Chapter 34: The Noisy Neighbor (3)

‘Grandmother?’

The elderly Ondal Bear Tribe woman, with white snowflakes drifting down to her cheeks.

She was the Previous Shaman and Ondal Sora’s grandmother.

‘Grandma! What should I do? Hodong was kidnapped. People are being tormented by Bucha’s Gang. What should I do, Grandma?’

Ondal Sora cried out desperately.

But her voice wouldn’t come out properly.

No matter how much she shouted.

Only then did Ondal Sora realize.

‘It was a dream… Huh—’

Though it was just a dream, tears flowed down her face.

Grandmother looked at Ondal Sora kindly.

‘It’s so hard.’

Ondal Sora yelled through her eyes.

Grandmother opened her mouth.

“The Great One is watching over you.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“That Great One will make the choice.”

Ondal Sora realized this was no ordinary dream.

Her intuition as a shaman told her so.

So she asked.

“Grandma, please tell me clearly. Please. What will happen to our Ondal Bear Tribe?”

“Trust in the Great One’s choice. In my view, the Great One will surely make a wise decision.”

With a warm smile, Grandmother turned away.

“Grandma! Grandma!”

A gentle tap on her shoulder woke Ondal Sora.

“Ah, I dozed off.”

Was it the extreme stress?

Ondal Sora had leaned against an Ironwood tree and drifted into a light sleep.

“Shaman, Bucha is coming. Hurry and get up.”

At the young woman’s voice, Ondal Sora stood.

“Shaman, it’s time. Lead the people and take the front.”

Bucha ordered arrogantly.

“Do we really have to attack the Vivani?”

“Now that we’re here, what’s the point of just shouting? Stop stalling and summon the Spirits quickly. Get the rest of the villagers ready to fight. Every time you drag your feet, I’ll cut off one of your brother’s fingers.”

“… Yes, understood.”

Ondal Sora gritted her teeth and rose.

It wasn’t just the threat against her brother.

‘Strangely enough, they are bigger and stronger.’

Bucha’s Gang were larger than the villagers.

Their physical abilities were also superior.

Even without using her brother as bait, if they fought, the gang would win.

‘I can’t. Not until I can summon both Spirits at once…’

She felt sorry for the Vivani.

Her instincts as a shaman kept warning her not to attack.

Yet Ondal Sora had no choice.

‘We have to… attack the Vivani. It’s to save the villagers and my brother.’

If only it could be solved by just driving them off.

Ondal Sora’s mind grew more and more complicated.

A short while later, Ondal Sora stood by the riverbank with the villagers.

“Summon the Spirits quickly. They need to use their power underwater to reduce the villagers’ casualties.”

Bucha, with his gang behind him, shouted.

“Understood.”

Ondal Sora focused her mind.

‘ Spirits who love nature and watch over the tribe, please manifest here and lend us your power. ‘

As she chanted the spell, the image of a massive bear appeared before her.

Ondal Sora tried to suppress her frustrated feelings and begged the Spirit to attack.

Then, suddenly, a round object jumped out from the water.

“You guys! You’re invading again! This is the territory of our Vivani! One more step and Bobby and Suho will never forgive you!”

***

“Heh, so it’s true. A Guardian Deity, huh.”

Balryong’s voice came from the sidelines.

Suho was restless during the day.

“Bobby! Why are you saying things you weren’t told to say!”

Bobby had taken the initiative to speak for Suho’s intention.

It was to give their enemies one last chance.

But there was no promise of any “Guardian Deity.”

‘They’ve summoned Spirits, so it’s clear those Imitator Clan guys have no plans to give up.’

The Imitator Clan.

A race with the ability to mimic the species they devoured.

Their habit was to use their powers to dominate other races and treat them like slaves.

Bucha’s Gang belonged to the Imitator Clan.

Suho had found out about this in the same cave as the shaman’s brother.

“What are you standing there dumbly listening for! Attack now!”

Bucha shouted furiously.

Helplessly, Ondal Sora took action.

“Spirits, I beg you.”

The massive bear dipped its front paws into the water.

At that moment, the sky darkened.

“A plastic bag that dyes the sky black.”

“Don’t throw in unnecessary narration, man.”

Suho slapped Balryong while quickly moving his hands.

Clack—

“Got it!”

A thick black plastic bag for a shopping basket.

Suho used it to trap the Ondal Bear Tribe’s Spirit.

“Now let’s tie this up and put it away.”

Suho tied the plastic bag and threw it into the Ironwood Forest.

