Neveterde's Cry
Fortunately, Pina never needed to shout.
Before any of us could do a thing, a cry rose from the deathly silent forest—Neveterde’s voice, cutting through the stillness.
♬ ♬!!
“Phew…”
Pina let out a breath of relief and pressed a hand to her chest.
This time, though, Neveterde’s cry carried a sharper urgency than before. Pina and I set off after the sound at once. If something happened before we even found Neveumano, we would be in real trouble.
And then I saw the hunters.
“……Is this some kind of new monster?”
“Doesn’t seem all that hostile, though…”
Two hunters stood flanking Neveterde, weapons raised in a clear threat—yet neither of them actually attacked. When a hunter discovered a new species, the priority was never to kill it on sight. First you studied its ecology, determined whether it was harmful, and only then filed a report so the rest of the guild would know such a creature existed in that ecosystem.
…Of course, I already knew everything about it, so I was going to kill it. There was no need for careful observation.
It wasn’t mindless slaughter. Absolutely not.
Pina could only stare at Neveterde with a helpless little sigh.
“Our little cutie’s in danger.”
“…Mm.”
The hunters kept their weapons trained on Neveterde just in case. To the creature, that must have felt like a genuine threat—which was why it had cried out, deliberately summoning every monster in the area. Once that voice had gone up, it was only a matter of time before they arrived.
I called out to the two who were still warily watching Neveterde.
“…You two.”
“Gah!”
Both hunters jumped at the sound of my voice, then exhaled in relief. Twin plumes of white breath rose from their mouths in perfect unison—quite the sight in the cold.
“Master Hunter. Good day to you.”
“Ah… yeah.”
Being addressed so respectfully still made my face itch a little. I gave a vague wave of my hand. What mattered was Neveterde’s reaction.
♩!
Neveterde recognized my voice and my face at once, and its whole demeanor brightened with open delight.
“Wha—hey!”
“It’s moving all of a sudden.”
It tried to step forward, only for the hunters to bar its path with their blades. Neveterde edged back, a low growl rumbling in its throat. Of course the hunters read that as a threat.
I stopped them.
“It’s not that dangerous.”
One of them looked at me.
“Master Hunter, you know this monster?”
“More or less. We need to leave this spot first. Follow me.”
They exchanged puzzled glances, then nodded and fell in behind me. Explaining everything could wait; getting clear of this place could not. Already the heavy, thudding footfalls of approaching monsters were growing louder.
One hunter whipped his head around at the ground-shaking noise.
“Monsters…!”
“That cry summons them.”
“Ah—so that’s why…”
Understanding dawned on their faces a beat too late. I glanced back. Just as I’d expected, Neveterde was trailing after us.
One of the hunters still looked uneasy.
“…Is it all right to let it follow?”
“It’s fine.”
Both of them wore doubtful expressions, but the words of a Master Hunter carried weight. They decided to trust me. So this was life at the top of the ladder… I found myself quietly impressed all over again by a rank that needed almost no persuasion at all.
We moved quickly, yet we still ran into trouble. Drawn by Neveterde’s call, a Duegambe the Green Ogre blocked our path—a massive green bulk that walked on two legs. Its eyes were rolled back, breath heaving as if it were about to roar Why the hell are you provoking me? I knew at once this fight was unavoidable.
Still, it should have picked its opponents more carefully. Judging by its state, it probably hadn’t had the luxury of choice.
I drew the Famine Sword from my back. A hollow, drained sensation settled over me.
Then—
Crack!
The moment I crushed the Duegambe’s arm, that subtle weakness vanished. No—my body actually felt lighter than before. That was the special effect of an Atoryong weapon: the Gift of Calamity.
Both Adelaide and I had felt the same drain the first time we touched the weapon. That drain was the debuff the Gift of Calamity inflicted—the so-called Endless Hunger. In the game, simply holding an Atoryong weapon slowed stamina recovery.
If that had been the only effect, the weapon would have been pure garbage. But the Gift of Calamity offset its own drawback with a powerful upside: every successful hit restored stamina through the Satiety buff. In a hunt where stamina management decided everything, the Atoryong’s gift was rain in a drought. The weapons shone brightest when you stayed glued to the enemy and never backed off. If you already knew the patterns cold, your stamina simply never ran dry.
That didn’t mean you should swing like a maniac. Get drunk on the rush and an unexpected ambush pattern would punish you. Better to take a beat, breathe, and read the next move.
Of course, against a Low-grade monster like a Duegambe, none of that mattered.
It felt like using a butcher’s cleaver to kill a chicken. I remembered the way Fiore had once driven off Low-grade monsters with her own blade—a tachi forged from a High-grade monster. What I held now was a weapon born from something even higher: a Supreme-grade monster.
Crack!
One swing ruined the remaining arm.
Crunch!
