New Monster Species?

Was it really a new monster species? Returning to the village wasn't difficult at all. Of the six ships that had come back for resupply and transport, two were scheduled to head straight back to the village anyway. Some vessels had been damaged during the monsters' frenzied assault, so they were only ferrying personnel before anchoring for repairs. We simply boarded one of the returning ships.

The vessel sliced through the water at impressive speed. While the others took a moment to rest on deck, Neon pulled out the snacks he'd packed and wore a distinctly uneasy expression.

"I'm worried."

"About what?"

"What if you forget it again on the way?"

I scratched my head at Neon's words. It wasn't exactly an impossible scenario. Given everything that had happened so far, forgetting it midway wouldn't even be surprising. But this time, there was no need to worry about that.

"Don't worry. We have this, remember?"

"You mean the Sun Medal?"

"Yeah. I plan to keep it on me at all times from now on."

There was a hole at the end of the medal, suggesting it was meant to be worn around the neck like a protective talisman. If I kept it on, its striking color alone would make it impossible to forget.

I drank in the sight of the village drawing closer, then glanced down at the Sun Medal resting in my palm. I had no idea what kind of dye they'd used to create such a beautiful hue, but I knew one thing for certain: once you saw it, you'd never forget it.

"When we reach the village, I should look for something I can use as a necklace cord."

"In that case, I'll write it down on paper just to be safe."

Once the ship docked at the pier, we disembarked at the port and took a short time to reorganize. We replenished our consumed supplies, found a suitable cord to turn the medal into a proper necklace, enjoyed a bit of free time, regrouped with our companions, and set off again without delay.

Thanks to Delian and Urek officially recognizing my ownership of the Sun Medal, we were able to take it with us without any issues.

Recalling the kind old archaeologist's request, I urged Ikelos to move faster. Even though my ownership had been acknowledged, I saw no reason to be cold when we might need the excavation team's help again in the future. Besides, they'd return it to me once their examination was complete. It was a win-win situation.

We raced along the forest path, wind whipping past us. Adela, riding beside me and clearly enjoying her time on Ikelos, suddenly sniffed the air.

"Sniff sniff. I smell a black mage."

"Is there a black mage nearby?"

"Seems like it. What should we do?"

"It's a shame, but we'll have to pass. Just report it to the nearest city and let's focus on heading north."

They were the helpful people who had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠filled our pockets, but this clearly wasn't the right time. We left the opportunity to raid their wallets to the nearby city and concentrated on using the teleport gate. As a result, we reached the North much faster than planned.

With summer drawing to a close and autumn approaching, the weather had turned pleasantly cool. Enjoying the refreshing breeze, I lost track of how long we'd been traveling.

Thanks to the teleport gate, we arrived in Edenberg in the blink of an eye and immediately headed for the adventurer guild. We needed to report our return, and if we wanted to secretly meet someone who could unravel the secrets tied to the ancient civilization, the guild's assistance would be invaluable.

We pushed open the guild doors and stepped inside, savoring the usual lively atmosphere as we made our way toward the reception counter...

"Is that true?!"

"I'm telling you it is! A brand new monster! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠A completely new species!"

...only to stop dead in our tracks. The voices booming from the center of the guild hall made us freeze. What did they just say? A new monster species?

As a northern adventurer, this was news I couldn't possibly ignore. My head turned before I even realized it.

The adventurer party shouting in the central hall looked familiar. They were the ones who'd headed east of Edenberg to experiment with fusion skills and ended up getting pummeled by knight bees in the forest. Come to think of it, right before we parted ways, I'd heard them mention discovering unfamiliar traces nearby.

Their faces were flushed with excitement, no doubt from tracking those traces ever since.

"How could any adventurer stop tracking after finding unfamiliar traces?!"

"After being rescued by Edenberg's summoner, we've been following them nonstop!"

"Of course we were completing requests at the same time, but our party has a druid, so we kept tracking and finally found the creature!"

"Ooooooh!"

The surrounding adventurers responded enthusiastically to the party's explanation. Discovering a new monster species was an incredible achievement on its own. Simply registering it in the adventurer guild's archives would bring massive rewards, and if you actually hunted it and brought back materials, the price would be whatever you named.

"We only saw it from a distance, but even from there the aura it gave off was overwhelming. It was way beyond what we Bronze-rankers could handle."

"It felt at least Silver-grade, so we settled for just claiming the discovery reward."

"We submitted the fur it shed as evidence. Once they examine it, they'll determine whether it's truly a new species or not!"

The guild hall grew feverishly hot with the party's declarations. This wasn't just any discovery—it was a new monster species. The last one had appeared four years ago, and there hadn't been a single sighting since. Now that traces of another had been found, a fire ignited in every adventurer's heart.

