Thump, thump.
Could today be the day she succeeded?
Geuru steadied her heart and glared at the duck tongs.
The realization that extraction was possible even from the duck tongs had stemmed from a small mistake.
While making a magnifying glass, she had left the duck tongs beside her and used the extraction skill; because the skill level had risen, the range of extraction had widened, and the duck tongs had become a valid target.
Of course, it had failed!
[Skill ‘Pop-Pop Extract’ has failed.]
‘Huh? It shouldn’t even be able to activate at all?’
Normally, extracting from a crafted item was impossible. But this strange thing seemed to be extractable despite being a crafted item.
‘As expected of the strongest duck tongs!’
It was a splendid achievement born from a mistake.
If she could extract the dungeon core from the duck tongs too? She might be able to make two of these wonderful duck tongs.
Falling into such expectations, Geuru had tried dozens more times after that but…….
‘Fail. Fail. Fail…….’
Because the skill proficiency was low and it was an unfamiliar item, Geuru had put in tremendous effort to get close to the duck tongs all this time.
‘For today, I went everywhere with the duck tongs!’
Even when bathing!
Geuru recalled the memory of scooping up bath bubbles together with the duck tongs in the tub.
Thorough preparation.
A mastered skill.
And carefully selected materials.
With this, she would create the strongest item!
She couldn’t go to the dungeon, but she still had filial piety points saved up. Geuru upgraded the skill with filial piety points and activated extraction.
[Activating skill ‘Pop-Pop Extract!’]
It was a success!
Now the Star Candy would come into her hands…….
The Star Candy was heavy?
‘What is this?’
Placed atop both her hands, it was white and oval with a smooth, hard texture.
‘An egg?’
[■■■■(■■)]
She tried to look at the item information, but it was all broken and nothing was visible.
Another defective one?
Geuru pouted, feeling down.
It’s fine! She just had to keep trying until she succeeded!
Geuru took a big slurp of mana syrup and tried extracting once more.
[Activating skill ‘Pop-Pop Extract!’]
[Skill ‘Pop-Pop Extract’ has failed.]
[Caution! If skill ‘Pop-Pop Extract!’ is attempted again, it may be destroyed.]
“Ah, no!”
Then was this all she could extract?
‘A bit disappointing…….’
Geuru stared at the egg before putting it in her pocket.
She had heard an explanation at kindergarten about how an egg hatches. They said that if a mother kept it close and warmed it, it grew quickly and broke out of its shell…….
Geuru rubbed her hands together vigorously to warm them, then wrapped them around the egg.
“Mommy Geuru will raise you.”
She didn’t know what would come out since the information wasn’t visible.
But since it was shaped exactly like an egg, maybe a cute chick like Syakipiyo would come out.
‘That might be nice…….’
Puffy clouds floated in her mind, forming a little lamb and a tiny chick. Like a baby following its mother, the chick followed behind the little lamb.
Geuru smiled warmly, imagining the toddling chick following her around.
‘Now, cleaning, cleaning.’
Just as Geuru was about to clean the messy desk, she spotted a small box placed in one corner of the desk.
“Ah, wight.”
The gift Chairman Nam had given her!
Opening the box, inside were a small stone and a card.
‘A magic stone!’
Geuru turned the magic stone this way and that, then opened the card.
[This is the magic stone that came from the first S-rank monster during the Great Upheaval ten years ago.
If you send it to the auction house opening soon, you should be able to get a decent price.
While you’re at it, why don’t you visit the auction house to consign an item?
There will be many interesting exhibitions for children too.
If it suits your fancy, I suggest asking Joorim to go with you.
-Grandmother Nam Jiwon, with gratitude and love]
“Auction?”
Geuru tilted her head.
Come to think of it, she had received a text asking her to register an item at the auction house.
‘How much could I get?’
Since he said he was the owner of an amusement park and it was an S-rank magic stone, it might sell for an enormous amount.
‘What if it goes for twenty million won!’
Then with that money and the money she had saved, she might be able to find her mom and dad and still have some left over.
Geuru grinned, sent the registration request form for the magic stone, and headed out to the living room.
Joorim was leaning against the living room sofa, checking his tablet.
‘Should I ask the Guild Leader to go to the auction house with me?’
She was curious about the exhibition that was said to be fun, and she wanted to know how the registered item would sell at the auction house.
Geuru hesitated, then sat down beside Joorim.
Chairman Nam had said the gift contents were a secret, so she was worrying about how to broach the subject.
Joorim pulled Geuru to his side and draped his arm around her neck.
“It’d be a big deal if someone bit you. You’re like a rice cake.”
Saying so, Joorim squished and pinched her face.
Mmm……?
The moment she felt her cheek being pressed and saw where Joorim’s long eyes were looking.
Geuru clamped her mouth shut and raised her eyebrows.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no.”
“If you bite, Geuru gets a boo-boo.”
“Have you been bitten before?”
Well, she had heard people say they wanted to bite her often, but she had never actually been bitten.
Shake shake.
“Then you won’t know if it hurts or not until we try.”
“Eh?”
Villain! Geuru shoved her face behind Joorim’s back.
“Oppose! Union corruption! Down with dictatorship!”
“Are you going to keep picking up weird words? You don’t even know what they mean.”
“Pbbht.”
As Geuru burrowed deeper, Joorim leaned forward and gave her space.
An opening! Geuru slipped right in and climbed up to his shoulders, hanging on him like a backpack.
“Hehe!”
Then, her body began to be pressed down. Joorim had straightened up again and started his counterattack.
“Kyak!”
When her body was pressed, she felt a bulky foreign object in her pocket.
Huh? What was this? The moment she guessed its identity, her heart dropped with a thud.
“No! Geuru’s baby!”
“What?!”
Joorim quickly straightened up.
Geuru, who had been crouching with a tearful face, pulled out a white egg from her pocket. The smooth oval egg was without a single crack.
Thank goodness. Geuru checked that Syakipiyo was safe and let out a deep sigh.
“My heart, thump-thump…….”
“No, I’m the one more…….”
Why would you bring an egg and call it a baby. The dizzy Joorim ran his hand down his face.
Anyway, despite Joorim’s fierce attacks, Syakipiyo had not broken. As expected, the shell seemed incredibly sturdy.
‘As expected of Geuru’s baby. So sturdy.’
“What is this…… Did you take it out of the refrigerator?”
“This is Geuru’s baby.”
Joorim pressed his lips firmly together.
Was this the moment to teach the well-known fact that an egg cannot become a human baby?
Or should he follow the advice of the mom cafe not to limit children’s imagination?
Unaware of Joorim’s confusion, Geuru stroked Syakipiyo and asked.
“Guild Leader, what’s your dream?”
“Suddenly?”
“Geuru’s dream was to become Gudetama. But in the end, Geuru couldn’t become an egg…….”
“……That was a difficult dream.”
What even is Gudetama. Why did she want to become an egg.
Feeling all his energy drain away at once, Joorim slumped heavily onto the sofa and covered his eyes with his hand.
He gazed at Geuru through the gaps between his fingers and quietly asked back.
“You’re going to raise it?”
“Yes.”
It seemed she intended to substitute an unfulfilled dream hindered by racial limits with raising an egg instead.
The problem was…….
“Hmm…….”
No matter how much she nurtured an egg taken out of the refrigerator, a chick wouldn’t hatch.
Should he teach her that eggs sold in stores were unfertilized, or would it be better to let her experience it directly. Or perhaps it would be better to secretly swap it with a fertilized egg.
Should he ask on a mom cafe?