But no matter how much I listened, the sound was so dinosaur-like that Kang Do-hee’s words didn’t quite feel like a joke.
‘Am I going crazy? No, right? ‘
I turned to Joo Bi-young with a pleading look, begging for an explanation of what that was.
Joo Bi-young, staring at the window, had an expression that seemed both troubled and as if she was suppressing surging emotions.
Whatever it was, the sound echoing from afar clearly irritated her.
Seeing her reaction, I had a hunch about who—or what—made that noise.
“Sounds like the boss of this area.”
“Is it really a dinosaur?”
“A dinosaur, seriously?”
“Well, if monsters exist, dinosaurs could too.”
While Ha-yul and Kang Do-jin whispered to each other, the elder, who had been quiet, clicked her tongue and spoke.
“Sounds like a dinosaur, but it ain’t! It’s the big shot of this area. Every time it rains, it makes that racket. Drives me up the wall!”
“But the map doesn’t show anything nearby…”
Like me, Ha-yul checked the map and stared at the window with a worried expression.
The windows were boarded up, letting only faint slivers of light seep through the tiny gaps between the planks, but the anxiety in Ha-yul’s eyes was unmistakable.
As if to ease Ha-yul’s unease, the elder nonchalantly continued trimming vegetables.
“No need to worry, it’s far off. That loudmouth just has a big voice, that’s all. It can’t come here anyway. It goes nuts when it gets wet, so it acts up like that sometimes.”
An insect-type monster, wasn’t it? Does it hate water? Who knows.
As the elder said, Ha-yul confirmed there were no monsters nearby on the map and soon calmed down.
Though he flinched whenever a roar like that of a carnivorous dinosaur echoed, he didn’t bother looking out the window or checking the map again.
The seemingly endless task of trimming vegetables finally ended, and Ha-yul and I volunteered for laundry duty.
No particular reason, just that I wanted to spend more time with Ha-yul. Since arriving here, we’d been caught up in one thing or another, so doing laundry together seemed like a good chance.
We filled a tub with water, added the indoor laundry detergent the elder gave us, and got to work hand-washing.
‘This is definitely easier.’
I could really feel my stamina had improved.
Normally, washing this much laundry by hand would’ve been impossible. My arms would’ve been shaking, or I’d be exhausted.
But now, even after finishing and hanging the clothes on the second floor, I felt fine.
Ha-yul, who’d helped hang the laundry and returned to the living room, looked drained, sitting blankly on the sofa next to Gamja.
I vowed to advise Ha-yul to boost his stamina if he got the chance to raise his stats.
Looking around the house, Gamja and Ha-yul were on the living room sofa, the elder seemed to be napping in her room, and Joo Bi-young, with a blank expression, was sitting on a blanket beside the elder, brushing Bamtol’s fur.
But the Kang siblings were nowhere to be seen. Checking the map, they were in the same location, but not visible, so they must’ve gone to the second floor or the rooftop.
It’s raining—what are they doing?
I went up to the second floor, confirmed the Kang siblings weren’t there, and opened the rooftop door.
In the pouring rain, the Kang siblings stood barefoot at the edge of the rooftop, staring at something.
Soaked to the bone, they didn’t seem to care, holding bows in their hands and fixated on something.
What were they looking at?
I wanted to go out and see, but the rain was torrential, like a dam had burst. I didn’t have a raincoat, and I didn’t want to add to the laundry pile.
“Do-jin, noona, what are you looking at?”
I thought the rain would drown out my voice, but thankfully, they turned to me. Then, they both beckoned me over with a wave.
“I don’t want to get wet…”
Either they didn’t hear me this time or ignored me.
‘Whatever.’
I’d make them do the next load of laundry. With that thought, I stepped outside and was drenched in seconds, feeling like I’d fallen into a pool.
The sensation of clothes clinging to my body was uncomfortable, but as I approached them, I didn’t need to ask what they were looking at—I saw it immediately.
“What is that…?”
The shallow stream near the backyard had swollen into a full-blown river.
The current was so strong it rivaled a raging mountain stream. With the heavy rain, the water level was visibly rising in real time.
But the Kang siblings weren’t just watching the current.
And I, too, knew what it was but had been avoiding thinking about it, focusing on the rising water instead.
I didn’t want to believe it. My brain refused to process what I’d seen, which is probably why I was acting like this.
But ignoring it wouldn’t change anything, so I finally turned my gaze to what I’d first noticed.
Amid the raging current, reddish scales glinted as something swam upstream. Naturally, it was a fish.
A fish swimming against the current. Maybe a salmon or something?
The reason my brain kept rejecting it and focusing on the water was simple:
The fish was… bigger than Ha-yul.
The map showed no black dots, meaning this was a naturally occurring fish…
“Hyung, do you see that fish?”
“Do-jin, I have eyes too.”
Its bright red scales stood out even in the dim light under the storm clouds.
It was so big it was both disgusting and terrifying. I felt like I’d lose a fight against it.
It could pass for a red-scaled tuna. Its fins were so sharp they looked like a freshwater shark’s.
“What a weird place. No insects in sight, but a little rain brings out a monster like that, thrashing around.”
“…….”
Muttering, Kang Do-hee handed me her bow. Taking it reflexively, I found myself looking at the fish again.
She wants me to catch it, doesn’t she?
“Haje, you should practice shooting in the rain. You never know what’ll happen when we move to the next area.”
“True…”
“And a fish that big? A big cat might like it.”
“Noona, are you calling Sango a big cat?”
