3. Ultimate Technique

The next day, inside the "Little Kwan's Supper-Awesome Noodle Shop," the shop's namesake was helping his family with little chores, such as bringing his parents a cup of water when they needed, greeting the customers when it wasn't so busy, or switching channels on the holographic TV…

Yet another ordinary day in an ordinary noodle house.

"Little Kwan, why don't you do this uncle a favor and switch to SBS huh? 11AM news should start right about now…"

The uncle in question was a war veteran. Or at least that's what Cha Kwan thought before the dungeon break. Now that he thought about it, would there be wars in this type of fantasy world? Perhaps this uncle lost an eye to a monster during mandatory military service? In any case, Cha Kwan gave the grandpa a sharp nod and opened SBS News 5.

-…The protesters outside the International Hunters Association's Saint Petersburg office claim that the association is purposefully ignoring their requests. The IHA released a statement today that says the association cannot comment on an ongoing investigation.

Russian mage Illarion Ivanov-Schitz's primary stat was leaked on the deep web 3 years ago, and had caused quite a stir. With a Magic stat of 51 -an unprecedented number to this day- the 23-year-old ranker had become a household name in Russia, overnight. Only to be found dead 5 days later, in his hotel room…-

Cha Kwan's mouth dropped.

"Kwan, come here and help me with this!"

Shin Soo-Yun was cleaning a table due to a sloppy customer from earlier. A little distance away, his father was heating up the soup base with one hand and breaking an egg with the other. Meanwhile, the few customers before the rush hour were slurping away, some chatting, some looking at their phones.

What an ordinary sight, thought Cha Kwan, especially compared to the dreadful news from the holographic television! He quickly ran to table 5 and grabbed the dirty napkin tray.

"I already got the clean one, put this near the dishwasher. It's still a bit big for you so don't run sweetie." Shin Soo-Yun kissed Cha Kwan and headed for another table to take their order. Once her son was away, she changed the TV channel while giving the stinky eye to the customer that requested it.

'Maybe uncle Hyun-Ki was right.' Cha Kwan absentmindedly thought as he put down the wooden napkin tray. Then his eyes landed on his father, who was preparing noodles with the rolling machine.

An "unprecedented" genius died 3 years ago, and no one knew what had happened, maybe no one was even investigating it! Someone with Magic stat of 51 was gone. Just like that.

Was 51 in Magic -or in any stat really- considered high? Cha Kwan had no idea. Stats, hunters, monsters, they were all alien concepts to him. They were even fantasy just a few days ago! And he was absolutely fine without them!

"I never showed you how to make udong with this, come here, don't just watch from afar." Cha Kwan ran to his dad and attentively listened to him. "The dough is the key; it has to be at the right firmness first. Look, see this? This is the consistency for udong."

Cha Kwan couldn't help but smile as he watched his father mold another batch of dough with ease.

Hours passed by in a flash, yet another Friday was almost over.

Which meant that soon, he, would appear. Cha Kwan narrowed his eyes and looked at the clock.

4:54PM.

'Brat, if you value your life, you won't appear today…'

4:55PM.

And then, Cha Kwan closed his eyes, because he could hear running and huffing sounds approaching their noodle shop at great speed. "…Haaa, Kwan! Hooo… Didn't... I say… Hahaha"

The owner of the voice was the son of their next-door neighbor. Ma Yong. Better known as The Destroyer.

"I ran so fast! There's no way you can catch up to me, haha…" The Destroyer started picking his nose right away with great satisfaction. "Your so slow, you really can't catch me!"

Of course, Cha Kwan felt that he should be patient with this… 4-year-old boy. Of course… He had the mind of a 27-year-old paper salesman! How could he fall for the cheap ploy of this kid…

Thinking of being magnanimous, Cha Kwan smirked. "You won't be able to walk without shame when I'm done with you!" And started running right away!

"Hey! No fair!!"

