Chapter 70: Monsters of the Northern Lands (1)
**The Northern Lands.**
During the last monster war, the large monsters such as orcs and ogres were driven by the allied forces to the northernmost edge of the continent, a barren wasteland. As a result, the Northern Lands became the domain of these displaced monsters.
Around the same time, the *Dragon War* broke out, a separate conflict where the Black Dragons and Red Dragons fought fiercely. Although it coincided with the monster war, it had no direct connection to humans, as it was purely a war among dragons. The aftermath, however, threatened to wipe out humanity due to the sheer destructive force of the dragon battles.
In contrast, the *Monster War* was a direct conflict between humans and monsters, and it was this war that ultimately forced the monsters into the Northern Lands.
I found myself returning to these harsh lands today, alongside Rurin. We didn’t visit often, but occasionally, we came here for specific reasons. Not for sightseeing, of course, but for a more practical purpose—capturing useful monsters.
Now that the work on the lair was nearly finished, today’s mission was to find a suitable monster to manage the lair. While “manage” might sound grand, it was essentially for cleaning. With Rurin’s ability to control monsters through mental manipulation, it was easy to make them obedient. After all, no human could be trusted to manage a dragon’s lair.
Additionally, there was another reason for coming here—the need to test my mana.
Last night, while meditating to absorb the power of the dragon orb, I felt a massive surge of energy welling up inside me. It was the first time I had experienced something like that after months of consistent meditation and training. Naturally, I wanted to test this newfound power.
Thus, today’s visit to the Northern Lands served two purposes: to capture a useful monster and to experiment with my enhanced mana.
“This place never sits well with me, no matter how often I come,” Rurin grumbled.
“Is there anywhere you do like? You always complain about hating humans, hating monsters… you hate everything.”
“I like *our* home! The lair you made for me is perfect! Hehe.”
“Glad to hear it.”
At least she’s satisfied with that.
I glanced around the area where we had teleported. We had been here several times, so Rurin’s teleportation was accurate, no need to rely on other dragons or landmarks. However, the destination always varied slightly, depending on Rurin’s mood at the time.
This spot was new to me.
The cold wind blowing across the Northern Lands confirmed where we were. It was a biting, flesh-cutting wind, but today it was bearable. That was thanks to the thick fur clothing I had on, specifically tailored for this place.
Imagine the kind of winter clothing worn in the heart of Siberia by Russians—the fur hats and coats. That’s what we were wearing. During previous visits, I had just worn regular winter clothes, but the cold was unbearable. This time, I had invested in proper gear.
Fur clothing really does make a difference. It was incredibly warm.
“What is this?” Rurin finally noticed the clothes she had on, tilting her head in confusion.
Well, considering I had dressed her while she was asleep and then dragged her out for teleportation, it made sense she hadn’t realized until now.
“You mean ‘what is this,’ not ‘what is *this*?’ It’s custom-made, very expensive. It’s made from the fur of a *Scatt Wolf*—warm, right? I made sure it fit you perfectly.”
“Scatt Wolf? That’s expensive?”
“It’s top-quality monster fur, of course it’s expensive.”
Rurin stroked the fur on her clothes, but soon, she frowned and shook her head.
“My fur is much better! Dragon scales are the best! Scatt Wolf fur is nothing compared to that!”
“Well…”
Do dragons even have fur? Maybe she’s talking about the tough, armor-like skin covering her body?
If we made clothes from dragon skin, it’d definitely be in a league of its own. The price would be astronomical. But is that even possible?
“Could you even make clothes from dragon skin? I mean, if you’re offering yours, I could create the world’s first dragon-skin winter gear.”
“My-my-my *skin*?! You pervert!”
Suddenly, Rurin, uncharacteristically flustered, crossed her arms over herself, accusing me with wild gestures. Pervert, really? This coming from the dragon who regularly tosses her clothes aside without a second thought?
To a dragon, their skin might be like underwear for humans. Clothes don’t matter, but their skin—now *that* is personal.
Rurin, her face red with embarrassment, began backing away from me.
“Come on, don’t make that face and come here. Besides, you said you didn’t want to revert to your dragon form.”
“That’s true, but I’m still a dragon! And my skin is… my skin is…”
She trailed off, making a cute, almost shy expression that I’d never quite get used to. It was the kind of look that would be perfect as a modern emoji. Shaking my head at her confusing behavior, I began walking.
No monsters in sight. Maybe we had landed a bit off course.
We walked for a while before reaching a massive frozen river. Typical of the Northern Lands, it was entirely covered in thick ice. Crossing it looked easy enough, but the other side led to a mountain. Climbing wasn’t on the agenda, so we ignored the river and headed east.
