PRSR | Chapter 5.2

I picked up a tiny sword that was smaller than my finger and pretended to swing it. It looked like it would not even cut tofu. It was more like a toy sword, not something for actual use.

“Should I try using this?”

“Let us not. Let us go to the village for a moment.”

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I took Jjikjjiki to the village weapon shop. This was my second visit today. The shopkeeper, who had seen us earlier, looked back and forth between me and Jjikjjiki, then asked,

“Is this the owner of the sword?”

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“Yes.”

I bought a simple iron sword that suited Jjikjjiki’s size. It was not the great sword I had originally wanted. I was low on money after buying the bracelet, and I was also hoping that the next quest reward would give us a sword that better fit Jjikjjiki’s human form.

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‘Ah, right. The bracelet.’

I had been so surprised by Jjikjjiki’s transformation that I had completely forgotten about it.

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‘I… I will give it to him tonight.’

While we were at it, I decided to buy Jjikjjiki a few new clothes. The clothes he was wearing looked like a ragged patchwork, and it kept bothering me.

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“Where did you get those clothes?”

“A wolf made them for me.”

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After buying new clothes, we headed back to the field. Now, it was time to really test out the new skill. Maybe it was because I had been exhausted from wandering the village, but I was more focused on getting this over with so I could rest.

‘I just want to finish this and go sleep.’

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Jjikjjiki, who was not used to swinging a sword, held the iron sword with an awkward stance. Since he rarely had to carry anything heavier than pumpkin seeds or celery pieces, there was too much force in his grip.

‘Is this okay?’

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I should have made him practise swinging the sword before we went out. But it was too late to change my mind. A few monsters had already sensed our presence and were slowly approaching us.

“Let us start.”

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Jjikjjiki mumbled, “Wind Cutter,” and swung his sword with all his might, still in his awkward posture.

Whoosh.

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A gust of wind shot out from the tip of the sword. It was not the most graceful wind, but…

Whoooooosh!

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The wind generated by the skill started growing, and before long, it had reached at least two metres in size, shooting forward at incredible speed.

Boom!

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Jjikjjiki’s Wind Cutter was not only large in size but also wide in range, slicing through all the monsters nearby, cutting them in half. The power was so immense that I was stunned, unable to believe it was just from one skill.

“Wow!”

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I could not help but exclaim. The fatigue that had been weighing me down earlier seemed to vanish in an instant.

“Awesome! You did great, Jjikjjiki!”

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I completely forgot the awkwardness and shouted towards Jjikjjiki with excitement. Jjikjjiki, too, was staring blankly at the fallen monsters, surprised by the power of his own skill.

“One… two…”

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Wait, what?

I thought he was just in shock, but I was wrong. Jjikjjiki was counting the monsters he had cut down, pointing at each one with his finger.

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“…Six, seven. Seven monsters.”

After finishing counting, Jjikjjiki approached me with a satisfied look on his face.

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“Soul.”

And then he smiled brightly.

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“Seven kisses.”

Wait, hold on a second.

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‘This is not right!’

What on earth was happening? Why was I being forced to kiss a man who was bigger than me seven times?

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Ah. I had promised to do that when he was a rat.

But that was when he was a rat!

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‘This… this is not right!’

Jjikjjiki’s face was getting closer and closer. While I had let the first kiss slide, I could not let this one happen. If I did not stop him now, I would have to kiss him every time we killed a monster!

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“Jjikjjiki, wait…”

“Excuse me!”

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At that moment, someone barged between Jjikjjiki and me, who was trying to stop him. A man with black hair and a large sword. An Awakened. The kind of Awakened who could casually interrupt two adult men in the middle of a monster-filled field as if it were nothing.

“Sorry to interrupt. I wanted to wait until you were done, but I thought I would lose my chance if I did. Haha. I would like to recruit that person into our party. I am…”

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“Get lost.”

“…Huh!”

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Jjikjjiki shot a murderous glare at the Awakened, and the guy froze, looking like he was ready to bolt at any moment.

“S…sorry…”

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The Awakened stammered and hurriedly ran off. Even I, who had never seen Jjikjjiki like this before, was frozen in place.

Taking advantage of the situation, Jjikjjiki planted a kiss on my lips.

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“One.”

His eyes, which had been full of murderous intent, now looked soft as he smiled at me. Mesmerised by his expression, I stood there blankly as Jjikjjiki reached the promised number of kisses.

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It was an absurd situation.

“Jjikjjiki. Do not kiss me in front of others.”

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“Why?”

“People do not kiss in public.”

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“But we have kissed before.”

“That was when you were a rat.”

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“Ah, so it is okay if one of us is a rat?”

Jjikjjiki nodded as if he understood.

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“I got it. From now on, I will save them up and do it all when we get back to the inn.”

What? I had no idea where things went wrong for him to come to such a conclusion.

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Jjikjjiki seemed to misinterpret my stunned expression.

“If Soul is happy, I am happy too.”

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That is not it.

“Let us just… run away for now.”

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“Okay.”

