There’s a Monster Inside Me Chapter 30

There’s a Monster Inside Me

Chapter 30

After the individual training period ended, days at the Thousand-Year School became busier than ever.

 The training intensity increased so much that any talk of leniency for newcomers disappeared completely. 

Days that began before dawn ended when darkness fell. It was one such night as I was falling asleep.

“Get up right now! Demon! It’s a demon!”

Sleep vanished at the booming voice resonating in my stomach. I checked if Gurumi might have heard, but the Food Spirit’s cry had clearly only reached me.

I inhaled sharply.

There was a faint demon smell from quite a distance. The Food Spirit must be hungry lately to detect such a scent so quickly.

Since I’d been thinking it was time to feed it anyway, I immediately leapt through the window.

RUSTLE!

I ran as fast as the wind.

The body never lies.

Since coming to the Thousand-Year School, I’d run constantly from dawn without rest. I trained my body as much as my divine power. Thanks to this, my legs became surprisingly swift.

Building muscle while doubling flexibility made lifting heavy objects effortless and scaling steep cliffs laughable.

With divine power in my legs, I could run faster than a horse; with divine power in my arms, I could throw huge boulders.

With my swift legs, I narrowed the distance to the demon.

GURGLE!

My stomach churned and the furry creature emerged.

TOONG! TONG!

Demonic energy was growing thicker ahead of the Food Spirit.

‘What is this?’

I wondered even as I ran. This wasn’t a place where demons typically appeared.

The spaces where supernatural creatures could live within the Thousand-Year School were clearly defined.

Other areas were imbued with divine sanctity where demons wouldn’t dare enter, so why would a demon be in such a place?

Soon, the demon came into view.

Beneath a deep valley, a huge boulder floated, completely red in color. Embedded in the rock were large eyeballs.

I had seen it before.

It was a demon called Hyodong-Sa’an(鴞瞳獅眼), a demon with all the world’s fiercest eyeballs collected and embedded in a large rock.

When it appears and looks at people or animals, they freeze like frogs before a snake.

True to its name combining owl eyes and lion eyes, Hyodong-Sa’an’s demonic energy stimulates fear in the human mind.

About a dozen eyeballs all glared in my direction.

“KIKIKIKI, Let’s eat!”

Of course, there was also the Food Spirit that felt not a trace of such fear.

TOONG!

The lightly flying Food Spirit opened its mouth wide.

In an instant, the eyeballs scattered, creating distance between them.

The floating Hyodong-Sa’an was difficult to catch because of its extremely quick reflexes.

Whenever the Food Spirit jumped, Hyodong-Sa’an’s eyeballs instantly split apart. Their movements were so fast it was impossible to predict their direction.

As a result, the Food Spirit repeatedly swallowed empty air.

“Hey, look at these little bastards?”

In my previous life, when I first encountered Hyodong-Sa’an, the Food Spirit couldn’t eat a single one.

If only failing to eat them had been the extent of our trouble, but we suffered terribly for a while because of the Hyodong-Sa’an we couldn’t catch.

Hyodong-Sa’an was a demon subordinate to the sorcerer pursuing us. They became the sorcerer’s eyes, constantly reporting our location. We couldn’t escape the fierce pursuit for a while because of the Hyodong-Sa’an that followed us like guides.

To swallow the strangely evasive Hyodong-Sa’an required cooperation between me and the Food Spirit.

“Hey, catch it properly this time!”

I wasn’t sure if I had the same skill level as back then, but I had to try anyway.

If the master of Hyodong-Sa’an discovered the Food Spirit’s existence, it would be no ordinary headache, so we needed to devour them without a trace.

As I watched for an opportunity from one end of the cliff, the Food Spirit jumped up, smashing its body against the ground.

TOONG!

The Hyodong-Sa’an evaded the Food Spirit’s wide-open mouth. The clustered demons scattered instantly.

One of them moved near the cliff. This was the moment I’d been waiting for!

I injected divine power into my legs and kicked the Hyodong-Sa’an.

BBEONG!

CRUNCH!

The huge eyeball plummeted toward the Food Spirit, which caught and devoured it perfectly.

PTOOEY!

“HAP!”

