Chapter 307
Chapter 307
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 308
Chapter Title: The End of Eternal Winter
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Early in the morning.
After spending the night in the cave, I opened my eyes. At the same time, a message appeared before me.
[Your body has endured the extreme cold!]
[The adaptive trait 'Cold Resistance (F)' has increased in rank!]
['Cold Resistance' has risen to rank (D)!]
[You have achieved the 'Yeti Experience' accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 3,000 points as a reward.]
While I was asleep, my Cold Resistance rank had gone up, and I'd earned an accomplishment.
No wonder the inside of my sleeping bag felt warmer than yesterday—it was because of the rank increase.
I cleared away the messages and wriggled around in the warm sleeping bag for a bit before picking up the Smart Student Notebook I'd left by my head.
[7:23 AM]
Time to get up.
"Uuuum..."
I barely crawled out of the sleeping bag and sat up. Staring blankly at the tent entrance, I heard rustling from beside me.
I turned my head. To my right, Choi Seo-yoon and Yoon Ha-young were sleeping soundly in their sleeping bags. Their faces were covered by their hair, so I couldn't see their expressions.
"Morning. Time to wake up."
No response.
"Hey. Wake up."
Even when I raised my voice, nothing.
I conjured a magic orb above my hand and cranked up its brightness to the max. Only then did they start stirring, squinting against the intense light.
"It's morning. You need to get up, right?"
"...Uuum. Just three hours."
Yoon Ha-young mumbled in her sleep.
Three hours? Not even three minutes.
In the end, Choi Seo-yoon woke up first.
She glanced at me with bleary eyes, then dropped her head and ran a limp hand through her hair.
"What time is it?"
"12 PM. You're late."
...
Choi Seo-yoon's head snapped up in surprise.
Then she shook Yoon Ha-young beside her.
"Sunbae, wake up! We're late!"
"Three more minutes..."
"It's 12, I said?"
Watching them, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Get ready."
With that, I headed out of the tent to prepare breakfast.
A moment later, I heard a voice from behind: "Ah, what? It's 7...". I ignored it.
I stretched grandly and turned my gaze outside the cave.
The blizzard that had raged like a storm until nightfall had mostly calmed.
"Nice weather."
I pulled the Compass of Bonds from my pocket.
To locate our missing companions.
"You just think of their name, right?"
I thought of Lee Seo-jun. The compass needle swung toward the north.
"Ooh. Cool."
Next, Shin Young-jun.
But the needle didn't budge.
What's this? Then I realized why.
"They're together."
Next up, Yoo Ah-ra.
This time, the needle moved.
In the same direction as the cave entrance.
Looks like Yoo Ah-ra had spent the night alone.
I felt a bit worried—she must've been lonely—but she's the type who handles herself fine solo.
Just then, I sensed a small presence from the cave entrance.
I looked up toward the pure white horizon beyond.
A figure was approaching us.
Black hair fluttering alone in the flurries, eyes that looked somehow weary.
A face I knew well.
"Yoo Ah-ra?"
Yoo Ah-ra entered the cave and said quietly.
"...Hi."
"Uh... did you seriously not sleep at all?"
Instead of answering, Yoo Ah-ra nodded.
It had been this much time since entering the Winter Stage.
In that span, we'd gone through a lot.
First, we'd successfully reunited with Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-jun's group using the [Compass of Bonds].
They'd suffered quite a bit in the harsh environment—their conditions weren't great.
Then, while searching for clues about the Winter Stage's final boss, the 'Ice Witch,' we'd discovered the hidden NPC village, 'Yeti Village.'
I'd pretended it was a lucky find, but it was actually part of my plan—I knew about the mini-stage from the original story.
[You have completed the mini-stage 'The Yeti's Request'!]
[Thanks to your help, the yetis have stockpiled food.]
[As a reward, you receive 70 crystal shards, and the Yeti Shop unlocks!]
After conquering the mini-stage, I bought a few items from the Yeti Shop.
Mostly top-grade material items like [Yeti Leather (A)] or [Snow Mountain Wood Knot (B)].
Creatures of the snowfields had evolved for survival, so their materials were inherently top-tier.
I'd hand these materials to Yang Tae-min for my own use later.
And on the third day.
[You have discovered all clues about the 'Ice Witch'!]
[Tower of Four Seasons, 19th Floor 6th Stage: 'The Conclusion of Eternal Winter' begins.]
After conquering several stages and gathering clues, we'd reached the final one.
"Whew. Finally, the end."
"Kids, you all did great. Let's push to the finish."
"Okay."
According to the clues so far, the Ice Witch would appear in this snowfield ten minutes from now—right where we stood.
Because that's when the yetis offered sacrifices to appease her wrath.
"You all remember her attack patterns, right?"
Everyone nodded at my words.
"Blizzard and illusion magic."
"Think of her as an ice-attribute support mage."
The Ice Witch was a hybrid monster combining the tricky 'humanoid' and 'ghost' types.
As her name suggested, she wielded ice magic and used blizzards for illusions too.
Of course, Lee Seo-jun and I had Silver Moon Reversal, so illusions weren't a worry for us.
But the others didn't, so we had to be extra careful there.
Time passed.
Whiiing—
A fierce blizzard began to blow.
A gale strong enough to sweep us away hit, and a massive whirlwind formed in front of us.
