Chapter 373

A day on Snow Mountain begins with shoveling snow. The weather on this island is mostly cloudy or snowing. As long as the wind isn't strong, I go outside early in the morning to clear the snow around the cabin.

The cabin is stocked with snow shovels. Emergency equipment. At the very least, there are enough supplies to survive on Snow Mountain for a few days.

I use it without telling the owner, but I cannot help but use it. When I first discovered it, the entrance was locked, and at first, I suspected someone might be inside, but in the end, I was so overwhelmed by the cold that I went in. It was full of dust inside, and it didn't look like anyone was using it.

Among these supplies, many clothes and blankets are very helpful. My body... the insect body doesn't seem to be very good at keeping warm, and when I move outside, my already slow movements become even slower. However, I didn't feel cold enough to die. But for a girl with a human body, this is not easy.

Humans are creatures that cannot live naked on a snowy mountain. Compared to other animals, they have less body hair covering their skin, which is said to have evolved to effectively dissipate heat and increase endurance for movement. Conversely, races that enter cold climates adapt by making clothes from animal skins.

After this evolutionary process, I thought I had to hunt animals and make clothes from their fur. But first, I couldn't find any animals from which I could get fur. Even if I did find one, I didn't have the confidence to catch it. I was lucky to find this cabin in such a situation.

The girl is wearing an oversized down jacket. It is loose, so the insect body crawls into the gaps to keep warm. Because of this, my back is swollen and a bit clumsy. In addition, he is also wearing a set of winter clothes such as a knit hat, gloves, and shoes. All of these seem to have been placed for a long time and are a bit dirty, but they are not unusable.

It has been nearly a week since I started living on this island. We have many things, such as clothes and blankets, but we don't have much food. Preserved foods like canned goods and dry rations are only worth a few days. Moreover, the expiration dates are written, but I don't know what year it is now, so I can't rely on them.

But that is no problem. The insect body is omnivorous, and even the bark growing around it has become food. And the girl doesn't have to endure hunger waiting for rescue.

You won't get weaker if you don't eat anything. The nutritional status has not deteriorated.

As a human girl, she possesses many characteristics that are unattainable as a living creature. He was a mysterious person from the beginning, but now it seems that he is not a normal person after all. We verified its ecology.

First of all, she can live without eating or drinking. If the main body feels hungry, it will be hungry, but if the main body's stomach is satisfied, that is enough. Similarly, sleep is synchronized with the main body's senses. I don't know if she fell asleep while I was unconscious.

But you don't have to eat anything, but that doesn't mean you don't need energy at all. It is the body's "Life Force". This is just what I instinctively perceive, and I'm not sure what it actually is. It is tentatively called vitality.

In other words, the girl seems to live by drawing Life Force from her. This is a supernatural explanation for previous supernatural phenomena, such as people and creatures, but I can only say so. Compared to my human common sense, this is a clear anomaly.

But, first of all, knowledge itself is only inherited, and there is no guarantee that everything is true. Perhaps this girl-like existence lives on Earth as a matter of course, and I just don't know it.

Although it drains my Life Force, it doesn't force me to bear any particular burden. Under normal circumstances, it is so exhausting that you won't notice it unless you are aware of it. However, there are also cases where consumption increases suddenly.

It was at this moment that the distance between her and the main body widened. If it is about 5 meters, there is no problem. The further the distance, the more vitality is absorbed, and the more difficult it is to manipulate the girl's body. After walking about 100 meters, I was too tired to move. It seems that she and I have become inseparable.

Also, when a girl is injured, she uses a large amount of Life Force to recover. Its elasticity is extraordinary, and minor scratches and cuts heal in an instant. I slipped off a cliff while walking around the island and broke a leg, but such a serious injury healed completely within seconds.

The greater the degree of injury, the greater the Life Force required for recovery. Excessive use of Life Force leads to fatigue, and excessive use leads to drowsiness. More importantly, this recovery is automatic, so no matter how tired you are, you can't wait. It is sucked mercilessly until the wound is completely healed.

In addition to physical injuries, even if you cut your hair, it will grow back to its original length. Separated body parts, such as bloodstains from wounds and cut hair, will stay in place for a while, but disappear without a trace after a while.

