There’s a Monster Inside Me

Chapter 14

“Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!”

Dol Jin-dallae receiving the nine-tiered refreshment table was absolutely unbearable.

Not only did she raise both hands high and bow deeply to the refreshment table, but she also wiggled her hips in a dance never seen or heard of before.

It was quite an eyesore.

“UGH, my eyes are rotting. Will you stop?”

“Jin-dallae, you act similar to our fourth youngest sibling?”

Unlike me who frowned, Gurumi laughed heartily.

“You said you have six siblings, so how is the fourth one the youngest?”

“I thought the fourth was the youngest, but then the fifth came along so that one became the fifth youngest… then the sixth came, so sixth youngest… that’s how we started calling them that.”

“Heh, you have so many siblings?”

We sat in a hexagonal pavilion overlooking a blue pond near the herb garden, talking about various things while unpacking the nine-tiered refreshment table. It contained another feast, different from yesterday’s.

Gurumi, with a rumbling hungry stomach, shared food with some passing classmates.

Each time, Jin-dallae’s eyes nearly popped out.

“Oh my, what a waste…!”

“We can’t eat it all anyway. Stop it.”

“I could eat it all, you know?”

We took those words as a joke, but later realized that Jin-dallae was completely serious about everything related to food.

“Oh right, did you guys hear? They say we’re going to the library tomorrow? They’ll give us assignments there.”

“The library? I heard it’s amazing!”

“Oh, I see!”

Only after hearing Jin-dallae and Gurumi’s conversation did it suddenly occur to me.

Certainly around this time, all freshmen were scheduled to visit the library. And a big incident happens. A major event no one expected….

Anyway, the Thousand-Year School Grand Library… nostalgia suddenly welled up.

That place was where I, timid and withdrawn in my past life, spent most of my time.

And right there, I met the food spirit demon. The unstoppable monster that devoured the king of endless hell.

From the day I arrived at Thousand-Year School, I wanted to run there immediately but barely held myself back. Waiting only for freshmen to be granted access.

And now I’m finally going there.

“Maru, what’s wrong?”

“Maru, do you need to poop?”

My expression must have been quite solemn. Gurumi and Jin-dallae were looking at me with furrowed brows.

“Uh, my stomach… I’ll go to the restroom for a bit.”

Somehow feeling like my stomach should be hurting at this moment, I limped down from the pavilion.

The Grand Library…

The place where I spent most of my rookie days made me excited.

With my trivial divine power, the reason I could stubbornly endure and not give up on the academy’s teachings was thanks to the enormous amount of books I read countless times.

Of course, I did bring back the seed of misfortune called the food spirit demon from there.

Thinking about it again, I sometimes wonder if it was really a misfortune.

Isn’t fortune and misfortune separated by just a paper-thin difference, and didn’t they say that gods offer misfortune first to give blessings?

Compared to a barren life that was neither unfortunate nor particularly happy, I wondered if meeting the food spirit demon was truly a misfortune.

At first, I definitely considered it a misfortune, but now, not so much.

It was then, as I was walking wearily, that my eyes caught a suspicious shadow.

Footsteps deliberately seeking dark, shadowy places in the White Crane Castle, which was illuminated everywhere with night-glowing pearls.

I immediately felt something was off.

I quickly climbed a nearby zelkova tree.

The place where the black shadow crossed through the window was none other than Jin-dallae’s dormitory!

‘They’ve come!’

Those with dark intentions had finally come looking for Jin-dallae!

What could they have done to make the normally resilient Jin-dallae unable to endure and leave the academy?

My teeth ground together with indignation.

I took out a night-glowing pearl from my pocket.

There were two black shadows.

One had a hulking, massive body, undoubtedly Geombau, and the other’s skinny figure reminded me of Gyeoosol who used to hang around with Geombau.

If Geombau lived by his strength, Gyeoosol was the cunning one who used his brain.

Gyeoosol was an expert in the Earth beast art(jisu) category, with the ability to control animals.

“So that’s your game?”

I took out the needle that was quietly hiding in my pocket.

The small, smooth metal crawled stealthily like an inchworm. Since they hadn’t turned on the lights, those guys wouldn’t be able to see anything.

Through the sense connected to the needle, I grasped the surrounding situation.

Very small creatures were crawling inside Jin-dallae’s room.

