Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Ice King's Necklace (2)
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‘All failures.’
Kang Hyun-soo first tested whether the Ice King's Necklace could grow like the Sword of Gluttony or the Guardian Ring.
But the result was a total flop.
‘It’s not absorbing items or skills.’
He even infused it with mana, wondering if it grew by feeding on a player’s mana, and headed out to hunt, thinking maybe it absorbed monster blood or lingering mana.
Yet not a single method worked.
‘Don’t sweat it.’
The Guardian Ring had stayed F-Rank for quite a while too, since he didn’t know how to upgrade it back then.
But he’d eventually figured it out.
‘I’ll find a way to grow the Ice King's Necklace eventually.’
For now, the priority was hunting.
Roooar!
Slash!
Kyaaak!
Crackle!
Was it thanks to the day’s rest?
‘They’re really on fire.’
Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor rampaged like fish in water, tearing through monsters.
“Both of you are bursting with energy.”
“A full day’s rest wiped out all the fatigue.”
“This is the power of rest!”
A faint smile tugged at Kang Hyun-soo’s lips at Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor’s words.
“Then I’ll make sure we take a full day off periodically from now on.”
“Really?”
“You mean it?”
“Yeah.”
“Wooow!”
“I’ll hunt even harder!”
Thrilled by Kang Hyun-soo’s firm answer, Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor dove into monster hunting with renewed vigor.
However.
‘Something like one day every hundred days should do it, right?’
If they knew what he was really thinking.
They wouldn’t be nearly this excited.
Kang Hyun-soo’s group focused on the hunt.
And as the sun began to set, they returned to the city.
The northern chill grew even fiercer at night.
To manage stamina and mana, Kang Hyun-soo’s group hunted by day and rested at night.
“What’s for dinner? Beef steak? Roast pheasant? Grilled fish?”
The Fighting Emperor pondered the evening menu with a serious look.
‘He’s got a hidden appetite.’
For that tiny frame, he ate an insane amount.
Especially meat.
‘Well, he’s half-human.’
Rabbits were herbivores by nature, but they did eat meat occasionally.
‘Better stuff himself now anyway. Won’t get the chance for a while.’
Kang Hyun-soo was gearing up for an expedition.
Over the past three months, Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor’s levels had shot up.
The level gap with the monsters around the small town of Sok had widened considerably.
‘They’re used to it now, so we need to push deeper.’
That was the only way to ramp up their slowing level gains again.
The sole downside?
Giving up tasty meals and cozy beds.
‘Once we stock up on potions, we head out.’
As Kang Hyun-soo mulled this over.
[The Ice King's Necklace has grown to E-Rank by absorbing the natural chill.]
A system message popped up out of nowhere.
‘Huh?’
Kang Hyun-soo’s eyes went wide.
‘Grew by absorbing natural chill? So that’s how you upgrade the Ice King's Necklace?’
It was an absurdly simple solution.
‘Jenna makes her name as the Ice Queen three years from now.’
Kang Hyun-soo had no idea when she’d acquired the Ice King's Necklace.
‘At most three years, at least under one.’
If he had that much time?
‘He could evolve the Ice King's Necklace to EX-Rank.’
All it needed was chill and time.
‘She was lying before my regression.’
When the weak hold a treasure, their life’s at risk.
Jenna, a mere mid-to-low-level player back then, must have stayed hidden on purpose until it hit EX-Rank.
Her long stay in the backwater town of Sok was likely to grow the necklace.
‘Can’t tie myself down here for three years.’
Kang Hyun-soo had plenty of other goals.
No way he could linger in Sok for three years.
‘The trick is the natural chill part.’
Mana was a force of nature, sure.
So wouldn’t chill made from mana count?
‘Let’s test it.’
Back in Sok, Kang Hyun-soo jumped straight into experiments.
He unleashed a barrage of chill-based skills to try upgrading the Ice King's Necklace.
But the outcome?
‘Nope.’
No matter how much chill he poured in, the necklace didn’t budge.
Kang Hyun-soo wasn’t too disappointed.
He’d figured the odds were low from the start.
‘If mana chill worked, Jenna wouldn’t have stuck around a nowhere town like Sok for three years.’
Mana was natural energy, technically.
‘But it’s been artificially shaped.’
Pure natural chill and mana-transformed chill could never be the same.
‘What now?’
Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor had power-leveled hard over the past three months.
Local monsters around Sok weren’t cutting it for levels anymore, so they were prepping for an expedition.
The not-really-a-problem problem?
‘They’re growing way faster than I expected.’
Kang Hyun-soo had originally planned about a year in Sok.
That’s why he’d aimed to snag the Ice King's Necklace within that time.
But Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor were progressing quicker than anticipated.
‘Even on expedition, we’ve only got about three months left in Sok at most.’
He could stay longer, sure.
But hunting efficiency would tank hard.
If he hadn’t found the Ice King's Necklace?
He might’ve toughed it out in Sok despite the drop-off.
But Kang Hyun-soo already had the necklace.
And way ahead of schedule, at that.
‘I figured finding the Ice King's Necklace meant no need to hang around Sok.’
Turns out its growth potential was holding him back.
‘What to do?’
He had to leave Sok in three months.
But the necklace needed one to three years of northern chill minimum.
