PRSR | Chapter 6.3

I extended my arm, and Jjikjjiki eagerly wrapped his little arms around my hand in a tight hug.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“I’m fine-jjik.”

“Thank goodness… I was so worried something might happen to you.”

“Jjiik.”

Pleased with my concern, Jjikjjiki rubbed his cheek vigorously against my palm. It was undeniably adorable, but for some reason, I kept picturing Rio’s smiling face, which gave me an odd feeling. To clear my mind, I picked Jjikjjiki up with my other hand and set him down away from me.

“Jjik…”

Separated from my hand, Jjikjjiki stretched his little arms toward me, trying to grab hold again, but with those short arms, it was futile.

I tapped his nose lightly. “Jjik!”

Seeing him flail around unharmed reassured me he wasn’t injured. What a relief.

“I tried to open the door quietly, just like you said, but it wouldn’t budge-jjik. So, I had no choice but to break it-jjik… but I got caught-jjik.”

“It’s okay. You did great.”

I patted Jjikjjiki on the head to console him. It wasn’t his fault the door wouldn’t open—it was designed so only the slavers could unlock it. Thankfully, one of them had opened it just before being sent flying, so there was no issue.

I placed Jjikjjiki on my shoulder and peered into the wagon. Inside, three Awakened were tightly bound. Despite my presence, they remained eerily still.

‘Are their skills sealed?’

If the slavers had a way to suppress skills, it could spell trouble. If such methods existed in the Tutorial Field, even Jjikjjiki could be in danger someday. Without his abilities, he’d just be a small, fragile rat.

‘I’ll have to be more careful from now on.’

I approached the nearest Awakened. When I got close, the person flinched slightly.

“Hello. Can you hear me?”

Only fellow Awakened could understand Korean in this world. By now, they should have realized that the earlier commotion was caused by slavers being defeated and that another Awakened had come to rescue them. But despite this, the Awakened gave no response except for a slight twitch.

With their eyes covered and mouths gagged, their behavior was far too subdued to be attributed to mere caution.

‘It’s not just that they can’t use their skills.’

On closer inspection, I noticed a black restraint around the person’s neck. It was the same type of device that the beastmen hunters had tried to put on me before.

‘This must be it.’

The restraint was undoubtedly the reason they were immobilized. I fumbled with it for a while, but it wouldn’t budge. Silently, I mouthed to call Jjikjjiki over.

“Jjik.”

I mimed tugging at my neck, signaling him to try removing the device. Understanding my gesture perfectly, Jjikjjiki climbed onto the Awakened’s shoulder and grabbed the restraint with his tiny hands. Then, he pulled with all his might.

Wait, I didn’t mean for him to pull it off like that—

Boom!

The restraint exploded as it was forcibly removed. Fortunately, the explosion happened just after the restraint detached, so the Awakened was unharmed. They let out a breath they must have been holding in for a long time.

“H-How did you…?”

Judging by their shocked expression, they must have known that breaking the restraint would trigger an explosion.

‘Jjikjjiki, remove the others too.’

This time, I used a quick glance to give the order, still intent on keeping Jjikjjiki’s presence as low-profile as possible. Without a single “jjik,” Jjikjjiki swiftly freed the remaining Awakened and returned to my arms.

I patted his back in praise, and he puffed out his chest proudly, basking in the acknowledgment.

“Hold on. Let me take off your blindfolds.”

“No, it’s fine. I can manage.”

With their abilities restored, one of the Awakened easily tore off the ropes binding their hands and removed the blindfold. To my surprise, I recognized them.

“Ah?”

It was the man I had met at the inn during the monster attack in the Beginner Village.

“You’re—!”

He recognized me as well and widened his eyes in astonishment. Then, without warning, he grabbed my hand.

“Tha—”

Wham!

Before he could finish speaking, a furious Jjikjjiki kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying.

* * *

The unconscious slave traders were handed over to the Brown Merchant Caravan. The caravan’s leader, known for his intense hatred of illegal slave traders, left with a determination to root them out entirely. As a gesture of support for this incident, the caravan even provided temporary lodgings for the three kidnapped Awakened.

Now, I’m on my way to visit the man I met at the Beginner Village. The Brown Merchant Caravan couldn’t communicate properly with the Awakened, so it was up to me to find out what had happened to them. Besides, I was curious about what the man, who recognized me right before fainting, was trying to say.

Most importantly, Jjikjjiki’s quest still wasn’t cleared.

