Chapter 43 – The Knowledge Seeker

R̂êâd̈ ̂óń ̂​K̈àt̃Ŕëäd̃​ïn̈ǵC̈àf̀ẽ

Kooong-!

As time passed, the earth-shaking footsteps and the shadow’s presence grew larger.

At the same time, I realized the identity of the shadow approaching this place—it was the Yeti, the creature that had attacked hunters, including Ibok.

“Oh, it’s coming! It’s coming!”

Indeed, Ibok began to panic the moment he heard the Yeti’s footsteps. His face turned pale, and he clutched his head, crouching under the table.

The hair on my body stood on end. The overwhelming tension brought extreme stress. My head throbbed, and I found myself biting my lip without realizing it.

“Wh-what should we do?”

Isolin’s condition seemed relatively stable. Aside from a slight panic, her complexion looked fine, and her hands weren’t trembling.

The problem was that she didn’t know what to do.

I needed to think. Why was that Yeti heading this way?

Then, it hit me—the monster’s aggro system. Perhaps the Yeti was chasing Ibok, who had fled, and Jane, who had lost her leg.

If the Yeti’s range of action was much wider than that of a typical monster, this was a plausible scenario.

I slowly shifted my gaze to the table. Jane, whom I had treated, was sleeping peacefully, while Ibok was still trembling under the table.

“I-Isolin.”

“Huh…?”

With trembling lips, I barely managed to call Isolin. She clung to me as always, her sparkling eyes fixed on me.

I swallowed hard, struggling to find the right words. A whirlwind of thoughts rose and fell in my mind.

If my assumption was correct—that the Yeti was chasing Ibok and Jane—then Isolin and I might survive. No, we definitely would. If only we could abandon these two and run.

But the words wouldn’t come. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Isolin to abandon them and flee.

The NPCs living in this world were also people. They laughed when happy and cried when sad, living in this world alongside us.

Kooong-!

The intense conflict made my breathing ragged. The approaching footsteps forced me to make a choice.

“C-could you turn off all the lamps here?”

“Got it!”

Before taking the final action, I began a precautionary check, considering the slim possibility that the Yeti might have been drawn by the faint light rather than Ibok and Jane.

Isolin and I quickly moved to extinguish all the lights inside the cabin.

However.

Kooong-!

The footsteps continued to grow closer. The Yeti’s shadow was now close enough to make out its form.

Its massive frame, fur as white as the snow, pointed ears, and protruding fangs. Its glowing eyes stared at the hunter’s cabin.

Though I could vaguely make out the Yeti’s appearance, I still couldn’t see its name or level.

But one thing was clear—there was no way we could win against it in this situation.

What should I do? Should we really abandon Ibok and Jane and run?

Isolin and I didn’t have the strength to carry two grown men through the snowy wilderness.

“…Prim! Supreme!”

“Ah…”

A shake to my shoulder snapped me out of my thoughts. Blinking, I looked at Isolin as she spoke.

“What are you doing? Hurry, we need to move them to the sled!”

“The sled…?”

“The sled we came on!”

At Isolin’s shout, I nodded blankly. That’s right. The wolf sled we arrived on was still nearby. With its speed, we might be able to outrun the Yeti.

“Hurry up!”

It seemed Isolin didn’t even consider abandoning Ibok and Jane. She quickly moved to slap Ibok, who was still cowering under the table.

“Snap out of it! Do you want to die here?”

There was no time to waste. I shook my head and rushed to Jane, who was lying on the table.

“H-heek… It’s coming! It’s coming! We’re all going to die! I want to live!”

“Snap out of it! Yah!”

Slapping him wasn’t enough, so Isolin began hitting Ibok’s head with her magic wand. The hard, gem-encrusted part of the wand struck his head repeatedly until he finally passed out.

“Oh no…!”

Isolin was visibly panicked by Ibok’s unconscious state. I shook my head and said,

“It’s better this way. It’s better for him to be unconscious than in such a panicked state.”

Ibok and Jane, both large and sturdy, likely weighed around 70-80 kilograms. Isolin and I dragged them out of the cabin.

Whoosh-!

As soon as we stepped outside, a fierce snowstorm greeted us. The wind felt like blades against our cheeks.

-Woof woof!

-Awooo!

The wolves tied near the cabin were also showing signs of anxiety due to the Yeti’s approach.

I dragged Jane onto the sled and then ran to the wolves.

-Grrr!

-Awoo!

“Th-these guys… calm down…”

Fortunately, Hark’s wolves were relatively tame. Accustomed to human touch, they quickly settled under my hands.

“Isolin! Help me!”

“Got it!”

