I Became a Wendigo in a Fantasy World

7 – Episode 7

The first thing the Wendigo did after taking Skadi into the forest was to put her to sleep.

No matter how sudden the circumstances, people need to eat, drink, and rest.

With a sense of relief that she had fulfilled her mission, Skadi instantly fell into a deep sleep. The Wendigo let it be.

Running away from the village, into the forest, encountering monsters, even threatening people in the village.

“You worked hard, so it’s only natural you’re tired.”

Wendigo picked a suitable piece of leather from the cart and laid it over Skadi. Witnessing the sleeping Skadi, her earlier demeanor as a coldhearted witch seemed like a mere lie.

While tidying her hair, Wendigo cautiously glanced at the necklace.

An enigmatic necklace made through contract with him.

If he could possibly create it himself, he sought to examine the necklace, but it was not easy.

The symbols and letters engraved on the necklace emitted a light as bright as the night sky stars, not even permitting a direct look.

‘She said it was some god’s characters… but I can’t see what they look like because of the light.’

Logan was not pleased with the flickering in front of his eyes. Still, he was able to witness the mystery due to his spirit-like entity.

The trouble was that the markings Skadi made seemed to flow with a mystery that concealed their form, even when he wasn’t trying to look.

‘Is it a natural restriction for spirits?’

There might be powers wielded by shamans that are not permitted to spirits. Wendigo quickly abandoned the idea.

It didn’t matter if he didn’t know since he could always ask Skadi when necessary.

‘Skadi has nowhere else to go, so she’ll travel with me. She can even meet people without having to maintain breath silence, as long as she speaks well.’

He felt lucky his first encounter with a human was Skadi. He reached out to hold Skadi, sharing warmth.

He wasn’t sleepy, but sleeping together with Skadi didn’t seem bad.

* * *

Skadi woke to a fresh morning, completely forgetting the fatigue from the previous day. As soon as she woke up, she blushed and apologized to Wendigo.

“I’m..I’m sorry! How dare I thrash about in your arms.”

“It’s my fault for acting without words. So there’s no need to feel embarrassed, calm down.”

Wendigo scratched the back of his head out of embarrassment. His act of holding her seemed to have created a more embarrassing situation for Skadi than he anticipated.

She was so flustered that when her eyes met his, she screamed as though she was being sent to the afterlife. She lowered her head in embarrassment.

“Raise your head, it’s fine. I’m thinking about finding a place to bury your mother. Shouldn’t you pick a suitable place for her to rest in peace?”

“Ah…”

Skadi let out an exclamation and looked at the coffin loaded on the cart. The soul had already fled to the cradle of nature, yet the body was still lingering…

As she gazed at the coffin with a faint look in her eyes, Wendigo grabbed hold of the cart handle. The cart that even three strong men had struggled to lift heaved up at his touch.

“I think a shaman like you would be better at this, so you should choose your mother’s burial site.”

“Yes, leave it to me!” Skadi responded confidently. She wanted to meet Wendigo’s trust but also had confidence in herself.

A shaman was a versatile individual, an elite if you will. She had to slaughter the livestock herself to get the important parts, was well-versed in medicinal herbs, and even had to manufacture items to offer the spirits. There was a lot of work that couldn’t be entrusted to others, so she had to do a lot of it herself. Shamans even had to be proficient in rituals and funerals, geomancy, and others.

There were times when she had to delegate tasks to disciples or followers, but…

“My mother always said that a true shaman is one who can fulfil their own duties alone. Finding a good burial site is an easy task!”

“Your mother was… quite a woman.”

Skadi’s mother, to put it nicely, was diligent and hardworking, but a workaholic to put it bluntly. Naturally, Skadi who was raised under her was similar.

Watching Skadi wandering around the forest, examining the shades of the spirits through a death mask and the sunlight and wind, Wendigo thought, ‘She’s just like a puppy.’

It wasn’t an insult. He truly felt like he was looking at a puppy; quite strange.

Just like a puppy wagging its tail at the mention of a walk, Skadi was in high spirits, exploring the forest.

Gathering a handful of soil to ascertain its quality, observing the sunlight filtering through the leaves, her search for the perfect burial site was filled with innocence.

‘It’s like she blindly follows whoever helps her. Just like a puppy.’

While observing her wandering around, Wendigo turned his head toward the faint trace of mystic energy he sensed somewhere.

It wasn’t a strong scent, but a subtle one he could definitely feel.

He turned to look at Skadi, who was also staring blankly at the direction he was facing as if she had picked up on the energy too.

“Skadi, I sense mystic energy over there.”

“Yes, I can see it too. It’s quite… quite a warm energy.”

Warm energy seemed like a good sign.

Wendigo led her through the forest following the scent. As the subtle aroma grew stronger, Wendigo was awe-struck by the beautiful scene unfolding before him.

“Wow…”

“It’s a beautiful place, like a mansion from a fairy-tale.”

A bright clearing opened up in the dark forest. A large mansion covered in moss stood alone in the midst of it.

