chapter 92

Synonymous with trickiness. Protector of the Cold North Pole. A being with power comparable to a god. Collector who liked shiny things. All of this referred to the tundra dragon. However, there were some words that were the most famous. They were…

“Tundra dragon? The strongest ice-type constellation?”

“Yes, this is where he nests.”

“Wow…”

Kim Sujeong was so shocked by my words that she was speechless.

Next to me, Gyeonso Dragon wondered, “If it is a dragon then I know it. Are you talking about a dragon? [1] In China, dragons are very sacred. In particular, the emperor was called the True Dragon. Unlike Western dragons, the Chinese dragons are auspicious.”

I listened to his words and nodded at the newly learned knowledge. However, the dragon here was a bit different from Chinese dragons. It was because in this world, dragons were neither the atrocious beings who destroyed the world nor the auspicious beings who benefited the world.

“Here it is a bit different. They are neither good nor evil.”

“Then what are they?”

I looked at Kim Sujeong, who had asked the question, and replied, “The guardian of balance. To be precise, they can be good or evil. If the world is full of malice, they will stand on the side of good. If humans are too much at peace, they will become evil to awaken alarm.”

“A double-dealing bad guy.”

“Yes, to put it simply.” However, that wasn’t the problem.

“Then what does this have to do with finding Pono’s mother?”

I replied, “It has to do with him. It is because the emperor penguins are the only ones here to share a hobby with him.”

“What hobby…?”

“A hobby of collecting shiny things.”

“Oh, is that why Pono took my necklace?”

I nodded. “Yes, emperor penguins have a habit of collecting shiny things. The tundra dragon and emperor penguins had been trading for generations. The emperor penguins show him what they have collected during a certain period and trade it.”

Kim Sujeong asked, “So what do the penguins get?”

“His protection.”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is nodding.]

“Wow… So if you touch the emperor penguin then you will be chased by a dragon? It could be by one of the clans that live here.”

“It could be but before that, you’ll freeze to death or be cursed.”

Suddenly, one of Prometheus’ memories surged. Long ago, there was the Inu species that learned the emperor penguins have a habit of collecting things that shone. They were half-human, half-dogs who lived here and they accidently killed an emperor penguin while trying to steal from them. They were cursed by the tundra dragon and became snowmen. I heard that they were enslaved for the rest of their lives in his castle but I don’t know if they are still there. I was told that they scattered and fled to the East Continent.

Kim Sujeong asked, “Did you study this on the Internet?”

“…Cough. Well, that’s right.”

“Wow, that’s great. You are really passionate about learning. I respect you.”

“I have great respect for you, Brother.”

“Burother, it is real respectu.”

“Well, it isn’t necessary to say it again. Keke.”

In any case, they seemed convinced that we should look for the mother. I let them know that if we didn’t find the emperor penguin, that guy would freeze all the nearby waters and we would be stuck here for the time being.

“Good! We will go and find it.”

“I’ll try to use the lightning footwork to quickly find it.”

“I won’t be much help but I’ll try. Hohoho.”

The look in their eyes changed and their enthusiasm soared. I saw this and smiled with satisfaction.

A herd of Freezer Taurus was approaching here from a distance. I stood at the forefront of the group and ordered, “Everybody, prepare for battle.”

* * *

Three days had passed here. In reality, it had only been a day as we wandered through the vast snowfields looking for Pono’s mother. However, we also had limitations.

“…It is serious. Our food is running out.”

“Huh? Really? What should we do?”

“It is a bit serious.”

“Oh shet!”

I thought I had saved up quite a lot but the stockpile was already running out. Damn. If I knew it would be like this, I would’ve made some food in advance at the igloo in Diya.

[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ is worried about you.]

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is frowning and falling into distress.]

[The first star, ‘Raitra,’ is scratching his ass while thinking.]

Thank you for your worries but there was probably nothing you could do. As long as there was no place to escape from the cold… eh? My eyes widened as I stared into the distance. “This…”

“What is it? Is there something over there?”

“I don’t see anything.”

“Buroder, are you seeing a ghost…”

“Shh.” I raised an index finger to my mouth and expanded my vision with super sensitivity. I saw the entrance of a huge cave. The huge cave was so deep it was like a predator’s mouth eating something. “We’re saved. I can cook over there.”

“Huh? What is over there?”

“It is a cave. Everyone, follow me.”

We walked a long time before reaching the entrance of the cave. It was a huge cave, just like I saw in the distance. I stepped inside without any doubts. The group followed me.

[The cold has been reduced. Your body temperature has gone up slightly.]

I smiled as I saw the message. Then I started preparing the dishes right away. “It’s been a while since I’ve cooked.”

I immediately took out the floating pot. Solar naturally went under the pot and melted snow to create water. First, let’s make a soup that could easily warm us up. I took out the ingredients I obtained here and spread them out.

“There are many ingredients.”

“Yes, it is a lot.”

“Sujeong, what do you want to eat?”

“This.” She was pointing to the meat of an ice jaguar. “I hate this guy the most. They are so fast that they bother me.”

