Chapter 67

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 space 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 .

What should I do…

I never thought that I’d agonize over Yong Yong being picky with food .

Ugh… You have no idea how much trouble I went through to prepare those fairy worms .

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 .

Well, it is not like eating steak is going to lead to an upset stomach .

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?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: How could there be any? I spent the whole day putting Yong Yong to sleep and feeding and teaching him . ]

[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Wait… Yong Yong is that hatchling?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Yeah . Why?]

[Park Jung-ah, 90th Floor: Oh my… What kind of lunatic names a hatchling Yong Yong!]

[TL: In Korean, Yong is the pronunciation 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?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: It’s all right . I can beat them . ]

[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 .

The small wings that were folded on the back opened wide . The wings were still small even when opened wide .

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?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Right . It’s a silver dragon . ]

[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 was baffled by this .

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 pronunciation 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 prize was a bottle of elixir .

The participants 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 pronunciation, 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?

In that case, simple names like Guri, Gyuri, and Khan are automatically disqualified .

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 .

All right . He says he likes the name, so what can I do .

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 .

Yong Yong liked any name that was lengthy .

The problem was that Yong Yong refused to give up the potential name candidates that came up .

He wanted to use them all as his name .

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 pronounce . 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?

Are you saying there is a First and a Second with that exact ridiculous name?

What the hell .

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…

Yong Yong was rolling around overjoyed . Watching him being so happy warmed my heart .

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 lass’ 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 .

Yong Yong was rolling around on the table while clutching his full belly .

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 .

He had the desire to become stronger than anyone before clearing the 100th Floor and going back to the reality .

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 passed .

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 was one of the greatest talents in Tutorial .

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 .

No matter how I look at it, he is already the strongest .

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 .

Also, I am the only one who is likely to be the part of the goal . I am the only player who is stronger than Lee Jun-suk .

It is a stupid idea .

He cannot compare himself to me .

Um…

This is not just about Lee Jun-suk .

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?

The fact that Kim Min-huk left the Tutorial is making things difficult to a bone-cutting degree .

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 .

A part of my mana was out of control . It was leaking out of my body .

Damn it . I was fine for a while .

I’ll have to acknowledge that I let my guard down too much .

I have thought about too many keywords repeatedly .

Outside, Reality, Power, Identity, Growth, Happiness, Kim Min-huk, Park Jung-ah…

I cannot suppress the mana flowing out from my entire body .

It is already out of control .

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 .

After that, I raised my right hand that I was using to brush 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 power was incredible . It could destroy everything around me just from having it collected on my hand .

The entire residential area at the 60th Floor was shaking just from the mana’s movement .

To direct the power, I rotated the mana in a specific trajectory .

The mana collected on my hand slowly started to calm down .

It will gradually dissipate with passage 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 .

The problem is what comes next .

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 do not like feeling happy looking at Yong Yong either .

I absolutely hate this damn 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 .

There were numerous emotions in my mind . I turned them into images .

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 .

My emotions were burning in red, boiling and on the verge of exploding . I poured cold water on to my emotions .

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