Why was this happening? All of a sudden, I was called Mama? My mind was very confused. This penguin seemed to have mistaken me for his mother. I wasnât even a father, I was a mother. I was a mother?!
[The first apostle, âPrometheus,â is seriously considering your gender.]
Was this something to be serious about? My gender identity was suddenly questioned.
Kim Sujeong watched from the side and covered her mouth as she smiled. âI think he mistook you as his mother.â
âBut why am I a mother?â
âDonât you know whyâŚ?â
âDo you know?â
âOf course I know.â It was surprising that she knew when I didnât. Kim Sujeong pointed at me. âIt is what youâre wearing now.â
âMy clothes?â
I glanced at the clothes I was wearing currently. The clothes were a harmonious blend of yellow, orange, and dark blue. It was the emperor penguin suit Drain had handed to me after saying he made it a bit more cool. Drain had handed me the recreated suit and I remembered smiling with satisfaction when I saw the outfit that had changed nicely. Wait a minute. Then perhapsâŚ
âSurely it isnât because of these clothes?â
The penguin was looking up at me with eyes that shone like a lantern. It was like he wanted praise for doing well. I couldnât bear to destroy his innocence so I patted him on the head. Then the penguin rubbed his face against me and showed his affection. âCute âĄâ
It was really cute. If they could be raised as a pet in real life then they would be hugely popular. Still, this was virtual reality. Cer approached from next to Kim Sujeong and licked the baby penguinâs face. They were on better terms than expected and everyoneâs face was filled with joy.
âCer also seems to like him.â
âOh, the cute penguin recognizes the value of my clothes.â
âHe is a really cute guy. Iâll have to train them.
âŚNo, why did he want to train? I was afraid that Gyeonso Dragon really would take them to train and stated, âIâll protect this guy.â
âI think that is for the best.â
âOhuhu. With this cute penguin, I will be able to come up with new fashion ideas. I also like it.â
ââŚI understand,â Gyeonso Dragon muttered, his desire obvious but it couldnât be helped. It was because the penguin was only following me.
âIf we are going to be together then we should give him a name.â
Kim Sujeong suggested, âHow about Pono?â
âPono?â
âThatâs right, he looks like Ponono. Pono!â
âHmm, it isnât bad. Now your name is Pono.â
Thus, a new member joined the group.
* * *
On the other hand, Park Muyeol connected to the game and was doing the tutorial. A little fairy appeared and summoned goblins. There happened to be a wooden sword as a weapon choice so he took it and beat them all. It wasnât even a warm up since there were no more than 10 of them. Then he raised his hand to the sphere that would give him a Heavenly Star.
[The Altar of the Stars is testing you.]
âIt looks real. Huhu.â
Park Muyeol felt the turbulent ground and gulped. A short time later, his Heavenly Star was chosen. The orange light of the seven stars flew toward him.
[Your heavenly star is Monarch of Cold Mercy.]
[Your strength stat has been raised by 10.]
[Your agility stat has been raised by 10.]
âHmm, Iâll have to look at the other information.â
After adapting to the game through a number of tutorials, Park Muyeol finally decided to head to the beginning village. His choice was the Orca Kingdom. It was because he heard Chuntaek was here.
[The tutorial has ended.]
[10 dry bread has been acquired as a tutorial reward.]
[Going to the beginning village of âMulan.â]
The whole world became white as the scenery around him crumbled. His eyes closed and once he reopened them, he was standing at a crowded fountain in what seemed to be a small European village.
âHunting the goblins to level up!â
âI repair all types of weapons. $2 for repairs!â
âIf you need a buff then please come to me! Iâll buff you for free!â
âHmm, is this the village that Chuntaek mentioned?â
He looked around and marveled. The existence of NPCs was more real than reality. There were also people mixing among them. Virtual and reality met and they were united.
âFirst of all, I have to meet the village chief as Chuntaek said.â
âWas it the mountain south of here?â
Park Muyeol stepped forward as he recalled Chuntaekâs story while drinking that day. He just had one question.
âWhere is the south?â
* * *
Park Muyeol asked the young people for directions and was able to reach Mount Smir in the south. There was the chirping of birds singing. Green trees. The sound of a stream flowing. He hadnât seen such a scenery nor heard such sounds for a long time, thus his ears and eyes felt happy.
âHere it is.â
In the distance, he could see a hut with a picture of a small hammer. At first glance, it matched the appearance of the smithy that Chuntaek spoke of.
âThe chief lives here.â
Chuntaek said to go there and give his name. Then the chief would probably help. In fact, he wasnât willing to sell a friendâs name but there was no reason not to do it. AdditionallyâŚ
âIâm looking forward to getting some weapons.â
Park Muyeol walked toward the smithy and knocked on the door.
Knock knock!
âCome in~!â
He opened the door and saw a big, old man with a few strands of white hair hammering away. Park Muyeol could instantly see that he was the âchiefâ of this place.
âThis is Chen.â
It was exactly as Chuntaek described. Dark skin, large and ageless arm muscles, and hair that was close to baldingâŚ
It was a bit of a pity.
In any case, Park Muyeol coughed and spoke a greeting, âHello.â
âWelcome! It is the first time Iâve seen you. Are you a new adventurer?â
âThatâs right. I was told I can get a weapon here.â
âKeke. Of course. Come along.â
He moved to the next room. Park Muyeol followed him and found all sorts of weapons hanging on the wall. Chen smiled as he looked at Park Muyeol. âThis reminds me of a few months ago. Kek.â
ââŚ?â
âPick your favorite weapon. It will be useful. Then come to me.â
He smiled so widely that Park Muyeol wondered if he was crazy, but Park Muyeol couldnât care about this person. The important thing now was to catch up with Chuntaek. He needed to choose a good weapon.
