The Squirrel's Resolve
"By the way, now that I think about it, I can't take my squirrel friend with me, right?"
"Chirp?!"
The squirrel, tangled up and asleep with Baek Seol, suddenly jolts awake like an early bird on a mission. "Chirp—! Chirp chirp!"
The squirrel leaps to its feet and starts frantically explaining something, waving its tiny paws. It points toward the base of a massive tree and lets out a series of sharp chirps.
"The tree roots?"
"Chirp! Chirp."
The squirrel nods vigorously, then stretches its short arms out to draw a big circle in the air. With a bit of guesswork and body language, I start to get the gist.
"It's enormous?"
"Chirp."
"You mean the roots are huge?"
"Chirp."
The squirrel spreads its arms wide like wings and flaps them.
"Wings?"
"Chirp—! Chirp."
Seems like it. A giant tree, something massive, wings. Still not enough to go on.
"Chirp—! Chirp."
The squirrel keeps trying to explain, now mimicking eating something.
"Something with wings, huge, that eats tree roots? That's one fancy taste."
"Chirp…"
The squirrel grabs the back of its neck and sways dramatically. Clearly not what it meant.
"Queen ant? Chicken? Owl? Leopard?"
"Chirp."
While I keep throwing out random guesses, the squirrel excitedly points upward.
"There's an ant living in the tree?"
"Chirp! Chirp!"
"A chicken lives there?"
The squirrel bounces in place. "Chirp."
Apparently a chicken lives atop the giant tree. The conversation is spiraling into complete nonsense.
—Click, click.
"Haa… Fine. Let's say it's a big winged chicken. Does this chicken eat the roots?"
"Chirp…"
The squirrel grabs the back of its neck again and sways. At this rate it's going to develop high blood pressure.
"Did the chicken just happen to be there?"
"Chirp."
"Hmm."
Even one lucky guess is better than nothing, but when logic fails, you eliminate the impossible. This world is supposedly a game I've never played before. All I know is the name: Reach for the Moon.
"In this world, anything big with wings has to be a monster, right?"
"Chirp! Chirp."
"The only thing I've caught that looks like that is a dragon."
"Chirp—! Chirp."
The squirrel bounces again.
"Is it a dragon?"
"Chirp."
"Huh? No?"
"Chirp!"
The moment I say "dragon" it jumps, then immediately denies it. Probably something dragon-like.
"Is it bothering you?"
"Chirp!"
"The chicken at the top is bothering you too?"
"Chirp!"
"Hmm."
It doesn't sound like real pain—just constant annoyance.
"Sorry. I'm way too weak right now to take on anything dragon-ish."
"Chirp…"
The squirrel's fluffy tail droops.
"Want me to catch the chicken instead?"
"Chirp!"
Tap tap. The squirrel shakes its head hard and smacks my palm with its tail. Absolutely not.
"Is the chicken as strong as a dragon?"
"Chirp—"
"What kind of chicken is that?"
A giant tree. A dragon near the roots. If it really were a dragon, I'd think someone imported Yggdrasil from Norse myth, but this is clearly a game world. The setting could be completely scrambled. Besides, Norse mythology was never my thing.
"Chirp—! Chirp—!"
The squirrel lifts its nose and starts making weird noises.
"A pig…?"
"Chirp—"
The tiny squirrel hops on my palm. That's a yes.
"A winged pig? Did they base it on Nidhogg?"
"Chirp!"
"No? Then I give up."
What matters isn't whether it's a winged pig or a dragon—it's whether I can take this little guy with me. When I woke up, acorns and wildflowers had spilled from my clothes. These two must have played themselves to sleep. If I leave the friend I just made behind, Baek Seol will probably be sad.
"Do you want to come with me?"
"Chirp."
The squirrel wags its tail. When I stroke its forehead with a finger, it closes its eyes contentedly.
"What about the tree you lived in?"
"Chirp— Chirp."
It points at the giant tree it came from, glances back once, then looks at me again.
"Me? I'm not a tree."
"Chirp chirp!"
"Eating acorns doesn't make an oak tree grow inside me."
"Chirp…"
This little guy is surprisingly expressive.
"Hmm. Life with me is going to be pretty chaotic. You sure?"
"Chirp."
"There'll be lots of dangerous moments too."
"Chirp—! Chirp!"
"Haha, you'll protect me?"
"Chirp."
Crackle—!
"Mommy?!"
The squirrel raises its stubby arms and suddenly discharges electricity. Same thing happened when it fell from the sky. I hadn't imagined it.
