With a metallic clink, a momentary silence swept over the northernmost tip of the New Continent. “See, it’s possible, right?” Blaugrunn teleported right next to the pack leader without waiting for any specific instructions from Leeha, and as soon as he appeared, Leeha aimed a musket-pistol at the creature’s head.
“Le-Leader!”
“Attack, attack them now!” Swish-through!
The walrus paleo’s extracted their own tusks to fashion dual swords and swung them wildly. However, the mass teleport didn’t only transport humans. Ting-Ting-Tang-Tang! The sound resembling that of hitting a frying pan made Blaugrunn snicker. Regardless of the paleo’s being fairly strong, he was certain they couldn’t penetrate his barrier.
“Wait a second! What if I wasn’t a friend of Ramhwa Jeong, and didn’t come here to help you? Your subordinates can’t even break our shield, and here I am, targeting you.”
Click! Leeha returned his musket to its original state with the ball disengaged—a gesture impossible with modern firearms but doable with old-world muskets, something Leeha found amusing.
“What will you do? We’ve come here after hearing from Ram Hwajung-ssi to help you from afar. I believe we’ve sufficiently proven our capabilities.”
“Your name?”
“I’m Leeha. And this little friend here is Blaugrunn.”
“Leeha…! So you’re one of the most famous five individuals.” The walrus paleo leader mumbled. It seemed that the reputation system among users within the New Continent was increasingly being established. Leeha was aware he was somewhat famous but didn’t realize there was a specific designation as ‘one of the most famous five humans.’
“We owe Ram Hwajung-ssi our thanks for sending such a strong friend. Welcome, comrade. My name is Alakagalak, leading the expedition of the tribal guardian god, Odobe.”
“Ala, Alakagalak? Nice name, though I don’t know the meaning. Pleased to meet you.”
The walrus paleo leader, Alakagalak extended his thick hand. Leeha, without hesitation, grasped it firmly—a hand that could crush his face with ease—and shook it. At last, they had entered the first gate to acquire the lens.
“Alakagalak dad!”
“Alakagalak dad has returned!”
Their village was approximately three hours further up from where Leeha had wrestled before. It was no longer snow-covered land but rather ‘above the glacier’ would be more accurate to describe their location.
‘The names are so complicated… There was something like Alakalala or Kalalabi Kalalabi before.’
For Leeha, it was an utterly dull journey. What made it bearable was being able to listen and laugh at the names the walrus paleos called each other.
Leeha saw children rushing to hug Alakagalak—a number that was no small feat.
“Seems you have a very healthy marital life.”
“Hmm? I am not married.”
“Eh? Then these kids are-“
“Every adult male is a father, and every adult female is a mother.”
“Ah… Communal parenting.”
Dozens of faces peeked from behind Alakagalak’s thighs, staring intently at Leeha and Blaugrunn, their eyes sparkling. Ice-crafted accessories glittered under the light, but what caught Leeha’s attention was something else.
‘Glasses! Those are glasses.’
One of little kid was definitely wearing glasses. Although they resembled the small frames that might have been worn by nobles in medieval times, giving off an odd vibe, they were unmistakably glasses.Indeed! “I could process the lenses after all.” The mere mention of glasses implies a concept of lenses, doesn’t it? Leeha tried to befriend Komaren with a broad smile and a wave of his hand, but they just laughed and ran away. “How on earth did Ram Hwajung-ssi become friends with these people?” Could it be that the Snowflake Sorcerer, strong in ice magic, could increase intimacy without saying much? If so, Leeha couldn’t help but feel envious.
Traveling through the frozen lands to the ice dwellings, Leeha had already felt it and was now certain of their residential structures. All the houses were igloos made of ice. “Native Alaskans, Eskimos? Inuits? That must be the original model.”
The bonobo paleos modeled their tribe after a South American Amazon jungle community, and the Red Goats modeled theirs after an African highland tribe. Understanding each paleo’s tribe concept made it easier to discern their desires. “Well, it’s unlikely the actual Amazon tribes craft items from lava.”
Gaining knowledge from reality and integrating it swiftly with the game’s information, a comprehensive insight was deemed essential for rapid growth in Mid-Earth.
“Comrade Leeha, come here. I will guide you to our tribal guardian deity.”
“Yes.”
“Excuse me, Leeha-ssi, may I also enter?”
“Uh? Oh, right. Hmm… Yes, let’s go together.”
Leeha nodded, recalling the relationship between the Red Goat’s guardian deity, Aibex, and the Golden Dragon Bailephus. The two beings seemed to understand that they could satisfy each other’s intellectual curiosity, thus were friendly towards each other. For Blaugrunn, who had not had the opportunity whenever entering a paleo tribe, this adventure must have been particularly thrilling.
“It’s a pity it’s not the same elemental attribute.”
“No! It’s still good! The knowledge gained here can later be exchanged with the Silver Dragon clan, among others! They haven’t made it this far, so we could negotiate something in return for revealing this location?!”
“Ah… How did a pure Juvenile-class Dragon end up like this?” Leeha felt a twinge of guilt as he looked at Blaugrunn, who had completely adopted his way of speaking.
“Guardian deity Odobe! I have brought Ram Hwajung-ssi comrade, the human Leeha, and his retainer.” Despite being called a retainer, Blaugrunn just snorted. From inside the massive igloo, a loud “clang” was heard.
