Chapter 67
[Featured Post: The Fron Region's Shivering Legend.jpg]
(Meme of a bear that died while hibernating)
I went hunting and found a bear.
But maybe it died because it was fucking cold lol.
I feel like I'm going to freeze to death too, so I won't be taking questions.
[Recommendations 5123] [Dislikes 102]
- LMAO, legendary weather.
- No way this is actually possible.
- Stop making shit up. How could a bear freeze to death while hibernating?
- Isn't this Lucky Vicky? What a jackpot.
ㄴ For real, so what if it smells a little gamey?
ㄴ It's free protein, and you're not taking it because it's cold?
ㄴ Author) 100 million mana dumplings.
ㄴ ??
ㄴ Author) If you don't freeze to death here and harvest all the bear meat, I'll give you 100 million mana dumplings, you fucking bastard.
ㄴ Holy shit;
ㄴ Damn, sorry;
ㄴ Fact) If a Fron resident says it's cold, an ordinary person would be looking at frostbite at minimum.
Adrian had major geographical advantages.
It had four seasons, so a wide variety of flora and fauna lived there, and food was plentiful.
It also had the advantage of performing above average in war, no matter what kind of weather struck.
- Fucking weather.
- It's fuuucking cold lololol.
- It's fucking freezing, ping.
- Fact about four seasons) Winter, winter, winter, winter.
That was true everywhere except the northern region of Adrian.
“So the place that was already like that has gotten even colder?”
A place that was already cold was growing even colder.
The cause was the simultaneous release of cold air from the rifts throughout the northern territory.
“It does seem like a wave, just like the sub-admin said...”
This was the first attack of its kind.
The rifts had always spewed out mutant monsters at regular intervals.
I fell into thought as I watched Fron's current situation through the Gallery.
For some reason, it seemed that the rifts were attacking more frequently and growing stronger.
*
[Title: New.jpg]
(Meme of someone raising their middle finger in front of a rift)
You bastard.
- Damn, it's another rift... All I can do is fucking swear at it.
- (Elf emote saying, “Die, rift”)
- (Cat-farmer emote, howling)
“How can it keep getting colder?”
It kept getting worse as time went on.
It was just like the inflation rate.
By now, they couldn't go outside in anything but the thickest clothes.
The one consolation was that it wasn't accompanied by strong winds.
With the sudden cold, the residents of the North were each finding their own ways to cope.
- Sharing my secret for layering three blankets perfectly.
- Sharing a fucking amazing fire-starting tip.
- What's for lunch at the duchy today?
- Making warmth with magic really is the warmest way, yeah.
Of all those methods, magic was naturally the most effective.
They asked mages to forcibly keep warmth inside their bodies.
But this method had one fatal drawback.
[Title: Ah lol]
(Meme of a grandfather shouting with bulging neck veins)
Grandpa's been yelling for warmth for a while now, asking if he's being ignored because he's a commoner;
He's still doing this even after I explained that the mana has run out.
Agh, if throwing a tantrum made it happen, would you be a neighborhood wizard or the Head Mod?????
- Even the court mage can't do anything lol
- You've got more work now, have a drink~
- Tsk; Young people should do as they're told.
ㄴ Listen to the mouth on this little brat.
ㄴ Author) Does mana come from your ancestors or something?
ㄴ Author) You're that grandfather, aren't you?
The serious problem was the depletion of mana.
In particular, because they had historically developed only offensive magic, they had little expertise in practical magic.
Naturally, magic for maintaining warmth was unfamiliar as well, making effective use of magic impossible.
Moreover, the few mages capable of it were all monopolized by the city's nobles.
“No, I already had a reservation, so why are you saying you can't do it?”
“The count has summoned me. I value my neck too much, so shouldn't I go at once?”
Every mage of any renown in town was summoned to the mansions, where they hogged all the warmth.
This naturally led to public resentment.
Even during the Adrian incident, they had been forcibly mobilized by the duke to oppose the Head Mod.
And now, instead of solving the situation, they were worrying about their own safety because it was cold?
- Hmm... Is it revolution time?
- What was it... Yeah, it's revolution time! Revolution time!
Internally, Adrian was fracturing, while externally, its defenses against monster incursions were weakening.
It was just beginning to slowly follow the path to national ruin.
“Now!”
[New items have been stocked!]
[100 160g Hand Warmers (For Extreme Cold)] - 70 mana dumplings
I released the new item as if I had been waiting for this moment.
*
The cold from the rifts grew increasingly severe.
The residents of northern Fron had been driven to the point where they couldn't even go outside.
But was it warm inside their homes?
- Fuck, it's freezing in this wooden house.
- Something's wrong. It's cold inside too;
- Am I going to slowly die like this? I'm really scared.
Inside their homes wasn't much different.
It was only a matter of whether it was fucking cold or slightly less cold.
The Northerners, who made their living primarily by hunting, were reaching the point where they were forced to skip meals as well, shivering in the cold.
“Hand warmers?”
A new Marketplace item suddenly dropped before the Northerners shivering under their blankets.
[Use with caution to avoid burns.]
Along with that eerie red warning, an object called a hand warmer appeared.
It was small and soft enough to fit in the hand.
Of course, when they first opened it, it was nothing but a cold scrap of cloth, not warmth.