Even I felt the sudden urge to dash outside and hunt for the new monster. But I barely kept my reason intact and continued toward the reception counter. I deliberately ignored the continuing conversation about the new species behind me. If I listened to any more, I'd probably abandon everything about the ancient civilization and bolt straight into the forest.

"A new monster species...?"

"New genetic material...?"

"Calm down. The ancient civilization takes priority right now."

I dragged the two drooling princesses along until we finally reached the counter. The familiar girl who had been busily processing documents looked up and greeted us with a bright smile.

"Ah, welcome! Thank you for visiting the adventurer guild!"

Her name was Coco. Since she'd worked under Anel, we'd interacted before, and she'd left an impression. I returned her greeting warmly, then glanced around. Noticing Anel's absence, I gave her a puzzled look.

"Where's Anel?"

"Big Sister Anel is in a meeting with Lady Luna!"

"Is it about the new monster species?"

"Yes! It looks like the recently discovered new monster might be the real thing, so they're planning to organize an investigation team!"

Coco's face was so radiant that I half-expected her to start spinning like a windmill if she had a tail. She seemed much more comfortable with guild work now—the timid demeanor she'd shown at first had largely disappeared. I smiled at how much she'd improved, then placed the Sun Medal I'd been wearing around my neck onto the counter.

Coco examined it with a curious expression.

"This is...?"

"It's an important artifact connected to the ancient civilization. Could you show it to Luna Nunim?"

"The meeting should be wrapping up soon, so that should be fine."

Coco nodded energetically and took the medal upstairs. Just as she'd predicted, she returned quickly and beckoned us to follow her to the second floor.

On the second floor, guild staff were dispersing after their meeting. In the center stood three people waiting for us: my dedicated receptionist Anel, my former superior Luna, and the Edenberg branch manager Vergo. The moment they spotted us, they came over.

I waved at the familiar faces, unable to hide my pleasure.

"It's been a while, everyone."

"How was the Central region?"

"We stopped by the West on the way there too."

"I can tell. You went to join the ancient civilization excavation team, didn't you?"

"As expected of you, Luna Nunim."

I nodded at her sharp observation. There was no point hiding it anyway, and I'd need to explain everything if I wanted their help. We moved to the branch manager's office, settled onto the sofas, and recounted everything that had happened.

From the events at the Blue Tower to our battle with the ruler of the lake, and finally discovering the Sun Medal in the ancient city—I left nothing out. Anel, who'd been listening quietly, clicked her tongue in amazement.

"You really packed that trip full, didn't you?"

"At this point, other regions are more interesting than the North."

"If you enjoyed yourself that much, it had better have been interesting."

Vergo, who had been listening beside us, shot me an envious glance while shaking his head at how thoroughly we'd squeezed every drop of value from our journey to other regions.

"I'm jealous. If I went down there, the entire nation would go into emergency mode."

"Of course the Central region would panic if the branch manager suddenly showed up."

Luna gave Vergo a dumbfounded look. It was only natural for there to be chaos if someone powerful enough to reshape the landscape arrived without warning. Vergo knew this perfectly well, so he could only smack his lips in response.

He randomly grabbed a piece of cake from the table and swallowed it in one bite before asking the real question.

"So, the reason you came to tell us all this is because you need our help, right?"

"Yes. I believe I need to meet the ancestor of the Edenberg ruins."

The ruins themselves were open to the public, so entry wasn't an issue. However, I had no idea what kind of chaos the questions I wanted to ask might cause, so secrecy was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠essential. For that, I'd need the Edenberg family's assistance.

Vergo regarded me with clear interest.

"It's only a thought form, but it retains its memories from a thousand years ago intact. You believe it would know the facts related to the ancient civilization?"

"Exactly. A single fragment of the ancestor's memory would be far more valuable than any records from the last five hundred years."

When I thought about it, it was obvious. No matter how diligently historians researched and organized their materials, nothing could be more accurate than the testimony of someone who had actually lived in that era. The only problem was that most thought forms had a system where they would naturally ascend once their purpose was fulfilled. The ones in the northern ruins typically vanished after the ruins were cleared, so I'd asked with some trepidation.

"It hasn't ascended already, has it?"

"Not yet. But he's quite the eccentric, so even if you visit, there's no guarantee he'll appear."

"That's fine. He seemed to have a rather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠favorable impression of me."

Our first meeting had gone well enough that he would at least treat me hospitably. Vergo scratched his head at my response, then looked toward Luna. After thinking it over carefully, she nodded.

"You've worked hard for the peace of the North, so the Count's family should be willing to grant at least this much. I'll send them an official letter."

"You can use my seal as well. If one of our own wants to accomplish something, the branch manager should lend his strength."

My expression brightened at their willingness to accept my plan. It seemed rushing here at full speed had been worth it after all.