NOVEL WEB Chapter 13 - The Quick-footed Tiger
< Chapter 13: The Quick-footed Tiger >
Meanwhile, when a small beast was rolling around in the cave, talking in its sleep…
A great commotion was taking place at the Bloodmoon Territory near the Verdant Grove.
“Has the nature of the flame been identified?”
“We’re sending people to investigate. According to the chief magician…”
“Count!!”
Count Friedrich of Bloodmoon turned his head at the voice he heard.
The man running towards him, kicking up a cloud of dust, had an impressive thick neck and trapezius muscles. It was Albert, the captain of the knights.
With a swift motion, Albert reached the count, paying his respects before speaking with a grave expression.
“It seems the situation is dire.”
“Hmm?”
Albert briefly reported what he had witnessed.
It was about the corpses of goblins scattered deep in the Verdant Grove and the traces left around them.
“The number of slaughtered goblins is about a hundred. We found this parchment there.”
“This is…”
“After the magicians investigated, it is presumed to belong to the shaman Skrillzhak.”
What? Skrillzhak?
Friedrich also examined other items handed over by Albert.
Blood-stained clothes and a broken staff.
The roughly torn clothes had the goblins’ characteristic foul odor and strange bone powder on them.
Cursed bone powder, used by goblin shamans as a medium for their shamanism.
That means…
“Skrillzhak was taken down?”
“Yes. It seems he was defeated by that monster that spewed flames.”
“Then…!”
The count’s expression turned serious.
Skrillzhak had been a troublesome foe that had tormented Bloodmoon for decades.
A mutant that organized goblins and used tactics similar to an army.
He was a nuisance because he strategized with intelligence rather than relying solely on personal strength.
He was elusive and always managed to escape, making every subjugation attempt fail.
But this mutant was subjugated not by humans, but by a monster?
“That monster must be a mutant as well.”
“Yes. There were two sets of footprints left. One seemed like that of a raptor such as a falcon, and the other…”
Albert spoke to the count with a tense face.
“It was larger than an ogre.”
“What? Is that true?”
“I saw it clearly with my own eyes.”
At the captain’s heavy reply, the count’s face hardened coldly.
An ogre is a giant monster with a minimum height of 2 meters and can reach up to nearly 5 meters.
But to find a monster larger than that?
Moreover, it was a powerful mutant capable of massacring goblins, including Skrillzhak.
The situation was worse than expected.
What if that creature grew stronger and invaded the territory?
The count quickly made his decision.
He had to find the creature, no matter what.
And, he had to kill it.
“It’s big, so it couldn’t have gotten far.”
“Yes. Currently, the reconnaissance team is in pursuit. But…”
The knight commander lowered his head with a troubled expression.
“The tracks have disappeared.”
“Do you mean it erased its tracks?”
“I don’t know. Even the footprints of the large raptor disappeared at some point.”
“Hmm.”
Friedrich looked at the Verdant Grove with a worried expression.
The tracks disappeared? How could that be? Could it have fled without leaving any traces with that huge body?
“Any traces of magic?”
“Well, the magicians are searching, but…”
Unless it was a dragon, it wouldn’t have used teleportation, a feat even great magicians struggle to perform.
“Hmm?”
Friedrich, sorting out the situation with a few clues, muttered unconsciously.
It was a word that naturally came out as he recalled the image of the flames that had risen in the sky.
“Phoenix…?”
“Excuse me?”
Come to think of it, he had heard of it before.
Phoenix.
It was a tale of a mythical beast that existed only in legends, like dragons.
Although it was considered an even more absurd legend than that of warriors or dragons, such an existence could explain the enormous wave of magical power that dyed the sky red.
“…Albert, were there any traces of scorching nearby?”
“……!!”
Albert, realizing the count’s intent, widened his eyes and nodded.
“Th-there were!”
“Perhaps…”
“But, my lord?”
Albert looked at the count, unable to utter his next words.
It was a look that could be interpreted as ‘Are you serious in this critical situation?’
The count laughed wryly, knowing this.
However, humans were inherently subjective in their judgments.
Friedrich, in particular, had a strong tendency for this.
Once he got fixated on something, there was no stopping him.
“If there was a phoenix there… perhaps that large monster would have been reduced to ashes.”
“My lord. But a phoenix… Anyway, I will continue to track the creature’s traces.”
“……”
Albert sighed lightly and nodded as he met the count’s unwavering gaze.
“……Then we should be able to find traces of the phoenix as well.”
“Good.”
Albert shook his head at the sight of the count’s eyes sparkling.
