Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Masters' Attention
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"Kyak!"
"Gah! Ah... it's you. Phew."
I jolted awake at the chirping noise and opened my eyes to find Bingbing peering down at me.
It seemed like the sun was up, so it was time to get moving.
"Sorry about that. You should get some more rest too."
"Kyak."
Bingbing waddled off and flopped down in the corner of the tent.
Grateful as ever, it had stood watch over me all night.
"Haa. So damn cold."
I stripped off my bloodstained clothes and quickly changed into fresh ones.
Normally, I'd wear the same outfit for at least four days straight.
I'd used up all my firewood, so I didn't have many clothes left anyway.
And changing clothes dropped my body temperature too much to bother with it.
Whoosh.
But ever since learning magic from the Phlogiston School, things had changed.
Now I didn't worry much about losing body heat when changing.
"Fourteen bodies to collect..."
Ten undead and the four survivors who'd dragged them into the basement.
I had a rough idea of where the undead had died.
But I had no clue where the survivors had ended up.
"Found one."
I spotted the screamer that had died in front of the village hall.
Then I quickly gathered the ghouls sprawled nearby.
I hauled all their corpses to the church.
The entrance was wide open, and it was the only suitable building for dumping bodies.
For that reason, I dragged the undead corpses into the ruined church and stacked them neatly.
I topped it off with the heavy hunter's body, packed with muscle.
"Ugh, fuck."
The survivors' bodies were badly mangled.
The undead I'd killed were mostly just bashed in the head, so their bodies were relatively intact.
But the ones torn apart by the undead...
They were unrecognizable or scattered everywhere.
"You bastards. Couldn't eat clean for once. Ugh. Gross."
Putting arms and legs back together was nauseating.
Stuffing guts back into split-open bellies was horrifying.
At least one mercy: everything that spilled out had frozen solid—no squishy, slimy mess.
"There... done."
I'd restored the bodies to something vaguely human.
Then I stripped their clothes, grabbed their bags and guns.
Any wearable clothes I set aside for later.
I found three bags, stuffed with canned goods and sundries.
"Three tuna cans? Hell yeah!"
Three tuna cans and a can of Spam.
And...
I found a can of corn!!!
"Sweet corn! My old friend."
What a haul!
Corn in an ice age!
Carbs! Carbs! Carbs!
Just seeing the corn can flooded me with dopamine; my mouth watered instantly.
I love corn.
So I'll save it for later.
For a truly special day, as a gift to myself.
The day I crack open that corn will be my happiest.
I was already excited for a day that hadn't even come yet.
"Hm. No bullets left. Shame."
They must've raided some reserve armory—the survivors had three standard Korean military rifles.
I checked the magazines hopefully, but not a single round remained.
They'd emptied them all into the ghouls yesterday.
Can't be helped. I hadn't expected much anyway.
"Heave-ho. All done."
I moved the four bodies to the church too.
Bodies in the ice age froze rock-hard overnight.
Touching them sent chills down my spine.
People who'd once lived, now so rigid and lifeless.
Blood, muscles—every cell frozen solid.
Hit one, and it shattered like plaster, shards flying.
"I'm hungry."
Seeing corpses turned my stomach, sure.
But mealtime hunger was a separate issue.
"Bingbing. Gonna sleep more? Let's eat."
"Kkyak..."
"Yeah. Eat later. I'll go first."
I left Bingbing alone, took off my gloves, and started prepping food.
Tossed the leftover fish and veggies into the pan and stir-fried haphazardly.
The savory fish aroma mixed with fresh veggie scents, teasing my nose.
My mouth watered; my stomach growled for food.
"Kyak..?"
"Huh? Oh, you're up."
"Kkyak!"
"Woke up to the food smell, huh? It's in your bowl—let's eat together."
"Kyak!"
Bingbing rushed over and vacuumed up the food from its bowl.
It was barely 'cooking,' but Bingbing devoured anything like I did.
'Tastes good.'
I ate inside the tent, watching the scenery with Bingbing.
Even crunched the fish bones—excellent calcium source.
"Hey, Bingbing."
"Kyak."
"You might get a little sibling today."
"Gack! *cough*! *cough*!"
"Hey! You okay?"
"Kkyaak!"
Bingbing pecked at me with its beak, protesting the sudden weird talk.
"No, I mean summoning a friend today."
"Kkyak?"
"Yeah, a friend. No idea what it'll be, but get along. You're the senior. Got it?"
"Kkyak!"
With the bodies gathered, time for a gacha pull.
