Arcana Online
A woman with red hair and a sultry gaze sat sipping tea, her whole manner exuding an almost dangerous kind of charm.
The request room was empty now that the little lady had left.
Shadows rippled through the air, and a host of assassins appeared one after another.
“Should we follow her?”
“No need. I’ve already confirmed it.”
The words written on the communication orb were clear enough.
[If anyone harms my benefactor, the knights of the Ether Ducal House will move at once.]
He was practically threatening them to their faces with the Black Knights.
So who exactly was that little lady the Duke of Ether was going out of his way to protect?
It had been a long time since something this interesting had appeared.
The little lady who made one’s chest ache just by looking at her, the one who made people want to protect her.
“Hmm. No matter how I think about it, I still can’t figure it out. Well, there’s no rush. I can get to know her little by little.”
A smile curved her lips as she took another sip of tea.
“Sweet things really are the best.”
*
*
*
Taking a different exit, I came out through a general store on the main street.
So this is where it had been hiding in plain sight.
More importantly, what am I supposed to do about this?
[Quest has arrived.]
Obtain an egg from the gryphon nest in Death Valley.
Reward: Experience, a large quantity of Magic Stones.
A simple, straightforward quest: just bring back the egg.
Death Valley was only half a day’s walk from the City of Stars.
The problem was that the recommended level was 60 or higher.
How am I supposed to do this at level 20!?
The reward was good, so I accepted it for now, but still.
Wait—was the old man I met in the alley really Duke Adonis Ether?
The only person I ran into in that alley was an old man.
And not long after that, the alarm went off, which meant there was only one culprit.
The old man.
When I used the old man as evidence, even the pretty lady from the Information Guild accepted it.
He must be some incredibly important person.
“Kkyu-ung.”
“You’re hungry?”
“Kkyuung!”
“Then let’s go clear this quest.”
For Yongyong’s sake, I couldn’t waste any time.
After leaving the city and following the sign pointing toward Death Valley, I was walking along when I spotted a huge bear in the distance.
Wait. Why is it so big?
As the massive bear drew closer, I got a little scared, but for some reason it also looked familiar.
“Kraaaah!”
“Huh!? It’s you!?”
“Kraang!”
It was the bear that had given me a ride before!
Why had it gotten so huge!?
It was more than twice as big as before, and yet it came right up to me and started acting cute.
For something with a body that big, it had a pretty adorable side.
It said it would carry me again, just like last time.
“Do you know the way to Death Valley?”
“Kraaaang!”
“You’re telling me to leave it to you? Then I’ll count on you.”
It was a distance that would’ve taken half a day on foot, but before I knew it, we had arrived near the valley.
After thanking it for the ride and saying I’d give it more Magic Stones next time if I got any, it told me, You must keep your promise, then headed off into the distance.
Is this how monsters are supposed to talk? Every single one I meet has such strange manners.
When I looked at Yongyong, he tilted his head and answered in that sweet little voice of his.
“Kkyuung?”
“Our Yongyong really is the cutest thing in the world!”
For a second I almost lost my mind, but there was no time.
I had to get the egg and head back to town before it was too late. Then I could feed my Yongyong.
As I drew near the valley, a cold wind swept over me, carrying with it something grim and chilling.
It felt like the valley itself was warning me to turn back while I still could.
Still, I had to go in.
I slowly entered the gorge.
Surprisingly, there was nothing there.
They said there was a gryphon nest here, but was it even real?
Did I need to climb higher up?
Just as I was wondering how I was supposed to get to the upper part of the valley, Yongyong looked toward a corner and let out a cry.
When I turned to look, I found a staircase there. Had other people built it?
I followed the stairs upward for a long while.
Only after climbing for more than an hour did I finally find the gryphon nest.
Inside the nest sat a large egg that looked like it belonged to a gryphon, but there was a problem.
Gryphons were flying overhead, keeping watch, and their security was airtight.
“H-how am I supposed to get through that and take the egg...?”
“Kkyuung?”
“Huh? No, it’s fine. I’ll figure something out.”
Yongyong kept telling me to trust him, as if he had some special power, but honestly, just his confidence was enough for me.
While I was racking my brain, I felt a gaze on me.
I looked up and found one gryphon staring down at me.
Then it tilted its head and spoke.
“Human.”
“Y-yes!?”
Flustered, I stared back with a dazed expression as it slowly descended to the ground.
Then it looked me over carefully.
“Have you lost your way?”
“N-no. That’s not it.”
“Then are you a thief?”
At that moment, its eyes turned icy as it glared at me.
If I said yes right now, I’d probably get ripped apart by those gigantic claws...?
“It’s... I need an egg.”
