The Magic Squirrels' Kingdom of Tamia
"If you come any closer, we'll attack, squeak!"
About fifty magic squirrels had gathered, all surrounding the group with what they probably thought were scary expressions. Of course, squirrels trying to look intimidating was just plain adorable.
They were armed in their own way—some wore tiny suits of armor, others had small iron helmets perched on their heads.
The sight of them scurrying around the party, tiny front paws gripping mini spears aimed at the group... it was less threatening and more utterly cute.
"Guh... This is... this is dangerous."
Tina's reaction was especially intense.
Her usual stern, cool demeanor was nowhere to be seen. Her cheeks flushed red as she fidgeted helplessly.
And at Tina's reaction, the squirrels started patting themselves on the back. 'See? Our threat worked, squeak!''We're amazing, squeak!' Tina only got more excited in response.
"Whoa, they can even talk. But why can't Hangi?"
-Probably 'cause she's still young? Anyway, good thing. If they all squeaked nonstop, it'd give me a headache.
As Carpe's group and the squirrel horde faced off in the cutest standoff imaginable, one squirrel stepped forward from the pack. It looked like the leader—bigger than the others, with a fancier helmet.
"This is the kingdom of Tamia, home of the magic squirrels, squeak! Humans aren't allowed, so go back, squeak!"
"Wait, hold on. We have business here..."
"Human business has nothing to do with us, squeak! Go back, squeak!"
"Squeak! Go back, squeak!"
"Go back, squeak! Go back, squeak!"
The magic squirrels' response was ice-cold.
Carpe tried to talk it out, but they just kept yelling to leave.
"They're way more stubborn than they look..."
The quest window had mentioned they were exclusive to other races, but he hadn't expected zero room for even conversation.
As Carpe puzzled over their attitude, a sharp squeak cut through.
"Squeak!"
Mukhyang stepped forward, drawing every squirrel's gaze.
"...A kin?"
"It's kin, squeak! Kin with a human, squeak!"
"Some kin make lord-vassal contracts with good humans, squeak! That human's a good one, squeak!"
"But even good humans can't enter the kingdom. That's the rule, squeak!"
"And this kin's color is weird, squeak... Black? Never seen black before, squeak."
"Squeak! Squeak-squeak!"
The magic squirrels showed huge interest in Mukhyang, who bounced happily at meeting her own kind.
As one squirrel noted, Mukhyang was the only black one.
The others had fur in bright brown shades, like real-world squirrels.
"Weird, squeak. Maybe not kin after all, squeak?"
"No, squeak! That's pure Tamias energy, squeak!"
"Right, squeak! She's kin, squeak! We're enlightened squirrels—we don't discriminate by fur color, squeak!"
"Kin is welcome, squeak!"
The squirrels welcomed Mukhyang. Usually, different fur color would mean rejection in clichés, but these fantasy squirrels were surprisingly broad-minded.
Things are falling into place again? Gotta be Hangi's charm.
-Sure, that's fine. But the constant squeaking is grating. Can't we fix that?
Yeah... it's kinda chaotic.
The first couple times were cute, but the constant 'squeak' endings were hard to get used to.
Orcs went tchweech, goblins gob-gob, even RaSe skipped that, but squirrel squeaks were a bridge too far, apparently.
Then, sensing Carpe's confusion, a new alert popped up.
Would you like to convert Magic Squirrel language to standard language?
Conversion will make specific races' unique speech patterns sound like normal speech.
"Oh?"
RaSe, infamous for being user-unfriendly, had a nice feature like this?
Carpe nodded without hesitation, and suddenly the squirrels' speech sounded normal.
"Kin, welcome! You can enter our kingdom."
"Is that human mistreating you? Just say the word—we'll handle it."
Losing the squeaks felt a bit empty, but this was way more calming.
Carpe cleared his throat and addressed the leader.
"Ahem. It's natural to be wary of strangers. But we mean no harm. Can we talk?"
"If you're contracted with our kin, sure. What do you want to know?"
