Quirks of the Triple Heads
Though I hadn't realized it during our spars, Snow could freely expand or shrink her body at will.
From her standard size of about 4 or 5 meters to a colossal form even larger than mine.
She could even reduce herself to Suli's size on occasion, though she didn't do it often.
At that size, Suli would pester her endlessly to play.
I'd thought someday I'd like to see it.
Snow promised to show me when the chance arose.
She averted her gaze slightly, hiding her face with her tail—she seemed quite embarrassed.
Anyway, the reason I'm bringing this up now is that I'd love to learn it myself if possible.
According to Snow, it was a form of magic, and unlike other things, I figured magic was something I could definitely master.
Snow readily agreed.
On top of that, we decided to study the healing magic I'd wanted to learn before as well.
Maybe I should start calling her Master?
I got smacked by her tail.
It didn't hurt much, but it had a different, fluffy softness from Suli's paw attacks.
I could get addicted to this.
Lefty and Righty were ultimately auxiliary personalities derived from my own, but their temperaments were worlds apart from mine.
First, Lefty.
This one was incredibly fierce and picky.
Always brimming with anger, you could say. He especially boasted a savage disposition.
He didn't discriminate, often unleashing that ferocity even on me—his very self.
In fact, since we were always together, I experienced his temper the most.
Lefty was brutally aggressive regardless of time, place, or target, but even he had exceptions: Suli and Snow.
Suli made sense, but Snow was a bit surprising.
Actually, Lefty hadn't held back with Snow from the start.
He'd bared his fangs at her without mercy, but after several spars with her, he'd become docile.
Now, he involuntarily bowed his head whenever he saw her.
He'd grown remarkably humble.
It was the classic case of the strong bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Though as a side effect, he took out more hysterics on me.
Still, since we were one body whether we liked it or not, I just accepted it.
The irritation he vented on me wasn't real hatred—it was more like simple affection. What they call a tsundere.
No? You're just embarrassed.
Ah, fine, I get it—don't bite!
That hurts!
We're one body—you'll feel it too! Why keep biting?
Righty woke up because of you!
Agh, my bad! Stop it!
That's pretty much how we got along great.
Next up after Lefty was Righty.
This one had an equally peculiar personality—he was extremely my-pace.
He was usually asleep, and even when awake, he always looked lazily lethargic.
His constant refrain: I'm hungry.
And his appetite was legendary.
Whenever we ate something, he devoured it all.
So neither I nor Lefty even needed to swallow with our mouths.
Even with Gluttony storing ample energy, he had no sense of moderation.
At least he was milder than Lefty, and aside from his eating habits, he caused no real trouble.
He ignored Suli as a given and Snow entirely, occasionally licking his chops at Tosun—that aside, he was basically quiet.
Though our auxiliary personalities had their quirks, they delivered when it counted.
Fierce Lefty and gluttonous Righty alike.
In combat or hunts, they showed sharp, decisive prowess.
These were the moments I truly felt they were extensions of me.
Especially in spars with Snow, their coordination grew more refined by the day.
Unlike the first day when they moved independently, now they steadily read each other's intentions and cooperated seamlessly.
Since we were all me, we didn't need verbal exchanges to know what to do.
They might be willful, but they were my most reliable partners—trustworthy beyond anyone else.
After all, if I couldn't trust myself, who could I trust?
It was one afternoon after a spar with Snow.
Under a clearer sky than usual, I lounged in the sunlight, watching Suli and Tosun in what was ostensibly a spar but really just one-sided bullying.
Snow, leaning against my body like Suli, spoke quietly.
[It's a relief to see them growing steadily.]
[Yeah. Definitely. Her growth spurt lately has been intense.]
As she said, Suli's recent growth was a bit frightening.
Was she truly inheriting her mother's talents so faithfully?
With just a bit of coaching from Snow or me, she absorbed it immediately and made it her own.
Lucky for her that Tosun was a rank higher; against a same-rank monster, she wouldn't stand a chance.
And lately, even Tosun was starting to struggle visibly—maybe her breakthrough to E-rank wasn't far off.
By then, will telepathic conversation be possible?
I could understand Suli's words well enough now, but proper telepathy would be nice.
Above all, I wanted to hear her call me Daddy in her own voice.
[Still, I'm a little worried. A lady should have some refined grace. She's too boisterous... Maybe I should give her some lessons?]
