< Chapter 103: An Unexpected Encounter (1) >
“Don’t struggle for no reason, White Tiger. If you fall, it’ll be a big problem.”
Goldie is flying for a while thanks to Heavenly Wings, holding White Tiger in his arms. The place where nature ascends is an aerial relic site, so if you don’t have a means of flying, you can’t even enter.
“Meow.”
“Meow~”
Perhaps it’s because Goldie is tightly holding her. White Tiger smiles with a face that seems truly happy. I was worried she might not like being in my arms, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about.
After about 10 more minutes of flying, we finally arrived at our destination.
“Wow.”
It’s impressive.
After setting down Goldie and White Tiger, I took a good look around. The scenery looks as though it’s made from intertwined branches—truly dreamlike. It’s certain; this is the entrance to the place where nature ascends.
“Let’s go inside.”
We took steps towards the inside of the relic site.
* * *
The relic site expedition was proceeding smoothly. So smoothly, in fact, that I had nothing to do.
“…Aren’t you two too competent?”
At my words, Goldie and White Tiger, who had returned to their original sizes, turned their heads towards me simultaneously.
“No, you’re doing fine.”
Too fine, actually. I’m just bored because of it.
“Grunt.”
Goldie gives a slight smile, and White Tiger smirks.
“You, White Tiger…”
That expression seemed to say, ‘useless guy.’ When Goldie’s gaze shifted towards White Tiger, White Tiger’s expression changed instantly to an innocent smile.
“?”
Goldie looks back at me, tilting his head, as if unsure of what just happened.
Wow, creepy. Seriously, look at that fox-like tiger.
…Is White Tiger’s ‘ho’ not a tiger (虎) but actually a fox (狐)? [ Baekho ]
“Enough, let’s just continue.”
I waved my hand. Goldie and White Tiger turned their bodies and moved forward. I also followed along at a brisk pace.
The monsters appearing in this relic site are called ‘Sky Bugs.’ Various types of insect-like monsters that parasitize on trees.
Their sizes are slightly smaller than a human. Their combat strength matches individuals ranked C~D among the superhumans.
At least 5 of them or sometimes even dozens swarm together, making them somewhat difficult adversaries.
“…Huh. Not really.”
Yeah, not really.
“Roaaaar!”
With one swing of Goldie’s front paw, each one shattered into pieces and dispersed into thin air.
“Grunt.”
White Tiger added to it. Whenever she sprays magical energy with a disgusted expression, three of them burn up and disappear.
The strategy for the past hour was a repetition of this.
“By the way, White Tiger, you handle the Vermilion Bird’s flame quite well, don’t you?”
At my compliment, White Tiger smirked happily.
Due to a previous event, White Tiger, who came to possess the favor of the Four Divine Beasts, also acquired the traits of the other three beings.
Originally, she should have gone berserk long ago, but thanks to the dragon race’s trait ‘Guardian’s Contract,’ she miraculously stabilized.
Vermilion Bird’s Flame. Blue Dragon’s keen vision. Black Tortoise’s defense.
These are the traits of the other three beings that White Tiger possesses so far.
She’s already using the Vermilion Bird’s flame. Her odd-eyed pupils are evidence of the Blue Dragon’s keen vision.
Lastly, the Black Tortoise’s defense. I was extremely surprised to see it. Who would have thought she would use the Black Tortoise’s carapace like that?
“Grunt!”
A Sky Bug, smashed by Goldie’s front paw, becomes flesh and blood, flying towards White Tiger.
If it goes on like this, he’ll get splattered with disgusting blood. Although it wouldn’t be an injury, White Tiger seemed annoyed by even that and chose another method.
Ping-!
A black carapace materialized in the trajectory of the flying corpse. The carapace perfectly blocked the corpse. Not a single drop of blood splashed onto White Tiger’s body.
“Really a waste.”
Just to block flesh and blood, she used the Black Tortoise’s carapace.
Anyway, as we saw just now, White Tiger can form the carapace not just on his skin but also in thin air.
Of course, absorbing the favor isn’t all advantageous. White Tiger’s inherent speed has become a bit problematic.