The Food Spirit that swallowed the Hyodong-Sa’an spat out a black bead. The bead was mine!

TOONG!

The Food Spirit jumped up.

BBEONG!

I kicked the scattering Hyodong-Sa’an.

“CHOMP!”

And the wide-open mouth bit it in one gulp. This sensation of perfect coordination! It tasted quite good.

CRUNCH! MUNCH!

The remaining Hyodong-Sa’an instantly disappeared into the Food Spirit’s stomach.

“PTOOOEEEEY!”

Divine power beads poured from its mouth.

“HAP! HAAP!”

I was also busy catching and eating the beads falling here and there.

As we were performing these feats, I heard footsteps echoing through the forest.

‘Hide, quickly!’

The moment a thought occurs.

GULP!

The food spirit demon entered my stomach at an incredible speed.

“…Who’s there?”

A person jumped out from the dark forest, but I could be certain of one thing.

That they hadn’t seen the food spirit demon.

A long shadow fell across the valley.

The pitch-black shadow with moonlight at its back was as massive as a gray bear.

I saw his face. I frowned and even rubbed my arms.

‘How is he here…?!’

When I confirmed his identity in the deep darkness, I experienced a sense of dismay like my heart would stop.

***

The fact that there was an abandoned log cabin deep in the mountains, far away from the academy, was something I hadn’t known even in my previous life.

I followed the unfamiliar figure all the way here.

“COUGH.”

When I pushed open the thick wooden door, there was a pungent dusty smell.

After lighting the wall sconce, fine dust rose with every movement.

“PHEW… Just how long has this place been abandoned?”

I asked the bear-like large man while dusting off the accumulated dust.

“Not that long, A few months maybe.”

I was truly surprised it wasn’t as old as I thought.

To me, it looked like dust that had accumulated for over a decade.

“How long did you stay when you were here last?”

“…Two days, Three days.”

“And cleaning?”

“Why would I do something like that?”

Somehow I understand now.

It seems he never dusted off the accumulated dust, not a few months ago, not before that either.

To think he stayed two or three days in such a dust hole. This was something my past self would have done when chased by trackers.

Ironically, this very person was the tracker who threatened my life in my previous life, which is astounding!

SWING!

Opening all the windows wide to let the wind through made it somewhat more bearable.

As I dusted off the table and chairs, I glanced at the man.

In the flickering light, the man’s appearance was revealed.

His bowing black hair swayed at around shoulder length, and his lower jaw had thick bushy beard.

Dressed in black clothes with thick armor on his shoulders and chest, he was the very image of a sturdy warrior.

“Hey, kid. Sit there.”

He pointed to a dust-covered chair and lit the fireplace.

“Isn’t it warm today?”

It was quite summery weather. A fireplace on such a hot day seemed strange.

“Can’t be helped if I want to boil water.”

He threw a dust-covered kettle at me.

“Clean it.”

I went out carrying the clattering cast iron kettle and teacups rolling nearby.

I couldn’t understand how I ended up facing him like this.

SPLASH!…

Putting my hands in the cold water, I suddenly came to my senses.

Just before, when I faced that person, I really thought my heart would drop.

Fortunately, he didn’t see the food spirit demon. When he questioned what I was doing, I made the excuse that I was practicing spatial magic.

He must have felt the demon energy of Hyodong-sa-an, as he checked the surroundings for quite some time.

The giant eye demon had been completely devoured by the food spirit demon, leaving nothing behind.

What if he had caught sight of the food spirit demon…? Cold sweat ran down as relief and fear crossed paths.

I somewhat wanted to just say goodbye and leave, but he didn’t tell me to go, and I didn’t leave that place either.

Somehow I couldn’t just let go of the person who was my worst enemy in my previous life.

Did he feel something about me too? The man brought me here saying ‘follow me.’

After placing the water-filled kettle on the fireplace, we finally sat facing each other.

An extremely awkward situation.

The silence was embarrassing, so I had to blabber something.

“Though late, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Bada Maru, a new student at the Thousand-Year School.”

“Hmm….”

Although I bent my waist respectfully, all I got in return was something like a sigh.

What kind of reaction is that? I felt somewhat unfair.

