NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63
Chapter 63. Museum (3)
“I should have a patterned Giant Cat Monster among the ones I just hunted…”
“Huh? Really?”
“Shall we bring it over?”
Among the Giant Cat Monsters Min Yu-ri recently hunted, there was a patterned one with completely white fur.
Museum director Kim Hong-geun wanted to see the item with his own eyes.
“It’ll arrive at the museum in about 40 minutes at the earliest.”
“Wow, to think we’d get not only the Queen Goemi but also a hard-to-find Giant Cat Monster…! Thanks to this, the museum’s opening will be sooner!”
“Hey, we didn’t hunt the Giant Cat Monster ourselves.”
Thanks to the Sweet Fun guild, the Seoul Monster Museum managed to acquire such rare monsters.
Kim Hong-geun smiled brightly and praised the two.
As he looked down at his mobile phone, he said, “Shall we take a look at the warehouse?”
“Yes.”
“The payment for the Queen Goemi is currently being processed by the museum staff.”
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu followed Kim Hong-geun to the warehouse where monsters were being stored for display in the museum.
Inside the warehouse, numerous monsters were already preserved.
As Kim Si-hu surveyed the surroundings, he remarked, “It’s like they’re really alive… even though they’re already displayed.”
“Hehe. Many experts are working hard to make it feel lively even after preservation.”
The monsters looked like they were alive but were completely motionless.
Kim Hong-geun felt quite satisfied with Kim Si-hu’s reaction.
It meant that the preparations were progressing well if even a seasoned hero reacted like that.
Yoo Ji-han pointed towards the direction of a few people walking in the warehouse.
“It seems the Queen Goemi is over there.”
“By now, the monster taxidermist should be scraping out the innards from the Queen Goemi’s body. Once that’s done, they’ll stuff it with cotton.”
“Ugh…”
“Since the body is quite large, it might take some time. It could be quite a gruesome sight, so you don’t have to see it directly.”
“Let’s skip that, then.”
Honestly, he was a bit curious about what kind of scene it would be, but Yoo Ji-han decided against witnessing the innards being removed out of consideration for Kim Si-hu.
“I just got a message from the staff that the payment has been completed.”
“I’ll check it.”
Kim Si-hu checked the guild account balance with his mobile phone.
There was a record of 55 million won transferred from the Seoul Monster Museum just a minute ago.
“Looks like there was an extra 5 million won deposited by mistake?”
“It’s a small token of our appreciation for sending us such an excellent item. I hope you’ll accept it…”
“Hm! Thank you.”
Yoo Ji-han nodded with a satisfied expression.
It was quite a delightful thing for a guild to receive such goodwill from a buyer.
Creeeak—
At that moment, a museum staff member entered the warehouse, pulling a large cart filled with something.
Yoo Ji-han stepped aside to check the monsters loaded onto the cart.
‘Goiram Squirrels.’
Goiram Squirrels.
These were squirrel monsters commonly found in Korea.
Judging by the quantity, they seemed set for an extensive exhibition in the museum.
“Hmm?”
However, as Yoo Ji-han looked at the Goiram Squirrels, he tilted his head in confusion.
The squirrels on the cart had patches of red blood smeared on their fur, yet overall, they looked perfectly intact.
All of them had their eyes closed, lying still without a hint of movement…
He felt an uncomfortable sense of foreboding.
“Director, do you see those Goiram Squirrels?”
“Yes. They are one of the monsters scheduled to arrive today.”
“Are you sure they’re really dead?”
“Pardon?”
“They look way too intact… I’m not feeling great about this.”
“……”
All of the monsters entering the museum were supposed to be dead.
Yoo Ji-han’s remark was something all the newly hired staff had said at least once while preparing for the museum’s opening.
Normally, Kim Hong-geun would just shrug it off.
“Hmm…”
But Yoo Ji-han’s party had just hunted the Queen Goemi.
With one of the heroes saying something like that, Kim Hong-geun couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
The intuition of heroes with magical abilities was not something to be easily dismissed.
“Stop right there!”
“Uh?”
Kim Hong-geun stopped the staff member pushing the cart.
“Let me check the items for a moment.”
“Understood.”
The three approached the cart loaded with the Goiram Squirrels.
They all were limp, with not a single scratch on them.
How could this be possible?
Yoo Ji-han grasped the neck of the smallest one among them.
“……?”
However, as soon as his hand touched the Goiram Squirrel’s body, he frowned.
He felt a lukewarm body temperature through his hand.
That was too high to be considered a monster’s corpse.
With some special reason, typically, the body of a monster that had been dead for some time should be frozen, regardless of its species.
“This is strange, too. I can feel warmth…”
Just then.
The Goiram Squirrel he had grabbed suddenly opened its eyes wide.
“Pee-yow——!!”
“……!”
The Goiram Squirrel screeched with all its might!
Thud!
Yoo Ji-han tightened his grip and crushed the Squirrel’s neck.
But thanks to its piercing cry, the other Goiram Squirrels piled on the cart all opened their eyes at once.
Like animals waking from a long hibernation…
Dash—
They all bounded out of the cart and dashed away in different directions.
“Ahhhh!”
Could it be that they were actually live monsters!?
Kim Hong-geun hunched over to protect his head with both hands.
Even if they were known to be weak Rank 5 monsters, it was still a challenge for an ordinary person.
[Wind Arrow]
Kim Si-hu chased after the scattering Goiram Squirrels with Wind Arrows generated in the air.
Recently enhanced by elixirs, the arrows flew faster than the Goiram Squirrels could run.
Kim Si-hu swung his staff skillfully, driving arrows into the bodies of the escaping squirrels.
‘There are too many of them.’
