Suffocating Silence!
Silence so thick you could choke on it. Han Seol-ah's face turned icy cold. Jin Cheon-jin's hands trembled. Min Ji-hee bit her lip.
The atmosphere was utterly wretched.
Whoops. My explanation had been too curt, too clipped.
"Of course, I'm coming with you."
"…Ah."
Sighs of relief burst from all three at once. Their shoulders, rigid with fear, slowly relaxed.
'Take the nuke and go'—to them, that must've sounded like 'go blow yourself up.' They already treated me like some heartless dictator. If I left it like that, I'd be branded a 'psycho who uses his minions as disposable tools.'
'Haven't talked to people in too long.'
A minor slip-up. Haha.
I added calmly, "…You didn't think I meant for you to hug the bomb and nobly go up in flames, did you?"
"N-No, sir! Of course not!"
I clicked my tongue. Their faces said they'd thought exactly that—and got caught.
Time to clear the misunderstanding for good.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I hate all that noble sacrifice bullshit."
The remaining three flinched. I could almost hear their thoughts: 'Ah, guess not.'
Damn it all. What kind of monster did they think I was?
"It'll be the same from now on. Not just you three—of course, but every Hunter and Awakener in Korea. No one's dying a dog's death on my watch."
"…That means."
"The salvation I promised you? It won't be built on anyone's sacrifice."
I continued indifferently. "Someone dies, someone lives and grieves… That kind of bad end just leaves a bad taste."
"…Pardon?"
"Might as well go for a clean no-death clear."
I really believed that.
I'm a happy-ending guy at heart. I always aim for full survival, no-death clears whenever possible. I can't stand seeing a memorial roll in the end credits.
And besides.
This wasn't a game—it was reality. Every life weighed the same, heavy as hell.
So if I could reach it… I'd aim for that no-death clear.
Which made a 'perfect Strategy' all the more essential. Why settle for second-best when there's a path with zero sacrifices?
Silence fell for a moment.
Min Ji-hee reacted first, as expected.
"Apostle."
"Hm?"
"You truly are… merciful."
Her eyes softened, gazing at me like I was some saintly sage.
Ugh. Not that far.
I shook my head. "I'm no saint. Just…"
Mercy? Nothing so grandiose.
I just wanted to eliminate variables that could tank my quest success rate.
And I had the ability to do it.
"My plan doesn't need anyone's sacrifice."
"Ah…"
"Don't overthink it. Just do as you're told. Dismissed."
"…Yes, sir. Understood."
Min Ji-hee bowed and withdrew.
'…She gets it, right?'
…Right?
After the Apostle left, Min Ji-hee called an strategy meeting.
Jin Cheon-jin spoke in a subdued tone. "I think I've misjudged the Apostle all this time—seen him as some ruthless fiend."
"What do you think now?"
"'Bad ends leave a bad taste'… Isn't that just his way of saying he cares for us? Turns out he's got a soft heart deep down…"
"Ahaha. President, no. No…"
Min Ji-hee chuckled softly, shaking her head.
"That's not human affection."
"Huh? Then what is it?"
"Perfectionism."
Her smile vanished like a lie, her eyes cold as she dissected the Apostle's words.
"The most extreme kind…"
"…?"
Min Ji-hee stared at the door where he'd vanished and continued. "Think back on what he said. Not 'sad'—bad taste."
A chill ran through her voice.
"To him, an ally's death isn't tragedy. It's a stain on his perfect blueprint. Why scratch his guaranteed clear for points off? That's the logic of the strong."
"Holy… that's what he meant?"
"So keep your wits about you."
Min Ji-hee's eyes flashed as she declared, "He won't grieve if we die. He'll just be pissed—'Who the hell gave you permission to die and mar my perfect clear record?'"
"…Ruthless bastard."
"Yes. So we must survive."
Min Ji-hee stopped there.
But her mind raced faster.
'Quest, bad end, no-death clear…'
Words he'd let slip carelessly.
The implication was clear.
'Apostle. Do you see this world like a game?'
If so…
'…Are we just chess pieces to you?'
Meanwhile, Han Seol-ah watched their grave exchange and tilted her head.
'…He was just cheering us on—'Don't die, and don't worry about it anymore,' right?'
Inside the helicopter to Pyongyang. Just me and Han Seol.
Below, the scar of my Absolute Zero stretched white across the dead land.
Han Seol-ah stared at it, lost in thought.
"Apostle."
Then she called out abruptly.
"…Can we go back to that world again?"
"Hm."
I could guess her line of thinking. After tasting Glacial Flash once, she'd been desperate to replicate it. Now she wanted the ultimate skill that left that devastation below.
"No."
I got her hopes, but rejection.
Sync tickets were too precious to waste.
And.
There was a second reason.
"Besides, you couldn't handle it."
A fact I'd realized using it in reality myself.
This wasn't magic a human brain could compute.
Sync handled the math for me, so it was just click.
