Absolute Safe Zone
Where was that voice coming from?
No way… the status window?
"Was that… you?"
Yep! Just checking — you don't actually like sleeping in the snow, right? I mean, sure, it's kind of romantic in its own way, but still.
"No."
The status window could talk.
That had never happened before.
Was this some kind of AI?
Then how about we get you up? Stay like this and your odds of freezing to death go way up.
"I can't move."
Been a while since you ate, huh?
"It's not that."
Then why?
"I just… don't want to. I want to give up on everything."
Even if I got back up, what would change?
I'd still be alone. I'd still have to crawl through life proving, over and over, how useless I was.
That was too miserable.
So maybe dying like this wouldn't be so bad…
The cold was already pulling a heavy, drowsy sleep over me.
And then—
EMERGENCYYYY!!!
"Wh-what?!"
This is an emergency!!!!
I jolted upright at the blaring siren.
But all around me, nothing but fierce snow whipped through the air. No sign of any real threat.
The status window was snickering.
"Hey… did you just mess with me?"
Mess with you? You were about to die — of course it's an emergency! Anyway, getting up: success! Shall we move on to the next mission?
"I'd rather not?"
Heheh. Once you see what I've got to show you, you'll change your mind. Ta-da!!
In that instant, an orange light flashed before my eyes — and something landed with a heavy thud.
A house…?
It looked familiar somehow.
Don't remember? You built this while doing quests — this log cabin.
Right. There had been a quest called "Build a Log Cabin."
I'd spent a whole month struggling just to finish this place. The clumsy finishing work on one side of the cabin proved it.
"So you summoned something I made?"
Yep. Brought it straight over from the forest, just as it was. See? All that work wasn't useless after all, was it?
"…I don't know. Doesn't look like enough to survive this cold."
Is that so? Go on in and see for yourself.
I did as told and opened the door.
Warmth from inside, my ass… freezing wind whistled straight through. It was barely different from outside.
"It's the same!!!"
Hold on. Take a look at the status window for a sec?
A square button appeared before my eyes.
"Set Home Base…? What's this?"
Exactly what it says! You make this cabin your Home Base! I can't press it, so you've got to do it!
"And what do I get out of that?"
It gets cozy! It gets safe!! So you should press it already, right?
"Sounds shady…"
It is not a scam?! Fine, don't then. Hmph.
I was half-skeptical — but the cold was already so bad my whole body had started to seize up.
Damn it. If I'd just stayed asleep, I could've gone without the pain.
And yet, fickle as anything, the will to live suddenly surged up in me.
Don't want it? I'm taking the button back, then. Here we g—
"Fine! I'll do it, okay?"
I pressed Set Home Base.
Orange light bloomed from the button and wrapped itself around the log cabin.
At first I had no idea what had happened.
"What is this… huh?"
It was warm.
I wasn't cold at all! What the hell?
My hands, red and swollen from the freeze, were returning to their normal color. Feeling was coming back into my feet!
This is a Home Base — an Absolute Safe Zone that belongs to you alone.
Nothing can invade it. The cold is no exception.
"So… even monsters can't get in?"
Of course not! Unless you allow it, nothing gets through that door. Not even a bastard like Section Chief Park — so relax.
Yeah. This was it.
Finally, it felt like I was getting something back!
Remembering everything I'd suffered through, I nearly welled up.
But wait… what did it just say?
"How do you know about Section Chief Park?"
Ah. When I woke up, your memories came flooding in. From the day you were born all the way to you face-planting in a snowfield trying to die.
"What?!"
Your coworkers are seriously the worst, right? How could they just throw you away like that?
"…Let me see. Is there a status window reset option in the menu or something?"
Eek?! You're gonna delete me? Don't! Spare me!!
Unfortunately, there was no status window reset anywhere in the menu.
Sharing my memories?!
What kind of human-rights-violating status window was this?!
Anyway, as long as you're in this house, you're safe. You're not going to die.
"What even are you? An AI?"
Me? No idea! I can't remember.
"What…? You don't even remember your name?"
Nope. Stuff about Home Bases, that I know — but the rest is a blank. What kind of person was I, even? I don't know! My head's a mess!! Your memories are actually clearer than mine. It's like I am you.
Come to think of it, the achievement reward had said it would awaken the Survival Master's Soul.
So this status window was that soul?
Some kind of amnesiac survival expert?
"Then what should I call you? Status Window?"
Eek. No way. I'm not a computer! I'm alive!
"Then what do you want?"
Hmm… how about Goat? That means the greatest, right?
How do you just name yourself GOAT, of all things?
"Well, if you like it, sure."
Yes! From this day forward, I am Goat — the greatest of all time!! Mwahaha!
"Alright, O Greatest of All Time. So what am I supposed to do now? Just wait in here until the cold lets up?"
Hmm… I've got a feeling that wouldn't be a great idea. This winter doesn't feel like it's going to end.
"Doesn't end…? What do you mean?"
Dunno! Just a gut feeling. It'd probably be just as cold anywhere else you went.
If that was a Survival Master's instinct, it might actually be true.
Besides, this thing had casually handed me a warm shelter out of nowhere. In a past life, they must have been someone seriously powerful.
Fine. With time, I'd figure out more about this cold too.
"Then I guess I'll be staying here for now."
Yep, exactly! You've got food in your pack, right? Split it up and you'll last about a week. For now, start with this biscuit—
"W-wait! What the— …mph!"
My pack suddenly flew open and a biscuit shot straight into my mouth.