The mansion’s door appeared to have been neglected for quite some time, tangled with vine and the vegetable garden overrun with weeds. Despite this, the place emitted no sense of abandonment, perhaps due to the soft sunlight and fresh breeze flowing through it. Drawn by the scent, the Wendigo approached the mansion. There was no sign of life. He cautiously opened the house door. Unnamed birds and squirrels were asleep inside.

“It seems it was a shaman who lived alone.”

In what looked like a bedroom, the remains of the deceased were laid in a peaceful position. It seemed like a shaman without family or friends. He carefully collected the bones. Scadi, who didn’t expect Wendigo to handle the bones, rushed to him flustered.

“Mr. Wendigo! I can deal with this kind of thing!”

“What does it matter. The mystery emanating from the bones is fragrant. It seems he was a good shaman. It’s only right to collect the bones of such a person.”

Of course, a large monster bending down to handle bones may seem somewhat humorous… but to whom? Only she is watching. Having collected the remains on the bedspread, Wendigo left the mansion.

“Where’s the best place? I want to bury this shaman and your mother together.”

“Over there, that place seems the best.”

Wendigo headed towards the place she pointed. The sunlight was good and the beautiful flowers blooming around it was quite nice.

Wendigo instantly dug a hole with an ice shovel. The speed of it was tremendous, in just a few minutes he had dug a hole big enough to fit two people.

Scadi was in charge of the funeral arrangements. She sang a soul-soothing dirge and picked the prettiest flowers around to place on the coffin.

Wendigo made the coffin for the nameless shaman. The shaman’s bones were neatly arranged in a coffin made of the clearest and cleanest ice, and Scadi once again sang the dirge and offered flowers.

In the peaceful forest, the two shamans found their rest.

* * *

Wendigo decided to stay in the mansion through a discussion with Scadi. Apart from the vines and dust, the place was quite good.

“It’ll be alright if you think about it as the legacy the deceased left behind.”

“Is that so?”

“If I helped the sorcerer pass into the afterlife, they will forgive this much.”

Scady agreed reluctantly to Wendygo’s persuasion. Above all, she thought it would be too wasteful to just abandon the mansion.

The sorcerer’s heart is understood best by the sorcerer.

The mansion was equipped with tools for handling herbs, a drying room, a place for butchering, and even a room for woodworking. Honestly, even from Scady’s perspective, her mouth watered.

The two settled into the mansion. Their dwelling was resolved, and Wendygo asked Scady for the most necessary thing.

“Whether it’s leather or cloth, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s big enough to cover the lower body.”

“I can make it, but… is there really a need for it?”

“There is.”

Becoming a monster, but still having a human mind, was more burdensome for Wendygo than she had thought.

No matter how much it was covered with leather and fur… it still wasn’t enough. Wendygo, who had never strongly demanded anything before, demanded it strongly, and Scady displayed her skill.

She made an effort, amidst her busy schedule, to fulfill Wendygo’s request as a top priority, and after about a week, she made a fairly good item and dedicated it to Wendygo.

“It’s the right size and the color is similar to my body.”

“I tried my best to make it in a similar color. I also engraved some spells on it so that it can recover from damage.”

Wendygo was quite surprised to hear that it had regenerative abilities. She knew that Scady was remarkable, but being able to bestow such abilities?

When he stared intently at her, Scady gave him a bewildered smile.

“I was lacking in my own abilities, but there were troll’s skin and blood among the items left by the previous owner of this mansion, so I used those to make it. Both contain the mysteries of recovery and resilience.”

“Still, even if you have the materials, not anyone can make it… Impressive.”

With leather draped around his waist, Wendygo finally found peace of mind. Indeed, it was better to hide his shortcomings.

With a light step filled with satisfaction, he left the mansion. He had plans to go hunting.

“I’ll bring back a suitable creature, so wait for me.”

“What should we do for dinner tonight?”

“Stew would be good. Bring back a deer or something.”

There was plenty of vegetables left abandoned in the vegetable garden, so they didn’t lack in meals. Especially with Scady’s cooking skills, it was a joy to eat.

Nevertheless, there was one thing missing.

And that was meat. No matter how delicious the food was, it felt lacking without meat.

‘My head is that of a deer, but my diet is omnivorous. What a strange body I have. No, if I were to not have meat, I’d feel hungry. Does that make me a carnivore?’ It was something I didn’t precisely know. I would’ve asked another Wendigo if there were any, but it was uncertain if any even existed in this world, let alone meeting one.

Wendigo shook off all distractions and roamed the forest. Hunting had turned out to be rather enjoyable.

Leaving the mansion, heading towards the snow-covered forest, he glimpsed a herd of deer, lowering their heads towards a semi-frozen brook. He aimed his spear.

‘Fortunate, they won’t see this coming from behind.’

Wendigo hurled his spear. With one swift throw, it pierced through two deer, and a scream echoed in the forest.

“aaaGH!!?”

“……”

It was not the wailing of a deer, but of a human.

Wendigo remained silent at the all too familiar situation. He contemplated, staring at the spear skewing the deer.

‘Should I not hunt with a spear…?’

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but something about throwing the spear felt wrong. He let out a sigh and slowly approached the spear.

Might as well confirm who it was now.