'Raw? No way in hell.'
And Han Seol-ah's skill tree wasn't headed that way anyway.
"Give it up."
"…"
She shut her mouth instead of answering. Her lips pursed ever so slightly—she was hurt.
'What can ya do.'
Don't climb trees you can't.
-Vrrr!
A low vibration, and the chopper touched down in Pyongyang.
Right on Min Ji-hee's calculated coordinates.
The boss gate's spawn point.
"Han Seol-ah."
"Yes."
Now the real work began.
"What do you think is the essence of frost magic?"
"…?"
Confusion bloomed on her face. Why ask that now?
But she steadied herself and answered earnestly.
"…Cold magic."
"…"
Hm. Spot on.
"Then what's the trait of frost magic?"
"Hard to control, but one-shot power?"
"Why do you think it has that advantage?"
"Well…"
She blinked, stumped. 'Why ask something so obvious?'
"……That's just how it is?"
I nodded. Knew she'd say that.
"What about fire magic?"
"I heard it doesn't need complex control like frost. Just shoot."
"Why the difference?"
"…That's just how it's set?"
Not wrong.
In reality, Han Seol-ah's specialty, frost magic, was tricky. Her insane mana drain came from safety locks to keep the caster unharmed amid the complexity.
Fire magic? Not so much.
Why? Why this unbalanced bullshit?
Most Hunters shrugged: 'Towers gonna Tower.'
So her answer wasn't incorrect.
"But not the right answer."
"…Pardon?"
I've maxed frost mages in Lost Honor. Wielded both her magic and the frost mage's. With sync on, I'm an EX-rank Hunter—hell, a genius who handles frost mana better than her.
Me.
So I could conclude:
—Han Seol-ah had grown wrong.
Wrong premise from the start.
Frost wasn't for DPS.
Frost was CC—crowd control, debuffs—for debuffer jobs.
That's why it felt tricky to her.
'Wrong tool for the job.'
Forcing support/control mana into attacks skyrocketed the difficulty.
Like this: Fire magic's a pistol—pull trigger, boom. Simple. Designed that way.
Frost magic? Carve the barrel with mana, assemble bullets, mix powder, fire. Tough. Not designed that way.
Screw up? Boom—in your hands.
…But not her fault.
'No choice.'
Problem started with Korea's warped Hunter pool. No reliable DPS, so they dumped all the burst on this girl.
To meet expectations, she mushed unfit mana into a boss-smasher ultimate.
And survived that insane hack.
'Insane talent.'
Only I knew this in this world.
Think back. Why was Han Seol-ah my first sync?
Strongest? Nah, Jin Cheon-jin edged her in raw power/tankiness.
Smartest? Min Ji-hee crushed in strategy/brains.
Prettiest/cutest? …Won't deny, but not that.
I knew the instant I unlocked frost mage as first job.
One reason.
Most needed.
By whom? Me.
For what? Tower clear.
I looked up at the southern sky.
There, piercing clouds: a massive pillar.
—Korea's Tower.
The cursed spire stalled at 94F, dragging the nation to ruin.
For 10 years, every Korean's goal: clear that Tower.
Mine too.
I'd prayed for a shot at it, year after year.
Awakening was my 10-year hope—another face of 'I'll clear that damn Tower.'
From 10 years grinding info: 94F needs minimum three Hunters.
Game terms: perfect party comp.
One's a debuffer. Minimum S-rank. Recommended: EX talent.
I stared hard at Han Seol-ah.
"…?"
Han Seol-ah. This Hunter had debuffer godhood—divine gifts.
Always #1 on my sims.
Frost mage essence: debuffer.
Never DPS.
Yet she'd been forced into DPS life for 10 years.
Game-wise: solo DPS party, wrong skill tree/stats.
Wrapping support in AP items won't match a real mage.
In game? Skill reset—click, done.
Reality? No such item.
So rip out 10+ years of habits, rebuild her DPS ego.
Not easy.
Start over? Too slow.
No time anyway. Doom in 2 days.
So.
Sorry, but one way: shock therapy.
I tapped the Ice Dragon's Eye with Eternal Winter.
Crack!
A crisp split raced across the eye.
"…Apostle?"
"Here."
I shoved Eternal Winter and the eye into her hands.
Rumble rumble—!
The eye vibrated. Ominous frost mana—no, magi—billowed up.
"Apostle? Something's wrong with this!"
I stepped back.
"It's fine. Working normally."
"Ah, thought so? No need to worry?"
"Right on the verge of exploding."
"Pardon?"
Her head turned slowly toward me.
"…What?"
'What the hell?' her face said.
"Gonna blow soon. 10."
The 'nuke' in her hands screamed red.
"9."
"W-Wait!!!"
No time to think.
Instinct only now.
Ditch 10 years' habits. Awaken your true talent.
"8."
Humanity's best awakening shot: brush with death!
Go, Han Seol-ah!
Awaken if you wanna live!
