Eternal Snow Mountain
The 21st Floor was a place so bitterly cold it was called the Ice Hell.
More players froze to death there than fell in battle against monsters.
Even among the hundred floors of the Tower of Light, its notoriety ranked easily among the top five. How extreme that cold truly was needed no further explanation.
“It was fine at first, but after a few days even wearing this is freezing.”
Lee Sia tugged her collar tighter as she spoke.
“Once you hit around level 150 it should get better.”
“…When are we ever going to get that high?”
“Soon. Real soon.”
“Soon, my ass.”
Already half a year had passed since they had been summoned into the Tower.
Lee Sia’s current level sat at 63. Compared to ordinary players still stuck in the thirties, her growth speed was incomparable—yet the pace of leveling was finally starting to slow. The experience required was climbing at an exponential rate.
At this rate, reaching level 100 would take more than a year. Level 150 would take several times longer still.
“By then won’t we already be around the 50th Floor?”
Seong Yujin gave no answer.
His plan was three years, no more. Within that span he would kill the Apocalypse, grind the Administrators into dust, and tear the Tower down completely. Anyone who truly understood the Tower would have laughed the idea off as pure fantasy—but Yujin was dead serious.
Everyone’s finally on track.
All three of the 3 No already possessed ample combat experience. That was the result of Yujin driving them like a madman all the way to the 21st Floor. Traits, skills, and items were still a little lacking, but those problems would solve themselves on the higher floors. He knew exactly where every stroke of fortune could be found and how to claim it.
The only remaining issue was levels.
If their levels could keep pace, clearing the Tower would present no great difficulty.
That was the original plan, at least.
Things had gotten a little twisted.
He had never imagined Omophnes herself would step out to kill him. And he had gone and killed that damned Punisher.
From now on the Administrators—Didascalia in particular—would never sit still.
They can’t move in person.
Still, the ways they could throw obstacles in his path were endless. To block their schemes no matter what, he needed to move even faster than planned.
That was exactly why Yujin was dragging the 3 No toward the snow mountain.
“How much farther is it already?”
Sia kept grumbling.
“We’re almost there.”
“You said that two whole days ago.”
Three days.
They had been sprinting like lunatics across this featureless ice plain for three full days already.
“I mean it this time. See that mountain up ahead?”
Yujin jerked his chin forward.
“That’s the destination.”
“That’s been visible since yesterday.”
The terrain was so flat that even things ridiculously far away stood out clearly. It had definitely grown larger since yesterday, though.
“We’ll get there around evening.”
It was originally a week’s journey. But with no telling when those Administrator bastards might show their faces again, there was no room for leisure. So they ran without pause except for sleep.
Cold, hungry, and sleepy—but level-60 players were not about to drop dead from something like that. They just kept flapping their mouths the way Sia did.
“Then can you finally explain? What’s over there that made us rush like this all of a sudden? An A-grade item or something?”
She pretended not to care, yet expectation dripped from her eyes.
“Not A-grade, but a B-grade does drop.”
“Whoa, what is it?”
“It’s not for you, so no need to get that excited.”
Sia’s expression crumpled in an instant. The speed of the change was almost impressive.
“Then is it for Ji-hoo or Unnie?”
“…You never considered it might be for me?”
“You don’t need it, Mister.”
He was already strong enough to stomp an Administrator to death, after all.
“Well, you’re not wrong.”
For the Yujin of now, a B-grade item was not something he absolutely had to obtain. Better than nothing, sure, but unless it was exceptionally outstanding there was no real reason to go through this much trouble for it.
“To be precise, I’m going to use it for something else. Get the rest of the story from Vivi.”
Yujin shut his mouth as if the whole conversation had become a nuisance. Sia immediately latched onto Vivian.
“Unnie, Unnie!”
“Cowbang. Know it?”
And Vivian began explaining everything she had heard from Yujin.
“Oh…”
“I-I think I’ve heard of it.”
Vivian’s delivery was not particularly smooth, yet her talent for summarizing the core points was excellent. Thanks to that, both Lee Sia and Park Ji-hoo understood quickly.
“So basically, we’re going through all this hardship right now to get something like a key so we can hunt ourselves to death?”
Exactly right.
“And it also means we’re digging our own graves?”
Even more exactly right.
“I’m not going.”
Sia tried to stop walking on the spot, but Yujin was never going to allow that. As if he had already predicted the exact moment, he snatched her by the nape the instant she slowed and simply kept running.
“Aaaagh! I said I don’t want to!”
Sia thrashed inside his grip. Escaping was, of course, impossible.
By the time she had worn herself out, the sun began to set.
And then—
“We’re here.”
The Snow Mountain.
Nest of the Glacier Dragon, and the region where the most dangerous monsters of the 21st Floor made their home.
“Ah, he already left?”
Kang Mu-hyun wore an awkward smile.
“He seemed terribly busy. Checked out after only a single night.”
The innkeeper of [The Story of Blooming Frost Flowers] answered with a smiling face, yet the sour look was plain. He had thought the guard captain’s sales pitch had finally landed a sucker, only for the guests to stay a single day—clearly irritating.