I wouldn't kill people just for summons, but bodies already dead to undead? Better to use them productively than let them rot.
And pulling Bingbing proved summons were worth grabbing every chance.
Summons wouldn't attack their summoner if fed properly, so good relations were guaranteed.
Food supply should stabilize once I rework the reservoir.
Boost freshwater fish numbers from the southern reservoir while keeping balance.
Now, time to check the gallery.
This lady's worry for me grows every day.
I'm not dying that easily.
I survived five years of this fucked-up ice age without magic.
Instant reply—she'd been waiting since morning.
Every hour was overkill.
Every three hours should suffice.
This is like an obsessive girlfriend...
But it's all out of deep concern for her disciple. Yeah.
Human Lover had messaged too.
Guaranteed summon? Sounds perfect.
A bear?
Wait a sec.
Tough winter survivor bear...
Only thing that comes to mind is a polar bear.
Got it.
Blubbery ice-waddlers are sweet.
Is it really fine?
Never thought it'd be a polar bear.
Use the hunter's corpse as medium, seven bodies as sacrifice.
That guarantees a blubbery ice-waddler.
Better leave the rest as is.
Feeding Bingbing and the incoming polar bear will take tons already.
Summon more blindly, and I'll be the food.
Perfect. Remaining bodies as polar bear chow.
In an ice age, use every scrap wisely.
Human Lover taught me the key ritual formations for summoning the blubbery ice-waddler and the initial guaranteed rite.
Then a message from Cosmic Dust.
She'd promised a bonus for the fun show.
Cosmic Dust was basically my patron now.
Seemed to watch me 24/7.
"Whoa, Bingbing. What the hell is this."
"Kyak!"
"You don't know either?"
I opened the black box, revealing Cosmic Dust's gift.
Like a kid on Christmas, I checked it out.
No clue what it was for. A square metal box with a hole you could open the top of?
"Kkyak!"
"Oh, right. There's a manual or something. Thanks, Bingbing."
"Kyak."
Bingbing pointed its beak at a folded paper in the corner.
I unfolded it—not a manual, but a letter from Cosmic Dust.
"Whoa. It's in Korean?"
Unfolded, it revealed a letter in crooked handwriting.
Cosmic Dust had used the Korean I'd taught her to write it.
Cosmic Dust's name was Orbiduna.
Exotic and foreign-sounding.
"Pen pals, huh?"
"Kyak?"
"Exchanging letters."
Pen pals across dimensions.
Pretty romantic.
The letter briefly explained the gift at the end.
This box was like a magical 3D printer.
Feed materials into the round inlet.
Send blueprint from Onyx Plate to Mana Workbench—simple.
Finished product max 30cm, breaks if over two materials.
Clear limits, but now I could craft needed tools.
'Sent to make alchemy gear easier.'
I got Cosmic Dust's intent.
Handy for workshop crafting.
But when's Potion Addict resurfacing?
Finally replied.
Almost two days since showing my face.
After seeing the newbie's face and getting wildly excited that day...
Potion Addict—Arserina—completely missed the timing to reply.
'Ah, what do I do. What to say. He's handsome? No. Too embarrassing. Too direct—not elven. Ah, what now. How to start natural? No. Ugh.'
Her 'elven sensibilities' trapped her in worry for nearly two days.
With such long lifespans, two days passed like breathing.
The impatient newbie messaged first.
Only then did Arserina snap out of it and return to reality.
Humans lived fast lives.
She realized she couldn't treat him with her time sense.
Disappointed? No way.
Arserina had fallen hard.
Personality, looks—perfect for her tastes.
But she wouldn't reveal it yet.
They might never meet.
Elf-human romances usually ended tragic.
Even with half-elf kids, the human died first. Sad.
So she kept her feelings hidden for now.
'Philosopher's Stone. Then Amrita and Nectar. Finally Ambrosia.'
Alchemy's three forbidden elixirs, ruining challengers.
Legendary divine drinks, supreme longevity potions.
Feed those to newbie, he'd gain elf-like lifespan.
If he brewed and drank immortality elixir, then she could confess?
Arserina grinned slyly.
Yes, he was a genius acknowledged by sages.
He could achieve what even she couldn't.
Plus, his world had dense, pure natural mana.
There, it was possible.
"Make him craft the Philosopher's Stone... Lifespan extends... Then he'll research dimension travel himself...?"
A plan built on faith in his talent and environment.
Her long-lived species' 'Extend Newbie's Lifespan' project began now.