His somewhat irreverent attitude was possible because of his close relationship with the count.
Albert thought, our count is chasing after another pipe dream.
Perhaps because he had once spectacularly ruined a business venture, Friedrich never let even the slightest possibility slip by when he smelled money.
But, my friend…
‘Phoenix, huh…’
What kind of nonsense was this, like talking about a dragon’s heart?
Ah, it brought back memories.
The memory of Friedrich fleeing from the castle and hiding in his house after losing 1,000 pounds.
‘Sigh.’
Why is it that you never change?
Such consistency is endearing, really.
Still, what could be done?
There was nothing else that came to mind other than a phoenix.
Now, Albert was fated to comb through the Verdant Grove like a fine-toothed comb in search of a phoenix egg that probably didn’t even exist.
For the sake of friendship, for the duty of a knight.
At least the silver lining was that this time, even if he failed, he wouldn’t be driven out.
After all, Albert intended to find and kill the monster before looking for the phoenix egg.
*Sigh,* once again, I am the only one who genuinely cares about protecting Bloodmoon!
Albert swallowed his tears inside.
But really, would great fortune visit Bloodmoon this year?
Moments later, he received an absurd report from a magician.
“My lord, Count! The chief magician read the ‘Memory of the Earth’ and…!”
“Hmm!!”
Friedrich, tense, read the magician’s report, while Albert watched him without much thought.
Then.
“Indeed!”
Friedrich showed the report to Albert with a triumphant smile.
“The earth’s heralds have rejected the magic.”
“……??”
“What do you think this means! It means the creature is so fearsome that even the heralds are trembling in fear!”
Albert blinked blankly. Indeed, that was what the report said.
[The potential left in the earth did not permit the memory.]
He couldn’t understand the meaning, but it roughly meant the magic had failed.
Wait. What? Then…
Was it really a phoenix?
With a solemn face, Friedrich issued his command.
“Order all the territories to keep silent about what happened in the night sky! This information must not leak! And Albert!”
“…Yes!”
Friedrich spoke to him with eyes full of trust.
“I trust you.”
“…!”
Albert let out a small laugh and nodded seriously.
“I will definitely find the phoenix egg and return.”
With this, Albert, the commander of the Bloodmoon Knights, also became earnest in searching for the ‘phoenix egg.’
“Let’s go!”
“Yes!!”
When he took a few swift knights and soldiers back to the Verdant Grove…
.
.
.
“Growl… grrr…”
A young beast sprawled out like a human on the bear skin.
.
.
.
And in the dark forests of various regions far from the Verdant Grove,
“Advance!”
An army of goblins set out to hunt the hatchling.
Their target was, of course,
the Verdant Grove.
* * *
“Growl!”
I stretched after a sweet slumber.
Oh, maybe it was because I had gained a flexible body? The stretching felt extraordinary.
I could feel my entire skeleton and muscle fibers tightening and loosening. As I focused on the sensation, I could also feel the wild nature dwelling within me.
The wild nature was located not in the danjeon below my navel, but in my heart. Why was that? Maybe it was because I was a tiger.
Anyway, it didn’t matter much. I imagined gathering and gently spreading that wild nature.
The impatient wild nature, with just a little nudge, spread throughout my body in an instant, filling me with vigorous energy. However, as that energy traveled up my spine to the Baihui point on top of my head, my mind was engulfed by the wild nature, and a growling sound involuntarily emanated from my mouth.
As the wild nature spread to my very bones, I wondered if this was what going berserk felt like. While I pondered this, a majestic energy cleared my mind.
Yep, that’s my spiritual essence.
Did you come alone?
The wild nature sheepishly retreated and descended from the Baihui point. But as it flowed in the opposite direction from where it came, it reached the Renzhong point (near the lips) in a human.
If a martial arts master saw this, they would have clapped and exclaimed, “The Ren and Du meridians have opened!”
It meant that from my tailbone, up my spine, through the top of my head, and down past my lips to my heart and then my lower vital areas, it was all connected in a circle.
‘……?’
As someone who once dreamed of being a writer, I had a question. Shouldn’t this be enough to become a master or undergo rebirth?
The question naturally resolved itself.
Yep, you’re a tiger now.
Ah, I see. Tigers are strong because their Ren and Du meridians are naturally connected and influenced by the wild nature from birth.
It seemed I wasn’t affected much because I was born with a human mind and my wild nature was weak.
“Purr.”
I completed a ‘small circulation’ as I finished my thoughts.
This wasn’t a breathing technique passed down as a family heirloom in the tiger family.
