Chapter 49: The Rice Cake Pounding Bachelor (2)

<Dog Rice Cake>

Synthesized item.

Effect unknown.

“…What a doggone mess.”

Still, it seems Cerberus was counted as defeated, since my level went up.

It must’ve suffocated in my rice cake dough.

Suffocation’s scary.

Lately, things are getting weirder, and I’m thinking about abandoning this room and renting another in the studio tel.

If I monitor with CCTV and defend with golem control, wouldn’t that work?

Teleport in and out with Space Teleportation.

I’m also considering a scenario where I fill the room with carbon monoxide to kill anything coming through the gate instantly—“Chungnam University Extermination Camp.”

The monster Hitler of this room? I could handle that, especially these days.

<Level increased.>

Level 257.

A random stat point went to Magic, so I’m feeling a bit better.

<Trait: Friend of Dogs>

Receives the love of dogs.

Can utilize dogs in combat.

<Mutation Factor – Canine>

Become a dog.

“What a doggone…!”

An item dropped too.

<Dog Poop>

…

Any use for medicine?

I’ve collected synthesized items like Millennium Tree Root, Meteorite, Red Mushroom, Yellow Mushroom, Salamander Tail, and Skin.

But without synthesis recipes, I just store them in a pouch.

This synthesized item, though, feels a bit off to keep in a pouch.

“What’s this now?”

<Dog Fur>

Fur of a dog.

Literal dog fur.

This one seems okay to store in the pouch.

Wait, hold on.

Since it’s treated as three entities, is there another item?

<Dog Horn>

Stop it, please.

At least there’s no “Dog Dick” or something.

I wouldn’t want to store that.

Compared to Dog Poop and Dog Fur, Dog Horn has a “RARE” tag attached.

Come to think of it, you can get dog fur and poop from raising a dog, but dog horns don’t exist in this world, right?

[That was a tough fight. Why do I get stuck with the hard ones?]

CatMan seems to have recovered from being overwhelmed by Cerberus’s howling attack.

His combat ability is solid, but he got confused and overwhelmed by the need to kill all three at once.

He can do addition, but not money or repair calculations?

“You were a street cat, weren’t you? Your prime days.”

[I was young then. Hmph, come to think of it, my mother was badly injured by a stray dog’s attack. Maybe I’ve avenged her today.]

What a story.

That dog’s probably not this dog, though.

“Alright. I’ll order a cockle feast tonight. They’re throwing in grilled mackerel as a bonus.”

[All for me?]

“No, not quite.”

[Meow, meow. Miiiaow.]

Look at this guy, rubbing his head on my thigh.

I pinched his cheek.

“Hey, don’t act pitiful.”

[Who’s committing animal cruelty now?]

Woof, woof.

Aang, aang!

I managed to stop the barking in my place, but other dogs on different floors are still yapping, as if mourning Cerberus.

Still, compared to Cerberus’s booming barks despite its tiny size, these are cute.

Smaller than those Malteses, but how do they make such a sound?

I was planning to steam glutinous rice cakes in the rice cooker, but I need to knead again.

Zzzap, zzzap.

What? Who’s that?

I’m kneading the dough again when someone knocks.

This is probably…

It’s likely the landlord grandpa, someone I absolutely can’t face, so I pretended not to be here.

The cane… it hurts like hell.

It was my mom’s signature move.

The hand that forcibly makes you filial.

My room’s quiet now, so if I stay silent, he’ll think it’s not me.

As I kept quiet, the knocking got louder.

[Hey, Room 203 oppa. The dog barking’s too loud. You got a dog too?]

Oh, it’s Room 202?

She’s a bit scary and weird, but we’ve gotten pretty close.

She was singing in the bathroom, and I joined in on the chorus.

Who sings in the bathroom? But she seemed happy.

“What noise? No dogs here.”

[Then are you making barking noises? I heard it from here.]

I’m not that crazy.

She’s a bit out there, so her thoughts are wild, but that’s not normal.

Even Room 202, the sloth-possessed level, can’t stand dog barking.

“No, no. Must be another place’s dog.”

[Really? That’s weird, it came from here. So, what are you doing, oppa? Playing dog music?]

Dog music? What’s that?

I’m busy making rice cakes, so I answered half-heartedly.

“I’m pounding rice cakes.”

[What?]

Oops, too casual.

“Rice cakes, no, I mean, I’m kneading dough…”

Just then.

[Huff, huff. Let me say again, if any unit has unapproved pets, report them in advance. I repeat, dogs barking like today disturb other tenants…]

Woof-woof. Aang-aang!

[Ugh, damn it…]

Now the grandpa’s voice is louder than the barking.

[Pounding rice cakes…]

In the confusion, I hear Room 202 gasp.

Must’ve been cut off at the perfect moment for a misunderstanding due to grandpa’s broadcast.

“Hey, if you misheard, let me clarify. Don’t get the wrong idea later—I’m just kneading rice cakes…”

[Room 504! Room 504, pick up the phone! Your lights are on, don’t pretend you’re not there! Is your phone a decoration? Your dog won’t calm down!]

Room 203 said something like:

“I’ll make it while pounding later.”

***

“Damn, crazy idiot. Ugh, seriously. Even if it wasn’t intentional, you can’t say that.”

Bang!

Room 202, face red, kicks Room 203’s door for no reason.

“Ouch!”

Forgetting she’s wearing slippers, she grabs her toes in pain.

She almost headbutted the wall out of habit but stopped.

Weirdly, her head doesn’t hurt much no matter what she hits.

