Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Welcome to Our Village
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Firing off five Fire Bullets in a row raises my body temperature so high it feels like my brain's melting.
Maintaining a Fireball for too long once pushed me right to the brink of burning to death.
Right now, I needed a way to protect my body while maximizing my firepower.
Stability and prosperity, huh.
I'd been wanting to try ice magic anyway.
This ice age had snow everywhere, after all.
Learning it now would definitely come in handy.
Above all, my magic was too focused on offense and utility, leaving my defenses a bit weak.
Supplementing that with frost magic could make battles a lot more favorable.
Of course, magitech engineering and dungeon crafting were tempting too, but it wasn't the time yet.
I lacked the foundation for applied magic fields that required massive amounts of gear and materials, and I wasn't developed enough.
For now, focus on boosting defense and securing stability.
I took the Northern Duchess as my sixth teacher.
Thrilled to be chosen, the Northern Duchess immediately sent a 'gift' via private message.
Good lord. Why are all my teachers such beauties?
Oh, wait, not all of them.
Nature Lover's a mustached old elf dude, so exclude her.
Elf Hunter and the dwarf geezer are hairy-legged guys too, so exclude them.
The gender balance is more even than I thought.
Having studied other schools definitely helped—I could pick this up quick.
But this school's magic has the drawback of chilling your fingertips.
"Oh! So I can use both fire and frost arts!"
If my fingertips get cold, I just heat up with Phlogiston School magic!
Learning this confirmed it.
Phlogiston and Carrier Schools were perfect complements.
The advantages of mastering both were no joke.
Now I get why her username's Firepower Enthusiast.
She's definitely fire-obsessed.
But her words weren't incomprehensible.
That last line tied straight to my survival.
If you really want peace...
Prepare for war.
Only overwhelming power brings peace.
Three people got axed in an instant!
Murder! It's murder!
But why'd Elf Hunter and Pureblood Supremacist get banned out of nowhere?
Oh, I can guess.
Obvious if they got hit together.
They were probably spewing speciesist crap and setting the gallery on fire again.
I can tell without looking now.
The cosmic admin's power is overwhelming.
Truly fearsome and amazing.
You need that kind of strength to fight the chaos from beyond the galaxy.
Conquer Earth and planetary tuning magic unlocks!
Man, when will I ever reach that level!
Anyway, fire and frost arts don't get along—got it.
Their temperaments are total opposites.
Fire mages shoot first, ask later.
Frost mages are sneaky and underhanded.
I studied frost magic with the Northern Duchess until evening.
She explained every detail meticulously.
I quickly reached 2nd Circle in the Carrier School.
Now I could shoot ice and raise walls.
Definitely a well-balanced school.
Offense and defense in harmony.
Firepower might lag behind Phlogiston...
But stability far surpassed fire magic.
Still, no reply from Potion Addict.
No messages all day, not even in the gallery?
Something wrong?
Doesn't seem like my face is the issue with the delay.
I was about to message her out of worry when...
Bang-!
Gunfire rang out.
"...Bingbing."
"Quack."
No time to worry about Potion Addict.
The shot was closer than expected.
I quickly hid Bingbing in the warehouse.
Used frost magic to bury all our traces in snow.
Then maxed out my sight and hearing, staring toward the sound.
Blizzard muffled the audio.
Sunset. Nightfall.
Common sense: don't move at night.
Would those gunmen just pass by?
No good hiding spots around the village.
They'd come to the village.
"Bingbing. No sounds from now on. Got it?"
Bingbing nodded, covering his beak with his wings.
As expected, an unknown group of humans entered the village.
They planned to spend the night here.
Wait quietly for them to leave.
No need to engage.
-Kieeeaaah!
".....Fuck."
No way those crazies came via Uijeongbu?
If they passed through dusk Uijeongbu to here...
That gunshot was at undead.
Uijeongbu's crawling with abnormal undead numbers now.
They entered unaware and got jumped.
Now the sparks hit me.
"Bingbing. I'll dig a tunnel. Hide in there—no coming out till I return. Guard our home, okay?"
"Ung..."
That cry was definitely undead.
Uijeongbu undead chased survivors here.
Unwelcome guests.
The worst kind.
'Fleeing people already hid in the village. Undead hunting the living...'
Undead prowling darkening village.
Searching for the humans who hid here.
They'll find them soon.
And me too.
'Four humans. Five undead.'
Undead outnumbered.
Worse: more undead incoming.
"Aaaah!"
Bang-!
While scouting, gunfire again.
Ratatatang-!
These idiots!
Spraying bullets everywhere!?
Just die quietly if caught.
You pulled more aggro to the village.
'One dead... plus five more.'
Spotted the corpse in shadows.
Undead ripping arms, legs, guts—chewing.
Lost ghouls swarmed in, using gunfire as beacon.
Now seven ghouls in the village.
Two screamers, seven ghouls.
Plus one more mystery undead.
Village turned hell in a moment.
"....."
Total ten.
Never faced this many.
Never seen 'em swarm like this.
Tonight's gonna be long.
One consolation...
'Maybe a chance to farm summoning materials.'
Think positive.
Win this fight, get gacha resources.
So survive, no matter what.