“If I may ask, could you tell me your name?”

“What name?”

He waved his hand dismissively as he answered carelessly.

In my past life, when this person was chasing me, I was amazed at his meticulousness.

Among all the trackers who followed me, this person before my eyes was by far the most terrible and tenacious warrior.

To think that he was someone who lived sloppily in such a dust-covered place.

With this newly discovered fact, I felt like I could neither laugh nor cry.

“MEOW….”

The pitch-black cat sitting on the windowsill suddenly made a low cry. The black cat jumped down from the windowsill and approached the man.

Its soft paws made no sound.

The black cat did not smell like an animal. Even when I widened my nostrils and fully opened my spirit energy, there was no other scent.

Odorless and tasteless like the dragon Baek Eun-ok!

That’s not just an ordinary cat. Its true identity is the black wolf, Heukrang (黑狼)!

Of course, it’s not an ordinary wolf.

In my past life, I had seen its transformed appearance.

Its size when transformed into a wolf was incomparably larger than an ordinary wolf.

The black wolf, bigger than a bull, was a divine beast (神獸) that serves only one master in its lifetime.

That black wolf resembled its master and was unbelievably persistent.

With extremely developed sense of smell, the black wolf could detect scents from a hundred li away, and when it began tracking, it moved faster than even a thousand mile horse.

The combination of the black wolf and the man was the most threatening among the many trackers who pursued me.

Those persistent creatures I simply couldn’t shake off.

I once shivered in cold ice water for three days to escape the black wolf’s sense of smell.

I thought it would be better to be caught and die… A terrifying memory came back of nearly having all my limbs amputated.

“Then how should I address you, Teacher?”

“What teacher…”

“…But if you’re someone at the Thousand-Year School, I thought you must be a faculty professor.”

I casually stated that he must certainly be a professor. In truth, while he had close ties to the Thousand-Year School, he wasn’t a professor.

In my past life, I first saw this person on the day the Thousand-Year School burned down.

At that time, I struggled hard to prevent my alma mater’s misfortune.

That day, I went wild like a mad ghost and ended up revealing the food spirit demon to everyone.

In the end, despite being exposed, I couldn’t prevent the White Crane Castle from collapsing. I couldn’t even save the Grandmaster heonhajijong who had awakened me to live as a human again.

To make matters worse, all the crimes of burning down the Thousand-Year School were pinned on me.

Afterward, numerous sorcerers and wizards chased after me, and I fled endlessly.

Even when most gave up and left, those two stuck with me until the very end.

Just recalling the black wolf’s shiny black fur and bright yellow eyes made me sick to my stomach.

The man believed I was the mastermind behind burning down the Thousand-Year School, and his revenge was terrifyingly unbearable.

But that was a relationship from my previous life.

Though we met as worst enemies then, things must be different in this life.

It’s still unclear who is under Geum Tae-min’s control and who is trustworthy.

But I can say with certainty that this person can be trusted!

In my past life, I knew that his obsession, which cursed me with evil, was an undeniable affection for the Thousand-Year School and Grandmaster Cheonhajijong…

I could trust him.

“If you’re not a professor then… how should I address you…?”

When that man was chasing me, knights dressed in black accompanied him. They were incredibly skilled individuals with unique talents.

My heart nearly burst more than once because of them closing in on horseback.

I once secretly overheard what the other knights called that man.

‘Commander!’

Yes. His official title was ‘Commander.’ The commander who led the Black Knights, the direct unit of His Majesty.

“So if you would tell me your name…”

“My, what a persistent one.”

As the man shook his head, suddenly a gentle breeze blew.

For a moment, my entire body froze.

It was because of the fragrant bamboo leaf scent flowing through the wind. That scent reminded me of someone.

“Why won’t you tell him your name? What’s so great about it?”

A low, gentle voice. A slow manner of speaking as if notes were connecting.

With wide-open eyes, I blankly stared at the cabin door.

Leaning on a large staff made of an ancient tree, with white beard hanging down, he was coming inside.

“Grandmaster!”

I knelt and prostrated myself regardless of the dust.

Above my head as I bowed respectfully with my forehead to the ground, a kind ‘heh-heh-heh’ laughter flowed.