Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

Although she had escaped the overprotective goblins to the human world, Cha Taeyang was closer to a young goblin than a human.

The goblins who had cherished and raised Taeyang had passed on all their skills to their daughter-like little Ms. Kim. For Taeyang, who possessed talents surpassing even most goblins, blending in among people was easier than eating cold rice.

The same was true in the World Tower.

After parting ways with Yun Gaho, Taeyang hid herself among the crowd.

‘All stories lead to one.’

Taeyang recalled the goblins’ proverb. She didn’t miss a single word people were saying. Her eyes, observing the bustling port, shone like goblin fire.

‘The sea’s been pretty dry lately.’

‘Oh, we must give you a discount, Player! We survived thanks to you.’

‘All the good sights are for the nobles. There’s no joy in sailing anymore.’

‘Shh, there’s a player over there.’

Having grown up deep in the mountains, Taeyang lacked common sense about the human world. Raised by the ever-innocent goblins, her behavior differed from her peers.

But this didn’t mean Taeyang’s inner self was immature.

At times, Taeyang showed sharper insight than anyone.

“There, that person.”

Taeyang’s eyes stopped at one spot.

That man wearing a hood over there.

A man sitting on a wooden box was grumbling incessantly. NPCs who seemed to be his companions were giving him looks. The man couldn’t hide his displeasure.

Taeyang focused on him.

Not long after, he left his seat. Taeyang, who had been eavesdropping, followed him out of the restaurant.

The place she arrived at after tailing him was a shantytown.

It was a village where the lower class of Shella lived, earning their daily bread. With no quests offering good rewards or shops selling useful items, hunters were nowhere to be seen.

Ding-a-ling-

“Sori, shh!”

“You said it would be fun!”

Sori, unable to bear the boredom, whined. Taeyang put her index finger to her lips.

“I’m working right now. If you stay quiet, I’ll give you buckwheat jelly later.”

“Buckwheat jelly? Really? You promised!”

“Yes, I promise.”

Only after being promised buckwheat jelly did Sori quiet down.

Taeyang pouted, realizing she’d have to give up the last of her buckwheat jelly. I brought that to eat myself…

Taeyang examined the shantytown, flitting between shadows.

Despite being so densely packed with houses, the shantytown was quiet unlike the port. Only occasionally were elderly people guarding homes or children visible.

“Ugh, I’m hungry.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned buckwheat jelly. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been moving around too much. Taeyang made a sad face at the sudden hunger that washed over her.

Me too! Sori agreed. Back in the mountains, three meals a day were the basics, and with snacks like buckwheat jelly, yakgwa, bukkumi, and corn, we easily had five meals…

“Why do humans only eat three times a day?”

“That’s how Mr. Kims always are! Everything about them is strange!”

“…A delicious smell!”

“Mmm, it’s that way, Taeyang!”

Sniff sniff. Taeyang, catching a savory scent, approached a house as if entranced. Through the thin wooden walls, the voices of a mother and son could be heard.

“Bean porridge again today? I hate beans.”

“Jack! I told you monsters will take you away if you’re a picky eater! Hurry and sit at the table before the monster mermaid appears.”

If you’re not going to eat it, I wish you’d give it to me. Taeyang, briefly forgetting her purpose, perked up her ears at the mention of a monster mermaid. In tandem, Sori rolled right up to the door to listen intently to the conversation between mother and son.

“Ugh, I’m not scared of monster mermaids at all! The Players defeated them, didn’t they? Let them come again!”

“This child never stops talking… Eek! Wh-who’s there!”

Crash!

A fist-sized rock flew through the open window, shattering a plate.

Taeyang quickly turned around to identify the culprit.

It was a small girl, panting with anger she couldn’t contain. Fearing the woman in the house might chase after her, the girl hurriedly left.

‘There’s no way something like goblins could exist in this world!’

Taeyang stopped in her tracks as her eyes met the girl’s.

A voice filled with contempt echoed in her head. A small flame rose in a corner of her heart. Shaking her head vigorously to clear the auditory hallucination, Taeyang chased after the girl.

That all-too-familiar look in her eyes.

Taeyang felt she knew this girl’s identity.

Realizing she was being pursued, the girl panicked and started running faster. Considering her appearance, which suggested she hadn’t even had a proper meal, she was quite quick, but she was still just an ordinary child. She couldn’t outrun Cha Taeyang, an awakened person.

“Stop right there!”

Taeyang, springing off the ground, did a somersault in the air before landing in front of the girl.

The girl, at a loss for what to do, hung her head low. Her small face was buried in her dark blue hair, which was as bushy as a thicket. But the furtive glances she cast at Taeyang didn’t seem resigned.

Taeyang stood blankly in front of the girl, who was about a span and a half shorter than her, without saying anything.

Unable to bear the silence, the child hesitantly asked.

“…Aren’t you going to take me away?”

“Why would Taeyang do that?”

“Eek! Th-the bell spoke…!”

As the child startled greatly, as if about to have a seizure, Sori grumbled.

“Is there a law that bells can’t speak?”

