nChapter 66 – Season of Hunting (1)

nStella: Perhaps…where do you live in real life?

nCrockta was relieved at her question. He lied.

nIan: I live in Busan, Busan. Hahaha! Ay, come visit Busan! We have donuts and gukbap! Gukbap! Kelkelkelkel!

n(TL: Ian fakes a Busan accent during this.)

nStella: Ah…I see. I thought I would ask since I know someone with the same name. How are you doing?

nThe messages to Stella would display the name of the caller. As he acted like a man who lived in Busan, Crockta hurriedly ended the conversation. Jung Yunji was becoming dangerous. He wanted to hide his identity as much as possible.

n“Why are you so dazed? Let’s go Crockta dot! The North! The unknown!” Tiyo cried out as he bounced around.

nCrockta laughed. He was a cute friend.

n“I, Tiyo, am going! Kiyoooooh!”

nTiyo started running ahead into a vast plain. If they looked beyond that horizon, they could see the forbidden area they were going towards. A roar emerged from Crockta’s chest, “I, Crockta, am goingggggg! Bul’tarrrr!”

nCrockta rushed forward as well. An orc and a gnome started running towards the north.

n

n***

nHunting was a calm, peaceful task.

nHe moved within the darkness of the forest. He was the shadow, an entity the enemy couldn’t notice, moving between the trees, aiming to cut off the enemy’s breath.

nThe game that he was staring at was rare. A twin head ogre. A mutation like this didn’t just appear. If a legitimate evil spirit polluted an ogre, then it became this ugly monster.

nTherefore, what he needed to penetrate wasn’t the mutant twin head ogre, but the core of darkness infecting it. He had aimed for the darkness a long time ago. It was his old cherished wish, but he had missed the chance.

nAs winter passed and the buds of spring spread across the land, the smell of that darkness started to flare up again. The decaying mutant ogre proved this phenomenon.

nHis mouth distorted. He had been waiting, and he wouldn’t miss it this time.

nNow. It came again.

nHunting season.

n

n***

n“……”

nCrockta touched the gnome’s shoulder.

n“Tiyo?”

n“Going, I’m going, really.”

nTiyo looked at the black forest and gulped. There was a thick spread of black trees that was so dense that they could only barely see inside. It felt like they were faintly moving when seen with the naked eye.

nSuddenly, system messages popped up.

n

nYou have arrived at the Forest of Creatures.

nWow! You have great courage to come here.

nIf you pass through the Forest of Creatures, there will be a reward for arriving first.

nHow do you like this quest after not receiving one for a long time?

nSpecial achievement points will be awarded as you pass through the Forest of Creatures. If you can achieve a hidden clear condition, you will earn tremendous rewards and a title.

nGood luck!

n

nCrockta confirmed the message windows. Before, he thought they were just set messages, but these days, it was obvious that an artificial intelligence was controlling the messages. The words were somewhat hateful.

nTiyo asked, “C-Crockta, are we really going? We are going right?”

nCrockta burst out laughing. “Tiyo, are you going to continue like this? Are you really from the Quantes Gnome Garrison?”

n“What! I’m not an indecisive person!” Tiyo jumped. “Good dot! I’ll show you! Starting from now dot!”

nThen he leaped eagerly towards the forest. The small gnome couldn’t be seen after he entered the shadows of the dark forest. Crockta was about to walk after him when…

n“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”

nTiyo came running back out of the forest and rolling across the ground before getting back up and running again.

n“What’s going on?” Crockta drew his greatsword and shouted. There was a large shadow in the place where Tiyo had run out. It was about to come out of the forest.

nCrockta was nervous.

n“……”

nThe identity of that shadow… was a huge spotted cow.

n“…M-Monster! A monster has appeared dot!” Tiyo shouted as he grabbed Crockta’s pants.

nCrockta gazed at Tiyo with cold eyes. Tiyo felt a chill as he gazed into Crockta’s eyes and looked away.

n“…Moo…”

nThe cow cried out.

n“……”

nIt was just a cow.

nTiyo got up from his seat without speaking and rubbed at his clothes, “Hum hum, hum! Now, shall we go Crockta? Don’t hesitate dot!”

nThen he started walking again. Crockta shook his head and followed behind Tiyo. Tiyo snooped around the cow.

n“By the way, why is there a cow here?”

n“I was thinking that too.”

nCrockta examined the cow. It wasn’t just a wild cow. There was evidence that someone was looking after it. It stood still as they approached it and stared at them with simple eyes. Crockta stroked the head of the cow and it cried out again. It was a calm cry.

nMooooo….

nIt calmed the hearts of the listeners. This place now felt like a leisurely pasture, not a forest full of creatures.

n“Is someone inside?”

n“Are there people in this forest?”

