Chapter 90
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: The Night of Ameris
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Baek A-rin shouted in surprise at my words.
"Have you lost your mind? At that distance, you'll get swept up in it too!"
"I know. But doesn't it take too long otherwise?"
Even if these bastards pulled off the miracle of walking out unscathed right in front of me again.
I could just kill them all over.
That's the household skill of the Snow Mountain Clan.
I shouted at Baek A-rin, who was hesitating.
"You can do it! Target just those four, avoiding me!"
"What do you take me for? How the hell am I supposed to pull that off!"
Of course. Telling her to focus a wide-area skill on exactly four targets.
Even I knew it was riddled with contradictions.
But what choice did we have?
If she didn't, I'd die.
"Aim carefully. Or I'll die too!"
"Damn it...! Don't ask me for the impossible, Kim Si-woo."
I flashed her a grin and gave her a thumbs-up.
"For Snow Mountain Clan's one and only legitimate successor, Baek A-rin, it should be a piece of cake."
Her lips twitched upward at the words "one and only legitimate successor."
She really loved the Snow Mountain Clan that much.
With a reluctant sigh, she muttered,
"Baek A-rin might not manage it... but Snow Mountain Clan's legitimate successor Baek A-rin? Yeah, that I can do."
That's the spirit.
She closed one eye like a sniper lining up a shot and began to concentrate.
Skills had fixed properties—you couldn't change their fundamental nature.
You could reverse [Bunny Hop] to limit its distance and pair it with [Poor Strike] for something mimicking Flash Strike.
Spam those fake Flash Strikes enough times, and it looked like an upgrade over the [Continuous Strike] skill.
But you couldn't use [Bunny Hop] to leap into the sky.
Just like you couldn't add new effects to [Poor Strike] beyond its basic heavy slash.
You could combine and push existing skills to their limits. But altering their core traits? Impossible.
[Snow Mountain] was no different.
What Baek A-rin was attempting now was the pinnacle of utilization.
Restrict the AoE of the wide-range [Snow Mountain] to touch each of the four enemies precisely—while sparing me.
If she'd controlled [Bunny Hop] and [Poor Strike] with her body,
[Snow Mountain] demanded 100% mental focus from her.
Which meant my job until her concentration peaked was simple: keep those bastards' feet pinned so she wouldn't break.
"Raaagh!"
I yelled to grab their full attention and charged their rear.
"Die!!"
I swung my dagger with everything I had, stabbing for all I was worth.
'Damn it, why won't it pierce?!'
Like rocks? No.
It felt impossible to injure them—like it wasn't allowed from the start.
Not just tough; it was as if the rules forbade it.
Like an unbreakable wall hardcoded into the game.
"Damn...!"
Whenever I tried to block, they sped up—like their path distance was preset.
No matter how I blocked or struck, they ignored me like I was a ghost.
"Now you're straight-up ignoring me?!"
No helping it now.
Break their legs or drain their mana—I had to do something.
The moment I gripped my sword in reverse for Flash Strike, Baek A-rin's voice rang out.
"Kim Si-woo. Get out of the way!"
"Got it!"
Never had her voice sounded so sweet.
She'd finished prepping, face twisted in a fierce grimace as she bellowed,
"[Snow Mountain]!"
This sensation... it had been a while.
With her shout, the landscape chilled in an instant.
The very air was freezing solid.
Even a single second of contact would be fatal—I bolted clear as fast as I could.
And my instincts were spot on.
One second after activation.
The men's bodies were encased in ice.
Two seconds.
Their joints locked solid, yet they strained grotesquely, creaking to a halt. Their skin had burst and cracked beyond frostbite, exposing muscle and organs in the fissures.
Utterly immobile.
But like an apple compelled to fall by gravity's law, they trembled unnaturally, defying stillness.
"Insane."
Baek A-rin gritted her teeth, locked in concentration.
"I can do this!"
At the three-second mark, she shattered the world's rule.
The bodies that had to move stood perfectly frozen.
