NOVEL WEB Chapter 143
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Euna had brought herself to the Fantasy World and while waiting for Hong Yu-ri and Baek So-yul, the Wolf packed a few necessary items.
“Kkyu.”
Finally, when it was time to set off, I could see the two of them arriving on time with their backpacks. A few others were also there to see them off.
“Are we finally departing?”
I nodded at Kang Tae-jun’s question. Square—the last bastion of humanity and a sacred place for mages.
It was also the main reason for the destruction of Europe, and because of that, the temple of war was a group engaged in stopping the diseases and plagues that were gnashing their teeth.
Therefore, we needed to get close to Europe. More specifically, to the border where the diseases and plagues were spreading. Square should be not far from there. Just as if he read my thoughts, Kang Tae-jun spoke up.
“We should be able to get to China by airport. The problem is…”
The annoying procedures. And could we fully hide the Wolf while making our way to the airport—and afterwards, move carefully so as not to get caught, he meant to say, but the Wolf tilted its head.
“Why do we have to go that way?”
“What?”
With a reaction that seemed to ask what that noise was, the Wolf gestured towards the Fairy, and Hong Yu-ri seemed to realize something late and exclaimed.
“Aren’t we actually going to Square?”
If that’s the case, there’s no need to use the airport. We could just travel through the Fantasy World and come back to the real world afterward. This way, there wouldn’t be any fear of getting caught. Those guarding the borders? There’s no way they would be in the Fantasy World. It means we can casually roam around. I’ve heard stories but since Kang Tae-jun had never been to the Fantasy World, he looked at Hong Yu-ri, and she soon nodded.
“Yes. It should be… possible.”
It was almost like she was questioning why she hadn’t thought of such an obvious thing.
“…That’s good to hear.”
The Wolf nodded at that remark.
After finishing our farewells with the send-off crew, the moment we moved to the Fantasy World, the Wolf shook its body and revealed its true form. The little puppy disappeared, and soon there stood Marang with black fur on all fours. For a moment, Hong Yu-ri shivered reflexively, but having fought alongside the Volcano Ceratops, she didn’t feel a new wave of fear now.
Baek So-yul, who had been looking grumpy since morning, brushed the Wolf’s fur. Standing at 2 meters tall—it wasn’t easy to mount, but as if it were no big deal, the Wolf extended a tentacle, and before she could say “Huh?”, she was already sitting atop its back.
“We’ll take off now.”
As the two held tightly onto the fur, the Wolf coiled a tentacle around their waist as if fastening a seatbelt, and off they went—finally crossing the border.
‘Honestly, I wanted to go via the sea route.’
Having the amphibious capability was fine alone, but not for Hong Yu-ri and Baek So-yul. It wouldn’t be easy to cover the distance which would exceed 300 km, even at the shortest route. Even if they created footholds and ran, they would likely run out of magic power first.
As they crossed the border, it wasn’t long after that a brief sigh escaped.
‘Finding the road won’t be easy.’
Since they couldn’t use their phones in the Fantasy World. They had come this far, but the problem began from here.
“Can we find the direction?”
With that, they pulled a map from the backpack, but finding a road nearby would be tricky. A land of ruins. Although North Korea existed as a nation, it had continually walked the path of decline. They were barely holding on, having abandoned a significant portion of their territory, meaning that there were many areas that had become ruins.
“We can just follow the coastline, right?”
As if questioning why that was even in doubt, but truthfully, it was their inner feeling that they wanted to avoid wasting even that much distance. Eventually, without any sharp methods, they ran for quite a while until they reached the border between China and North Korea, visible along the western coastline.
“Let’s take a short break.”
As they took a brief rest in front of the Yalu River, Baek So-yul, looking around, asked with an unusual expression.
“…But where are the summoned beasts? I haven’t seen a single one since a while ago.”
Before crossing the border, it wasn’t difficult to see the summoned beasts. But for some reason, none were to be seen at all. Borders are a man-made concept, and they were in the Fantasy World, so it shouldn’t matter at all…
“……”
There was no White Deer to answer that question. But the Wolf could know.
‘So that was it.’
When they heard the truth from the system and came to meet the queen, the White Deer had indeed said, ‘I thought he had returned.’ That “he” was likely the purple Black Tiger. A creature that, even in the original story, they could hardly hope to defeat. Even though Sang Se-hyeok had not met the purple Black Tiger directly and could only imagine from the descriptions…
‘A monster that humanity has given up on.’
There were several monsters that were deemed impossible to defeat, and one of them was the purple Black Tiger. Even though not all questions were answered, one thing was certain.
‘That guy was from the Fantasy World.’
That much they could tell for sure. The lingering remnants felt clear—even if it wasn’t magic power or a smell. They had not met the guy, yet somehow they just knew he had been in the Fantasy World.
What exactly had happened, they did not know, but there was no doubt that the summoned beasts were avoiding him out of fear…
***
“How far do we have to run?”
