Chapter 20

Master of the Snowy Mountains (1)

A contradictory mix of terror and exhilaration. The two intertwined, reverberating powerfully through my mind.

Fear surged from deep within my instincts, making my breathing quicken. My heart pounded like mad. Blood began racing through my entire body. Every nerve sharpened, every sense grew more acute, yet a strange pleasure blossomed amid it all.

I was unmistakably afraid for my life. And yet an inexplicable exhilaration sent tingles through me like an electric current. Satisfaction mingled with the fear.

Even then, my instincts kept screaming warnings, but an intense desire to overcome this crisis overwhelmed all my terror and fear.

Unbridled excitement.

It happened just then.

◆Starting Sudden Quest [Think You're That Strong?! Follow Me to the Snowy Mountains!]

==[Think You're That Strong?! Follow Me to the Snowy Mountains!] ==

[Objective] - Survive the Gelu Drake.

[Reward] - Unlock <Title>

[On Failure] - Death.

Translucent text suddenly appeared before my eyes. Following the Tutorial, Main, and Affinity Quests, this one was a “Sudden” Quest. As the name suggested, it seemed to be a quest that occurred without warning.

Quests only ever pointed me in a direction. Whether I survived the Gelu Drake by “fleeing” or by “fighting,” they didn't dictate how I reached the objective.

The choice of how to accomplish it was mine alone. So was the responsibility for the outcome.

But this quest was a little different. The choice had all but been made for me. Now that I had encountered the Gelu Drake, “fleeing” was no longer an option.

That hunger it directed at me... There was no escaping the Gelu Drake. With things as they stood, I had to fight.

I refocused my gaze to find the Gelu Drake watching me without moving. Its yellow, reptilian eyes shifted.

It didn't rush to attack. But that wasn't because it was sizing me up. Nor was it deciding whether I was suitable prey.

True to its title as master of the snowy mountains, the Gelu Drake had no natural enemies here. This was nothing more than amusement and curiosity—a game of toying with its prey.

In an instant—

THUD!

The Gelu Drake kicked off the snow-covered ground. Its speed was tremendous.

... I reacted too late. More accurately, I couldn't react at all.

CRUNCH!

With a sickening sound, its jaws tore my right arm clean off. The resistance from Toughened Skin[D] was useless. There was no saving that arm.

I changed tack and immediately clenched my left fist. In exchange for my right arm, I struck the Gelu Drake's torso.

BOOM!

An impact and a thunderous noise erupted, as though I'd struck a thick steel plate.

The Gelu Drake staggered. I used that opening to leap back. It didn't follow me. Apparently the blow had shaken it considerably, because it kept swaying.

My Strength stat stood at a full 22. The strength of twenty-two grown men was more than enough to land an effective blow on the Gelu Drake.

But the damage I took was far too severe. The bones in my left fist had completely shattered from the strike. My right arm had been bitten clean off.

The empty space where my right arm should have been reminded me of Ian.

... Come to think of it, though, Ian was missing his left arm.

No, this was no time for pointless crap like that.

Blood was gushing from my torn-off arm. Maddening pain scrambled my thoughts.

“Ghhh...!!”

Just as I was stubbornly trying to swallow the pain—

◆Temporarily blocking sensory nerves!

With the sudden appearance of translucent text, the agonizing pain vanished all at once. Only then did my dazed mind clear. I immediately activated Regeneration.

◆You can use the skill 'Regeneration[B-]' to regenerate your damaged body.

◆Required nutrients - carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, phosphorus, iron, sulfur, magnesium...

But the list of nutrients needed for regeneration went on and on. Given that my entire right arm was missing, that was only natural.

Still, it was fine.

◆You can use the skill 'Nutrient Synthesis[C+]' to synthesize the required nutrients.

◆Surplus calories - 230 kcal

Thanks to the upgraded Nutrient Synthesis[C+], I could synthesize every nutrient needed to rebuild my body. I was, however, woefully short on calories.

