Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Northern Land (2)
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It didn’t take long to hear the full explanation about the Ice Dragon. Suhyun nodded, thinking to himself.
‘Caught by a tricky one, huh.’
As expected, they had been trapped after being attacked by a monster with special abilities. The unexpected part was that everyone was still in decent shape despite being confined.
There had to be a special reason why a monster wouldn’t chase down escaping prey to the end. The Russians thought they’d gotten lucky and slipped away, but to Suhyun, it was blatantly suspicious.
They’d encountered it not once, but several times, escaped each time, and still hadn’t been caught.
“But... is this the entire rescue team?”
Ivan’s intentions were obvious. These were people with pride in their own skills. After getting thoroughly thrashed and fleeing, they wouldn’t think a few more people would make a difference. Suhyun answered politely.
“The other rescue teams are operating separately. Given the circumstances, we failed to coordinate.”
“Ah, I see... Should we wait longer for them to join us...? Maybe send up a signal to make it easy for them to find us?”
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
There was a risk of drawing monsters, but gathering forces as quickly as possible took priority. With Suhyun’s permission, Ivan called over his subordinate.
“About that Ice Dragon. It seems like there’s a special reason it only stays in the central plains of this mountain range. Maybe it draws extra power from that specific area...”
“?!”
Ivan whipped his head around at Suhyun’s words.
“What was that?”
“We’ve encountered it three times and retreated each time, yet it still hasn’t reached this place. There must be a reason for that.”
“...!”
Ivan suddenly felt embarrassed. An outsider had come in, heard the situation, and immediately analyzed the monster’s peculiarities with cold logic—while he had been far too complacent. That kind of analysis was supposed to be his job.
“Y-Yeah, you’re right.”
He revised his assessment of Suhyun inwardly. As expected of a superhuman who’d made it this far, he was no ordinary man.
“Have you figured out anything else?”
“The three encounters happened at different times of day, right?”
“We’re not that incompetent.”
Changing the time for the next attempt after the first encounter and escape was basic. Monsters had active periods too. In fact, all three attempts had been at different times.
“And yet you still ran into it each time, so it seems like it has the ability to track you all.”
“That’s certainly...”
‘Wait, we passed through the plains too. What’s going on?’
Monsters that ferociously attacked anything entering a specific zone weren’t all that unusual. But attacking some targets and ignoring others? That was peculiar.
Suhyun and the other team members had also crossed the plains to get here. If the Ice Dragon could detect humans, it would have attacked right away.
“Why not just head down?”
“No point telling them—they won’t listen. Forcing it would just hurt feelings. Let’s take the nice approach.”
Suhyun was confident he could take down the Ice Dragon even if they went now, but the Russians wouldn’t buy it. Dragging them along by force would only breed resentment. Since Suhyun was after something else anyway, he could afford to wait patiently.
While the Russian superhumans sent signals and busily checked for approaching monsters, Suhyun approached the researchers.
“You’re Dmitri, right?”
“Y-Yes? Yes...”
“You’re younger than I expected. Was it really necessary to come all the way out here for research? What’s so special about this place?”
“It was necessary.”
Dmitri was surprisingly stubborn. Even in this situation, he showed no regret over his decision.
“This might be rude, but the others might have gotten dragged into this because of you?”
“Th-That’s... I don’t think so.”
Even as he spoke, Dmitri’s face twisted like he’d been struck in a sore spot. The research team aside, this escort force wouldn’t have been assigned if he weren’t the president’s son. The same went for the rescue teams. He added in a weak voice.
“...It’s not my fault that I’m the president’s son.”
“You’re honest, at least. I hope your research is worth it. We’ve got some time to kill while we wait—mind telling me what you’re investigating?”
Dmitri’s face lit up at the question. Suhyun instinctively took a step back. He knew that expression all too well.
Choi Ji-eun used to be ice-cold and expressionless normally, but she’d light up like this when talking about something she loved, as if her usual demeanor was all a lie.
‘Are all scientists like this?’
“If it’s classified...”
“No, no. It’s not classified at all, and you came to help us—how could I not share this? Come this way. We were investigating plants native to the polar regions of Cameron Planet this time. Including seeds from ancient ruins. Luckily, we had some success!”
They could die out there against the Ice Dragon, yet this clueless researcher was thrilled about his findings. He didn’t seem like a bad guy at heart, but something was a screw loose somewhere.
‘Well, with a family like that... Keeping a clean personality is impressive enough.’
Living as the president’s son and still maintaining manners like that earned him points.
“Is this what you salvaged?”
“Yes, you can see inside it’s perfectly preserved, probably thanks to the cold. Luck like this is really rare...”
Suhyun quickly scanned the jumble of items. He was looking for one thing: the grinder. It didn’t take long to spot it. A dented bronze bowl tucked in the corner.
The grinder.
Artifacts were items made by ancient otherworldly races, often carrying symbolic weight. Weapons like swords or accessories like rings and bracelets were the most common.
But sometimes, artifacts appeared whose purpose was a total mystery. The grinder was one such case.
