Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: No fair! He's the man I found first!
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That's cheating! He's the man I discovered!
Mining operations had resumed in the Ice Crystal Cave.
Someone poked my side as I extracted an inner core.
It was Rau, grinning from ear to ear.
"Heh heh, everyone's staring at you, buddy."
"Don't tease me. I'm already dying of embarrassment here."
I wasn't joking.
Ever since I used magic, the beastkin had been giving me strange looks.
"During the last break, all the guys swarmed you, calling you 'bro' and sticking to you like glue."
Saying how great my body was,
how they wanted to be real men like me,
how cool I looked casting magic.
"One guy even said my baldness was cool."
The guys were tame, though.
The female beastkin slyly approached for some skinship.
They subtly flashed body parts, putting me in an awkward spot.
"Thanks to you, you've added about ten more people who'll stick to me forever."
"Huh? What're you talking about?"
"Meaning they'll be stuck living in the Abandoned Continent for life."
Rau tilted his head, still not getting it.
Then he spoke.
"Don't hate them too much, though. Can't be helped. This is the wilds."
"I know."
This was the Abandoned Continent, where death could come at any moment.
Building ties with the strong here was essential for survival.
"Good, as long as you get it."
That was when Rau smiled and spoke.
"Hey, got a minute?"
An unfamiliar voice called out.
A black-furred wolf stood there.
He was the expedition leader from another group mining ice crystals nearby.
"What's up?"
"Ahem. I heard your mining foreman dumped you. This is my apology."
With that, he handed over a wooden keg the size of a man's forearm.
"No need to apologize for something like that."
Saying that, I still snatched it up quick.
In the wilds, you take what you can get.
"Ha ha! What a big heart, like the sea itself!"
The wolf beastkin laughed heartily and slapped my shoulder.
I ignored him and inspected the keg.
It reeked of blood.
Food, maybe?
"Troll blood. Essential for processing ice crystals."
"Ah..."
Not food, then.
I smacked my lips in regret for a moment.
Snapping out of it, I bowed my head.
"Thank you."
"You really grateful?"
I shut my mouth at that.
Truth be told, I wasn't that thankful since I wasn't processing ice crystals myself.
But I couldn't say that honestly.
"Super grateful."
"Then how about joining our expedition next time?"
He was suggesting we team up for the next run.
As I pondered my response,
"That's no way to reciprocate a favor!"
An angry voice rang out.
It was our expedition leader,
the fox captain.
The wolf beastkin shrugged at the fox captain.
"What do you mean no reciprocation, Liria? He's not even your regular member."
"Hmph. Shut it. Go back to your section."
Liria chased off the wolf beastkin like that.
She approached me and rubbed her cheek against mine again.
"Thank you so much. You saved everyone. This is my thanks."
With that, Liria offered me something.
Dozens of ice crystals.
"Rau told me. You need a lot of these."
"True, but..."
I muttered as I counted them.
Easily over fifty.
"It's 50% of our team's haul. They all agreed readily to give them to you."
"Thanks, but... you sure? I heard some want to use them as tribute for the dinosaurs."
Liria laughed at my words.
"I'll cover their share, so no worries."
Well, in that case.
"Thank you."
I bowed slightly in gratitude.
The fox captain, watching me, asked,
"Can I ask you something?"
"If I can answer."
"Where exactly are you from?"
A surprisingly mundane question.
I answered honestly.
"From the forest beyond the river."
The fox captain's eyes widened.
Then hatred flickered briefly in them.
"So it's you. The human hunting the forest lords."
I was a bit flustered by that.
I never imagined she'd guess my identity just from the forest mention.
"Do you resent me too?"
I asked, recalling how the beastkin had treated me before.
Liria fell silent for a long time.
Then she sighed.
"Well, can't like humans. You're one of those who drove dinosaurs into our lands and sealed them. But."
She rubbed her cheek against mine.
"I'm not shameless enough to hate my benefactor."
With that, the fox captain turned to leave.
Then she grinned mischievously.
"Oh! Break time's coming up soon."
Cold sweat trickled down at that.
I remembered the ordeal from the last break when beastkin swarmed me.
"...Gonna hit the bathroom real quick."
As I looked for an escape, I spotted the cave's depths.
I recalled Rau saying the dinosaurs searched there.
'Should I check it out?'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The deepest part of the Ice Crystal Cave.
Looking at the ice wall there, I muttered,
"Nothing here, really?"
I'd come all the way to the end.
Rau was right—nothing at all.
"Why do the dinosaurs keep poking around here, then?"
Using it as a bathroom? Were dinosaurs secretly as tidy as cats?
As that ridiculous thought crossed my mind,
a notification popped up.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Magic Girl has requested a 1:1 conversation.] An unexpected person had sent a private chat request.
I panicked and hit accept.
💬 Private Chat — Magic Girl Want to know what the dinosaurs are looking for? "How does she know about this?"
I wasn't streaming right now.
Yet she knew exactly where I was.
— Shihanbu Can mods see even when streams are off? — Magic Girl No, nothing like that. I can just see Unique Gallery users' locations. — Shihanbu ... — Magic Girl Don't worry too much. Regular users don't even know this feature exists, and they wouldn't share locations anyway. Should I believe that?
From someone who might hold a grudge against me...
"Actually, doesn't matter much."
Every Unique Gallery user already knows where I am.
