93. Meanwhile, Jin Hwaryeolin
“There shouldn’t be any worrying situations, so you don’t need to worry.”
“But it still looks dangerous. I should have seen something like that before.”
“As the bottom skis that serve as the center axis of the sled are heavy, it’s unlikely for the sled to flip over.”
“Well, if it had collapsed with just this much weight, sleds wouldn’t have evolved in the cold polar regions in the first place.”
“That’s correct.”
Come to think of it, the sleds that occasionally appeared in movies or documentaries were all quite large.
There was a reason for that.
At that moment, her eyes caught something.
“Ah! Let’s stop here!”
She had found a deep basin-like terrain.
It was a suitable environment for a brief rest.
Irina raised her hand,
“Hey, slow down!”
[Crunch!]
In response, the dire wolves gradually slowed down.
The elves set up a temporary camp.
A small tent was pitched, and a fire was lit in front of it.
Crackle! Crackling!
In the midst of the icy forest where cold winds blew,
The elves gathered around the crackling fire to warm themselves as their body temperatures dropped.
They pointed to the white snowy mountains visible beyond the forest and engaged in conversation.
“This is the north. If we go a bit further, we’ll reach the ice mountains where Zion and Yumina used to live. They said there are several monsters there.”
“They must have lived in a harsh place. Only young children… even those who’ve experienced extraordinary things found it challenging.”
The terrain was rugged, with high and deep mountains.
Even at a glance, a sharp ridge with fierce cliffs blocked the way.
Zion had said that in order to survive in such a place, he had brought his younger sister, Yumina, down the mountain.
Han, gazing up at the white mountain range, swallowed dryly at its vastness.
“So… Zion and Yumina came down alone, right? Down that pitch-black cliff?”
[That’s correct.]
“How on earth did they come down?”
[It was possible because luck was on their side. In reality, there were several moments of danger for them.]
It must have been a life-threatening choice.
Yet, coming down was necessary, no doubt.
The elves in this place all had to endure such harsh survival.
“Today is just a simple operational demonstration. Since we’re unsure how far Yumina’s focus will go, let’s try to assess only briefly and then return.”
“Understood, Lady Irina.”
It was a kind of preliminary practice.
A practice to become accustomed to the upcoming real missions.
They needed to enhance their mobility to carry out future explorations more efficiently.
Of course, it would only be possible with Yumina’s help for now.
But it wouldn’t be long.
In the near future, the young wolves who had already reached the fortress would truly reach Dire Wolves.
By then, the wolves could pull the sleds by their own power and run freely.
“Lady Irina, please take this.”
At that moment, Idnis offered something.
It was a steaming cup of tea.
“It’s warm tea brewed with herbs collected from the flower garden. It should be effective in warming up your chilled body.”
“Thank you, Idnis.”
It was a warm tea.
He had wondered what to do alone, perhaps brewing warm tea was the answer.
He also handed tea to his two siblings.
“Idnis seems to know flowers well.”
At his words, Idnis slightly raised the corners of her mouth.
“It’s all things we learned from our mother. Of course, it’s nothing more than shallow knowledge gained from picture books since we couldn’t see the real plants.”
“No, it’s quite impressive.”
Han knew it was connected to the system, but these were unknown knowledge to them.
However, as the number of elves increased, their scattered knowledge was gradually coming together.
Efficiency was improving little by little, knowingly or unknowingly.
Today, it was Idnis who was with Irina, not Zion.
One of the warriors needed to act alongside her.
From Noble mtl dot com
“After all, it’s more efficient for the priestess like Irina to be with others rather than alone, right?”
It was an efficiency issue.
Receiving her enchantment and leading the way was more advantageous than Irina taking the lead.
However, Zion, in any case, needed to remain in the square.
At the time when Irina was absent, the only person capable of defending their stronghold was Zion, the most exceptional warrior among them.
Of course, Zion wasn’t the only elf to guard the village, but it was necessary to evenly distribute the forces between reconnaissance and defense if possible.
“That’s why Ednis stepped forward in Irina’s absence.”
Ednis was also a rare warrior among the elves.
Being a remarkable force, he was well-suited for such circumstances.
“As the number of elves increases, the ways we can operate are also expanding.”
The four who went on reconnaissance were Ne, Irina, Ednis, Ananta, and Rayan.
They were members who had marked their presence by their past actions.
All of them were swift on their feet and had excellent judgment in critical situations.
Lick, lick.
Elf Ednis, while casting a flame on one side, observed wolves grooming themselves vigorously.
The wolves maintained a much sturdier physique than usual.
They were not much different from the monsters the elves usually encountered in the wild, such as the fully grown Dire Wolves.
Observing them, he said, “Yumina must be focusing intensely right now to keep these wolves in line.”
“I’m sure she is.”
“Isn’t that very demanding? I heard before that it requires considerable mental strength.”