But even that wasn't much of a problem.

◆Taking 'Alacron Flesh' out of Inventory.

I took a piece of Alacron flesh I'd cut earlier out of Inventory and chewed it vigorously. I'd been steadily stockpiling meat while hunting monsters over the past two weeks. I had plenty of nutrients.

I gulped down the flesh, and my bitten-off right arm regenerated in an instant. My shattered left fist also regenerated, returning to normal. Upgrading Regeneration to [B-] had vastly improved both its efficiency and speed.

GRR?

The Gelu Drake shuddered in confusion.

It had thought I was human. But faced with regeneration rivaling an ice troll's, it seemed to be wondering whether I might be a troll. Then it tilted its head at how utterly unlike a troll I looked.

GRRROWL?!

Its expression twisted bizarrely as it regarded me, as though I were a creature unlike anything it had ever seen.

I drew my sword with my fully regenerated right hand. I had a real chance of winning.

“Go on. Keep biting.”

Give up my bones to take its flesh.

* * *

BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!

The continuing explosions drew Kai and the soldiers' attention. Accompanied by thunderous reports, the blasts shook the snowy mountains violently.

Their impact shattered the snowy mountains' silence, and masses of snow piled atop the peaks began to fall. At first, the movement was quiet. But it rapidly grew larger and heavier. Within moments, enormous masses of snow and ice were pouring down the mountains—

RRRRUMBLE...!

A violent roar shook the snowy mountains, and white snow blotted out the entire sky. A surging wall of snow charged downhill, swallowing everything like an exploding sea.

“W-whoa!”

“Everyone, watch out!”

The soldiers panicked. Unable to keep their balance on the trembling ground, they toppled over one after another.

The avalanche bore down on them without slowing, shattering rocks in its path. They would all die if they stayed where they were.

Kai roared like thunder.

“All troops! Get behind me!!”

His aura-infused shout snapped the panicking soldiers back to their senses. Moving in perfect order, they gathered behind him. After confirming that everyone was there, Kai drove his sword into the ground. He then expanded his aura, forming a translucent barrier centered on the embedded blade.

At that same moment, the avalanche struck. Everything turned a hazy white. Cold dust and snow filled the air. Within it, there was nothing to feel but destruction.

How much time passed like that? Only after the avalanche reached the flatlands below and formed a gigantic white tomb did silence finally return to the snowy mountains.

“Oh, mama...!”

“W-we nearly died...!”

Their legs giving out, the soldiers slumped to the ground.

Nothing remained where the avalanche had swept through.

“Is everyone...! All... right?”

Kai checked on the soldiers. White snow had accumulated in his long blond hair. His sword hand and his voice trembled faintly.

That was only natural after facing the full force of nature head-on. If anything, no one could have imagined such a feat was possible. It was no exaggeration to say that a human had stood against nature itself.

Though he had suffered considerable injuries as a result, Kai hadn't run. He had fought nature itself to protect the soldiers. What would have happened if he hadn't stood at the front and blocked the avalanche with his aura? How many of them would have survived?

“We're all right!!”

“We're unharmed!!”

The soldiers' eyes shone with deep respect and awe as they looked at Kai.

Just then—

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!

Another enormous explosion erupted in the snowy mountains.

It was hard to call the earlier avalanche a blessing, but no second avalanche followed. As for the place where the explosions were erupting, Kai's instincts were warning him: he must never go there.

“A Gelu Drake...!!!”

One of the soldiers shouted.

“Wh-what?!”

“Why is a Gelu Drake...!”

The soldiers went deathly pale in an instant. Not one of them failed to understand what that name meant.

And it wasn't just the soldiers. Everyone in Whitewolf county knew. Indeed, there could be no living creature in the continent's north that didn't know that name. It was a catastrophe surpassing even the natural terror of an avalanche.

* * *

CLANG!

