Chapter 98
After crossing the bridge Song Hwa-rin had created, the raging snowstorm suddenly disappeared.
A relatively peaceful landscape spread before them.
Huge conifer trees stood beneath heavy layers of white snow.
And between the trees were neat rows of cultivated soil.
They looked as though someone had carefully maintained them.
"Uh... doesn't something feel out of place here?"
"Isn't that a farm?"
"A farm... yeah. It's definitely a farm, but should there really be a farm here?"
Lee Yu-han rubbed his eyes.
A farm in the middle of an AX-rank dungeon.
Someone was clearly cultivating crops in frozen ground.
Then,
[WOOOOOH!]
[THUMP! THUMP!]
Something began rising between the rows.
White, furry giants.
Each stood almost three meters tall.
They carried hoes made from enormous bones and crude farming tools carved from stone.
Hong Man-gi immediately prepared for battle.
Kang Jae-min stared in disbelief.
"The Yetis... were farming?"
"They're obviously not normal farmers."
"Haa... now I'm trying to figure out how we're supposed to fight farmers..."
The moment the Yetis noticed the intruders inside their territory, their behavior changed.
They became violent beasts.
[Grrrrrr!]
[Keeeeek!]
The Yetis threw away their hoes and picks.
Then they grabbed boulders and enormous snowballs from the ground.
[Kagagak!]
[Ugggggh!]
They exchanged incomprehensible signals with each other.
Then,
[Whoosh!]
They started throwing snowballs the size of houses.
Rocks flew through the air like shells launched from siege weapons.
"Aagh! Dodge!"
"Move!"
Kang Jae-min threw himself over Lee Yu-han and covered his head.
But Song Hwa-rin simply looked at the approaching boulders and snorted.
"They're farmers all right. Their throwing form is terrible."
She casually swept the White Lotus Sword sideways.
[Flash!]
[Sh-sh-sh-sh!]
Fan-shaped sword energy spread outward.
The enormous rocks and snowballs flying toward them were erased into fine powder.
"Whoa..."
"Oh..."
[Fwoooosh!]
Instead of deadly stones, glittering snowflakes like diamond dust fell over Hong Man-gi, Kang Jae-min, and Lee Yu-han.
"...?!"
Song Hwa-rin pointed the tip of her sword toward the Yetis.
"Stop annoying us and get lost."
Her voice was ice-cold.
"We didn't come here to conquer the dungeon. We have another goal. Let's not waste energy fighting each other."
The killing intent of an S-rank Hunter covered the entire forest.
The Yetis froze.
Then,
[KIEEEEEK!]
[Krrrgh!]
[GEEEEK!]
They turned and fled.
At that moment, something shining blue between the crop rows caught Hong Man-gi's eye.
'Ice Snow Herb... an herb grown in extreme environments. Consuming it greatly restores stamina and increases cold resistance?'
Hong Man-gi hurriedly shouted.
"Wait! We can't let them leave yet!"
Song Hwa-rin looked back.
"Why? Think we shouldn't let them go?"
Her expression became dangerous.
"Want me to kill every last one?"
"No! That grass they're growing!"
Hong Man-gi pointed.
"That's Ice Snow Herb! It's exactly the stamina recovery ingredient we need right now. We should take some."
Song Hwa-rin's eyebrow moved.
"An herb?"
She stretched one hand toward the largest Yeti, apparently the leader, who was trying to escape.
"Telekinesis."
[THOOM!]
The Yeti leader suddenly floated into the air.
It kicked and struggled like a marionette while screaming.
Song Hwa-rin pulled it directly in front of herself.
[K-Krrgh...]
The terrified leader stared at her.
Song Hwa-rin pointed the tip of her sword toward the blue plants in the field.
"Hey."
[...?]
"Hand them over."
Short.
Simple.
The Yeti leader immediately understood.
It nodded so violently that its neck looked ready to fall off.
A short while later,
the Yetis tearfully presented baskets filled with the Ice Snow Herb they had carefully cultivated.
They even handed over some of their own meat.
Hong Man-gi inspected the ingredients and smiled in satisfaction.
"Hmm... these are in great condition."
He nodded.
"This is enough for a proper meal."
"A meal?"
"Calling it a feast might be a little much, but we should recharge our stamina here before continuing."
Hong Man-gi looked toward Lee Yu-han and Kang Jae-min.
"Bring out the pot. Let's eat lunch here."
Ten minutes later.
Steam rose from a giant stockpot standing in the middle of the Yeti farm.
Hong Man-gi had filled the anchovy broth he prepared in advance with freshly acquired Ice Snow Herb and several kinds of mushrooms.
Bubble, bubble.
Blub, blub.
The blue Ice Snow Herb softened inside the clear broth and released a refreshing fragrance.
Hong Man-gi sliced the meat that the Yetis had offered into thin, bright red pieces.
"This meat has just the right amount of fat. It's perfect for shabu-shabu."