In this way, there is no end to the girl's strange points. I cannot leave, my Life Force is drained, and I still don't know if I am an enemy or an ally. But it makes no difference; she is indispensable to me. The girl satisfies my self-consciousness as a person. He is the only one willing to acknowledge me.

She and I are connected. I can go if I want to go, and I can hug if I want to hug. I am able to act like that. But it is not perfect yet. I cannot move the girl as I think in my mind.

Every movement is awkward and slow. There is a large lag before taking action. If you try to perform another action before successfully executing that one, it freezes.

It's like a slow Lobo. I want to move her better. I wish I could move like a human. That's why I've been moving my body.

Daily snow shoveling is also part of the Training. After that, it's time to explore the island. Crossing untouched forests and mountains is a great adventure. I don't know how many times I've tripped, slipped, and gotten hurt.

In addition, our Sensory Sharing also has certain rules. This can be turned on and off at will, but the pain cannot be blocked. Even if I cut off all other senses, the pain the girl receives will always return to my body.

Every time you get hurt, you have to feel pain. At first, I thought this was just a disadvantage. Why can't I get rid of the feeling I want the least? I wish I didn't have such a rule.

But I think it makes sense. Pain is a necessary sensation for living things. It is a signal to quickly detect abnormalities occurring in the body. It is not something you can do without.

Every failure is painful. That is why I was able to learn to be more careful next time. If I didn't feel any pain, my Training progress would be much slower. It might be impossible to feel reality there, just like a player character who takes damage in a game loses HP.

When shoveling snow, I was buried by snow falling from the roof, when climbing a mountain, I slid down, and when walking in the forest, I got lost... I don't know how many times I would have died if it weren't for this body. However, because of this, I have become accustomed to manipulating my own body. Now I can finish shoveling snow in an hour. Although it is helpless, because of its resilience, it does not feel tired, so if you do it effectively, you will manage to do it.

I think I have been able to do daily movements without any problems. The next thing to consider is how to live from now on.

First, in order to grasp the current situation, I conducted a detailed search of the island. I don't know how accurate it is because I'm just an amateur walking around blindly, but I tried to investigate as much as possible. After all, there is no evidence that anyone lives on this island.

However, this is not undeveloped land. I was able to find some artifacts, such as the mountain cabin where I live. There is a small pier on the coast where boats can dock, and I also found a place where I can see traffic with the outside world.

If a boat comes, there is a chance to leave the island. At that time, if you pretend to be a victim and approach, you might be rescued. In that case, the question of why they were stranded in such a place from the beginning cannot be explained...

From the top of the mountain, I can see a Shadow that looks like land beyond the sea. With this girl's body, maybe she can swim off the island. It's really the worst-case scenario. I don't want to swim long distances in midwinter.

I don't believe I can live a decent life after leaving this island. This means living in human society. If you live alone, you don't need to leave this island.

Even if this body looks like a human, I myself am a different race. This has nothing to do with racial differences. This is not a place where you can expose your secrets. How far can you interact with people while hiding your true identity?

Hiding on the island and not seeing anyone seems easier. However, I find myself climbing to the top of the mountain almost every day, looking out at the land beyond the sea. Then I can't help but stand up. I don't know why, but it makes me want to leave this island. The desire to cross this sea arises spontaneously.

Frankly speaking, I cannot organize my feelings, which is an honest feeling. I want to leave this island, and I don't want to leave. I also intend to stay on this island for a while, but I don't know what to do from now on.

A sparrow flew in and landed on the girl's head, and the girl stopped shoveling snow because she was lost in thought. It is named after its similar body size and cry to a sparrow, but its color is snow-gray. The sparrow cried.

This is the only kind of animal I have seen on the island so far. They are already quite accustomed to people, and some even approach them in this way. They may have already been fed. When I gave her a can of herring as a test, he didn't even look at me.

"Chirp!"

When I saw this bird, I tried to say hello (call). Then the other party would cry back. Watching the birds singing and fighting, I couldn't help but feel a little empty. However, even if it is a small bird, having someone who responds in some way gives me some emotional support.

Originally, when I was singing and practicing my voice, the birds started to gather, and before I knew it, it turned into an imitation practice. It is very difficult to speak. No other animal uses as much vocal expression as humans. I still cannot manipulate my vocal cords and the shape of my mouth to make sounds.

