Monsters Of The Northern Lands (1)

The northern land.

During the last Monster War, large monsters like orcs and ogres were pushed to the northern land, the end of the continent, by the allied forces.

As a result, the northern land became the territory of those monsters.

The Dragon War, where Black Dragons and Red Dragons started killing each other, happened around the same time as the Monster War, but it was a completely separate war.

The Dragon War was between dragons, and its aftermath almost drove the human world to destruction, but it had no direct relation to humans.

The Monster War was a direct conflict between humans and monsters.

Therefore, the monsters being pushed to the northern land had nothing to do with the dragons.

I visited the northern land with Rurin. Using teleportation to come and go to the northern land is not frequent, but it happens occasionally.

Of course, I didn’t come to the northern land for sightseeing. There is a clear reason: to capture useful monsters.

The lair construction is almost finished, so today I came to capture a monster to manage the entire lair.

It sounds grand when I say management, but in other words, it’s cleaning.

Monsters become obedient when a dragon uses mental manipulation, so they are very suitable as managers of the lair. I can’t leave the management of the dragon lair to humans.

And there is one more reason why I came to this barren land untouched by humans.

It was last night.

As usual, I meditated with the dragon orb in my bosom to absorb its power. During that time, I suddenly felt a surge of immense power.

It was the first time I felt this sensation after months of continuous meditation and training since obtaining the dragon orb.

Naturally, I wanted to test that mana.

Therefore, my visit to the northern land has two purposes: testing my mana and capturing useful monsters.

“Every time I come here, I feel like I don’t like this place.”

“Is there any place you like? You always say you hate humans and monsters. You hate everything.”

“I like our home! I like the lair you made for me. Hehe.”

“Is that so.”

That’s a relief.

I looked around the area where we teleported to. Since I’ve been to the northern land several times, Rurin has no problem teleporting here. There’s no need to go through the trouble of passing by a nearby dragon, and we can easily come and go since we’ve been here before.

However, the arrival location changes slightly every time we teleport. It seems the teleportation point varies depending on Rurin’s mindset.

The place we’re standing in now is completely new to us.

A cold wind, proving it’s the northern land, blows sharply. It’s a biting wind. But today, the wind was bearable.

The reason is the fur clothing I’m wearing for the northern land.

It’s similar to imagining the fur hats and clothes worn by Russians in the middle of Siberia in modern times.

Until now, I had been roughly wearing winter clothes when coming to the northern land, but it was colder than I expected, so this time, I decided to splurge on new clothes. Haha.

The fur clothes are really good. Very warm.

“What’s this!”

Rurin just now noticed the clothes she was wearing in a daze and tilted her head.

No wonder, as I had changed her clothes while she was sleeping and then woke her up abruptly to use teleportation.

This sleepy dragon is always sleeping, so it’s quickest to change her clothes first and then start.

“It’s not ‘mwonyeo’, it’s ‘mwonya.’ Anyway, these clothes were very expensive. They’re warm, right? I had them made from the fur of a monster called Skattwolf. It fits your body perfectly, Rurin. I’m good at measuring sizes.”

“Skattwolf? Is that thing expensive?”

“It’s the highest grade of monster fur, so of course it’s expensive.”

At my words, Rurin started stroking the fur clothes she was wearing. But soon, she shook his head with a dissatisfied face.

“Mine is much better. Our dragon fur is the best. Skattwolf is really insignificant!”

“Well, that’s…”

Do dragons have fur? Could it be that they refer to the armor-like skin covering their body as fur?

Well, if you make clothes out of dragon skin, it can’t be compared to Skattwolf fur. It would be priced unimaginably.

But is that possible?

“Can you even make clothes out of dragon skin? If possible, you should provide your skin. I’ll make the world’s first dragonskin cold weather gear.”

“M-m-my skin? You’re a pervert!”

Suddenly, Rurin wrapped her body with her hands and started an absurd personal attack. Pervert? Where did this dragon learn to speak like this?

Who is the one that usually throws her clothes off all the time?

I guess to a dragon, skin is like underwear to a human. While not wearing clothes is normal and not particularly embarrassing, skin is different?

I really don’t get it.

Even Rurin’s face turned red, and she started stepping back.

“Hey, don’t make that weird face and come here! Besides, didn’t you say you don’t even want to go back to your dragon form?”

“That’s true, but the fact is that this body is a dragon, and anyway, the skin… the skin…!”

A frightened look. I started walking, leaving behind the dragon who seemed like a perfect fit for a modern emoji.

I don’t see any monsters. It seems like we might have arrived in the wrong direction.

After walking for a while, a large river appeared instead of monsters.

Of course, the river was completely frozen, as expected in the northern land. It was a very thick ice sheet. So it looked very easy to cross the river.

