The Butterfly Effect of Thawing

In Pan-On, bad premonitions usually had a way of becoming reality. The Guild Alliance, who had faced Kim Tae-hyun thinking, "Surely we won't lose when there are so many of us?" was a prime example.

Nodranche was a cold, isolated northern island. However, in the distant past, this island had also been a prosperous place. When fierce beastmen warriors from the north swept through Nodranche and threatened the empire, the mages of the Ancient Empire froze the entire island out of fear. Now that Nodranche's freezing cold had stopped, the warriors trapped in the glaciers had awakened from their long slumber. Bearing ancient grudges, these warriors were determined to reclaim Nodranche as their own.

"Man, this... doesn't look good..."

Usually, if a quest had "Ancient" in its title, it was bound to be ridiculously difficult! The players of the expedition team began to murmur.

"Should we build a fortress first?"

"Let's put up a wooden palisade..."

"It's hard to even find wood around here."

"Let's build it with stone. Won't wood break too easily?"

"T-T-They're already here?!"

"What are you so scared of? Move!"

Since there were so many players in the expedition team, there was no shortage of high-level players and battle-hungry individuals. In a situation like this, quite a few were ready to charge right in.

"Follow me! I'll tank!"

"Oh! We're coming!"

"Reliable! I'll tank too! Just back us up from behind!"

"Priests, gather over here and cast some buffs together!"

On the spot, tanks, damage dealers, and healers divided themselves, forming a fairly sizable party.

— Hymn of Joy!

— Protection of the Earth Goddess!

— Awakening of Defense!

Showered in various buffs, the tanks charged forward with high spirits.

"Bring it on, you bear-like bastards!"

A tank's purpose was to tie down the opponent! The tanks here were highly experienced. Even if bear-like warriors were rushing at them, they weren't afraid. It wasn't like they had only hunted wild beasts once or twice!

— Shock Ham... *cough!*

Crash!

Hit by the axe swung by a bear warrior, the tank was sent flying far into the distance! The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold with that single blow.

"......"

"......"

— Nodranche is our land!

— Tear those weak southerners to shreds!

The bear warriors charged, roaring! At that sight, the players snapped back to reality.

"W-What on earth are their levels?!"

"300?? No, every single one of them looks over level 400!"

"Could they be level 500?!"

Instead of calmly assessing the situation, the terrified players exaggerated it even further. And there were dozens of such warriors!

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Hey! How can the tanks fall back?!"

"You try blocking that! How are we supposed to block something that sends a guy flying in one hit?!"

As the tanks began to retreat first, the players behind them panicked even more.

The more confused the allies were, the stronger the enemy became. Just as the expedition was on the verge of being completely annihilated...

— Do not retreat! Do not retreat!

— We, the wise and clever, have arrived!

The races Tae-hyun had unleashed upon Nodranche had come to help.

"...!!"

"Y-You guys...!"

The expedition players felt tears welling up in their eyes. In life, there were times when one received completely unexpected help. A moment just like this!

When the Giants, Orcs, Goblins, and Vampires had settled all over Nodranche, the players had thought, "Ugh, what is up with those races?"

But seeing them now, they looked like absolute angels.

"Thank you so much for helping us, *sniff!*"

"B-But can the Giants really block them?"

The Giants began to hurl heavy boulders they had gathered from who-knows-where. The bear warriors were massive, but they couldn't compare to the sheer size of the Giants.

Thud! Thud!

— What annoying pests...!

— Shatter the boulders and charge!

The bear warriors began to slash with their claws and swing their weapons, shattering the boulders blocking their path. Their Strength stat was so absurdly high that the rocks were sliced clean through—a truly bizarre sight!

— Hurry, hurry! Fall back!

"T-Thank you!"

Thanks to the Giants creating an opening, the players were able ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to retreat. But it didn't end there. The Giants weren't the only race present.

— *Chweek!* Orc archers, fire! *Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!*

The Orcs, who possessed overwhelming numbers, drew their thick bows and unleashed a barrage of arrows. They were even rolling out crude catapults they had brought from somewhere!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

— How dare those pig-like bastards...!

— We shall show them the wrath of the sacred bear!

Thud-thud-thud!

The arrows flew fiercely, but they failed to inflict any real damage on the bear warriors. The bear warriors shrugged off the attacks with their bodies and continued to march up the slope.

— *Chweek!* Those bastards are so rude! Calling us pigs!

— *Chweeeek!* By the name of the Orcs, we shall never forgive them!

The Orcs trembled with rage at the severe insult.

— *Chweek!* Shamans, avenge us!

— *Chwek!* Leave it to us.

The real threat lay with the Orc shamans. As the waiting shamans waved their staffs, smoke began to rise from the arrows scattered on the ground.

— Illusion of the Spirits!

— Labyrinth of the Wandering Spirits!

— *Chweek!* Now, bats!

At the Orc shamans' signal, the waiting Vampires also made their move.

— Vampiric Mist!

— Alluring Gaze!

The Vampires were a race specialized in status-inflicting curses! While the Orc shamans' spells alone might have been insufficient, the bear warriors faltered once the Vampires poured their magic into the fray.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

And finally, the Goblins stepped forward.

— *Hehehe...* Here are the bombs. Throw them!

— Bombs are good! We throw!

The Giants began throwing the bombs indiscriminately. The bear warriors, who had tried to deflect them thinking they were just rocks like before, were startled by the sudden explosions.