“But this is supposed to get warm?”
A normal person would have let out an incredulous laugh.
It wasn't possessed by a ghost, so how could an object heat up all by itself?
- Fuck, shaking it makes it hot enough to burn you?
- LOL. That's enough delusion already.
It had reached the point where they would be lucky not to be treated as mentally ill.
Even the mages were struggling because it was difficult to implant warmth in people one by one.
But when it was introduced as an item released by the Head Mod, the story changed.
[Title: LOL, Glorious Wound]
(Meme of an ankle covered in burns)
It's fucking hot lol.
- Dumbass.
- LOL, I don't even need to see what you did to know.
- Ah lol, it's fucking warm.
- I thought I was going to freeze to death, but I'm happy for real.
ㄴ Author) For real, even though I got burned, I'm so happy I'm laughing lololol.
[Title: It gets hot when you shake it? LOL, how could that possibly make sense?]
(Meme of roasting and eating a crab)
All those winter crabs died.
The Head Mod is the GOAT for making warmth hot enough to burn you with just a few shakes...
We have to worship him at all times.
- LOL, this bastard makes a smooth drift.
- But it really is amazing.
ㄴ For real, I shook it at first while wondering if this was right, and it was fucking amazing when the heat suddenly rose.
ㄴ (Lasts 12 hours)
ㄴ (Frog emote shedding tears and giving a standing ovation)
- I came loaded with ten thousand characters of profanity, but ah lol.
ㄴ Can't I at least write a little, since it's such a shame?
ㄴ Author) Please bear with me.
If I left things as they were, it felt like someone really might freeze to death.
So I put hand warmers up on the Marketplace.
As expected, the hand warmers sold in staggering numbers, selling out the moment each batch was listed.
“But this isn't enough.”
We couldn't keep getting through this with hand warmers forever.
Hand warmers were merely life support at best.
While the Gallery was going crazy over hand warmers, I searched the Marketplace and found some useful items.
[Portable Generator] - 990 points
[Radiator] - 100 points
[Rotary Heater] - 550 points
.
.
“They are a little expensive.”
But as long as we had things like these prepared, we wouldn't have to worry about freezing to death.
[Would you like to purchase?]
When I pressed the purchase button, boxes began flooding into the inside of the house.
“This would be the perfect time to move.”
The space inside the bunker was gradually shrinking.
I happened to have the points, so moving would have been nice, but unfortunately, I would have to put it off for later.
[Admin Chatroom]
Dying-After-All: Head Mod, Head Mod.
Head Mod*: Yeah?
Dying-After-All: My guess was right. I can sense a mutant monster inside.
Dying-After-All: That must be what's emitting the cold.
A mutant monster different from those seen before had appeared.
I felt the need to purchase weapons in advance to prepare for it.
[Weapons/Modern/Explosives]
[White Phosphorus Shell] - 102 points
[Thermobaric Round] - 260 points
.
.
“There’s no harm in preparing in advance.”
I never would have considered it in the past, but things were different now that the delivery function existed.
Most of all, they were cheap.
I decided to buy them in bulk in preparation for anything that might happen.
*
At dawn, beneath a raging blizzard,
several sturdy adult men had gathered in a Fron household.
A bearded, middle-aged man who appeared to be their leader smiled and spoke.
“Everyone made it. Thank you. Now, first, have a drink each.”
“Oh, this is...”
“Cinnamon tea. I thought it had been discontinued at the Head Mod's Marketplace. Heh heh.”
It was Marketplace cinnamon tea said to
warm the body when the murderous cold arrived.
They all had several hand warmers activated inside their clothes, suppressing the cold.
“Thanks to the Head Mod, it feels like we're surviving.”
“Without the Marketplace, many of us would have died already.”
They each offered a few heartfelt words.
But that lasted only a moment; it was time to bring up the purpose of the gathering.
Incongruous with the laughter, the man slowly caught his breath and began.
“So, does everyone know why we gathered?”
“How could we not? Isn't it because of those exalted Northern noble lords?”
“Hoo, that's right. Exactly.”
Once everyone had fallen silent, the man slowly raised his head and looked around.
Everyone gathered here had lived in Fron their entire lives.
And everyone was a commoner struggling without any sign that life would improve.
“As you said, we survive thanks to the Head Mod. Not because of those high-and-mighty lords over there.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don't you think something is wrong with our North?”
The Head Mod, the Marketplace, and the Gallery were holding on to their lives and guiding them.
In reality, the nobles over there were too busy looking after their own interests.
Another man listening to the conversation slowly raised his head.
“Then... are you suggesting a revolution?”
Revolution, a grave crime that must never be spoken of.
But no one tried to stop him.
The middle-aged man nodded at those words, though his expression was stiff.
“Revolution? Yes, revolution is good. But revolution alone won't change anything in the end.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Change the system.”
“!”
“We abolish the hollow monarchy and class system, and under the Head Mod, we all unite as one.”
The man slowly rose from his seat.
When everyone's eyes gathered on him, he whispered before the lone flame.
“We must introduce a new system centered solely on the nation and the Head Mod.”
Adrian split in two, the dying commoners of the Fron region, and on an unusually dark dawn, the spark of revolution quietly began to burn inside a household.