“Jjikjji, you can’t just send people flying mid-conversation like earlier.”

“But jjik! That human was going to harm Soul…”

“Don’t lie. You flung him just because he grabbed my hand.”

“Jjiik.”

“If you do that one more time, I’m leaving you behind in the room.”

“No! That’s not okay jjik! It’s dangerous for Soul to be alone jjik!”

“Then you’ll promise, right?”

“Fine, I promise jjik.”

Jjikjjiki held out a tiny pinky finger, no bigger than a bean. I brought my finger to meet his. From now on, people wouldn’t go flying just because they touched me.

Hopefully.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

I hoisted Jjikjjiki onto my left shoulder and opened the door. The room’s occupant was sitting on a chair, waiting for me.

“Hello.”

“Ah, you’re here. I apologize for earlier. I must have fainted from the shock…”

It’s not entirely your fault; the reason you fainted was my rat.

“Now that I think about it, we don’t even know each other’s names. I’m Shin Youngho.”

“I’m Kang Soul.”

I hesitated to extend my hand, feeling Jjikjjiki’s gaze, and stopped mid-motion.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, except for this stingy pain in my chest. I wasn’t even hurt there, so I don’t know why it aches, haha.”

That’s my fault too—Jjikjjiki kicked you.

“Please, have a seat. I’d offer tea, but I’m afraid I don’t have any prepared.”

Shin Youngho’s expression looked as if he was itching to say something important. I, too, was eager to get to the point. The moment I sat in the chair opposite him, I asked my question.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“As you may know, I stayed in the Beginner Village to help other Awakened progress with their quests.”

I had no idea.

He wasn’t stuck in the Beginner Village because he gave up on progressing through the Tutorial Field; he had fallen behind because he was helping Awakened who struggled to adapt. There were ways to escape this place, yet he stayed behind. Why?

Just naive? Or maybe… too kind?

“Judging by your expression, I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that.”

Shin Youngho awkwardly scratched his head.

“There was a quest involved.”

“A quest?”

“Yes. My role in the Beginner Village was to encourage as many Awakened as possible not to give up on their quests.”

So there were other quests besides ‘Monster Hunting’ and ‘Region Transition,’ and another Awakened had received them—besides Jjikjjiki—right in the Beginner Village!

“Isn’t encouraging quest progress supposed to be the Manager’s job?”

It was absurd to offload an NPC or Manager’s role onto a player like an Awakened. Even more concerning was the fact that there was a quest to encourage others not to abandon theirs, as if there was a crucial reason to prevent early quest dropouts.

“I have a favor to ask!”

Shin Youngho suddenly grabbed my hand and blurted out his plea, cutting off my thoughts. I braced myself, ready to restrain Jjikjjiki.

Fortunately, Jjikjjiki behaved, though my left shoulder was scrunched up as he clung to me.

“There are other Awakened who were kidnapped before me. I want to rescue them.”

“There are more kidnapped Awakened?”

So that’s why Jjikjjiki’s quest wasn’t cleared yet—there were still Awakened left to save.

‘How many more are there?’

The inability to see detailed quest statuses was incredibly inconvenient. Couldn’t the Manager improve this system?

“Did you receive a quest asking you to request help from me?”

“No, this is purely a personal request. I know it’s asking a lot, but…”

Shin Youngho bowed his head with a bitter expression.

“I want to help them no matter what. They trusted me and found the courage to leave the village, only to be kidnapped. I feel responsible for saving them. Please, Kang Soul!”

His grip on my hand tightened. On my shoulder, Jjikjjiki stomped his tiny feet.

“I know it’s selfish, but please help me. I’ll repay you somehow. Even if I can’t help much here since you’re stronger than me, once we’re back on Earth…”

“Haha.”

“…on Earth, I can be quite resourceful. I have considerable influence, believe it or not.”

Shin Youngho’s influence on Earth didn’t matter right now. Besides, if we returned to Earth, it wouldn’t take long for people to realize I was a fraud pretending to be an Awakened. I didn’t plan on maintaining connections with anyone I met in the Tutorial Field.

However, rescuing the Awakened was part of Jjikjjiki’s quest, something I had to complete regardless. It was an unreasonably large-scale quest with no information on how to approach it. But if someone came forward offering help, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

I smiled shamelessly and shook Shin Youngho’s hand enthusiastically.

“Alright, let’s rescue the Awakened together.”

“Kang Soul!”