“Did you hear where they went?”
“Well… I did hear, but my memory isn’t exact…”
At the man’s hesitation Kang Mu-hyun sighed and looked back over his shoulder.
“Can you spare fifty Credits?”
“Ugh, seriously.”
Kim Jihye pounded her chest in frustration. She had lost count of how many times this soft-hearted idiot had been milked for money like this.
The NPCs of [Frost Veil] acted as if money-devils possessed them, straining every nerve to squeeze out cash at the slightest opportunity. Yet refusing was impossible. They absolutely had to meet Seong Yujin.
“Here. Let’s try to save some money, okay?”
“Sorry.”
Kang Mu-hyun apologized as he took the Credits from Kim Jihye.
“Is this sufficient?”
“Ahem, no need to go this far…”
That was rich coming from the man who had been smiling the whole time he watched the earlier scene, but Kang Mu-hyun simply stood and waited for the answer.
“Right. That guest said he was heading somewhere about a week’s travel from [Frost Veil].”
“A week?”
Kang Mu-hyun’s brow furrowed. Even after quite some time on this floor, they had never gone that far. Hunting the nearby monsters alone had been more than enough trouble. He had no sense of the destination at all.
“Any place you can guess?”
When he asked, the innkeeper pondered, then slowly nodded.
“This is pure speculation on my part, but if there’s a special place a week away from here, the only candidate is the north.”
“What’s in the north…?”
“The Eternal Snow Mountain. Likely the most dangerous location on the entire 21st Floor. That’s why even our residents never go near it.”
Hearing that the probability they had gone there was highest, Kang Mu-hyun fell silent for a moment.
“Can’t we just wait here?”
Lim Ayeong carefully floated her own opinion. Outside was far too cold, and the Eternal Snow Mountain was simply too distant.
“Seong Yujin and his party might never come back this way.”
But Kang Mu-hyun shook his head. There was no guarantee the group would return to [Frost Veil]. They might head straight for the 22nd Floor from wherever they were. If that happened, Kang’s party would be completely finished.
“Even if it’s rough, I think we should go find them. What do you say?”
Kang Mu-hyun asked his companions. He had no intention of forcing them, yet he still hoped they would follow his lead.
“Do it your way. If they climb ahead of us we’re screwed.”
“I’m sorry. If only I were a little stronger…”
“Why are you the one apologizing?”
“Jihye’s right. The reason we can’t go higher isn’t your fault.”
They were currently stuck on the 21st Floor. They had climbed quickly and begun hunting just as fast, yet they simply could not take down the boss monster. It was not that they were weak—the matchup was simply terrible. At this rate they would be trapped here for years, so they had swallowed their pride and come seeking Seong Yujin’s help.
“So stop overthinking and let’s move. We need to find him before it’s too late.”
“Yes…”
Lim Ayeong nodded weakly and left the inn together with her companions.
“Hmm.”
Watching their retreating backs, the innkeeper slipped the Credits into his pocket, then opened his mouth toward empty air.
“Reporting from the 21st Floor [Frost Veil] branch. Currently a severe gap exists between the two leading groups. Kang Mu-hyun falls within normal parameters, but Seong Yujin’s capabilities are anomalous enough for the Administrators to classify him as an irregular. Recommend accurate verification of the facts.”
“Is that the full report?”
At that moment someone appeared out of empty space and asked. It looked exactly as if the air itself had been sliced open and a figure had stepped out from within.
“It is not yet certain, however…”
The innkeeper hesitated briefly, then spoke.
“There is a possibility that Administrator Omophnes has died.”
“…What did you just say?”
“Probability of Omophnes’ death exceeds seventy percent. The killer’s name is Seong Yujin. Method unknown. A detailed investigation appears necessary.”
The innkeeper’s voice was utterly mechanical, stripped of all emotion. The content, however, was shocking enough that the unidentified man could not speak for a long while.
“The body—did you confirm the body?”
“Only traces of combat were found. The Punisher’s corpse was not visible.”
“There must be a reason you still mentioned her death.”
When he asked, the innkeeper answered as if it were obvious.
“Is Seong Yujin not still alive?”
That alone was enough.
Omophnes had clearly descended here for the purpose of punishing Seong Yujin. Yet Seong Yujin had entered [Frost Veil] perfectly unharmed. That fact allowed only two possibilities: either Omophnes had fled, or she had died.
“The likelihood of murder is high.”
They placed greater weight on the latter. From everything they had learned of Omophnes, she would never have chosen flight over death. There could be many reasons the corpse had not been found, but that was not the important point.
“I will report this to upper levels. Additional instructions may follow, so map out every movement of Seong Yujin.”
“Understood.”
The unidentified man vanished the same way he had appeared, slicing through space.
“Hoo—”
Even that short exchange had drained considerable mental strength; a sigh escaped on its own.
“Seong Yujin. Will he truly be the one who can bring change to this damned Tower?”
The innkeeper of [The Story of Blooming Frost Flowers], and branch head of the Information Guild’s [Frost Veil] branch—Malroy—gazed northward with complicated eyes.
Toward the place where the Eternal Snow Mountain stood.