I have language knowledge, but expressing it through my body is another challenge. Is it similar to a foreign language that you can't speak but can read and write? However, I have a feeling that if I can create an environment where I can talk to a human partner, I will be able to talk about this naturally.

Therefore, imitating bird calls is like a rehearsal. I'm not playing, nor am I doing useless things. No.

"Chun..."

＊＊＊

Under the snow clouds, a ship is anchored on the sea, deeper than ultramarine. A small motorboat is heading towards an island, with white waves trailing behind it.

"Professor! Let's drive a little safer!"

There are two people on the boat. One is a young man who looks to be in his twenties. The first thing that leaves a deep impression is the large Tattoo extending from the nape of his neck to his cheeks. The design is inspired by Burning flames. Despite his hooligan appearance, he complains to the other passenger in a pitiful voice.

The suitcase that the man calls a business tool is camera equipment. He has an old SLR camera hanging around his neck. I hurriedly moved the luggage to the rear where it wouldn't be splashed by water, but the boat was indeed sailing at a considerable speed.

The other person driving the boat showed no signs of slowing down. The man called the Professor is a sturdy, middle-aged man. He wears a gray hunting cap, round glasses, and a few gray hairs mixed in his stubble and eyebrows. If you stuff a pipe into his mouth with this, you don't look like the great detective of the past.

The wrinkles deep in his brow are the result of years of frowning, and now even he cannot undo them. His sharp eyes are fixed only on the boat's destination.

The name of this place is "White Sparrow Island". The boat maintained top speed and arrived at the island shortly after. After getting off at the pier, the Professor was convinced that his "bad premonition" was correct.

"Intruder."

"Huh? Seriously? How did you know?"

"There will be footprints there."

The tattooed man looked at where the Professor was pointing, but did not see any footprints. Even if there were, it's this snow. In a few more hours, it will be buried by new snow and disappear without a trace. It's crazy to calmly find those traces.

—Jiji jiji

Suddenly, the professor made a sound that sounded like a bird chirping. The sound was so loud that I misheard it, as if a bird had just started chirping on the spot. When that ended, I would remain silent and listen.

The tattooed man knew this was an action that a normal person would suspect him of doing, but now he shouldn't point it out. The man couldn't hear anything, while the professor was listening to the "sounds" coming from the forest. If you got in the way, you would make him angry.

"... It seems the thief is still on the island."

The professor took a piece of rugged wood out of his luggage. It was a crossbow. The base was about 1 meter long, but the bow was thick and wide, looking like a pickaxe from afar. Judging by its appearance, I don't think it could be pulled by human strength. The bolts it fired were more like harpoons in size and shape than arrows.

"You should hide for a while."

"Do you need me to help?"

"No need to care, unless you can follow my 'hunt'."

As soon as the words fell, the professor disappeared from where he was. It was as if he had vanished with a magnificent "Ryu". And the technique of hiding in the snow and trees of the forest to track and hunt prey, even the slightest trace. This showed that he was a true Hunter.

"Hmph!"

Snowy forests often give people illusions.

Freezing in the blizzard, I saw things beyond the world outside the snow blocking my view. It could be a big hairy man, or a beautiful woman. He was no stranger. Of course, I knew this was a non-existent hallucination, but even for a Hunter like him, there are rare moments when the snow confuses your senses.

But in a windless forest like today, I have never seen the illusion of snow so clearly.

A lonely girl walked in the silent forest. Looking at the situation in front of him, the Hunter Hanmok pondered what to do.

He was a professional licensed Hunter. Not just a licensed Hunter. "Hunter" is a qualification internationally recognized as having an important status. Once a year, the qualification is judged by an exam, and although hundreds of challengers flock to it, the successful candidates can be counted on one hand. The door is narrow, and it is not uncommon for no one to pass the exam for years.

However, his main profession was a bird ecology researcher, and he obtained the Hunter qualification because it was useful for various investigations. This island was the habitat of a bird he was mainly studying, and he lived here alone to study it. This bird was listed as an endangered species, and poachers rarely visited. Since the Hunter qualification helped with this process, they just called themselves poacher hunters.

The island belonged to him and was closed to the public for conservation purposes. Under the laws of this country, this was just a restriction on entering private property, but when it came to the Professional Hunter decree, the situation changed. After all, he was a person with extraordinary qualifications and was even given the power to be exempt from murder. No matter what happened, unauthorized intruders could not complain. Even public institutions found it difficult to enter the island without his approval.

