57 – Episode 57
# 57
“Ian, wake up!”
It was a night with a high full moon.
Ian, who was deep in sleep, slowly opened his eyes at the sound calling him.
Inrian was anxiously pacing beside Ian’s sleeping spot.
“What’s going on?”
Inrian said with a trembling voice, sweating coldly.
“There’s, there’s something outside. I don’t know what it is, but it’s definitely targeting us!”
The drowsiness vanished instantly.
Ian had a hunch that he was caught in a situation commonly seen in movies or fantasies.
It was an ambush.
“Damn it… Are these grave robbers?”
“No, no! They’re not human! They’re beings closer to the realm of mystery!”
“…Mystery?”
Ian reflexively thought of intelligent monsters like Drakes or Manticores.
If it were such monsters, it wouldn’t be strange for them to suddenly appear at night and devour humans on the spot.
If a real giant carnivorous monster had come, Ian was definitely screwed.
“Monsters should always be cautious!”
Didn’t Eredis warn him to be on guard?
Monsters are dangerous. But in this damn medieval fantasy world, monsters are scattered everywhere.
It’s not just that the exchange between territories is slow and human expansion is slow.
It’s a world where “Man vs. Wild” is being filmed in real time, but even if human forces are strong, they’re still humans.
“Kwak! Master!”
At that moment, Oberon flew in.
“Oberon, did you see anything too?”
[Yes! There were these small beings that looked like humans over there!]
“Small beings?”
As soon as he heard those words, one word passed through Ian’s mind.
‘…Fairies?’
“Let’s go check it out first.”
But there was still not enough information.
Ian wanted to personally confirm the nighttime visitor with his own eyes.
Ingrid trembled as she spoke.
“Uh, is that where we should go?”
“It would be better. We don’t know why those guys came.”
“That makes sense. It does make sense…”
As Inrian trembled, Ian thought he looked pitiful.
I understand being scared, but trembling like that makes him seem like a coward.
“If you’re scared, stay here.”
“But… I need to see it with my own eyes…”
“Then let’s go together.”
“…Isn’t that dangerous? Wouldn’t it be better to wake up the knight and go together?”
He’s like a bothersome old man.
Ian thought, then corrected his thinking.
No, is that the secret to longevity?
Being afraid means, in reverse, being cautious.
After all, those who are fearless die first. That’s the truth history proves.
Since Inrian has experienced the importance of caution as a long-lived person, he’ll probably be right.
“Then I will bring Belenka.”
#
Ian woke up Belenka and brought her along.
Belenka was surprised to see Ian appear out of nowhere, but quickly understood the situation and cooperated willingly.
She was so cooperative that she didn’t even negotiate her fee.
“But if we establish a guild, there will be a profit-sharing fee…”
“Damn it. I’ll lower my price, so please stop talking about money.”
“It’s refreshing and nice.”
Despite just waking up, Belenka’s face was full of energy.
Perhaps she was happy to have her price lowered.
It was a moonlit night, but Ian walked confidently without hesitation.
As his connection with darkness deepened, his Dark Vision magic was acting like a passive ability.
Finding his way in the darkness was a piece of cake.
“Ian, sir.”
Inrian, who had been following behind Ian, suddenly reacted.
It was the magic of his special skill, the Guardian Bug, that responded.
“There’s a suspicious group gathering over there.”
Ian and Belenka exchanged glances. There was no reason to make noise when the enemy was close.
Ian whispered the incantation in the darkness, keeping his body hidden.
“[Darkness, illuminate the path ahead.]”
[Shadow Magic – Casting Dark Vision.]
Darkness spread from Ian’s center.
In front of their eyes, a fantasy composed of black and white, like a black-and-white film, appeared.
It was a vision like a third eye, created based on what darkness saw and felt.
“That is…”
Ian observed the “mysterious something” that Ingrid mentioned.
And… the tension eased a bit.
“What is that?”
The visitor in the middle of the night was a dwarf, barely over 30 centimeters tall.
“A monster?”
Ian couldn’t quite grasp what it was.
Well, even Ian, who was familiar with creatures seen on Earth, was unfamiliar with such fantastical creatures.
“It doesn’t seem like an attack…”
Ian tilted his head while looking at the group of dwarves.
The dwarves were huddled together in one place, not moving.
If they were attackers, it would only mean they were plotting something suspicious, but to Ian, a magician, they didn’t seem to be doing anything strange.
“What are they doing?”
Ian’s question was answered unexpectedly.
Oberon started stomping on Ian’s shoulder, unable to contain himself.
“Stay still. You’re shedding fur, Oberon.”
[Forgive me, master! But, well… over there!]
“There?”
Oberon trembled, staring into the darkness.
[T-There…! There’s a monster hiding!
“Monster?”
Ian concentrated and expanded his dark vision.
As he scanned the tree that Oberon mentioned, Ian exclaimed,
“Oh. A barn owl?”
[Huik!]
Perched on the tree, a large barn owl stared at the dwarves with calm eyes.
It didn’t bother Ian, who was human.
But Oberon, a mere crow, trembled in fear, feathers ruffling.
[Ah! Those wings! That beak…!]
“Oh my. It’s just shedding.”
[I-I’m scared! I’m going to faint! Master!]
“Fine. Just faint then. Should I put you in my pocket?”
Flap, flap. So, with a wingspan of 180 centimeters, this barn owl was undoubtedly one of the best nocturnal hunters.