âLetâs seeâŚâ
There were many weapons on the wall. Although there was some rush, there were all types of long swords and daggers. There were also maces, hammers, and shields hung. Next to them were bows and spears and then a type of staff that he had heard about in the tutorial.
âIf I wave this, itâll consume my magic power and produce magic bullets?â
Park Muyeol was suddenly curious. He grabbed a small staff and swung it everywhere. Thenâ
ââŚEh?â
It consumed some magic power and really produced magic bullets. They looked like bubbles but were more vivid than he expected. However, this wasnât the problem. Chen opened the door after hearing the noise. âWhat is going on?â
He met Park Muyeolâs eyes and showed a blank expression. All the weapons on the wall had fallen to the ground. Some were even broken.
âCough, Iâm sorry.â
ââŚGet out of here.â
[There is a significant decline in goodwill with Mulanâs chief, âChen.â]
* * *
âOh, this is great. You came back faster than I thought.â
[Experience has been acquired.]
[Gulaâs Special Magic Power Potion (Large) has been acquired.]
[âFight the Ice Jaguars!â has been completed.]
Hmm, Taibeusâ goodwill rose slightly. I gained a level and received a magic power potion so they werenât bad rewards. There was just one problem. I asked Taibeus, âIs it possible to increase the number and types of monsters?â
âHuh? It is possible but wonât you be overwhelmed? The monsters here in the North Pole are stronger than you might think.â
I knew what he was worried about. Still, it was okay. We had three constellations with us.
[The first apostle, âPrometheus,â is laughing at Taibeus.]
[The fist star, âRaitra,â is pulling out lightning and asking for a fight.]
[The firefly star, âCamille,â is looking down with a loving smile.]
To be precise, it was one god and two constellations.
Taibeus said, âI suddenly feel like someone is staring at me.â
Yes, they were staring.
âI donât know why but there is a strange pressure. I think I have confidence in your words. I feel like you can do the job perfectly.â
At this moment, a huge amount of quest windows appeared in front of me. I pressed accept on all of them without reading everything.
[The quest has been accepted.]
[The quest has been accepted.]
[The quest has been accepted.]
âŚ
Hmm, letâs see. There was the ice golem, king kong snowman, and the freezer taurus that I hunted earlier. By the way, thisâŚ?
[Repeatable Quest â Eliminate the Frost Orcs!]
I had doubts the moment I saw it. Based on what I remembered, the people here lived in different places and didnât invade each otherâs territories. It could be called a Cold War relationship. It was a bit different from my memories? âTaibeus, you donât get along with the frost orcs?â
âYes.â
âWhy? Didnât you originally have a good relationship? No, even if it wasnât good, it shouldnât be this bad?â
âYou are a human yet you know this. Yes. Originally, we lived on the same land but we didnât invade each otherâs territory and coexisted. Then 100 years ago, they started to show their ambition.â
100 years? If it was 100 years ago then perhaps�
âIs it related to the splitting of the villages?â
âRight. The two people in charge of the day and night here split up and so did the clans. It was a dispersion of power. The frost orcs used this gap to steadily expand their power.â
I roughly understood. The frost orcs were currently throwing stones at the small cracks in the wall, enlarging the cracks. They were really vile bastards. âI donât know if it is possible but Iâll try to fight the frost orcs.â
âI really thank you.â
The frost orcs were at the southernmost point. We probably had to travel quite a long distance to reach them. It would take a long timeâŚ
I would accept the quest first and cancel it if it didnât work. At this time, Taibeusâ eyes widened. âThis isâŚâ
His gaze was directed at Pono hiding behind me. The little penguin fired a heart-stopping charm at Taibeus.
âKyu âĄâ
My heart thumped at the unexpected cuteness. My heart was almost taken away. Damn. If he kept doing this, I would get attachedâŚ
âAn emperor penguin chick! How did you get this precious lifeâŚ?â
âI picked him up.â
âWas he found so easily?â
âYes, he was buried in the snow. We pulled him out.â
âHuh. Then the mother penguin wasnât around?â
âI donât know. He called me Mama.â
âCome to think of it, you look like a mother penguin.â
I looked at Drain behind me. He was laughing.
[The first apostle, âPrometheus,â has burst out laughing.]
[The fist star, âRaitra,â is grabbing his belly and laughing.]
[The firefly star, âCamille,â has been enduring it for a long time.]
These guysâŚ
Kim Sujeong and Gyeonso Dragon were also seen turning their heads. Based on the way their hands were over their mouths, they were probably chuckling discreetly. Damn. I couldnât take it offâŚ
I had to wear it because the options were better than I thought. Still, I seriously wondered if I should be wearing this. Then Taibeus wondered âStill, it is strange. Usually an emperor penguin chick would know where their mother is, even if she is one kilometer away.â
âReally? There was such a habit?â It was the first time I had heard of it.
âYes. However, if he looked at you and called you mother while there is no mother penguin in the vicinity⌠what happened?â
I nodded at Taibeusâ words. It made sense. Was there a mother in the world who would forsake her child? Taibeus thought for a moment before speaking, âIâm sorry but Iâm going to have to ask for one more favor.â