Chapter 194: Snowy Mountains (4)

“

Woooooh!

” Kai let out a scream-like cheer.

The refreshing air filled his chest and belly as it rushed in through his nose, and the cold wind of the Snowy Mountains slapped his face in real-time! It was a thrilling sensation that could only be felt from atop a wyvern soaring through the sky.

The time was delayed quite a bit...

It had taken Mimic half a day to successfully imitate the bound wyvern because the skill kept failing due to Mimic’s lower level.

Of course, Kai didn’t regret the time spent.

Thanks to that, I can now head straight to Sineras’s nest.

In fact, it had drastically shortened the time it would take.

“Mimic, lower the altitude. Let’s fly over that mountain range,” Kai said as he patted Mimic, who had transformed into a wyvern, on the head.

Mimic folded its wings and quickly descended, gliding over the mountain range.

At this speed, we should reach the nest in about two hours.

Feeling relaxed, Kai sat back on Mimic’s broad back, gazing at the nest that was gradually getting closer.

A dragon, huh... I wonder just how powerful it will be.

Fighting a formidable enemy always carried a risk. Losing resulted in losing something, but victory came with great rewards. Kai had learned this unchanging truth through many dangerous battles.

I’ll definitely get at least one special title.

If lucky, he could even earn two or three, but that wasn’t all.

It’ll at least be a raid boss monster, so...

The value of the dropped materials would also be astronomical. Raids offered far better chances than any lottery with impossible odds, as it wasn’t about leaving everything to luck; it was about earning the rewards through skill.

After two more hours of flying, Mimic, now close to the nest, suddenly let out a cry,

“

Screech! Screeeech!

”

“Even the cry is the same.” Sighing softly, Kai turned to meet Mimic’s gaze. “What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“

Screeech!

” Mimic screeched, staring at something.

Mimic wouldn’t act like this for no reason. Let’s see...

Kai looked to where Mimic was looking, and his eyes lit up.

A person!

There was a man who looked bulky from wearing several layers of thick fur clothing, much like an Eskimo. Unfortunately, however, he was surrounded by three yetis and was fiercely fighting them off.

Is that Luna’s brother?

Kai quickly urged Mimic to approach the scene.

“

Huff, huff!

”

The yetis surrounding the man attacked in a careful, orderly fashion, slowly chipping away at his health.

They’re really trying to wear him down to death.

The yetis’ actions showed their determination not to lose the food they had found after so long.

“Mimic, stay up here.”

Though Mimic had transformed into a wyvern, its level was still too low to have learned any skills. If it descended, it could be unsummoned after just a few attacks from the yetis.

Knowing this well, Kai pushed off Mimic’s back and jumped to the ground.

“

Krrk?

”

The yetis lifted their heads at the strange sound coming from the air.

At the same moment, three powerful beams of light struck their chests in rapid succession!

“

Holy Explosion!

”

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The yetis tumbled through the snow, rolling over several times before getting up and shaking their heads. With furious glares, they advanced toward Kai, who had just landed in the snow.

Aggro secured.

Ignoring the yetis, Kai walked toward the man.

Startled by the sudden appearance of another person, the man asked in a bewildered voice, “Wh-who are you...?”

“I’m just an adventurer passing by. Are you from Cordo village, by any chance?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I see. Is your name Sora?”

“

Huh

?” The young man’s eyes widened and he nodded. “How do you know...?”

“Your sister sent me. She asked me to bring her younger brother back.”

“My sister...?” Sora, Luna’s brother, bit his lower lip and shook his head. “If my sister sent you, then you must already know everything.”

“You mean the curse of Sineras?”

“Yes. I won’t return until I break that curse.”

“

Sigh

.”

His concern for his sister was admirable. It almost made Kai want to pat him on the head and praise him.

However...

There were many things in the world that couldn’t be achieved with just good intentions. The idea that Sora, struggling with three yetis, could face a Death Dragon was absurd.

“I have an older sister too. We bicker and argue all the time, but she’s a really great sister. Maybe because we have a big age gap, she’s always looked out for me in ways I didn’t even realize when I was young. So, I rely on her a lot. If she were struck by a terrible illness... I might lose my senses, just like you.”

Sora blinked, confused by Kai’s sudden story.

“But you have to be able to distinguish between what you can and can’t do. Killing a Death Dragon with your strength is impossible. If our intentions alone could save the people we care about, no one would ever lose their life.”

“But I can’t just sit still and...!”

“Did I tell you to sit still?”

Kai, who had been watching the yetis, suddenly turned around and shrugged nonchalantly.

At that moment, Sora shouted with a panicked expression, “H-hey, behind you! The yetis are attacking from behind...!”

“Being by the side of those you love... that’ll be more than enough for them. So...” With a grin, Kai tossed his chain aside and drew his sword. “Just like a chef should handle cooking, leave the monsters to adventurers.”

Slash!

Without even looking back, Kai swung his sword and severed one of the yeti’s arms off.

“

Griiii!

”

“Grill? What would you grill here? You can’t even light a fire in this place.”

Kai cracked a joke so bad even a passing stranger wouldn’t laugh, then swiftly turned his body and lunged forward. At the same time, he swung his sword once again! His blade sliced across the chest of the yeti, which had lost an arm and was now raging wildly.

Hmm... but it was shallow.

