43. Green Dragon Muah Muah
“Hmm….”
He was contemplating.
For the past few days, he had been continuing to contemplate.
He was looking beyond the boundaries of the World Tree, gazing at the frozen ruins.
“The specialty of the elves is that they move through the trees.”
This unique ability that only they possess gives them an advantage that humans don’t have.
Trees are the elves’ defense structures.
Their specialty was shooting arrows and keeping their distance.
Being a high refuge, it also served as a structure that could make use of their exceptional leaping abilities.
It was similar to the abilities possessed by cats and other animals.
Because of this, they could take advantage of environmental factors.
‘Even if trolls were to appear, there might be a way to withstand them in a forest full of obstacles rather than a snow-covered plain.’
It was just the right time for Han to find a valuable item.
“Winter Tree.”
▷Winter Tree (One): 1,000pt
A tree with outstanding survival skills that can thrive even on the cold planet of Frey, slowly but steadily increasing in numbers.
It was a product listed in Han’s store inventory.
With the level up, a new group of plants had been added to Han.
It was the first time that a living group of plants had been directly added to the store inventory.
‘Here it is.’
As soon as I saw it, I realized.
With this, they could create a battlefield advantageous for the elves even in the vast expanse of the snowy field.
They would be able to dart around the trees, possessing exceptional agility and evasion skills.
Tap.
Han lightly beckoned with his hand, calling out to Irina.
“…?”
At Han’s gesture, Irina looked up with a puzzled expression.
Having been working in the fields, her face was smeared with dirt.
Yet, it was undeniably a beautiful face.
Han gestured towards her.
“Miss Irina?”
Standing at the boundary where the cold snowflakes blew, they awaited.
Soon, Han pointed to the other side with his hand.
Thud-!
A tree, seemingly frozen, emerged on the white snowy ground.
…!
Surprise flickered in Irina’s eyes.
She quickly ran towards the outside where the snowflakes were blowing, approaching the tree that was frozen solid.
Her hand gently touched the surface of the tree.
“Is this… really a tree?”
“Yes. It’s a tree.”
Han smiled.
“But it’s not just an ordinary tree.”
Thump.
Irina placed her hand on the tree.
Faint, but she could sense the mana inside.
It was the unique intuition of an elf.
…!
Her eyes widened in astonishment.
“This… it’s a living tree! H-how is this possible in this cold?”
It was common knowledge that all the plants in this world were either dead or frozen beings.
In fact, Irina had never seen mountain plants until she came here.
It was inconceivable for plants to survive in this fierce cold.
Most of the plants that originally existed on the Frey Planet perished, and the rest were buried under the snow.
This was also the reason why only plants could thrive within the realm of the World Tree.
But surprisingly.
This new tree was an exception to that rule.
It thrived even in the harsh snow-covered field.
It was a natural occurrence.
From the beginning, this was not a tree of this world.
To be precise, it was a tree from a planet not of Frey, but of an ‘alternate planet’.
I don’t know exactly which world it belonged to.
The system didn’t disclose that information.
However, according to its mention, their origin was from somewhere not Earth or the Frey planet, at least as per the creature’s words.
There was also a remark that it might be a place even colder than the current Frey planet.
Observing Irina’s surprised expression, Han couldn’t help but show a faint smile on his lips.
“Spreading the forest far and wide must be one of my tasks.”
If the forest is the ground for the elves to thrive.
It is only natural that spreading that ground far and wide is Han’s role.
He wanted to give hope to the elves.
So that they could still survive in this world.
And so that there would be a possibility for a future named stability in their lives.
“Ah, yes….”
Before he knew it, Irina was shedding tears of joy at the birth of this new tree.
But that was also the same for Han.
Their existence alone was a great joy for him.
***
It was a time when Irina was fully enjoying the birth of the Winter Tree Forest.
As she joyfully wandered around the forest, Han momentarily shifted his gaze.
His stomach began to growl as it was probably lunchtime.
First, he needed to have a meal.
It was the moment when he was filling the pot with water to cook instant noodles.
Sizzle-!
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, something like a strong signal sound rang out. A message appeared in front of Han.
As he was about to put the noodle soup mix in, Han froze in that position.
[Warning!]
[A change has occurred to the character ‘Irina’! Please hurry to check on her!]
“What?”
He threw away the soup packet and rushed towards the refrigerator.
He saw Irina, who was wandering in the Winter Tree Forest.
She was still in a peaceful state.
Han searched her surroundings thoroughly, but there was nothing noteworthy to pay attention to.
No monsters, nothing.
It was the same situation as before he had shifted his gaze.
“There’s nothing here?”
Could it be that the system had given the wrong information?
No, that couldn’t be.
It didn’t make sense for the system to have an error.
As if anticipating such a thought from Han, the system’s voice was immediately appended.
[Look not to the earth, but up to the sky.]