Ma Yong The Destroyer followed Cha Kwan as they commenced the great race, where the final destination was the halfway point between the Ma gym and the noodle shop. That distance only encompassed 2 blocks at best, so their parents didn't mind their little competition.

As they ran, Cha Kwan couldn't understand why he was indulging this boy. Surely he was indulging him, right? There was no way he would get competitive against a kid, in the field of running no less… No way…

The Destroyer started to close the gap. Which was an expected result, considering he was half a head taller than Cha Kwan. The boy was born in February, while Cha Kwan was born in September of the same year. As far as united Korean education system was concerned though, they were the same age.

But at that age, nearly 10 months of difference created quite a gap in terms of physical development! And that made Cha Kwan furious! That was the only reason why the Destroyer had won 21 consecutive times! Truly, they could not live under the same sky!! This was the day Cha Kwan would…

"Hahaha, I won again! Why are you so slow Kwan?! Maybe you should come to our gym! My dad says fat people die fast because monsters love eating them first!"

For the 22nd time, Cha Kwan listened to the same victory speech. Though to be fair, this time the meaning was completely different. Because monsters were actually real, and it made sense that they would go for fat people first!

Cha Kwan swallowed his defeat with a sigh. How did Ma Yong, a 4.9-year-old child, always managed to rile him up? Even when he was lucid?

'Perhaps this body affects me more than I realized…'

"Whoa, Kwan, look at that big brother!"

Ma Yong seemed… excited. Which caused Cha Kwan to mutter "Oh no…" upon seeing him approach a passing teenage couple.

"Hey, big brother! Thank you for the cookies!" As a 4.95-year-old child, Ma Yong was reasonably cute. One could spot his honesty and sincerity from a mile away. Which was why he caught the attention of the girl in a high-school uniform. "How cute!" She said with a smile.

Ma Yong blushed at the teenage girl's compliment. Not knowing how to respond, he laughed on instinct.

'Alright, maybe it's false alarm. He can't always do it, right?…' Just as Cha Kwan thought that… Ma Yong opened his mouth once again.

"Your pretty too!" Though sometimes he messed up the words, his heart, was truly pure! Cha Kwan smiled, but Ma Yong wasn't finished. "Much prettier than the other girlfriend of big brother!!"

Cha Kwan covered his face on instinct. 'F*ck…'

"… Other girlfriend?" The girl asked in surprise, perhaps without fully comprehending the words she was repeating.

As the teenage boy awkwardly laughed while trying to change the subject, Cha Kwan silently tried to drag Ma Yong away.

But Ma Yong, the Destroyer of Hope, the Defiler of Dreams, could not be subdued by the likes of Cha Kwan.

"…But big brother…" The Destroyer spoke with confusion. "Didn't you say you confessed to sister Han Seo-Ah this morning? The pretty girl with brown hair?"

It was already too late. Cha Kwan truly regretted not blocking Ma Yong's mouth!

The high-school girl's face became red as a tomato. "Han Seo-Ah?" She asked with a shaky voice. "You…" Cha Kwan could see in real-time how her initial sadness and confusion transform into shame and anger. "…You confessed… to that b*tch?!"

"Wait, Eun-Mi."

"How could you… Don't… Don't follow me! Don't ever speak to me!!" The girl ran away with tears leaving the utterly shocked teenager and two unlucky kindergarten students aghast. Though Cha Kwan sympathized with her, he knew what would follow next.

"Go get Uncle Ma or some other big guys here, go. Stop watching and just do as I say." He whispered to the Defiler.

Ma Yong slipped away after a nod, and Cha Kwan waited for the teenage boy to recover. There was little he could do, but at least he could prevent his friend from getting a beating!

There was no way Ma Yong could outrun a high-school student if they started running at the same time! So Cha Kwan was going to play the delaying game!

"You!!" The teenager turned around in anger, only to see Cha Kwan, a kindergarten-age child watching him with an unnaturally steady gaze. The duo looked at each other in silence.