But beyond the river is a mountain. Since I don’t plan on climbing, I started walking east, ignoring the ice and the river.

I walked for a while and then stopped.

Because Rurin started saying she was hungry.

I looked at the ice.

I saw shadows flitting under the ice, possibly fish. Maybe I’ll try ice fishing for the first time in a while.

I came to catch monsters and test my mana limits, but there’s no rush. I closed the restaurant, so I just need to return by the end of the day.

“Rurin, let’s have a snack and then move.”

“Oh! Food!”

Rurin, who had been walking with a bored look, brightened up, and I stepped onto the ice.

“The water is frozen solid. If I pour beer here, it would be nicely chilled!”

How grand is that way of drinking beer?

Ignoring the dragon’s words, which didn’t require a reply, I used magic under the ice.

In fact, the most bothersome part of ice fishing is breaking the ice, but with magic, it’s not a problem at all.

Even by using class-3 attack magic, a suitable-sized hole would form on the ice.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to catch fish. I think there might be trout in this kind of river.”

I remembered searching rivers to feed my troops during the war. There were quite a lot of trout in rivers like this.

But I don’t have a fishing rod. No bait. None of the necessary equipment. So I’ll have to use emergency fishing tools.

“Rurin! Come here.”

“Huh?”

I pulled Rurin forward and pointed at the water.

“The fish will move. When they appear under the hole, knock them out.”

“Fish? Is it tasty? Like the ones we ate at the sea?”

“It’s a bit different, but it’s tasty.”

“Got it!”

Following the translator and snow removal tool, Rurin transformed into a fishing tool. I wonder if I could ask this of anyone other than our dragon.

Well, I’m doing this so we can eat together.

If there’s any being that uses a dragon as a fishing tool, not just humans but any creature, let them come forward.

Haha.

“Now. Now!”

At my words, Rurin glared. The trout was almost instantly dead. It floated up, trembling. I just pulled it out of the hole.

“One more!”

When I whispered in Rurin’s ear, she started twisting her body. Holding the dragon’s waist, I looked at the water for a while, then urged again.

Once again, the trout floated weakly to the hole.

“Haha, got it. Got it.”

“It’s thanks to me. Hehehe.”

“Yes, that’s an undeniable fact.”

I patted her head and immediately started preparing the trout.

I summoned a knife and scraped off the scales, then cut open the belly. Removing the guts and the dark part where blood collects on the back is the key.

Then use a fireball to cook it.

I took out pepper and salt from my backpack and sprinkled them liberally, then broke off a suitable stick, skewered the fish from mouth to tail, and grilled it until it was deliciously cooked.

“Delicious!”

“Watch out for bones.”

The dragon started eating the trout like a bear. She can digest bones, so there’s no need to worry. After roughly finishing off the big trout, we lay down.

“You, I feel a lot of monster presence if we go that way.”

In the meantime, Rurin pointed, sensing something with her dragon instinct. The direction she pointed was towards the southeast hill.

“Really? Let’s go then.”

The northern land is not completely filled with monsters. This abandoned northern land is cold and barren, uninhabitable for humans, but it’s a vast area, about the size of a decent country.

So the pushed-back monsters have spread all over the northern land, engaging in power struggles among themselves.

The more they fight among themselves, the further they are from gaining the strength to oppose humans again. Human peace seems guaranteed for the time being.

“By the way, what kind of monster would be good this time? We captured cute ones for the wardrobe and bathroom.”

“Hmm,”

Rurin started to ponder for some reason. She cleared her throat and raised both arms, then spoke.

“This time, I want a big one. You!”

“A big one?”

“Yes. Our lair is big! A big one would work better!”

A big one, huh. Should I look for a large monster then?

I let out a slight laugh. It felt like I was in a store picking out furniture for a newlywed home.

Picking a monster to manage the lair like choosing furniture, this is…

Shaking off the strange feeling, I moved to the place Rurin pointed. As I got closer, there were skeletons scattered all over the ground. Monster bones.

It seemed like a place where battles frequently happened.

Rustle.

Rustle.

Just then, I heard something moving. I strongly caught the rustling sound from the forest. A creature making this much noise would naturally be a monster.

“Rrrrrr!”

The monster that appeared made incomprehensible sounds and glared at us. Its entire body was covered in white fur. It looked like sheep’s wool, only thicker and longer.

It was covered in white fur from head to toe, and its eyes were cute like a cat’s. But it walked on two legs.

Its entire existence seemed mismatched. It was even big. A little taller than me and twice as bulky.

It was the first time seeing a monster I couldn’t even name.

For me, who has encountered most monsters, this was quite rare.

“What is that monster saying, Rurin?”

“Again!”

As I tried to activate the translator, Rurin approached the monster with an annoyed look. The monster, holding a club-like weapon, trembled and swung it around.