Magic? How did they do that?
"Did you just move that biscuit?"
Yep! Wait…? Why can I move things? Feels like I could do other stuff too?
Then the pack slid smoothly off my back, and the food inside floated up one by one, stacking itself neatly in front of me.
Seven portions in total.
A week's worth, divided out.
This is amazing!!! I did it myself and I'm still shocked!!! Feels like I can move anything inside this house!
"You can't control me too, right?"
Eek? No! I would never hurt you! I mean it!!
"Not sure I buy that."
*sniff* It's true. Please believe meee…
The voice sounded genuinely wounded.
Well — if they'd meant me harm from the start, they wouldn't have helped me at all.
I chewed a piece of biscuit and said,
"Alright. I'll trust you for now."
Really?!?! Thank you!!!
I had a safe house.
So… what now?
I had a week's food, sure — but after that, I wouldn't make it.
"Huh…? Isn't that from when I was training to survive in the snowy mountains?"
In the corner, a thick fur coat was poking out from between the gaps of a crate.
I opened it and found not just the coat, but a whole pile of gear I'd used while clearing quests and achievements.
Yep! I brought everything that looked useful.
"Yeah… a few of these could work with just a little fixing up."
I'd thought there were no level rewards — but in the end, I'd made my own rewards myself.
And now they were coming back around.
Everything I'd done hadn't been a waste after all.
I tried the fur coat on. Built for brutal cold, it was thick and warm.
"Once the wind dies down, I should scout the area."
Somehow, I felt like I could survive here.
Meanwhile, Lee Han-gyul was far from the only one hit by the sudden freeze.
Catastrophic cold swept across the continent, and people fell into panic.
"C-cold… it's so cold. We're going to freeze to death!"
"Has the weather gone insane? Why all of a sudden?!"
"It's a curse from the dead Demon King! We never should've killed him!!"
"…"
Among the people shivering in the cold, Lee Hye-yoon — hero of the Elf Forest and former member of the Hero's party — was walking past with her head bowed low.
What have we done?
After banishing Lee Han-gyul, the Hero's party had slain the Demon King.
Up to that point, everything had seemed fine.
Until Manager Choi and Section Chief Park, drunk on victory, crossed the line.
"The Demon King? Wasn't much, honestly."
"Manager Choi! Come take a look at this! I think it's the Demon King's treasure vault!"
The expedition's purpose had been to kill the Demon King.
Hye-yoon had argued they should turn back now that it was done — but no one so much as listened.
Not even Officer Jung Da-jung.
"Tsk. Hye-yoon, you still can't shake that civil-servant mindset, can you?"
"Excuse me…?"
"Are you just going to do whatever you're told for the rest of your life? You want to stay poor even in another world? Take the wins when you can get them."
"Hahaha! The Saintess is right!"
"Think of it as a bonus, Hye-yoon. We worked hard — this much is fine, isn't it?"
With Manager Choi and Section Chief Park backing her, Hye-yoon had no choice but to go along.
So they started pocketing anything that looked expensive from the vault — until—
"Huh? What's this enormous jewel?"
"Don't, Manager Choi! That's a gate open key!!!"
The moment Manager Choi grabbed it, a gate tore open in midair.
If not for Section Chief Park's teleportation magic, they all would have been sucked in.
"Hah… hah… that was close!"
"Look over there! The Demon King's castle…!"
Where the castle had stood, a colossal gate was opening.
It connected to the demon realm — and through it, demonic energy began to pour in.
Hye-yoon stared at it in despair.
"Ah… what have we done…?"
"…Section Chief Park. Can you close that?"
"I-impossible. The gate's too massive! Even if I brought the entire Magic Tower, we couldn't shut it!"
"Then everyone listen carefully."
Manager Choi spoke in a grim, deliberate voice.
"This was all the Demon King's plan. He opened the gate knowing he was going to die. We didn't do anything wrong."
"…!"
"Manager!"
"Be honest — you know it's true! That device was set up for us! We just walked into a trap! Or what, are you going to take the blame for all of it? Huh? Do you have any idea how savage the people of this world can be?!"
At that, everyone fell silent.
Manager Choi looked at the three of them and nodded.
"Let's just let this slide nicely, okay? We're all in the same boat. Understood?"
In the end, the truth was buried.
The world came to believe it was a curse left by the dead Demon King, and the Hero's party scattered to their respective posts.
Hye-yoon headed for the Elf Forest, where they still treated her like a hero. But the elves had no resistance to cold — one by one they collapsed, and the forest withered at terrifying speed.
Eventually Hye-yoon abandoned the forest with the elves and fled to the Paronan Kingdom at the heart of the continent.
It was where Manager Choi held influence — the same kingdom that had aggressively supported the Demon King expedition.
"High Ranger! Where are you going?"
"I have something I need to do. I'll be away for a while."
Once the elves were safely settled inside the kingdom, Hye-yoon left almost immediately.
There was someone she couldn't stop worrying about.
I wonder if Han-gyul is okay…
Through careful inquiries, Hye-yoon learned that Lee Han-gyul had gone to the Southern Land.
And when she arrived there, she found a strange structure sitting in the middle of the snowfield.
A log cabin…? What's that doing out here?
Using her archery skill — Clairvoyance — Hye-yoon peered inside the house.
And in that instant, she froze solid.
Lee Han-gyul was sitting by a hearth fire, calmly drinking tea.
The man who had been cast out more wretchedly than anyone — wearing a face more peaceful than anyone's.
"Han-gyul…?"