In the Game World (2)

“...Th-this... This can’t be happening...”

I’d firmly believed that since Zernisha’s polymorph form was female, Mircania’s appearance had to be that of a boy or a young man.

That was why I’d gone ahead with the polymorph without giving it much thought, but the sight before my eyes was utterly shocking.

I absolutely...

No, even if it weren’t me, any Icarus Chronicle player would probably imagine Mircania’s polymorph form as a young man clad in blue armor.

And the official illustrations had even depicted Mircania in full armor, holding a rapier.

No one could ever have imagined there would be a polymorph form like this inside that armor.

And now that I had become Mircania, this was the last possibility I wanted to imagine.

Why, why had I been reincarnated here, possessed the body of Mircania, whom I’d firmly believed would have a male form, and ended up looking at this sight?

“...It feels like the world is playing a joke on me.”

It was hard to explain the situation any other way, so I let out a sigh and quietly got to my feet.

I was... about 170 centimeters tall?

I hated to admit it, but Mircania’s body was taller than my old one, and I could feel a slight difference in my eye level.

It wasn’t a big difference, just the slightest change.

About 10 centimeters—that was all the subtle difference there was, and it didn’t get in the way of walking or moving.

The problem was, how should I put it...

“...I can’t really... see my feet...”

When I looked down, all I could see were the two lumps of flesh on my chest.

When checking the stride and balance of a body you’ve just started moving, it’s best to watch your legs. But with this body, I was stumped right from the most basic step.

I slowly began walking, simply taking a little stroll across the snowy plain.

“Hmm... I don’t seem particularly weak or anything... Is that because a dragon is still a dragon...?”

My movements were quite smooth, and even though this was a polymorph, I didn’t feel any real disconnect or awkwardness in this body.

If anything, a human body felt far more convenient and familiar than a dragon’s.

My clothes left a lot of skin exposed, which was a little embarrassing, but it wasn’t an insurmountable problem.

“Hmm...”

I quietly sat down in the snow and gazed at the forest and the clear sky.

The endless snowy plain seemed to tell me this was Karts, the northern region of Icarus Chronicle as I knew it. And the sky, so clear and beautiful it seemed strange, made this feel like the world inside the game.

“...No, this isn’t a game world anymore...”

If I happened to die here, there really wouldn’t be another chance this time.

I’d been dropped here out of nowhere, without even the comforting notion of another chance, but I was already as good as dead.

So I didn’t resent anything. Even the fact that my current body had taken on a female form was only a minor grievance, not a major problem.

The differences in my body’s shape and sensations were simply things I had to adjust to. I didn’t think they were anything I couldn’t overcome.

For now, I had to be grateful for the opportunity I’d been given and think about what I should do and what I should strive for.

After all, I didn’t know every last detail about this place.

This was no longer some world inside a game. It was the world where I would live for who knew how long.

I had absolutely no intention of dying for nothing, and even less of living out a predetermined ending only to vanish helplessly like dew beneath the silver sword.

Now that I’d opened my eyes here, what I had to think about was how to act for a happy ending and what I needed to do to survive.

First, I had to figure out when this was. After that, I’d need to decide which direction to take.

“For now... this has to be Karts, and the place where I came back to life and opened my eyes must be the world that served as the setting for Icarus Chronicle.”

First, I had to get a hold of myself.

I didn’t know whether I’d been reborn in a cold place because I’d burned to death in my previous life, or whether, since I’d been a man, I was meant to try living this way. Either way, for now, I had to accept the changes I’d been given.

I knew better than anyone that if I couldn’t accept it and kept dwelling on my complaints and resentment, there’d be no end to it, and the problem would never be solved.

So, focus on what I need to do now, Harang.

No, should I call myself Mircania now?

“For now... the forest is quiet, so it doesn’t look like there’s a Monster Wave... Though it’s a little strange that I can’t see a single animal nearby.”

Usually, a forest like this would have plenty of wild animals living in it, but all I could see was a pristine snowy plain and forest—not even a single ant in sight.

That only made the silence feel suspicious, and I began to sense a faint unease.

Even though I’d taken Mircania’s form, there was no guarantee this world was the one from Icarus Chronicle, or that this place was Karts. The anxiety slowly began to weigh on me.

The story had described Karts as a place with snowy plains and forests where wild animals and monsters lurked as threats. Below them stood the Grand Duke’s territory, like a shield, and farther south came the squares and city streets.

But though this place had the same snowy plains and forests, there were no wild animals and no signs of monsters.

There was only a woman with sky-blue hair walking through the snow, and trees quietly swaying in the breeze.

Crunch—

I carefully wandered through the snow, continuing to look around, but it seemed difficult to find any sign of life here besides myself.

“...If this really is Karts, then if I keep heading south, I should come to a settlement...”

If so, was heading for a settlement what I needed to do right now?

After all, even if Karts had a medieval feel, it was still a city imagined by modern people, so it would run on capitalist principles. What could I do there with no money at all?

But I couldn’t just do nothing, either, and my thoughts began to grow tangled.

I had no idea what I should do right now.

“I guess... I know less than I thought...”

Imagine taking a modern person and dropping them in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but snow and trees.

How many people could come up with a better plan and course of action than me right now?

The answer would surely be: not many. There were surely people who loved Icarus Chronicle as much as I did, and people who were more composed than me, but...

I’d already set foot in the realm of death once, so no matter what happened, I could remain calm.

Still, if I had to face death again, then...

No, I thought I’d be quite sad, and feel terribly bitter about it.

This was a new chance at life I’d been lucky enough to receive. If I just died without doing anything, I’d simply be wasting it.

“...Ah, come to think of it, the Iceflower Dragon was a dragon after all... I wonder if it has a lair?”

A lair—the nest where dragons lived, and a place like a home to humans.

Zernisha had a lair of its own, and Mircania, who was called the North’s Guardian Dragon, surely had one too.

Just as birds built nests to live in, it was only natural for dragons to build lairs and live in them.

The problem was that I didn’t know where the Iceflower Dragon’s lair was, even though I’d have to call it home now. I racked my brain for an answer.

The prerequisite quest for the final quest in the White Snow Guardian Knight arc was to find the Iceflower Dragon’s lair, and I’d done that quest countless times.

Surely, I could remember it.

“The sun’s up, so... the forest is to the east... Which means east is diagonally ahead on my right...”

The Iceflower Dragon’s lair was northwest of the Principality of Karts. In that case, if I turned around and headed straight ahead from here, I should reach it.

I didn’t know how far away it was, but with a dragon’s body, I wouldn’t tire easily no matter how far I ran. I should get there before sunset today.

First, I began walking at an easy pace toward the lair, so I could spend a day there and think things through.