Free Web NovelChapter 85: Chapter 85 - Wolf And The Girl ( Part 1 )
Three weeks have gone by since the name of the White Hunter started spreading in the wilderness.
Jennie kept traveling alone.
From village to village.
From mountain to mountain.
She took only enough quests from guilds to cover her expenses on food and other necessities.
For the rest of the time...
She just walked.
Helping others whenever she could.
Then disappearing from their sight before receiving any thanks.
It was a quiet lifestyle.
A peaceful lifestyle.
One that Leonis would never allow her to lead.
However, the scenery gradually started changing.
Forests of green turned into rocky cliffs.
Winds became colder.
More chilly.
With each step further north.
Jennie tightened her grip on her white cloak.
"So cold..."
She breathed into her hands.
Small clouds of mist appeared as a result.
Excalibur chuckled in her thoughts.
"You didn’t tremble when you killed Demon Generals."
"Then why does a little snow defeat you?"
Jennie helplessly smiled.
"Hunting monsters is not the same as feeling cold."
She whispered aloud,
"I already miss warm tea."
Just before sunset...
A vast range of mountains finally came into view.
Their snowy peaks looked like giant white spears sticking into the clouds.
Jennie stopped her wandering.
"... So these are the Frostveil Mountains."
Although they seemed quite far...
These mountains were somehow ancient.
Timeless.
Silent.
The voice of Excalibur became very serious.
"Be careful."
Jennie touched the hilt of her sword.
"There is something special about this place..."
"... It feels so familiar."
"What is it?"
"These mountains had existed even before the Great Demon War."
"A lot of battles happened here."
"A lot of heroes have never come back."
Jennie quietly looked at the frozen mountains.
Under all that snow...
There was sleeping history.
The Frostveil Mountains were located right at the northern edge of civilized world.
Further away from them...
No kingdom owned that land.
No roads connected distant nations.
Only eternal glaciers...
Forgotten ruins of the past...
Ancient forests...
And powerful monsters able to frighten even veteran hunters.
Snow never melted here.
Not even in spring.
In summer.
Or even under the hottest sun.
According to legend...
Those mountains were blessed by an ancient spirit of winter even before humans appeared in the world.
Another tale said that they had been frozen by the last battle between Leonis and a Demon General.
No one knew the truth.
Mana storms sometimes appeared without warning above their snowy peaks.
Entire expeditions disappeared within one night.
Compasses did not work.
Magic acted in a strange way.
Even experienced hunters did not like to travel in this area unless it was really necessary.
Locals gave a name to that region.
Valley of Silent Winter.
Because...
No birds ever sang there.
With the coming of evening...
Jennie arrived at the only village located at the bottom of that mountain.
There was a weathered sign for the travelers.
Frost Hollow Village
Population: 123
She quietly entered its gates.
The village was quite small.
Simple wooden houses were covered with a thick layer of snow.
Smoke went out of stone chimneys.
Children observed everything through the windows but did not play outdoors.
Hunters sharpened their weapons in silence.
Even dogs were unwilling to bark.
Jennie frowned a bit.
"Something is wrong."
It was not a peaceful atmosphere.
It was...
Fearful.
She entered a small tavern to warm herself.
The warmth from a fireplace quickly drove away the chill of the mountains.
A cheerful innkeeper welcomed her.
"Welcome!"
"You came from the south?"
Jennie put off her hood and smiled.
"Yes."
"I would like to get a room for the night."
The innkeeper happily nodded.
"Not many travelers visit here nowadays."
Jennie noticed.
There were just a few villagers in the tavern.
All of them looked tired.
Some of them even carried fresh scars.
One of men had his arm tightly bandaged.
Another limped.
She quietly ordered some hot tea.
The usual warmth calmed her heart.
"Nothing can be better than a good cup of tea after a long walk."
While drinking quietly...
She heard the conversations around her.
Nervous hunter whispered something to his companions.
"Did you hear it last night?"
Hunter immediately nodded.
"...Every night."
"It always appears after midnight."
Younger hunter swallowed hard.
"It definitely is a monster."
"Nothing ordinary makes such sounds."
An elderly woman who was sitting near the fireplace slowly shook her head.
"No."
All people looked at her.
She gazed into the fire.
Weathered eyes of hers contained much experience.
"It is not roaring."
"It is not hunting."
Her voice was so soft that the whole tavern fell into silence.
"It sounds..."
"...Lonely."