He had been hunting poachers before. First of all, both geographically and climatically, it was a place where ships accidentally landed. Nine out of ten intruders were people with bad ideas.

Even so, it was not necessarily the case that someone visited the island for some reason, force majeure, or unknowingly. The young girl in front of him didn't seem to have come for poaching either.

But Hanmok would not easily trust the girl. This was not a completely groundless suspicion.

The matter goes back to a month ago. One night, in his sleep, Hanmok was awakened by a loud noise coming from underground. The birds were restless and noisy all night.

The next day, many dead fish were floating on the surrounding sea. Many of them were deep-sea fish that you shouldn't see here. So far, similar phenomena have occurred several times. There seemed to be some kind of anomaly in the sea near the island.

He tried to investigate as much as possible, but as a biologist specializing in birds, he could not determine the cause. A deeper investigation required a lot of equipment and the cooperation of experts.

Worse, I was forced to leave the island due to a schedule critical to my research activities. In fact, I didn't want to leave the island while the anomaly persisted, but sometimes I wasn't allowed to focus only on research because I was a researcher.

I also tried to get in touch with him to see if I could study the anomalies in the sea, but to no avail. As a result, I ended up spending more time on the island than planned. When I returned in a hurry, there was an intruder, as if their goal was my absence.

I don't think it's related, but I feel it's too good to be a Coincidence. For now, there is enough reason to be cautious. Better be careful.

In my opinion, she is just an ordinary girl. His appearance is slightly eye-catching, and you could say there's nothing special, but other than that, he is just a child. Judging by his demeanor, he doesn't look like someone who has mastered some kind of martial art.

Such suspicion is not an exaggerated reaction. In fact, such tricks do exist. Among Nen Users, some pretend to be childish to let the enemy lower their guard. Manipulation of Aura has the effect of delaying aging, maintaining youth, and can modify appearance.

The Aura worn by a Nen User has its characteristics. For those who have already opened their Aura, if they do not keep their breath outside the body through "Ren", their Life Energy will be greatly consumed. In this regard, ordinary people who are not Nen Users have their pores "blocked", and their breath seeps out from the gaps, making it easy to distinguish.

The flow of the young girl's breath is the breath of an ordinary person. It feels like a lot of Aura is leaking out, but there is no sign of the Aura being opened.

However, there are also some people who, when they are strong enough to a certain extent, will disguise this flow of breath and pretend to be ordinary people. As far as Hanmok knows, there is a technique to deliberately block the Aura by maintaining the middle ground between "Ren" and "Zetsu". Depending on the accuracy of individual technique, the skill of disguise and the eyes ("Gyo") that see it will change, so it is not Absolute success, but if it is a master's disguise, even a simulation has no confidence that he can see through it. If you start doubting it, it will never end.

Looking closely, the clothes the girl is wearing are familiar. It's in a mountain hut that is no longer in use. It wasn't built for hiding, but it's a place that must be explored on this island to find it.

The whole body is wrapped in fluffy, ill-fitting winter clothes. It seems they also borrowed winter boots whose rubber has deteriorated and hardened, and in Hanmok's observation, his legs have been pinched twice. The back is unnaturally protruding, and it seems that something is hidden in the clothes.

Taken together, it seems to be a victim. However, because of this, my energy is too much, and it looks like I am not at a dead end mentally. She is the only trace left on the island, and there seems to be no Companion guarding her. I can't see anything that looks like a purpose, and I am blindly walking around in the forest.

I followed him for a while, but thought there was nothing to gain from further observation. It would be faster to hear it directly from them. Hanmok held the crossbow in his hand and aimed at the young girl.

He is a Manipulator. His favorite crossbow is used as an activation medium. Of course, you can also fire the arrows you carry, but the arrow loaded this time is a "Nen Bullet" formed by void Aura. By shooting through the opponent with this arrow, the target is manipulated.

His ability is called "Smart Hunting". If the effect was to completely manipulate the enemy, it would be easy to learn the truth from the girl's mouth, but it is not a very convenient ability. As the name suggests, only the "legs" can be manipulated. You can operate one leg on the shooting side. To manipulate both legs, it is necessary to shoot through both legs.

