City of Backstreet Nymphs

18 – 018 – Nymph Oinoi # 18

018 – Nymph Oinoi # 18

The winter dawn was long.

It’s 4:00 AM when the sun hasn’t risen yet.

When I got up from my seat, Oinoi also rubbed his eyes and got up.

“This Oinoi, I had a strange dream… ! He had a dream of leaving a small crab and going a long way…. It was somehow sad and angry… !”

It seemed that Oinoi also had a strange dream.

I don’t know if it’s because the weak magical power of the cracks in this house and the well has affected my heart and mind, or there are other reasons.

Me and Oinoi went back into the well together.

A well in the chilly dawn.

The Milky Way Crab Grepnoy was lying flat on its stomach on the floor.

“It is very pitiful to think that he died alone after waiting for a friend for a long time… ! I want to bury this oi-noi, the nymph’s friend grep-noi… !”

Oinoi seemed to feel sympathy for Grepnoi, even though he was almost seriously injured by Grepnoi’s bubbles.

And it was the same for me.

It’s a crab with a shell hard enough to shatter my high-frequency blade with a couple of headbutts. Normally, it would have been correct to capture the by-products and sell them to material vendors and institutions, but—

It would have been right to make my equipment with the materials, but I didn’t want to do that this time.

“As expected, it was a nightmare. I have a dream like that for no reason.”

In my dream, I was a crab.

The crab was as small as the palm of a person.

How much time did it take for something like that to grow this big?

-Zuzu-.

Angang, the emperor ant, started digging a hole in the ground. Soon, Kyeongkyeong also moved its front legs and dug the ground.

Ants are masters of civil engineering.

Also, the dog squirrel, Kungkong, was good at digging burrows like an animal that hibernates, so a big hole was formed on the ground in no time.

“Huh!”

I tried hard to lift the body of the big crab.

Back when I was still in Class D, my magically strengthened arms could easily lift up to 300kg, but it was difficult to move, perhaps because it weighed almost 1 ton.

As I was struggling alone like that, the emperor ant clings to my leg.

– Zuzu… !

It seemed that he meant to ask for mana.

I wiped my palms on my pants and looked down at my body.

Strengthening the body with mana is the D (Dynamorphosis) level.

Giving mana to a weapon or making finer adjustments to affect things and others is the C (Create) level.

My body has just reached the level of C.

To be honest, I was a novice at granting mana to objects and objects.

“It worked fine earlier.”

A real game where I jumped right in without any practice.

Recalling the sensations at that time, I poured magic power into the emperor ant’s body.

With the feeling of warmth escaping from my body, the emperor ant Angangi’s body shone even more.

“I didn’t know that before, but I’m more tired than I thought.”

I hope you feel dizzy for a while-.

Angangi, the emperor ant, started pushing the crab’s body hard with his horned head.

Smooth-.

Squeeze-.

The body of the crab, which did not budge no matter how hard I pulled it, went into the pit.

Watching that scene, I thought of an animal documentary that said that the power of ants is incredibly strong.

“Let’s cover the soil now.”

We buried the crab in the ground and piled up soil in a circle to make a tomb.

Ohinoi placed the ribbon he had brought in front of the grave and inserted a twig into it.

“Grebnoy, now that you are a constellation in the sky, you are going to have a good rest… !”

Our mourning ended with that.

All that remains is to find and destroy the rift core or bring it out to the outside world to close this strange rift.

Then Oinoi said.

“I wonder if it is really necessary to break the cracks… ! This is the place Grepnoy was guarding for his returning friend…. If you break this place… That I will never be able to meet you… !”

“I know. When the cracks are open like this, people have nightmares or get hurt. Awakeners with magical powers like me are fine, but ordinary people have a hard time enduring the influence.”

This was the reason why the Awoken had to work hard to close the rift.

Soon Oinoi slumped as if he couldn’t do anything about it.

“I am curious about what this crack is all about…. I wonder why Oinoi came to this strange world….”

“Sure.”

What is a crack?

Why is it open?

It was a topic that still many people are clinging to and studying.

Shut-.

I found the place I had seen in my dreams.

The place where Grebnoy lay on his boat while dying.

When I dug up the soil, a small box came out.

It was a crude box made of wood and nails.

“This is probably a rift core.”

Gi-ik-.

When I opened the unlocked box, there were pins made of flowers and small pellets inside. Oinoi shouted while looking at what these pellets were.