nThe Forest of Creatures had long been regarded as a forbidden area that couldn’t be accessed by people. Usually, people would fall prey to creatures as soon as they entered. But now there were traces of a human’s touch on the cow. What was this?

nTiyo and Crockta stared at each other.

n“Go.”

nNow it really was the time to enter the Forest of Creatures. Tiyo climbed onto the cow.

n“Crockta, lead us well.’

n“……”

nThe cow’s tail waved. Crockta led the cow and Tiyo and entered the Forest of Creatures.

nIt was cold as soon as they entered.

nThe temperature was lowered as the dense foliage covered the sky and blocked the sun, causing everything below it to be in steady shade. The damp ground was trampled underfoo as moss flourished at the base of the trees and unknown sticky things got caught on their feet.

nIt felt like a bad place.

n“Cow, where is your house?”

nTiyo whispered to the cow. Then the cow started to walk in a certain direction. Tiyo and Crockta followed the cow as they gradually headed deeper into the forest.

nThey had no way of knowing what would appear beyond the darkness. Just like mountains were often described as strange, he felt a creepy sensation as the direction seemed to keep shifting. It was a strange feeling that he had never experienced before.

nSuddenly, they sensed something moving. Crockta and Tiyo flinched. Crockta placed his hand on the handle of his greatsword while Tiyo prepared General.

nThe moving object approached. A troll. It was a forest where trolls were common. Crockta grinned. This truly was the Forest of Creatures. Monsters like goblins or werewolves wouldn’t be able to stay here.

nThe minimum requirement was a troll! Weak creatures wouldn’t survive here.

nTiyo shouted, “Go! Crockta!”

n“Bul’tar!”

nAs Crockta rushed out, Tiyo fired ‘General’.

nIt was a formation similar to how they defeated the ogres at Quantes. Tiyo would block the enemy in the back with his magic weapon while Crockta faced it directly. The troll was hit by General’s intense light and fell to the ground like it was paralyzed.

n“Kiek!”

nTiyo’s General didn’t have the destructive power to kill the enemy, but it was excellent support. The troll groaned at Tiyo’s bombardment. Crockta plunged in. The famous ‘Ogre Slayer’ cut the troll’s neck.

nThe troll’s head and body were separated. But it was a troll. Even after the head and body were separated, both sides wriggled and moved. Bubbles bloomed at the cut surface, indicating the troll’s unique regeneration. If the troll’s head and body joined back together, it could move again.

n“How great.”

n“Creepy dot.”

nCrockta’s recovery skill had reached ‘Troll’s Regenerative Power (Essence)’, but it seemed lacking compared to a real troll. Crockta and Tiyo exchanged glances. It was a truly great collaboration. This Forest of Creatures might not be that tough.

nCrockta held out his hand and the gnome hit his palm in a high five.

n“Moooooo…”

nThe cow gave a long cry in delight. Tiyo once again got on the cow’s back with General.

n“Cow, where do you live?”

nThe cow’s tail waved and it started moving again. It was heading deeper into the forest. Crockta followed it.

nThe cow seemed to be familiar with the Forest of Creatures and they passed by a variety of strange things. If the cow suddenly sniffed the ground, delicious mushrooms would emerge. Once it began to cry towards the sky, there were sweet fruits.

nCrockta and Tiyo bit a red fruit. The cow also nibbled at the fragrant mushroom.

n“It seems very familiar with this place dot.”

n“It really seems to live here.”

nAs they continued walking with the cow, the shape of a house started to appear. Crockta lowered his body. The cow was tame but there was no law saying that the owner of the house would be. Besides, the person was strong enough to live in the Forest of Creatures.

nThe house was surrounded by a moat and a sharp fence. Their bodies would be pierced by a sharp barricade if they approached without thinking.

nTiyo said.

n“A magic circle dot.”

n“Magic circle?”

n“Looking at the design, they don’t seem to be lacking in intelligence. It looks like this place is protected with magical artifacts. Indeed, this is how they managed to live in the Forest of Creatures.”

nTiyo analyzed. As a gnome, he easily recognized the magical engineering design. As he listened to Tiyo’s words, a faint presence could be felt in the area.

n“Moo…”

nThe cow moved around the moat and suddenly stopped at one point. It walked through a shallow part of the moat. After crossing the moat, the cow crouched and passed through a hole in the dirt beneath the fence. It was a small passage. Despite the cow’s big mass, it went through like a mollusk.

nThen it cried out again from beyond the fence.

n“Mooooo….”

nCrockta and Tiyo looked at each other.

n“Can we go in?”

n“I am curious.”

n“But it is another person’s house.”

n“We can’t ignore the cow. The cow is also a member of that household! In other words, the member of the family invited us dot!”