The speed near the speed of light that I saw when we first met can no longer be seen after the berserk incident. Probably, her original strength weakened as a trade-off for stabilizing the other three beings’ favors.
Well, she was pretty weakened when dealing with the berserk favor, too.
Still, I think she’ll regain his original speed as time passes. The Guardian’s Contract is still making White Tiger grow, after all.
If Goldie and White Tiger collaborate, I think they could take on a superhuman ranked within the top 100 S-rank. A fully matured Goldie would have grown even stronger. As long as they follow a good compatibility, it should be possible.
At some point, Goldie and White Tiger, who had finished dealing with the Sky Bugs, walked up to me with a waddle.
“Good job.”
I lightly patted both of their heads. Even White Tiger has come to accept this much readily. It’s a good thing.
Anyway, the relic site expedition was going very smoothly.
* * *
That night.
We had set up a makeshift tent at one of the ruins and were taking a rest.
Goldie and White Tiger were already asleep. They’re curled up together in one sleeping bag, sleeping very well.
I was lost in thought, nibbling on some preserved food next to them.
“What on earth did he say?”
I was thinking about a dream I had last week. Specifically, the last conversation I had with my brother, Shin, during a drinking session.
His earnest face as he said he had a favor to ask still lingered in my eyes.
“Did I really accept this soul transference willingly?”
Let’s assume that’s the case for now.
Why would I have accepted Shin’s preposterous proposal?
Did I think it was absurd and accept it nonchalantly?
“No.”
Having seen Shin’s desperate expression, I wouldn’t have taken it lightly. I’ll discard this hypothesis for now.
Then what?
“Was there an urgent reason I couldn’t refuse?”
Could it be that I couldn’t bring myself to refuse because Shin’s request was too desperate? I shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
I’ve been pondering this issue whenever I have time for a week now, but I can’t find an answer.
“I should not have woken up at that moment.”
If I had seen the rest of the dream, I wouldn’t be having these worries now.
“Sigh.”
The more I thought about it, the more my frustration grew.
Why on earth did I end up in this world inside a novel?
* * *
Meanwhile, at that time, Yu Hwa was on the phone with Maiden.
“I’m dying here. I wish I had two more hands.”
Maiden’s complaint echoed through the phone.
“Same here. Our guild is in the stage of growing its size, so we’re severely understaffed.”
Both businesswomen were lamenting their lack of rest time.
“How’s the development of the new sealing technique going?”
“Well, it’s tricky. I can’t give you a definite answer yet.”
Maiden is developing a new sealing technique that can completely counter the seals of the “Saviors of Truth” engraved on the materials going into the main stadium for the national tournament. This was something Kang Seo-yul had asked Maiden to do.
“I think it’ll be done by the time the event starts. It’s not like we have no answer.”
“That’s a relief.”
Yu Hwa let out a sigh of relief.
“How about you? How’s your spying on the committee going?”
“Um. About half are definitely aligned with the Black faction. The other half are in the Gray.”
“Sounds ambiguous.”
“Indeed.”
Both of them chuckled.
“Be careful not to get caught while investigating. It’ll be a headache if they catch on.”
“I know.”
“Good. Covert operations are your specialty, so I trust you.”
“You think covert operations are my specialty? What’s so covert about it?”
“Ah, the hidden hobby of a top-tier guild master—’covert operations.'”
“Enough. Let’s drop the subject.”
“Heh.”
Their conversation went on for a while.
“So, is that kid in Gangneung today?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, we’re stuck inside dealing with paperwork, sealing techniques, and investigations, and the person in question is out and about.”
“I doubt he’s just playing around. He must have some important business there.”
“Yeah, right. As if that workaholic would be out just for fun. I was just saying. I’m just jealous he’s out and about.”
“I wish I could have a day off too.”
“Oh, by the way, how’s your security detail?”
“I’ve got it covered. At home and the office… I even hired personal security.”
“That’s not enough. I’ll send over some equipment, so install it at your office and home.”
