Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Arctic Ice Fishing Debacle
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[Part 2 Episode 46]
Seol Do-yun checked the display on the mana field detection device as he walked forward.
Right now, he was investigating suspicious spots in search of the entrance to the error processing zone.
The weather was frigid, so every breath he exhaled turned into a puff of steam.
[Fucking hilarious, that psycho lololol Didn't he go to the Arctic? Lmaoooo built a whole base there lololol]
[Crazy rich bored dude flexing in the Arctic thanks to you lolololol]
[Even his god-level bullshit is artistic af]
[My self-esteem just went up somehow! Thanks Do-yun!]
‘They’re all hyped up.’
Seol Do-yun narrowed his eyes as he read the KakaoTalk messages from Lee Sae-byeok.
He should’ve dragged her along to this place.
The sudden Arctic trip had been objectively random as hell. That’s why there were cocky assholes mocking him.
To flip those sneers, he’d chosen someone prepping for Korean college entrance exams in the Arctic—namely, Lee Sae-byeok—but he’d stuck to a half-assed persuasive approach and failed to bring her.
As a result, he had to endure the smug Lee Sae-byeok as expected.
[I’m scouting spots to dump you in right now](!)
Of all times, the satellite internet signal cut out just as he hit send.
His fingertips, red and numb from the cold, barely moved, so he didn’t bother retrying.
‘So childish.’
Being around Lee Sae-byeok made him feel dumber.
Honestly, he was just playing along like he was humoring a kid. If he didn’t bite on her baseless taunts, she’d end up embarrassed.
Seol Do-yun pocketed his phone, slipped on the gloves tied to his waist, and stopped where the mana field was densest.
He kicked away the snow on the ground and pulled out a device to safely crack the ice.
Whirrr!
The device spun, neatly slicing a circle out of the ice.
Seol Do-yun sat down nearby, baited his hook, and dropped the line through the hole.
They said high-mana density areas sometimes yielded mutated animals, and he wanted to verify that.
Tracking where those mutated creatures headed should reveal the entrance.
He’d used a similar method in Low Aryan to find the entrance to Montgelhell, so if the error processing zone had the same structure, this approach should work.
Seol Do-yun pulled a folding chair from his inventory and settled in front of the ice hole, patiently waiting for a bite.
Guuuuuum!
Suddenly, the water in the hole rippled and vibrated. Sensing something off, Seol Do-yun stared at the waves.
Crack-crack-crackle!
The ice beneath him split open, followed by a massive explosion of sound as it shattered.
Pababak!
At the same time, a blue-faced guy nearby shot high into the air. It was a familiar face with ash-brown hair.
“Fuck, ah—cough! Heugh!”
The kid yelled a string of curses, flailing his limbs before spotting the ground.
“Hey, fuck—who the hell ice fishes here!!!!! Cough!”
Seol Do-yun paled as Dun plummeted toward him.
Crack, boom!
Another deafening crack, and the ice where Dun landed shattered. Seol Do-yun, scrambling to escape, saw the ice under his own feet crumble too.
He plunged into the icy water as a result. A huge wave followed, slamming over him.
“Fuck, Lee Sae-byeok!!! Cough!”
“Cough, heugh!! Shit, cough!”
He spat out a bit of water, but the moment he landed, the ice broke again, forcing him to gulp down more.
Panicked, Dun thrashed to swim out. But he couldn’t control his strength, shattering every ice chunk he grabbed.
Seol Do-yun, trying to escape alongside him, got stuck too.
“Stay calm and hold still!!”
Seol Do-yun’s voice rang out.
Dun reached toward the sound with his hands and feet.
Unable to gauge his power, he slammed hard into Seol Do-yun’s body. A wave crashed over their heads.
“Cough, Seol Do-yun, cough! Where are you!!”
Dun gripped the nearest object (Seol Do-yun’s head) to lift his own head above water and breathe.
He’d teleported straight into deep ocean with his world travel skill, and escaping had made him swallow way too much water.
Glug.
Seol Do-yun, caught off-guard and submerged, gulped down icy water too.
Seol Do-yun twisted to surface and breathe, using Dun’s head as leverage to push back up.
“Cough cough!”
But just as he caught his breath, Dun wrapped his arms around Seol Do-yun’s head and yanked him under again. Seol Do-yun retaliated, dunking Dun in the split second.
“Gah, cough! Hey, relax your body!!!”
Seol Do-yun yelled once he surfaced, but it was lost on Dun gulping water.
Soon Dun’s hand shot up, grabbed Seol Do-yun’s head, and shoved it down.
“Hey, cough! Gack! Relax your body!!!”
This shout didn’t reach Seol Do-yun, submerged once more.
After ages of this desperate struggle for air, they finally realized words weren’t getting through.
Luckily, their timing synced—when Dun relaxed to float, Seol Do-yun did too.
Regaining some composure, Dun let his body bob to the surface, flipped over, and breathed.
