Ch.3The girl ran toward the starting point.

A week had passed since leaving the tribe and starting life in the snow cave. During that week, Sae-rin had barely managed to hunt a single snow rabbit.

Of course, she hadn’t caught it herself—the rabbit had fortunately gotten caught in a trap she had set up in hopes of luck. Sae-rin hadn’t caught any prey directly.

The provisions she had brought were already reduced by half. Being a young girl, she couldn’t carry much to begin with.

She could choose to return to the tribe and gather the remaining food. But it was dangerous. And it was questionable whether any food would remain.

Due to the endless winter, everyone living in this land was starving. The bodies of tribe members she had shallowly buried and any remaining food had likely been devoured by beasts roaming the snow fields.

“Haaah…”

Sae-rin let out a long sigh. She felt guilty for not properly tending to the bodies of her tribe members. But with her small body, that was the best she could do.

Sae-rin hadn’t forgotten about revenge. The White Frost tribe never forgot grudges. However, revenge was only possible when survival was guaranteed.

Sae-rin calmly suppressed her burning desire for vengeance. She had to suppress it.

Life in the snow cave was extremely lonely. There were no tribe members to talk with, no brothers to hunt with. Even when she spoke to her younger sibling’s body, no answer came back.

As time passed, Sae-rin spoke to herself less frequently.

Another week passed. Sae-rin discovered she had completely adapted to the young girl’s small body. She could now breathe, walk, and swing her sword with familiarity.

She succeeded in her first hunt. Crawling stealthily across the snow-covered field, she finally caught a snow rabbit.

Sae-rin felt proud that day.

The snow-covered white field wasn’t a place abundant with prey. Even catching a snow rabbit was considered lucky.

After a month of living in the snow cave, the food she had brought was almost gone. Despite rationing carefully, she had finally reached the bottom.

Sae-rin had only a handful of dried berries and a piece of dark jerky left.

Clutching her hungry stomach, Sae-rin rose from her seat. Now the small girl had only three options left.

The first option was to bow her head and join another tribe. With luck, she might bear a successor to a powerful figure and establish her position within the tribe.

That was obviously rejected.

‘I can’t dishonor my sister’s body.’

It wasn’t her own body but her sister’s. She couldn’t throw her sister’s body to unknown men.

The second option was to wait and starve to death here. She could maintain her pride and her sister’s honor, but she disliked this option too.

‘I can’t let my sister die as well.’

The third option was to leave this snow field. To leave this freezing cold land and head toward the lands of foreigners.

Sae-rin attached the food pouch to her waist. Once resolved, she had to move. Time was not on her side.

The small girl left the snow cave and began walking across the snow field.

Crunch- Crunch-

The tiny girl’s footprints stretched long across the vast snow field.

Sae-rin’s homeland, the freezing snow field, was never a safe place. The cold that froze bodies was just the beginning; predators hiding in the snow waited for prey to pass by.

The cold of the snow field wasn’t a major problem for Sae-rin. Her innate bloodline gave her strong resistance to cold.

Sae-rin didn’t feel cold on the snow field.

The problem was the predators. They were persistent and cunning. The sight of Sae-rin wandering alone across the snow field would appear as good prey to them.

“Oh no…”

Sae-rin clicked her tongue and ran. White snow scattered behind her. As soon as she left the territory controlled by the White Frost tribe, a snow-white wolf followed behind her.

The small girl gritted her teeth. If it had been her original body, she would have fought without hesitation. She would have swung her sword and skinned the wolf.

But now she couldn’t. No matter how much knowledge or experience she had, it couldn’t create physical abilities she didn’t possess.

Without stopping, Sae-rin looked back. Only one wolf was following her. Despite considerable time passing, no other wolf pack appeared.

This meant the wolf had been expelled from its pack. It was either sick or old, one of the two. But even so, she had no chance of winning.

Sae-rin continued running.

Her heart pounded as if it would burst. The intense movement demanded more oxygen, but her small lungs couldn’t meet her body’s demands.

As the oxygen entering her body decreased, her physical abilities began to deteriorate. Her legs grew heavy, and a sharp pain spread across her chest.

