Into the Frozen Depths

Out of the options Kim Na-hyun had presented, I chose the D-grade gate. Given the nature of my abilities, it was always more beneficial to operate alone, but I wanted to experience a party raid at least once. Of course, fighting without summoning Yugi was incredibly dangerous. However, even that weakness had been mostly resolved by forming a Contract with Arin.

"Yoo-cheon, I want to go with you too," Arin said, staring at me with an intensely pleading look. She was learning Korean in real-time just by listening to me speak. Though she was still clumsy, her learning speed was nothing short of miraculous.

"Let's go together next time." Arin hung her head in disappointment. Since Yugi couldn't speak and barely showed any facial expressions, I hadn't realized how much guilt this would bring. My reasons for leaving her behind weren't exactly rational, either. Thus, I decided to take extreme measures.

"I told you, didn't I? I'll introduce you to a friend tomorrow."

"...A friend?"

"He's super cute and gentle. I'm sure you'll love him."

"Okay, I understand."

Only then did Arin's face brighten. Well, our Yugi is pretty cute. They'll get along great. Probably...

"Yoo-cheon, don't get hurt," Arin murmured, closing her eyes. Instantly, a transparent barrier enveloped my body. Arin excelled in emotional manipulation, defense, and recovery. While her emotional manipulation was her strongest suit, her defensive and healing capabilities were by no means negligible. I had heard that as long as a creature's magic resistance wasn't too high, she could save them from the brink of death, provided their heart was still beating...

"My water droplet... is stronger when we are together."

"..."

It felt like her roundabout way of begging to come along. Honestly, I wanted to. It was hard to refuse such an earnest plea, and Arin would undoubtedly be a massive help in the raid. But for now, I didn't have the confidence to proudly show off either Yugi or Arin to the world. I lack the strength to protect myself... It wasn't just that fundamental excuse. Even if I did have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the power, would it be right to wield it tyrannically, forcing everyone to accept that 'our kaiju is harmless'? It might be a premature thought, but such doubts crossed my mind from time to time. Of course, this was entirely my own perspective. Dragging out these worries was unfair to both Yugi and Arin, so I needed to make up my mind soon. But since it wasn't an easy decision, I needed some time.

"Arin, I'm sorry."

Persuasion's Power. It was one of my few contractor skills. When our wills clashed, calling her name and projecting my intent would exert a form of absolute compulsion. To stop Arin from being stubborn, I had no choice but to use it. Arin nodded with a pouty expression.

"..."

She slowly let go of my hand, which she had been holding tightly. A bitter feeling welled up inside me, but the only way to soothe her was to take her along. Since I couldn't do that, I spoke more firmly. "Arin? You need to give me the necklace too." Sniffling, Arin handed over the necklace. I wanted to be gentle, but we were running out of time. Arin's water droplet had a duration limit. If I delayed any longer, the barrier might vanish in the middle of the raid. "See you later." Having unintentionally become a bad contractor, I put on the necklace and quickly headed out toward the gate.

An alleyway near the D-Grade Gate (Snowy Field). Before joining the party, I sized up the atmosphere. They were mostly burly, rugged-looking men. But I wasn't worried. Not only did I have the water droplet, but Kim Na-hyun had also given me her word.

I couldn't trust her words blindly, but they seemed true enough. No strange conversations had taken place while I was away.

"Whew..." Exhaling to push away my curiosity and nervousness, I approached them. They had been chatting quite lively, but the moment they saw me, the alley fell dead silent. However, a man with a scabbard strapped to his waist spotted my necklace, smiled, and extended his hand. It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a blue necklace, the symbol of a B-grade hunter.

"...Are you perhaps Mr. Park Yuchen?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Whoa, wait... You look completely different from what I expected!"

"Oh, welcome! Come warm yourself up for a bit before we head in."

It was an incredibly warm welcome. I was taken aback but did my best to hide it. To be honest, I had imagined a raid to be a tense, silent affair where people flew into a rage over the slightest mistake. This is why firsthand experience is so important. They guided me to a camping chair. The gate was right in front of us, yet they had set up a whole campsite. It wasn't bad, but I didn't really want to waste time like this. However, resisting their enthusiastic energy was harder than I thought. Swept up by the mood, I sat down. More than anything, the smell of the instant ramen on the table was absolutely killer.

"According to the scout's report, the inside is quite freezing. You should fill your stomach before we head in." I nodded and picked up a pair of chopsticks. But the other three didn't have chopsticks; they were just staring at me. What is this, why are they making it so awkward?

"What's going on? Am I the only one eating?"

"Ah, well, we're all physical-type combatants, so we're worried our stomachs might act up... haha."

I narrowed my eyes and stared at them. They immediately began exchanging glances, swallowing hard. It made sense; I was a B-grade hunter, and they were D-grade. Hunters often joked that B-grade was where a hunter's true caliber began. Still, this excessive sycophancy was uncomfortable.

"What is it you want from me?"

They looked completely lost, intimidated by my cold demeanor. Frustration welled up, and I frowned, letting a hint of irritation slip into my voice.

"You'd better speak up."

I was already anxious about the water droplet's duration, and now they were wasting my time. I tapped my fingers against the armrest of the chair. I didn't mean anything by it; it was just a nervous habit born of my impatience. But the moment my fingers stopped moving, the man with the scabbard bowed a full ninety degrees.

"I-I'm sorry! It's just..." He carefully began to explain the reason behind their behavior. I listened in silence and summarized his points.

