Chapter 11: The Queen of the North
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 11: The Queen of the North
I agreed with him. He was proposing that we move the entire settlement, not just wander around aimlessly as we had been. In truth, Goff’s decision was the right one. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the humans in this southern forest where we were located had already been wiped out. Any who were still alive were likely a small handful who had lost the will to fight, hiding somewhere and just waiting for the days to pass.
There was no point in hunting prey like that anymore.
I could already picture the people on the continent complaining about a “drought” this year after this round of the Tutorial ended. I hadn’t known it back when I was human, but it seemed the outcome of a summon—whether it was a drought or a bountiful year—was determined not only by the humans’ survival skills but also by the strength of the goblins summoned alongside them.
In any case, with both Goff and I so keen on moving, the mood was already set on migration.
If we were going to move, the question was… where? A considerable amount of time had already passed since the Tutorial began. With rivers blocking the paths to the west and east, our only real option was to head north.
If my memory served me right, going north would give Goff and me the fights we craved. The problem was that it would also put us in danger.
I remembered hearing that among the contemporaries who had arrived in the same batch as me, the one who would later be called the ‘Queen of the North’ had definitely started in the north.
There were always those who adapted quickly from the start. The ones who survived their first battle and rapidly adjusted to this system. The so-called talented ones who, after entering the continent, would claw their way up past the top ranks.
In other words, a ‘genius’—or a summoner blessed by this other world.
The Queen of the North was one of them.
Immediately after entering the continent and completing her training, she had headed north, conquered countless monsters and dungeons, and built a massive city with her guild in less than five years.
She was also the one I had to thank for later starting a war against the Saint Knights Order, inflicting heavy damage on them and crippling the Sword Saint’s power. But if the stories I’d heard in back-alley bars were true, I was quite reluctant to enter the north.
The reason was that the tales of her exploits had sounded terrifying even to me back then.
‘So, how was the northern forest? Wasn’t it cold?’
‘Cold? It was freezing… The guys who started in the south probably have no idea. It was really tough… Well, for third-raters like us, it would’ve been the same no matter where we started… but the north was truly brutal…’
‘Did other creatures show up besides goblins?’
‘No, I mean the climate. The only things to eat were monsters… If you wanted to find anything else, you had to walk a long, long way… The goblins, on the other hand, were no problem at all. Where I was summoned, the Queen of the North had wiped out every last goblin in the vicinity.’
‘The Queen of the North… I’ve heard the rumors, but she’s just a girl summoned here knowing nothing, right? I mean, I’ve heard all sorts of stories about her in the north… but they’re hard to trust. Like the one about her splitting an Orc in a single blow during the Tutorial… Anyone can see that’s an obvious exaggeration.’
‘Well… I wish it were an exaggeration… From the first moment I saw the Queen of the North, I felt how unfair this world was… You’d probably understand if you saw her too. You’d just think, Ah! This woman was chosen…’
‘Well… that’s how it is. Isn’t it the same with the Sword Saint over here? Around here, the ones who are meant to succeed are the only ones who do. I wonder if a class-change item will drop somewhere…’
‘Heh… heh… Why don’t you try clearing a nearby dungeon before you start thinking about that.’
I remember Choi Seulgi crashing the party after that and making a mess of things, but I definitely remembered what the man had said.
‘The Queen of the North.’
A true monarch, possessing not only martial and intellectual prowess but also leadership and charisma.
Still, it wouldn’t be an unwinnable fight. Even if the story I’d heard at that bar was true, both Goff and I had already evolved into Orcs. And Goff, in particular, was quite strong, even for an Orc.
The tale of her splitting an Orc in a single blow during the Tutorial had to be an exaggeration. Logically, it was an absurd story. A normal woman killing more than ten goblins in her first battle was an exaggeration to begin with. Even men often ran away in fear.
Having finished my thoughts, I slowly turned to Goff and opened my mouth.
“Let’s go north. Kruk…”
“Cold, harsh environments, crisis, honor… You seek such things, Blood Dagger. You truly are different…”
Goff let out a smirk as he continued. Mev, sitting beside me by the chieftain’s authority, looked up at me with a newfound respect, but I could only laugh to myself.
Cold, harsh environments, crisis, honor—of course I didn’t want any of that. What I wanted was the sweet reward hidden within. However, it was far more advantageous for me if Goff continued to misunderstand, so I decided to let him.
“I desire only victory.”
It was a line so cheesy I felt a little embarrassed saying it. But the desire for victory was genuine. I had to become stronger, and there were many people I needed to meet.
“Kruk… Excellent. Excellent… Then we will prepare at once and head north… Of course, any cowards who refuse will be left behind. We need only warriors.”
“Good…”
And with that, our short meeting concluded.