The Gelu Drake's hide wouldn't let my blade penetrate. But that didn't mean it absorbed the entire impact. The force of the metal striking it made it stagger. I swiftly put distance between us.

The sword I was using was the same kind issued to the soldiers at the count's castle. It had no distinguishing features, but it was a steel sword more than adequate for actual combat. In other words, it wasn't the purely ornamental rapier I'd used last time.

Even so, it couldn't cut through. Forget cutting—it couldn't leave so much as a scratch.

'Its hide is too hard.'

Not merely tough. Hard. The Gelu Drake had inherited its hide from dragons, too. Of course, it couldn't compare to genuine dragon scales. Even so, dragon genetic material was imprinted in that hide. Nothing short of an aura sword could cut through it.

Yet I couldn't even manipulate mana, let alone aura.

'A sword won't work.'

I had to win with blunt-force strikes. I made the decision quickly and hurled my sword. The Gelu Drake didn't dodge.

CLANG!

Sparks flew as the thrown sword struck its hide. I'd been thinking it for a while now, but that might as well have been metal rather than skin. In other words, I couldn't win no matter how hard I tried.

But I wasn't the count's wastrel son now.

I was a member of the special task force under the allied army's Operations Command. Chief of Covert Operations in the special warfare unit.

If dragon genetic material was imprinted in the Gelu Drake, then every memory and experience from my time as the allied army's Predator was imprinted, intact, in my mind.

◆Using the skill 'Promote Metabolism[E+]'.

◆Strength decreases by [-25%].

◆Agility and Stamina increase by [+10%].

THUMP!

Every capability mediated by my nervous system was temporarily amplified.

The sword I'd thrown hadn't done any damage. But it had made the Gelu Drake hesitate briefly. And in that brief hesitation—

PATTER-PATTER!

I rushed into the opening. My movements had suddenly accelerated, and the Gelu Drake lost track of me for an instant. Its flank was left completely exposed. I clenched my fist tight.

Promote Metabolism[E+] increased Stamina and Agility at the cost of [-25%] Strength. That meant my Strength stat dropped from 22 to 16.5. I lost the strength of 5.5 grown men, and my blows against the Gelu Drake weakened accordingly.

But Promote Metabolism[E+] was an [On/Off] skill. Just before impact, I deactivated it. The Strength I'd lost returned in an instant.

A full-powered blow backed by 22 Strength struck the Gelu Drake square in the ribs—

BOOOM!!

A thunderous noise rang out. Its body rocked violently—

CRACK!

I heard bones breaking. But the sound hadn't come from the Gelu Drake.

◆Temporarily blocking sensory nerves!

As the message appeared before my eyes, I felt no pain. I looked down to see my mangled fist.

The Gelu Drake, meanwhile, merely staggered a few times. It shook its head and quickly recovered. At this point, I hadn't hit its ribs with my fist. Its ribs had hit my fist.

Give up my bones to take its flesh. What a ridiculous strategy. But for me, right now, it couldn't have been more effective.

◆You can use the skill 'Regeneration[B-]' to regenerate your damaged body.

◆You can use the skill 'Nutrient Synthesis[C+]' to synthesize the required nutrients.

I activated Regeneration[B-] and Nutrient Synthesis[C+] simultaneously. Taking monster meat out of Inventory, I chewed and swallowed it. My shattered fist regenerated in an instant.

GRRROWL...!

The look in the Gelu Drake's eyes changed. Until a moment ago, it had regarded me as nothing more than prey to be hunted. Not anymore.

An equal predator. A rival that could devour it if it wasn't careful.

Our eyes met. Neither of us rushed in. In a standoff that seemed as though it would last forever, I crooked a finger at the Gelu Drake, taunting it.

“Didn't I tell you to keep biting?”

Even so, it didn't rush to attack. It wasn't quite afraid, but it was definitely wary of me now.

But that only lasted a moment.

“Don't tell me you're chicken?”

At those words, the Gelu Drake rolled its eyes back and kicked off the snow-covered ground.