‘There might be a way.’
An idea sparked in Kang Hyun-soo’s mind.
Whether it’d actually work was another story.
‘Time to test it.’
If the test succeeded?
He could leave Sok and still safely evolve the necklace to EX-Rank.
* * *
“We’re heading out on expedition tomorrow.”
“Expedition?”
“Where to?”
Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor fired off questions, faces full of curiosity.
“Further north, obviously.”
“Further north? Is there a city up there?”
Song Ha-na tilted her head.
“Doubt it. Far as I know, Sok’s the northernmost city around.”
The Fighting Emperor answered Song Ha-na’s question.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, pretty sure.”
Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor’s eyes turned to Kang Hyun-soo.
“Our expedition’s not to a city.”
Question marks popped up over Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor’s heads at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
“Not a city?”
“Then where?”
“Just north. Leveling’s slowing down lately. We need to go higher for tougher monsters and better efficiency.”
Even after his explanation, Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor looked baffled.
Kang Hyun-soo’s group was already hunting at Sok’s absolute northern edge.
There was nowhere higher to go.
“A short expedition?”
A grim possibility crossed Song Ha-na’s mind.
That’s when the Fighting Emperor shot to his feet.
“You’re not saying we camp our way north, are you?”
He’d voiced the exact dread in Song Ha-na’s head.
‘Please no.’
‘Say it ain’t so.’
Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor stared at Kang Hyun-soo with desperate pleas in their eyes.
But.
“You got it.”
Kang Hyun-soo’s curt reply.
Shattered their hopes.
* * *
“This is insane. We’ll freeze to death.”
The Fighting Emperor grumbled, a massive pack bigger than himself strapped to his back, lips pursed.
“You won’t die.”
Kang Hyun-soo didn’t bat an eye.
“You sure it’ll be okay?”
Song Ha-na asked Kang Hyun-soo, worry etched on her face.
“I told you not to worry. You won’t die.”
Despite Kang Hyun-soo’s assurance, Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor’s expressions stayed grim.
They’d barely survived the bone-chilling cold on the way to Sok.
Now they had to go even further north?
Sok, the northernmost outpost, was humanity’s final bastion.
Why else would no city exist beyond it?
The environment was utterly unlivable for humans.
And there.
They’d camp, eat, and sleep for the next three months?
The thought alone was horrifying.
“You both agreed to this. Quit complaining and let’s move.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor dragged their feet with funeral faces.
* * *
Three months later.
Three ragged figures stumbled into the small town of Sok.
“Warm water, hot food, warm water, hot food…”
The woman beggar kept muttering the same thing.
“I’m sleeping for three days straight in a warm bed. Just sleeping, that’s it.”
The beastman beggar repeated his sleep pledge.
“Let’s hit the inn, quick.”
The male beggar led the woman and beastman beggar toward the inn.
“Phew!”
Soaking in hot water, Kang Hyun-soo let out a long sigh.
‘Nearly froze for real.’
Three months camping in the north.
Even for Kang Hyun-soo, who’d weathered every trial before his regression, it had been grueling.
But.
‘The results were solid.’
Song Ha-na and the Fighting Emperor both hit level 400.
Kang Hyun-soo had upgraded Replica Skill to B-Rank.
‘Now it’s 100%.’
The B-Rank Replica Skill had zero penalties.
Every replicated skill performed at full original power the instant it was acquired.
And that wasn’t all.
Mana Heart, Wild Sense, and Wild Fury all reached C-Rank, while Stat Fix and the Guardian Ring hit D-Rank.
The Ice King's Necklace had climbed to D-Rank in that short span too.
The only letdowns?
‘Skill Enhancement and One-Man Army are stuck.’
Not surprising, really.
Both had brutally long cooldowns.
‘Less than a year in, though.’
In that brief time, Kang Hyun-soo had achieved gains beyond compare with his pre-regression self.
But.
‘I can’t settle for this.’
For revenge.
To win the war against the demon army.
Kang Hyun-soo needed to grow stronger still.
* * *
Kang Hyun-soo’s group left Sok for Gula, the capital of the Muran Kingdom.
The Fighting Emperor had hit level 400, qualifying him for the 301-400 Level Martial Tournament.
‘Good thing he hit 400 before we left.’
Kang Hyun-soo had planned to leave Sok after three months no matter what, heading straight to Gula.
The tournament, held four times a year, was right around the corner.
‘We leave Muran after the tournament.’
Kang Hyun-soo had accomplished every goal in Muran.
He’d snagged Yukimura’s unique skill Stat Fix, recruited the Fighting Emperor, and secured the Ice King's Necklace.
No reason to stay longer.
‘But a promise is a promise.’
He’d pledged the Fighting Emperor a shot at the tournament.
Couldn’t break that.
‘Don’t want to miss out on the payout either.’
If the Fighting Emperor won?
Kang Hyun-soo stood to make a fortune.
‘How’s the Ice King's Necklace holding up?’
Kang Hyun-soo activated Battalion Commander’s Gaze, one of the skills gained from class-changing to One-Man Army.
He shared vision with his summons buried deep in the northern snowdrifts.
‘Looking good.’
Kang Hyun-soo gazed at the Ice King's Necklace clutched in one summon’s hand and broke into a satisfied smile.