Clash with the Peak Master
“Whoa, the whole world's white as far as the eye can see.”
No matter where I looked, there was an overwhelming blanket of pristine snow. Most of the surrounding buildings were buried, but the Palace Lord's quarters where I'd been staying were intact. The Ice Palace was surrounded by walls and consisted of tall structures, after all.
“Palace Lord, I think we're screwed.”
“I know that already, so shut up.”
Yu-jin snuck up and dropped that heavy fact bomb, but it didn't really hurt my feelings.
Thankfully, the raid team's hunters, Han Yu-wol, and Yu-jin were all safe.
Truth be told, these guys were renowned powerhouses in their own right—they weren't about to die in some avalanche.
It was just a massive perennial snow slide that had come crashing down, not a disaster big enough to wipe the North Sea Ice Palace off the map entirely.
“What's the damage report?”
“From what we've gathered so far, Hanul Township, Myeongryu Garrison, and several villages outside the palace got caught up in it.”
“...I see.”
Hanul Township and Myeongryu Garrison—names I'd memorized for the palace lord's duties.
Each had around ten to twenty thousand residents, from what I recalled.
Thank goodness the whole region hadn't been hit, but it was still a major blow.
“Anything else I need to know?”
“Someone deliberately set off explosives on a high peak about 16km north of here. Around ha-si last night—9 to 11 p.m.”
“Got it, noted.”
I committed all the info from her to memory.
Replaying her words in my head one more time, I didn't hesitate—activated Pain Ignore and slit my own throat.
You have looped.
Time to hunt down the fucking bastard who wrecked my house.
“Emergency! Emergency!! All raid team, assemble!”
“What? What's going on?”
Since I updated my loop point every evening during this raid, we were now about three hours before the incident kicked off.
The moment I returned to the past, I yelled to round up the Cheonam Guild folks and my seniors.
Sorry to interrupt Pinkchang Team Leader's sweet dreams this early in the evening, but this really was an emergency.
“Team Leader, where are Hyeji sunbae and Teacher I-hwa?”
“They're out investigating beyond the walls right now. Why the sudden freakout?”
“Someone's planning a bomb terror on the mountain 16km north of here. If we don't stop it now, the avalanche will fuck everything up!”
“What?!”
To them, this probably sounded like total bullshit out of nowhere.
They'd been grinding so hard with victory in sight, and now some rookie was throwing a tantrum.
But I couldn't afford to coddle their feelings right now.
“I'm heading out first—get ready and follow!”
“Hey, wait!”
Team Leader grabbed at me in confusion, but I ignored him and bolted.
Time was already tight; I couldn't waste it convincing every single raid member one by one—especially without a shred of physical evidence.
Forgiveness is easier than permission, but by the time I got back, it'd be gratitude, not forgiveness.
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and gear up!”
“I was just brushing my teeth and about to crash...”
I did feel a little bad for the raid members who'd been on the verge of sleep.
But hey, this is professional spirit, right? Think positive.
“What the fuck, why is this goddamn mountain so huge?”
I'd pushed my lightness skill to the limit and dashed here like a dog based on Yu-jin's location from the previous loop, but the mountain's size blew past my expectations by a mile. Even craning my neck all the way back, I couldn't see the peak.
No way this was just some local hill.
Well, yeah—a mountain this massive was why the avalanche had been such a clusterfuck last time.
'Gotta find the explosives.'
But bottom line, I had to stop the explosion somehow.
I poured power into my legs and sprinted toward the summit, sharpening my senses to the max. But even sweeping a few kilometers around me as I ran, I saw nothing but white snow—no explosives in sight.
After a few minutes of this, I realized this approach wasn't gonna cut it.
“There has to be some way...”
Cheonam Guild hadn't brought any detection-type hunters, and time until boom was running out.
Part of me thought about waiting at the base with the guild to block the avalanche itself, but even high-rank hunters couldn't handle a full-scale snow tsunami.
Sure, none of the raid team would get hurt by a mere snow pile. But stopping a 20-meter-high wall of snow rushing down? Different story.
“Ah, maybe that could work?”
A idea flashed in my mind.
Right now, I was amplifying my senses across the board—sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, all of it.
