I Became a Wendigo in a Fantasy World

46 – Episode 46

Wendygo waited for Isaac in the shrine.

Seated on the throne with a fairly dignified attitude… Geron roamed around him, checking for any issues.

“Hmm… We should consider applying lacquer to the throne soon.”

“No, there’s no need to bother people with that…”

“No. The spirit lord is no longer merely managing a small tribe. Even if it’s not a fancy throne, you should maintain a minimum authority.”

Geron firmly accepted Wendygo’s subtle complaint with a resolute expression.

Others might have been impressed by Wendygo’s concern for those beneath him, thinking, ‘Indeed, he cares about the lower ranks!’ but Geron knew Wendygo too well.

It’s just that he finds it bothersome and cumbersome, so he wants to skip over it!

“In the past, we had a shortage of manpower and resources, so it couldn’t be helped. But now, isn’t it different? At least, for the sake of minimal dignity, the throne should be changed.”

“…Then how about I personally make a new throne? It will be majestic and splendid.”

“No.”

Geron rejected Wendygo’s suggestion more seriously than before.

If Wendigo were to create the throne himself, he knew it would undoubtedly be a remarkable object. The problem, however, was that the throne was sure to be too extraordinary.

“If it’s a throne made by the spirits, there’s bound to be a chill emanating from it. Ordinary folks would find it difficult to endure.”

“Using plants in the process might reduce the cold a bit…”

From Noble mtl dot com

“Still won’t work. I don’t want those who came to see the spirits freezing to death from the cold emanating from the throne.”

Wendigo looked at Geron as if questioning who considered him a monster, but Geron stood tall, as if he couldn’t overlook this one thing.

Geron, who was already struggling with the cold just by living near Wendigo, was thankful that Skadi knew about his situation and provided enchanted charms and clothes. Otherwise, he would have been sick despite the cold.

But now, Wendigo was intentionally crafting a throne?

Even though Geron served Wendigo as his lord, he couldn’t guarantee that nothing untoward would happen.

“I remember there was a tribe skilled in handling oak wood. I’ll contact them and prepare the throne for you, Wendigo.”

“Sigh… Fine. Since you’re so insistent, Geron, I guess there’s no helping it. Just don’t force anyone. If they agree, make sure to prepare a suitable reward.”

Geron smiled, nodding. He believed that Wendigo’s generosity in rewarding even mundane tasks elevated his loyalty.

How many rulers would prepare rewards for things their subordinates considered routine?

‘Because of the difficulty in raising livestock due to handling oak wood… I should help connect them with a tribe nearby that specializes in livestock.’

Pause.

As Geron was about to go out to send the message, he stopped in front of the door, turning his head towards Wendigo with a worried expression.

“I recall you were planning to reward Isaac today. It shouldn’t be something dangerously powerful, right?”

Wendigo looked at Geron with a somewhat annoyed gaze in response to the question.

Certainly, since expressions cannot be formed with a skull that reveals nothing, Geron couldn’t discern the meaning in the gaze.

“Don’t worry too much. I plan to discuss it with Scadi and prepare to a level Isaac can handle.”

“Ah, if Scadi is with us…”

“Don’t overthink it. Do you doubt Scadi even when I trust her?”

Wendigo casually threw in a joke. If it were others, they might have broken into a cold sweat at Wendigo’s authoritative jest, but Geron remained unfazed.

“The spirits tend to be overly generous with rewards, isn’t that right?”

“Enough with the nagging… Fine, just go outside.”

As Wendigo waved his hand, indicating for Geron to leave, Geron reluctantly stepped outside the door.

* * *

A while later.

Isaac, along with Scadi, came to the shrine and greeted Wendigo.

“The humble mage, Isaac, pays respects to the spirit.”

“There’s no need for such elaborate greetings to me… By the way, are you okay?”

“Yes. Is there anything that might trouble me?”

Doesn’t seem like it…

Wendigo observed Isaac’s complexion.

Eyes slightly unfocused, body lacking strength, as if affected by some potion…

“Could it be you ate too many fruits and ended up like this?”

A twitch.

As Isaac trembled, Wendigo glanced at Scadi standing by his side. Scadi scratched her cheek, releasing an awkward chuckle.

“Ahahahaha… I told him that he needs to see Wendygo, and he ended up eating too many fruits.”

