A Method Exists
The NPCs’ spear volley was nothing special.
It might have been a mild threat to ordinary players, but to the 3 No, it barely registered.
Lee Sia, in a single slash, cut all twelve massive spears cleanly in half.
“I—I’m so sorry. We mistook you for monsters…”
The NPC who looked like a guard captain bowed his head low in apology.
Faced with that, Sia had no choice but to swallow the anger churning in her gut.
He was apologizing so politely, insisting it had been an honest mistake. Ranting in his face after that would have felt a little too much.
“Next time, check properly. You almost caused a real disaster.”
“Of course. I swear nothing like this will happen again.”
Sensing her fury ease a fraction, the captain bent at the waist once more, driving the point home.
“Yeah, well.”
“As an apology, I will personally guide you through Frost Veil.”
The captain offered the courtesy with careful deference.
Yujin was still unconscious, so they needed someone to explain things anyway. The timing was perfect.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Is your party just the four of you?”
“That’s right.”
“That man looks as though he was injured by a monster. If the wounds are serious, we can stop by a healer first.”
Even as he extended kindness, the captain was probing, trying to take the measure of the 3 No.
“He’s not hurt. He just needs to sleep it off, so don’t worry. More importantly, I’d really like to soak in some warm water.”
Sia’s gaze asked, Is that possible? The captain smiled.
“Frost Veil’s most famous attraction is its hot springs.”
One of the very reasons a village had sprung up in this ice canyon was the presence of those springs.
Cliffs to break the wind, and warm water to thaw the cold. Those two things alone were enough for people to survive.
“Oh, really?”
“If you’d like a bath, I recommend staying at the finest inn in Frost Veil. They have baths available at any hour.”
Something like raw longing kindled in Sia’s eyes.
“Though the price is a bit steep, so if that would be a burden—”
“No!”
She cut him off without hesitation.
“Don’t worry about money. Take us to the best place.”
“Understood. I’ll do just that.”
A good-natured smile spread across his face.
If Yujin had seen it, he would have clicked his tongue—but Sia didn’t notice. She was lost in the simple hope of escaping this cold and sinking into a hot spring.
“Whoa…”
As they descended the rather steep stairs, the village opened out below them.
Awe slipped out of her unbidden.
A pure white town.
Most of the buildings looked carved from ice—smooth, glittering—and the hot steam rising everywhere hung like mist, deepening the sense of wonder.
It couldn’t compare to Unmonghyang, but this, too, was a rare and striking vista. As long as you ignored the cold.
“Sightseeing’s nice and all, but can we hurry?”
As the heat of combat faded from their bodies, the cold came back twice as hard. The bone-deep chill made Sia shiver as she pleaded.
“Ah—how thoughtless of me.”
Spotting her trembling, the captain quickened his pace.
The canyon ran deep; reaching the bottom took a considerable amount of time.
“My apologies. There used to be a gondola connecting to the top, but yesterday’s sudden earthquake wrecked it.”
Earthquake.
The 3 No had a fairly good idea what that had been about, but none of them said a word. They only shot sidelong glances at the unconscious Yujin.
“They’re repairing it now, so from tomorrow you should be able to come and go without the stairs.”
“Thanks.”
A little guilt softened Sia’s voice.
“This way. Ordinarily I’d show you around the village first, but what you need right now doesn’t seem to be that sort of thing…”
The captain continued with that same amiable smile.
“I’ll take you straight to the Tale of Blooming Frost Flowers.”
So the 3 No put sightseeing on hold and followed him directly to the inn.
“Here we are.”
They stopped deep in the village, against the cliff face.
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
Pride colored his voice—and with good reason.
The Tale of Blooming Frost Flowers looked every bit like the finest inn Frost Veil could claim.
“W-wait. Did they carve this out of the whole cliff?”
“They did.”
Like Petra in Jordan. Not built so much as sculpted—except the material was ice.
The scale was enormous, more temple than inn.
“This has to be insanely expensive.”
“Even for us—and for most players—the rates are a strain.”
His look asked, quite pointedly, whether they could afford it.
Of course they could.
“Nice. Means it’ll be quiet. Right, unnie?”
“Yeah.”
For the 3 No, it was no problem. They had enough credits to beat most players to death with pure money.
Sia didn’t hesitate. She pushed open the great doors and stepped inside.
“Oh—it’s warm!”
She’d worried that a building carved from ice might still be freezing. Pure paranoia. The moment the doors opened, a gentle warm breeze rolled out.
Her body, locked stiff with cold, seemed to melt at once.
