‘But how on earth is he planning to find and catch it?’

The hunter couldn’t erase his doubts as he followed behind Eugene. He knew that knights and warriors were masters of battles and experts of monster hunting. However, that was only true when they were inside an evil land, or when they were faced with a monster. Finding traces of monsters, chasing them, identifying traps set by the sneaky monsters, creating favorable situations, and finally catching the prey was a completely different matter altogether.

This was why those who came to the snowy mountain had always hired him. A knight or a warrior would take command against monsters, but the rest of the process was under the domain of a guide or a hunter.

Unfortunately, those knights and warriors would often proudly take credit for a guide or a hunter’s contributions as their own. As soon as they achieved their goal, they would often completely disregard the guide or the hunter’s contributions.

‘His Excellency seems to be different from the usual bunch, but… he’s probably the same when it comes to these matters.’

The hunter revered Eugene, but when it came to monster hunting, he assumed Eugene to be no different from any others. He thought that Eugene would try to take the initiative, but the latter would eventually leave it to himself when tracking the monster.

“Shall we get started?” Eugene murmured.

‘As expected, His Excellency is no different.’

The hunter tried stepping forward with a smile—it was finally time for him to shine.

However, he was interrupted by Eugene. “You stay back and keep safe.”

“…?” The hunter was taken aback by the unexpected development. He blinked several times before carefully speaking, “Excuse me, but with all due respect, Your Excellency, shouldn’t I take over from here? I have no intention of disrespecting you, but I should pursue the monster’s tracks so that Your Excellency…”

“There is no need to pursue the monster,” Eugene said.

“What?”

Eugene stood tall, then spoke in a quiet voice while evoking his Fear, “I will have him come to me.”

Paaaaa…

The air itself began to vibrate and the accumulated snow on Eugene’s shoulders began to quiver. The force contained in the Fear pushed the snow away, and the flakes vaporized before they could even reach the ground.

“…!!!” The hunter couldn’t hide his shock when he saw a crimson haze appear around Eugene. In the past, he had seen a druid work their magic a couple of times. However, the mysterious, reddish energy pierced his heart with both fear and wonder that was fundamentally different from magic.

Kwaaaaaa…

The Fear was connected to the senses of the Origin, and it swept over the black rocks and the white snow like a wave. It passed over the beasts hunting for food, and the monsters devouring dead bodies.

Every creature in the mountain was forced to surrender when faced with the authority of an Origin, regardless of their size, species, strengths, and weaknesses.

The power was even more overwhelming than the energy belonging to the yeti, the king of the region. The Fear of the Origin forced all creatures in the snowy mountain to concede, then they began to encroach on the snow ogre’s territory.

“Kwuo…”

The yeti could only growl as it felt the restraints around its body and spirit becoming tighter and tighter. The creature felt its mouth becoming dry, and all the muscles in its body felt tense as it began to tremble.

The pressure created by the authority even impacted the yeti’s guts, which were filled with undigested pieces of humans, beasts, and monsters.

“Kuwuuuugh! Kuwugh!”

Undigested pieces of flesh came gurgling out of the yeti’s mouth and anus. It struggled to overcome the fear and the pain, but it was forced into submission by the tight, suffocating energy. It was even worse compared to when the creature first woke up in the dark dungeon.

The yeti had successfully gained consciousness after driving away the evil energy of the dungeon a long time ago, and the mystical creature came to a realization. It needed to find the being who was binding it with fear from a distance.

“Kwuo… Kuu…” The yeti escaped from its den with all its might. Then, it started following the crimson blood, which appeared to be beckoning the creature forward.

***

“You’re here,” Eugene stated.

“Hiek!” the hunter exhaled loudly after being liberated from the pressure of the Fear. Although he hadn’t been faced with the brunt of the Fear, it had still been difficult for him to breathe even though he was simply an observer from the back.

“Heuh… Heuh…” The hunter stared at Eugene’s back with bloodshot eyes. Even his face was painted red. He had often heard about the vampires living south of the snowy mountain, but he had simply regarded them as equivalents of stronger orc warriors. He also judged that the mercenaries and warriors of the Tolo tribe had only been defeated due to Eugene’s amazing plan.

But he had been mistaken…

The vampire duke had completely dominated the snowy mountain just now, which was supposedly built by giants during the beginning, with his energy. Now, he was looking down somewhere with calm eyes as if nothing had happened. The hunter naturally followed Eugene’s gaze after barely recovering.

He saw a large monster struggling up the slope. The creature possessed a grayish-white mane that was slightly different from the color of snow.

“Kieeee, kieeeeek! The giant snow monkey is coming!”

“…!”

The hunter almost screamed at the sudden, frivolous shouts of the spirit, but he managed to stop himself and lowered his posture before watching the yeti.

‘S-something is wrong…’

He felt that Eugene’s calm attitude was strange, but he still managed to pull himself together. The yeti looked the same as before, but the overwhelming majesty he felt from the monster a few days ago couldn’t be felt anymore. However, the appearance of the terrible and brutal monster was still horrifying, and the hunter felt his back become drenched in sweat as the monster closed the distance between them.

Boom. Boom. Boom…

“Hiek!”

As the monster slowly walked toward the two, the hunter fell on his ass before quickly retreating and hiding behind Eugene. Soon, the yeti was only four or five meters away from Eugene, and the hunter felt a warm sensation on his crotch after coming face-to-face with a high-ranking monster for the first time in his life.

Krrrrr…

The yeti growled while revealing its black teeth, which could even rip apart the tough skin and thick muscles of monsters and beasts.

Eugene sensed the fear, anger, and confusion contained in the monster’s eyes. Eugene spoke as his eyelids twitched, “Kneel, you bastard.”