When we returned to our respective clans to explain the situation, the Goff Clan was in a near frenzy.
“We’re going north!! Kireuk!!!”
“A glorious battle!!”
“The time has come to show the strength of the valiant Goff Clan!”
I would have been grateful if the members of the Blood Dagger Clan had shown a similar reaction, but theirs was decidedly lukewarm. The general consensus was that they didn’t want to go but felt they had to tag along.
“I’m not thrilled, but we’ve never lost anything by following the Chieftain’s orders. Kireuk.”
“The north will be cold. But it’s warm when we’re all together. Being alone is much colder.”
“We are the Blood Dagger Clan! We follow the Chieftain! Kireuk, kireuk! But… do we really have to go? Kireuk…”
At times like this, the goblins were surprisingly cute. I even wondered why I had found them so repulsive in the past. I could sort of understand it when I saw them charging at humans, but now, they were my loyal clan members. Moreover, the fact that I didn’t keep my distance from them, unlike Goff with his clan, seemed to be one of the reasons they were so fond of this clan.
To get to the point, thankfully, no one deserted because of this northern expedition. The same was true for the settlement as a whole. This place was full of such belligerent types that it seemed no one from the other clans requested to leave at the news of moving north. In fact, a welcoming and even festive atmosphere was forming.
In the end, the settlement quickly finished its preparations and began to march north. The ones who liked noise cut down trees, hollowed them out, and crudely fashioned drums from human skin. Others had to prepare various things to withstand the cold.
The problem was Jung Hayeon. As a ‘plant,’ she was naturally weak to the cold. In the end, we had no choice but to bring her along, heavily armed with large leaves wrapped around her. If her body were to freeze, it wouldn’t be a problem for me to just carry her in my arms.
“Th-Thank you.”
“No need. We’re on the same side now.”
“Ah! Yes… Yes, Chieftain.”
As an aside, Jung Hayeon, having evolved into an Alraune, unfortunately couldn’t follow the monsters’ conversations. The good thing was that after her evolution, her ears seemed to have opened up, and she could understand a fair amount. It seemed she would become much more useful in a few years.
“We’re moving out.”
“Moving out! Kireek!!! Kireek!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”
With the sound of clubs striking human skin, we began our march north. The number of goblins had grown immensely after we had taken near-complete control of the south. For a Tutorial with a relatively small population, the troop of goblins and hobgoblins on the move was nothing short of a great migration.
We even advertised as we marched, so the few surviving goblins we encountered along the way began to join us, curious about what was happening.
Finishing the Tutorial by defeating the Queen of the North was a dream scenario. The journey was incredibly dull, so preparing goblin jerky beforehand had been a good idea. After peeling off the green skin, it looked surprisingly decent. The taste was bland, but it felt like chewing on dried squid.
“Jung Hayeon.”
“Y-Yes! Chieftain, sh-should I give you… honey?”
Jung Hayeon’s head was bowed low as she answered, looking quite cute in her embarrassment. Even though some time had passed since she’d turned into a monster and she was adapting to her new body, it seemed she could never get used to the act of giving honey. The taste was just honey, but the truth of what it was made it impossible for her not to be ashamed.
But this addiction was truly irresistible. It was a strange pleasure. It wasn’t just the pleasure of teasing Jung Hayeon or the sweetness that melted on my tongue.
It was the satisfaction of enjoying something I could never have had in my past life. If I had to explain it, I was sure that was it.
Soon, Jung Hayeon, who had briefly disappeared from my sight, returned with the honey. A precious food he could never have eaten in the past, now his for a single word. It was only natural that I would become obsessed with getting stronger.
“H-Here you are. Please… enjoy it, Chieftain.”
I continued walking, my thoughts turning to the future. In a world like this, both monsters and humans treated the strong with respect.
Being so absurdly backstabbed in my past life. Choi Seulgi being driven to her death. Being turned away at the door of the Sword Saint’s guild house. All of it happened because I was ‘weak.’
I self-diagnosed that I might be overly conscious of getting stronger, but I had much to do. The first task was to check if Choi Seulgi was okay and, if possible, bring her to my side, though there was a high chance she wouldn’t remember me and would even be afraid of me. The second was to pay back the Sword Saint for what she had done.
The most foolish one in that whole series of events was the Kim Taesung of the past. I wasn’t trying to become a revenge-crazed killer who would chase someone to the ends of the earth, but I still got angry just thinking of that bitch’s face. What was done to me, I will return. A favor for a favor, death for a death.
I began to walk, my fighting spirit quietly burning. Goff happened to see my eyes, beat his chest with his hand, and looked at me. I placed a hand on my own chest, just as Goff had, and continued to walk.
To the north.
[ Exactly 50 days remain in the Tutorial. The objective is to survive for the remaining 50 days. ]