Boom-boom-boom-boom! Crash!

— Argh! Why did it explode here?!

— Ah. There are bound to be a few defectives, right? *Hehehe.*

— Those damn goblins...!

...Of course, there were minor mishaps, but the coordinated attack of the allied races was magnificent. Realizing they couldn't hold out, the bear warriors quickly began to retreat.

"W-We survived!"

"I really thought we were going to get obliterated..."

Having caught their breath, the players looked at the races that had come to their rescue, including the Giants, with deeply moved expressions.

"Even though we ignored and looked down on you, you still came to help us...!"

— What? You looked down on us?

"I'm so touched!"

— You looked down on us??

"You guys are ten times better than Cain!"

Before the races could argue, the players quickly rushed over and covered their mouths!

"Long live the Giants! Long live the Giants!"

"Long live the Orcs! Long live the Orcs!"

"Long live the Goblins! Long live the Goblins!"

"Long live the Vampires! Long live the Vampires!"

"Go to hell, Cain!"

"Lee Da-bi, do you hear that sound?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Yes! I hear it!"

"Right? I knew you would!"

"The sound of our territory running smoothly...!"

"The sound of money overflowing!"

Look at those two go. The rest of the party thought from behind. Was Tae-hyun becoming more like Lee Da-bi, or was Lee Da-bi becoming more like Tae-hyun?

But they had to admit it. The auction this time really was a massive hit...

The Valley had instantly become a territory overflowing with funds! When they were preparing for the auction, Lee Da-bi and Tae-hyun hadn't expected such a massive jackpot.

— Do you think we'll get around a hundred thousand gold?

— One hundred and fifty thousand would be nice.

— Man, it would be amazing if we got even that much, right?

But the result was a jackpot that transcended their wildest imaginations!

Ah, having this much money makes me suddenly want to increase the number of soldiers. A thought crept in like a devil's temptation as the funds piled up.

Oh, should I?

Ah, wait. I must have temporarily lost my mind because of the money. A statue? No way.

Tae-hyun nodded with a satisfied expression after stacking the gold in the territory's treasury. Should I expand the Magic Tower, build other structures, or recruit more Paladins and Priests...

"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Something terrible happened in Nodranche!"

"I see... Something terrible happened in Nodranche... Haha."

"......"

Did this guy eat something bad? Cain grabbed Tae-hyun and shook him back and forth. Tae-hyun was the only one he could rely on right now, so if he acted like this...!

"Hey! Nodranche is about to go under!"

"Ah, what do you mean go under? Why? Did another blizzard hit? It's fine. They won't die."

"No! The frozen ancient barbarian warriors have invaded...!"

"Did the expedition party get wiped out? Eh, why worry about a territory like that? Haha."

"No! They blocked them! The Giants, Orcs, Vampires, and Goblins joined forces and..."

"What is this, the Town Musicians of Bremen?"

Tae-hyun stopped joking and stood up. "If guys like that are suddenly showing up, it must be a quest. But why did a quest trigger?"

"Because it got warmer due to the thawing..."

Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. How did it even work like that? Geez. Talk about a butterfly effect...

"Well, the expedition players don't have a desperate reason to defend it, so they'll probably back off if things get tough. I suppose I should go help."

"!"

"One week."

"???"

Cain was puzzled by the sudden declaration of time. "What do you mean, one week?"

"I'll have it resolved within a week."

"...!"

Cain was in awe. What confidence! Just like Guan Yu declaring he would take the enemy general's head before his wine went cold, was Tae-hyun declaring he would clear the quest in just one week?! Incredible...!

Cain was honestly envious. How skilled did one have to be to possess that kind of confidence? Honestly, Cain felt like he wouldn't gain that kind of confidence even if he played for his entire life...

"It'll take about a week to finish the preparations for smelting the Adamantium. Whether it's finished or not, once a week passes, I'm coming back to the territory to smelt it."

"...Huh?"

Cain froze. "Wait, no. That wasn't a declaration of confidence that you'd finish it within a week?"

"I'm not a god, how would I know?"

"Then what if you can't finish it?"

"If I can't, I'll just leave it as is, come back, and smelt the Adamantium."

"Hey! How can you just abandon it like that?!"

"Isn't Adamantium equipment more important than Nodranche? Don't you need Adamantium gear? Think about the tournament."

"...!!!"

Cain's heart began to thud wildly at Tae-hyun's words. An... Adamantium set...?! Honestly, the equipment Cain was currently wearing was already considered top-tier among rankers, but upgrading it entirely to Adamantium...?!

"Urrgghh...!"

Like a donkey starving to death between two haystacks, Cain began to groan in agony. Adamantium equipment versus his territory!

"Don't worry, Cain. We just have to finish it within a week, right?"

"T-That's right! That's all we have to do!"

Cain's eyes flared with determination. One week...! He would finish it within a week, no matter what!

Well, I'm just going with a light heart to get it sorted out. It was Cain's territory, not his!

Having finished the conversation, Tae-hyun gathered the party and immediately prepared to depart. The zoo was being built on its own even without Tae-hyun, so there was no need to stay and watch it finish.

"Let's go!"

After Tae-hyun's party departed, a Dwarven envoy arrived at the territory.

"Is His Majesty here? We have an item to present to His Majesty..."

It was an envoy sent by the Galkard Dwarf tribe.