Ujuk Ujuk…
Yong Yong was sitting on my lap and eating a cheese steak as I stroke Yong Yong’s head and sigh.
“Yong Yong.”
Yong Yong turned his head to the back and lightly tilted.
It means he was asking why I called.
“Instead of steaks, would you like to try this fairy worm? Hey, this is super good for your body. Your daddy will even apply honey on it for you.”
Yong Yong shook its head and instead focused back on the steak.
This rascal isn’t selective with food like an elementary school kid.
Yong Yong just wanted to try eating the steak that I was eating.
This rascal always mimics what I do, eating what I eat, sleeping where I sleep, sitting where I sit, sighing just like me and smiling just like me.
Sometimes, to mimic how I am looking at the Community, Yong Yong stares at an empty s.p.a.ce and pretends to read something.
So, this was why Yong Yong was eating the steak lunch box that I usually enjoyed eating instead of the fairy worm.
I never thought that I’d agonize over Yong Yong being picky with food.
You have no idea how precious they are…
My solution was to eat the fairy worm.
If I eat the fairy worm, Yong Yong will eat it by mimicking me.
However, isn’t that a little wrong?
If Yong Yong doesn’t want to eat it, then that’s that.
I sighed again and gently brushed Yong Yong’s forehead.
Yong Yong may be a puppy-sized baby, but a dragon is still a dragon.
I’m just upset that I’ unable to feed Yong Yong a healthier food.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Anything new?]
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Wait… Yong Yong is that hatchling?]
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Oh my… What kind of lunatic names a hatchling Yong Yong!]
[TL: In Korean, Yong is the p.r.o.nunciation for the word “dragon.” Saying it twice in a row like that sounds rather adorable than fearsome like a dragon should be.]
What do you mean? Here is one who did.
Besides, who else is going to name the hatchling?
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: If other dragons heard that name, they will try to kill you for insulting their kind. Do you understand, Big Bro?]
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: No. That’s not the problem! Ugh, really!]
Hey, why are you getting worked up again?
Even though this is just a message window, her frustration oozes out as if this is a live, face-to-face conversation.
Her personality is getting rougher and rougher. She is one wild woman.
I think I’d totally fall for her wild side.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Instead of saying ridiculous things… Does the hatchling not hate the name? No matter how young the hatchling is, there is no way a dragon would like that kind of name.]
Of course, Yong Yong does not hate the name.
Hating one’s own name? Who would? Right, Yong Yong?
Yong Yong haphazardly swallowed the steak and closed the mouth. His teeth chomped down and made a noise.
After that, Yong Yong slowly turned the head left and right.
Hey, why are you putting on such a serious face and telling me you hate it?
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: See? I knew it. Before the dragon becomes rebellious after getting bigger, make a proper name. No, wait for a bit. Instead of letting you handle it, I’ll just make the name. You said the dragon’s color is silver, right?]
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: By the way, how does this hatchling cry? Making the name similar to the sound of its cry might work too?]
[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: This dragon does not cry.]
Really.
I thought an adult dragon would roar like ‘kurwara’ and a baby dragon would cry like ‘kulkulkul.’
This rascal didn’t cry at all.
Yong Yong expressed itself most through body languages. Lately, Yong Yong had been speaking human tongue instead.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Your dragon can talk? Already?]
[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Yeah. The p.r.o.nunciation is a little short-tongued, but…]
“I am not short-tongued.”
Yong Yong was reading the message too. Having realized what I said, Yong Yong protested.
“Not short-tongued.”
Yong Yong’s eyes widened as if I just revealed the biggest secret behind his birth. I stroke his back as I continued to read the message.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Um. Now that I’m trying to come up with one, I can’t think of any. Please wait for a bit. I’ll go ask others too.]
Like that, a contest for making a name for Yong Yong was commenced.