Attaching the wolves to the sled was no easy task. Isolin and I frantically worked to replace the ropes and connect the wolves to the sled.

Kooong-!

The approaching footsteps added urgency to our movements. After several failed attempts, we finally managed to attach the wolves to the sled.

“D-done…!”

At that moment, the fierce wind suddenly stopped. It was strange. In the middle of a snowstorm, the wind just stopped. This wasn’t normal.

As I looked around in confusion, I realized why the wind had stopped.

It hadn’t stopped. The massive Yeti was standing in front of us, blocking the wind.

[Level 40]
[Shadow of the Snowfield, Kulaz]

“Su-Supreme! Get on!”

“Oh no…!”

The appearance of its level and name meant we were close enough to recognize each other.

I ran toward the sled, avoiding the Yeti’s terrifying gaze.

-Groooar!

At that moment, a deafening roar erupted. The sound was so powerful it felt like the world itself was shaking.

I climbed onto the sled and shouted at Isolin.

“Get us out of here!”

At my command, Isolin immediately grabbed the reins. The wolves began to run as if they had been waiting for this.

The large sled sped across the dark snowy field.

Kooong-!

Thankfully, the sled was fast. Looking back, I could see the Yeti’s shadow and footsteps growing distant.

“Ha, haha…”

The relief of escaping the dire situation brought a delayed rush of adrenaline.

Dopamine surged, making my head tingle, and soon the sensation spread throughout my body, bringing a faint sense of euphoria.

Then, my gaze fell on Isolin. She was also looking at me, smiling.

“Ha, haha… Hey, Isolin.”

“Huh?”

“When did you learn to drive a sled?”

Isolin, like me, was an ordinary person from the modern world. How did she know how to drive a sled?

Isolin smiled brightly and answered.

“I didn’t learn.”

“What…?”

If she didn’t learn, then why was she at the helm? A sense of foreboding began to rise again.

Isolin chuckled lightly and continued.

“I just copied what Hark did earlier.”

“That…”

As I opened my mouth to respond, a sudden jolt shook the sled.

Clunk-!

“Eek!”

“Ugh…!”

The sled lifted into the air, and various items scattered everywhere.

Isolin, holding the reins, stayed in place, and Ibok and Jane, in the cargo area, also remained.

But I was different.

My small body was flung into the air with no resistance. For a brief moment, my eyes met Isolin’s.

She reached out quickly, but the sled was moving too fast.

Clunk-!

The sled, which had momentarily lifted, landed back on the ground and continued to race forward.

“Su-Supreme!”

Isolin shouted my name, preparing to jump off the sled. I shouted back as I watched her grow distant.

“Keep going! Go and get help from the temple!”

My small body floated in the air before plummeting toward the ground. The soft snow would cushion the fall.

The only concern was the Yeti still chasing us.

Kooong-!

As I heard the Yeti’s footsteps in the distance, my body crashed into the snowy ground. Just as I tried to get up, the snow beneath me gave way, and I began to fall again.

“Eek!”

I flailed my arms, but all I could grasp was cold, slippery ice and snow.

I slid and slid. Down, down. It felt like riding a long, endless slide.

How much time had passed? When the fall finally stopped, I let out a sigh and checked my condition.

My arms and legs were fine, and nothing hurt. The soft snow had absorbed the impact.

I stood up and looked around.

Pitch-black darkness. The cold space was devoid of any light.

I had prepared for situations like this by carrying several portable lanterns. I pulled one from my inventory and lit it.

Flicker-!

The faint light spread around me. Only then could I see the space I was in.

 

ā̭̠̳̜͇͇͆͗͗̏̑͐͗͋̏͋î̱̥͇͖̣͕̠̰͋̀̒̇̈͛̊̈̐̚ ś̠̖̲͍̬͕̜̜̦̱͎̅̀̉̒̒͗u̖͉͎͍͕͎͔̎̏̍̑͑͛̋̈́̈̑̈́ͅ ä͇̙̗̘̦̝̖̘̟̝͎̝́̀͛̓́̒͌̇j̲̣̳̲͓̫̯͚͎̮͙͐͒̍͑͐f̝͕̥̣̪̠̉̇́͊͐ ḃ̩̰͚̦̝̳̮͕̠̰̖̑̊̇̒̐ẹ̪͔̬̬̞̙̾̏̓͗

 

The first thing that caught my eye was the strange characters covering the dark walls.

“This…”

It wasn’t unfamiliar. The characters etched into the wall resembled the skill descriptions of Void Gaze and Hidden Aspect, skills I possessed.

As if entranced, I began to walk slowly along the dark wall.