Ma Yong was probably out of range already, probably… And Cha Kwan could simply shrug and play innocent. That was always an option. Of course!

But seeing the angry expression of the teenager, and remembering Ma Yong's swollen-up face from the last time, Cha Kwan realized he couldn't just leave the boy be!

He had to use his forbidden move.

The Creepy Child Technique!

"Why are you bleeding big brother?" Cha Kwan asked innocently. "Do you like to eat your own intestines?" He tilted his head and curiously looked at the boy's abdomen.

Cha Kwan's demeanor turned serious, and he intentionally spoke slowly. "I see… That hasn't happened yet." He continued to wordlessly stare at the teenager's eyes, and ignored the beads of sweat trickling down his own back!

The teenager took a step forward in anger. Though he thought something was strange that the little boy's demeanor seemed to have changed completely in a matter of seconds, he was too emotional to comprehend the meaning of those words.

Right before he took a second step forward, the little boy's words hit him.

Who was bleeding?!

A crack appeared in the wall made of anger, and comprehension flowed in his mind!

It hasn't happened yet?!?

The teenager instinctively took a step back! It was as if he was being forced to by some invisible pressure! Was this a child? No, the teenager thought. That should not be possible! The child in front of him was too calm, too composed! He would know, since he had three little brothers back home! Which one of them was like this kid?

This boy was most likely a spirit, or maybe a race that he hadn't heard of before!

They were in the middle of Old Seoul, non-humans rarely came here, and monsters were even rarer! But… that didn't mean Old Seoul was safe. Wasn't there a murder case that turned out to be caused by a vengeful spirit?! Wasn't that just last year?! The high school student barely suppressed his urge to gulp!

Cha Kwan had no idea whether his bluff was working. He tried to control his breathing as much as he could, but his little body had a mind of its own. He, or his body, was close, very close to running away to his mom! This unfamiliar situation was starting to erode his lucidity!

The first time he used this forbidden technique, it was a massive success! Why was it taking so long now? Was it because he was a year older?

Suddenly, the repercussions of his actions became obvious to Cha Kwan. What if he failed? This high-school brat was already a scumbag enough to two-time in the same day! Would he spare a little kid? The ultimate answer to that, was no.

Cha Kwan's lips started to tremble from fear. The stress of getting a real beating from a scumbag was just too much. He tried to control his body, but even if he desperately tried to press his lips together, he couldn't prevent his limbs from trembling.

The teenager took yet another step back. Did this… Did this thing just smile?! Was it… trembling?!

Cha Kwan's child instincts started to take control. He closed his eyes and lowered his head as if to brace for impact.

At that moment, the teenager noticed the eerie silence. A busy road should be a few streets away, but he couldn't hear traffic at all! How was that possible?! He took yet another step back and looked around, and his heart sank.

No matter where he looked, there were no signs of humans at all! The silence became deafening as his own breathing became the only thing he could hear!

The final straw was the sudden gust of wind picking up some dust. The teenager couldn't endure any longer and ran for his life without looking back!

Upon hearing rapid footsteps Cha Kwan turned back and took off without a second thought. Though he wasn't as graceful as the high-schooler, and let out an unfortunate shriek of fear.

On the silent streets, how could the teenager miss that terrible sound? That infernal scream made his blood run cold! He didn't want to die! He didn't even get to second base with Han Seo-Ah yet! Finally, the teenager threw the caution to the wind and started screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Heeeelp!!!! HEEEEELP!! HEEEEEEEEELP!!!!"

That primal shout, filled with desperation, and the will to live, made Cha Kwan stumble on perfectly flat ground. He fell, scraping his knees and elbows.

"SOMEONE!! HEEEEEELP!!!! I DON'T WANT TO DIEEE!!! HEEEEEEEELP!!!!!"

Cha Kwan's fear overcame the sense of pain and he looked in the direction of the fading screams. The speed of a 16-year-old was truly incomparable to that of a 4-year-old; the teenager had already disappeared from sight!