“Ah… ! This is clearly the seed of the nymph-friendly fruit “Quince”… ! The quince is rich in mana and is very good for nymphs and humans… ! It was to the extent that three goddesses and two countries went to war over one quince… !”

Quince?

It was a fruit with an unfamiliar name.

As I was thinking about what kind of fruit it would be, Oinoi added.

“It sparkles yellow and tastes awful… Anyway, it’s good for the body… !”

How does it taste?

You’re curious.

Take a bath -.

The flower pin in my hand must have not endured for a long time, and eventually it dried up and blew away in the wind.

In the end, the only thing I was able to carry in my hand was the seed of a fruit called ‘quince’.

# # #

The crack was completely closed.

Then an amazing thing happened.

The water had risen considerably at the well where the entrance to the rift had been opened.

“The water is very clear and clean… ! It is clear that the composition is similar to that of the pond where the crabs were staying earlier… ! It is water with magic power… !”

Water containing mana.

I drank water from the well.

The taste was refreshing, and I felt a little revitalized in my body, which had been fatigued by successively infusing mana into the bodies of animals.

“Okay. This is medicinal water.”

“This Oinoi, I wonder what the medicinal water is… !”

“In Korea, every mountain usually has a mineral spring. The mountain where the rift was created is affected by the magical power of this mineral spring, and it spits out water containing magical power, albeit weakly.”

Although this mineral water had no effect on ordinary people, it also supplemented the consumed magic power little by little for the Awakened.

The ‘potion’ that recharges mana is made with these medicinal waters.

Of course, potions were incredibly expensive per bottle.

Because the country or companies are trying to monopolize the source of this mineral water.

There are so many stories about the owner of the mountain that the hill behind it, which used to be a troubled place, turned into a mineral spring and became rich—needless to say.

“… It is a well from which mineral water comes out.”

A house with something like this could be sold for an exorbitant price.

Even this dilapidated, abandoned house will go up in price.

But now, only me and Oinoi knew about the mineral water of this well.

Are you going to contact the real estate manager and finalize the purchase?

In an instant, I got greedy.

Oinoya, you won’t know anything, so all I have to do is keep my mouth shut.

Shut-.

I picked up my cell phone and dialed the number to leave a message.

# # #

The Awoken community was noisy every day.

It was because of the story about the mineral water found in the ‘well’ this time.

『Is it true that the land that was 5,000 was sold for 1.5 Billion? No matter how much you work as an Awakener, having a good land is the best.

『I thought the real estate myth invincible formula was broken, but I’m still on a winning streak.』

『Telos bastards have been working on IT, taxis, telecommunications, and even bicycles, and now they are even touching real estate.』

The house with the well was quickly sold to IT company Telos.

It was a price of 1.5 Billion.

I, who only had about 2,000 in the quick money fight, had nothing to do.

After all, you should have kept your mouth shut and revealed the truth after purchasing the land.

“Did Telos buy it? These guys, I hate them because they order a lot of people after ordering them.”

For the past 10 years, I have mostly lived on a meal at the request of government agencies and Telos companies. Public officials were famous for giving money, and Telos gave moderately, but it was annoying because he was picky.

When I thought about that, Oinoi felt very sorry.

“They are curious about what happens to the well where Grebnoi used to live…. Oh noi, I really liked that well….”

ㅁZuzuzu-.

!

Angangi, the emperor ant, and Kyeongkyeongi, the dog squirrel, were also very sorry. The dog squirrel Kyeongkongi worked hard to drive out the insects living in the house, and Angangi even tidied up the garden.

But it never became our home.

“It’s a different place, shouldn’t we look into it again?”

I hit the computer and searched for a good house.

It was then.

Ding-dong-. Smart-.

Someone knocked on the door of my studio.

“It looks like the pizza Oinoi ordered was delivered… ! This oi noi, it’s my first time ordering delivery, so I’m very nervous… !”

Oinoi was delighted.

Is the pepperoni pizza delivered?

I got up and opened the door.

Then I saw a woman with black hair and sunglasses on her forehead looking at me and slightly frowning.

She was a sophisticated woman like a model for a luxury brand in the city.

“What is it, Seo Ye-rim?”

“This oinoi is also disappointing because it is not pizza….”

“What kind of pizza? Can I come in?”

Seo Ye-rim took off her shoes without my permission and entered the room.

He didn’t seem to care that his stockings were dirty with dust anymore.

