Chapter 16
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 016
Chapter Title: Winter
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The world was turning white.
Giant snowflakes poured relentlessly from the sky, blanketing the entire landscape. Mountains, plains, even the roofs of the village houses—everything was covered in a thick layer of snow, painted pristine white.
It was a beautiful sight at first glance. But Andy shivered as he gazed at the falling snow.
To him, winter was an unbearably cruel season.
"So cold...!"
The boy blew on his frozen hands to warm them. But the relief was fleeting. The numbness in his fingertips crept back in no time.
Andy had ventured outside the village to gather twigs for firewood. Yet he could barely find any. The villagers had already picked up every visible branch.
"Guess I'll have to go chop some wood tomorrow."
In any other season, scavenging branches around the village outskirts would have sufficed. But this was the cold grip of winter. Firewood consumption was at an all-time high.
With branches buried under snow and the need for fuel greater than ever, he'd have no choice but to head into the mountains tomorrow with an axe.
After wandering far and wide outside the village for hours, Andy managed to scrape together a meager bundle of twigs and finally returned to the inn.
"Andy! Why are you so late? The fire nearly went out!"
"I'm sorry, Gavory Aunt."
"You're slow as a snail!"
Upon returning to the inn, the inevitable scolding from Gavory Aunt began.
Even after a twelve-year-old boy had spent the whole day trembling in the biting cold, she showed not a shred of sympathy. She was simply angry that he was late.
She continued.
"And you. From today on, you're down to one meal a day."
"...One meal?"
"That's right."
Andy shut his mouth.
Ever since he'd rescued Tom, he'd been getting two meals a day—enough to live on comfortably. Thanks to that, the boy had enjoyed a hunger-free stretch for a while.
But it seemed those days were over. Back to one meal a day.
Andy didn't rage. He didn't grieve. He simply accepted it with quiet resignation.
'So this is how it ends up, after all.'
He'd half-expected it all along.
Human emotions fade with time, diluted until they're gone.
She'd felt grateful when Andy brought Tom back safe. But as days turned to weeks, that gratitude had thinned away.
And now winter had arrived, a season when food grew scarce. With barely enough to feed their own, they had no intention of spoiling an orphan.
"If you understand, get to washing the blankets right now!"
"...Yes, Aunt."
"You only move when I chew you out!"
Thud thud thud thud.
Gavory Aunt stomped off toward the kitchen. Andy sighed and went to fetch the blankets.
The boy hated winter. He loathed this frigid season that turned people cruel.
He wished winter had never existed.
Dragging his still-chilled body, he shouldered the blankets and headed to the riverbank.
Washing clothes in the dead of winter was grueling work.
Crack! Crack!
Andy gripped a fist-sized rock and smashed it against the frozen river surface.
The bitter winter cold had turned the water to ice. He had to break through the surface before he could wash anything.
Crunch! Crackle.
After pounding away with the rock for a while, cracks finally spiderwebbed across the ice. Andy shoved the chunks aside and dunked the blanket in, starting the wash.
He soaked the fabric, scrubbing at each stain by hand. His fingers, plunged into the icy water, froze over in moments. The bone-chilling cold seemed to pierce straight to his soul.
Grinding his teeth, the boy methodically erased stain after stain.
That's when it happened, as he was deep in the task.
"Andy. Need a hand?"
"Tom?"
The boy turned to see Tom standing behind him.
The kid approached and reached for the blanket Andy was vigorously scrubbing.
"Ugh! It's freezing...!"
"You don't have to help, Tom."
"It's so cold out here, and you're doing it all alone. Let me help. Two of us will finish faster..."
Tom crouched beside Andy and joined in rubbing the blanket. Thanks to him, the stains came out quicker.
Shivering in the cold, Tom washed alongside him.
Andy watched him with a strange expression.
'Who would've thought he hasn't changed back yet.'
Human emotions naturally fade over time.
Gratitude, anger, sorrow—no matter how vivid, they all wither away eventually.
That's why Andy had assumed Tom would soon revert to his old self, bullying him alongside the other village kids.
But no. Tom hadn't gone back to that.
He still treated Andy with care, diligently helped at the inn, and never tormented him.
Was it because he was still a child, and gratitude lingered longer? Or had he truly grown up?
Splash!
Once the washing was done, Tom and Andy wrung out the blanket and lifted it.
"Thanks for the help. We finished way quicker."
"No problem... Whoa, it's cold. Let's head back."
The soaked blanket was heavy, but sharing the load with Tom made it manageable.
As the two boys carried it back to the inn, Tom suddenly spoke up.
"Sorry, Andy."
"Sorry for what?"
"For everything I did before. I was way too harsh on you all that time..."
Tom was apologizing for his past mistakes.
Andy studied Tom's face, then his eyes.
Regret, shame, and deep remorse filled Tom's expression.
"I'm really sorry. I know it's late, but I want to apologize now."
He was genuinely repenting for his old wrongs.