“A, a magical beast… I should quickly call the guards…”

“Magical beast? I’m a goblin! Our Taeyang even gave me the name Sori. Jealous? Following Taeyang, I’m also a Cha. Cha Sori!”

“Oh no, what should I do? I need to run away…”

“Young Mr. Kim, I smell something nice coming from you. I’ll specially allow you to call my name.”

“Hey, what’s your name? I’m Taeyang, Cha Taeyang.”

Taeyang extended her hand for a handshake and asked for the girl’s name.

The girl stared silently at Taeyang and the strange bell for a long time, wary.

Taeyang didn’t rush her.

Realizing that these two beings didn’t mean her harm, the girl carefully stretched out her arm and grasped Taeyang’s hand.

Then, in a small voice, she revealed her name: Atera.

Hearing the answer, Taeyang smiled brightly.

◆◇◆◇◆

“What? You knew?”

At first, I thought Cha Taeyang didn’t realize Atera was an NPC. Hunters new to the World Tower often make this mistake.

But after sending Atera to the bathroom and talking, it became clear that Cha Taeyang was acutely aware that Atera was different from people in the real world.

“Of course I know. The color of her soul is different.”

“Soul?”

Cha Taeyang nodded. Then she tried to explain what was different, waving her hands, but it was content I found hard to understand.

Cha Taeyang struggled to make me understand, but when I still couldn’t grasp it, she slumped her shoulders.

“You don’t even know this, unni?”

“Mr. Kims are always a bit slow. All goblins know this.”

“Let’s try to understand them!”

The goblin, perched on Cha Taeyang’s shoulder munching on buckwheat jelly, chimed in.

Unlike usual, the goblin was in human form, about the size of a palm. Its golden-brown hair fluttered as it swayed its body left and right.

‘So it can transform too.’

They say goblins like buckwheat jelly, and it’s true. I wonder if their fondness for songs is true too.

Shaking my head to refocus my wandering thoughts, I returned to the original topic.

“Then why did you bring Atera?”

“She seemed to know something about mermaids.”

Cha Taeyang shared what she had seen and heard.

She said the NPCs of Shella were particularly sensitive about whether players were nearby.

They would show kindness, saying they survived thanks to the players, but once the players disappeared, they would sigh in relief. Many were extremely cautious when talking, as if afraid someone might overhear.

This wasn’t a typical reaction.

The decisive factor was the conversation between the mother and son mentioning the monster mermaid.

“Monster mermaid?”

The 16th floor didn’t have any notable magical beast hunting grounds. The only threatening magical beast widely talked about was the raid boss, the Avenger.

“Could the Avenger be a mermaid? No, according to the data, it didn’t look like that.”

The Avenger was described as a beast-like form made of seawater. If it had been a type of magical beast reminiscent of a mermaid in the first place, Choi Kwon-young would have mentioned it.

Something was definitely off, but we lacked clues.

Putting aside my complicated thoughts, I also shared with Cha Taeyang what had happened during the day.

Cha Taeyang’s eyes widened when she heard about the discovery of the underwater city, Badadkkot.

“There are still uses left for the mana circuit. If possible, let’s go together next time.”

“That’s great! Badadkkot… I can’t wait!”

Crash!

We turned our heads at the loud noise.

Atera, who had stumbled coming out of the bathroom, was staring at us. Despite what must have been painful, Atera jumped up and strode towards us. Her fingertips trembled faintly.

“P-please take me with you!”

“Atera, are you okay?”

“You just mentioned Badadkkot, right? I’ll do anything. Player, please take me with you.”

Atera, who had come very close to us, gripped my sleeve tightly, her knuckles protruding.

She knows about Badadkkot? It seems Cha Taeyang’s guess was right.

We sat Atera on the sofa and asked about her circumstances, but she only repeated her request to be taken to Badadkkot.

“Please, Player. Take me to Badadkkot.”

Even with Cha Taeyang joining in to persuade her, Atera, deeply distrustful of players, kept her lips tightly sealed and said nothing. She only shook her head slightly when asked if she was a resident of Badadkkot.

Just as I was about to give up, I thought of something that might work and took out the scale I had obtained from Badadkkot.

“Atera, do you know anything about this scale?”

“That’s, that’s…”

Upon seeing the Sea People’s scale, Atera began to cry silently.

After crying for a while, Atera looked up at me as if she had made a decision.

“Players don’t know anything.”

“Yes, we don’t know anything. That’s why we need you to tell us, Atera.”

“…As a land person, I have no right to speak.”

Land person? It seemed to be a term in opposition to Sea People.

Atera took off the necklace she was wearing and held it out. Along with it, a system message appeared.

“If you soak this necklace in seawater, you can meet the sea spirit who knows everything. I’ll give you this. In exchange, please take me to Badadkkot.”

[Do you want to accept the subquest ‘Atera’s Wish (?)’?

– Time limit: None

– Reward: Tears of Media (A), Atera’s trust

– Penalty: ???

※This quest cannot be retried.]

“Unni, Gaho-unni. This!”

“Yes, without a doubt.”

We’ve got it! It was a quest that looked extraordinary at a glance.

I nodded as I received the necklace from Atera’s hand.

“I accept. Atera, I will take you to Badadkkot.”