I burst into laughter. “Yes, I’ll use this.”

I placed the meat of the ice jaguar near Solar and started to thaw it. The good thing about the meat of the monsters here in the North Pole was that they had a very long shelf life. Fortunately, the meat was in very good condition.

“Dicing!”

The meat became a good size for the pot. I added all types of spices and started to taste.

…Even the spices were running low. I would buy spices from Diya later. Prometheus’ memories were sparse but there were some memories of Alexus. The North Pole was home to quite a few unique spices. The salt snow was the most famous but I didn’t know if it was still here. If it was here, I definitely had to buy it. It was one of the finest spices that couldn’t be found anywhere other than the North Pole.

“Should I taste it again?”

I hurriedly checked the saltiness. Then I felt a warm energy spreading through my body and chasing away the chill. It tasted pretty good. After a while, the dishes were completed.

Ttiring~

[Superior quality! Ice Jaguar Meat Soup.]

[Only those who have fallen into the cold can truly feel the warmth of the sun.

Only those who suffer from hunger will feel the value of cooking.

The meat soup created in the extreme cold will spread the importance of a chef. The cold is gone!

-Star Taste: ☆☆☆☆

-Expiration Date: 4 days.

-Health Recovery: 400. Magic Power Recovery: 400.

Efficacy: People who eat this dish will double their resistance to the cold.

Maximum health is increased by 40%.

Health recovery speed will increase by 20%.

Resistance to the ice attribute will increase by 20%.

* Sun’s Blessing: Strength, defense, fire damage, and fire resistance increased by 40%.]

“Hmm, the rating is higher than I thought.”

“Wow, it smells delicious! I want to eat quickly!”

I turned my head to see that everyone, including Kim Sujeong, was drooling. It was because we had only been eating pre-cooked fish during this period of time. When else would we eat meat if not now? I quickly scooped the meat into a bowl and handed it out to the group.

“I’ll eat it well, Brother.”

“Buroder’s dishes are the best.”

“Father, I’m always grateful.”

“Keke. Eat a lot.”

It was worth finding the cave. I tried to take a bite with plenty of meat. Suddenly, a strange sound could be heard.

Beep-beep–

A familiar mechanical sound echoed in my ears. What did this sound like…?

-Father, it’s me! Mikyung.

My daughter-in-law?

“Yes, I’m listening.”

-There is a guest here who is looking for you.

“A guest? Who is it?”

-It is a lawyer… I think you should come out.

Lawyer? Why was a lawyer looking for me? I should go and see. “Everyone, I’m sorry but you’ll have to eat first. I have to log out and see to something at home for a while.”

“That’s fine. We don’t have to worry about freezing and dying because we have the soup. Go and come back quickly.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect them if someone enters.”

“Ohh, don’t worry, I’m here, Buroder.”

…This guy wasn’t good at anything.

I saw Drain raise his shoulders with pride and couldn’t help laughing.

I logged out.

The lid of the capsule opened with a loud sound. I quickly got up and headed out to the living room. There was a middle-aged gentleman in a suit. He stood up and greeted me, “Hello, I am Kim Seongtae, a lawyer from the Holy Spirit Group. Are you Choi Chuntaek?”

“Why is a lawyer from the Holy Spirit Group looking for me?”

The Holy Spirit Group was one of the best companies in South Korea before Union had appeared. Of course, it was a miserable group that lost money the moment Union was publicly listed. He asked, “Weren’t you in an accident a while ago?”

“Accident? What accident?”

“A minor collision.”

“Minor collision…?” At this moment, something struck me. “Is it perhaps that?’

“Cough. It is a foreign vehicle.”

“Yes. What type of car?”

“This car.” He pulled some papers out of his bag and showed some photos of a pretty stylish foreign car. The foreign car had a slight dent on the side and the side mirrors had been broken.

My daughter-in-law next to me was agitated. “L-Lamborghini?”

“Do you know that car?”

“Yes, that’s…” She was wearing rubber gloves stained with spice. Based on the smell piercing my nose, she had been making kimchi.

Kim Seongtae spoke, “It is a foreign car worth 700 million won.”

“7-700 million?”

My heart sank. Damn, it was so expensive?

The lawyer told me, “First of all, the circumstances were one-sidedly your fault. I talked to the insurer and they said it was 9:1. Of course, you are the 9.”

“What…?”

“My young master is very upset. If you come to him and bow your head in apology, he will forgive you and pay half the repair cost.”

“……”

These people…

“You came here to tell me to bow my head to that fu*king guy?”

“Yes, that is the key point.”

Kim Seongtae pushed up his glasses with a bad expression and I rose furiously. It had been a long time since I truly felt furious like this.

“Get lost.”

“…Huh?”

“Get out of this house right now.”

“No, who are you threatening right now…”

“You!”

I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the cabbage kimchi being soaked by my daughter-in-law.

[1] In this sentence, he uses two different words to mean dragon. The first one is like Dragon in English e.g. Duragon while the second one is the Korean one. The first word is more commonly used for Western dragons while the second is for Eastern dragons