Two Minutes of Hell
Kim Min-seok rubbed his damp palms against the lining of his coat. The smooth texture of the gemstone pressed into his skin.
Teleports the user and anyone in contact to a designated location.
In South Korea, where artifacts were impossible to obtain, this was an incredibly rare item. But for Pandemonium, which controlled multiple low-floor Towers, it was downright common.
He had to dive into that monstrous battlefield and snatch Han Seol-ah away. No more room for sentimentality. Kim Min-seok was a hyena of a man. He knew survival better than anyone.
Admiring Han Seol-ah's nobility was one thing—letting his lifeline snap was another.
'If Han Seol-ah dies, I'm done for.'
He couldn't let his life and future get buried in that pile of ashes.
'...The boss's commission. How she took down the Frost Dragon. I can figure that out later.'
As long as Han Seol-ah survived, opportunities would remain. Kim Min-seok began watching for his chance.
Death flickered right before her eyes.
Letting go of the taut thread of tension, even for a moment, meant death. More than ever, Han Seol-ah acutely felt the crisis closing in.
Bang!
She disrupted Scáthach's playful spell just before it completed. No easy feat.
She had spread a dense web of mana in all directions—a frost-affinity mana especially sensitive to temperature shifts.
Whenever Scáthach cast a spell, the temperature changed ever so slightly. Cooling or warming. Changes too minute to detect without her mana sensing net.
Scáthach scattered exactly 99 such points with pinpoint precision. Only one led to a real spell. The rest were traps.
She had to pinpoint the true one before the magic finished forming. Heat it if it was warming. Cool it if cooling. Mark the exact point with precise temperature.
The core of magical combat she'd learned in that world...
Bang!
Correct. The spell fizzled.
If she missed? ...
She pushed that worry aside. That took 0.1 seconds. Repeat ten times for 1 second. A hundred for 10. The Apostle's "mission": endure 2 minutes.
120 seconds. ...1,200 repetitions.
—Can I do it?
Doubt reared its head.
Bam-bam-bang!
What terrified her? To Scáthach, this was just "playtime."
Exactly 99 points. One spell attempt every 0.1 seconds. Clear game rules anyone could see.
Stakes: Han Seol-ah's life. And perhaps Korea's fate.
A game she couldn't afford to lose.
Exhausting. But.
"Hoo—"
She could endure.
Experience with death closing in? She'd had it countless times. In that world, from him.
Sparring matches that were one-sided beatdowns. Wrong frost spell? Death. Fail to react? Death. Late cast? Death.
Death, death. Those countless deaths. Even if revival was instant after a brief cutoff, only those who'd felt it knew the sensation of dying and being yanked back.
But it taught her what a "true magical battle" was.
And the true meaning of "death."
The greatest fear of death is ignorance. What is death? What's after?
Through endless deaths, Han Seol-ah had learned what death was.
"Hooooh—"
Bam-bam!
Even now, with death inches away, she stayed sane.
Drip—
Nosebleed trickled slowly, oh so slowly. Time dilation made it feel that way.
"Hngh."
Her limit approached. Independent of her will, her body and brain overloaded.
Sensing the answer in 0.1 seconds stretched to 0.11. 0.12... Slowing.
—How long has it been?
Feels like over a week.
'There.'
Upper right. Coordinate 36. Success.
'Next.'
Lower left. 82. Success.
'Ah.'
Rear lower left. 14. ...Too late.
Bang!
Failed full cancel. Blast grazed her cheek.
Flesh tearing pain. No time to scream.
That was close. 0.1 seconds. Scáthach timed like a metronome. No—speeding up.
'More.'
0.09. 0.08. Han Seol-ah slowing, Scáthach accelerating. Vicious cycle. End nearing.
Bam-bam-bang!
Scáthach's laughter echoed.
'Fun? Shall I speed up?'
'Just a bit more.'
...Mind fading.
—How long?
"Hngh...."
Bang!
How much... left?
"Feels like I'm gonna die."
Catnaps during brief breaks were all he'd gotten. Enduring sync backlash left his body wrecked.
But no time to rest... It was go-time.
"Hoo. Let's move."
Activated sync, sprinted to the evaluation center as fast as possible.
Its rooftop held a makeshift platform of stacked containers. Atop it: a massage chair festooned with wires and gadgets.
The monstrosity Min Ji-hee had introduced: the "Ultra-Long-Range Ballistic Computation Seat." Custom job he'd requested from her.
Two roles: Serve as "eyes" to slam his off-spec firepower into a heart 200km away. And act as "support" to disperse launch recoil.
'Syncs real-time with Association satellites to auto-lock targets, right?'
Sat in the chair, donned goggles. Tapped the mic.
Standby mode.
"Display screen."
Coordinates synced from Hunter Association satellites flooded in.
Aiming system activated. Initiating coordinate lock.
Pyongyang's panorama filled one goggle lens. To counter Scáthach's mana blasting cameras, countless optical cams blanketed the area, linked live.
'There she is.'
Even Han Seol-ah's resolute face appeared.
Slotted Eternal Winter into the chair's extended mount.
Clunk.
Heavy friction as the massive sniper cannon's barrel locked in perfectly.
Aiming.
Whirr—
The chair swiveled toward "Scáthach's position."