n“Um…”

nHe had a point.

nCrockta and Tiyo used the shallow part of the moat and passed through the hole like the cow. Tiyo entered easily but Crockta’s skin was scratched by a piece of fence and he barely passed through it.

nThe inside was an entirely different world.

n“Ah!”

n“Umm.”

nIt was a peaceful scenery that couldn’t be imagined inside the Forest of Creatures. First of all, there were two more cows. The cow that Tiyo and Crockta brought here cried out leisurely. On one side, chickens were pecking at the ground. Vegetables were growing in the garden. In the center, a solid house made of logs was standing firm. There were axes, pickaxes, and farming equipment lying around. It felt like someone had lived here for a long time.

n“How great.”

nSuddenly, Crockta found something among the tools. They were handmade arrows and arrowheads. Since this was a forest…a hunter.

n“Look! Crockta! This is definitely the artifact that is protecting this place dot!” Tiyo shouted.

nCrockta approached and saw a magic staff next to the log cabin. There was a crystal ball at the end and a blue aura flowed from it and spread out in a circle. It seemed to create a dim shield that concealed this area.

n“The magic power runs down here and…”

nTiyo explained. Below the place where the staff was inserted, there were round shapes and patterns.

n“This is a great technology dot.”

nTiyo’s eyes shone. As Tiyo was looking around, he accidentally nudged the staff. At that moment.

nPiiing!

nPiyok!

nThere was a sound and the magic staff lost its light.

n“Eh…?”

nTiyo stiffened. The blue energy flowing from the staff suddenly disappeared. Then faint film covering this area also disappeared.

n“…Ah, no.”

nThe shield protecting this place had disappeared. Tiyo retreated.

nCrockta looked up at the sky. Wyverns were passing above them.

n“……!”

nThe moment that the barrier disappeared, a wyvern glanced down. Crockta’s hands became sweaty. Just keep flying.

nHowever, the wyverns started circling around.

nTiyo stuttered, “I, I, I, just…”

n“Calm down Tiyo.”

nOne of the biggest rules of the battlefield: don’t dwell on the past. It already happened, so it was meaningless to argue. They could analyze the operation or fighting techniques after it was over, but they should concentrate on the enemy when it was in front of them.

nThe wyverns started to flap their wings. It was the precursor to gliding.

nCrockta looked around. There were two objects of prey that the wyverns could aim for. Them or the cows.

n“Tiyo, there are two choices.”

n“…What does that mean?”

nMore wyverns started appearing. The group of wyverns had flocked at the sudden appearance of easy food. Tiyo raised General.

n“We only have one choice dot!”

n“Kulkul, well said.”

nOne Wyvern started to dive towards the cows, followed by three other wyverns. Tiyo aimed the muzzle of ‘General’.

nCrockta grinned. His new ally wasn’t just cute.

n“As a reliable guard, I never run away from a fight dot!”

nHe was a real man.

nThe moment that the Wyvern’s sharp claws were about to grab a cow, Crockta’s roar resounded through the forest.

n“Bul’tarrrrrrrr──────!”

nIt was the Essence ranked skill, Army Crushing Roar! It went beyond a mere battle cry and actually affected the enemies with physical force.

nThe dense vegetation shook. The wyverns were shocked and stopped their descent. The cows figured out the situation and turned to flee from the wyverns. The wyverns regained their spirits and tried to catch the cows again, but Crockta blocked them.

nThe greatsword tore at the wyverns’ wings. One wyvern fell to the ground while the ones following scattered to the left and right. Tiyo attacked the wyverns with General.

n“Ahhhhhhh!”

nThe wyverns spread out and soared up to the sky again. The wyverns were fast and avoided the attack. Tiyo’s bullets just hit the air.

nThe confrontation continued with no progress. Crockta’s expression hardened. They couldn’t overpower the wyverns who dominated the sky. But more wyverns would come flocking soon.

n“Ugh…”

nTiyo bit his lip. At that moment…

nSusususuk.

nA strange bolt flew through the air.

nPasasak.

nOne wyvern crashed.

n“……!”

n“What?”

nCrockta and Tiyo’s eyes shone.

nSusususuk.

nOnce again, a bolt of light passed through the sky and another wyvern fell. The wyverns continued to plummet. Now there were no more wyverns threatening them as they all became corpses. The party couldn’t tell where the attack came from.

nCrockta looked at the arrows lodged in the bodies of the wyverns.

n“……!”

nCrockta approached to verify it.

nSususuk, an arrow flew right in front of Crockta’s nose.

n“……!”

nThen another arrow struck in front of Crockta’s foot, an obvious warning not to move from this spot. Crockta and Tiyo looked in the direction that the arrows came from.

nSomeone was walking towards them.

n