Chapter 259: Somehow, a Driven Hunt (2)
[Just come this way! If you head here first, take care of everything, and then go to Medsang, it’ll be fine.]
Park Yerim spoke in a cheerful voice.
Right now, we were stopped at the crossroads between Medsang and Drosia.
Originally, it would have taken just over a day to reach Medsang. The problem, however, was the monsters trailing behind us. When we teleported instead of using high-speed movement, the monsters that failed to follow us properly changed course toward a nearby city.
Over 300 monsters, including an SSS-rank one, were now heading for the city of Plesh. In a panic, we had to turn back. In the end, teleportation could only be used for short distances, and we had to rely on high-speed movement instead.
As we moved at a relatively slower pace, the number of monsters kept increasing. Counting even the smaller ones, their numbers had grown to nearly a thousand. At this point, just approaching a city was becoming dangerous. If that massive horde were to scatter, we would be at a numerical disadvantage, and the damage would be severe.
Despite this, Yerim remained confident.
[You’ll understand once you get here. I’ll send you the coordinates.]
And then, the transmission cut off.
Since this world lacked artificial satellites, long-range communication from a moving ship was unstable. Once outside the coverage range of the road-embedded communication devices, contact became impossible.
“Would it be better to head to Drosia?”
Noah turned to me and asked.
Yerim sounded so sure—she probably had a plan. Han Yuhyun and Moon Hyunah also agreed, saying it was the better option. Both believed that with Park Yerim near the sea, she could handle the numbers just fine.
“Drosia is full of spirits too.”
“I heard that as well.”
At Moon Hyunah’s comment, Noah nodded.
“However, we can’t expect them to be particularly cooperative. While there is some collaboration with spirits, there are very few actual contractors.”
— They don’t make contracts unless they like you!
Iryn, perched on my hand, spoke up.
“But Iryn, you contracted with Yuhyun the moment you were born.”
— It was love at first sight, hyung! And Yuhyun was holding my egg, so it was practically like he proposed first! So, of course, I accepted right away~
Originally, it was said that Yuhyun also needed to consent for the contract, but at the time, he probably didn’t think much of it. Iryn, this little guy… Well, having a contract was definitely better.
Some of the Medsang crew, including their second SS-rank guard, decided to return to their city. The warship, meanwhile, set course for the northern coastal city of Drosia, leading the massive monster horde.
[Temperature is steadily dropping. Please equip cold-weather gear before engaging in outdoor activities.]
An announcement played throughout the ship.
The view outside was barren. Only a few plants, resistant to extreme cold, sparsely dotted the frozen landscape.
Even for the northern lands, it wasn’t always this cold. But ever since a mana hall formed offshore, water and ice spirits had gathered there, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet. Over the decades, forests disappeared, the ground froze over, and an endless snowfield spread across the land.
“Look at the frost on the window.”
Moon Hyunah tapped the glass with the back of her hand.
“I don’t have Cold Resistance. Should I buy one?”
“Resistance skills, even at mid-tier, are pretty useful. How much is it?”
“C-rank, 3 million points.”
“It’s 10 million for me. This is discrimination.”
Unlike equipment and consumables, skills were expensive even at lower ranks. Still, 3 million points was manageable. Meanwhile, for me, everything was absurdly expensive—not just attack skills but also anything related to physical abilities. To be exact, it was more like Yuhyun, Moon Hyunah, and Noah were getting discounts.
“How much is it for you, Yuhyun?”
“7 million. Probably because of my attribute—it’s expensive.”
“I’ve saved up a decent amount of points, but when should I spend them? I really hope I don’t lose them all if a dungeon suddenly gets raided.”
Moon Hyunah, who initially aimed for an SS-rank Great Spear but had decided to go for a skill instead, looked worried.
“We can use them before installing the last disc. It won’t get raided before then.”
Since we had unintentionally gathered a massive horde, everyone would end up with plenty of points after this hunt. Especially with the SSS-rank monster. Since SS-rank monsters yielded about ten times more points than S-ranks, an SSS-rank should easily be worth over 10 million points.
“Little Moon, I’m counting on you.”
Sigma, who had been listening with a mildly disinterested expression, glanced at me.
He didn’t reply, but he wouldn’t sit out of the hunt.