"In short, you want a free carry. Is that it?"

"That's exactly it, Big Brother!"

Somehow, I had already been promoted to 'Big Brother.' At any rate, they were just ordinary hunters trying to build up their track records to apply to decent guilds. For hunters like them, a D-grade gate was considered the final hurdle. To get into a respectable guild, they needed at least one D-grade gate clear on their record, but that was easier said than done. Many hunters died attempting it with mediocre skills, and not a few gave up out of sheer terror. It was in this context that they had run into me. They probably felt like they had met their savior.

"...I understand where you're coming from, but I might not live up to your expectations," I said honestly. But my words didn't register with them at all.

"Come on, you're being way too humble. There are rumors everywhere that even the great Kim Hosung felt threatened by you during your evaluation."

I smacked my lips and urged them forward. "...Rumors are just rumors. Forget the ramen, let's just go in." Hearing all this talk made me nervous too, so I was in no mood to eat. Still, I figured this was better than a gloomy atmosphere, so I didn't bother ruining the mood.

"Huh? Will you be alright? I heard the inside is incredibly cold..."

"I'll probably be fine."

Arin's water droplet would likely block out that kind of cold. I had heard it wasn't just a simple barrier, but one that provided recovery as well. With that, I took the lead and stepped through the gate.

Just as they had said, the environment inside the gate was freezing and harsh, though not quite on the level of Yugi's territory. The moment the physical-type combatants entered, they began shivering violently, hunching their shoulders. Yet, I felt absolutely nothing. In fact, I didn't even need the recovery aspect. I wasn't sure why, but it seemed to be thanks to the water droplet.

"...Big Brother, are you really not cold at all?"

"Seems like it."

They let out exaggerated gasps of awe. I could tell their reactions weren't purely out of admiration, but rather a way to ease their own tension. How did I know? Because I was just as nervous as they were, desperate to say anything to break the silence. It was pure empathy.

After all, this was a D-grade dungeon—a terrifying place crawling with Grade 8 and 7 kaijus. The Grade 9 Queen Bear Ant had died on its own, and the only monster I had actually fought myself was a Grade 10. Skipping two entire grades to come here, there was no way I wouldn't be terrified.

"...Let's move." That was why I put them in front. It wasn't an unusual formation. Since they were sturdy physical combatants, it only made sense for them to take the vanguard.

Crunch. Crunch. We walked endlessly over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the lightly packed snow, keeping our guard up. Our goal was to destroy the Magic Core, but finding its location right away was no easy task. Even though we had researched the gate beforehand, their mediocre skills meant we ended up wandering aimlessly. Just as the party's pace began to slow down... Kieeeek—! A high-pitched shriek echoed through the air. Appearing from both the front and rear were four pure-white, fox-like kaijus. Their most striking feature was their mouths, which split open not just up and down, but into four distinct flaps. It was a grotesque sight that made it abundantly clear our opponents were not mere animals, but true kaijus.

The party instantly fell into a panic. This was no random encounter. The kaijus had appeared from both the front and rear simultaneously. Even to someone like me, who lacked any real knowledge of raids, it was obvious they had spotted us long ago and waited for the perfect moment to close in. They had probably been tracking us slowly from the moment we lost our way.

"Damn it... When did so many of them get here...?"

"B-Big Brother, what do we do?"

It wasn't as if I had a brilliant strategy to resolve this situation either. My only confidence lay in my abilities—the belief that as long as I trusted Yugi and Arin, I could at least protect myself. Still, I couldn't afford to throw them into further panic. I forced out the most reassuring words I could muster.

"...Just hold them off, and I'll come help you."

The kaijus were split, two in the front and two in the back. In other words, I was telling them not to come to my aid. I intended to handle two of them by myself. Before they met me, they were hunters who had resolved to clear a D-grade gate. Surely, the three of them could hold out against just two. Rationalizing it like that, I brushed aside my worries for them. Right now, I needed to focus on my own battle.

Kieee... The Threshing White Foxes closed the distance with agonizingly slow movements. If I focused on one, the other would creep closer. My shallow instincts warned me: Do not attack now. While their focus was entirely locked onto me, a straightforward attack using Yugi's tail would be too easily dodged. Therefore, placing my faith in the water droplet, I took ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a step toward them instead.

The water droplet was sturdy. Yet, doubt kept creeping in. Could it really withstand the simultaneous onslaught of two Grade 8 kaijus? But there was no time for prolonged hesitation. In the midst of our tense standoff, the moment I took that single step forward, both beasts pounced at once. The Threshing White Foxes lunged straight for my head, their muzzles splitting into four grotesque flaps.

For a split second, time seemed to freeze. Even so, my eyes couldn't properly track the movements of the Threshing White Foxes. It looked as though they had teleported, suddenly appearing right before my face. Before I even had time to gasp, their gnashing jaws slammed into the water droplet. But they couldn't pierce it. Even as they whirred their split muzzles like blenders, they merely scraped against the outer surface of the bubble.

Only then did I finally let out a ragged breath. Holy shit, I couldn't even react. Adrenaline surged through me, and my stimulated brain quickly formulated a response.

I summoned the gate right where it could impale them. Splat! A massive hole tore through the torso of the Grade 8 Threshing White Fox. Yugi's tail had burst through, obliterating everything in its path. The beasts, who had been so certain of their successful hunt, were now nothing but lifeless carcasses, collapsing limply onto the snowy ground.