Kai furrowed his brows. Had he miscalculated the distance? No, that couldn’t be. Kai had spent months swinging his sword—he was well past making such rookie mistakes.

If it’s not that, then there must be an external factor... Ah, maybe it’s the snow.

Kai glanced down at his legs. The snow beneath him, which made every step slippery, was one of the external factors heavily affecting the fight.

Well, it’s fine now that I’ve realized it.

Quickly recognizing his shortcomings and correcting them was one of the basic skills of a top-ranking player. Of course, there were plenty of stubbornly talented rankers who pushed forward without adjusting. But Kai never clung to bad habits when it came to things like this. He was open minded—Eastern in appearance, but Western in mentality!

If I shorten my stride a bit, that should do it.

With his body now wrapped in buffs, his movements changed completely. Earlier, he had been sprinting with the long strides of an adult trying to leap far, but now, he moved cautiously like a child taking careful steps as they learned to walk. That simple adjustment instantly stabilized his stance.

“

Graaaaar!

”

The main attack patterns of the yetis involved close combat derived from their massive build and throwing snowballs packed tightly together from the surrounding snow.

Looks like the yetis’ feet don’t slip on the snow.

As Kai confirmed the yetis’ stable footing, a giant fist flew toward his face.

“Half a step.”

Just half a step. By pulling his head back that exact distance, the yeti’s punch stopped right in front of his nose. He had calculated the yeti’s leg position and arm length, so he knew he wouldn’t be hit.

“

Grr... gra?

”

The yeti wore a bewildered expression as its punch stopped just in front of Kai’s nose.

“Too bad. If you were a long-armed monkey, that would’ve landed.”

Slash, slash, slash!

Kai’s sword carved through the yeti’s arm like a spiral-cut potato, and he ducked into its chest.

“

Graaaaah!

”

Feeling both pain and fear, the yeti reached down with its other hand, scooping up snow from the ground. In an instant, the snow compressed into a ball the size of a bowling ball! Then, it hurled it straight at Kai.

Swoosh!

Is that a yeti skill? Just from the sound, I can tell it’s no ordinary snowball.

In a children’s snowball fight, slipping a stone inside would be a huge foul! However, the snowball flying toward him now looked as solid as a rock. It was impressive, of course, but nothing to fear.

“If it looks as solid as a rock, that just means it’s no harder than a rock.”

Kai lightly swung his sword upward from below and split the snowball in half, sending the pieces burying into the ground.

“

Gr-graaaar...

”

He was an impossible enemy! Realizing Kai was the predator, the yetis turned and fled without looking back.

Of course, Kai wasn’t the kind of person to let captured prey escape.

“Chasing Light Arrows.”

Hundreds of arrows flew across the glittering snow and swiftly dealt with the yetis. It was a clean victory!

Kai had perfected a new combat style by flawlessly integrating his acquired skills.

At this rate, I could probably handle two Goliath-like enemies at once.

Feeling a sense of pride, Kai turned toward Sora, whose expression was frozen in shock.

“What do you think? It’s always better to leave it to a professional, right?”

In response, Sora silently nodded rapidly.

***

“

Hm.

”

After sending Sora back to the village on Mimic’s back, Kai resumed his trip toward the nearly-reached nest.

“That thing Sora said earlier is still bothering me.”

Before leaving for the village, Sora had left a mysterious message with Kai.

I saw hundreds of monsters, lined up like soldiers, entering the nest. Please be careful.

Based on his words, it didn’t sound much different from the monster groups that attacked cities during Invasion events.

However, it wasn’t even event-season.

There’s no way that could be happening. After all, they’re just monsters.

Even for a dragon, how could it really control hundreds of monsters like that?

“

Hmm

. If there really are hundreds of monsters inside the nest, it’ll be tough to handle alone.”

As Kai scratched his head in frustration while approaching the nest's entrance, he felt the air around him shift.

“

Wow!

My senses are sharp today.”

Thanks to Solarian Body, he had developed keen senses. This allowed him to detect the presence of Sineras breathing within its nest. However, it seemed that he was not the only one with those keen senses.

The dragon can sense my presence from inside the nest?

Kai could feel the rise of baseless hostility aimed at him from within the nest.

Dragons are said to be highly territorial, so maybe it's natural to be upset because an adventurer is lurking near its lair.

Kai nodded with a faint smile.

Well, judging by the faint sense I’m getting... his level seems to be around 500. It’ll be tough, but it shouldn’t be impossible.

Feeling a slight release of anxiousness, Kai slowly made his way into Sineras’s nest.

First, let’s get the dungeon discovery buff...

Just as he was about to claim it, a powerful gust of wind surged from within the nest and forcefully pushed him outside.

“

Argh...!

”

He had to plant his legs firmly into the ground and crouch down just to avoid being blown away by the violent whirlwind! To make matters worse, his heightened senses from Solarian Body kept sounding alarms in his head.

“W-wait a second... Is this thing...?!”

The faint presence of Sineras he had been sensing began growing larger and larger, which could only mean it was getting closer.

“Isn’t this a bit much, even for a dragon?”

No matter how powerful, the idea that a single monster could leave its territory so freely seemed absurd!

Boom!

A massive White Dragon burst through the nest's ceiling, and its bright yellow reptilian eyes glared at Kai. Its gaze held deep fury, as though it were looking upon a mortal enemy.