“The ice here doesn’t melt under ordinary heat.”
Extreme heat skills were another matter, but simply lighting a fire wouldn’t so much as scratch it.
“This is way better than I expected.”
It felt like walking into the lobby of a five-star resort.
Empty of people, though.
“Then I’ll take my leave. Please rest well.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Sia barely registered his farewell, too busy looking around.
“Welcome. Welcome to the Tale of Blooming Frost Flowers.”
An NPC—owner or manager, hard to say—approached with a greeting.
“We’ll need rooms for four.”
“Will a single room suffice?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Four people means four rooms.”
“…Understood. I’ll prepare them. Will you require meals as well?”
“Bath first. I heard there’s a hot spring here?”
“Ah—how remiss of me. Once I’ve assigned your rooms, I’ll show you to the springs at once.”
He finished check-in quickly and allotted their rooms.
True to a high-end inn, the rooms were excellent. The furniture being carved from ice was startling, but the bedding looked ridiculously soft and warm. And since the ice wouldn’t melt and soak anything, they could sleep without worry.
The real highlight, though, was the hot spring.
The 3 No finished a cursory look at their rooms and headed straight for that warm paradise.
And while they spent a long, blissful stretch thawing out—
Seong Yujin opened his eyes.
His head felt heavy.
Not painful, exactly—but his overall condition had crashed hard.
At least consciousness had returned.
The rebound is way too severe.
Forcing his sluggish body upright, he took stock of his surroundings.
A room made entirely of ice. Plush bedding that didn’t match the décor at all. Warm air wrapping gently around him.
That alone told him where he was.
“…Filthy expensive place.”
Something about frost flowers in the name, if he remembered right.
A famous inn even in the first timeline—not just for its beauty, but for prices vicious enough to shake players down to the last credit.
“Of all places.”
So they’d come here?
Yujin’s already heavy head felt heavier still as he swung his legs off the bed.
Body’s fine, at least.
Aside from the general malaise, both stamina and mana had recovered to a decent degree. A little more rest and he’d be fully back.
Then the remaining time…
He opened his status window.
Due to the completion of numerous achievements, the time required to calculate rewards has increased.
Time remaining: 47 hours 13 minutes 2 seconds
Still a lot left.
Roughly two days.
Hope they give me something decent.
A faint anticipation stirred in him.
The Akasha System had never disappointed him yet. It would almost certainly meet his expectations again this time.
Spending more than seventy-two hours calculating rewards? That wouldn’t be ordinary.
Yujin huffed a short laugh—then his expression hardened.
“Omophnes.”
The name he hadn’t quite been able to pin down in the middle of the fight finally settled into place with perfect clarity.
The Administrator killed by Yujin’s hand—by the S-grade skill Life Flash.
“Now what the hell do I do about this?”
Originally, Yujin had planned to avoid trouble with the Administrators for a while.
Level 200, at minimum. Only then would he have the bare conditions to fight those bastards.
At his current strength, a direct clash with an Administrator offered nothing good.
But.
“I killed that fucking freak.”
Self-defense or not…
One of the thirteen Administrators was gone. That was a major incident—nothing that could simply be waved aside.
Especially with Didascalia already sharpening his grudge against Yujin, and a few other lunatics who lost their minds at the sight of a strong opponent.
What they might do was impossible to predict.
The Tower’s system would keep them from just barging in and attacking, sure…
But those bastards have their loopholes, too.
Omophnes had proven that. She’d abused the authority of her office as the Punisher to try to kill him. There was no guarantee the others wouldn’t cook up something similar.
I need a contingency.
Something that could hold even if an Administrator came after him with blood in their eyes right now.
Reversal [B] and Lucky Pill [C] are already spent. And this little guy…
He looked at Chunbae, asleep with arms locked around his own like they’d been glued there.
The Chunbae Cannon.
A half-assed name, but its power rivaled most skills. Would it work on an Administrator, though?
Hard to say…
It wouldn’t do nothing. It might even inflict serious wounds.
That was the ceiling. Fatal damage—or a kill—was beyond it. Not without bringing a nuke into play.
A nuke, huh.
Yujin considered it for a moment, then shook his head.
Getting one was a problem. Actually using one was another. Fire something that powerful through the Chunbae Cannon and he’d be caught in the blast himself.
Might as well die together.
Better to find another way.
Leveling up as fast as possible would be ideal, but…
After a long stretch of thought, Yujin let out a sigh.
“There is a method.”
The side effects were monstrous—but still.
“A way to raise my level fast.”