Chapter 156: Baek Rang
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: Baek Rang
“Ugh…”
For some reason, whenever I pet Baek Rang, the Bicorns nearby go wild.
“Polygamyyyy!”
“Gekgek.”
I don’t know what that’s about, but as long as you’re happy, I’m happy.
It seems the situation has resolved itself nicely.
Should I say the misunderstanding between the Bicorns and the wolf pack has been cleared up?
For now, with the youngest and the leader together, they probably won’t attack the wolf pack recklessly. They’ll back down, at least for my sake.
It’s not like the Bicorns were that violent to begin with.
“There, there.”
Right, try to solve things with words from now on.
“Gekgek!”
After I spent a good while petting Baek Rang and Chillang-i, the Bicorns began to naturally retreat.
“Black Suuuun…”
They left behind a single, suspicious-looking root.
It was a medicinal herb that looked like a large mushroom.
It doesn’t seem poisonous. Are they telling me to eat it?
“Omnivore, omnivore!”
Judging by their expressions, I guess so.
Chomp.
Munch.
When I took what they offered and ate it, they jumped for joy.
“Polygamyyyy!”
And with that, the gentlemen retreated in a group.
“Gek.”
You guys take care, too. See you later.
Problem solved.
Now that I’ve completed the request, all that’s left is to get directions to the Dragon Gate.
“Now, stop…”
Ah, right.
“Gekgek.”
I’d been petting both Chillang-i and Baek Rang without even realizing it.
Chillang-i’s fur felt amazing, but Baek Rang’s was a cut above.
I found myself wanting to keep petting her without thinking.
“Stop!”
Grrr.
Hey, why are you getting angry when you’re the one who asked for it?
“Pant, pant, pant…”
Chillang-i is better.
*
After the frantic petting session ended, we returned to the cave.
“Whine…”
Baek Rang scolded the other wolves for failing to look after the youngest.
“…I never dreamed the problem would be solved so quickly.”
“Gekgek.”
I know, right? It was much easier than I thought.
I wonder what kind of trouble our gentlemanly Bicorns could have caused.
…Could it be that she just didn't want to look bad by simply granting my request, so she gave me an easy task instead?
This one. She’s deeper than she looks.
I would’ve held it over her as a debt.
“It’s a bit of a shame, but if it weren’t for you, this would have troubled me for a long time. Thank you.”
“Gekgegek!”
Don’t thank me.
If you’re that grateful, you could at least give me an elixir or something.
…I wanted to say that, but I couldn’t ask for such a thing from Baek Rang, who was responsible for seven sisters. She probably had her hands full just feeding each of them.
“What you want is the location of and information about the Dragon Gate, right?”
“Gek.”
“Hmm… Alright, I’ll tell you the information first.”
Baek Rang was quick to get down to business.
“First, there are a total of four Dragon Gates that I know of.”
I’d heard from my master that there were multiple Dragon Gates.
The way she qualified it with “that I know of” suggested there might be more than four.
Of course, one is enough for me.
“One is made of rock. One is embroidered with flowers.”
This was the same as what Baek Yeon-yeong had told me.
These two mountains could be considered normal.
“And there’s one snow-covered mountain, and one volcano with flowing lava.”
These two, however, were not normal mountains.
Well, such mountains could certainly exist in nature.
But a snow mountain and a volcano coexisting?
It’s not entirely impossible, but it’s a bit strange for a mountain of rock and a mountain covered in flowers to be right next to them. They should have been burned by the heat or frozen by the cold.
“You can choose one of these four. Which do you think is best? The rock? The flowers?”
“Gek.”
I shook my head.
A mountain of rock and a mountain covered in flowers.
At first glance, they might seem easier than the snow mountain and the volcano.
But that’s a trap.
Being on the same level as the other mountains meant they must have just as many hidden dangers.
“Good, good. The guardians of those two are rather dangerous creatures.”
“Gekgek.”
I’d like to hear about the guardians, too.
“I haven’t seen it myself, but should I say it’s like a snake made of rock? It floats countless piles of rocks in the air to slowly drain your stamina, and its main body is so tough that you supposedly die of exhaustion. It’s a creature that resembles a long rock.”
A snake made of rock!
And it floats rocks in the air?
That would be a tough opponent.
I can break rocks easily enough, but a creature whose body is rock would be a different story.
It would have, quite literally, an immense defense.
“The flower one is even nastier. It’s a creature that resembles a turtle and is said to wield poison. On top of that, it can manipulate plants to suck the nutrients out of its opponents, but I’ve never seen it, so I don’t know how it works. It has a strange flower on its back.”
Poison would be a decent matchup for me.
After all, I have All-Poison Immunity.
However, my immunity isn’t absolute, and that ability to manipulate plants is something to be wary of. The fact that it sucks nutrients suggests it might be able to absorb my strength.
“The snow mountain and the volcano are just as dangerous. The guardian of the snow mountain is a large hawk that wields cold energy.”
A hawk that wields cold energy?
That won’t be easy.
Cold energy itself is a threatening weapon, but I have the ability I gained from consuming the snow ginseng.
I can withstand the cold to some extent.
But the problem is that it’s a winged bird.
With a special ability like that, it would obviously attack from the sky without ever coming down, putting me at a clear disadvantage.
“The volcano is obvious, isn’t it? That’s right. It’s a creature that wields fire. To be precise, I should say it’s a white rat that wields fire.”
A white rat that wields fire.
Unlike the others, this one is a well-known Spirit Beast.
The Fire-light Beast. A legendary creature said to be red when in fire and to have white fur when outside it.
The famous Fire-eye Robe is made from its fur.