“Well, that’s true… People become completely muddled, huh.”

Wendygo directed a cold wind towards Isaac’s face.

As the cold wind seeped through his eyes, ears, and nose, Isaac’s eyes flashed.

There should be a limit to the coldness, right? It’s not like my head is freezing!

“S-Spirit Lord! I’m awake! Now that I’m awake, could you please stop the wind!”

“It seems quite effective.”

As Isaac spoke with chattering teeth, Wendygo ceased the wind. Scadi placed her hand on Isaac’s shoulder and absorbed the cold clinging to his body.

The chill, following Scadi’s will, seeped into the ring on her ring finger.

Wendygo admired her skillful performance.

“You’ve already become adept at using the ring.”

“I’m not proficient enough to cast spells using the ring yet, but I’m familiar with Wendygo’s mysteries. Simple methods like this are easy.”

“T-Thank you.”

As warmth returned to his body, Isaac expressed gratitude to Scadi with a bewildered expression.

Who would have thought that he would receive such an unexpected favor just because he ate some fruits due to nervousness?

“If I knew it would turn out like this, I should have eaten the fruits more moderately!”

Blaming himself for eating 15 fruits just because they were effective, Isaac adjusted his posture. He didn’t want to show an unsightly appearance in front of a spirit, especially one he respected.

Wendygo chuckled at the changed Isaac, different from when they first met.

“I thought you had done something nasty to yourself, but it seems you haven’t left empty-handed from being here.”

“Yes. Of course not.”

Isaac nodded with a cheerful expression.

The saying that hardship brings good fortune wasn’t just empty words. Isaac, who strove to overcome his trials (?), was proud to have taken a step closer to a higher realm on his own.

His cloak was imbued with the agility of a wolf, and the staff made of white branches was enveloped in a chilling aura.

Both items were crafted through Scadi’s advice.

Their quality was more than enough to be called magical, even if you went around calling them wizardry items!

“… Even if the leather is understandable, what about those tree branches?”

Wendigo subtly turned her head to glance at Scadi, but she shamelessly avoided eye contact.

It was an unimaginable entanglement before, but Wendigo decided to let it slide this time.

Scadi, who had finally found some leisure, was also commendable, and if you wanted to see a white tree, you could just freeze one.

“What you gained here is through your own efforts. So, if I want to reward your hard work, I should prepare something else.”

Isaac looked at Wendigo with anticipation. Even if he didn’t know the true nature of the gifts from the spirit, it was enough to make his heart race.

And if it’s a spirit in front of him, it must be a proper reward!

Wendigo, in response to his expectations, raised her hand, concentrating mysterious energy at its center.

The condensed mystery revealed itself in the form of pure ice crystals, and Isaac trembled with excitement at the mystery contained in the crystals.

‘A reward containing this much mystery!’

Isaac watched in ecstasy as Wendigo completed the ice crystals.

Wendigo infused even more mystery into the ice crystals than just now.

Wendigo infused a very large amount of mystery than just now…?

Scadi, astonished by the ignorant, no, astonishing spectacle, rushed towards Wendigo.

“Wait! Hold on! Wendy, please stop for a moment!”

“Huh?”

Wendigo paused his work, looking puzzled as Scadi ran towards him. The ice that had just been freezing as if possessed by a chill gently settled in his hands.

Scadi raised her magpie foot to check the state of the ice.

The ice contained the pure mystery that Wendy had captured, like a tranquil lake finding stability, but…

“Wendigo. Surely this… isn’t Isaac’s compensation, is it?”

“…Is it a bit excessive?”

Wendigo cautiously asked for Scadi’s opinion. Scadi barely held back a scream trying to burst out and grabbed her head.

Even though Scadi had always keenly felt how extraordinary Wendy was, this time she couldn’t help but be truly surprised.

To think that such a small piece of ice could contain so much mystery!

“Wendigo. The ice you made is truly pure and splendid. However, there is a problem…”

“What problem?”

Scadi glanced hesitantly and briefly at Isaac.

Isaac instantly understood what Scadi was trying to say and calmly nodded with a pale face.

“To handle this ice, Isaac’s abilities are a bit… lacking. There’s a risk that if he mishandles it, the mystery contained in the ice could burst out like a wave and overwhelm Isaac.”

As Scadi explained, Isaac nodded continuously as if it was what he wanted to say.

