[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 52

“Don’t like it? Clouds and salt are cute, though.”

The rabbit placed on my palm taps my hand with its tiny, adorable feet.

“Pposiraegi sure is picky.”

I sat down on the porch with the rabbit and tried calling out a few more names, but it didn’t like any of them.

“Ah, then what do you like? Since you’re as white as a snowflake, how about Baekseol (White Snow)?”

The rabbit, curled up on my lap, finally perked its ears.

“Do you like Baekseol?”

The rabbit, which had been lying on its back showing only its chubby butt, finally seemed to like the name and turned its head, rubbing its face against my thigh.

“Alright, let’s go with Baekseol.”

As I stroked Baekseol’s soft fur, a system sound chimed.

[Ding!]

[Helper has been registered.]

<Baekseol (White Snow), the Rabbit Who Pounds Mortars>

Baekseol seemed to like the name, rubbing its head against my fingers.

“Mortar? What are you pounding?”

“Master, feed me.”

“…You guys only say what you want to say. What do you want to eat?”

“Food!”

“What kind of food?”

“Something tasty.”

“Look, there’s a lot of grass over there. Go munch on that.”

Baekseol tapped my thigh with its barely noticeable fluffy paw. It didn’t seem to like the grass in the field.

“There’s nothing to eat right now, hmm… Status Window!”

[Ding!]

[[Shop List]]

[Items] [Skills] ─ [Ascending] [Search] [Remaining Balance: 400,000 won]

..

[Stick Candy]

[Price: 300 won]

..

..

[Water 500ml]

[Price: 800 won]

..

..

[Ramen]

[Price: 1,000 won]

The shop, which used to sell water mixed with a drop of holy water for 5 million won, now had everyday items added. I guess this is what they meant by the shop being restructured.

“Oh, nice!”

I moved my hand, searching for something Baekseol might like to eat.

“Do you want a carrot?”

*Tap tap*

Baekseol tapped my knee, clearly not interested.

“Baekseol, it’s a five-year-old doraji root. Want this?”

*Tap tap*

“What do you want to eat then?”

“I’m hungry.”

After bickering with Baekseol and searching through the grass section for a while, I found something that caught my eye.

[White Bellflower]: A wildflower faintly imbued with magical power.

[Price: 100,000 won]

“Baekseol, this flower has magical power in it.”

Baekseol, unlike before, didn’t react much.

I couldn’t see, so I bought a flower and held it out.

“Can you eat this?”

Baekseol, who was sitting on my lap, perked up her ears, sniffed the flower, and then started munching on it.

“Seems like it suits your taste. That’s a relief.”

“Great!”

After spending 100,000 won on one flower, I had 300,000 won left.

“Raising you is going to break my back.”

Baekseol, a baby rabbit the size of a palm, was eagerly munching on a flower bigger than her body.

“Baekseol, while you’re eating, try summoning the wooden doll again.”

Baekseol waved her front paws in the air, and the shape of the wooden doll I saw earlier began to appear.

<Basic Training Wooden Doll is being summoned>

I put Baekseol, who was squirming on my lap, down on the porch and put on the military jacket I had thrown aside. Meanwhile, the wooden doll started raising its arm. What I learned from the first battle was that if I didn’t take a fighting stance, these guys wouldn’t rush at me.

As I stepped forward and took a stance, the wooden doll immediately swung its fist. I raised my arm to block, and the heavy impact was transmitted directly.

Hup!

—Bang!

[+10,000 won]

[EXP +2]

[Growth Rate: 6%]

Same routine as before. Block, raise my arm, and strike when the face is exposed.

“If I do this a few more times, my arm’s going to break.”

Using the Devour skill, I gained an additional 10,000 won and 2 EXP, raising the growth rate to 8%.

“Baekseol, should we keep doing this?”

Baekseol, who was munching on flower petals, looked up at me.

“Master. Dodge and hit.”

“These guys are different from people. They don’t have eyes, so it’s hard to tell where they’re going to hit, and it’s tough to dodge at close range.”

“Keep going until you can dodge.”

<Basic Training Wooden Doll is being summoned>

“Damn.”

I glanced at Baekseol, who, despite her appearance, was aiming for a hardcore training method, then turned my head and charged at the wooden doll.

The wooden doll reacted to my movement and immediately swung its fist.

As the fist flew towards me, I focused my strength on my left eye.

[Heavenly Eyes]

My field of vision expanded, and time seemed to slow down.

The wooden doll’s swinging fist appeared to move slowly. Watching it, I shifted my weight back and quickly stepped back, causing the doll’s fist to slice through the air.

Seeing the opponent leaning forward, I extended my leg and delivered a spinning back kick. The doll’s fist and my leg countered, and its jaw shattered.