Outside, occasional snowflakes drifted down, and the temperature continued to drop. The announcement repeated, calling for people with Cold Resistance skills. By the time the darkened sky began to brighten slightly, a landing notice came through.
[All non-combat personnel, please proceed to Zone A.]
Outside, several vehicles from Drosia had gathered.
Before disembarking, I pulled out the fluffy pink accessories. They weren’t really my style, but—
‘Can’t believe this set gives a Cold Resistance skill.’
With the final piece, a fur-lined hat, the resistance skill reached SS-rank. I wasn’t sure if this was due to the effects of Sveil-yang’s yarn or if Seong Hyunjae had tampered with it somehow. There were no other set effects, so it was only useful for everyday wear, but right now, it was perfect.
Wrapped in a long cardigan, a scarf, a hat, and gloves, I stepped out.
Moon Hyunah, who was already outside, took one look at me and broke into a wide grin.
“It suits you well, hyung.”
“The color’s a bit off, but the craftsmanship is nice.”
I especially liked the cardigan. It was roomy, and the pockets were big.
“I can make one for you too.”
“Sure, let’s go with a scarf.”
I wrapped the overly long scarf around Han Yuhyun. Just that alone was enough to share the Cold Resistance skill. He could easily keep warm by lighting a small flame, but it was better to conserve mana.
“Come here, Little Moon.”
There was still plenty left.
“…I’ll pass.”
Sigma, who had been staring at me and Yuhyun, finally spoke.
If it had been Seong Hyunjae, he would’ve accepted it with some ridiculous comment and unnecessary elegance. This guy was still young, after all.
“Our Little Moon will catch a cold if you don’t take it. Come on, go to your big bro.”
Moon Hyunah gave Sigma a push on the back.
Both Han Yuhyun and Sigma frowned at the same time.
“Why take care of someone who doesn’t even like you? Let’s go, hyung.”
“Hyung! Take the youngest too!”
“Let go, Lambda.”
“Say, ‘Please let go, noona~’ Come on, try it.”
Sigma grimaced, but he couldn’t match Moon Hyunah in sheer strength. She was taller than him too. And every time I looked at her arms, I couldn’t help but be impressed. Even with the same rank and similar stats, when it came to raw physical strength without using skills, body size and muscle mass mattered. I’d heard that the amount of mana infused into the body also varied depending on physique.
Han Yuhyun needed to grow a bit more.
The moment we stepped outside the warship, a snow-laden wind hit us. Thanks to Cold Resistance, I wasn’t actually cold, but just looking at the landscape sent a chill through me.
“Yujin, are you cold?”
Noah, who had been waiting outside, asked.
He didn’t have Cold Resistance either, so he was wearing a fur-lined winter coat—probably an item with resistance properties. Since it didn’t seem to be high-tier, his pale cheeks were slightly flushed red.
“Noah, do you want a scarf? This shares an SS-rank Cold Resistance skill.”
“Ah… I’m fine for now.”
Noah glanced around hesitantly.
He didn’t seem to dislike the idea, but he was clearly wary of the people from Medsang and Drosia. Did he think wearing a hot pink scarf wouldn’t suit someone in his position as Myu?
Suddenly, I remembered something Seong Hyunjae had once told me—how his status wouldn’t change no matter what he did, so he never worried about such things. That relaxed confidence of his.
“Noah.”
Since he wasn’t coming over, I walked up to him instead and wrapped the hot pink scarf around his neck.
“It looks good on you.”
“…Huh?”
“Just do what you want. It’s weird to hold back over something this small. Ah, but obviously, not for bad things.”
Some people glanced our way, but at most, they just smiled.
Sure, there are plenty of times in life when you have to care about what others think, but in Medsang, Myu was an absolute authority. Wearing a hot pink scarf wouldn’t cause any problems.
“As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone, it’s fine.”
Look at Han Yuhyun—he’s always so confident. Seong Hyunjae would probably be the same. And Moon Hyunah never hesitated when it came to what she wanted to do.
“Who knows, pink scarves might become a trend in Medsang.”
At that, Noah let out a small laugh.
“Are you Han Yujin?”
Just then, a Drosia guard approached us.
Before I could answer, he glanced at the people on either side of me, then nodded as if he’d already confirmed it.