What if I focused only on the senses needed for detection?
Overloading mana in one body part could be risky, but whatever—loop if it goes wrong.
'Wu Wei Zi Ran (non-action and nature)—act without force, follow nature...'
I recited the teaching from the Tianxia Sanshiliu Jian manual in my head to steady my mana.
Not super relevant here, but better than nothing.
'Enhance vision!'
As my dantian's energy calmed like a still lake, I whipped it all toward my eyes in one burst.
My eyeballs shook like they couldn't handle it, but I forced the energy to stay focused.
Then, in that instant, it felt like my eyes connected to something.
My field of view expanded.
I could see the bark patterns on trees far away, crystal clear.
Like I'd been living with foggy glasses my whole life—now it was sharp and vast.
The user of Loop has met specific conditions.
Thousand-Mile Eyes (A-rank)
“Huh? A skill?”
It went ding! and a bunch of notification windows zipped by.
I just strained my eyes a bit and got an A-rank skill? While others risk their lives for one?
“...Jackpot.”
It felt like I could see scenery dozens of kilometers away right in front of me.
I immediately scanned around, rolling my eyes for anything suspicious.
'Nothing there, that direction's just snow—no way explosives, what's that? A person?'
Detection was a breeze. Activating Thousand-Mile Eyes expanded my vision and visibility range massively.
About ten minutes in, I spotted a guy in white fur clothes.
Rough distance: 600 meters. I charged straight at him.
“Gotcha, you bastard!!”
I drew my sword from my waist mid-sprint, unleashing sword aura. Climbing to the snowy summit of this barren mountain? Ninety-nine percent chance he's no ordinary joe. Slice first, ask later.
If he's some innocent civilian by some miracle... well, regrets. Loop later.
“...You?!”
“Too late, asshole!”
As I closed in, I kicked off the snow and leaped. Sword heavy with aura, I swung down at the guy below me.
Should've split his skull in two in three seconds flat...
“Ice Palace Lord?”
“Nah, blocking that would make me feel kinda bad.”
My sure-kill strike? Blocked effortlessly by his swung sword. And that energy around his blade—way sharper sheen than my sword aura.
“Your realm, perhaps?”
“Entry to the transcendent peak.”
“Oh shit.”
Unlike my clunky, thick aura, his glowed coolly and hummed with power.
This is true sword gang.
Come to think of it, one of the assailants' allies was a transcendent peak master. Of course I'd run into the strongest one.
“Perfect. I lacked confidence to break through the elders and protectors to kill you, so I figured an avalanche would draw attention. But you come right to me.”
His voice was smooth and gentle, like it was just another day.
His eyes, though? Ferocious as hell.
I'd heard martial arts can alter one's constitution, but red glow in the eyes?
“Haha, seems there's a misunderstanding. I'm not the Ice Palace Lord—just an upstanding commoner.”
“What?”
“If there's anything you need, I'll help however I can, so please lower that sword first...”
I needed to stall. Cheonam Guild and my seniors would arrive soon.
Just bullshit for ten minutes till backup hits, then gang up.
Keep the guy happy till then!
“You'll really help with anything?”
“Of course.”
“Then marry me. My side's been aching lately—must be why a beauty like you draws me in.”
“Fuck off, you prick.”
The second he said that, I gave up.
There's a line, and promising marriage to a grizzled middle-aged dude crosses it hard.
“Hahaha! As expected of the palace lord—gutsy.”
“Sigh... Thought it'd be easier.”
I let out a deep sigh and drew my sword into stance.
He mirrored me exactly, gripping his sword and posing up.
His eyes sparked a single thought.
“Well, flowers have thorns. I understand.”
“No flowers in the North Sea, dumbass.”
Why'd I ditch my team and charge ahead alone?
Simple: time crunch, no confidence in convincing the raid, but...
“...Impressive sword aura. Quite the dragon.”
“I'm a bit big, yeah.”
“Waiting for reinforcements, I take it? Think it'll go as planned?”
I only pulled this because I could handle it solo to some degree.
Yeah, transcendent peak master. Strong foe—better dodge if possible.
But not unbeatable.
“Nah, I'll finish before they get here.”
With that, I lunged at him.
Time to dance with swords.