Agile movements, smooth exoskeletons, slender waists, and constantly moving antennae…

‘Red venom ants!’

Damn it, my teeth clenched.

These guys weren’t planning to just scare Jin-dallae!

Red fire ants are powerful poisonous insects that can bite and kill both humans and animals.

Judging from the red venom ant army marching in single file from the bamboo tube Gyeoosol was holding, their intention to kill Jin-dallae or leave her half-dead was clear.

“Damn it!”

Was that so? Was there a freshman who died after just a few days? I didn’t even know there was such a classmate!

To have to give up one’s life just for giving fake fortune readings at the freshman welcome party… isn’t that too harsh a price?!

“You bastards, how about you die instead?!”

Blood rushed to my pupils.

I did not target Geombaeu or Gyeooosol directly. What I chose was the red fire ant.

The red venom ant is a venomous insect with a powerful and aggressive nature, though it’s being controlled by Gyeooosol’s limbs!

When an Earth beast under a mage’s control receives an intense shock…

For instance, if lightning strikes or it receives a shock that penetrates its limbs, the creature momentarily breaks free from the mage’s control.

If it were a timid beast, it might flee madly the moment it regains consciousness, but what about aggressive creatures like red fire ants?

POKE! POKE POKE! POKE!

My divine-power-connected needle precisely stabbed the red ants passing right in front of me.

Each time, the red fire ant flipped over and trembled violently.

The ones that shook themselves and stood up broke free from Gyeooosol’s control.

“AAAAAARGH!”

It didn’t take long for the screaming to be heard.

“Hey, kid. What’s wrong? This is crazy…!”

Geombaeu looked at the struggling Gyeooosol and jumped out the window.

With Gyeooosol collapsed and foaming at the mouth, Geombaeu had no way to control the situation.

He had no plans to save Gyeooosol either.

Geombaeu’s large shadow disappeared in an instant.

Shortly after, Jin-dallae’s door opened and the lights came on. Someone must have heard Gyeooosol’s screams.

“KYAAK! A man! A man has collapsed!”

“Could he be dead?”

“There’s a bunch of something! KEEAAK!”

Hearing the voices of the students, I leisurely climbed down from the zelkova tree.

The new students’ dormitory became quite rowdy.

***

Morning dawned with chirping birds.

“Hey Jin-dallae, did you sleep well?”

“Oh, you guys too?”

As soon as the door opened, I ran into Dol Jin-dallae.

Her bright red hair was puffed up like a lion’s mane, and her eyelids were swollen.

Last night, Jin-dallae didn’t seem to have slept properly.

It was understandable. Yesterday, battling a swarm of red fire ants turned not only Jin-dallae’s room but also nearby rooms into chaos.

To remove the collapsed Gyeooosol from the room and deal with the red fire ants scattered everywhere, the academy servants, administrators, and professors all had to get involved.

Eventually last night, Jin-dallae and students from nearby rooms all had to move to different accommodations.

It was out of concern that escaped fire ants might harm the students.

As a result, Dol Jin-dallae moved into the room adjacent to ours, and other classmates moved into rooms further down the line.

It was fortunate for me, as I was worried about Jin-dallae’s safety.

After such a chaotic morning, we followed our senior student.

The Grand Library of the Thousand-Year School!

The place that had been my greatest comfort during my academy days and where I had met the food spirit demon!

We followed our senior through the massive wooden doors.

The familiar scent of books penetrated my nostrils. My heart pounded at that musty, stale fragrance.

Ah, how delightful, how delightful!

“This is incredible!”

Gurumi stuck out his tongue at the size of the Grand Library. Jin-dallae couldn’t close her gaping mouth.

The Thousand-Year School’s library boasted a vast scale, spanning from the 3rd to the 7th floor of the White Crane Castle.

With its swastika-shaped structure, tall bookshelves too high to see the top of were embedded in every wall.

I prided myself on having read quite a number of books while doing transcription work at the teacher’s house, but facing this place, I realized I was just a frog in a well.

Would all the books I’d read even amount to a thousandth, no, a ten-thousandth of the Grand Library?

In the center of the library was a spiral staircase.

Climbing the tower-shaped staircase that reached five floors, one could reach even the highest places.

“Today’s an individual assignment. Each of you, reach in and draw a book list.”

The senior handed us a wooden box with a hole. We each took out a rolled scroll from inside the box.

Today’s task was to navigate the maze-like library and find the books listed.