After some time, I stopped.
Rurin started complaining about being hungry.
I looked at the ice.
There were faint shadows beneath it—fish. Perfect. It had been a while since I’d done any ice fishing.
Sure, we came here to capture monsters and test my mana, but there was no rush. The restaurant was closed for the day, so as long as we returned by tonight, we had time.
“Alright, Rurin. Let’s eat something before we continue.”
“Really? We’re eating?!”
The bored look on her face vanished, replaced by eager excitement as I stepped onto the frozen river.
“This ice is frozen solid. If I poured beer on it, it’d chill perfectly.”
That’s one massive way to drink beer.
Ignoring her wild idea, I cast a spell under the ice.
The most tedious part of ice fishing is drilling a hole in the ice, but with magic, that’s a non-issue. Even a 3rd-class offensive spell was enough to carve out a decent-sized hole.
“What are you doing?”
“Fishing. There should be trout in a river like this.”
I remembered my days of foraging for food during the war, scouring rivers for fish to feed my comrades. These kinds of rivers were usually full of trout.
The only problem was I had no fishing rod. Or bait. No proper equipment at all. So, I’d have to improvise.
“Rurin! Come here.”
“Huh?”
I pulled Rurin close and pointed to the hole in the ice.
“Fish are going to appear soon. When they do, knock them out.”
“Fish? Are they tasty? Like the ones we had at the sea?”
“Not quite the same, but they’re good.”
“Got it!”
And so, my dragon became a makeshift fishing tool, in addition to being a translator and snow-clearing machine. Only a dragon like Rurin could handle such absurd requests.
“Now!”
The moment I saw movement under the ice, I whispered to Rurin. She focused her gaze, and the trout immediately froze—figuratively and literally. It floated lifelessly to the surface.
“One more!”
Rurin wiggled in anticipation as I held her, and within moments, another trout floated up to the hole.
“Perfect.”
“Haha! All thanks to me!”
“I can’t deny that.”
After patting her head, I quickly cleaned the fish.
Summoning a knife, I scaled the trout, gutted it, and removed the dark blood near the spine. Once that was done, I used a small fireball to grill the fish.
I seasoned it with salt and pepper from my backpack, skewered it on a branch, and roasted it over the fire. The smell of grilled trout filled the cold air.
“Tasty!” Rurin declared, tearing into the fish like a bear.
“Watch out for the bones.”
Though I wasn’t too worried—Rurin could digest bones easily enough. We devoured our respective trout and lay down, satisfied.
“There are a lot of monsters that way,” Rurin said, pointing toward a hill to the southeast. She must’ve sensed something with her dragon instincts.
“Oh? Let’s check it out.”
The Northern Lands weren’t exactly teeming with monsters. Though vast and desolate, they were huge, about the size of a small country. Monsters had scattered throughout the region, fighting amongst themselves. The more they fought each other, the less likely they were to unite against humans. Peace, at least for now, seemed assured.
“So, what kind of monster are we looking for? Last time, we caught some smaller ones for the bathhouse and storage.”
“Hmmm…”
For once, Rurin seemed to be thinking deeply. After a moment, she raised both arms and declared with enthusiasm:
“This time, I want a big one! A really big one!”
“A big one?”
“Yes! Our lair is huge! A big monster would do a better job managing it!”
A big monster, huh? That meant I’d have to target one of the larger species.
I chuckled quietly. It felt like we were shopping for furniture for a newlywed home, picking out the perfect piece for the lair.
I brushed the thought away and followed Rurin’s lead, heading in the direction she had indicated. As we got closer, I noticed skeletons scattered across the ground—monster bones, littering the area.
It seemed to be a frequent battleground for these creatures.
**Rustle.**
**Rustle.**
Suddenly, I heard a noise—something moving in the forest nearby. Whatever it was, it was big enough to make such a noise. It had to be a monster.
“*Grrraaarrgggh!*”
A massive creature emerged from the trees, growling in an incomprehensible language. Its body was covered in thick, white fur, almost like an overgrown, woolly sheep. Its eyes, though, resembled those of a cat—cute but unsettling, given the size of the beast.
It stood upright on two legs, towering over me by a good foot, and its body was twice as wide as mine.
I’d never seen a monster like this before. For someone like me, who had encountered countless creatures, that was saying something.
“What is this monster, Rurin?”
“*Again?!*”
Just as I was about to use my translation spell, Rurin, looking irritated, stepped forward. The monster, now trembling, picked up a club and began swinging it nervously.
