Chapter 51: You’re Really Liked

“…”

Ion scanned his surroundings.

A shimmering purple gate stone, Demon Realm flora, and one bat chimera perched on Sansevieria’s pot.

Nothing else was alive.

Suspecting a hidden presence, he released mana but sensed nothing.

“Who was that just now?” he asked.

No response.

Not a Giant. It was a young male voice, as striking as Jin Seongha’s.

“No way.”

Ion’s trembling eyes fixed on the pot.

“Sanse, did you speak?”

“…”

“Sanse… you finally spoke…!”

Ion’s eyes filled with fervent emotion.

He’d always known this day would come!

Teacher had said the spirits brought from Idea were once plants like Sansevieria. Plants in mana-rich places could become spirits, brimming with mana.

Sanse, raised in a spirit-filled environment, had more mana and vitality than other Sansevierias, even controlling its growth.

Ion believed it would become a spirit someday.

The joy of finally communicating with his lifelong family and friend flushed his cheeks.

“Sanse, say it again. Wait, what did you say? ‘What’s abandoning?’ Abandoning means leaving something like an animal behind. The bat clinging to you was annoying, right? I’ll get rid of it!”

“No abandoning. Abandoning bad.”

“Sanse… you’re so kind, even to the bat that bothered you…”

“Not Sanse. Me. Look at me.”

“…”

“Me… chimera. Bat.”

The bat flapped its wings, standing upright two steps away, its round eyes locked on Ion.

“Me.”

“…Oh.”

Ion collapsed, not from shock but disappointment.

“Sanse…”

Deflated, Ion hung his head.

If Hong Insu, Dam Daon, or even Jin Seongha were here, they’d point out a chimera was more likely to speak than a plant. But Ion was alone, with no one to correct him.

“Sorry,” the bat said awkwardly, trying to console him.

Ion, roused from his slump, looked up.

“As expected, a chimera. And a talking one—maybe raised by Giants for communication?”

“Don’t know. I’m chimera?”

“You just said, ‘Me, chimera.’”

“You said I’m chimera. So I thought I am. Not sure.”

The bat plopped onto the soil, folding its wings like arms, mimicking Ion’s posture. It demanded confidently, “I’m hungry. Give banana.”

Ion, bemused but calm, asked, “You’ve been kyuu-kyuu-ing like you couldn’t talk for two weeks. Why speak now?”

“You said no kyuu-kyuu. Had no strength to talk. Ate banana yesterday. Got strength.”

It made sense. The bat had seemed weak. After devouring a banana, it regained energy.

“Was so hungry. Want bananas always.”

“…”

Ion adjusted his posture. Though disappointed it wasn’t Sanse, this was a chance for new information.

“How long were you in that dungeon?”

“Don’t know.”

“What rank was your Giant master?”

“No memory.”

“Were there others like you?”

“Don’t know.”

“Anything you remember before meeting me?”

“Nothing. Hungry. Give banana.”

“No bananas now. Answer my questions properly, then I’ll give you one.”

Kyuu… The bat drooped its wings dejectedly.

“Really no memory…”

Even without a truth-detection skill, Ion could tell it was sincere.

A chimera with no memories…

Like a time bomb with a lost manual.

Chimeras appear from Level 4 onward, dominated by Giants but far stronger than Level 1–3 monsters.

No one on Earth could subdue this bat.

Thought to be a juvenile, its voice suggested it was an adult.

Even Jin Seongha might not guarantee victory.

Ion stood, and the bat’s head followed.

Whoosh.

Ion’s dagger blazed with flames.

Kyuu! The bat flinched.

“Why! That’s scary.”

“You’re a threat to the protagonist… You need to die here.”

If it remembered nothing, it couldn’t provide information. This was safer for Jin Seongha.

The bat flapped in panic. “No! I’m not a threat. Killing bad.”

“Your existence is a threat. Get off Sanse now.”

The bat clung tightly to Sansevieria’s stem, as if it were its lifeline.

“No killing. Calm down, Damion.”

“…”

Ion, still holding the flame dagger, tilted his head.

“Damion… you mean me?”

“Your name’s Damion.”

“How do you know my name?”

“Sanse told me.”

