Chapter 260: Winged Nomad 5
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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More formidable than the carapace bugs that gnaw on rocks and hunt stone dwarves, and more so than the barbaric harpies that swoop down from the skies, was something we were utterly powerless against.
It was nature itself.
"Must be the bastard who destroyed the city, right?"
"Looks like it. Roland, how long does it take for the tower's environment to restore itself after destruction?"
"I heard it takes about a week for a collapsed cave to restore. It's been so long, my memory's a bit fuzzy."
Upon setting foot on the 44th floor, what we saw was a mountain peak utterly collapsed, as if devastated by an earthquake or landslide.
Far off, intact mountains were visible, but the path we needed to take was completely ruined.
With two peaks collapsed, blocking the way with debris, all that was in front of us were cliffs taller than most buildings.
As we talked, the ground, unstable as it was, showed signs of crumbling; large rocks teetered and rolled down.
Even if I went through alone, leaving my companions in a safe place, it would only result in the ground giving way beneath me and falling off a cliff.
"Looks like we have to go back. Or, use a Vacuum Stone from Granny Pipi's city to make a passage."
"Maybe another stone dwarf city has become ruins? The monster might have attacked another city."
Even our ridiculously strong party with a 6 couldn't do anything in the face of such destruction.
No matter how sturdy I am, I can't clear two mountains with my bare hands.
The fact that the giant underground monster is moving on its own seems to have darkened the mood of the party.
If the Harpy Kingdom or the underground city of the stone dwarves collapses before we find the boss, Han Se-ah might have to reset for the first time.
This game, Heroes Chronicle, takes time attacks quite seriously.
We need to catch the full moon wolf before the city's expedition, the orc chief before the mages, and secure a ridable golem to fight the giant snake before other intermediate adventurers...
Freedom in other activities, but if you're climbing the tower, you better hurry.
"Hanna, what now? Can't just sit around for a week... Explore the 43rd floor underground or the surface?"
"Let's talk to Old Bobo and Granny Pipi to make a passage. It might take a week for the 44th floor to restore, but we can still make our way through the underground in about three days."
-But what if it collapses while a player is passing through?
-The genre changed from a walk game to a disaster simulator, lol.
-How big must it be for to collapse two mountains just by passing by?
-Why not go to the Harpy Kingdom and hang out with the queen? Love the queen so much
"But seriously, the mountains aren't going to just crumble and fall as I climb, right? I might not have acrophobia, but I'm not looking forward to free-falling off a cliff."
Would a person, especially one living in a city, ever get to see an entire mountain range collapse from a landslide?
Even for those living in a parallel world, Earth 4[1], witnessing two mountain peaks crumbling down would be an impossible sight.
In the face of such a grand disaster, Han Se-ah and her viewers started discussing the boss, earthquakes, and landslides in a chaotic mix.
Seeing mountains collapse right before your eyes is something you'd expect to see in helicopter footage on internet news, not in real life.
The fact that we have to hunt down the monster responsible for it only adds to the chaos.
"Roland, do you think the monster that destroyed the underground city is the same one that caused the mountains to collapse? How is that possible?"
"The mountains could have been weakened due to the dwarves digging inside of it? According to what we heard from Lili, it shouldn't be strong enough to topple a full mountain."
"Roland's right. The harpies only talked about shaking, no collapsing mountains, so don't worry too much."
Grace, a country girl who grew up without the internet, was just as surprised.
Katie, who was from the north, remained calm, having seen avalanches and mountains collapse several times before.
You'd think Katie would be the one freaking out along with Grace with Irene calming them down.
But it turns out experience makes a big difference.
What on earth happens in the north that a noble lady, who hasn't even had her coming-of-age ceremony, has seen avalanches up close?
As we were walking back down the mountain, a group of one-horned goats suddenly appeared.
They didn't charge at us but blocked the way, prompting us to cautiously hold our weapons.
"These have to be the goats raised by the harpies, right?"
"Looks like it. They're not attacking us, just passing by. I don't know how they were tamed, but we shouldn't attack them recklessly."
Who knew we'd experience something straight out of India, where cows lie on the roads, or the Alps, where ducks or sheep block the way?
With over a hundred goats following a path too narrow for two people to walk side by side, it felt like waiting for a train to pass at a railway crossing as they made their way down from the mountain and trampled down the path.
"Thieves, sheep thieves!"
"Did, did it just speak?!"
A harpy screamed from the sky and swooped down on us.
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Raei Translations
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We thought harpies couldn't speak.
Only the queen could, or so we believed.
Turns out, others can too.
"Grab them!"
"Kyaaak! Are they robbers?!"
Staring blankly at the mass migration of one-horned goats, thinking they belonged to the kingdom, a harpy suddenly flew down, accusing us of being sheep thieves.
Not a Queen, and a bit smaller than the typical red harpy, yet she spewed out human words with ease.
Seeing a rare one that could speak, Han Se-ah, without a moment's hesitation, aimed her staff at her.
Tears welled up at the sight of our hero, now adept at kidnapping.
Perhaps it was because the harpy showed no resistance, just flapping helplessly, Grace and Katie hesitated, their hands pausing over their weapons.
It was Irene who acted immediately.
"Can we talk for a moment?"
"Let, let me go!"
Knowing that Han Se-ah's use of Gust of Wind might break the harpy's wings, Irene gently pushed me aside and rushed forward, embracing the struggling harpy girl like catching a flailing child.
The harpy, too small to fly off with someone clinging to her, flapped her feathers helplessly.
Maybe because she was a friendly NPC, her sharp talons never aimed at Irene.
I was ready to knock her out if she scratched our saint, but aside from squawking, she didn't resist.
Knowing her talons could hurt people, she kept them to the ground, only fluttering the tips of her wings.
...What is this?
-Twin tails would look good on her.
-If other harpies look menacing, this one looks like she'd chirp cutely.
-If you were happy at this, you should be arrested.
-Maybe she's much younger?
Reading the chat, seems like there might be a need for laws protecting the rights of virtual characters.
Sharp eyes are characteristic of harpies, but hers isn't very intimidating.
Compared to the other red harpies, who look like tall, mature college women, this talkative one seems more like a middle or high schooler, not by appearance, but by how snugly she fits in Irene's arms.
Irene isn't particularly tall, and even next to Grace, she's quite petite, yet the harpy fits right in her embrace.
This one is obviously not fully grown, meaning we've captured a young harpy that can speak human language and herd one-horned goats.
This is a complete mess, isn't it?
"We haven't touched your goats."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because we don't have wings. We need to wait for the goats to pass before we can go on."
-Se-ah, put down your weapon.
-Look at our hero, ready to beat up anything she sees, lol.
-Truly the reflexes of our kidnapping, trafficking, brainwashing hero.
-While everyone else hesitated to draw their weapons, you were ready to attack without a second thought.
"...I'm the bad guy all of a sudden?"
Han Se-ah awkwardly lowered her staff as the harpy and nun started chatting amicably.
Having seen the mana gathered at the tip of her staff, not only the viewers but also Grace and Katie were looking at Han Se-ah with a complex look in their eyes.
Perhaps they felt a kind of pity, thinking something like, 'When it comes to magic, she's a genius, but when it comes to other things.'
---
[1. raei: one of Earth's alternate realities in DC comics.]
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