"A zappy squirrel, huh?"
"Chirp!"
"Sorry, but I can't take you with me right now."
"Chirp?"
If I return immediately, the squirrel won't be there. The only method that comes to mind is how I summoned Baek Seol. Even Baek Seol couldn't move with me at first. Only after signing a contract during the practical summoning class at Wisdom Academy did it become possible. Without a scroll bearing a magic circle, I can't do anything. Drawing one myself is out of the question.
"Summoning magic is not merely a one-way passage. It is a large-scale composite spell that transmits the summoner and summoned's attributes and personalities before establishing a contract. Scholars divide this process into five stages—Gung, Sang, Gak, Chi, and U—and arrange them in rows. So stop dozing off and pay attention, Han Ga-eul."
"Ugh… My head…"
Just thinking about the complicated magic circle gives me a headache.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
"No, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt. I just couldn't remember the summoning spell."
"Chirp."
"Thanks for worrying."
I pet the squirrel and its fluffy tail wags happily.
"The place I live is really far away. To stay together I'd need a summoning scroll, and I don't have one."
"Chirp…"
"I know where to get one, so don't worry too much. Want me to give you a name first?"
"Chirp— Chirp."
"Hmm. You've got pretty brown stripes and a warm barley color, so…"
"Chirp."
"Barley?"
"Chirp, chirp…?"
The squirrel's tail droops instantly. Ratatoskr couldn't help but recall the story it had heard while playing tree-decorating games with Baek Seol. How it had almost become salt and sugar. Fortunately Han Ga-eul actually listened to other people's stories, and had told it to speak up clearly if that situation ever arose again.
"Chirp!"
"You don't like Barley? Isn't it cute?"
"Chirp chirp!"
"Hmm, electric… rice cooker? Should I go with Kong-barley?"
"Chirp…"
A crisis in the squirrel's life had arrived. Ratatoskr quickly turned to its friend for help, but that friend was already fast asleep.
—Boom!
The crude wooden door bursts open and a man rushes inside. He has unusually long dark-green hair and pointed ears.
"Huff! Huff! Elder!!"
The moment he bursts in, the conversation inside stops.
"What is it, Doriel Kella."
The usually gentle elf elder addresses him by his full clan name. It is his way of showing anger, yet Doriel pays no attention and scans the room frantically.
"It's an emergency, Elders!"
"Doriel, calm down first and speak."
Another elder seated nearby gently scolds him. The house is shabby, built entirely of wood, but the people gathered here are anything but ordinary. They are the elf elders who manage the great village's affairs.
"Haa… Haa…"
Doriel catches his breath, bent over, then lifts his head.
"The World Tree's 'Regeneration' is packing to leave the nest!"
Crash!!
The moment Doriel finishes, the seated elders leap to their feet. His words are that shocking.
"Is the information reliable, Doriel?"
"Yes! The ranger unit on patrol reported it!"
The usually stern elf elders' conference room instantly falls into chaos.
"Doriel, this isn't because we doubt you. Did the report really say that?"
At the head elder's repeated question, Doriel nods deeply.
"It appears it went out briefly and was seen collecting its favorite acorns into leaves."
A female elder listening to the report clutches her head and collapses to the floor.
"…"
The head elder, who had been listening with a grave expression, seems to have lost his words and stares silently into space. Even so, Doriel has to continue his report.
"Furthermore, we confirmed that Regeneration's cheek pouches have five fewer leaves than usual."
"This is bad… Without Regeneration, the World Tree's growth will leave only destruction and gluttony. The triangular cycle of coexistence will collapse…"
Even without the head elder finishing, the other elders already know what comes next.
"Doriel. Declare a state of emergency. Summon the armed forces immediately. We must stop Regeneration from leaving."
「I met you in the autumn when maple leaves fall, so how about Dan-pung?」
「Chirp!」
「You like it? Alright, Dan-pung. I'll call you later, so pack anything you want to bring.」
「Chirp!」
「Aww, you're so good.」
├─ Growth Management ✓
├─ Ecosystem Creation ✓
├─ Guardian Wind ✓
├─ Song of Nature ✓
├─ Thunder ✓
├─ Lightning Strike ✓
├─ Flash ✓
├─ Lightning Flash ✓
├─ Overload ★
└─ Wrath of the Thunder God ★
"Chirp— Chirp♪ Chirp—♬"
「This kid sure talks a lot.」
"Chirp♡"
6★ Ultra Rare
Type: Thunder / Wood
Peach☆ — Just 1-star