Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 44: North Zircon Conquest – Land of barren trees and blizzards.

November 10th, 1834. Skely's cave, boss room.

I am currently getting a magic guide from Chloe, the god gamer herself.

''Right, so how do you think I should use fire magic?''

''Well, infusing it with light will certainly amplify the power, but it wouldn't be MP efficient, for this conquest, at least.''

''Because the enemies are not demons?''

''Precisely. I think you better learn to use it standalone.''

''Mhm.''

North Zircon, based on the documents that I could find, is ruled by snowstorms and bitter cold. This means that the enemies there all have high resistance to coldness, rendering my ice magic mostly obsolete.

Light magic can deal damage normally to them, but it only stops at 'normally'. Focusing on using fire, the opposite of ice, is a better strategy, according to the god gamer.

''Here, take your new weapon and armor first.''

Chloe reaches her hand out and pulls a bunch of stuff out from thin air.

''You got [Inventory] as well?''

''Yeah, just grinded some mobs last weekend.'' She replies. ''Other than that, we have a problem.''

''I can see it.''

''Mm-hm. They couldn't make the Katana. I don't even remember there being a sword of that type in the game, you got weird stuff.''

Aside from some light armor made from the ancient basilisk's scales, there is no visible Katana in my vision. Instead, a long, two-bladed sword is in Chloe's hand, and she quickly hands it to me.

The sword itself is about two-thirds the length of my Katana, with a long and comfortable grip. Unsheathing it reveals a glossy black blade with ripping patterns running across the surface, it looks quite sturdy and sharp.

''This is good enough.'' I nod contently and sheathe the sword again.

In the first place, the Katana that I've been using is too long, making it an inconvenience for me to swing it around comfortably, not to mention the fact I've noticed a few chips and cracks here and there on the blade. It's probably because of the stress coming from my frequent large magic infusions.

And about it being the shape of a Katana or not, I honestly couldn't care less.

''Well, there you go.'' Chloe crosses her arms. ''What would you name it?''

''Do I have to?''

''Why not?''

''Hm... Blackstar?''

''That's kinda cool, unexpectedly.''

''What do you mean 'unexpectedly'?''

'''' ... ''''

''Ahem.'' Chloe clears her throat. ''Now, let's go ahead and get you used to some decent fire spell, though...''

Chloe glances awkwardly at the undead siblings, who are sitting not far away. They are here to watch us, of course. By the way, Chloe can't handle horror stuff, so Smiley and Mister Slen are excused.

''What's wrong with them?''

''...No, nothing. I just thought they looked similar.''

What in the world are you talking about? One is a ghost, one is a skeleton, what...

''Ahem, let's get back to it.''

''Fine, fine.''

''Now, you do know that you're now using the magic knight build, right?''

''Mhm.''

''A magic knight is not just someone that can infuse magic into their weapon. They can, depending on the situation, use only their weapon, or only their magic.'' Chloe conjures a few lighting bolts from her palm. ''You, however, I don't see you use pure magic that often.''

''That... Is true.''

''I think you should learn a few range spells. It's much better than blazing your sword every time, trust me.''

''Alright.''

''So first, I need you to learn a spell to clear off the weak mobs. Something that costs little MP, is fast to activate, and can kill them in one shot, so-''

SHIING—!

I raise my hand and shape my fingers into a gun before condensing the fiery energy inside me, placing it in front of my fingertip, and shooting it out.

BOOM—!

The blood-red fire launches forward with incredible speed, flying like a laser toward the wall. The impact chips away a decent chunk of the rock wall, and small debris begins to fall to the ground.

''...''

''That cost one MP exactly. Good enough?'' I turn to Chloe, who's looking blankly at the wall.

''...Yes, it is.'' She sighs. ''Well, this will be easier than I thought.''

After that, Chloe taught me quite a few handy spells from the fire element, and even from the other two elements as well, she is just too knowledgeable. 

Regardless, I teleported her back when it was midnight, and the next day, which is today, is when we will start the conquest.

''Are we ready?'' I turn around and ask.

Standing in line are Skely, Ariel, Smiley, and Mister Slen. Chloe is glued to my back like a koala.

How are you going to fight together if you're this scared...?

''I'm ready.''

''Me two~!''

AUF—!

After receiving a nod from both Mister Slen and Chloe, Skely teleports us to the northern part of Zircon Forest, precisely, the part of my territory that borders it.

''Woah...'' I hear Ariel mutter, her silver eyes wide open.

Well, it makes sense because except for her, we've all been here before. And even though I've seen this scene before, I can't help but be impressed.

Beyond the line dividing West and North Zircon, snow is falling heavily and aggressively, piling on the ground filled with barren trees. It's a totally different world beyond the line. Not even a single snowflake can be seen on my side, but on the other...

Apparently, this bizarre weather phenomenon is caused by the ruler of this region itself, although it is just speculation. The basis of this theory is that before the Blizzard Orca was recorded being here for the first time, this area was a normal forest, by Zircon's standard, and combined with the fact that it unnaturally snows like this all year, I can see why people make this assumption.

But enough of that.

''Let's go.''

I take a step forward, dipping myself into the frozen land.

''...!''

Immediately, I can sense something at the back of my head. It feels like something is watching me... Well, I expected this. It's most likely the Orca itself.

Eventually, I find myself standing completely in North Zircon.

''Woah, the wind is pretty strong, huh?'' Chloe exclaims, following right behind me.

After the others cross the border, we begin to advance.

...The snow is really heavy. I'm glad we have Chloe. She prepared for us, or more specifically me and Smiley, robes that can isolate heat.

Skely is a skeleton, Ariel is a ghost, and Mister Slen is apparently immune to the cold, so only the two of us, plus Chloe herself need it. And even more fortunate for us, the moon tonight is especially bright, combined with the fact that there is practically nothing to block the moonlight, namely leaves, even Chloe can see normally.

Walking in this eerily quiet place is surprisingly relaxing. The scenery is beautiful, the ambiance is almost perfect... 

''Turn left a little bit.''

''Okay.''

Chloe takes out the map, which has the indicator feature, and points us the way.

''I'm amazed. Where did you even get that from?'' Skely asks Chloe.

''There are hidden spots where you can get useful items scattered in this world.'' Chloe replies.

''That's interesting... How come we never found one back in our era, then?''

''That's a question, for sure.'' Chloe ponders. ''Well, the story of the game only starts recently, so... Wait, I bought these even before the story started... What?''

Why are you asking back?

''Well, well, when we get to the end of the story and confront the goddess, everything will be clear, I'm sure.'' Chloe shrugs.

''You mean Goddess Neveah?''

''Yup, the gal who hasn't appeared since forever. She just dipped.''

''Hey, hey, I might look like a ghost now, but I was a Saintess before I died, you know?'' Ariel chimes in.

''You are a ghost though.''

''I mean, true-''

''Stop.''

I interrupt them, hearing a faint sound in the distance. Concentrating my hearing even more, I can gradually make out the low growl of a beast.

''Looks like we found our first enemy.''