[...A lady? Is Suli even a girl?]
[Hm? You didn't know?]
Her eyes chided me as if to say how could you not know, and I averted my gaze.
Lefty and Righty seemed equally clueless, dodging looks with me.
Well, Righty was still placidly staring at Suli.
[...I just didn't care if Suli was a boy or girl. She's Suli, that's all.]
[Hm. Your silver tongue is eel-like.]
[...I am a real eel.]
Snow chuckled softly.
Her tail swished lightly—she didn't seem upset at all.
Good.
After sparring with her, I'd learned bone-deep how terrifying she could be, so I'd been watching her moods more lately.
A sudden flash of her during a spar made me shudder. Mess up, and there'd be no bones left.
[...Mind if I ask something I'm curious about?]
[What is it? I'll answer anything I know.]
To shake off the intrusive thought, I quickly changed the subject.
[Have you ever seen humans?]
[Hmm? Why bring that up out of nowhere?]
[No reason. Just curious.]
Snow glanced at me.
Her clear blue eyes pierced through me once, but I had nothing to hide.
I really was just curious.
She was the 70th floor boss here—maybe she'd seen Seong Jae-myeong and his expedition from 10 years ago, who vanished.
Arde, who lived on the 69th floor, had confirmed spotting them.
Even as an area boss then, Arde didn't pick fights unless provoked, so he'd let the large group pass quietly.
No doubt, even Seong Jae-myeong's team couldn't have reached the 70th against Arde.
[Hmm... Humans. I haven't seen any recently.]
[But you have before?]
[I don't recall the exact time, but yes, long ago. Long before I became ruler of these lands.]
[...What happened to them?]
[Quite a few came, but most left. Fewer than 50 stayed, as I recall. One was exceptionally strong, so I kept a close watch.]
[And the ones who stayed?]
[I don't know details, but they defeated the land's ruler then and went below. That's all I know. Survival was my priority back then.]
I nodded slowly to Snow's tale.
No clues here made sense if they'd long since descended further.
Apparently, Seong Jae-myeong's group had pushed past the 70th floor deeper down.
How far had they gone?
I wondered.
[Anyone else who might know about them?]
[Hmm... It's rare for you to care, Nix. You're usually indifferent unless it's about Suli.]
[...It's not just Suli. I'm interested in you too.]
[That's pleasing to hear.]
Snow smiled lightly.
[As for that... Sadly, few know about those days. My rival might have, but...]
—That rival already fell to my hand...
I nodded silently at Snow, who trailed off apologetically.
A shame, but not something to blame her for.
[No other long-lived ones besides your rival? There must be some ancient monsters.]
[Few live long by my standards. Below my domain, it's lands of endless slaughter—daily struggle. No room for the aged.]
[...I see. That's a pity.]
Snow spoke quietly as I clicked my tongue.
[...I'm sorry I couldn't help.]
[No, it's fine. Just a mild curiosity—nothing major.]
[...Tending to her husband's outer affairs is a wife's duty too... I'm still lacking.]
I caught Snow's faint mutter but couldn't make it out.
Puzzled, I looked at her, and she shook her head lightly.
[More importantly, humans... Nix, are you that interested in them?]
[...Well, I saw plenty on the way here. None here, so I asked.]
I kept to myself that it stemmed from my human origins.
[I see. You came from above... What was your homeland like?]
[Cozy, unlike here. I scraped by back then, but compared to now, it was paradise.]
[Oh? Intriguing. Tell me more?]
[Full of blue forests and swamps. Compared to this frozen waste, it's bountiful. Clear weather too.]
[Blue forests... I'd love to see them.]
[Someday, taking Suli wouldn't be bad. Fewer threats than here.]
Snow nodded eagerly at my offhand remark.
I could tell she was set on heading upward someday.
SS-rank and SA-rank monsters popping up in the Forest Zone out of nowhere... Chaos would ensue.
Maybe I'd said something absurd.
But that was humans' problem, not mine.
[What about other places? Beyond your home—the zones you passed through?]
[Hmm... Mine was the Forest Zone, then the Desert Zone. That one was...]
That afternoon, I indulged Snow's girl-like barrage of questions.
Her rare delight made me inexplicably happy too.
Later, Suli and Tosun joined after their "spar" (playtime), demanding more stories.
It was a profoundly peaceful day.