Chapter 79: Why Request a Chat All of a Sudden?
The ice hammer, which had started out the size of an ordinary sledgehammer, swelled to nearly the size of a compact car once fully charged for 30 seconds.
Its weight grew accordingly, and above all, its destructive force was insanely explosive.
’The ground got completely leveled.’
It wasn’t just a matter of leaving a dent.
It carved out a crater roughly 20 feet across, as if a small meteor had struck.
Far stronger than swinging his ice axe with everything he had. He figured it’d come in handy for smashing the mana stones of Elite Monsters.
’It does need charging, sure, but...’
Even so, Walfred was satisfied to have added a powerful damage-dealer. And beyond the skills he’d just looked over, several others had leveled up too.
-----
[Ice Needle: (Lv.2) → (Lv.3)]
[Snow Walker: (Lv.2) → (Lv.3)]
[Frost Shield: (Lv.1) → (Lv.2)]
[Frost Field: (Lv.1) → (Lv.2)]
[Icicle Chaser: (Lv.1) → (Lv.2)]
-----
After reviewing all the skills that had grown.
Walfred turned his eyes to the Northeast Corridor route map posted on the wall of the stationmaster’s office.
"Tomorrow I’ll reach Philadelphia."
From here to Philadelphia Station was about 19 miles.
That was exactly the distance he covered in a day, so he’d arrive at Philadelphia Station around tomorrow evening.
And he had something to do in Philadelphia.
’Find Lauren’s sister.’
The message he’d left last time.
He’d told her that if he stopped in Philadelphia on his way to Key West, he’d look into her sister’s whereabouts.
Since Walfred planned to spend a night at Philadelphia Station, he intended to use that time to ask around at several of the shelters near the station.
’But...’
He had no intention of spending much time on the search.
All the time he had was the single night he’d be staying at Philadelphia Station. So he hoped he could track down Erica within that window.
Just then.
"Daddy, Daddy."
Elsa had crept up beside him at some point and tugged at the hem of his clothes. Then she pointed toward the platform where the trains pulled in and said,
"Look over there. There’s a pretty bird."
"A bird? You’re saying there’s a bird?"
"Yeah!"
Elsa laughed brightly.
Walfred’s expression, by contrast, hardened cold.
After the world froze over, more than 99% of the planet’s birds had gone extinct. No, it wasn’t just birds. Most land-dwelling animals had frozen to death.
So if she’d spotted a ’bird,’ the odds were high that it was no ordinary creature.
’It’s a monster.’
Walfred’s eyes sharpened.
If a monster was prowling around, it’d be better to deal with it cleanly before turning in. He snatched one of the [Ice Orbs] circling his body.
Then, with Elsa in tow, he left the stationmaster’s office and headed for the spot where the ’bird’ was.
And.
"...!"
For a moment, Walfred was startled.
Just as Elsa had said, there really was a bird.
A bird about the size of a crow, with snow-white feathers, its whole body giving off a faint blue glow.
Three of the birds sat huddled together atop the platform’s steel framework.
’But...’
Naturally, it was no ordinary bird.
Every time they flapped their wings, snow dust and shards of ice fell from their feathers.
’What are they?’
He couldn’t sense the bloodlust or ferocity that monsters typically gave off. More than anything, he’d never once seen a monster shaped like that.
Still, he couldn’t let his guard down entirely, so he tightened his grip on the [Ice Orb] and stayed wary.
Just then.
Ding!
[Resonator (Elsa)’s skill activates.]
[Passive: Frost Resonance]-(Activated)
A short notification appeared out of nowhere.
In that instant, the birds perched on the framework all turned their heads in unison to look at Elsa.
Then, abruptly, they bowed their heads toward her, spread their wings wide, and took flight.
And vanished far into the sky.
"Aww, they all flew away..."
Elsa’s face fell.
Watching this whole sequence unfold, Walfred finally realized what the birds were.
’Frost-attribute monsters.’
The beings generally called ’attribute monsters’ are a class of monster that possesses 100% resistance to a given attribute.
The prime example being attribute golems.
And beyond golems, there’s one more type of monster classified by attribute.
’...Spirits.’
Which would mean the birds’ true identity was frost-attribute spirits. There was no other way Elsa’s [Frost Resonance] would have activated.
’Best to avoid them if at all possible.’
Sure, if [Ice Shatter] triggered he could probably take them down, but there was no need to go out of his way to fight monsters that didn’t attack first.
After confirming that the flock of spirits had completely vanished from sight, Walfred brought the crestfallen Elsa back to the stationmaster’s office.
And.
[System: Hunter Community]
[Accessing the New America Republic channel.]
He logged into the community as usual.
Every night before sleep, checking up on monsters that had caught his attention was part of his routine.
’Tonight’s monster to look into...’
Naturally, the spirits he’d just witnessed.
He searched for a post by the SSS-rankProfessor, the salt of the earth of the Info/Strategy Board. Just as he found the post he wanted and was about to tap it.
Ding!
[You’ve received a 1:1 chat request from a friend.]
[Name: Ace]
An unexpected figure was requesting a chat.
Walfred narrowed his eyes.
’...Jonah.’
The leader of the Silicon Alley Shelter.
A fire-attribute B-rank Hunter, Jonah.
Walfred usually relayed messages to and from Jonah through Bauer, since the two of them logged into the community at different times.
’But...’
Why request a chat all of a sudden?
Had something happened?
The question crossed his mind, but Walfred accepted Jonah’s chat request soon enough. He wasn’t a man to strike up pointless conversation.
[Ace]: Been a while, Hunter Walfred.
[Ace]: I’ve got something to tell you...
[Ace]: Do you have a minute?
The moment the chat room opened.
Jonah spoke up as if he’d been waiting.
Walfred typed out a reply right away.
[Me]: Yes, go ahead.
[Ace]: Thanks for taking the time.
[Ace]: First, before that, did you say the school your niece attends is Brooklyn Girls’ Academy?
Information about Jenna had already been passed along to Jonah through Bauer.
So that Jonah’s contact operating in Key West could ask around about Jenna’s whereabouts.
[Me]: That’s right.
[Me]: Why do you ask...?
No sooner had he sent the reply.
Than Jonah’s message continued.
[Ace]: I see. That’s a relief.
[Ace]: The truth is, just a moment ago, I got word from my contact in Key West.
[Ace]: They say they found the survivors of Brooklyn Girls’ Academy.
"...!"
The moment he saw the message that followed.
Walfred’s eyes went wide.