Ch.4The girl ran toward the starting point.

The familiar sound of crunching snow was absent. The white puffs of breath that usually hung in the air were nowhere to be seen. Instead, rare insects and plants with green leaves were scattered abundantly everywhere.

Unknown. She had awakened to a new world she had never known before.

Learning. She observed, touched, and felt things she had never seen before.

Seo-rin wandered through the green forest for a long time, having lost her initial purpose.

‘It’s warm. Everything I touch.’

Unlike the freezing snow fields, everything that touched her hands held warmth. The warm weather made plants grow well. Well-grown plants were eaten by herbivores, and those herbivores were eaten by carnivores, forming a perfect ecological structure.

Her judgment had been correct. Seo-rin nodded as she gazed at the vast forest spread before her. She was confident she would never starve to death here.

Even if she couldn’t hunt, there were tree fruits, and if those weren’t visible, she could dig up roots to eat. To Seo-rin, everything in this forest looked like food.

This wasn’t wrong. When hunting and food supplies ran out, you had to eat whatever was edible. Back then, even tree bark was considered precious food.

Seo-rin first established her dwelling. Fortunately, she found a dead tree beside a stream and dug beneath it to make her base.

Afterward, she washed herself in the stream. The civilized people who had come from beyond the mountains often called Seo-rin and other barbarians dirty, but they too paid attention to hygiene.

Seo-rin was particularly attentive to her hygiene. In the past, she might have complained about such troublesome tasks and just gone to sleep, but she couldn’t leave her younger sister’s body in a dirty state.

Seo-rin washed herself thoroughly.

Life in the forest was remarkably smooth. Frequent bathing not only kept her body clean but also erased her body odor.

Seo-rin’s hunting efficiency improved significantly. She even set a record—catching ten squirrels in a single day.

As time passed, strength and stamina built up in the girl’s body. Seo-rin began targeting larger prey. Not rabbits or squirrels, but sizeable creatures like deer.

After setting her sights on a deer, she pursued it relentlessly. Unable to catch up with speed alone, she used tracking techniques to follow it until it became exhausted.

After about two days of pursuit, Seo-rin obtained deer meat. That day, her dwelling gained a deer skin floor covering.

The longer she lived in the forest, the more a strange power began to accumulate in Seo-rin’s body.

At first, she thought it was just a trace of the magic her younger sister had used.

But it wasn’t.

It was incredibly faint—so subtle that one wouldn’t notice it without concentration—yet also intense. Though she couldn’t consciously control it, when it erupted at crucial moments to help her, its presence was overwhelming.

This power had the ability to greatly enhance physical capabilities. When it manifested while running, it filled her legs with strength, allowing her to travel farther and faster. When it manifested while swinging her sword, it enabled her frail arms to split logs.

Looking down at her hands, Seo-rin recalled a legend she had heard long ago—a story of a great warrior passed down only among the White Frost tribe.

‘The great warrior of the White Frost tribe would transform into the form of a bear in crucial moments, displaying tremendous strength.’

“Hmm…”

Seo-rin stood up and raised both arms above her head, attempting to imitate a bear. However, no bear-like strength emerged. As expected, old tales were just tales.

More than two weeks had passed since she began living in the forest. Seo-rin started expanding her territory to wider areas.

Predators that crawled on the ground were no match for her. Those unable to climb trees had to flee from her stone-throwing and archery attacks from the treetops.

Of course, she didn’t bother creatures that could climb trees. They retreated with mutual respect, exchanging only glances. This was how Seo-rin continued to expand her territory.

Today, like any other day, Seo-rin went out to hunt deer. Areas where tree fruits grew abundantly often attracted vulnerable animals like deer.

That was Seo-rin’s main hunting ground.

She lowered her posture and breathed softly. Walking quietly while focusing all her senses on the deer, Seo-rin approached using every technique at her disposal.

The deer that had become Seo-rin’s target was peacefully plucking and eating berries from the ground. It seemed unaware of Seo-rin’s approach, even as she came within close range.

Gulp—

The distance between the deer and Seo-rin was barely five steps.

‘Any closer and I’ll be detected.’

Seo-rin swallowed dryly and began to grip her sword tightly.

There was only one chance. If she failed now, the deer would disappear into the forest without looking back.

