Chapter 110 - Academy (8)
Helena, who had been watching Si-woo warily, pried a few gems off her bracelet. Then she scattered them on the floor and infused them with mana.
'Hmm...?'
Fwoosh.
Flames erupted from the gems as if they were charcoal. An artifact meant for survival, not just decoration, despite what I had assumed. The fire crackled and blazed, and a comforting warmth filled the shelter entirely.
Si-woo glanced at Helena but said nothing. She cleared her throat softly, looking embarrassed.
"Ahem... W-Well, this works..."
Michael, who had been watching us nervously, started making a fuss.
"Wow... This is incredible. Your preparation is truly thorough. The fact that it works here, where even spatial storage is impossible, is amazing!"
*
Wolf meat, properly bled and cut into nice pieces. Helena grilled it skillfully, as if she were a professional chef. Her survival skills shone brightly in this harsh environment.
"Oh... Looks delicious."
"It's a shame we don't have any seasoning... but it can't be helped. Ah! It's done. Here you go."
I took the grilled wolf meat she handed me. I took a bite and found it was surprisingly edible. No, it was actually quite delicious. Even without any seasoning, there wasn't a trace of gamey taste. A subtle smoky aroma whetted my appetite.
"It's good."
"Really...? Ah, no, I'm fine, don't worry. You don't have to lie."
"No, I'm serious. Helena, you try it too. Here."
"Ah..."
Helena took a bite of the meat I offered her, and her eyes widened.
"How strange. There isn't a bit of that wild smell."
"Right. Doesn't seem like a carnivore at all."
I found myself wondering what kind of wolf had eaten what to grow up like this.
"It's about time we started looking around. We can't stay here forever, can we?"
"You're right. But it's a snowy mountain... It's so unfamiliar that I can't tell where we are."
I had no idea how far we had been teleported. Two possibilities came to mind. Either we'd been dragged to a really godforsaken far-off place, or this was a rift.
"It's not our country, at least?"
"No. That's certain. I think it might be a rift, but..."
"Can you just get dragged into a rift like that?"
"I don't know about that..."
Michael quietly watched our exchange, then silently picked up a hind leg. Huffing and puffing, he started grilling it himself. No one here was going to take care of him. It stung a little.
*
After finishing the wolf meat, Si-woo spoke to Michael.
"You go outside and keep watch for a bit."
"Yes...?"
"I have something private to say to Helena, so just step out for five minutes."
"O-Oh... I understand."
Michael nervously exited, and I approached Helena. She fidgeted her fingers, looking flustered. Her face held a look of anticipation, but that wasn't it. As much as I hated to, if it meant the situation might be dangerous, I couldn't keep playing around.
"Here, look at this."
"Huh...?"
I handed her the satellite phone.
"Just in case, I checked my spatial storage too, and mine worked."
"Oh...! I'm so glad."
"But the signal doesn't reach."
"What...?"
These satellite phones could make contact from anywhere on Earth. Yet, no transmission or reception was possible. All the multiple satellite phones I had were dead.
"I don't think this is Earth, at least. Is it a rift after all?"
"A rift... that does sound more plausible. Though it's still strange."
"Hmm..."
Even if it was a rift, there were strange things about it. My energy sense was unusually limited, and there was almost no mana in the air. Such places were very rare. Rifts usually had a higher concentration of mana in the atmosphere.
*
We roamed around and looked, but I couldn't find a way out. The especially low mana density in the air was the main problem. It wasn't easy replenishing any mana I consumed.
I returned to the shelter and discussed it with Helena.
"Is this the only option?"
"Hmm..."
If this place was a rift, simply going down the snowy mountain wouldn't let us escape. Wandering aimlessly around this vast snowy mountain was suicide. All that was left was the suspicious red feather.
I poured Mixed Energy into the feather. Without the Anti-Magic Power in it, the voice in my head grew clearer and clearer.
-Come here...
Following that, I felt a strange sensation. I could feel something ticklish coming from one specific direction. As if telling me to go there.
"What do you think?"
"...We don't have any other choice, so I guess we have to go."
The place the feather pointed to was towards the mountain peak.
***
The closer we got to the center of the snowy mountain, the fiercer the resistance. The level of the monsters attacking us grew steadily. The blizzard seemed almost sentient, trying to drive us away.
Michael, who had collapsed from exhaustion before we even made it halfway, remained back at the shelter. With his level, simply following along was impossible.
"Ugh... I'm, I'm so sorry."
"It's fine. Just hold onto this."
Just in case, I threw him a rift-specific location-tracking artifact. The guy, who had been worried I was abandoning him, brightened up.
"Please be careful!"
Leaving his greetings behind, we headed deeper into the snowy mountain. Towards where the feather was guiding us.
Every single snowflake fell like a hidden weapon. Keeping close to Helena, I wrapped my skin in mana. It was incredibly difficult for something that was just walking. But we finally arrived.
-Is it here...?
-It seems so.
The place the feather pointed to was the dead center of the mountain. As if making one last stand, the blizzard raged violently. After digging through the piled snow for about three minutes, a cave entrance appeared.
'Hmm...'
The walls were rough yet somehow smooth. It felt both artificial and natural at the same time. At first glance, it looked like a tunnel where something had passed through and left. After a moment of thought, I decided to enter.