Incheon to Pyongyang? Worlds apart. Even mana-enhanced eyes couldn't spot it visually.
So he borrowed the Hunter Association's power. For ultra-long-range sniping, you handle aiming.
Min Ji-hee nodded grimly at his "second request," whipping up this "whatsit seat" in a day or two.
'Capable woman.'
Crack!
'Whoa... Cutscene direction is killer.'
Like a sky-spanning monitor shattering, ominous fissures spiderwebbed across Pyongyang's sky in flashy effects.
The grand spectacle that would make the world scream apocalypse. From the cracks crawled a colossal ice dragon.
'So that's real-life Scáthach.'
First time seeing it live... 'Looks identical.'
No difference from the game—total letdown.
Soon, Han Seol-ah engaged.
Bam-bam-bang!
As planned, Scáthach stayed put, toying with her.
'Holding strong.'
Checked the timer.
'...Hang in there, Han Seol-ah.'
No doubt she'd fail. Just silent cheers.
Then, "magic."
Like Han Seol-ah gathering all mana for "Ultimate: Permafrost." Earth hunters each had such an "ultimate move."
All resources unleashed to slay mighty beasts—their final, strongest strike.
Lost Honor had them too. One per class. Unlocked at level 99 via special quest.
The "Ultimate."
Frost Sorcerer's ultimate: Scales infinitely with mana input, infinite range.
"—Absolute Zero."
Incanted the starter chant...
Charging initiated.
The Lost Honor message appeared. He poured mana full throttle.
"Hooooh...."
Felt like guts ripping out. Gritted teeth, endured.
His lifeline: 50,000 MP. ...Passed.
'More.'
Nebula's total: 99,999 MP. Passed!
'More!'
Kept slamming it in. No sync drop risk.
Not his mana—surplus crammed into Eternal Winter like reserve batteries!
"Krr, kuhahaha."
Still, blood surged from innards. EX mana shielding his body, yet this damage!
'Thrilling.'
But not enough. Total input: ...300,000 MP!
Rumble—!
The evaluation center screamed. Grotesque tearing as space warped under the weight filled the rooftop.
"......!"
In the Association's command room, Min Ji-hee watching via screen doubted her eyes.
Centered on the Apostle—Nebula—in the "sniper chair," geometric light lines extended.
One, two, ten, hundred... Thousands of magic circles etched in air instantly.
Thousands meshed like gears, overlapping, spinning, stacking a colossal "tower" skyward.
"What... in the world..."
No mage, but instinct screamed: Beyond Earth's logic.
Midsummer Incheon. Yet blizzard raged on the rooftop.
Atmospheric moisture freezing in terror—a freak phenomenon.
Whoosh—!
The magic tower pierced clouds. Incheon's sky paled.
"Insane... Can a human wield that power...?"
Awe-mixed groan escaped Min Ji-hee. Terrifying. Mesmerizingly beautiful.
The tower tilted. Toward... Scáthach.
"Q-Quick! Recalculate coordinates!"
Min Ji-hee shrieked.
"N-No error! Perfect lock on Pyongyang!"
The operator, glued to monitors in nail-biting tension, rasped.
Tower halted. Tilted form now an ultra-massive gun barrel.
Vibrations ceased. Freak snowstorm ended.
...Calm before the storm.
Within it.
"Cough, cough. Kuhahaha."
Only the blood-coughing Apostle's mad laugh echoed softly.
Gulp.
Meanwhile, inside that "tower." Within the staff's mana core, Frozen savored near-faint ecstasy.
[Ahh... Ahhhh...!]
Humans outside saw only the mega magic circle's "shell," gasping. But Frozen saw the "interior."
[Perfect... So perfect it's terrifying...!]
300,000 MP. Not mere volume. The Great One split that vast river into nano-scale control.
Each mana particle found its exact place, error-free. Billions of gears meshing without 0.0001mm deviation.
But what truly thrilled Frozen wasn't the computation.
[Winter Proclaiming the End: Absolute Zero]
Frozen's "Genesis Trait" forcibly dragged out. The divine trait—like Creator's breath—yanked by the collar, jammed as a magic component!
[Ahh!]
What is a Genesis Trait? Exclusive to Genesis items. Items birthing "one world" with infinite energy.
The trait wields miraculous power no artifact rivals, harnessing that energy!
Normal users get crushed by it. Borrowing the power alone overwhelms.
But here? The opposite.
[Dominating it!]
Genesis mana woven among "gears." Twisted, shaved, compressed. Tamed like lambs in the Great One's grip, melting as "fuel" into the circle.
[Behold! Shaping mana like stars—the true 'Genesis'!]
Terror at incomprehensible gap. Greater ecstasy.
[Absolute Zero: Winter Proclaiming the End]
Mythic spell born: Ultimate Absolute Zero fused with Eternal Winter's Genesis Trait, from the Great One's fingertips.
Hummmm—!
Staff screamed in joy. Critical point passed.
Through blurry vision.
Han Seol-ah's knees buckled, collapsing. A black doll caught her.
Scáthach's maw unleashed "dragon's breath."
Life-or-death moment.
Calmly checked the timer.
Mana Charged
300,000 MP
'Good work, Han Seol-ah.'
Now, my turn.
Flicked fingers like pulling a trigger.
—Fire.