Those words lingered in the room.
Jennie quietly put down her teacup.
"Lonely?"
Monsters were not usually described like that.
One of hunters nervously laughed.
"Grandmother..."
"Everything sounds lonely to you."
But she ignored him.
"For seventy years I have lived near these mountains."
"I know the cries of wolves."
"Bears."
"Wyverns."
She slowly closed her eyes.
"This..."
"...Is different."
The curiosity of Jennie quietly woke up.
Next morning...
She visited the small branch of the Hunter Guild.
Compared to guilds in bigger towns...
This place could contain just a dozen people.
Several papers with quests were hanging on a wooden board.
Most of them required harvesting herbs or escorting supply carriages.
But there was one quest that caught Jennie’s attention.
Special Investigation Request
Unknown Cry within Frostveil Mountains
Rank: B
Reward: 30 Gold
Objective:
Investigate the mysterious cry which echoes in the mountains.
Unknown cause.
Be careful.
Jennie studied that paper.
"No one accepted it?"
Receptionist sighed.
"They all refuse."
Jennie raised her eyes.
"Why?"
Receptionist forced a smile.
"All people who have tried..."
"... Came back without any results."
"They could not find anything."
"But every night..."
"That cry repeats."
Jennie quietly put her hand.
"I will accept this quest."
The receptionist looked surprised.
"Miss Raven..."
"Are you sure?"
Jennie smiled softly.
"If someone is crying..."
"I want to know why."
By the afternoon...
She already traveled to the mountains.
Snowfall became more and more intense with every hour.
Soon...
Dense fog enveloped the snowy trail.
White world.
Endless white world.
Tall pine trees were frozen under a thick layer of snow.
Occasionally ancient stone ruins appeared from underneath the ice before vanishing under drifting snow once again.
Broken columns.
Collapsed temples.
Ruins of forgotten statues.
Silent witnesses that once a whole civilization used to live here.
Slowly Jennie wiped snow off the old carving.
A faded sword emblem.
"This place... had existed even in my previous life."
Gently she got on her feet.
"Time really erases everything."
Answered Excalibur quietly.
"Not everything."
"Some memories remain."
Jennie softly smiled.
"And some turn into legends."
Hours had passed.
But somehow...
Something seemed...
Wrong.
No birds.
No insects.
No monsters.
No wind.
Just silence.
Absolute silence.
But then...
Very quietly...
"...Awooo..."
Jennie stopped her steps.
This sound echoed in the fog.
Weak.
Soft.
Almost...
Heartbroken.
She closed her eyes.
Carefully listening.
Once again.
"...Awooo..."
It was not a roar.
It was not a warning.
This sound resembled the sound of someone looking for help.
Jennie’s face softened.
"You do not want to scare anyone..."
"You ask someone to find you."
She immediately changed the direction of her traveling.
Following the cry of that lonely creature deeper into the mountains.
Snow became higher.
The air colder.
But finally...
She saw a steep cliff hidden behind the fog.
And then...
Her eyes opened widely.
Black crystals covered almost the entire mountain slope.
They emitted an uneasy aura.
Dark mana seeped through countless cracks like dark smoke.
Excalibur said something at once.
"Jennie."
"I can see those crystals ..."
"...are bad."
This insight weighed on Jennie’s heart.
"How can someone come up with such thing?"
And then...
She sensed it.
A slight heartbeat.
Something that was alive.
She stepped nearer.
Between the jagged black crystals...
She glimpsed a blue eye waking up.
It was looking directly at her.
And then...
She spotted the white fur underneath the crystal prison.
There was a huge wolf lying there.
Its fur had once been wonderful but now it was all stained with blood.
Its breath was shallow.
The animal was rather weak.
When it saw Jennie, it released a feeble growl.
Not the kind of growl that warns an enemy,
but that of an injured animal that does not know how to trust anymore.
Jennie slowly moved near to it.
She took care to show it both of her hands.
And then...
She said in her gentle voice,
"You’re safe, I’m not going to do anything to you."
Her gentle voice sounded softly in the valley.
The wolf just stared back at her.
Jennie’s heart tightened.
Looking into its frightened eyes...
there was only one thing she could say.
"You’re not alone anymore."
Finally the lonely wolf stopped howling.
For several long moments...
Neither of them made any movement.
Snowflakes quietly fell between the girl and the bound wolf, covering the black crystals in a light coating of white until the corruption gradually devoured the snow.