The Spirit struggled but couldn’t tear through the plastic bag.

“Now, let’s deal with those Imitator Clan guys.”

Chaos broke out by the riverbank.

“W-What is that! A black monster swallowed the Spirit!”

“This can’t be. Divine punishment! They’re receiving divine punishment! For trying to kill innocent Vivani!”

The Ondal Bear Tribe villagers trembled in fear.

They were simple folk who had only farmed their lands.

They couldn’t help but be frightened by this terrible incident.

“The Great One! The Great One said they would make the choice!”

Ondal Sora, on the other hand, remained calm.

Because the words of Grandmother she had met in her dream echoed in her mind.

But there was someone who could never stay calm.

Bucha.

“Wh-What the hell is that monster? You, you did this, didn’t you? You used forbidden shamanic arts to summon a demon, right?”

Bucha shouted angrily instead of cowering.

If reason remained, he might have run away, but he was helpless.

He was too shocked by the impossible scene unfolding before him.

“Don’t say nonsense, Bucha! You’ve surely earned the wrath of the gods!”

Ondal Sora retorted.

Meanwhile, Suho began his next move.

“First, we have to get rid of the Imitator Clan.”

Suho took the second item out of his Dimensional Bag.

“That’s the Dragonfly Net, right? This should be fun.”

True to those words, a Dragonfly Net was in Suho’s hand.

“Let’s catch them.”

Suho swung the Dragonfly Net.

It wasn’t difficult.

Except for Ondal Sora and Bucha, who were in the middle of the village, the Imitator Clan members were scattered far behind.

Tip-suk—

The Dragonfly Net covered the Imitator Clan members.

“Ugh! What is this? D-Damn it!”

“What’s this net! We are caught in it!”

“Can’t break free! Damn, it’s too thick.”

“Damn, the shaman put a curse on that thing!”

The Imitator Clan trapped in the Dragonfly Net panicked.

‘Nicely caught.’

With a flick—

Suho lifted the Dragonfly Net, sweeping up the Imitator Clan in one go.

“Kuaaah! L-Let me go…”

“Guaaaah—”

There was a commotion inside the net.

Suho didn’t care and moved the Dragonfly Net.

“Sleep soundly in there.”

Splash.

The Dragonfly Net plunged into the water.

Where to help and where to strike.

How far to intervene.

There was a lot to think about before starting.

It was the first conflict with an intelligent species besides Balryong.

But in the end, he reached a conclusion.

Those who live by killing and stealing will keep causing problems if left alive.

That’s why Suho threw the Dragonfly Net into the water.

“This can’t be. This is nonsense. Why does such a monster exist?”

Bucha’s eyes rolled wildly as he yelled.

All his subordinates were dead, so it was as good as over.

All that remained for Bucha was madness.

“Ondal Sora! Hurry and summon the Spirits! Even if you have to sell your soul, summon the Spirits! Summon as many as the Previous Shaman and kill that crazy monster!”

Bucha rushed at Ondal Sora.

His eyes were bloodshot, ready to attack if she didn’t obey.

“C-Crazy, Bucha’s crazy.”

“Stop! Protect the shaman!”

The Ondal Bear Tribe villagers blocked his way.

“How dare you block me! Grrrrraaaah—!”

Bucha roared fiercely.

Crack.

Bucha’s body began to change.

“Whoa, it’s a Tiger Tribe! He turned into a Tiger Tribe.”

“What’s going on? Why did the deputy become a Tiger Tribe!”

“Damn! Then that guy wasn’t really one of our Ondal Bear Tribe?”

The Ondal Bear Tribe shouted in shock, but only for a moment.

“Aaah!”

“Kuk! Too strong!”

“We have to protect the shaman, ugh—”

The Ondal Bear Tribe couldn’t withstand a single blow from Bucha’s hands and fell.

“Grrr— Shaman! This is all your fault. You put that curse on him. I’ll kill you. I’ll feed your brother to the fish!”

Bucha approached Ondal Sora, shouting.

Then a voice echoed in the void.

That won’t happen, right?”

It was Suho.

Bucha and Ondal Sora looked up, surprised.

Suho pointed with his finger to the opposite riverbank for them to see.

“Sister—I’m okay! Guardian Deity saved me!”

A chubby little Ondal Bear Tribe boy shouted.

Ondal Hodong.

The shaman’s younger brother.

Suho had rescued him beforehand before things started.

“Why is he out freely? Where are my subordinates?”

Bucha yelled angrily.