Once they learned Carpe was Mukhyang's master, the squirrels warmed up.
"We're here to learn about the primordial magic squirrels. Know anything?"
"Primordial magic squirrels? That's just legend."
The leader squirrel tilted its head.
"Long ago, the founder of Tamia was supposedly a primordial magic squirrel. But it's legend—no proof they existed."
"Yeah. They say primordials handled all eight elements... total nonsense."
"Even our great archmage king maxes at six."
"Speaking of, kin. We forgot the most important question. How many elements do you handle? Sorry, but your treatment depends on it. If you can't even manage one..."
The squirrel grimaced. Carpe was impressed—it nailed a look of disgust.
"Squeak..."
Mukhyang responded by wiggling her toes, one by one.
Four per paw, eight total with both!
...Squirrel paws have four toes. Who knew.
-Yeah. Learned a useless fact today.
As Carpe and Cheonma marveled at squirrel trivia,
"Kin! Don't lie! Eight elements? Impossible!"
"We won't fall for that innocent face! We're wise squirrels!"
The squirrels called bullshit. Mukhyang puffed her cheeks and waved her paws.
Subordinate Mukhyang's skill Spell of Eight has activated.
Whoosh.
Tangible mana blobs shot from her paws, floating in the air.
Mana turned to fire, then water.
Then ice, lightning, wood.
"..."
"..."
The squirrels who'd mocked her fell silent, transfixed.
To them, it was pure bliss.
Finally, the mana took on light, darkness, and spirit.
"...Squeak."
One squirrel knelt right there.
And that sparked it. All fifty dropped to their knees, bowing to Mukhyang.
"The primordial Tamias!"
"Bow! Bow!"
"We must tell the king!"
The leader trembled before Mukhyang.
"Forgive our ignorance of the legend. End our rudeness with my life..."
"Squeak?!"
Mukhyang startled at the suicide offer. Carpe stepped up.
"Hangi's too sweet to get mad over that. Instead, let us meet your king."
"Lady Hangi, the primordial legend, can of course see the king. But human..."
They'd upgraded Carpe to "sir," but still balked at him entering.
Carpe didn't give up. He opened inventory and dumped every acorn on the ground.
Thud thud thud!
"...Gasp! Such premium acorns!"
"E-elf cultivated?! Legend... legend!"
"Squeak... squeak!"
All eyes on the pile, Carpe said calmly,
"Any chance? I just wanna talk to the king."
"...Squeak. If you insist... I'll pull strings."
The leader squirrel pocketed a rolling acorn.
"But absolute rule: Non-magic users can't enter..."
"Oh, that's fine. I can use as many elements as Hangi."
"Worthy of the legend. Then you're good. Take this."
The leader handed over a round fruit.
Ding.
◈ Consumable
◈ Shrinks body for 48 hours. No changes to stats or skills.
"Oh? Neat."
Carpe examined it closely, even using Unlock, but no hidden functions—just as described.
He swallowed it, shrinking to squirrel size in a flash.
"Whoa, wild."
The world loomed huge now.
Mukhyang perked her ears, fascinated by her now-same-sized master.
-Hm. Same as miniaturization magic. Guess I should shrink too.
"Whoa, you can do that too?!"
-I'm a wall-phasing ghost. Piece of cake.
"Whoa, Master, you're tiny!"
"Guh! Ngh! Th-this!"
"Tina, why the fidgeting? Need the bathroom? Weird—you're a doll."
"Mirage! Such insolence! Retract it now!"
A brief commotion, but the group got kingdom entry.
Or almost.
"Regrettably, non-magic users can't enter. Absolute rule."
Tina, Gillian, Royard.
The three non-casters were barred. Already miniaturized, they panicked—especially Tina, face crumbling like the world ended.
"Unfair! Change the rule!"
"Can't. It's ancient law... Non-slaves can't enter without magic."
"Then fine! I'm my mage lord's vassal..."
"Vassal ≠ slave. Give up."
"Guh!"
Tina swallowed tears at their stubbornness.
The 10-Star Player's Lucky Draw