However, looking at the battle alone, the effect is still enough. You don't have to manipulate the whole body. Losing the freedom of one leg becomes a fatal gap in battle. Due to the limited range of action, its control is powerful, not only stopping movement but also destroying it by making it exceed the range of motion of the joint. Using a relatively simple activation condition, it can be operated by firing a Nen Bullet, which is simple to use, and his quality as a Nen User is definitely not low.

In addition, he can also make the Nen Bullet invisible by using the advanced technique "Hidden", which is an application technique of "Zetsu". Basically, the Aura separated from your body becomes very difficult to manipulate. To maintain the Aura that is completely separated from the body like a Nen Bullet and reach a long distance, high Emission System technology is required. Although the Manipulation System is a system compatible with the Emission System, it is difficult to hide the Nen Bead. Even if it is a simple Emission System ability, it is not something that can be done.

He himself has mastered the skills of an excellent Hunter, and using the surprise attack of invisibility in a hidden state that cleverly uses the terrain, unless the opponent's ability is very different, it is difficult to dodge. The advantage of the Manipulation System is that once the technique is determined, it becomes a monopoly. Hanmok's ability is mainly the Material manipulation of the crossbow, and his proficiency in melee is much worse, but if his first surprise attack succeeds, he will not be defeated.

Since this arrow-shaped Bullet is not Materialized, ordinary people cannot see it at first. Moreover, it has no lethality at all, and even if it hits, there is no effect or damage other than activating the Manipulation ability. Ordinary people cannot even recognize the fact that they have been attacked.

Buy insurance before listening. It's no big deal. However, although it is unlikely, if she shows some kind of reaction to this attack, he also needs to take the "hunt" seriously.

Although I think it is impossible, I have never given up on this possibility. The bias that "that cannot happen" is the most dangerous enemy for those who lower their guard and are eager to learn.

The crossbow has been pulled. Unlike a bow that must aim at the arrow when pulling the string, a crossbow can be pre-tensioned and Fixed on the base. Since the work of pulling the string and the work of shooting the arrow are separated, a powerful pull that a bow cannot do can be used. After that, all you have to do is aim steadily and pull the trigger.

However, even with some advantages, it is a relic of the past, and except for certain aspects, it has declined as a weapon. If you only want power, guns are more expensive and easier to handle. The reason I insist on using this weapon is because I hate guns.

Guns leave many traces. Even if the Bullet is unavoidable, there are gunshots, flashes, and the smell of gunpowder. It can be alleviated with a silencer, but he still feels the particularity of the gun. He hunts poachers, not wild animals. I want to stay as far away as possible from factors that put pressure on the organisms that are the subjects of my research.

And there are actually quite a few people with Nen who like to use primitive weapons like him. They are good at a technique called "Goo", which improves the performance of the weapon by wrapping the weapon in Aura. Sharpness increases with the blade, and durability increases with armor. The weapon may not be as good as it looks.

If so, I think it would be better to strengthen the gun, but this has its own problems. Even if the power of the Bullet is strengthened, if the amateur cannot adjust it well, it may eventually offset the original power. In order not to hinder the propulsion of the Bullet itself, adding the reinforcement of Aura, and maintaining control over the separated Aura through the Emission System, requires ridiculously high precision.

Weapons with simpler structures have more room for reinforcement. Control a group equipped with guns with one knife.

The structure of the crossbow is somewhat complicated, and although long-range weapons are usually more difficult to strengthen, they are not as difficult to operate as firearms. The Aura-enhanced bow gains a tougher bend and spring. If you are an excellent user, adding reinforcement to the arrow will further increase its power.

And the more familiar the weapon is, the more the sense of use can be integrated with the human body, so that "Ryu" can be performed more accurately. The crossbow in his hand is not an antique that can be looked down upon.

Enter the shooting position. The routine repeated over and over again can optimize the brain. The Hunter's fangs are still quietly aiming at their prey, the sounds in the forest are absorbed by the snow, and it is silent. At this moment, the silent arrow is about to be released.

A small bird flies down. The place where it lands is above the girl's head. As if perching on a treetop, singing naturally there. Hanmok opens his eyes. He knows the ecology of this bird very well. It is a cautious bird that rarely appears in public.

Watching the back of the young girl who is innocently leaving while chirping at the bird, he sighs deeply and puts down the crossbow he had prepared.