Everyone is Young Except for Me

Why was this happening? All of a sudden, I was called Mama? My mind was very confused. This penguin seemed to have mistaken me for his mother. I wasn’t even a father, I was a mother. I was a mother?!

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is seriously considering your gender.]

Was this something to be serious about? My gender identity was suddenly questioned.

Kim Sujeong watched from the side and covered her mouth as she smiled. “I think he mistook you as his mother."

“But why am I a mother?”

“Don’t you know why...?”

“Do you know?”

“Of course I know.” It was surprising that she knew when I didn’t. Kim Sujeong pointed at me. “It is what you’re wearing now.”

“My clothes?”

I glanced at the clothes I was wearing currently. The clothes were a harmonious blend of yellow, orange, and dark blue. It was the emperor penguin suit Drain had handed to me after saying he made it a bit more cool. Drain had handed me the recreated suit and I remembered smiling with satisfaction when I saw the outfit that had changed nicely. Wait a minute. Then perhaps...

“Surely it isn’t because of these clothes?”

The penguin was looking up at me with eyes that shone like a lantern. It was like he wanted praise for doing well. I couldn’t bear to destroy his innocence so I patted him on the head. Then the penguin rubbed his face against me and showed his affection. “Cute ♡”

It was really cute. If they could be raised as a pet in real life then they would be hugely popular. Still, this was virtual reality. Cer approached from next to Kim Sujeong and licked the baby penguin’s face. They were on better terms than expected and everyone’s face was filled with joy.

“Cer also seems to like him.”

“Oh, the cute penguin recognizes the value of my clothes.”

“He is a really cute guy. I’ll have to train them.

...No, why did he want to train? I was afraid that Gyeonso Dragon really would take them to train and stated, “I’ll protect this guy.”

“I think that is for the best.”

“Ohuhu. With this cute penguin, I will be able to come up with new fashion ideas. I also like it.”

"...I understand,” Gyeonso Dragon muttered, his desire obvious but it couldn’t be helped. It was because the penguin was only following me.

“If we are going to be together then we should give him a name.”

Kim Sujeong suggested, “How about Pono?”

“Pono?”

“That’s right, he looks like Ponono. Pono!”

“Hmm, it isn’t bad. Now your name is Pono.”

Thus, a new member joined the group.

* * *

On the other hand, Park Muyeol connected to the game and was doing the tutorial. A little fairy appeared and summoned goblins. There happened to be a wooden sword as a weapon choice so he took it and beat them all. It wasn’t even a warm up since there were no more than 10 of them. Then he raised his hand to the sphere that would give him a Heavenly Star.

[The Altar of the Stars is testing you.]

‘It looks real. Huhu.’

Park Muyeol felt the turbulent ground and gulped. A short time later, his Heavenly Star was chosen. The orange light of the seven stars flew toward him.

[Your heavenly star is Monarch of Cold Mercy.]

[Your strength stat has been raised by 10.]

[Your agility stat has been raised by 10.]

‘Hmm, I’ll have to look at the other information.’

After adapting to the game through a number of tutorials, Park Muyeol finally decided to head to the beginning village. His choice was the Orca Kingdom. It was because he heard Chuntaek was here.

[The tutorial has ended.]

[10 dry bread has been acquired as a tutorial reward.]

[Going to the beginning village of ‘Mulan.’]

The whole world became white as the scenery around him crumbled. His eyes closed and once he reopened them, he was standing at a crowded fountain in what seemed to be a small European village.

“Hunting the goblins to level up!”

“I repair all types of weapons. $2 for repairs!”

“If you need a buff then please come to me! I’ll buff you for free!”

‘Hmm, is this the village that Chuntaek mentioned?’

He looked around and marveled. The existence of NPCs was more real than reality. There were also people mixing among them. Virtual and reality met and they were united.

‘First of all, I have to meet the village chief as Chuntaek said.’

“Was it the mountain south of here?”

Park Muyeol stepped forward as he recalled Chuntaek’s story while drinking that day. He just had one question.

“Where is the south?”

* * *

Park Muyeol asked the young people for directions and was able to reach Mount Smir in the south. There was the chirping of birds singing. Green trees. The sound of a stream flowing. He hadn’t seen such a scenery nor heard such sounds for a long time, thus his ears and eyes felt happy.

“Here it is.”

In the distance, he could see a hut with a picture of a small hammer. At first glance, it matched the appearance of the smithy that Chuntaek spoke of.

‘The chief lives here.’

Chuntaek said to go there and give his name. Then the chief would probably help. In fact, he wasn’t willing to sell a friend’s name but there was no reason not to do it. Additionally...

“I’m looking forward to getting some weapons.”

Park Muyeol walked toward the smithy and knocked on the door.

Knock knock!

“Come in~!”

He opened the door and saw a big, old man with a few strands of white hair hammering away. Park Muyeol could instantly see that he was the ‘chief’ of this place.

‘This is Chen.’

It was exactly as Chuntaek described. Dark skin, large and ageless arm muscles, and hair that was close to balding...

It was a bit of a pity.

In any case, Park Muyeol coughed and spoke a greeting, “Hello.”

“Welcome! It is the first time I’ve seen you. Are you a new adventurer?”

“That’s right. I was told I can get a weapon here.”

“Keke. Of course. Come along.”