Yerim, what exactly did you tell them?
“Delta has requested your presence. Please follow me.”
The Drosia guard climbed onto a snowmobile.
Medsang had small flying vehicles, but we couldn’t bring along an entire support team just to operate them, so we got into the Drosia vehicles instead. Designed for traversing snow and ice, the cars began making their way across the frozen landscape. Unlike snowmobiles, these vehicles weren’t particularly fast.
After some time, a frozen canyon came into view.
It looked as if two enormous waves had surged toward each other and then solidified in place.
Tilting my head back to take in the curved, sheer cliffs, I heard the Drosia guard speak with pride.
“Impressive, isn’t it? Delta created this just yesterday.”
…So they weren’t like frozen waves, they literally were frozen waves.
The sun reflected off the icy walls, making them glisten as we passed through. Beyond them, the sea appeared—a vast, white-covered northern ocean.
“Holy shit, what is all this?”
Moon Hyunah muttered.
Noah’s eyes widened in surprise, and even Sigma looked taken aback.
Han Yuhyun, on the other hand, frowned slightly.
— …I want to hide.
Iryn, sounding somewhat intimidated, burrowed into the scarf.
It was understandable—he was a fire spirit, after all.
The sight before us was nothing short of breathtaking.
The first thing that caught my eye was a massive, white whale.
Floating in the sky like a gatekeeper, the whale lazily moved its long fins. Surrounding it, all sorts of fish of various shapes and sizes swam in schools through the air.
It wasn’t just fish.
Dolphins, sharks, turtles, and jellyfish of all sizes filled the air, along with birds, butterflies, and even dragon-shaped spirits. Beneath the sky, atop the snow and ice, countless other spirits had gathered. Deer, wolves, rabbits, and unidentified animals mingled among snowmen, books, swords, and amorphous figures.
It felt as though every spirit in this world had gathered here.
A chill ran down my spine, yet I couldn’t help but feel pure awe.
At the very center of it all, surrounded by the spirits, stood a familiar face. Short hair fluttered in the sea breeze. Amidst the countless spirits, Park Yerim raised one arm high.
“Mister!”
She greeted me with a bright smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
As our car approached, Yerim flew over to us in a leap. The spirits tried to follow, but she waved them back.
But then…
“Mister, you look exactly the same.”
“Uh, yeah. But, Yerim, you… you’ve grown a lot.”
Not physically, of course. She was possessed, after all. But—she was taller than me. No matter how I looked at her, she wasn’t fifteen anymore. Yerim grinned meaningfully.
Was she in her twenties?
She reminded me of the Yerim I had seen before my regression. The expression was completely different, but the face was similar. Her eyes were now blue, and her hair had streaks of the same color.
“Han Yuhyun! You look just like before. Guess that makes us equals here, huh? Former Guild Leader! Hyunah-unni! Whoa, you’ve gotten so tall! I’m jealous! Noah-oppa, your eye color is gorgeous! Too bad I can’t take a picture—Soyeong-unni would love it. And Sesung Guild Leader, you seem so stiff. Did something happen?”
“He’s not the Sesung Guild Leader.”
“Huh?”
I explained that Seong Hyunjae was elsewhere and that Sigma was a different person from this world.
Yerim’s jaw dropped.
“Whoa. There are two of that face? That’s a total cheat.”
I was about to explain the rest of the situation when the Drosia guard, who had been communicating via radio, suddenly shouted.
“The monster horde has been spotted on Camera #1!”
“Really? We’d better get ready. Mister, do you want to stay back?”
“Huh? No, I’m going to help.”
“It’ll be dangerous.”
“Yerim, I have a skill that doubles point gains. And I can share it, too.”
Yerim froze for a moment.
Then, she let out a scream that sounded like pure joy.
“Mister, you’re the best! Double points?!”
Yerim was ecstatic, but Han Yuhyun and Moon Hyunah couldn’t hide their disappointment. Still, both of them seemed to agree that it was better to share the skill with Yerim. It made sense—she was going to be taking down the most monsters here.
I was really disappointed, too.
Why did I only have one body?
But there would be plenty of monsters to hunt. As reports from Camera #2 came in, we quickly prepared to face the incoming horde.
–TL Notes–
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