This Is the Damn North
Those damn outer-space creatures of the North. Monsters primarily discovered in the South. There’s even a saying that whenever a bizarre Mystery phenomenon occurs, blaming those outer-space bastards is almost always the correct answer. They aren’t exactly beneficial to the world. No one has ever uncovered their origin, and they possess horrific forms that don’t seem like life from this realm. Even the smallest, most insignificant ones are infamous for inflicting mental damage the moment they enter your field of vision. They lack outstanding physical power, but simply looking at them drains mental strength—making them the vicious monsters that have killed the greatest number of Southerners. To Northerners, however, they’re nothing more than strangely shaped monsters.
“These things again?”
“I’m sick of them by now.”
“Still better than that plant island spitting complex poison, right?”
As the saying goes, a healthy body houses a healthy mind. Research reports claimed that Northerners’ mental strength is at least five times greater than that of ordinary people. Since Southern scholars conducted the study and even presented it at an academic conference, the information could be trusted.
At any rate, just as they said, Northerners possessed mental fortitude equal to their robust physiques, so merely seeing outer-space creatures posed no issue. The real problem was the Mystery phenomenon itself.
“The path twisted again.”
“External force this time too?”
“Yeah. Looks like we’ll have to take a detour.”
This was already the third time. No one could tell how warped the internal structure had become, but one wrong move and the entire group could end up dimensionally lost. Since it was hardly a welcome situation, we increased our travel speed.
The silver lining was that we weren’t far from the center of the Mystery phenomenon. Conversely, the fact that we hadn’t seen a single monster silhouette on the way here meant the creatures had also drawn close to the center. If those things rampaged at the core and damaged the Mystery itself, there was no telling what might happen. So we ran as fast as we could.
After crossing the twenty-eighth rift, we finally encountered them—the monsters ravaging their surroundings while exploring the fractures.
“Monsters!”
“We’ve finally met them!”
The creatures resembled massive rock formations with lava flowing across their bodies. They turned what appeared to be their faces toward us. After sizing us up as if determining our identities, they stopped their rampage and let out eerie shrieks. The clear hostility made us halt and enter a standoff.
A few veteran raid members quietly cursed after examining the monsters’ appearance.
“Damn it, they’re Magranas’ minions.”
“So they really chose this route.”
“The fact that these things came here means they didn’t come alone.”
The incident when Magranas descended southward had happened only seven years ago. Many active warriors remained, and the stronger the warrior, the higher the chance they had been on that battlefield. Naturally, some veterans who had fought alongside Magranas’ minions back then hardened their expressions.
“Captain, you’d best be careful. These fellows are mid-level administrators that command monsters in Magranas’ stead.”
“Which means other monsters could be nearby.”
“That, and it means a lot of monsters have already reached the outside. The defense team is probably fighting right now.”
“We need to finish this quickly and resolve the Mystery phenomenon too.”
Adela had chosen a godlike move. If she hadn’t organized the expedition, the option of fighting and winning wouldn’t have existed. Realizing this, she squared her shoulders and flashed a triumphant smile.
“Heh.”
“As expected of Adela. Your wisdom will one day be known throughout the world.”
“Heh heh.”
While Neon habitually showered her with praise to keep Adela from sulking, the raid team watched Magranas’ minions with cautious eyes.
“They must have scattered from the monsters they were commanding after rushing in recklessly. Still planning to fight?”
“Of course. Their top priority is carrying out Magranas’ orders.”
As we pondered what to do against the monsters that looked ready to charge at any moment, a tremendous roar suddenly erupted and a massive hole punched through one monster’s upper body.
When I turned toward the source of the sound, I stood there in full Ikelos armor from fusion, railgun already aimed. I raised my faceplate so everyone could see and flashed a bright smile.
“Why waste time worrying? We’re going to kill them anyway.”
Everyone’s faces registered surprise before breaking into smiles. They had unconsciously hesitated because of the enormous threat lurking behind these creatures; my words shattered that doubt in an instant. Realizing there was no need to overthink, the raid team charged toward the monsters without hesitation.
No matter how much these things acted as mid-level administrators commanding other monsters, there were no creatures here to protect. Their display of hostility was commendable, but that was all. With no intention of sparing them, we cut them down without mercy.
Aura shining like stars sliced their tough bodies in half, magnificent magic detonated everything in its path. Using every possible method, we cleared the enemies blocking our way and continued forward without looking back.
“In the end, they’re nothing more than terminal units acting as administrators in Magranas’ place.”
“No wonder their skills were only Bronze-rank.”
“If they were high-level administrators it might be different, but these guys literally just command monsters.”