But she should’ve learned something from that incident.

“Uh, hello.”

“Oh, yes, hello.”

***

The director of a college prep academy in Daejeon came to see me.

A middle-aged teacher, about my dad’s age, so I couldn’t act too crazy.

I knew why he was here.

It’s about the rice drink.

“You heard already, right? About the rice drink you’re selling through YellowLight?”

“Yes, I’ve got it.”

Not through chat but a text from the director himself, so I texted back for once.

“My daughter, who’s a teacher, said the kids drank it and their grades shot up, so she tried it too.”

I heard it caused a stir at the academy.

Especially YellowLight, who works hard but struggles with grades, saw a huge jump, possibly enough for a Seoul university.

Plus, all the kids around her who drank it during the September mock exam scored higher than usual.

“Is that so?”

“She said it’s effective and recommended it to me. I tried it, and there’s definitely… something that boosts brain activity.”

“Glad it’s not just tasty but helps with studying.”

“I heard you’re looking for someone to sell it separately.”

“Yeah, I’m worried because I don’t know why it works, so I don’t want to be seen as a scammer making huge profits.”

“Let’s cut to the chase. I’ve got connections in Gangnam academies. If you supply me, I’ll try promoting it there. How about it?”

“How much are you selling it for?”

“If they know it works, they’ll pay tens of millions. Give me some samples, and I’ll sell them.”

“Tens of millions? So I can ask for ten million?”

“That’s fine.”

This guy runs a business, so he’s got big pockets.

If I tap into Daechi-dong’s market and make bank, I’ll feel less guilty.

That’s a market where instructors make tens or hundreds of billions.

It’s fine to stick a straw in there.

Giving a few sample bottles isn’t hard.

Reservations for exam day are piling up, but immediate demand isn’t high.

“Alright, I’ll provide them.”

“Five bottles? I’ll pay for them.”

“Oh, that’d be great.”

Ten bottles came up, but I held back five for other experiments while doing business.

The director added one more thing.

“I wasn’t going to mention this because it sounds absurd, but…”

“No, go ahead. What is it?”

Something absurd?

Did someone else start seeing level-up data or stats like me?

Even if I’m planning to make money off this rice drink, if it spreads level-up data like status windows, that’s my fault and a dumb move.

I’d stop selling immediately and use the confusion from the imp to manipulate people and make it disappear.

A system where people kill others to level up shouldn’t exist.

Even if it slips through, a super-strong person needs to control it.

That’s the harsh lesson from the two ghosts.

Since no one else is stepping up, I’d have to do it.

“Is your name Lee Soo-chan, by any chance?”

“What? No.”

What the director said was completely out of left field.

“Then do you know someone named Lee Soo-chan?”

“A North Korean defector? Who’s that?”

A name with the two-syllable rule, but I don’t know them at all.

“I’m not sure either. But the students, my daughter, and YellowLight mentioned some strange experiences. The kids who drank the rice drink all said…”

What?

“They suddenly knew the name Lee Soo-chan and North Korean dialect without realizing it.”

“What?”

“Some even recited the geography of Kaesong, a place they’ve never been.”

…

No way.

This rice cooker jerk.

Is it spreading Juche ideology through the rice drink!?

There are several nursing homes with nice views of the Gapcheon River in Daejeon.

They don’t lock people up, and during outdoor hours, elderly people in hospital gowns bask in the sun from wheelchairs.

I pass by on my way back from meeting the director.

It’s on the route home anyway.

“Hey, Grandpa. You look like my grandfather. What’s your name?”

“Uh, uh, er, uhh.”

He can barely speak.

“Want to try a sip of this?”

I offered a small bottle of rice drink to the elderly man with his mouth open.

Since I drank it too, I can see his stats—his Intelligence is red and only at 1.

If I treat the stat itself, maybe his cognition will return.

He couldn’t remember his name but drank the rice drink eagerly.

For kids, it’s about the entrance exam, but for him, it might be about life itself.

Soon, his barely-toothed, open mouth closed, and his blinking eyes started examining himself.

I asked again.

“What’s your name, Grandpa?”

“Ki, Kim Chang-hwan. Kim Chang-hwan. Hwan, not Wan. What do you do, young man?”

“Oh, I’m just promoting a traditional café. How old are you?”

“I was born in ‘38, but my records say ‘41. Hey, young man.”

“Yes?”

“Lend me your phone. When my mind’s clear, I’ve got something to say. To this number. Just one call, please. Here’s the number.”

He begged so earnestly, I couldn’t refuse and dialed for him.

“Kyung-sook? It’s me, your dad. Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Yes, it’s really me.”

I couldn’t hear clearly, but the other side seemed to say “Dad.” Probably his daughter.

“Don’t cry too much, you’re not a bad daughter for abandoning your parents, don’t say that. Yeah. Don’t give it to that guy. The password I told you before, you know it? Yeah, your real birthday, not the one on record. Yeah, yeah. Don’t come, I’m fine. They’re taking good care of me. Really. This is a borrowed phone, so I’m hanging up. Don’t cry. No, don’t cry. Alright, bye.”

The elderly man, wiping tears, handed the phone back.

I’m the one who got embarrassed.

“Thanks, young man. Thank you.”

“No, I’m fine. Want to keep going…”

“Thank you, young man. I don’t know what’s going on, but my mind’s clear now. It’s like magic. I forgot my daughter’s name, but now, now I remember. It comes with the scent…”

…

I don’t have lofty thoughts about saving people while giving up money.

But there’s someone I want to try healing too.