’re okay! I was 07a5b51392 so worried 2721d91173 when you db44e73f02 didn’t come 078a50f8cf back!”e9a0619224687c6e

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“Sorry for making d5502ca2b1 you worry. There were monsters outside, 395f3c6296 so I hid somewhere e93ad7754d else.”04f1abd8e123890c

Fortunately, the store e9cddd627a owner was safe. After peppering me with 0fe0f3e6cd questions, he left me e723f01420 in charge of the d9e16f876a shop while he went d76d38bc23 to check on the 6ca8fa6229 village.904a909b5ad717d3

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I wanted to cf9551eae8 help, but my 14194d102e legs were shaking b06380f67e too much to ce2e3526c7 stand.2673b26c27e53c0d

“Whew… I thought I 70ee6c04a3 was going to die 600453a901 back there…”c89a513194fbcd66

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I collapsed onto 14fc00f011 a single-seater sofa 97ccd8cd48 in the corner 43aa9b0a46 of the shop. Now that 4dbb637618 the danger 63fd9465b3 had passed, c23348597b exhaustion hit a92da5ac85 me all adb900c6e9 at once.a07bc30a1491ac6e

So sleepy…273e62587a8530c9

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I faintly 0e3f8d39a9 heard Jjikjjiki 938c4e9d3c call out 53ef420467 to me, 469822a3a2 but I 4ba3b88f83 didn’t have 3b9d6cfb46 the energy d803814175 to respond.3d50d087e9ed2c8c

I closed my 7930250608 eyes and let 9b20bbe5f2 sleep take me.a1f599137d3a17c3

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***585566cb7138e925

When I 24991beaad opened my e701dea20c eyes again, 259c0e6567 it was 5beb7f761c late at 2ccd0aeb5f night.05785acfb11ed22f

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“……”fe324d7e0b0881b2

I stared blankly at 4222b377f7 the air for a 14cec1f23d few minutes, then snapped af37bb288f out of it. I was 991f61dbf3 covered with 1435cb0ba3 a blanket bc86aec058 that hadn’t 873afe0076 been there 4662b4ced8 when I ec98558d46 sat on 3f4636d029 the sofa. Did the ahjussi cover d244c2ac87 me with it?5da0ed04411c6a9e

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As I gently lifted 71ee0c9dd1 the blanket, I found d6b91949db Jjikjjiki asleep on my 899a1d1323 lap. I carefully draped 33b97c30f9 the blanket back febf330ab3 over it so e97950051a that Jjikjjiki wouldn’t de3ca8431e wake up. Gently.a3ed878dd486b33e

“…Jjik.”07702cc3a5792835

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Even though I moved d83afbaa3e cautiously, Jjikjjiki sensed my 823ede8744 presence and woke up. The blanket, bulging a7ad63b712 as much as d47952f941 Jjikjjiki’s size, shifted, 0b3c1e7ab8 and soon a 0ca16efbe4 small head popped abea00f48d out from under d3141f954c it.3dd35881d1a87ad3

“Soul-jji.”3ca681d1f1dd9b10

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Jjikjjiki reached 4199737421 out toward 31a43bd86b me, and df4d6fd69a I cradled ea9d6bc789 it in e7595be058 both hands a43012d795 and brought e5d98c7866 it to 29b3d1e1d6 my face. Jjikjjiki poked my 2a77db400d lips with its 64cf53cd75 little nose. It was 30c03b367e Jjikjjiki’s kiss.82a26022fd8d7077

“Are you hurt, Jjik?”4c388a57a36fcda8

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“No, I’m not hurt. I was 92a15002bf just surprised.”8ed596fa76fa0625

Maybe it 0d45c84ea7 wasn’t completely 9ed94f7f84 over the df874002eb shock, because a3e94f2424 its hands a40e1ee95b were still 0932e00520 trembling slightly. I placed Jjikjjiki back d1d3dceba2 on my lap.aef0df5852ab48cf

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“Jjikjjiki.”ca8a034dca26ce3b

“Jjik!”2ac188d128700e27

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“How strong are f37c76fbff you?”623c45ac38c9b36c

Jjikjjiki tilted 4a8486a842 its head cfb3aa3b08 for a f9c3801e21 moment before f2bb4ed3ac answering.b301856e3c10523b

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“I’m strong enough to 07c69ef9f5 protect Soul-jji.”b628002775768ca4