Kwaaaahh!

Eugene’s Fear suddenly exploded from his eyes and curled around the yeti’s giant figure.

Kuwugh! Kwwwuuuuuu…

The yeti flinched with surprise, then eventually knelt down on one knee. The strongest monster of the snowy mountain, which was created from the chaos of the beginning, had surrendered to a vampire much smaller than itself. The hunter was made speechless by the amazing sight. He could only watch while his teeth chattered.

“You seem to be conscious, so listen carefully,” Eugene declared.

“That’s right! Listen carefully! Else, you’ll be beaten to death!” Mirian exclaimed.

“…”

“Just like me. Make sure to engrave my advice into your mind. I’m telling you this as your experienced senior,” Mirian yelled with her hands on her waist. However, she quickly flew into her leather pocket once she felt Eugene’s gaze moving toward her.

The yeti lowered its head even further as if indicating submission. Eugene spoke with a voice containing Fear, “From this moment, you are subordinate to me, Jan Eugene Batla. Your body and soul will be subordinate to me, and you will only receive instructions from me and those who represent me.”

The monster was conscious and intelligent, but it had lived its entire life on the snowy mountain. There was no way the yeti could fully understand human speech. But even though Eugene had expressed his will in the human language, his authority and will was still directly imprinted on the monster’s soul.

The yeti’s soul and instinct would accept Eugene’s will. It could only be called the Power of Word, which was a mixture of an Origin’s Charm and his Fear.

“If you violate my instructions, you will die. I will rip out every single hair you have and burn each and every single strand. But if you follow my instructions faithfully, I will acknowledge that all creatures born on the mountain belong to you. Even the evil land that you were born in,” Eugene continued.

Gwuoo…?!

The yeti raised its head. Surprisingly, the creature’s eyes shone with joy. Eugene pointed to the hunter trembling behind him before speaking, “Remember this orc. Until the day you die, he will be my agent and your keeper. Accept whatever this orc does on the mountain. And of all the beasts and tribes that come and pass through your territory, block and kill the ones he instructs you to. Do you understand?”

Kuwuuuuugh!

The yeti roared long while slamming its large, furry chest. Then, the yeti stared at the hunter as if memorizing his face, then it nodded. The hunter was dazed by the mysterious, seemingly impossible situation.

Eugene stared at the hunter with dissatisfied eyes, then tapped him on the shoulder before speaking, “What are you doing? At least, say hello.”

“Hiek?! Ah… Y-yes. Yes!” the hunter squealed before gulping. Then, he cautiously approached the yeti. “N-now, I look forward to your kind cooperation. I am Kuwaul,” the hunter said, introducing himself.

“Kuwugh?” the yeti responded.

“N-not Kuwugh, Kuwaul,” the hunter corrected.

“Kuwuuuuahhhhh!” the yeti roared.

“Hiek!” The hunter collapsed once again as his courage ran out.

Eugene reproached him. “It can only understand my words. And don’t say your name in front of beasts or monsters. They might mistake it for a threat instead because of the pronunciation.”

“Y-yes…” The hunter felt dejected. He had revealed his name for the first time just to be scolded.

***

“…Did you understand everything?” Eugene asked.

“Y-yes. I will engrave your words on my bones,” the hunter responded with a deep bow. His status had risen dramatically from a simple hunter to Eugene’s agent. He was now responsible for managing the only passage of the snowy mountain.

“Then recite it back to me,” Eugene ordered.

Kuwaul coughed to clear his throat before speaking slowly and clearly, “Chase out all the orcs who attempt to cross the White Fang Mountain from the North. Those coming from the south should also be killed, regardless of race, if they do not possess Your Excellency’s crest. And…”

Although Kuwaul was illiterate, he was rather bright and smart. He managed to perfectly recite Eugene’s instructions. “…A-and that’s everything,” Kuwaul concluded.

“Good. As long as you remember that and carry it out, you and your descendants will be respected not only by the northern orcs but by all the races living south of the snowy mountain. I will grant you the title of a baronet since you are an agent who will carry out my orders,” Eugene said.

“T-thank you!” Kuwaul shouted with a bow. He didn’t know what a baronet was, but from the sound of it, he was certain it was something like being a noble.

“Kieeeeh. Old man Kuwaul is so successful. Even our Gal doesn’t have a title yet. Hey, hey, I was counting on you! Kuwang!” Mirian exclaimed.

“W-well, my name isn’t Kuwang, it’s Kuwaul, cute spirit,” Kuwaul responded with a small smile. He much preferred the spirit, who was the size of his palm and had chubby cheeks, than the black-teethed yeti.

“Kieek? W-Was old man Kuwaul captivated by my charm as well? Kiehoo! My charm once caused the entire spirit world to tremble, and it doesn’t discriminate between races. However, this love cannot be. I’ve already been tamed by Sir Eugene in both body and spirit. That is why I volunteer myself day and night to… Kieeeek!” the spirit spoke while contorting her body, then was flicked away by a finger strike that was twice or thrice stronger than usual.

“Pretend you didn’t hear anything. She had always been weird and mentally strange,” Eugene explained.

“Ah, yes.”

It was said that spirits and dogs took after their owners, however… Kuwaul swallowed his words while bowing deeply. The subordinate knight, wizard, spirit, and even the vampire duke himself were strange and bizarre. But from now on, the strange vampire was his lord.

‘Who knows? Maybe I’ll become a real noble of the land if I do what I’m told. Hehe!’

Kuwaul fell deep into his own hopes and dreams. However, he had never imagined that his small wish would come to fruition decades later and that the honorable crest representing his family would depict the image of the white-furred snow ogre, the yeti.