Jennie carefully studied the wolf.
"He’s huge..."
Even lying down, the wolf was much bigger than any horse that Jennie had seen before.
The creature’s white fur, spotted with blood, gleamed weakly under the corruption.
The wolf had silver markings on his shoulders and legs resembling rivers of moonlight.
They seemed to be unique.
"He is not just any magical beast."
"What about these markings..."
"They are ancient."
Excalibur’s voice was soft.
"I’ve never seen such a marking on any other wolf."
"But..."
The holy sword paused.
"His mana..."
"It feels... familiar."
Jennie frowned.
"Familiar?"
"Yes."
"Very old."
"Older than any kingdom existing today."
The silver-eyed girl widened her eyes slightly.
"Then who are you...?"
Slowly, Jennie started walking around the formation.
It was even worse than Jennie had expected initially.
The corrupted crystal had completely pierced the mountainside.
Countless sharp spikes bound the wolf as if they were chains.
Some had even merged with the surrounding rock.
Mana dark as night flowed rhythmically through the spikes.
With every pulse, the wolf flinched in agony.
Gently clenching her fists, Jennie said.
"...How cruel."
She reached out towards one of the crystals.
The instant her finger approached the crystal surface...
Crack!
Black lightning shot from it.
Immediately withdrawing her hand, Jennie said:
"So they are still active."
Excalibur’s voice turned serious.
"Do not touch them directly."
"They feed on mana."
"The more mana they absorb..."
"...The stronger they become."
Jennie slowly nodded.
"I understand."
Jennie then glanced at the wolf.
The wolf was looking at her movements intently.
The blue color of his eyes no longer contained any hint of fear.
There was also confusion in his gaze.
As if he did not understand the reason of this strange human not attacking him.
Smiling, Jennie asked.
"You want to know why I am still here, don’t you?"
The wolf stayed silent.
Only his ears twitched slightly.
"I have always been very bad at ignoring someone who needed help."
Jennie’s soft laughter sounded.
"Mother said it would cause troubles one day."
A memory of the warm past flashed before Jennie’s eyes.
Elena smiling and putting another piece of meat onto Jennie’s plate.
"You always think about others more than about yourself."
The silver-eyed girl smiled gently.
"Mother was right."
Suddenly, the wolf struggled.
CRACK!
A few black crystals trembled violently.
A sound of a pained whimper came from him.
Jennie’s face immediately changed.
"No."
"Don’t strain yourself."
"You are only hurting your wounds."
The wolf stopped moving.
His breathing became heavy.
Carefully, Jennie knelt in the snow.
Deliberately lowering herself until she was almost sitting.
Posture that clearly showed that the girl was not ready to fight.
"My name is Raven."
Briefly pausing, she smiled to herself.
"Well..."
"At least this is the name everybody calls me."
Continuing speaking aloud, Jennie added:
"I don’t know if you understand the human language."
"But if you do..."
"I am going to help you."
The wolf watched her silently.
For a long moment.
Then...
Very slowly...
His growling ceased.
Jennie noticed this at once.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"I’ll take it as permission."
A cold wind suddenly blew in the valley. freewebnoveℓ.com
It brought with it a little pieces of the black crystal dust.
Looking up at the sky, Jennie saw dark clouds gathering.
Snow began falling heavier.
"We are going to have a storm soon."
Excalibur agreed.
"The mountain’s mana becomes unstable."
Sighing, Jennie said.
"And I thought today would be an easy investigation."
Looking at the bound wolf, she added:
"No."
"I cannot leave you here."
Even if she would like to.
The storm would bury the whole cliff under new snow.
If the corruption would not kill him...
The mountain itself would do it.
Gradually rising, Jennie fixed her silver eyes.
Carefully studying all the crystals.
All the cracks.
All the mana streams.
Not as a warrior.
But as a swordswoman looking for one perfect cut.
"There should be a way..."
"If I would destroy them carelessly..."
"The crystal would stab him in the heart."
"If I act slowly..."
"The corruption will spread even more."
Taking one breath, closing her eyes, then opening them again, Jennie looked determinedly.
"I’ll save you."
Blue eyes of the wolf widened a little.
For the first time after Jennie came...
A spark of hope appeared in them.
And deeply buried under layers of pain and exhaustion, the ancient wolf thought something that he had not believed possible after a thousand years of solitude.
"A human..."
"Who is not afraid of me."