“......”
I’d been way too direct.
The gryphon stared at me, utterly speechless.
“You’re the first thief I’ve ever seen with such nerve.”
“Ahaha. I’m not very good at lying.”
So this was it, then. The end.
Just as I was about to ask it to make it quick and painless, it said, “Wait here a moment,” and flew back into the sky.
How much time passed after that?
The gryphon that had flown off returned soon after, carrying a great many eggs.
“These are children who were never given life.”
When I stepped closer to look, they were all unfertilized eggs.
Unfertilized eggs.
Eggs laid before fertilization has taken place.
The gryphon, wearing a sorrowful expression, said it would give them all to me without taking anything in return.
“Why are you giving them to me?”
“Though they were never born, if they can be of use to someone else, then those children would be satisfied as well.”
The low voice that whispered those words was heavy with grief.
After putting the eggs into my inventory, I told it I’d come back to repay this kindness, but it simply said that would not be necessary and told me to return safely before leaving.
Even on the way out of the valley and back toward town, I couldn’t shake the melancholy in my chest.
Wasn’t there anything I could do to give something back?
On the way back, too, I rode the bear that had suddenly appeared from somewhere, saying it would carry me home.
As I looked at the bear, now more than twice as massive as before, a memory surfaced.
I had given that bear a Magic Stone yesterday, hadn’t I...?
Devour
When a summon eats Magic Stones, it grows stronger.
[Just watching it eat is enough to fill you up!]
“That’s it!”
*
*
*
At the gate, I showed my pass and went straight into the city. Then I headed back to the shop I’d come out of, where the clerk recognized me and led me inside with a wave to follow.
Using the back door, I entered the request room I’d been in before, where the pretty lady was waiting for me.
“Our little lady. Have you given up?”
Hearing that, I took the many eggs out of my inventory and placed them on the table, which made her stare at me in surprise.
“S-so many eggs...?”
“They’re gryphon eggs.”
The pretty lady gaped at the sight of so many eggs, unable to close her mouth.
[Quest Cleared!]
Reward has been distributed.
At the pretty lady’s gesture, another employee brought over a large bundle, and inside it was nothing but Magic Stones, packed to the brim.
Enough to keep our Yongyong happily fed for months.
He was already drooling at the sight of them, so I handed him one, and he ate it with obvious delight.
Watching that, she made me an offer.
“Oh? That’s a creature I’ve never seen before. How about it? I could give you a pretty good price. Interested?”
“Nope!”
“How disappointing.”
Smiling, she handed me a business card.
It said Erika on it.
“Let me introduce myself properly. I’m Erika, the head of the Information Guild. And with all my love and affection, I’ll allow you to call me Erika unnie.”
“Please take care of me. My name is Yuna, Erika noona.”
“Noona...?”
She stared at me with a slightly baffled expression, but after I put the bag of Magic Stones into my inventory and stood up, she grabbed my wrist.
“Are you in a hurry? If not, why don’t you go somewhere nice with unnie?”
“I am, so excuse me.”
“How cold. Come visit again.”
Erika noona let go of my wrist and waved me off.
It was time to go repay the gryphon’s kindness.
*
*
*
Death Valley had long been the territory ruled by gryphons.
That was, until their natural enemy appeared.
The wyvern pack that had started showing up recently.
Vermin that waited for openings to strike, or stole eggs away while everyone’s guard was down.
The raids were getting worse and worse, and it felt only a matter of time before a full-scale war broke out.
The moment I was watching from the sky, the human who had taken the eggs appeared again.
Then, spotting me, she waved.
When she came closer, she took something out from her arms.
“What brings you back here, human?”
“I came to repay your kindness!”
She handed me something, and when I looked closely, it was a stone filled with magic power.
The moment I swallowed it in one bite, something changed inside me.
Power surged through my body.
“I brought a lot with me, so... could you call the other gryphons too?”
“Understood, human.”
He let out a great cry to summon his kin, and soon all the gryphons in the valley came flying in, with the exception of a few who remained behind to guard the nest.
Their number was easily in the hundreds.
The human looked flustered, then seemed to check something.
“Phew. Thank goodness. That looks about right. Yongyong, I’m sorry... I’ll make more money next time and feed you until you’re full.”
“Kkyuung.”
The moment I heard a sound coming from inside the human’s arms and looked over, I felt a chill crawl down my spine.
Why was that enormous being acting cute toward a human?
Just having that creature look at me made my whole back go cold.
And then, the instant I felt relieved because it quickly lost interest and started doing something else, the human began feeding the magic-filled stones to my kin.
“All right, all right, can you line up in order? I’ll hand them out one by one!”
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