However, the number of Goiram Squirrels escaping the cart was more than could be handled with magic alone.
Rustle!
Yoo Ji-han drew his sword and sliced at a Goiram Squirrel that charged at him.
“Si-hu! Call the Hero Department!”
“Yes!”
*
While Kim Si-hu was protecting Kim Hong-geun underground, Yoo Ji-han was chasing after the fleeing Goiram Squirrels, dashing through the museum.
Half an hour had passed since he began pursuing the Squirrels.
He still hadn’t located all the Goiram Squirrels.
‘This is becoming problematic…’
Shattered glass windows everywhere.
Police officers searching the museum with firearms.
Those that had escaped outside were accounted for, but those hiding inside were hard to spot.
“Still 11 left?”
—Yes. I confirmed with Director Kim Hong-geun.
In the warehouse, Kim Si-hu communicated with Yoo Ji-han over the phone.
There were still 11 Goiram Squirrels hiding in the museum.
Approximately three police officers had been attacked by the hidden Squirrels.
One of them had already been taken to the hospital.
At this rate, if something went wrong, the newly opening museum could face an MA declaration.
<— Probability that a Goiram Squirrel is hiding on the 1st floor of this building>
<98%>
As the sampling indicated, there were definitely Goiram Squirrels present here.
Yet, they were nowhere in sight.
Though larger than regular squirrels, the still relatively small Goiram Squirrels could hide in areas not easily seen by the human eye.
“How on earth did living monsters get in here?”
Bringing in such a large number of Goiram Squirrels while keeping them in a sleeping state was utterly impossible by normal standards.
Kim Hong-geun was currently trying to find out the route through which these Goiram Squirrels had entered.
“There!”
Responding to the police officer’s voice, Yoo Ji-han turned his head quickly.
He spotted one Goiram Squirrel running forward.
While the police with their firearms chased after it, Yoo Ji-han dashed in the opposite direction.
This was because the structure allowed one to return to the same spot after moving in one direction.
“Got it.”
As he predicted, the Goiram Squirrel and the police made a complete round and came running back towards him.
Yoo Ji-han focused on the movements of the little creature sprinting on all fours.
Dash!
Suddenly, the Goiram Squirrel began climbing up one of the museum’s pillars.
The police aimed their guns, but it didn’t seem easy to hit it.
Pew!
[Wind Beam]
With the help of the Sylph, Yoo Ji-han utilized Wind Beam.
As he jumped, he shot up high into the air.
While barely maintaining his balance, he slashed at the Goiram Squirrel climbing up the pillar with his sword.
The Squirrel that was cut by his sword fell down.
Wham!
Meanwhile, he managed to grab onto the pillar just before plummeting to the ground.
“Whew, what a hassle…”
Yoo Ji-han checked on the Sylph tucked away in his pocket.
While it was great to have mobility, continuous use of spirit magic put a heavy burden on the spirits.
It had been fortunate during the fight with Queen Goemi, but the Sylph in his pocket had almost exhausted itself without him noticing.
‘I need to find some Magic Crystals.’
To control spirits freely, a high level of growth was necessary.
What came to his mind was the growth of spirits through Magic Crystals.
However, acquiring them wasn’t an ordinary concern…
For now, he had no choice but to avoid relying too much on spirit magic.
Whoosh—
He slid down the pillar, grabbing onto it.
At that moment, a police officer approached him cautiously.
“Um… someone is looking for you up ahead.”
“Yeah?”
“It seems like another hero is looking for you.”
Someone wanted to see Yoo Ji-han.
Following the officer, he found Min Yu-ri together with Chilla in front of the museum.
“Yu-ri!”
“I tried to call, but neither Ji-han nor Si-hu picked up…”
“Ah, I’m sorry. We’re having a bit of a situation inside right now.”
“Really? What kind of situation?”
Yoo Ji-han briefly explained the situation to her.
How a Goiram Squirrel had delivered itself alive and escaped.
Upon hearing the news, Min Yu-ri said, “Shall I help out too?”
“That would be greatly appreciated.”
“However, it seems the building entryway is a bit cramped for Chilla.”
“You can enter through the basement.”
Yoo Ji-han led her down to the basement of the museum.
Thus, they returned to the 1st floor of the building.
As they walked, Chilla suddenly perked up its ears.
“Sniff!”
“It seems it already found something.”
“Really?”
Before Yoo Ji-han could express his confusion, Chilla darted away on all fours.
It headed towards the back of the already displayed monster exhibits.
The Goiram Squirrel was hiding there.
Bam!
Chilla knocked it out with a light punch.
‘Good intuition.’
Yoo Ji-han thought Chilla was simply a monster with good instincts.
But it wasn’t so simple.
As they roamed around the museum, Chilla kept discovering hidden Goiram Squirrels.
Maybe it was because they belonged to the same rodent family.
Chilla demonstrated exceptional tracking abilities.
Yoo Ji-han looked on in admiration and said, “That little guy is amazing…”
“Right?”
“Was it your pet at home?”
“Yes. But one day it started growing and became too big to keep at home.”
Min Yu-ri happily shared stories about Chilla once it received praise.
Unlike ordinary chinchillas, it preferred water baths.
The last time it had relieved itself was almost three years ago, yet it showed no signs of any issues.
Aside from its size, it was quite easy to care for.
“Sniff!”
Eventually, while the two were chatting, Chilla managed to catch ten Goiram Squirrels.
Combined with the ones caught by Yoo Ji-han while climbing the pillar, they had successfully hunted all the Squirrels that had hidden in the museum.
‘I want one.’
Yoo Ji-han turned his gaze to Chilla, who was looking at him.
If possible, he wanted to keep one as part of the guild.