“The real threats are the monsters that came with them.”
Considering Magranas’ notoriety, it was possible they had brought monsters that required an entire subjugation force. The raid members recalled the infamous names and reputations of Gold-rank monsters and wore tense expressions, yet excitement also showed on their faces. Magranas’ minions had not come here for nothing. If dealing with these scouts who were mapping invasion routes could disrupt Magranas’ invasion plan, it was only natural for everyone to reveal their fighting spirit.
“The center of the Mystery phenomenon is just a little farther.”
“Moving so quickly makes it feel like it ended too soon.”
“Right? At this rate, we could have sent more people with the defense team.”
That would have caused a rebellion. Northern warriors were the type whose eyes lit up at the sight of new monsters and who grew happier the more dangerous the trial. If they were denied entry to a large-scale Mystery phenomenon right in front of them, there would have been an uprising regardless of who the expedition leader was. Even now, we had split the personnel in half and used reasonable excuses to calm the defense team, hadn’t we?
On the way across the final few rifts to our destination, I overheard the adventurers’ conversation.
“But hasn’t this been way too smooth?”
“What are you complaining about?”
“I mean, I heard it was a large-scale Mystery and thought something incredibly dangerous would happen.”
“When Adela knows the correct path and guides us, wouldn’t it be stranger if it were dangerous?”
“True. It’s a Mystery phenomenon created to pass down an inheritance to her child. If the child herself were in danger, the whole thing would be pointless.”
I didn’t show it, but I agreed with their exchange. To be honest, I had secretly expected something interesting to happen. Yet because Adela knew the way so well, there had been nothing that could be called dangerous. It was fortunate, of course, but considering the spectacular experiences we had gone through until now, it felt like a slightly dull ending. I comforted myself that an occasional calm finish wasn’t bad either, then crossed the next rift—only to stop dead at the sight of an island completely different from any we had seen before.
Plants grew so densely that the overflowing vitality seemed almost rotten. No—they were still growing in real time.
“Yeah, I knew it would come to this.”
The entire process—from seed sprouting, rapid growth, flowering, seed dispersal, and withering at the end of its lifespan—happened in mere ten seconds. The growth rate was impossible to achieve with any known magic, and I couldn’t help but smile.
If it had stayed smooth until the very end, I would have been disappointed, you know?
The raid team seemed to think the same; every one of them wore a smile.
“This is the North for you.”
“Why do you think the proverb ‘never let your guard down until the end’ exists here?”
“I knew it.”
If things went smoothly, it wouldn’t be the North. An event requiring the territories to unite occurred every few months. Variables were so numerous that scholars still continued ecological research. And just when you thought it was safe, an incident always erupted. The raid team greeted this Northern tradition with comfortable smiles.
If we had reached the center this smoothly, how uneasy would we have felt?
“Gikik.”
A Nepentula emerged from behind a colossal tree that would normally take hundreds of years to grow from a single rooted spot. It rolled its eyeballs toward us. This one was so enormous that the Nepentula we had met before felt like children. I swallowed dryly without realizing it.
“Hah, it’s been a while since I saw one grown this big.”
“A creature that size could produce a year’s worth of food for the front lines.”
Hornst and Owen stood before me, radiating relaxed composure. The meaning of a Gold-rank monster was that Gold-rank adventurers could handle it. Normally three Gold-rank adventurers were required to subdue one safely without casualties, but if one was willing to accept some risk, it could be defeated solo. That alone showed how absurd it was that ten Gold-rank adventurers were included in this raid team.
Conversely, it also explained why the front lines had assembled this much firepower. Everyone confidently raised their weapons. The adult Nepentula’s eyes rolled wildly, as if counting our numbers. The suspicious feeling lasted only a moment.
While everyone focused on the Nepentula, I checked the signal transmitted from the Ikelos armor and my eyes widened.
“Shit! It’s a trap!”
“What?”
I urgently pointed at a cleverly concealed space. There stood a woman who looked strikingly similar to Adela. With somewhat hollow eyes, she made a light gesture, and the entire island shook.
The raid team reacted late and tried to respond, but it was too late.
With a deafening crack, a rift opened like the maw of a starving beast. Most of the team members were sucked inside and scattered across different spaces. On this island, only Adela, Neon, and I remained.
“Whoops! I almost got dragged in too.”
No—Owen had remained as well.
With the once-crowded island now holding only us, a sense of crisis washed over me. The Nepentula that had looked manageable moments ago now seemed to possess the eyes of a grim reaper. A chilling sensation suggested that the slightest mistake would cost us our lives. I let out a sigh at the monsters’ vivid malice.
Yeah. This is exactly why we call it the damn North.