'… D-Did it work?'

The screams became even more desperate by the second as Cha Kwan sat on the concrete in a daze. Since this was just before the afternoon rush, the streets were almost completely devoid of traffic. It was safe to assume that half the neighborhood could hear it!

"… Sh*t…"

As he looked around in a daze, he heard another scream.

"KWAAN!! KWAAN!" His mother Shin Soo-Yun was running so fast, and her expression was so grim, Cha Kwan couldn't help but swallow his saliva. "Kwan!! What happened!?! Are you alright?! Let's go! Let's go back!"

Cha Kwan wanted to say that he was fine, wanted to reassure his mother… But against all his expectations, tears appeared in his eyes. He could only utter a single word at that moment. "Mom…" and started sniffing.

In a flash, Cha Kwan was back in the noodle shop with his mother tending to his scrapes. "Nothing happened mom… I just fell… And that guy started running…"

This… was a new feeling for Cha Kwan. It was as if something was sitting on his chest! The feeling worsened whenever he looked his mother in the eye.

It was true, nothing had happened. In an attempt to save his friend from yet another beating, Cha Kwan had just scared a teenager. It wasn't the end of the world, right? All was fine… Right?

Shin Soo-Yun didn't know what to do. Just now they heard a young voice screaming for his life and had assumed the worst. But it looked like Cha Kwan was fine other than a few scrapes, which didn't look serious for a kid of his age. If something had happened surely her son would say something; he had never lied before!

The only conclusion she could think of was Cha Kwan reacting to her panic. "Mommy was just worried, you did nothing wrong." She hugged her son, with guilt stinging her heart. "Everything is alright now." She whispered.

Cha Kwan buried his face in his mother's shoulder. Somehow, he started feeling even worse. But why? Why did it hurt so much?

Though he was in a child's body, and experienced the world through that lens whether he liked it or not, he still had the thought process of an adult (some of the time). With some effort, his adult thoughts finally determined the source of that feeling.

There was no doubt. It was guilt.

'… Is it because I didn't tell everything?'

Though he did hide that he had memories from his previous life, hiding the fact was something he was already used to. Would his parents believe him even if he told them? Rather, they would most certainly start worrying for their child's mental health…

'Wait… That was before I knew magic was real… If I tell them now, they might actually believe it… Sh*t!'

Cha Kwan buried his head even deeper. He was living in a fantasy world! What if the word got out?!

His thoughts went to the dead Russian ranker. Just for having 50-something magic points (whatever that meant), a ranker was dead! And the culprits had gotten away with it!

What if someone learned that Cha Kwan had memories of his previous life?

Wouldn't he instantly become a test subject? And even worse, wouldn't his parents also share the same fate?! All because they gave birth to a demon child?!

Never-before-seen anxiety struck Cha Kwan, and stripped away his lucidity in just a few breaths.

"Shh… Everything is alright… Mommy is here… Mommy is here…"

* * *

When Cha Kwan regained his lucidity, it was already dark, and he was already in his bed.

In his memory, he had never cried so much before, even as a baby.

Just when he was calming down, Ma Yong and his father -along with five unfamiliar men with huge muscles- came to the noodle shop. Seeing their ominous faces pushed the scared, childminded Cha Kwan over the edge once again. Now, hours after crying himself to sleep, his eyes were still burning. But not even that could compare to the pain he felt from guilt.

The first time he used the Creepy Child Forbidden Technique was a year ago. All he had to do was to spew some random "prophetic" words. His mother didn't need to know some random hoodlum had been persistently eying her at the convenience store.

And it was a massive success! Cha Kwan had never seen that guy again, and no one else was around to tell the tale! The technique stayed forbidden, but it had worked!

"… Oh sh*t… Monsters are real here. No wonder they both ran away so fast…"

Before, no one knew. But now, there was some evidence of his ultimate technique. Now, he had to hide something else from his parents.

Cha Kwan stared at the ceiling with complex emotions.