If they come with bad intentions?
I'll welcome them with open arms.
Feeling at ease, I typed back.
— Shihanbu So. What's here exactly? — Magic Girl Try placing ice crystals. I eyed her suspiciously but pulled out an ice crystal.
— Magic Girl One in the 1 o'clock rock crevice. In the 12 o'clock ceiling dent... I placed them as directed.
The moment I smashed them all at once,
Rumble—
The wall shook, and the sealed section opened.
"Ugh!"
I wrinkled my nose as it opened.
An overwhelming stench hit me.
"What the hell is this smell... Gasp!?"
Mid-sentence, I inhaled sharply by mistake.
Inside the opened wall sat thousands of human skeletons in lotus position.
And those skeletons wore robes emblazoned with plum blossoms on the chest.
"...Plum blossoms."
The symbol of the fallen Plum Blossom Sect.
These were the sword scholars who herded the dinosaurs here and died a century ago.
— Magic Girl You said it before. That we did something disgusting. You're right. We did. But. Magic Girl went silent for a while before continuing.
— Magic Girl ...We paid a heavy price too. Enough to offer our own lives as sacrifices for the barrier. Only one thought came to mind.
"So what?"
They sacrificed willingly.
I could applaud such noble sacrifice.
But the beastkin?
Asking for understanding as heroic acts? I don't get it.
— Shihanbu So why show me this? — Magic Girl Check the corner. I looked at the corner as she said.
Piles of books were stacked there.
— Magic Girl Plum Blossom Sect martial arts. They lamented the sect's fall until death. So they recorded all the sect's techniques before dying. — Shihanbu Return it to the Plum Blossom Sect? But... looks heavy. — Magic Girl No need to worry. See the gourd on the books? I looked atop the books.
A gourd small enough to carry at the waist.
— Magic Girl Stroke it. I did as told.
That instant,
Whoosh—
The books were sucked into the gourd.
— Magic Girl That's one of the 13 Divine Artifacts, the Gourd of Void. Holds a room-sized sub-space. My eyes lit up.
A novel sub-space always came with one feature.
— Shihanbu Time stop too? — Magic Girl Time? No way that's possible. Meaning meat put inside would rot.
Disappointed, I clicked my tongue.
— Shihanbu Tch. For something called a Divine Artifact... The pocket watch last time couldn't leave the continent either.
Everything had some flaw.
— Magic Girl ...No, that's... Nations used to wage wars over it... ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Lightning Mage Tower Lord's chamber.
There, the tower lord's first disciple, Jea—
also known as "Want Lightning?"—was casting the spell Shihanbu had used.
"Thunderbolt!"
That instant,
Kaboom—
Lightning struck the chamber.
A 3-circle spell meant only to stun had summoned real lightning.
She was certain then.
"That man really knows magic's true names!"
Magic incantation.
It was a question.
Mages constantly questioned the magic circle.
'Where do you live?'
'What color are you?'
'What do you like?'
Asking draws out the magic's essence.
Then manifesting it in the world.
But it had a fatal flaw.
The resulting image was never perfect.
Efficiency dropped, power weakened.
But if you knew the name?
No need for those inefficient questions.
Just call the name and manifest.
And Shihanbu had the talent to know those essences.
"Insane..."
Thrills ran through Jea. Shihanbu.
He could redefine all magic at peak efficiency.
She vowed then.
"I absolutely! Absolutely cannot let other tower guys steal him!"
Yelling that, she opened the gallery.
Mages were still pouring hate toward Shihanbu there.
"Tch. Idiots who can't recognize treasure, pretending to study magic... Huh?"
Clicking her tongue, she gasped in surprise.
A familiar nickname amid the resentment.
📰 Unique Gallery Post [Heh heh. How's Shihanbu doing?] [Author] Crimson Sorcerer
I felt bad sending you off so poorly last time. Come visit the mage tower again, my friend. "Friend, my ass!"
The Crimson Mage Tower Lord.
Rumors swirled among towers that he plotted revenge on Shihanbu.
To reclaim the stolen artifact, preparing in secret.
Yet here he was, tossing grudges aside.
His calculus was done.
Shihanbu's true names outweighed any grudge.
And that wasn't all.
📰 Unique Gallery Post [Why Earth Magic is Essential for Wilderness Survival!] [Author] Earth Scum
You can sculpt houses tougher with earth! Build barriers for safer bases! Earth armor boosts defense too! If anyone needs earth magic, just say! The Earth Mage Tower never turns away those in need! Jea snorted.
"Pathetic. Targeting one guy."
Proof was in the comments.
⭐ Reply — Anonymous Hey, this beggar lives in the forest. Can you teach house-building? — Earth Scum Get lost, beggar scum. — ??? No, fuck, you said you'd teach, crazy bitch! Jea clutched her head seeing that.
Those with eyes were already moving.
"Ugh! No fair! He's the man I found first!"
Jea stomped in frustration at the other towers' advances on Shihanbu.
She hurriedly tried posting.
A plea like 'You have lightning talent. Keep going. Please keep going.'
That was when,
The gallery was exploding.
She clicked curiously.
📰 Unique Gallery Post [Got the ice crystals. Bring 'em.] [Author] Golden
Bring them to me. 100 points each. Oh, don't sell elsewhere. You can't use them without me anyway. Some lunatic was trying to rip off Shihanbu's ice crystals.