The second cut shattered a leg. The jagged fang-like protrusions along the blade tore the hide to shreds. I whirled the greatsword in wide, heavy arcs at the ruined Duegambe, and with every blow my body grew livelier. I had socketed a Luga-lac Essence into the weapon, yet I never even felt the need to activate its enhancement.
GRRrrrr……
Before I could do more, the Duegambe toppled forward. Just to be sure, I knelt, prodded it with the tip of the greatsword, then flipped the body over. Its eyes were still rolled back the way they had been in its frenzy, but blood was already pouring from its nose and mouth. It had died almost instantly.
“Hm.”
I planted the greatsword in the snow and pushed myself upright. The Famine Sword was caked with Duegambe blood and scraps of flesh. I had been wondering how I would ever clean between those protruding fangs—yet, strangely, the scraps were slowly being absorbed into the blade and vanishing. A quick pass with a whetstone would be enough.
Supreme-grade monster weapons really were convenient.
The Famine Sword had more than lived up to its reputation. I stood, stretched, and rolled my shoulders.
“Shall we go?”
“…Ah—y-yes!”
The hunters answered a second late. I glanced at the way their eyes trembled when they looked at me. A little fear, maybe.
I offered a half-hearted excuse.
“That one just now was nothing special.”
“R-right. Of course.”
Their gazes still refused to settle. Maybe they were just impressed by how cool I looked. I decided not to overthink it.
We cleared out before more monsters could arrive. Looking back, our little group was absurd: four hunters and one monster. You wouldn’t find a combination like that anywhere else in the world.
“…Looks like we’re clear.”
The thudding footsteps had faded. Once more we stood in a forest thick with silence. I turned to check on the others.
The two hunters were still hyper-aware of Neveterde behind them. Neveterde, for its part, was practically vibrating with the urge to come closer to Pina and me. Pina kept opening and closing her hands as she watched it.
“…What are you doing?”
“I was saying hello.”
A hello, was it? I shrugged.
One of the hunters finally couldn’t hold the question in.
“…Master Hunter, what exactly is that monster?”
I rubbed the corner of my mouth, weighing how much to say. Calling it “that monster” forever felt wrong. Better to give it a name.
“Neveterde.”
“Neveterde…? I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere…”
“I just made it up.”
I stared at him without so much as a blink. How would you know?
The hunter scratched his head, looking sheepish. Behind him, his partner’s mouth was twitching hard.
“Stop pretending you know things…”
“You want to die?”
While the two of them bickered, Pina nodded thoughtfully at the name.
“Neveterde… a Snow Woman, then. It suits her.”
“Right?”
I met Neveterde’s eyes. It said nothing—only watched us with clear, quiet eyes.
“…As long as no one attacks first, it’s friendly.”
“Ah—yes. Understood.”
The two hunters who had been mid-argument froze at my words and immediately stopped fighting.
“Leave that one to me. How’s the survey going?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary so far.”
“Appreciate it.”
Combing the forest might turn out to be a waste of time… but you never knew. I gave them a small bow of request.
“When you head back there’ll be a whole pack of monsters, so take a different route.”
“Yes. Thank you, Master Hunter. Good hunting to you as well.”
“Bye-bye~!”
At Pina’s cheerful farewell the two hunters gave a little wave and promptly resumed the argument they hadn’t finished.
“Just stay quiet like me. You’d look half as stupid.”
“Hey, people have at least heard of Snow Women in fairy tales!”
“Lucky for you. If you’d kept pretending any longer, freezing to death right here would’ve been the better option.”
“Keep needling me and you might just go missing~.”
They looked like they were at each other’s throats, but they were probably close. We parted ways on that exchange of “affectionate” threats.
Our party was three again: one monster and two hunters.
I looked at Neveterde. The moment the unfamiliar hunters disappeared, it came straight toward us. Pina, who had been singing about how much she missed Neveterde the whole time we stayed at the outpost, stretched out both arms.
“Long time no see~.”
♬
Neveterde walked right up to her and offered its hand. Just like the last time we parted, they clasped hands and shared a quiet moment of contact. Its fingers were long and thin—nothing like a human’s—yet it was clearly trying to copy the gesture.
“Looks like it’s happy to see you too.”
Neveterde said nothing, only held on while the curtain of ice that trailed from the back of its head swayed gently. It seemed content. I stayed where I was, arms folded, simply watching.
Soon Neveterde released Pina and reached toward me instead. I flinched and took a half-step back. The approaching hand made something in my chest tighten. Still, I met those slender fingers with my own.
I knew this feeling would vanish someday—that the same creature would stand beside Neveumano and turn hostile toward me. The thought made the whole moment feel like a mirage.
When I didn’t take its hand right away, Neveterde stepped even closer and pressed against me. The movement was deliberate. Its natural cold radiated outward; even with Thermal Powder dusted over my clothes, the chill bit deep. Left with no choice, I stroked its back. White fur parted beneath my palm, and a complicated tangle of emotion settled over the touch.