“Sango’s part of the feline family, isn’t he?”
“……..”
It’s not exactly wrong… but no.
I shook my head, trying not to overthink, and nocked an arrow, pulling the bowstring taut.
“Pay attention to the wind direction. Where’s it blowing?”
“To the right.”
The rain was practically blowing sideways, impossible to miss.
Then Kang Do-jin stepped closer, adjusted my arm, and said,
“Hyung, with this wind, see that rock sticking out in front of the fish? Aim for it, and you’ll hit its head.”
“It feels too far away.”
Even with the strong wind, considering the speed of an arrow, was it really okay to aim with such a big offset?
But since Kang Do-hee didn’t say anything to contradict, it seemed Kang Do-jin’s advice was correct.
So, I aimed the bow at the spot he indicated, following his instructions.
Whoosh!
As I released the bowstring, the arrow shot forward with a sharp whistle.
I aimed as Kang Do-jin directed, but unfortunately, the arrow lodged just in front of the fish’s head, unable to withstand the raging current, and was swept away.
‘Ugh, what a waste of an arrow…’
“Haje, again. Don’t forget the distance you just shot.”
“Got it.”
I was worried about wasting another arrow, but practice was necessary.
As Kang Do-hee said, we wouldn’t stay in this house forever. Moving to the next area could bring unpredictable situations, so practicing on a day like this would definitely help.
Steeling myself, I spotted the fish, which had moved slightly further upstream, and aimed at the new point Kang Do-jin indicated.
But then, the fish’s protruding eye swiveled and locked onto me.
‘What?!’
Our eyes… met?
“Wait, hold on… I just made eye contact with that fish.”
“No, hyung, it was looking at me. Try again. Its position shifted. Aim a bit more to the left, where the grass dips down. That’s your mark.”
“…….”
No, that fish was definitely looking at me. Its pitch-black eyes were unmistakable.
‘To every god out there, I’m sorry.’
Even if it was for the quest, I felt guilty. Narrowing my eyes, I recalculated the distance.
Keeping Kang Do-jin’s sense of range in mind, I aimed at the fish swimming against the swollen, river-like current, pulling the bowstring until my shoulder muscles tensed.
Whoosh!
The arrow flew again. Whether my prayers were answered or my rusty skills kicked in, the arrow pierced the fish’s head perfectly this time.
“Nice, Haje! Good shot!”
“Easier than you thought, right?”
“Uh…”
The Kang siblings praised me, but watching the fish thrash, impaled by the arrow, didn’t exactly feel great.
Even from this distance, I could see streaks of blood trailing in the current.
The fish, caught in the rough waters, rolled a few times before its upper body got tangled in rain-soaked grass and mud, its lower half still flopping in the stream.
“Let’s go get it.”
“Okay.”
Back inside, the elder yelled at us for turning the house into a swamp.
Apologizing and promising to clean up, we grabbed kitchen knives and headed outside.
The rain had intensified, making it hard to see even a step ahead.
The fish, still thrashing, hadn’t been swept away, caught in the current.
“Haje, watch closely. I’ll show you how to finish a fish. Normally, a stab like that would kill it, but big ones like this? You’ve got to take the head off completely.”
“…….”
It seemed impossible with a kitchen knife, but Kang Do-hee grabbed the fish’s fin, hauled it fully onto the shore, and demonstrated how to sever the head.
The head was so massive that the knife only made gashes; she ended up tearing it off by hand, ripping it apart.
‘Ugh.’
I tried to focus on learning, but watching this made my stomach churn.
Still, by sheer willpower, I managed to grasp the basics of bleeding it and gutting it.
Anyone watching might think it was absurd to learn this in the pouring rain by a dangerously swollen stream, but I was actually glad for it.
Why? Because I couldn’t hold back and threw up from the smell of blood and guts…
‘How many times have I puked since coming here? Pathetic.’
Thankfully, the torrential rain and raging current washed away my mess in seconds.
The massive guts Kang Do-hee carved out were swept away just as quickly.
“Let’s ditch the head.”
“Agreed.”
Absolutely. The head was too big, the eyes too huge… honestly, it was creepy.
Kang Do-hee tossed the head into the water. It didn’t float away like the guts but rolled along in the current, making me feel even worse.
My hands were trembling just from catching one giant fish. How the hell were we supposed to take down a boss monster?
With no immediate solutions and the same worries looping in my head, my stomach churned. Maybe it was stress, but I felt a burning in my gut.
‘No, worrying won’t solve anything right now… Luckily, we have some time, so let’s focus on the shrine quest first.’
Hoping the 100 gold would help with the boss monster strategy, I joined Kang Do-hee and Kang Do-jin to carry the massive fish body back to the house.
The elder’s scolding about making the house a swamp again somehow settled my queasy stomach a bit.
Washing the soaked clothes and cleaning the house took up the rest of the day.
At night, I comforted Ha-yul, who was sulking because we left him behind, endured Kang Do-jin’s judgmental stare, and passed out from exhaustion.
The next day, it was still raining. Kang Do-hee, Gamja, and I packed the prepared fish into baskets and headed toward the forest’s edge.
The rain had flattened the grass, turning the ground into a swampy mess, making movement tough. There were spots where our boots sank deep.
But we pressed on while the rain was lighter, worried about the fish spoiling.
As a result:
[The shrine spirit will remember this deed.]
Obtain protein-rich food: 2/3
Thankfully, the quest progressed smoothly.
But that wasn’t the only change visible in the status window.