I unfolded the paper I drew. As I looked at the list, a slight smile formed on my face.

《Celestial Divine Immortal Biography》, 

《Dr. Jugeonyi’s Records of Observations》,

 《Acupuncturist Soo Sebowui’s Prescription Book》,

 《Spatial Transference, Formation, Transformation and Methods to Break Indestructible Spaces》…

The moment I read the titles, I recalled which corner, which shelf they were placed on. It was thanks to reading countless books crazily for several years.

In my past life, I read a vast number of books, but to be honest, I understood almost none of the content.

In my previous life, I just wanted to prove my own worth by reading and reading again.

If asked for the only reason why I, who had no ability and no value for training, could remain at the Thousand-Year School, I wanted to say it was because I had read countless books in this library, and that was the evidence.

That’s how the Thousand-Year School’s library gave me the strength to endure.

“What is this? I can’t even read the titles properly.”

“Really. The pronunciation is difficult too.”

In my past life, when I first received the paper, I too had made a gloomy face like Jin-dallae and Gurumi.

“Well then, shall we all split up today?”

“Yes, we have no choice.”

“Everyone, do your best! I’ll wish you all luck.”

From the center of the swastika, the ninety-two new students scattered in all directions.

Despite not being a small number, the space was so vast that encounters with others were rare.

I walked to the northern end of the library.

Even in the library, hardly anyone came to the darkest and dingiest northern section. And there was a hidden space there that no one could see.

The place where I first met the food spirit demon!

A secret space unknown even to the many librarians and servants of the Grand Library.

Only I knew how to open it.

I put my hand through the narrow gap between bookshelves in the northern section.

The black shadow swallowed my wrist, then my elbow and arm. My entire body was immersed in darkness.

And… finally.

CLICK!

My fingertips caught the secret lever that no one else knew about.

I grabbed the lever tightly and pulled it with all my strength.

WOONG…

Only I could hear the ominous sound that shook the foundation, and only I could feel the floor trembling like an earthquake.

In an instant, pitch-black darkness enveloped my entire body. Absolute darkness where nothing could be seen! I squeezed my eyes shut to overcome the fear of darkness.

Shortly after, light poured through my eyelids.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a completely white space where I couldn’t tell up from down or left from right.

My left wrist felt cold.

SWOOSH!

Smoke rose and a tall, slender man appeared.

A pure appearance with sparkling white clothes and fine silver hair flowing down. The only colored part was his obsidian-black eyes.

“B-Baek, Lord Baek Eun-ok…?”

It was the first time I had seen the giant serpent that had broken through the roof transform into human form.

He was bright and beautiful as a white snake, and no different as a human.

I was about to lose my mind at the sight of the handsome young immortal, so elegant that not a speck of dust could stick to him.

“Where is this place?”

“It’s a secret space in the Thousand-Year School’s library.”

“Are there others who know of this place?”

I shook my head.

“Probably just me. I heard there was one more person before… but they said he died.”

The first human the food spirit demon met long ago.

He too had entered this space and taken the food spirit demon into his body. But didn’t he end his life, distraught that a demon had taken residence in a sorcerer’s body?

He was clearly a person with overflowing spirit, unlike me who lacked even the courage to die.

“Do you know the master of this place?”

“Yes.”

I endured the shame and lifted my robe.

The goblin pattern drawn on my belly was fully revealed. Sharp jagged teeth and a huge mouth split from one end to the other.

Baek Eun-ok took a startled step back at the hideous pattern.

“It’s the demon face that was engraved when the food spirit demon entered. It’s sleeping now though.”

“Food spirit demon…?”

Baek Eun-ok’s black eyes, which had been rolling around, suddenly split vertically.

“A demon…”

I couldn’t understand what he meant by shaking his head.

“You say it’s asleep?”

“…Yes, I think so.”

Baek Eun-ok examined the goblin pattern on my belly. He came close as if to touch it, but seemed too afraid to do so.

“It’s covered with fur all over its body. And…”

I pictured the creature.

The furry ball-like creature…

That’s when it happened.

…Suddenly my stomach twitched.

Somehow my limbs tingled, and nausea rose up.

“HUK! UGH, UGH…!”

Violent reaction!

My heart pounded, and the urge to vomit surged up my throat.

“UUUGH!”

THUD!

With the rising nausea, something fell to the floor.