“I think this should be sufficient though…”
“Listen. Our opponents are those Saviors of Truth. Who knows what they’ll do? And they’ve targeted you as a priority. Do you think ‘this should be sufficient?’ Are noodles tangled in your brain or what?”
Maiden’s words were harsh, but knowing they stemmed from concern, Yu Hwa couldn’t respond.
“Anyway, just do as I say. There’s no such thing as ‘sufficient’ when it comes to security. Got it?”
* * *
The next day.
We woke up at dawn and continued our assault on the ancient ruins.
Monsters appearing in the central area were stronger, and there were threatening traps here and there.
But it was all in vain.
A little strength was no threat to Goldie and White Tiger, and the traps were useless against their excellent senses.
Comfortable.
So this is a limousine bus.
All I’ve done since entering these ruins is pet Goldie and White Tiger and prepare meals for them.
Ah, I also strolled leisurely.
After 6 hours of assault, we finally reached the innermost part of the ancient ruins.
“Wow, looks like it burns well.”
The guardian of this place is a tree—a living, giant Ent that mutated into a Chimera Ent due to parasitism by Sky Bugs.
“Go, White Tiger! Flamethrower!”
Tree + bug. Anyone could see that this combination is weak against fire.
White Tiger scrunched up its face and reluctantly breathed fire.
Whoosh—
The flames caught onto the body of the Chimera Ent. Fire was indeed its weakness.
“Next is Goldie! Petrify!”
Goldie, following my will, charged at the lower part of the Chimera Ent.
Boom—
The Chimera Ent, already disoriented by the flames, couldn’t counter Goldie’s attack.
But it quickly recovered and extended its branches to strike at Goldie. A rather agile attack.
However, it was no match for Goldie’s physical abilities.
“Grrr!”
Goldie easily dodged and lunged in for a second body blow.
This time, the Chimera Ent started to tip over completely.
White Tiger took the opportunity to breathe fire once more.
Whoosh—
The flames grew fiercer on the Chimera Ent.
“Wow, the ride is so smooth.”
At this rate, the Chimera Ent will just become food for these two tigers and disintegrate.
“But still, for the last part…”
But my conscience couldn’t let me do nothing until the end. I transformed Cheonbyeon into a bow.
I cast my most powerful attack: Wind Flower Spiral Arrow.
“Both of you, dodge!”
I pulled the bowstring and shouted. Goldie and White Tiger quickly moved out of the way.
Whizz—
Whoosh—
Wind and fire combined into a swirling vortex.
About 3 seconds later, I shot the arrow at the fallen Chimera Ent.
Bang—
That was the end. A massive hole was blown through the center of the Chimera Ent.
All that remained was the dust in the trajectory of the arrow that penetrated through to the wall.
“Whew.”
I whistled. The power of this technique should be acknowledged.
The struggling movements of the Chimera Ent stopped completely. It was dead.
“The end.”
Quite an anticlimactic finale, but then again, this wasn’t a high-level ruin. It was just hard to find.
“Now, let’s collect the relic and go.”
At my words, both Goldie and White Tiger nodded. Especially White Tiger, who seemed very eager to go home.
We passed the body of the Chimera Ent and entered the innermost chamber where the relic was stored.
There was a small bracelet on the altar inside.
“Warped Balance.”
A bracelet that appeared dozens of times in the original work. It symbolizes the fury against the decay of nature and has quite destructive abilities.
In the original, it was used by the traitorous elf Leodanis, and it was pretty much his symbol. I can’t even begin to describe how much trouble he caused the protagonist.
“Jackpot.”
But now, the chance for that traitor to spread his wings is gone. I put the bracelet into the ‘Artisan’s Portable Forge.’
“Perfect.”
I get stronger, and the enemies get weaker. Truly perfect.
“Guys, let’s go.”
I turned to look at Goldie and White Tiger. Something was strange.
“What are you guys doing?”
Suddenly transformed into their kitty modes, both tigers were intently staring at a certain spot on one of the walls inside the chamber.
“?”
As if there was something.
< Chapter 103: An Unexpected Encounter (1) > The end.
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