‘What? This actually works?’
I marveled at the fact that I could control my wild nature so precisely. It seemed like the wild nature gathered near my heart had slightly increased as well.
However, I realized what I had just done was somewhat different from the usual martial arts breathing techniques I imagined. If it had been a real ‘proper breathing technique,’ surely a skill or clue would have appeared.
「……」
The system was silent.
But this time, even without the system’s notification, I knew what I had done.
It was ‘Contemplation.’
I focused my mind and fully felt each of my cells.
‘The effect of spiritual essence is this potent.’
It was then that I truly recognized my body was not ‘human’ but a ‘tiger.’ The meridian points I had diligently studied for writing martial arts novels only applied when I was human. But sometimes, like catching a mouse by accident, a genius tiger could gain enlightenment even while stretching in the morning.
「Understanding of ‘Beast’s Body’ has increased.」
Seeing the message on my status window, I nodded. Indeed, spiritual essence was a tremendous power. If I continued to contemplate my body and practice breathing, I might eventually acquire a proper breathing technique.
“Growl!”
How exhilarating! The life of a genius tiger was always new!
As I was testing my heightened senses and wild nature, I noticed something unusual about the Steelhide Bear’s cave. It didn’t seem entirely natural; it had something artificial about it.
Why did I think that?
[ᛊᚢ ᛚᛁᛚ ᛃᚨᚷ ᚢᛁ ᚢᚾ ᛊᛁᚾ ᚳᛖ]
Because there were strange characters written on the wall.
They looked impossible to decipher at first glance.
But who was I?
I, the owner of the status window.
I focused my wild nature sharply on the letters.
[Skrillzhak’s Hideout]
What?!
A hideout?
That old goblin!
He had been hiding here all along?!
The audacity!
Then I had a sudden realization.
If this was Skrillzhak’s hideout, could there be treasures stashed away?
He was a ‘shaman,’ a being akin to a magician.
And magicians’ homes were typically filled with valuables.
Oh! In that case?
‘Didn’t I already eat Skrillzhak?’
So, his possessions should now be mine, right?
Thank you, Skrillzhak. You were a goblin who gave generously.
With a cheerful heart, I began to closely examine the surroundings. Soon, I discovered a suspicious mechanism and pressed it firmly with my paw.
The mechanism responded with a click, and a hidden compartment opened, revealing various items inside.
I pressed the mechanism hidden on the floor, not in a high place as expected of a goblin, and miraculously, the inscription on the wall changed.
[Enter the password]
What? A password?
Damn, such a petty goblin.
It set up a password?
‘If that’s the case, then I’m screwed…’
I used my primal instincts to input numbers from 0 to 9, then sighed deeply.
‘How would I know the goblin language!’
Damn goblins!
Then suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
With a ‘No way, really?’ feeling, I typed in that word.
It was the only word I could use.
Ding.
[Welcome.]
Then the cave vibrated slightly, and a passageway leading inward opened.
Wow, it actually worked?
I felt a thrill from guessing the password correctly and shook my head at the goblin’s obsession.
‘Skrillzhak, you really are something. Anyway, I’ll take good care of your treasure!’
I wrapped Brother Beak’s egg and my body tightly in bear fur and crawled inside.
By the way, the password was…
[Genius Skrillzhak].
I just typed the phrase that appeared on the status window.
[ᚳᛖᚾ ᛃᚨ ᛊᚢ ᛚᛁᛚ ᛃᚨᚷ]
***
Some time later.
“Hmm.”
A figure entered the cave that a small beast had left.
It was Albert, the proud captain of the Bloodmoon Knights.
With his keen senses, he immediately detected the suspicious ‘shamanism’ installed in the cave.
Normally, he wouldn’t have noticed, but someone had recently activated the shamanism in such a crude manner that residual magic was left behind.
He used his knightly senses to find the ‘mechanism’, but in the end, he couldn’t decipher the password.
“What should we do? Destroy it?”
“No.”
Albert shook his head.
He carefully examined the traces left behind.
There were no footprints in the stone cave, but… a faint mana remained.
Mana imbued with ‘heat’.
Clearly, a Phoenix’s egg had been here.
‘I’m too late.’
Clicking his tongue in regret, he ordered his soldiers.
“There is an underground passage connected to the cave. Surround the area and bring a wizard.”
No matter how clever Skrillzhak was, he couldn’t have dug a tunnel that went over the mountain range.
“We capture the creature transporting the Phoenix’s egg here.”
The Bloodmoon Knights and their wizard began to surround Skrillzhak’s hideout.