“Chudongya! Hodong!”

Ondal Sora ran as if to cross the river.

Bucha’s eyes burned with fury at the sight.

“If only you had done your job properly, damn it!”

Though it was a false story, it didn’t matter.

Bucha only needed someone to hate to avoid facing reality.

Bucha dug in his claws and ran.

He thought about ripping Ondal Sora’s back apart.

The moment Bucha’s claws aimed for Ondal Sora’s back.

Thunk.

Suho caught him.

“You are the boss, huh?”

Good.

He needed a clear demonstration case anyway.

Wham.

Suho threw Bucha to the ground.

Crack

Watching Bucha scream, Suho shouted.

“If you attack the Vivani again!”

Bang.

“If you harm anyone here!”

The entire forest echoed loudly.

“Know that this will happen to anyone!”

Suho slammed his fist down.

Kraaaang—!!

“Ughhh—! An earthquake!”

“Gyeok! The gods are angry.”

A massive crater formed by the riverbank.

In the middle lay the former Bucha, now a pool of blood.

A message appeared before Suho’s eyes.

[Dimensional Mission [Noisy Neighbors] completed.]

[New target [Ondal Bear Tribe] contact initiated.]

[Satisfaction of the Ondal Bear Tribe increased by 60.]

***

‘Selective rewards, as expected.’

Reading the message, Suho confirmed the clear meaning of ‘Selective Reward.’

‘It was about choosing to interact with either the Imitator Clan or the Ondal Bear Tribe.’

It was the result he had expected when the Imitator Clan was revealed to be a different species from the Ondal Bear Tribe.

A thought suddenly came to him.

‘If I had chosen the Imitator Clan…’

If that had happened, the Ondal Bear Tribe would have become their slaves.

After that…

“Like in a game, would it lead to conquest wars?”

An interesting thought.

But Suho could never choose that.

“I don’t see them as game units. That can’t be allowed.”

They were beings from another dimension.

Lives living within that world.

“I made the right choice.”

So Suho had no regrets.

“The sky and earth belong to me. Don’t make noise on my land!”

At Balryong’s voice, Suho frowned.

“Weren’t you the one shouting like that? Not bad. You’ve grown well since you stayed with me.”

“When did I say that… Hah—”

Suho turned his gaze back into the suitcase.

And sighed once again.

“Great Guardian Deity, please take pity on our Ondal Bear Tribe and welcome us into your embrace.”

“Take us in.”

“Take us in.”

Led by the shaman, all Ondal Bear Tribe members shouted while performing Five-Body Prostration.

“It’s all Bobby’s fault.”

Suho didn’t get angry hearing talk about Guardian Deity or anything he never ordered.

But seeing Bobby lying on his side on the grass with the babies, he couldn’t even get mad.

“Based on my experience, it’s better to play the role of a god. They need someone to rely on.”

Playing god—what kind of life or dragon’s life was that?

Still, sometimes he said sharp things.

The entire village was in an extreme crisis.

And a transcendent existence had appeared before them to solve it.

“Considering their situation, it’s natural for them to worship.”

“Right, since you don’t have a rebellious streak, just play along appropriately.”

Nodding, Suho spoke inside the suitcase.

“Lift your heads.”

“Ah—! Finally. Thank you, Guardian Deity. Please, please take us into your embrace…”

The shaman was about to repeat the same words.

Suho quickly cut her off.

“I’m curious about something. Let me ask just one thing.”

“Please ask.”

“Why do you keep calling me the Great One or something?”

“The Previous Shaman appeared in a dream and said the Great Guardian Deity would decide life and death for all!”

No.

The Previous Shaman only said the Great One would make a wise choice.

But Ondal Sora’s brain, lost in fanaticism, twisted the memory as she wanted.

“I see. A prophetic dream. Amazing.”

“Compared to the Great Guardian Deity’s power, it’s a trivial ability. Please take back your words.”

This was too much even for Suho.

With Balryong’s words in mind, he decided to let it pass for now.

“Then why did you attack the Vivani?”

He had overheard some talk about floods or something but wanted a clearer explanation.

“I’m sorry, but it was the greed of the wicked Bucha. Even though it wasn’t necessary, he wanted more grain.”

“Grain?”

“Yes. Because of frequent floods, farmland near the river is unusable. The harvest farther from the river also decreases. But our village produces enough to feed everyone and then some. Yet greedy Bucha…”

While listening, Suho suddenly had a thought.

“So if we just stop the floods, the harvest will increase exponentially?”

What if…