Like a tiger—a member of the monster world, so to speak.
When an ordinary human encounters a tiger, they tremble and wet themselves.
When a mere crow like Oberon spotted the barn owl, it stirred up a commotion and became frightened.
“Belanca. Do we have any leftover meat from yesterday? Bring it here.”
“Sure.”
Ian walked steadily towards the tree where the barn owl perched.
“H-Human! It’s a human!”
“What should we do? A human has appeared!”
From Noble mtl dot com
Ian observed the group that had approached the camp, wondering if they were attackers or something else.
“Wow.”
Up close, it was clear.
Height of 30 centimeters. Mysterious wings extending from their backs. Each one had a cute and adorable appearance…
They were fairies.
Unlike the elves, a fantasy race that everyone now recognizes, and who are in decline as time passes, fairies are a fated race.
When people usually think of elves, they imagine a tall and long-eared, long-lived, beautiful and talented race created by Tolkien.
But that is the original version.
The true fundamental elves are these short and fantastical beings.
To distinguish them from the dwarf elves, they are more commonly referred to as fairies.
Unlike the elves, fairies are not commonly seen in legends of the Western world, nor are they easily found in the vicinity. This is because they have few fans.
The slender and beautiful appearance of the elves was nurtured by countless elves – but the same cannot be said for fairies.
It’s because they look like lolicons no matter how you look at them.
Elf enthusiasts may seem like they have a particular taste, but fairy enthusiasts… (omitted)
Anyway.
Now, fairies who have made it their main job to appear on the first floor of the tutorial and blow away the challengers’ heads have appeared before Ian.
Why? To blow up Ian’s head?
‘…’
It would be creepy if they actually had that ability.
However, in Ian’s eyes, the fairies seemed to be different from the tutorial fairies. They didn’t seem to know how to blow off a human’s head.
Even if they knew how to do it, they would have heard the rumors many times.
Above all, there was no reason for them to gather like that in front of the Tawny Owl.
When Ian and the fairies locked eyes, they all shuddered together.
Their appearance was incredibly cute.
A Japanese dungeon survival expert once said that. The appearance of every creature needs to be that way because it serves a purpose.
Cute creatures are cute for a reason.
Well, Dungeon Bear Grylls may say that and eat monsters.
Ian was genuinely curious.
What could be the reason why fairies look so cute?
“Here. I brought it.”
“Thank you.”
Ian approached the Tawny Owl with the meat in hand.
And drawing on his experience of communicating with animals in nature, he spoke with a strong-willed voice.
“Come down.”
[???]
“I won’t harm you. It’s okay, so come down.”
The Tawny Owl stared at Ian for a while…
Thud!
Flapping its large wings, it came down in front of Ian.
Ian quickly extended his staff and created a place to sit.
“Lighter than I thought, huh?”
Despite its enormous size, the Tawny Owl was surprisingly light.
Well, no wonder British wizards use them as mail carriers.
Ian gently scratched the owl’s back and fed it leftover scraps of meat.
What is this Tawny Owl? It dumbly made a foolish expression, eagerly gobbling up the food Ian threw its way.
Suddenly, as Ian took care of it, the owl seemed to wonder what was going on, but it filled its belly first and observed.
“Oh ho.”
Ingrain’s eyes sparkled as he watched Ian skillfully handle the Tawny Owl.
That guy. He has a serious connection with nature, doesn’t he?
Ingrain thought that Ian could surely become an excellent summoner.
Belanca, who had witnessed Ian’s strange antics several times before, was equally amazed.
To tame an owl in an instant. Wizards sure have a lot of skills.
Ian filled the owl’s belly and approached the fairies.
“Was it because of this guy that you were worried?”
“Giggle!”
As Ian approached with the Tawny Owl, the fairies went into a collective frenzy. They were too scared.
What kind of monster is this Tawny Owl!
A terrifying monster that snatches fairies with its huge size and devours them alive!
But to subdue such a monster with just a few words. No, to tame it…!
The fairies immediately felt a terror that Ian would unleash the sly owls, saying, “Go! Devour those arrogant rascals!”
And then the sly owls would tear apart the fairies, while exclaiming, “Suri! Suri!”
Just the thought of it was horrifying!
“Sorry, sorry!”
The frightened fairies collectively banged their heads.
Although they had never encountered these guys, they were excellent fighters, as if they had learned on the mainland.
At that moment, the sly owls fluttered their wings as if about to swoop down.
It was nothing special, but when the fairies screamed, their hunting instincts suddenly boiled up.
“Stay calm.”
However, Ian gently pressed the sly owl’s shoulder to calm it down.
Watching this, the fairies felt a sense of awe towards Ian.
“Unbelievable!”
If it were just a violent human, they would avoid them because they were dirty.
But if they encountered a human who skillfully tamed a terrifying monster, they would simply respect and admire them.
Worship is one way to forget fear.
The fairies, without even thinking of tricks, revealed everything to Ian obediently.
“The reason we came to find you, uh, human, was to, um, ask for the return of the sword!”
“The sword?”
The sword the fairies mentioned, there was only one.
The magic sword, Anorissil.
When Ian pulled out the magic sword, the fairies chirped in unison.
“Yes! That’s the sword!”
“Without it, we can no longer weave silk!”
Ian inserted the sword and asked a question.
“Silk? What kind of silk?”
To which the fairies replied.
“It’s the silk that’s as precious as our lives!”