[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 313

“Oh! Grandfather, do you know Son Goku?”

“Know him? Of course. He was a bit out of his mind in many ways, but when it comes to combat power, you can’t help but acknowledge him.”

“I heard he’s a great fighter.”

Even Haetnimu acknowledged the combat power of Son Goku and Hercules.

Among the top-tier divine beings, Son Goku and Hercules are truly unparalleled. I was told there’s no teacher like them.

Son Goku, who caused chaos in the heavenly realm, and Hercules, who was called a hero by the gods—need I say more?

“So why is the youngest holding this?”

“Well, by chance, fate brought us together. They teased me, saying if I could pull the Ruyi Jingu Bang out of the ground, I could take it.”

“So, did you pull it out?”

“Yep.”

“Kuhaha!”

Grandfather’s laughter shakes the ground and the workshop once again.

“But it wasn’t in great condition when I got it.”

“Of course. It was swung around wildly during the war.”

“Grandfather, are you perhaps Hwadeok Jingun?”

Grandfather, who was examining the Ruyi Jingu Bang, stares at me intently.

Ruyi Jingu Bang, war, Son Goku. Hwadeok Jingun.

And the master of the Stove Goblin standing before me.

The keywords from the fragmented story Son Goku told me start to connect.

“That monkey told you all that, huh? You must be quite close.”

“He’s my martial arts teacher.”

“Huh! So that’s what you’ve been up to. Raising a successor, huh? No wonder things have been quiet.”

Grandfather, alternating his gaze between the Ruyi Jingu Bang and me, nods.

“So, you’re carrying on Son Goku’s legacy.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.”

“No? Then what did you learn from him?”

“Uh… Cloud Technique and Staff Technique?”

Grandfather’s eyes narrow as he hears my answer.

“That’s the essence of Son Goku’s enlightenment. With that, he turned the heavenly realm upside down.”

“Oh, really?”

“Tian Dao, you really don’t know anything, do you?”

Grandfather reaches out and ruffles my hair vigorously.

“Uwooo…!”

“To answer your question, yes, I was called that in the past.”

“Ah, I see.”

“But not anymore.”

“Whatever it is, you’re Grandfather Hyeoncheol now.”

Hearing my answer, Grandfather’s eyes widen, and then he smiles again.

“You’re right. I am Hyeoncheol.”

With that, Grandfather’s rough hand touches my head once more.

“Uwooo…!”

“Hahaha.”

No matter where you go, grandfathers always seem to ruffle your hair like they’re trying to pull it out.

After ruffling my hair for a while, Grandfather seems satisfied and finally lets go.

“I’ll fix it for you.”

“Wow, I’m excited!”

“Hoho.”

Grandfather, who had been laughing heartily, raises a finger.

“But.”

“Here it comes.”

“This kid, always so mischievous.”

“Hehe.”

Grandfather, with a pleased smile, pulls something out from his pocket.

A mix of jet black and red, familiar yet unsettling colors.

“You’ll have to gather the materials yourself. I don’t make weapons for the unworthy.”

“Oh, a quest! What do I need to bring?”

Instead of answering, Grandfather hands me a key.

As I open my palm, the key falls onto it, and I feel the cold, metallic energy.

“To open the door to the Demon Realm…”

“This is the key.”

“Where is the Demon Realm?”

“Do you know where this place is?”

“Isn’t this just a goblin village?”

Grandfather shakes his head.

“This is the middle path between the human realm and the hell realm. It’s called the Beast Realm.”

“Oh… I thought it was a village of alcohol, cigarettes, potatoes, and ghosts.”

“Hehe, not entirely wrong.”

“Hmm…”

As I fiddle with the key, I feel a strangely familiar energy, which makes me feel uneasy.

I don’t know why I feel this energy from something I’ve never seen before.

“So, what should I do when I get there?”

“It’s simple. You’ll see a lot of random things when you go.”

“Should I just beat them up?”

“Straightforward, I like that. You’re right. Just go and beat them up. Then the wandering guys will drop Hwonwon Stones, and you can collect them.”

Hwonwon Stone.

I’ve never heard of it before.

It’s natural since I know nothing about this place, but it doesn’t sound pleasant.

“Hey, youngest, if you’re a goblin, prove your worth.”

“Got it! Sounds easy. And, Grandfather, the Ruyi Jingu Bang feels too light. Can that be fixed too?”

“Of course. Just bring back about twenty for now. That should be enough. I’ll handle the processing.”

“Awesome!”

I remember seeing something earlier.

As I wave my hand, letters appear before my eyes.

Ding!

───

[Note]

Proceeding with the description of what has been recognized.

○Memo

○Count

[Price: 50 million won]

───

Also known as Note Magic.

A skill worth its weight in gold in chaotic situations.

“Don’t stress too much. There’s only random stuff on the surface.”

“Should be simple.”

I’m familiar with how to use the key.

It should be the same as the Happy Our Home where Haetnimu is staying.

Click.

As I stab the key into the air, a pitch-black entrance shimmers into existence.

According to Grandfather, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Then I’ll be back soon!”

“Go ahead.”

The moment I step towards the entrance, I can feel the surroundings change.

It’s heavy and dirty.

Yet, it feels familiar.

Looking around, I see nothing.

Pure desolation.

I’ve landed in a world where everything is gray.

It’s so dark, as if there’s no sunlight.

Just in case, I look up and see the cause.

─────·····

A hollow cry.

A monster with crimson skin, so large I can’t even gauge its size, is looking down at me.

Ding!

My left eye throbs, and information I didn’t really want to know pops up.

[First Floor of the Demon Realm]

[Nine-Headed Ogre]

“Hmm…”

Click.

