"Fine, but don't expect me to babysit you or protect you all the time. You'll need to survive on your own, Park Jieun." I extended my arm to her, and we shook hands. Her expression was full of joy and hope for the future. "Thank you, big sis!"
"Just call me Gaon." I patted her head.
"Only if you call me Jieun, and I want to keep calling you big sis anyway, big sis Gaon" she nodded and giggled cheerfully.
"Deal!" I extended my fist, and Jieun excitedly bumped it. How did it come to this?...
...
Several hundred kilometers away.
"Sir! Reporting the spotting of the new awakened Ruler around 200 kilometers south of here!" The young man, dressed in a simple white tunic, kneeled before a figure of a young man.
On a wooden throne sat a young man in his twenties. He wore coal-black hair and an extravagant black tunic robe with a hood. His appearance was cold and eerie, frightening his lackeys, who stood with heads bowed down.
"It must be her…" His voice was young but chilling. He stood up and clenched his staff. "My beloved Gaon, oh how much I wish to meet you again…" His staff was pitch black and shone with a violet light from the tip. The entire staff was surrounded by the phantoms that flew in circles around it. Suddenly, the lackey felt his throat grabbed by a mysterious power as he struggled to gasp for air.
"Sir… Plea... please!" The young man looked at his lackey and reached out to his chest with a finger. "Tell me, was the new Ruler a woman? FAST!" His expression was that of a madman, ready to slaughter everyone just for his goal. "It... it was a woman, as far... ack... as far as we know. Sh... She killed the goblin king on her own, just like you, sir! That's all the intel we have. They are currently occupying a goblin village. We could reach it in a few days if we use our new mounts! Gak…"
The life in the lackey's eyes vanished, replaced with frightened and lifeless eyes. His mouth opened and what it looked to be his soul, flew out in a spectral light, quickly joining the other phantoms on the staff. "MOVE OUT. WE WILL GO PAY MY OLD FRIEND A VISIT! FAST! FAST! HAHA!" The young man's expression was evil and mad. He clenched his staff harder, blood started dripping from his palms and the entire area became a darkness chamber as shadows left his staff and wrapped the entire room in darkness. The servants were terrified and quickly rushed out of the room to prepare the mount for their boss. They didn't waste time, and within seconds, a massive five-meter-tall wolf-like monster was prepared just outside a small wooden castle.
...
Several hours after my conversation with Jieun and her party members, I decided it was time to move. My mind and body were exhausted after the fight with the goblin king, but I felt good for an unknown reason. Maybe because I'd risen in levels quickly, which made my confidence grow. I bet if I faced that beast again, I could slay it in a few slashes. My Kinetic Slash has become so powerful. I'm itching to try it out.
"Big sis?" Kim Seong-Hoon was walking beside me. "What are you thinking about? You've almost hit a rock..." He giggled, looking at my expression as I noticed a huge boulder in front of me.
"Tha... thanks," I said unwillingly, too embarrassed to admit I was distracted.
It had been several days since we left. We'd traveled through the long and boring grass field, and to my disappointment, we hadn't encountered a single monster. I feel like grass fields are almost like a neutral zone, or we're just too unlucky. I sighed deeply to myself.
I looked to my left, where Jieun and Malrang were walking together. By now, Jieun had fully confiscated Malrang from me, and it looked cute, to be honest. That child is special. Malrang wouldn't bond with an evil person. But I do miss her soft fur on my shoulder. I laughed to myself.
We arrived at an area with more rocks visible. The surroundings had changed from open grass fields to the small mountains before us. Several trees looked like fire pillars, blazing in the distance.
"What is that? Did somebody set this place on fire?" I pointed to the area ahead, squinting my eyes. I could hardly believe they could actually be trees made out of fire.
"Let's go check it out, Big Sis Gaon! I want to touch it!" Jieun screamed and quickly rushed ahead without waiting for either Kim Seong-Hoon or my approval.
I already regret letting her join... But, those trees do look interesting. I followed right behind her, leaving Seong-Hoon behind us. He seemed spaced out, and before I left, I noticed his face wore an ugly expression, as if he knew something about this. I chose to ignore it for now because both Jieun and Malrang were nearly reaching the fire trees.
"HOT!" Jieun screamed before even getting close enough to touch them. Thanks to my level 9 element resist, I could only feel a slight warmth coming from the fire pillars. They were coming out of small pockets in the rocky and dry ground.
"It looks like a gas leak. I remember watching a video before—it was terrifying," I murmured to myself.
Malrang carefully approached one of the pillars and bit down on it. I was left stunned as Malrang bit off a chunk of fire and munched on it. Her natural affinity to fire elements made her immune to flames that could probably burn anyone under level 4 to ashes.
I extended my hand and touched the fire tree. It was as hard as tempered glass but also translucent. This is amazing... My voice was filled with awe and amazement. I could never do this in my previous world.
"Does it not burn you, Big Sis Gaon?" Jieun asked, worried. Not many people would be brave or foolish enough to touch a fire pillar.
"It's not that hot because of my special skill. But it would be best if you were careful around them; we still don't know this area well." I looked around, but I couldn't see Kim Seong-Hoon anywhere. "Hey, Jieun, did you see where our party clown went?" I was starting to get worried. He had never disappeared on us like this before.
"No... I was too focused on these trees. But Big Bro is strong; don't worry about him, Sister." She giggled, and I could see on her face that she trusted him dearly. I couldn't say the same about myself. He was too mysterious, and I felt he hid a lot from me.
Inspect! I was curious about these trees and wanted to know more about them before searching for Kim Seong-Hoon.
-Blazelia. A tree-type plant, exclusive to the Warsong region. Special uses: the root of the tree can be used to craft elixirs. The glass-like material can be used to forge high-level weapons and armor.-
Wow, this is amazing! I could try to learn crafting with these materials. Even if I can't directly equip a main weapon or armor, there's no rule against crafting support tools in the class description.
"These trees are amazing, Jieun! You should inspect them."
"But I already tried and was denied... My level is too low..." She looked down, embarrassed and slightly sulking.
"Is it because I'm now level 6?" I wondered aloud. "Anyway, they're called Blazelia, and we can harvest them for crafting materials. Let me cut a few of them down."
"It's okay! I can do it!" She said with enthusiasm and used a wind ability to attack the tree's stem.
Boom!
As soon as the wind touched the fire, the entire area, about 5 meters wide, exploded in a blazing pillar of light. Shit! I quickly used space distortion and grabbed both Malrang and Jieun, barely dodging the blast.
"What the fuck!" I wanted to rip the little brat to shreds for being so reckless, but I knew I'd have done the same in her shoes. I just gave her an angry look instead.
"Sorry, Sister Gaon..." She stuck her tongue out in an awkward apology, though I could tell she wasn't really sorry.
"As long as you're okay... What about you, Malrang?"
"Weee"
She patted my hand as if to say she was fine.
Now, where is that idiot Seong-Hoon…?
"RUUUN...!!!" The distant sound of a familiar voice reached my ears.
"Run? From wha—?!" My eyes widened as I saw Kim Seong-Hoon running for his life. A giant lizard-like creature, about 20 meters tall, was chasing him through the small mountain behind us.
Inspect! I acted quickly, trying to determine whether I should fight or flee.
-??? Level ???-
My face fell. What kind of monster is this idiot bringing our way? That moron, he can die on his own. Why drag us to hell with him?