The partic.i.p.ants included everyone in the Korean server.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Lee Shin. Lee is the family name and Shin is the name. It’s pretty good, right? It is distinctively Korean too.]
What do you think?
Yong Yong shook his head left and right.
“What do you not like about the name?”
“It’s too shot.”
[PR Note: The author’s trying to give onto Yong Yong’s short-tongued p.r.o.nunciation, hence ‘shot’ instead of ‘short’. It appears a few more times in this chapter, so just use context.]
… I see.
[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: He said he does not like the name because it is too short. Try finding a longer name.]
So, he doesn’t like short, one syllable name?
I think those names are good for him because they sound cute.
“I am not cut.”
Is that so?
In that case, are you not cute but mighty and forceful?
“Yep.”
You sure are.
“All right. All right. My Yong Yong, you are not cute. You are mighty.”
I praised him, and Yong Yong happily nudged his head on my arm.
See? You are fricking adorable.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Raokones. How about that one?]
[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Hey, that name… I think I’ve heard of that name from somewhere. That one is a little…]
[TL: 라오코네스, Raokones is the name of a dragon from a famous Korean fantasy novel, Polaris Rhapsody, written by the Lee Young-doo. He is the author of Dragon Raja, another famous fantasy novel.]
I sent the message and looked at Yong Yong. His eyes gleamed and looked at me expectantly.
“Yong Yong.”
Yong Yong energetically nodded.
“You like the name, Raokones?”
He nodded energetically again.
It is better than Amurtat.
[TL: 아무르타트, Amurtat is the name of an evil dragon from Dragon Raja.]
Like that, we renamed Yong Yong’s to Raokones. I was in middle of showing Yong Yong how to write the name Raokones when another message came.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: How about Nafplion? I heard the name means a sailor.]
I think I’ve heard this name from somewhere too.
I lowered my head to look at Yong Yong. His eyes were sparkling once again.
“… Of the two, which one do you like better?”
“Buth.”
… The whole thing made a strange turn.
The problem was that Yong Yong refused to give up the potential name candidates that came up.
Hence, his name became:
“Benedictus Raylisia Piakhan Raokones Nafplion Nistiamat Karusearin Valakas Shyanso Karuddanthes Nesaria the Third.”
It was a very long name that was very difficult to p.r.o.nounce. Having heard the name, Yong Yong was jumping up and down the table overjoyed.
Since he is so happy about the name, it does not feel right to cut it down short.
Still, what’s the Third for? The Third?
What the h.e.l.l.
Now this name is definitely the kind that the dragons will get infuriated at and accuse me of trying to ridicule the dragons.
Still, well…
Does having a name you like make you feel that happy?
He was in the state of pure bliss.
“Now, Yong Yong, open your mouth.”
While he was happy, I placed in a fairy worm inside Yong Yong’s mouth.
Yong Yong didn’t complain much. He smiled like a fool, chewed, and swallowed the fairy worm.
Ah, you are eating so well, my beautiful son.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Well, if the hatchling likes the name, then it is fine.]
This la.s.s’ personality used to be different…
Perhaps it was because she had known me for so long. She was now soaked in a lifestyle of mediocre satisfaction.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: What did he say? Do you have a moment? I have something I want to talk to you about.]
I checked the message and directed my gaze at Yong Yong.
He was widely grinning as if he was still very happy about the new name.
Well, Yong Yong just finished eating too, so…
[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: I have time. What is it?]
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: It’s about Lee Jun-suk. It’s about time for that rascal to leave the Tutorial, but he has no intention of doing so. You try talking to him. He listens to you the most.]
That’s true.
Um… Actually, the matter with Lee Jun-suk is a little complicated.
It had already been many years since he reached the 90th Floor and he’s since declared that he will repeat the 91st Floor to focus on growing further.
I could understand it back then.
I understood him back then.
I cheered him on and told him various know-hows when he stayed at the 90th Floor and focused on growing stronger.
Like that, a few years pa.s.sed.