After running and running, when she reached her limit.

Sae-rin stopped.

If she continued, she felt she would die from running. It was better to rely on luck while she still had some strength left.

Sae-rin breathed heavily. She circulated blood throughout her body while supplying the lacking oxygen. As Sae-rin caught her breath, the wolf appeared.

The massive snow wolf was, as Sae-rin had expected, not in normal condition. Its fur lacked luster and was patchy in places. The large exposed teeth were blunt and yellow. It was a wolf on the verge of death from old age.

She put down the load on her back and gripped her sword.

The old wolf staring at Sae-rin didn’t rush in recklessly. With age, its muscles had deteriorated. Its eyesight had worsened, and its sense of smell wasn’t what it used to be.

However, the experience accumulated through years of survival hadn’t disappeared. The old wolf recognized the danger of the sword Sae-rin was holding.

A weapon used by humans. It was like their own teeth and claws. The old wolf circled around Sae-rin, waiting for her strength to diminish in the cold.

A cold wind passed between Sae-rin and the wolf.

The old wolf attacked first. It dug its paws into the ground and charged at Sae-rin with incredible speed.

Sae-rin’s gaze swept through the air. She couldn’t confront it directly. Even though it was an old wolf, it was not a force that a small girl’s body could withstand.

The moment she made her decision, her body moved. Her legs slipped slightly on the white snow as she dodged. Her stance lowered as her central leg gave way. Immediately after, she pushed off the ground and rolled.

Thud-!

The wolf narrowly missed and pounced on the spot where Sae-rin had been standing. Sae-rin rolled across the snow, quickly got up, and swung her sword.

She couldn’t aim for the body or neck. Due to her lack of arm strength, she had to target areas where the skin wasn’t thick.

Sae-rin’s sword grazed the wolf’s nose as it passed by.

Slash-!

-Kyaang!

After a clean cut, red blood burst forth, blooming like a red flower on the white snow field.

Sae-rin retreated without hesitation immediately after.

“Kyeong!”

The wounded wolf charged more violently. Its movements were large and full of openings, but Sae-rin didn’t attack again.

‘The moment I go in deep, I’ll be caught.’

To Sae-rin’s experienced hunter’s eyes, the wolf’s intentions were clear. It was clearly planning to pounce and overwhelm her the moment she came in close.

Sae-rin continued to retreat while swinging her sword in the air to threaten the wolf. She maintained long breaths and waited for the right moment. When she saw a definite opening, she exhaled without hesitation and swung her sword.

Swish-!

The attack was shallow. But the effect was certain. As Sae-rin’s sword grazed the wolf’s leg, it no longer approached.

-Grrrr…

Limping on its bleeding leg, it slowly backed away. The old wolf realized that even if the hunt succeeded, what came after would be problematic.

If they continued fighting, it would win. But it would also sustain serious injuries. The old wolf no longer had a pack to care for it.

An injured old wolf would just be good prey for other predators.

The wolf backed away, licking its nose. Red blood continued to drip. The wolf retreated like that.

Sae-rin couldn’t relax even after the wolf disappeared from sight. Her long, thin breaths continued tremulously. In a state of extreme excitement, Sae-rin stood there for a long time.

Then suddenly, emerging from her excitement, Sae-rin shook her head. She didn’t have time to stand around like this. Once the sun set, predators would become more active.

Sae-rin gathered her scattered belongings and ran again.

She ran all day, and when night fell, she dug a hole and hid. When day broke, she emerged again and ran while being as cautious as possible.

By the time her provisions ran out, Sae-rin had barely reached a massive mountain range.

***

Crunch- Crunch-

A battered girl, breathing heavily, looked beyond the massive mountain range. Unlike the snow-covered fields, a green plain filled her vision.

“Ah…”

The blowing wind carried a subtle warmth. For Sae-rin, who had lived her entire life in the snow fields, this was a sensation she had never felt before.

Sae-rin gazed at the green plain. She recognized herself, thought, and perceived her surroundings. New memories overlaid the first memories of a boy who had come of age and established his identity.

Step-

The small feet moved forward. That day, Sae-rin left her homeland.