"So this is Snow Mountain."
Incredible.
I'd known from the novel's descriptions, but seeing it firsthand was another level.
No wonder its power floored me.
'And she controlled the range like this.'
Her mastery amazed me more.
Honestly, I'd never dreamed she'd pull this off.
Top student or not, what she'd just done transcended standard elite control.
Baek A-rin panted from afar.
She looked my way and smiled slowly.
Then gave me a thumbs-up.
"Nailed it."
"Yeah. You're incredible, Baek A-rin."
She shot me a thumbs-up in return.
Watching her, I was reminded of Panpagia from our first test.
Thumbs-up girl fit her perfectly now.
As I caught my breath from the exhaustion, staring at the ground—
Baek A-rin's scream pierced the air.
"What's wrong?!"
I whipped around. The men had reached even Seluna.
How the hell was this possible?
Those bastards had been frozen solid right before my eyes...!
I glanced back at where they'd been encased.
Damn it.
Their corpses had vanished—like they'd never existed.
I'd only thought I'd stalled them briefly.
Couldn't change a damn thing, after all.
"Fuck..."
No strength left to run.
My legs wouldn't respond.
I barely lifted my head and yelled toward Erina.
"Erina! Take Seluna and Selus and run! You can do it!"
She yelled back, signaling she understood.
"Don't worry! I'll handle it somehow...!"
I had to close the distance to her side.
Even a little help was better than none...
As I dragged my unresponsive feet forward—
I saw the enemies closing in on Seluna and Selus.
Move.
Forget everything—activate [Bunny Hop] first.
Think later...
The instant I moved to hop—
Seluna's red eyes flashed once more with her command.
The men lunging at her froze in place.
Was this her power?
But Seluna was panting hard too.
She'd hit her limit soon.
This might be the last burst of that mysterious force.
That's why I yelled at Erina.
"Run! Take them both and go as far as you can!"
"Got it!"
Erina scooped up Selus on her back and bolted with Seluna.
While the men stood frozen, they put enough distance to shake pursuit.
This should buy them time.
I turned my gaze to the four men.
They showed no interest in me or Baek A-rin.
Not disinterest, exactly—more like they couldn't even perceive us, like the villagers.
Dragging my legs into motion, I staggered over to Baek A-rin.
I supported her as she swayed dizzily and asked,
"You okay, Baek A-rin?"
"Just a bit dizzy. Don't worry. More importantly..."
"I know. I remember the way."
No need for chit-chat. We headed straight for the cathedral where Seluna, Selus, and Erina waited.
We hadn't walked far when we spotted a building thick with moss.
"Finally."
Worried sick about Selus's condition, we hurried inside.
Selus lay there in plain view.
"How's Selus holding up, Erina?"
"I did first aid with what meds we had. But... I'm not sure."
Erina's face was grim.
Around Selus lay ragged, reused bandages, crude low-grade potions, and heaps of herbs.
"Damn it."
Selus sprawled there, her belly soaked in blood.
Seeing her like that, fury at myself boiled over.
"Damn! Damn it! Should've dragged a doctor from the village—even if I had to beat one senseless? Why didn't I think to grab meds? Proper ones could've... No, if I'd just kept a better eye on things!"
I was muttering self-recriminations when
Selus looked up at me and spoke.
"I'm fine. Hehe. I promised, so I won't die, dummy oppa."
She extended her wrist.
Stunned by her cheer, I replied,
"You sure you're okay? Don't push it. Just rest."
"Thought you were always so stoic, oppa. This side's kinda fun."
Selus smiled innocently, blissfully unaware.
Why call me oppa now, of all times?
I looked at Selus.
"Don't worry. I keep my promises."
As I stood to head for the village, Baek A-rin grabbed me.
"Where are you going?"
"The village. Drag back a doctor to check her."
"You know that's pointless."
I cut her off.
"No other choice. I'm going anyway."
The moment I turned for the door—
familiar voices echoed.