Andy gave a small smile.
'Tom. You've really grown up.'
Remembering his own past faults and apologizing for them—what a fine sight.
Andy felt a bit of the tension in his heart ease.
"Let's go in."
"...Yeah."
Andy entered the inn with Tom.
Gavory Aunt drove the boy relentlessly, just like old times. But her own son was different.
That was enough.
For the first time, the boy could avoid despairing in humanity.
The harsh winter dragged on.
The next morning, Andy climbed the mountain clutching a small hand axe.
Crunch, crunch.
The boy trudged up the rugged path, his small footprints stamping into the fresh white snow.
The mountain, blanketed entirely in snow, felt different from usual. The silent, serene forest made the bare trees look pitiful, their branches stripped naked.
Andy pressed onward, leaving tiny tracks in the snow.
'Let's head to the wolves' forest. Since I'm already on the mountain, I should check on Kurt.'
He planned to visit the wolves' forest.
Lately, he hadn't gone much. Inn chores and rune lessons had left no time for mountain trips.
But today was wood-chopping day. Having come this far, Andy decided to swing by the wolves' forest.
He ascended the snow-covered slopes toward it.
Woof! Woof!
No sooner had Andy arrived than a joyful bark echoed. It was Kurt.
The spirit beast bounded over and rubbed against him. Andy stroked his head.
"Long time no see, Kurt. Sorry I haven't come by."
Woof!
"Your fur's grown thick for winter."
Kurt, whom he hadn't seen in ages, had a noticeably thicker coat. His white, glossy fur was even more lush than before.
Andy envied him anew.
'Looks so warm...'
If only he had fur like that, winter wouldn't bite so hard.
Andy hugged the beast briefly to thaw out, then got moving again.
"Let's make a fire first."
He gathered nearby twigs and piled them in a clearing.
Then...
'Lightning Magic.'
Lightning Magic
Zap! Zap! Zap! Faint sparks danced from the boy's fingertips, igniting the twigs.
Whoosh! Flames leaped up. The embers spread, consuming the branches and filling the air with gentle warmth.
"Phew... Finally feel alive."
Andy warmed himself by the campfire.
He could sense his frostbitten skin slowly regaining heat. The cold that had seeped into his bones began to ebb.
At last, he'd banished the chill.
The cozy firelight lifted his spirits.
Staring blankly at the crackling flames, the boy murmured.
"It'd be nice if I could learn fire magic..."
Mastering fire spells would make this winter far more bearable.
He could light fires without wood, wrap himself in gentle heat to fend off the cold.
But he couldn't use fire magic. He'd never had the chance to learn it.
'The only magic I can use right now is lightning.'
Andy drew up a bit of mana, gathering it at his fingertips. He infused it with electricity, arranged it, and triggered it.
Zap!
A faint blue spark.
"I've never seen fire magic, so I don't know the mana array for the fire attribute."
To imbue mana with an attribute, you needed to know its array.
Andy could use lightning magic because he'd learned the electric mana array from Kurt's attacks.
But he'd never witnessed fire magic even once. He had no clue about fire-attribute arrays.
That's why he couldn't conjure flames or breathe fire yet.
'The book didn't mention mana attributes...'
His ancient magic book had nothing on mana attributes.
It made sense. It was just a beginner's guide.
It covered awakening mana and weaving circles into a mana circle—nothing more. Not a word on attributes.
'Of course. The author never imagined handling magic without circles.'
Normally, magic required at least one mana circle.
Andy pulling off lightning magic without one was thanks to his exceptional mana sensing. It was supposed to be impossible.
No attribute explanations in a book for circle-less beginners? Perfectly logical.
Andy muttered softly.
"If only I could see some fire magic in action."
He had no circles yet, but his overwhelming mana sensitivity let him cast without them.
Just one glimpse of fire magic, and he could wield flames. But such opportunities were rare.
For now, he was stuck with lightning magic.
The boy basked in the campfire's warmth until he was fully thawed. Then, forcing his languid body upright.
"Time to work. Gotta gather firewood..."
He hadn't forgotten why he'd come: firewood.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Gripping the hand axe, he hacked at low branches within reach.
He was still young, and it was just a small axe—no felling full logs. Even if he could, he couldn't carry them. Twigs were the limit.
Andy gathered branches from the forest until his arms were full. It didn't take long.
"This should do."
With collection complete, Andy caught his breath and rested.
Even with mana-enhanced strength, intense labor still wore him out.
As he rested, gazing toward the village below, something caught his eye.
"...What the heck?"
A group of dozens approached the village along the road.
They wore matching uniforms, tattered and fluttering around a ragged military banner.
Their steps were weary, stumbling. Some bore bandages on wounds everywhere.
Dozens of ragged soldiers descended the northern road into the village.
Andy knew who they were.
'Federation troops.'
The Federation army that should be fighting on the northern front. They trickled in, exhausted wrecks.
What on earth had happened?
Andy watched the approaching Federation soldiers.