“Cough! Cough!”
Spitting water, he lay flat to avoid breaking more ice and crawled inchworm-style toward the edge to climb out.
“Heugh, cough, cough!”
Out at last, Dun panted hard. His heart pounded like mad.
He shook out his frozen, spiky hair and turned to find Seol Do-yun.
“Seol Do-yun?”
He thought they’d escaped together, but no sign. Dun eyed the massive hole he’d smashed.
The fur clothes Seol Do-yun had worn floated on the surface, but their owner was gone.
“Huh?”
Bubbles rose from below. Then it hit him—Seol Do-yun was weak to cold.
Sure, Dun’s high level meant it was just chilly for him, but Seol Do-yun couldn’t keep swimming forever.
‘Must’ve frozen solid and couldn’t get out. Probably drowned by now?’
Dun pulled swimming goggles Tia-rin made from his inventory, took a deep breath filling his lungs with icy air, and dove back in.
* * *
The first thing Seol Do-yun saw upon opening his eyes was Dun’s face.
“Oh.”
Confirming Seol Do-yun was awake, Dun wiped his mouth, scooped a handful of snow, shoved it in to rinse, gargled with the meltwater, and spat on the ground.
“…….”
Seol Do-yun stared blankly at Dun, then down at his clothes.
His soaked, frozen outfit lay in a pile nearby, and he was wearing lace-trimmed flannel pajamas.
They were excellent for heat retention but too small, squeezing him tight.
“…….”
His brain was still frozen; no thoughts. Dun approached the spacing-out Seol Do-yun and grabbed his hand.
“Feel anything?”
Everything happening was so out-of-left-field that Seol Do-yun short-circuited briefly before shaking his head belatedly.
Luckily, as a “Bachinum” type, no permanent damage—just temporary numbness from the cold.
Dun carefully scooped up the stiff Seol Do-yun and headed to a snowy spot perfect for an igloo.
Gazing at Seol Do-yun meekly nestled in the pajama dress, Dun’s lips twitched.
“Pfft. Pfbt.”
“…….”
Seol Do-yun glared murderously, aura thick with killing intent.
“No, Do-yun. It’s just…… kkh. Pfft. Ah. I mean, of all the clothes in my inventory, that was the warmest. Tia-rin enchanted it with insulation for cold zones. Ah, no choice, really. You think I wanted to see you in that ridiculous…… pffft! Pfhaha…… ahem!”
“…….”
Dun, who’d been turning away to laugh, caught Seol Do-yun’s icy stare, coughed awkwardly, and spoke.
“……It’s pretty warm, right?”
“…….”
At the igloo site, Dun set the still-zoned-out Seol Do-yun down and dug into a snowdrift.
He swiftly carved out a massive igloo, hoisted Seol Do-yun again, and carried him inside.
Inside the huge igloo, Dun lit a small campfire and placed Seol Do-yun in front of it.
“Gave you warm clothes, built an igloo, started a fire—oh, woe is me.”
Since it all stemmed from his strength control fail, Dun started fishing for thanks while gauging Seol Do-yun’s mood.
“……Dun.”
With his body thawing a bit, Seol Do-yun spoke softly.
“Yeah, what.”
“Can I kill you.”
Dun’s face lit with mock shock, then he replied in utter sarcasm.
“Ah……. Uh……. Sorry, no can do……. Still got stuff I wanna do, stuff I gotta do……. Yeah……. Anyway, sorry…….”
“…….”
Seol Do-yun wanted to grab his collar, but his hands were too frozen.
Sitting still by the fire to thaw, heat finally coursed through him.
[Movement possible now floor.]
With the broken notification, his body started responding.
Seol Do-yun pulled brushing tools from his inventory, toothpaste on toothbrush, and started brushing.
His cold, piercing gaze stayed fixed on Dun.
“Do-yun, you’re not mad, right?”
“It was an unavoidable accident. Why would I be mad.”
Seol Do-yun replied sweetly, veins bulging on his forehead from holding back irritation.
He dragged his frozen clothes toward the fire.
Once thawed, he wrung them out fiercely—tendons popping on his arms—and hung them to dry.
When dry enough to wear, Seol Do-yun stripped off Dun’s gifted outfit and changed back.
“……Must be nice not feeling the cold much.”
Dun, now in a simple tank top and pants, received the neatly folded pajama dress back. Seol Do-yun reached for the fire again.
“More than that, you came here curious about this world’s error processing zone?”
Shaking off the chaos, Seol Do-yun asked in a calm tone as Dun unrolled a huge sleeping bag.
“Yep. Didn’t you say the entrance was around the Arctic?”
Dun glanced out at the pitch-black night sky. The sun had set, stars filling the heavens.
“Let’s crash hard tonight and talk tomorrow. I moved a ton; I’m beat and sleepy.”
Dun wriggled into the massive sleeping bag, nuzzled the nice scent, and closed his eyes.
Seol Do-yun watched him blankly for a moment.