At that, Irina chuckled.
“It was. In the past.”
It meant it wasn’t the case anymore.
‘It was thanks to the staff.’
The goblin shaman’s staff had a wide range of uses.
For instance, advancing the use of magic.
It wasn’t limited to just common spells like Fireball.
The results were clearly visible.
Even if Irina’s focus was slightly weakened or the gap in maintaining the magic was a bit longer, it was acceptable.
In just a short time, they had arrived at a new territory they had never set foot on before.
“By the way, it’s amazing. To have come this far in such a short time.”
The improved mobility was definitely a good sign.
Perhaps it took the young siblings a few days to travel here.
In this endless snowy expanse, that was a significant advantage.
‘Probably because the sled is fast.’
Thinking about it, Zion and Yumina.
It was fortunate that the two siblings had not faced any major incidents in this harsh snowstorm.
“Hmm?”
At that moment, something caught Zion’s eye.
“That’s…”
Something was approaching the elves.
It was a massive beast.
“…White Tiger?”
It had a figure resembling a tiger, but much larger than that.
It was not a mere beast but a monster.
Above its head, a brief mark was visible.
[Red Alert: Whitestripe.]
Lowering its body, it approached in a straight line towards the direction where the elves were, undoubtedly having sensed their presence.
“Irina, over here!”
Swish!
Han urgently pointed in a direction.
“Everyone, look over there!”
“…The gods?”
For a moment, the elves expressed doubt at his appearance, but soon realized and inquired.
“Could it be enemies, sir?”
“Most likely.”
With stern expressions, they cautiously reached for the bows placed beside them.
Thunk.
At that moment, a sound like something stepping on snow was heard.
Their elongated ears perked up.
They were certain that there was an enemy nearby.
The elves remained silent.
Instead, with cold, lowered eyes, they quietly grasped their bows, gazing at each other.
In a fleeting moment when Irina’s eyes subtly glinted gold.
[Roar!]
As the stealthy approaching monster Whitestripe sensed a presence and leaped towards them like a ghost.
However, it had chosen its opponent poorly.
[Creak!]
Before the dire wolves by their side could even rise, the elf Irina swiftly created a shield, blocking its path.
Startled, the creature hit a dead end against the golden barrier and fled.
“Oh. Wait a moment.”
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
He futilely muttered while watching the fleeing snow-white tiger.
“Come to think of it, if Yumina were here, wouldn’t it have been possible to tame it…?”
[That’s correct.]
The system’s confident answer was there.
It seemed to be the right answer.
“Oh.”
He gazed in the direction where the snow-white tiger had disappeared.
It was now obscured by the falling snow, no longer visible.
***
“Ugh…”
Jin Hwarin led her weary body into the sleeping quarters.
Tonight, her place of rest was not a bed.
It was a communal tent.
Around her, regardless of gender, about five companions were sprawled out, catching some sleep.
As cramped and uncomfortable as it was, for hunters, this was just a typical situation.
Of course, there were not just one but several tents.
And the people here were not the only ones.
For the conquest of the higher dungeons, dozens, even close to a hundred hunters could be mobilized at once.
They moved in a manner almost resembling an army.
At this camp alone, there were at least a dozen tents.
“Sigh…”
She continued her thoughts with tired eyes closed.
“I should go to bed early… I need to continue the dawn patrol later.”
Jin Hwarin, like other guild members, followed the same routine and work.
Even though this camp was relatively secure, there was no room for complacency.
Even while sleeping, one had to stay alert here.
It was only natural.
Monster attacks could happen at any time.
No matter how exceptional a high-class hunter might be, they couldn’t expect special treatment even in dungeons.
Here, it was all about strict survival.
The guild leader, Jin Hwarin herself, was no exception.
Limited resources. Limited meals. Consumables and supplies being used up bit by bit.
All resources and personnel had to be distributed evenly and with restraint.
Unless they were hunters from the rear lines with extremely low stamina, all warrior classes were subject to the same rules.
Especially high-ranking warrior classes like her had to dedicate more time to guard duty than other classes.
Of course, that didn’t mean that the magician class had it easy.
*Cough, cough!*
“….”
In one corner of the tent, a fellow hunter was asleep while hunched over, struggling to breathe, coughing intermittently even in the midst of sleep.
This was due to the toll of using magic, in simple terms, the depletion of mana.
Magicians who consumed life force massively in battles struggled greatly like this after consecutive fights.
Yet, within the cramped tent, her comrades were sound asleep.
And Jin Hwarin herself was not much different.
“…Starting to feel sleepy.”
With half-closed, drowsy eyes, she gazed up at the ceiling.
It was at that moment.
＜＜Ki-eak!＞＞
“They’re here! The ones appearing are Eternal and Durek! Two bodies!”
*Kwahng! Thud!*
Ferocious noises that seemed to belong to a monster and loud shouts echoed multiple times.