…The sky?
Han’s gaze instinctively shifted upwards, away from the ground.
And then.
“…Huh?”
Unintentionally, Han’s mouth fell open.
His expression hardened in an instant upon making a discovery.
It was a creature with wings.
Moreover, it was enormous.
Though clearly flying a great distance from the ground, its sheer size was unmistakable.
At first glance, its form resembled a bird with wide wings, or perhaps something akin to a pterodactyl.
Whether by mere chance or deliberate intent.
The massive being happened to pass by just above Han.
“…Huh?”
Soon, Irina also spotted the creature.
As the large, dark shadow passed by just above her head, she too instinctively looked upwards.
“Could it be targeting Irina?”
At that moment, the system’s advice appeared.
[The entity is rapidly approaching the ground at high speed!]
[We recommend ‘Irina’ evacuate swiftly!]
Following the system’s guidance.
Something seemed off, so Han raised his altitude slightly, confirming that the shadow was indeed growing larger.
“…!!”
Only then did Han realize the reason, his eyes widening in shock.
It was plummeting rapidly towards the ground!
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Without a moment’s hesitation, Han conjured a massive hand.
He urgently grabbed Irina, who was still gazing up at the sky in oblivion, and pulled her forcefully.
“Run! Irina!”
“…My lord?”
Irina seemed puzzled, looking down at her own hand.
Perhaps sensing something amiss from Han’s expression, she too began to realize the gravity of the situation.
In this moment, there was only one reason for Han’s urgent pull.
The danger in the sky above.
Finally, she too understood the imminent peril!
Thud.
Irina began to run.
Swiftly and agilely, she darted away, leaving the spot.
As they completely evacuated the area.
Crash!
It fell to the ground with a fierce and relentless momentum, like a shooting star.
The massive snowflakes, towering over the spot where Irina had been standing, rose dramatically, obscuring the entire view like a tidal wave.
“Ugh…!”
As the snowflakes swirled, a storm swept all the way to where Irina had been.
***
It didn’t take long for the snowfall to calm down.
Han immediately widened her view to examine the area.
And she witnessed a truly unexpected and astonishing sight.
What had crashed to the ground was an unknown life form.
“This is… a dragon, isn’t it?”
None other than a monster known as a ‘dragon.’
It was a creature of clear and beautiful colors, incomparably larger than the elf Irina.
There was no room for thinking why a dragon was here.
Thump. Thump.
The dragon slowly blinked its large eyes.
Breathing heavily and wavering, it hinted at still being alive, despite not having breathed its last.
Swish.
The faintly dilated pupils were now fixed on the approaching Irina, but soon blinked slowly.
Perhaps due to the intense collision with the ground.
Or maybe because of some other factor. It was impossible to know.
Yet Han and Irina could be certain of one thing.
The dragon before them was dying.
It seemed to have no strength left to even rise.
The powerless eyes, half-closed, looked at Irina.
[You are….]
A voice resonated from the dragon, as if echoing in their minds.
[An elf.]
“…?!”
Both Han and Irina, facing the entity, were taken aback.
No one could have anticipated even in their wildest dreams what would be said next.
Hiss.
At that moment, the dragon’s body began to shrink.
No, it was as if the dragon’s skin was shriveling and withering.
In any case, the gradually shrinking green dragon soon transformed into a form even smaller than the elves.
Surprisingly, that form was that of a complete human.
It morphed into the appearance of a young girl with long green hair.
“…….”
The little girl continued to breathe heavily.
Above the child’s head, a single mark appeared.
[Green Neutral Subject: Green Dragon Muamuah.]
[Condition: Extremely urgent! Immediate rescue is recommended!]
The girl eventually closed her eyes and lost consciousness.
***
Dragon.
He knew something about them.
In any case, there had been occasions when the existence of dragons appeared in his world.
The incident at that time was covered extensively in the news worldwide.
It was probably in Australia.
Several years ago, there was an event where a massive dragon appeared and turned a whole city into ruins.
It was huge and ferocious, a menacing being that abhorred humans.
That’s why humanity had been cautious of this existence.
That was all he knew.
However, it seemed that dragons were not necessarily fierce beings.
This was evident from the mention in the subsequent system.
[Dragons may exhibit some differences in temperament based on their origins and tendencies, but not all are malicious creatures.]
“That means… there’s a possibility of communication?”
[In most cases, they are highly intelligent beings. Their temperament and characteristics are generally manifested through the mana energy they possess, reflected in their outer scales and magical aura. The brighter the color, the more intellect is prominent, while darker hues tend to reveal instincts rather than intellect.]
Han recalled the appearance of the green dragon they had encountered on the land where they planted the winter trees.
Its color was more bright and transparent rather than dark, resembling the clear emerald turquoise of a sea from some exotic land.
The term “beautiful” suited it better than “ferocious.”
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