“Enter. Lord Odobe awaits.”
Pushing aside the curtain that served as a door, Leeha and Blaugrunn entered. The center of the vast igloo was completely hollowed out below, filled with gently lapping seawater. Suddenly, a gigantic sea elephant emerged, looking at Leeha.
“Hello! My name is Leeha!” Despite being shocked, Leeha suppressed the urge to shout. The sea elephant, which seemed as large as the Golden Koi Shoer, exuded a grotesque charm.
“Clang! Clang! A human, comrade of the fairy Ram Hwajung. Clang! You are welcomed.”
“Ugh.”
“Quite a noisy seal,” whispered Leeha, covering his ears.
Given the igloo’s round shape, the echo was inevitably louder. Despite this, the term “fairy Ram Hwajung” clearly reached Leeha’s ears.
“I heard from Alakagalak,” he said after a pause.
“You were told by fairy Ram Hwajung to hunt the frozen ostrich.”
“That’s correct. A friend of a friend is also a friend. Hearing that a friend of Ram Hwajung-ssi was in trouble, I came all the way here.” Leeha bowed politely, and the giant sea elephant roared once more.
At least seals sound cute… Listening to the roar of a walrus that could only poke its head out of the igloo’s hole, more than 20 meters large, was maddening.
“However, I worry if you’ll be able to hunt the frozen ostrich. The entity beside you is certainly… a being called a dragon,” Odobe hummed, tilting its head in a way that Leeha found not at all cute.Responding to the word “dragon,” it was Blaugrunn who stepped forward. “Thank you for recognizing me, Odobe-nim. I am Blaugrunn, a Bronze Dragon.”
“Bronze, huh! Yes, I’ve met one of your kind before—a grey-haired cousin, once.”
“Oh? Really? If they were grey, they must have been from the Silver clan! When was this? Ah, but why the hair? Were they in human form? I haven’t heard anything from the Silver clan.”
“Silver? I’m not sure, but they were in human form. The time escapes me though…”
“Wait, that’s not what we’re here to discuss, Odobe-nim,” interrupted Leeha, hoping to guide the conversation back on track.
This topic, too, was of interest to Leeha. Even the Ancient-class Gold Dragon Bailephus had claimed that the first time they actually saw a mystical creature was at Red Gorge.
‘But there are Silver Dragons who have seen a mystical creature? Wouldn’t they have to be older than Bailephus for that to be possible?’
The ‘type’ like Gold or Silver does not signify the dragon’s rank. A dragon’s strength is derived primarily from experience, which comes with age, and their individual sense.
‘It might not be a Silver after all.’
While it’s entirely possible that there could be a Silver clan member older than Bailephus, Leeha had a slightly different hypothesis in mind.
Putting his curiosity aside for the moment, Leeha said, “Blaugrunn-ssi, I understand your enthusiasm, but let’s save that conversation for later.”
Blaugrunn, understanding the gravity of the situation, did not push further. He was well aware of how adept Leeha was in handling matters like these.
“So, what were you curious about?”
“It’s about how to catch a Ice Ostrich. It might be challenging for me, but given the ‘strength’ dragons possess, I would imagine you’re familiar with it…”
“Know it? Of course, I have seen the delightful power of dragons!”
“Yet you’re saying capturing a Ice Ostrich is difficult?”
Though the word ‘delightful’ made Leeha slightly uneasy, he decided to let it slide for the moment.
“If it were that cheerful dragon, it might have been possible. But I’ve already heard about the strength shown by you, Blaugrunn-ssi, and Leeha-ssi, from Alakagalak, squawk!”
Does that mean what was possible for the dragon of the past might not be for you? It seemed Blaugrunn caught the gist at last. In essence, it implied that their strength was severely underestimated.
“We can do it.”
“With Leeha-ssi and my strength, we could even drive that ostrich to extinction if need be.”
For the first time in a while, Blaugrunn adopted a confident attitude.
Odobe watched this display fondly before crying out once again. And finally, a hologram screen appeared in front of Leeha.
[Crystal of Snow]
Description: “Squawk! The Ice Ostrich collapses at the slightest pressure. Their original form, made of ice, is snow! Chasing after them as they rapidly disintegrate into snow and recombine is no easy task, squawk! Their self-destruction is also an act of self-replication! Causing them stress may inadvertently increase their numbers instead. For our young Ice Walruses, the snow and ice tainted by the Ice Ostrich act as pests and diseases.
“If Leeha-ssi cannot properly handle the Ice Ostrich… even if he is a friend of the Fairy Ram Hwajung, I cannot forgive him, squawk!”
Odobe can make waves in the ocean but on ice, his power is limited. Similarly, his Ice Walrus paleos cannot match the speed of the Ice Ostriches, making it all the more challenging.
Ice Ostriches are to the society of the Ice Walrus paleos what germs are to the human body, threatening the tribe’s health. Let’s vastly reduce their numbers.
Mission: Eliminate 30 Ice Ostriches (0/30)
Reward: 50% increased affinity with Ice Walrus paleos
50% increased affinity with the mystical creature Odobe
Failure condition: More than 5 Ice Ostriches self-destruct due to failed attacks
Penalty for failure: -80% affinity with Ice Walrus paleos
-80% affinity with the mystical creature Odobe
Do you accept?
![Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]](https://cpunovel.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/arcane-sniper.jpg "Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]")