Right now, where Square was located—the line of defense against diseases and plagues was currently in Iran, Hong Yu-ri replied.
“We should at least leave China. Before that, it might be better to go back and look.”
“Iran…”
Baek So-yul murmured with a peculiar expression.
“Thinking about it, this will be my first time going abroad.”
Well, in this world, it wasn’t easy to go abroad. Just as she nodded, an arm wrapped around her neck. As if feeling relieved, she closed her eyes and leaned her weight against them.
“…Hey, what are you doing?”
Hong Yu-ri frowned at the sudden action, and Baek So-yul straightened up.
“Ah… I’m sorry. The teacher is here too.”
In that moment, Hong Yu-ri snorted in disbelief. The apology seemed genuine, but that wasn’t what she was trying to point out.
“Kkyuu!”
As she was about to raise that point, the Fairy flapped its wings as if claiming that spot. The moment Baek So-yul stepped aside, it folded its wings and landed, and Hong Yu-ri shook her head while staring at Baek So-yul.
“…Are you ready to leave?”
With a seemingly displeased attitude—upon Hong Yu-ri’s words, they finished their break and got seated back on the Wolf.
As they had been running all day, they managed to reach the Himalayas after crossing the border.
“…You’re fast.”
“What do you plan to do now?”
Are they going to rest or just keep going? After a moment of thought, Hong Yu-ri soon answered.
“I think it would be comforting to go quickly?”
She glanced back at Baek So-yul, but he didn’t seem too fatigued either. Though he wasn’t a Hunter yet, as an Academy student, his stamina was different from an average person.
Thinking it would be alright, they began running again to cross the mountain range but stopped shortly after.
“…A monster?”
A monster that was visibly there in the Fantasy World. Despite having spent quite some time in the Fantasy World, this was their first time seeing a monster outside a dungeon.
But on second thought, it wasn’t that strange. After having moved a fair distance away from Baekdusan, summoned beasts did start appearing here and there, but finding and clearing a dungeon deep within such a mountain range wouldn’t be easy.
[Lesser Frost Troll]
[Height 2.71m] [Weight 419kg]
[Strength 295] [Agility 244] [Stamina 278]
[Skills]
[Weak Regeneration (F)]
—But that ultimately had no meaning. Just as the Shadow was about to pass by, Hong Yu-ri gripped my fur tightly.
“Wait a minute.”
At her words, the Shadow paused briefly. Turning toward the typical troll covered in snow, she gestured toward Baek So-yul.
Meaning to take it down—Baek So-yul nodded in agreement.
Thinking about it, she had never defeated a monster. What she did in the Frost Valley was merely confirming the kills of monsters that would have died regardless. This was going to be her first direct monster battle. Maybe she intended to test her skills. Taking a deep breath, Baek So-yul hid behind a tree.
‘If it’s at that level…’
Considering it was her first real encounter, it was quite an appropriate opponent. She should be able to bring it down with relative ease.
As she slowly distanced herself, she began spell chanting, and at that moment, Hong Yu-ri spoke up.
“Hey.”
Though her voice was small, almost muttering, it was clear she was trying to keep it from the Frost Troll. Soon, with a blank expression, Hong Yu-ri asked again.
“What happened yesterday?”
“……?”
Meeting her crimson gaze, I tilted my head.
“That one. He went out for a little while at dawn, so you must have visited him, right?”
There was no need to deny that. I nodded my head.
“Yeah.”
“…What did you say?”
I hadn’t said much. Just that I was going to Square, and I had replied in kind that I was going to Square too. To that, Hong Yu-ri frowned intensely.
“Is that all?”
Her head tilted with a puzzled expression. Just as she was about to ask something else, she suddenly shouted.
“Lanț de flacără!”
Fiery chains. In an instant, the chains that closed the gap rattled as they attempted to wrap around the troll, and the monster reacted. —It reacted, but it was a beat too late. To be exact, the chains she conjured were enormous. The troll writhed in agony as it got ensnared and couldn’t break free.
As the snow covering its body evaporated, while the creature struggled, Baek So-yul began chanting another spell as if to take its breath away.
“Fereastra de gheață—”
Like the chains, a massive ice spear materialized in the air poured out with magic. Without any hint of hesitation, Baek So-yul reached out, and the Frost Troll, caught in the flaming chains, could do nothing but take its last breath. At that, Hong Yu-ri nodded, and I looked at her in surprise.
I had expected a hint of hesitation, but there was absolutely no trace of that. Was it because of the nature of this world? Monsters are humanity’s enemies—just like how Baek So-yul also viewed it as an Academy student; it might’ve been only natural for her.
While I was having such thoughts, Hong Yu-ri clicked her tongue.
“Tsk. Let’s talk about this later.”
With nothing more to say… I nodded and began moving again with the two of them seated on the Wolf.
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