‘Good. They haven’t noticed yet!’
Its odd appearance and bizarre ability meant even superhumans had overlooked it. Suhyun doubted they’d even touched the bowl.
“Do you know about the Cactus Flower? It only blooms in warm jungle regions, but surprisingly, there’s a similar species up north too. The effects are completely different, though...”
“Sorry to interrupt your explanation, but hold on a sec.”
Suhyun cut off the excited Dmitri and beckoned to Luiril.
“What?”
“That bronze bowl. Steal it and bring it out, no matter what.”
He’d approached Dmitri to create an opening for the grinder. But to Luiril, the order made no sense.
“You really want me to take that?”
“They won’t notice it’s gone, so it should be easy, right?”
“Sure, but why that thing?”
“There’s a reason. Just snag it quietly.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll do it.”
Luiril nodded without further questions. Suhyun giving weird orders wasn’t new. By now, she’d gotten into the habit of just following them.
Shaena watched the two with a gloomy gaze. Her ears drooped limply.
‘Should’ve brought the Poshukan Tiger...’
It might have shone better. It only listened to her now. But Suhyun had shot it down immediately.
-No way. The climate’s the total opposite. It’d just cause problems. Plus, with all these Russians around, taming a rare monster could stir up unnecessary trouble.
She’d never regretted her abilities before, but watching Luiril shine with teleportation made her antsy.
“Mr. Kim Suhyun, that team coming up from below—is it another rescue group? Honestly, I doubt anyone wandering around here isn’t part of a rescue effort...”
“Yeah.”
In the distance, Liu Xin led the Chinese group into view. Suhyun scratched his chin, lost in thought. They’d been such tough enemies before, but now they just looked like pawns down there.
‘What to do with those guys.’
* * *
“There’s no reason to wait longer. Let’s break through now.”
Liu Xin was raring to go, but the other Chinese faces showed fatigue. Suhyun whistled inwardly. His delay tactic had worked perfectly.
“Right now? What about the other rescue teams...?”
“Other teams are unlikely to come due to the Dragon Slayer Project fallout. No other Chinese teams except mine. What about Korea?”
“Same here.”
“Then we proceed as planned...”
“No. You’ve come a long way—take some rest first.”
Suhyun pointed at the men under Liu Xin. The man’s thick eyebrows twitched at the rebuke.
‘He’s not the type to miss this...?’
“...Understood. Thank you. We’ll rest a day and head out.”
Suhyun felt uneasy. He’d planned to grab the grinder and slip away casually, but something more was afoot. He was sure of it.
Liu Xin joining in—he wouldn’t sit this out. And this unnatural impatience.
‘Something’s off. Feels like I’m missing a piece...’
Didn’t matter. Let him scheme.
Suhyun was confident in a head-on fight now, whatever the method.
* * *
-The Ice Dragon’s most annoying trait is its regeneration. It heals from almost any attack. Hell, it’s questionable if attacks even land properly.
-What about fire-based attacks?
-More effective than others, but still not lethal enough.
The Ice Dragon’s regeneration was different from a troll’s. It was closer to a spectral type. Hit its ice body and it shattered easily, but it immediately reformed an ice body.
‘Close to a familiar type...’
-No need to kill it. More people means easier to pin it down. Plan includes harassing it while escaping.
-Priority one: escape without engaging. Priority two: harass while escaping.
-Got it.
-Other cautions... It can shoot cold blasts. Superpowers can block, but they’re vicious—be careful. Above all, Dmitri can’t get hurt.
Everyone agreed. Dmitri was irreplaceable cargo.
-We’ll assign our healer to Dmitri.
-Thank you. Embarrassing to ask before we’ve even fought for our lives.
The Russian healer had died to the Ice Dragon last attempt. Hearing that, Liu Xin positioned his team near Dmitri.
They simulated scenarios and set movements in advance. All pros, so the discussion was swift. Final checks done, they set off immediately.
“It’s not coming out?”
“Maybe this time...”
“Fall back!”
“!?”
Boom boom boom boom!
As if mocking the humans’ mutterings, the plains shattered and it appeared. The monster gazed down at the humans with its glittering ice body. The Ice Dragon.
Thanks to Suhyun’s prior warning, no needless casualties occurred. Watching Suhyun predict its feral instincts a step ahead even mid-ambush, Ivan was awestruck.
Even under surprise attack, Suhyun stayed calm. He stared into the creature’s eyes. There had to be a reason for its odd behavior.
“?”
The Ice Dragon was clearly targeting Luiril. It opened its maw and fired ice spikes. They stabbed into the frozen ground, producing chilling sounds.
“Why me only?!”
‘It didn’t miss her before either, and it targets her first...?!”
Suhyun signaled for formation while realizing the truth. It wasn’t detecting humans. It was detecting the artifact—the grinder!
With Luiril gone, it looked around frantically. That confirmed it. Meanwhile, the humans finished preparing to fight. Surrounding the massive familiar like natives herding a beast for the hunt.