I was staying where I was because I could not clear the 61st Floor, leaving me no choice. However, Lee Jun-suk was staying at the 90th Floor voluntarily.
This rascal is definitely not normal either.
He is not from the Round One like I am, but he entered the Tutorial during its early days.
He is in the Hard Difficulty, and showed great proficiency in clearing stages, which was the reason why the Order of Vigilance provided him with support.
A guy like that had been staying at the 90th Floor for years, saying he wants to become stronger.
He would be the greatest masterpiece ever produced by the Korean Tutorial server.
He is unprecedented. Plus, another Awakened warrior like him will not appear in the future frequently.
However, Lee Jun-suk is still staying at the 90th Floor.
At this point, his goal is becoming obvious to me.
He is not just trying to become stronger. He has a specific goal.
It is a stupid idea.
He cannot compare himself to me.
Um…
He is a part of the management in the Order of Vigilance.
Moreover, he has a contract with the Korean government.
The Korean government had been expecting him to come out of the Tutorial soon. However, this Hard Difficulty’s Awakened warrior hasn’t for years.
I think they must be pretty anxious.
[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: I got it. I’ll try talking to him.]
Um… What should I say to him?
He took care of things like these on his own when we asked.
What should I do to convince him to leave willingly?
Let’s think about this first.
[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: How about telling him the nice things he will have when he gets out?]
You think he doesn’t know about those?
He knows better than we do.
It seems Yong Yong became sleepy while I was talking to Jung-ah. He was sleeping on my lap. I gently brushed the top of Yong Yong and organized my thoughts. However, I suddenly felt my mana was making strange movements.
d.a.m.n it. I was fine for a while.
I’ll have to acknowledge that I let my guard down too much.
Outside, Reality, Power, Ident.i.ty, Growth, Happiness, Kim Min-huk, Park Jung-ah…
I cannot suppress the mana flowing out from my entire body.
Instead of blocking the mana’s path, the wiser course of action is directing the mana to a place and collecting it.
I cast barrier on Yong Yong.
The mana that was violently shaking inside my body slowly collected toward my right hand, which was raised above my head.
Uuuuuuung…
The building’s wall cracked and the ceiling came down.
The entire residential area at the 60th Floor was shaking just from the mana’s movement.
The mana collected on my hand slowly started to calm down.
It will gradually dissipate with pa.s.sage of time.
I looked down, and Yong Yong was looking at me anxiously.
“It’s all right.”
Handling the mana that came out of my body is a simple task.
Just like mana, which shook off my control and exploded out, the emotions I had hidden underneath surfaced to my consciousness.
I do not like the current situation where I’m calmly sitting at a chair.
I absolutely hate this d.a.m.n waiting. It’s making my body ache.
I want to move. I want to get up. I want to get out. I want to fight, destroy, win, lose, kill and die.
I don’t want to be stuck here like this forever.
I closed my eyes and thought about my emotions.
Boiling lava…
A nuclear fusion reactor at the brink of explosion.
[TL: I’m sure most of readers probably know this, but I’m going to say it anyway. Nuclear fusion reactors cannot have runaway reactions. As soon as the reactions become unstable, the reactions stop because it cannot sustain the condition needed to continue, shutting down the reactor.]
Anything will do.
I poured another batch of cold water on them, followed by cement and then some more cement.
Like that, I closed the lid on my emotions.
Yong Yong was awake, but he fell back to sleep. It was around this time when I was able to finally close the lid completely.
After that, I sent my emotions back to a place far down below.
Although I cooled the emotions and sent them down, the icky feeling still remained.
I sang a song.
“Now… I cannot hold on anymore… With a big smile…”
I was singing off key. Because it was unpleasant to hear, Yong Yong was awakened again, and he complained. However, I could not stop singing at the moment. I could not afford to.
The inside of the building looked like an aftermath of a disaster. I sat inside the building and sang a song like that
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