As soon as we got inside the cave, the temperature shot up. Helena fidgeted with her fur coat and spoke.
"It's... incredibly warm in here."
This place felt like a different world entirely. It felt like it was getting hotter the closer we got to the center.
'No, I'm literally getting hotter.'
A bead of sweat trickled down my skin. It felt like we had instantly transitioned from a bitter midwinter with frosty winds straight into summer.
'Could it be a volcano?'
The atmosphere was strange. It was so quiet, it was eerie. I wondered what was off, and then I realized.
There wasn't a single tiny bug here.
***
Helena silently stared at Si-woo's back as he walked ahead.
'Ah...'
Just looking at him made her feel uneasy. A soft, fuzzy feeling bubbled up from somewhere in her heart. She consciously ignored it. The moment she acknowledged it, it would become a fatal poison for her. A time bomb that would shatter her heart. Maybe it was already too late.
The hope that he might be different was what made her weak. Nothing had even started, yet she couldn't help but think of the end.
'Can I endure it?'
Negative thoughts kept creeping in. If she failed this time too. Things were definitely getting better compared to her previous lives. If she kept repeating her regressions, she might be able to end it all eventually. But she was no machine.
The most important thing was that her willpower was running thin. If she suffered a mishap, or just lacked the strength. If she failed again and was sent back. If he didn't recognize her. If he acted like she was a stranger.
Could she endure it?
"...I think this is it? Hmm... Helena?"
"Yes...? What did you say?"
"I think this is where the feather leads."
"Oh... I see."
A massive door loomed before them. It was a plain iron door with no pattern at all.
'Adamanthium...?'
Adamanthium, the divine metal. It was an iron door made of the entire thing. The sight made her suspicious of what could possibly be inside.
The moment they arrived, something started, as if it had been waiting for them.
Grrrooomb!
The cave. No, the entire mountain shook. A sense of crisis struck her instinctively. A special sense she had naturally developed through repeated deaths. It activated now. Death was right before her. Every single time she felt this sense, without exception, she died.
'Ah...'
Helena's eyes widened. Why now, of all times? Her body moved reflexively, her mind going blank. She didn't know what was about to happen, but one thing was certain. Death was coming to this place.
'No!'
She didn't want to die now. Death, which had become familiar, suddenly terrified her. She stepped forward, gathering all the mana she could. Three magic circles, created in an instant, resonated.
Wooong!
Absolute Shield, pouring out all the mana she possessed. A spell a step above her own level. A barrier capable of blocking the full-force attack of a 7-star powerhouse.
BWOOM!
The Adamanthium door flung open as if exploding, and something surged out. A crimson something. It was as if a tightly compressed bomb had gone off. She only knew what it was right before it reached her eyes.
Crimson flames. It wasn't ordinary fire. The surrounding rocks sizzled and melted in an instant.
'I can't block it.'
Thanks to her countless experiences, her judgment was instantaneous. But she stretched her Absolute Shield forward, clutching at straws. She tried to tilt the angle as much as possible to deflect it.
'Ah...'
In that brief moment, less than a second, the shield that had held for a moment began to melt away like foam. It felt like a massive natural disaster was bearing down on her. The power she had built up was woefully insufficient.
Thanks to her sixth sense, which had already activated, the now vivid world moved slowly. She could only watch as death crept in, inch by inch.
'Please...'
What she desperately prayed for now was not her own life. She wished that when she regressed back, he would remember her.
'If I had known this would happen... I should have made a move.'
She walked forward toward the flames. To die first. Because she couldn't bear the thought of being left alone, even for a moment, after he died. That was the feeling she hated most.
Her body, moving forward, was instead pushed backward. Something was gently pulling her.
'Ah...?'
Their positions were now reversed. He was standing in front, facing the door.
'No!'
The surging crimson mass engulfed him.
Unable to bear watching, Helena squeezed her eyes shut. Her only comfort was that she would soon follow in death.
Rumble!
The pain she expected never came. Along with a slight tremor, she felt a strange sensation of something passing by her.
She opened her eyes, but nothing had happened.
'How...?'
The intense heat radiating around her proved this wasn't a dream. He was standing right there in front of her, perfectly unharmed. His body was twisted diagonally with his arms spread wide. His hands rotated slowly, swaying like ripples in water. Following his languid gestures, the red aura was being guided into the earth and the sky.
Her mind went completely blank. She could only stare at him in dazed awe.
Something fell onto her face. A pure white snowflake.
She slowly raised her head. A massive hole was punched through the ceiling. It had pierced straight through the thick mountain. The blizzard seemed to have died down, revealing a clear blue sky.
'Fire Dragon...?'
Flames were flying into the sky. It looked exactly like a red dragon ascending. The very crimson flames that had been trying to devour them were now that majestic sight.
A sizzling sound echoed all around. It came from the walls and floor, melting away from the residual heat alone.
Her skin felt scorching. The red energy that had seeped into the ground was forming a circle.
A familiar yet eerily beautiful pattern. A Taeguk symbol was drawn on the floor.
'Ah...'
The sense of death. For the first time ever, she escaped that feeling which had never, not once, been wrong before.