He had anticipated a reward, but never expected something so dangerously unpredictable!

“Hmm… It’s supposed to be a reward, so I wanted to give something valuable.”

“How about extracting some of the mystery? Adjust it to Isaac’s level.”

Isaac was shocked by Scadi’s suggestion. He thought the ice was excessive as a reward, but it was also too wasteful to remove the mystery.

If Skadi had it…

However, before Isaac could express his opinion, Wendygo began to extract mystique without giving him a chance.

Like pouring water into a leaky bucket, as mystique burst forth, Isaac was so astonished that he froze in place.

“Is this enough?”

“I think you should take out more.”

“Like this?”

“You need to take out more. If it’s just this much, if Isaac tilts a bit, one of his arms will freeze.”

Isaac stared at the mystique scattered in the air as if he were dreaming.

His aura wasn’t as clear as Skadi’s, but it was enough to see the mystique flowing in front of him like a river.

It was the first time he had captured so much mystique with his eyes, but surely, this mystique wouldn’t be released into the air without any use!

‘Would other sorcerers believe this story if I told them?’

Probably not.

Not as much as spirits, but sorcerers were quite skeptical about mystique.

If he told those sorcerers that a spirit was spreading mystique into the air, would they believe it?

It would be more trustworthy to say that the spirit is kind.

“Is this really the best we can do?”

“That’s the best we can handle as long as Isaac doesn’t make a big mistake.”

Wendygo looked at the ice crystal in her hand with a somewhat disappointed gaze. No matter how you think about it, the level of the ice crystal as compensation seemed too meager.

Even the ice spear he usually favored seemed to use much more mystique than this…

Wendygo handed the now unexpectedly cheap ice crystal to Isaac. Only then did Isaac regain his senses and carefully lifted the ice crystal.

“Compared to the first one I made, it’s so plain… Are you satisfied with that?”

“Yes! I’m really happy with it!”

Isaac nodded happily.

The ice crystal he first revealed was too intimidating even to touch. But the one in front of him now was something he could handle.

Of course, if he wasn’t careful, the cold might still seep into his body, but who cared about that!

Scadi approached Isaac, whose eyes sparkled with joy.

“This can be dangerous too. Let me split it in half for you.”

“Really?”

Isaac looked at Scadi with a touched expression.

With a smile, Scadi nodded. As she tapped the crystal with her ring, it neatly split into two.

“Wow!”

“I’m glad you’re happy.”

As Isaac happily touched the split crystal, Wendy swallowed her disappointment.

She wanted to give Isaac something more useful as a gift for helping Scadi, but all she could give was this.

Just in case, Wendy threw a bait to Isaac.

“It’s nice to see you happy. If you want, I can give you something more useful.”

“No, thank you! This is the best for my level.”

“…”

Wendy felt disappointed as Isaac replied cheerfully. She wanted to reward him in a more impressive and touching way…

“Well, I’m glad you like it. Go out and find Geron. If you tell him what you need for the journey, he’ll prepare it for you without any regrets.”

“Thank you very much! I will widely spread the benevolence of the spirit to the people outside the forest!”

Scadi tried to pay attention to Isaac’s words, but Wendygo raised her hand to stop her.

Isaac bowed and quickly left the temple. His steps, having gained rare experiences and treasures, were endlessly light.

As he left, only Scadi and Wendygo remained in the temple.

With a worried expression, Scadi asked Wendygo, “Wendygo-nim, are you okay? If Mr. Isaac spreads information about the forest outside, it could cause quite a nuisance.”

“Not wrong. But that won’t prevent the forest from attracting attention,” Wendygo replied. However, she had no intention of stopping it.

After all, there was no way to prevent the situation in the forest from being known by blocking Isaac’s mouth.

From Noble mtl dot com

“The land continues to become fertile, and the forest people are evolving into a unified force. Naturally, those outside the forest will notice this change too.”

“…Eventually, they will react to the forest’s changes.”

“Indeed. Still, don’t worry too much. If we act as we always have, it should be fine.”

Wendygo, fundamentally a pacifist, had a simple way of acting.

If someone approaches us amicably, we’ll shake hands.

If someone approaches us aggressively, we’ll crush their hand.

It was uncertain who would be the first to reach out from the outside, but Wendygo could only hope that the other party would choose wisely.