He moved to the next room. Park Muyeol followed him and found all sorts of weapons hanging on the wall. Chen smiled as he looked at Park Muyeol. “This reminds me of a few months ago. Kek.”

“...?”

“Pick your favorite weapon. It will be useful. Then come to me.”

He smiled so widely that Park Muyeol wondered if he was crazy, but Park Muyeol couldn’t care about this person. The important thing now was to catch up with Chuntaek. He needed to choose a good weapon.

‘Let’s see...’

There were many weapons on the wall. Although there was some rush, there were all types of long swords and daggers. There were also maces, hammers, and shields hung. Next to them were bows and spears and then a type of staff that he had heard about in the tutorial.

“If I wave this, it’ll consume my magic power and produce magic bullets?”

Park Muyeol was suddenly curious. He grabbed a small staff and swung it everywhere. Then—

“...Eh?”

It consumed some magic power and really produced magic bullets. They looked like bubbles but were more vivid than he expected. However, this wasn’t the problem. Chen opened the door after hearing the noise. “What is going on?”

He met Park Muyeol’s eyes and showed a blank expression. All the weapons on the wall had fallen to the ground. Some were even broken.

“Cough, I’m sorry.”

“...Get out of here.”

[There is a significant decline in goodwill with Mulan’s chief, ‘Chen.’]

* * *

“Oh, this is great. You came back faster than I thought.”

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Gula’s Special Magic Power Potion (Large) has been acquired.]

[’Fight the Ice Jaguars!’ has been completed.]

Hmm, Taibeus’ goodwill rose slightly. I gained a level and received a magic power potion so they weren’t bad rewards. There was just one problem. I asked Taibeus, “Is it possible to increase the number and types of monsters?”

“Huh? It is possible but won’t you be overwhelmed? The monsters here in the North Pole are stronger than you might think.”

I knew what he was worried about. Still, it was okay. We had three constellations with us.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is laughing at Taibeus.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is pulling out lightning and asking for a fight.]

[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ is looking down with a loving smile.]

To be precise, it was one god and two constellations. 

Taibeus said, “I suddenly feel like someone is staring at me.”

Yes, they were staring.

“I don't know why but there is a strange pressure. I think I have confidence in your words. I feel like you can do the job perfectly.”

At this moment, a huge amount of quest windows appeared in front of me. I pressed accept on all of them without reading everything.

[The quest has been accepted.]

[The quest has been accepted.]

[The quest has been accepted.]

…

Hmm, let’s see. There was the ice golem, king kong snowman, and the freezer taurus that I hunted earlier. By the way, this...?

[Repeatable Quest - Eliminate the Frost Orcs!]

I had doubts the moment I saw it. Based on what I remembered, the people here lived in different places and didn’t invade each other’s territories. It could be called a Cold War relationship. It was a bit different from my memories? “Taibeus, you don’t get along with the frost orcs?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Didn’t you originally have a good relationship? No, even if it wasn’t good, it shouldn’t be this bad?”

“You are a human yet you know this. Yes. Originally, we lived on the same land but we didn’t invade each other’s territory and coexisted. Then 100 years ago, they started to show their ambition.”

100 years? If it was 100 years ago then perhaps...?

“Is it related to the splitting of the villages?”

“Right. The two people in charge of the day and night here split up and so did the clans. It was a dispersion of power. The frost orcs used this gap to steadily expand their power.”

I roughly understood. The frost orcs were currently throwing stones at the small cracks in the wall, enlarging the cracks. They were really vile bastards. “I don’t know if it is possible but I’ll try to fight the frost orcs.”

“I really thank you."

The frost orcs were at the southernmost point. We probably had to travel quite a long distance to reach them. It would take a long time...

I would accept the quest first and cancel it if it didn’t work. At this time, Taibeus’ eyes widened. “This is...”

His gaze was directed at Pono hiding behind me. The little penguin fired a heart-stopping charm at Taibeus.

“Kyu ♡”

My heart thumped at the unexpected cuteness. My heart was almost taken away. Damn. If he kept doing this, I would get attached...

“An emperor penguin chick! How did you get this precious life...?”

“I picked him up.”

“Was he found so easily?”

“Yes, he was buried in the snow. We pulled him out.”

“Huh. Then the mother penguin wasn’t around?”

“I don’t know. He called me Mama.”

“Come to think of it, you look like a mother penguin.”

I looked at Drain behind me. He was laughing.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ has burst out laughing.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is grabbing his belly and laughing.]

[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ has been enduring it for a long time.]

These guys...

Kim Sujeong and Gyeonso Dragon were also seen turning their heads. Based on the way their hands were over their mouths, they were probably chuckling discreetly. Damn. I couldn’t take it off...

I had to wear it because the options were better than I thought. Still, I seriously wondered if I should be wearing this. Then Taibeus wondered “Still, it is strange. Usually an emperor penguin chick would know where their mother is, even if she is one kilometer away.”

“Really? There was such a habit?” It was the first time I had heard of it.

“Yes. However, if he looked at you and called you mother while there is no mother penguin in the vicinity... what happened?”

I nodded at Taibeus’ words. It made sense. Was there a mother in the world who would forsake her child? Taibeus thought for a moment before speaking, “I’m sorry but I’m going to have to ask for one more favor.”