[+10,000 won]

[EXP +2]

[Growth Rate: 10%]

As the message appeared, I released my focus, and time returned to normal.

It started to flow.

“Haah— Baekseol, this is harder than I thought.”

“Master. You’re still lacking a lot.”

Despite the complaints coming out of my mouth, I felt happy as the experience piled up and the growth rate increased, feeling like the skills I lacked were becoming ingrained.

“Three down, 12 percent. Just 22 more to level up.”

Even after that, I kept facing the wooden dolls, but contrary to my expectations, if I didn’t mix in a Heavy Hit, my strikes didn’t land properly, and if I did, my stamina drained quickly.

[Growth Rate: 52% (52/100)]

[Remaining Money: 560,000 won]

“Phew… Phew… I’m dying. Let’s take a short break.”

As I placed my hands on my knees and exhaled roughly, I felt a tapping sensation on my head.

“Baekseol, when did you get up here?”

“Master, I’m hungry.”

“Already? It hasn’t been that long since you ate.”

[Ding!]

[Remaining Money: 460,000 won]

I bought a golden bellflower from the shop and placed it above my head. Baekseol grabbed the flower with her mouth and jumped onto the porch in one leap.

“Where does that tiny thing even put all that?”

Watching Baekseol nibble on the petals, I slowly recovered my stamina.

“Baekseol, one more time.”

<Basic Training Wooden Doll has been summoned.>

As soon as I finished speaking, the wooden doll appeared.

I raised my arm, and as expected, a fist swung at me. Having caught over ten of them, I had built up some know-how.

Using Heavenly Eyes briefly, I dodged the fist and simultaneously landed a spinning kick.

The wooden doll’s fist, with its weight leaning forward, and my leg crossed in a counter, allowing me to deliver a strong hit with minimal effort.

—Crack!

The wooden doll’s head, made of wood, shattered from the spinning kick infused with Heavy Hit.

[Growth Rate: 56% (56/100)]

[Remaining Money: 480,000 won]

“Ugh. This is exhausting.”

At least, since the wooden dolls repeated the same attacks, I could move mechanically to catch them, but my stamina recovery was getting slower.

Seeing Baekseol happily nibbling on petals while I was dying of exhaustion made me hungry.

“Is it tasty?”

“Yes.”

I stopped hunting the wooden dolls and sat down on the porch, buying ramen, water, a pot, wooden chopsticks, and a gas burner.

As the water in the pot boiled and I added the noodles, I felt a gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

“Master, what’s that?”

“Ah, this is something called 「ramen」. It’s the essence of modern civilization.”

“Master, I want to hit you with your own tone.”

“Brat. I’ve been wanting to try it too.”

As I chatted with Baekseol…

While we were sharing, it seemed like the noodles were fully cooked, so I turned off the fire and picked up the chopsticks.

[Ding!]

[Graceful chopstick handling]

As I moved my hand, the chopsticks elegantly navigated the pot, lifting the noodles. Despite the accelerated chopstick action, there was zero loss as the noodles stayed on the chopsticks without slipping off.

“Master, you’re doing great…”

“Damn.”

Baekseol, who hadn’t praised me once while I was fighting the wooden doll, widened her eyes and complimented me.

“It’s not like I wanted this.”

Ignoring Baekseol’s gaze, I started eating the ramen I had picked up.

“Ah─ this is it. The scenery is nice, and eating ramen outdoors is something else.”

As I slurped the ramen, Baekseol was staring at me blankly.

“What’s up, Baekseol? Want some ramen?”

After just staring at me, Baekseol, who had been tearing at a flower, bit it and offered it to me.

I took the flower Baekseol offered, pondered for a moment, then dipped a bellflower into the ramen broth and handed it back to Baekseol.

“I don’t know if this is right for a rabbit. It’s hot, so just try a little.”

Baekseol, who had nibbled on the broth-soaked petal, started to sparkle with excitement.

“Is it edible?”

“It’s my first time trying it. It’s delicious!”

I was dumbfounded by the situation of a rabbit dipping a bellflower into ramen broth.

“…Really? Should I add bellflower toppings to the ramen next time?”

Baekseol, having eaten all the broth-soaked petals, bit the flower again and pushed it towards me.

“….”

Looking at the flower Baekseol offered, I bought a disposable bowl from the store, poured some ramen broth into it, and handed it to Baekseol.

Baekseol licked the broth with her tiny tongue, then tore off a petal to eat and licked the broth again.

“Baekseol knows how to eat ramen.”

Thinking I had learned a thing or two from Baekseol, I bought some kimchi from the store that I had forgotten about.