“…”

The murderous aura vanished, snipped like with scissors.

Ion’s shadowed face lit up like it was bathed in sunlight. He blinked wide, innocent eyes.

“Sansevieria…?”

“Yup.”

“You… talk to Sansevieria?”

“Yup.”

Whoosh. The flame dagger vanished. Ion crouched before the pot, staring at the bat with pure eyes.

“You’re a chimera mixed with plant cells. What’s Sanse saying? Is it hungry? Sick? Does it have anything it’s always wanted to say?”

“I’ll ask. Wait.”

“Okay. I’ll wait. Take your time.”

Ion answered obediently, waiting. Minutes later, the bat spoke.

“Sanse says it really likes you.”

“…”

“Says it likes you a lot. No pain. But worries about you. Otherwise, it’s fine.”

“…”

Ion blinked rapidly, chasing away the welling tears.

“Good… I’m glad. Tell Sanse I like it too.”

“Sanse understands.”

“…”

“Always understood. Always talked to you. Always answered. Was sad it couldn’t talk. Sanse really likes Damion.”

Ion suppressed surging emotions. His chest and vision wavered.

Sansevieria’s upright green leaves seemed to reach for him.

The cheap pot, with him since his earliest memories.

Teacher gave him a palm-sized pot with two 10 cm leaves, yellowed and brittle at the tips, crumbling at a touch.

Ion nurtured it dearly.

Thanks to spirits or his care, Sansevieria thrived. When leaves grew past 40 cm, Teacher ruthlessly snipped them. On those nights, Ion clung to Sanse, unable to sleep, fearing it would die.

“Sanse, don’t grow more. Teacher might throw you out if you’re a hassle. I couldn’t find you. I’d lose you forever. So don’t grow.”

He’d whisper through the night.

At some point, Sansevieria’s leaves stayed between 30–40 cm, as if listening. It even shrank its leaves for smaller bags.

Sanse… really heard me. Talked to me. Liked me.

During harsh training, Sansevieria was his only solace. He wouldn’t have survived without it.

“Sanse…”

Ion hugged Sansevieria tightly.

The bat got squished too, but he didn’t care. Knowing Sanse understood him, he’d show even more affection.

Let others find it odd—it didn’t matter.

He couldn’t kill the bat. It was his only link to Sanse.

Back in the car, Ion asked if it could talk to Kwan-eum, Are, Sis, Seos, and Ivy.

It said it sometimes communicated with Kwan-eum, Are, and Sis, but not Seos or Ivy, recently acquired plants, as expected.

Ion warmly reassured them, “When I have time, I’ll visit the orphanage. It’s full of spirits. Spend time there, and you’ll talk too. Don’t worry.”

“…”

“I hope you all speak soon.”

“…”

To keep that promise, Ion needed to squeeze his tight schedule tighter.

Clear Daisytown in two weeks max and return.

Checking his plans, Ion started the car, his expression bright, lips curved, eyes crinkled.

He was smiling, like an orphan learning he wasn’t alone.

Tap-tap.

The bat, on the steering wheel, nudged Ion’s arm with its wing.

“What?”

“Hungry. Give banana.”

“…”

Ion’s car gained a new passenger: a banana basket, alongside the pots and bat.

August 21, Daisytown Raid Day 1

The first raid team, formed by three guilds, gathered before the oval gate.

The U.S., with more awakened than Korea, typically fielded raid teams two to three times larger.

Initially, 72 people were slated for Daisytown’s first raid, but after exploration, the terrain couldn’t support that many, so only 36 entered—20 porters, 16 combatants.

Three S-rank Hunters allowed the reduced combat team:

• Elliet Middlener: Hegis raid leader, with three skills, considered among the world’s strongest alongside Jin Seongha.
• Joseph Bright: Hercules mercenary, now holding the strongest shield skill after Park Yujik’s death.
• Onil: D-NATE guildmaster, known for foresight and attack skills. Her foresight, unlike other prophets, never failed.

In reality, she has no foresight skill, just using Teacher’s teachings.

Ion didn’t know her second skill, but it wasn’t one to see through transformation magic—she hadn’t noticed last time.

…She didn’t notice, right?

Il-on’s unreadable expressions left him uncertain.