Of course, the emperor ant Angangi wiped the floor every now and then, so there wasn’t even a speck of dust on it.

“I heard. Hail also. You tried to buy a house, but the water came out and you reported it honestly? You should have just closed your mouth and eaten it. Why did you do such a stupid thing?”

She was Seo Ye-rim who severely criticized me as soon as she arrived.

I spoke honestly to Seo Ye-rim.

“What should I do if I hear that I secretly dumped it later?”

“Who would say that? You’re not even famous.”

Looking at Seo Ye-rim, who was smiling brightly, I shut her mouth for a moment.

I also thought a lot.

However, I thought that the choice I made was right, and I said it seriously.

“It will be done now. Celebrity. I’m really seriously aiming for the top.”

“Up?”

“I’m going to make my name appear in the newspaper every day, so there shouldn’t be any flaws in me.”

I was the one who received more criticism than anyone else.

I knew very well how painful it is to be criticized.

I decided to aim for the S-class, the pinnacle.

Rather than being criticized, I wanted to become everyone’s idol and a hero like a hero.

Pretending not to know the well house where the mineral water comes from, but buying it at a cheap price?

I couldn’t tolerate it myself.

Seeing me like that, Seo Ye-rim opened her slender eyes.

“… Do you know what S-class can be? It’s only possible with hard work and money. What is an S-class person who babbles even when looking for a house? So, have you decided on a new place to live?”

Seo Ye-rim was indeed an S-class witch.

Each word contained only facts and only aimed at weaknesses.

There was a time when her heart, which had been eating hard for so long, seemed to sink.

Jjallang-.

Seo Ye-rim held out her height.

“I bought a new property this time. It’s a bit empty, so I want to turn it into monthly rent. 50,000 Won a month. 2,000 Deposit. The address is written there.”

Her address was stuck to the key Seo Ye-rim held out to her like a ribbon.

The address was not unfamiliar.

When I searched, there were many news articles and pictures of well houses.

“Wasn’t this well house bought from Telos Corporation?”

Why is Seo Ye-rim giving me the key to the well house?

Soon, Seo Ye-rim rather frowned at her.

“… You don’t even know who I am Jae-chan Seo, CEO of Telos Business Strategy Team, is my father.”

Oh, write.

The swearing came out spontaneously.

How could the world be so unfair?

She was the daughter of a conglomerate family while working as an S-class awakening person and even a celebrity? So the house was as big as a castle and carp lived in the pond.

I really grind my teeth at the unfairness of the world.

Oinoi immediately spoke.

“Ah… ! The owner of the house said that Telos Corporation was a heinous scoundrel who killed ordinary people in order to expand the octopus foot business… ! I said that they are evil people who want to solve anything with money… !”

“What!?”

Warak, frowning Seo Ye-rim.

Feeling the temperature in the house rise in an instant, I covered Oinoi’s mouth.

“No, when did I say that? There is no other company that is as challenging and passionate as Telos. Hey, that’s great I got a lot of work at Telos, so I know it well. Is it a good influence or something?”

“What are you saying? Actually, I don’t like the management policy of my family either. That’s why she doesn’t like to be identified as the daughter of Telos. My family is rich in the first place, not me.”

… No, even if you look at the Telos company apart, Seo Ye-rim seems to be rich enough.

Of course, I swallowed such a story.

Ding dong-.

“Ah, this time the pizza is here… !”

We shared a hot pizza.

I thought the daughter of a chaebol family could only cut steak, but when I saw her eating pizza in a studio, it seemed like my common sense was breaking down.

“So, Oi Noi and her landlord buried Greb Noi… !”

“Really? You did a bad job It must have been a new material that was hard enough to break the high-frequency blade. Even though there is such a thing, it is an irregular crack that is not caught by the crack detection system…. Cracks are so strange.”

It was when Seo Ye-rim was immersed in her thoughts, thinking about the crack.

I decided to ask a question I had been asking for a long time.

“You know this and that better than others because of your location, right? I’ve been wondering so far, but what the hell is a ‘crack’? What is ‘a drifter’?”

Cracks and drifters.

I was curious about these strange beings, but I couldn’t figure out the answer because I was a D-Class for 10,000 years.

But now I felt I had to wonder.

In order to find a way to return the strange nymph Oinoi to her world.

Because there might be someone in the hometown waiting for Oinoi like Grebnoi.