She needed to be extremely cautious. As she held her breath, watching for the right moment—

The direction of the wind changed. Seo-rin seized that moment and lunged forward.

Whoosh—!

A silent attack. No hunter shouts to alert their prey. The prey should not realize what has happened until the moment of death.

Seo-rin swung the sword in her hand.

At that moment—

Swish—!

A sound like air being cut came from not too far away. Seo-rin thought it was a familiar sound—the sound she always heard when her brothers shot their bows.

Seo-rin twisted her body urgently. Though she couldn’t put proper force into her movement while in mid-air, she managed to swing her sword in the opposite direction.

Slash—! Clang—!

Sparks flew as metal struck metal. The deer leaped up and fled at the delayed boom.

But Seo-rin didn’t chase after the deer. She lowered her posture and turned around. Her breathing became thin and long as her lowered gaze turned toward the direction from which the arrow had come.

What appeared there was a man holding a large bow.

Seo-rin’s gaze quickly assessed his armament: a dagger hanging at his waist, a quiver of arrows slung diagonally across his back, and a large bow held in his left hand.

“Huk!”

Seo-rin exhaled roughly and charged forward. She needed to settle this before the opponent could nock another arrow.

An intruder in her territory. Moreover, one who had attacked first. Seo-rin recognized the man before her as a clear enemy.

“Uh, wait…?”

Patter-patter—!

The man’s confusion was palpable. Seo-rin, who had approached rapidly, dove into the man’s reach and swung her sword forcefully.

An upward slash, from bottom to top.

“Heya…!”

What caught the tip of her sword was not the man’s skin but the hard bow. The man, who had belatedly pulled back his body, swung his bow in resistance. But this too was expected.

Seo-rin didn’t think she could kill this man with a single attack.

The faster the attack, the more force it carries. Seo-rin utilized her small body to the fullest, putting her entire body weight into each attack.

Swish—!

“Kuk! W-wait! Stop!”

Strangely enough, the barbarians and civilized people separated by the great mountain range could understand each other’s language. Of course, that was the only thing they shared. Their environments and cultures were different. People of the White Frost tribe, including Seo-rin, never heeded the words of those they considered enemies.

The man before her was clearly an enemy.

Kill first or be killed. For Seo-rin, who had lived in the survival-of-the-fittest wilderness, it was the obvious choice. The small girl was simply desperate.

As desperate as Seo-rin was, the hunter Deidram was equally so. After going hunting far away for the first time in a while, he had shot an arrow at what looked like a decent deer.

At that time, Deidram had been thinking about the venison dish he would eat for dinner—until the small girl appeared and deflected his arrow.

Judging by her attire, she was clearly a barbarian who had crossed the mountains. Deidram recalled his experiences with barbarians.

Most were cautious, polite, and careful. Realizing she wasn’t someone he couldn’t communicate with, he wanted to resolve the misunderstanding through dialogue.

That it was a coincidence. Just an accident. Definitely not an attack aimed at her.

But the girl gave him no opening. Like a wild wolf, she approached silently and swung her sword. The girl’s movements resembled those of a predator.

Even her breathing sounded like that of a wild beast.

Deidram felt cold sweat running down his back.

“Stop! It was an accident! I won’t hurt you!”

Deidram shouted as he retreated significantly. But Seo-rin didn’t stop.

Deidram let out a long sigh. If she wouldn’t listen, he had no choice but to take action. To subdue her cleanly without injury, he needed to use mana. That’s how threatening the small girl’s attacks were.

Deidram began a long breath and moved the mana located around his heart.

Thump—!

With a rough heartbeat, mana raced through his blood vessels. Blue light shimmered in his inhales and exhales. At that moment, Deidram’s leg struck the ground.

Boom—!

His mana-infused leg left a deep footprint as it struck the ground. Just as Deidram approached Seo-rin with explosive speed and was about to grab her nape—

Whoosh—

A low breath extended. As blue light flickered in Seo-rin’s thin exhalation, a sharp slash cut through the air.

Swoosh—!

Seo-rin’s sword merely cut through empty air. But Deidram’s expression became gravely serious.

As if time itself had been cut, they stared at each other without saying a word.

Seo-rin assessed the situation. The opponent seemed to have no further intention to attack. But she didn’t appear to have the upper hand either. In that case, there was only one option.

After edging sideways cautiously, Seo-rin turned and fled.