“As for the guardian itself, the volcano’s will probably be the easiest. The others haven’t had a change of generation, but the one at the volcano was replaced relatively recently.”
I knew what she was talking about.
Baek Yeon-yeong and the Snake Queen had said there was a being who had ascended a Dragon Gate and evolved.
That being must have chosen the volcano, and in the process, defeated its guardian.
Naturally, the volcano’s guardian was replaced.
“Gekgek…”
It was the perfect opponent for me.
Because I have a resistance to fire energy.
If wielding fire is all it can do, I’ll be able to finish it off in a swift battle.
I could apply my Dragon Blood to control its fire with my own fire energy, and I could also use cold energy to damage it.
I pointed toward the volcano with my claw and tail.
“Right. The volcano certainly isn’t a bad choice. You just need to be prepared for the fire it wields.”
I was already prepared for fire.
But the way she said it, it seemed she had some other method in mind.
Come to think of it, this wolf…
Didn’t she say she wields cold energy?
“…What’s with that look? Ugh, fine. I can’t help you fight directly, but I can help you resist the fire.”
“Gekgek!”
I knew it.
“My ability alone is a little insufficient, so you’ll have to gather a few ingredients. You can do that much, right?”
The guardian of a Dragon Gate would surely be strong.
It was uncertain if the power of my Dragon Blood alone could fully handle its flames.
It’s best to be as prepared as possible.
“Gekgegek.”
I nodded.
“Feels like our contract has been extended a bit. Well then, I’ll be in your care for a while. …And stop petting Yukrang-i so casually!”
And so, I ended up staying with this wolf pack for the time being.
At least until I was ready to take on the volcano’s guardian.
*
The leader of the wolf pack, Baek Rang, had a lot on her mind.
It was because of the black lizard that had temporarily joined them.
It possessed great power and was certainly useful.
The peace treaty with the Bicorns would have been impossible without the lizard.
The prey it brought back was always large, too.
But there was a fatal flaw that overshadowed these merits.
“Awooo…”
The other wolves, one by one, were starting to wag their tails at that lizard.
Baek Rang simply could not understand this phenomenon.
Of course, after talking with her sisters, she learned it wasn’t a romantic attraction.
That was only natural, since they were different species.
But for some strange reason, they said they couldn’t refuse the lizard’s petting.
“L-Lovey!”
The fourth sister was purring in the lizard’s embrace, while the youngest was stuck to its leg, wagging her tail.
Having experienced the lizard’s touch herself, Baek Rang knew what it felt like.
It was a wicked sorcery that the mind rejected, but the body could not.
Of course, a Spirit Beast of her caliber could escape the lizard’s temptation.
But it was too much for her sisters, who had not yet attained the status of a Spirit Beast.
Baek Rang took this phenomenon very seriously.
It was one thing to simply enjoy being petted.
But this lizard had only joined the pack temporarily.
What if the lizard left the pack?
It was possible they might even leave to follow the creature, missing its touch.
It was a critical problem related to the pack’s very survival.
“Lovey, Chillang-i! Come here. I’ll do it for you!”
She had to pull them away from that lizard.
She was perfectly capable of doing the same thing.
But her technique must have been different somehow, because the wolves didn’t seem to find her touch very satisfying.
They came over because their leader told them to, but their eyes were fixed on the lizard’s large hand.
This wouldn’t do.
So, Baek Rang thought.
She had to surpass the lizard in petting, if nothing else.
That was difficult with a wolf’s paws.
In that case, what if she didn’t use a wolf’s paws?
Baek Rang was a Spirit Beast.
Moreover, a Spirit Beast that could take on a human form.
She didn’t particularly like taking that form, but her sisters did.
She had refrained from humanizing, as it felt like she was looking at a dog tamed by humans.
But now, she had no other choice.
If she petted them with human hands, her sisters would be satisfied.
A human hand would surely be much better than that lizard’s rough foreleg.
For the first time in a long while, she took on her human form.
“Whine?”
Chillang-i lifted her head and looked at Baek Rang.
“Pant, pant!”
The wolves loved this form.
For one, her body was very warm, and they loved being petted by those hands.
“Chillang-i. Come here.”
No matter what sorcery that lizard used, it would be difficult to beat this form.
Just as Baek Rang thought, the youngest wolf came scampering over.
“That’s right. There, good girl…”
With a triumphant expression, Baek Rang stroked the being who had laid its head on her lap.
She had succeeded in restoring the pack, which had been on the verge of cracking.
“Hehe, Chillang-i. From now on, instead of that lizard…”
Baek Rang felt a sense of incongruity.
She felt the touch of hard scales, not soft fur.
Lowering her head, Baek Rang looked at her own thigh.
“Gekgek.”
Her eyes met with the lizard, which was looking up at her with a shameless expression.
“…Whine.”
Chillang-i had been pushed aside by the lizard.
“Get off!”
“Gekgegek!”
What in the world was this lizard’s true identity?
Baek Rang pondered it seriously, but no answer came.
“This is Chillang-i’s spot, you know?”
Why was it making such a disappointed face as it moved off her thigh?
Surely it wasn’t a lizard that liked human forms.
Even as she thought this, a clever idea came to Baek Rang.
The wolves in her pack loved being petted by the lizard.
And the lizard, for reasons unknown, seemed to prefer her human form.
In that case, if she could just keep the lizard occupied, wouldn’t that solve the problem?
“…Hey, can you come back here for a second?”
Baek Rang patted her thigh.
“Gekgegegek!”
The fickle lizard happily rushed over.
As she slowly stroked the lizard resting its head on her lap, Baek Rang began to formulate a plan to use this creature.
“One hus… one wiiiiife!”
From a jungle far, far away, a Spirit Beast cried out, but its voice never reached the black lizard.