The world flips again.

This is also familiar.

Instead of heavy energy, a warm air envelops my entire body.

“Has time twisted? Why are you back already?”

“Grandfather!!”

“Ouch.”

Hanging onto the grandfather’s waist, a rough but warm hand pats my back.

“Grandpa, grandpaaa!”

“Calm down. What’s wrong?”

“I made eye contact with something weird! Like, straight-up eye contact!!! We locked eyes!!!”

“….”

“It was staring at me!!!”

The grandfather continues to stroke my back.

“It’s a lower creature that roamed the earth, unable to overcome its hunger and turned into a wandering spirit.”

“A lower creature? That thing was a lower creature? It didn’t seem small enough to be called that.”

Suddenly, I remembered the answer Grandfather Georam gave when I asked about the Dueoksinis.

“They’re lower creatures that couldn’t become goblins. They’re just remnants of lost spirits, no need to worry about them.”

Yu Bit-na said it took multiple extermination attempts and sending out high-level hunters to finally catch one.

I don’t know if the Dueoksinis and the thing I saw are similar, but it’s starting to make sense.

“It looked like it had a full belly from eating well, so was it really unable to overcome its hunger?”

“This kid, you’re such a drama queen.”

“No, it wasn’t a lower creature, it was a food-fighting monster, right?”

The grandfather, who had been stroking my back, gently pushes me away.

“Stop talking nonsense and get going. If it’s a goblin, it’s an easy job.”

“Ugh, my gosh.”

At this point, I can’t back out. I’m cornered.

Whether strong or weak, facing something like Agwi just makes me feel disgusted.

“I’ll be back….”

“Go for it, youngest!”

“Thanks, Uncle Hwadeok.”

Seeing Uncle Hwadeok cheering me on, it seems like he’s just finding this situation amusing.

He doesn’t seem worried at all, probably thinking it’s something I can handle easily, just like the grandfather said.

“Phew!”

*Click!*

As I insert the key, a pitch-black door appears in mid-air.

“Whoa!”

“Come back safe!”

The moment I step toward the door, the world turns gray.

“Oh, man.”

─Squelch, squelch.

“Phew─ I really hate when people comment on my face. But seriously, why do you look like that?”

─────…..

It starts drooling while looking at me.

“Hey, this punk, your face is something else. If you don’t wanna die, keep your eyes wide open.”

It keeps rolling its eyes and drooling.

“If you keep doing that, I’ve got my ways too.”

*Snap!*

“Come out, you ugly bunch.”

*Clink.*

Grrrr─!

***

“Professor, I’ve finished grading the quiz.”

Professor Hwang turns his attention to the teaching assistant.

“Good job. Anything unusual?”

“Well, there is one thing.”

It’s called a quiz, but the difficulty of Wisdom Academy’s quizzes is so brutal that no one ever gets a perfect score.

“What is it?”

“Han Ga-eul, the student…”

“Han Ga-eul!!?”

The teaching assistant couldn’t help but be surprised by Professor Hwang’s reaction.

And for good reason—Professor Hwang, being an outstanding mage, rarely showed his emotions.

Even though Wisdom Academy students are young, he always treated them with respect and showed his exceptional side. But now, sparks were flying from his eyes.

*Grind.*

“Gasp! What, what’s wrong, Professor?”

The teaching assistant’s eyes widened like lanterns at the sound of Professor Hwang’s teeth grinding.

“Phew! Phew…”

“···! No. So, what’s the unusual matter?”

“Uh··· Han Ga-eul’s scores are strange.”

“Han Ga-eul····.”

“Gasp.”

Every time Han Ga-eul’s name is mentioned, Professor Hwang visibly trembles.

“Uh··· Should I continue?”

“···Yes.”

“From Dynamics, Magical Geometry, Topology, Analysis to Algebra, she aced every subject that students find extremely difficult.”

“Really, perfect scores?”

The assistant reads off the computer screen.

“These are subjects that always spark debates about their difficulty. She’s the only student with perfect scores.”

“She’s a troublemaker, but not the type to cheat. I don’t get how she’s pulling perfect scores while always dozing off····.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. The two problems in Algebraic Topology this time had a difficulty level requiring about five hours to solve. It was beyond undergraduate level, something even someone with an academic degree would struggle with.”

Professor Hwang nods as he listens to the assistant.

“I set those problems myself, so I know. They were meant to gauge the students’ spatial understanding and arithmetic level, not to be solved.”

“Yet she solved them. With perfect scores, no less.”

“So, what’s the problem then?”

The assistant turns the computer screen toward Professor Hwang.

“The problem is that in all other subjects—Dungeon, Flora, Monster Studies—she scored zero.”

The assistant, showing the monitor to Professor Hwang, picks up a piece of paper from the desk.

“Here, you can even see drool stains.”

“····.”

“At least she wrote her name. Her handwriting is at the level of a calligraphy master···?”

Hearing the assistant’s words, Professor Hwang finally grabs his head.

‘She’s always causing trouble, and this time she even destroyed the gym with a summoning scroll, but she’s not a bad student at heart.’

“Oh, besides the arithmetic problems, she did solve something else.”

“See!”

A smile spreads across Professor Hwang’s face.

‘Maybe I misjudged her.’

“It’s Herbalism···· She solved half of it.”

“Half?”

“Half of the questions were about medicinal herbs, and the other half were about poisonous herbs. She only solved the poisonous herb questions. Didn’t touch the medicinal herb ones.”

The smile on Professor Hwang’s face, filled with anticipation, freezes.

“Uh, Professor. It seems like this kid is just living life as it comes.”

“Oh dear, Duyah.”