Jjikjjiki did not even ask why we had to run away and just grabbed my hand tightly, dashing deeper into the field. He still seemed to think he was a tiny rat, so just like when he was a rat, he stretched his legs out and ran fast, dragging me along with him.

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‘I should have grabbed the Orc carcass earlier. That is a shame.’

I wanted to practise butchering the new monster I had just discovered, but I could not focus on that with all the eyes on us. I was not sure if it was because of the power of Wind Cutter or the shower of kisses, but either way, it was embarrassing.

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“Back off a little.”

“Why? I like being close.”

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“If we are this close, it is hard to talk.”

Jjikjjiki blinked as if he did not understand at all but then nodded and took a step back.

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“Well, if Soul says so.”

The distance between us increased, but Jjikjjiki’s hand was still firmly holding onto my arm.

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“Let us choose a name first.”

“A name?”

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“Your name.”

“My name is Jjikjjiki.”

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“You saw a lot of other Awakened in the field earlier, right? You will be meeting a lot of people from now on, and you cannot go around calling yourself Jjikjjiki in front of them.”

“Why not?”

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“Normally, people do not use names like Jjikjjiki for humans.”

“But I am not human. I am a beastman, so it is fine.”

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“But other people do not know you are a beastman.”

“Then we can just tell them.”

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“How about we choose a nickname instead of a new name?”

“That sounds good.”

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When Jjikjjiki heard the word “nickname,” his eyes sparkled. I avoided his gaze, feeling a bit pressured, and thought about a new name for him.

“Rio.”

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“Rio?”

“From today, your name is Rio.”

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Jjikjjiki was first discovered about a year ago in my old friend Geonho’s room. Since he was clean and healthy, Geonho assumed he was a lost rat and spent a few days looking for his owner. However, the owner never appeared.

Geonho decided to give the lost rat a new family and named him ‘Rionaldo,’ and eventually, due to various circumstances, Rionaldo ended up coming to live with us.

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I gave him the name Jjikjjiki after that.

‘Rio’ was a name I thought of while recalling that time. It was not exactly a typical Korean name, but when paired with my name, which had a unique sound but reminded people of an English word, it felt somewhat family-like and well-matched.

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“Let us use the same surname as me, Kang.”

“Kang Rio.”

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“From now on, when there are people around, I will call you Rio. Got it?”

“When it is just the two of us, will you still call me Jjikjjiki?”

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“Of course.”

Rio was happy to share the same surname as me, Kang, and hugged me. I tried to push him away, but Rio did not budge at all.

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“How much MP did you recover?”

“Now it is at 73.”

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MP recovered by 1 every minute. I wondered if HP recovered at the same speed, but I could not test that on Rio by making him get hurt, so I decided to put it off for later.

‘Wind Cutter… I can use it once every 3 hours and 20 minutes.’

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Considering the range and power of Wind Cutter, that was not bad. No, it was actually really good.

“Let us test if we could have caught the monster earlier without any skills. It is also a chance to practise butchering.”

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“Okay.”

“Bring the sword.”

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I grabbed Rio’s hand before he could approach the monster barehanded and handed him the sword.

“Kicking is much easier.”

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Rio complained, but I could not let him do that. Using a sword created space between the monster and me, allowing us to attack from a safer distance. However, if we fought with bare hands, we would have to get much closer to the monster.

Rio had been able to kick monsters and remain unscathed up until now because he was small, so it was hard for the enemies to hit him. Now that he had grown, he was large enough that the monsters might accidentally land a hit, so it was much safer to use a sword to keep some distance.

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‘But I bet he will not understand even if I explain it.’

Right now, he might agree to it thinking, ‘Well, Soul said it, so I will listen…,’ but I really wanted him to pick up the sword with a happy heart. That way, he would get more involved in battles, and our hunting efficiency would improve a lot.

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I pulled out my secret weapon to convince Rio.

“Swinging the sword looks cooler than swinging your legs.”

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“Alright, I will use the sword.”

Rio proudly took the sword and approached the monster.

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“Do not overdo it. This monster is probably different from the goblin. Look at its big size, right? It will be strong too, so do not get too close, and if a bunch of them attack, we need to run away immediately. Never push yourself, understood?”

“Got it.”

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Contrary to my worries, the battle ended quickly. Rio swung the sword awkwardly, and the monster fell. Just like with the goblin, it was a one-hit kill.

Lately, I have been thinking about it a lot, but maybe Rio is actually stronger than I thought.

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“Soul. Praise me.”

“…Let us do that at the inn.”

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“I will save it up.”

Where on earth did he learn those words?

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While Rio was saving up his kisses, I sat in front of the monster’s carcass and pulled out the butchering knife. The monster’s body had a long cut from the sword.

‘This is the problem when hunting with a sword.’

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Even if I butchered it well, I would not get a good price. When he was a rat, the only mark left on the skin was a small footprint, but now… there were all these cuts.

I could not exactly tell him to hunt as a rat again. He needed to adjust to his human form and move around in it more.

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‘For now, I will have to settle for leather with sword marks.’