We all drew on our magic power simultaneously.
[I thought you were live young sacrifices, but insolent fools have come instead!]
A sharp voice echoed like a reverberation.
As the whirlwind vanished, a massive white-haired woman revealed her form.
[You have encountered the 'Ice Witch Reina'!]
"A ghost?"
The Ice Witch's body was semi-transparent.
Her eyes glowed pure white, and her white robes fluttered.
The classic 'ghost' look.
"Get ready!"
We immediately unleashed our pre-cast spells at her.
Neutral orbs, fire orbs, ice spears, ice arrows.
As the four-pronged barrage of various elements shot out, her form vanished amid the fierce blizzard.
[As if!]
Whiiing!
The snowfield we stood on froze solid in an instant, sharp spikes rising up.
I jumped quickly to dodge the spikes. One tip grazed my shoe sole, but no damage.
Then I fired another orb toward the sensed magic position.
Pang!
The magic orb shot at the whirlwind.
Kwaaaang!
[Krgh!]
Fortunately, my attack hit.
Not major damage, but her groan meant it wasn't wasted.
The witch hidden in the whirlwind began reappearing.
Seeing it, Lee Seo-jun wrapped his body in light magic and shot forward like a bullet.
Paat!
He swung the Little Hundred Thousand Blades wide.
Whoosh!
[Kaaaak!]
Her shoulder was slashed, her scream echoing loudly around us.
Our first solid hit. Shin Young-jun followed, charging and thrusting his spear at her.
Timing on her pained moment made it another effective strike.
[...Urgh! Insolent fools!]
Woooong!
Light burst from the Ice Witch's eyes. She swung one arm wide. The ground shook, and a massive blizzard raged.
Whiiing!
[Sleep!]
The hidden magic circle activated. Everyone's movements froze.
Even I felt a momentary dizziness. Then, whoosh! Darkness swallowed me amid the sound.
The surroundings changed. Pitch black, nothing visible.
It felt like all my senses were paralyzed.
Instinct told me: I'd fallen for the Ice Witch's illusion.
I'd experienced this before, so no panic.
[Using effect: 'Illusion Severance'.]
Fwaaak!
The darkness vanished, revealing the white snowfield again.
[How...?]
The Ice Witch stared at me in shock.
Lee Seo-jun, eyes closed as if asleep, snapped his open—freed from the illusion too.
[You're no ordinary fools...!]
The Ice Witch conjured magic again. Air above her head cracked with frost, forming ten massive ice pillars.
Each brimmed with immense magic power.
I turned to Lee Seo-jun and shouted.
"Buy me some time!"
"...Got it!"
With that, I focused my magic and placed my hand on the floor with the illusion magic circle.
Lee Seo-jun nodded at my action, assumed a stance. Intense light magic compressed onto his sword.
The ice pillars fell heavily toward us.
Lee Seo-jun, feet planted, gathered magic at his sword tip and swung at empty air.
Paaak—
A ferocious gust erupted, a crescent-shaped wave of light magic slicing toward the pillars.
The wave cleaved through colliding pillars and pressed on.
[At that age, how does she have such power...?]
The Ice Witch panicked. I was a bit surprised too by Lee Seo-jun's attack.
She was already growing faster than in the original, and she'd leveled up again in just weeks.
Real monster.
...But no time to admire.
Using Outsider's benefits, I swiftly dispelled the illusion formula.
It was simple, so under three seconds to fully dismantle the circle.
"Uh?"
"Huh? What?"
The recovered party looked around dazedly.
"Everyone, snap out of it."
At my words, they refocused. Spotting the witch, they resumed battle prep.
The witch stared at me incredulously.
[...Another monster, huh.]
That cleared her biggest threat: the illusions.
I drew on magic power and compressed orbs.
Momentum had shifted to us.
[Krerrgh...]
The Little Hundred Thousand Blades, infused with intense light magic, pierced the Ice Witch's heart.
Light burst from the wound, cracks spiderwebbing her body like shattered glass.
And then.
Whoosh!
Space warped, crumpling her form grotesquely. It warped repeatedly until she compressed into a tiny point.
Time seemed to stop; the world fell silent.
Woooong...
The magic aura grew stronger.
The point exploded massively.
Kwaaaaang—!
[The 'Ice Witch Reina' has been defeated.]
[Tower of Four Seasons 19th Floor 6th Stage: 'The Conclusion of Eternal Winter' has been cleared.]
[The Ice Witch's curse lifts, ending this land's eternal winter.]
The roughly 20-minute battle with the Ice Witch was over.
Her point-explosion swept magic across the area.
Warm sunlight pierced the clouds, and the white snow blanketing the world evaporated with the magic.
Swaaaa.
The white landscape gradually turned green.
Vast meadows. Colorful flowers blooming amid them.
The long winter ended; spring arrived.
[Congratulations! You have successfully cleared the Tower of Four Seasons 19th Floor!]
[You have achieved the 'Tower of Four Seasons 18th & 19th Floor Clear' accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 5,000 points as a reward.]
"...It's finally over?"
"Seems like it."
We all stared blankly at the spring scenery.
Though it was just the tower's world, not reality, seeing a new season dawn stirred something in our chests.
"You all did great."
"You too, sunbae-nim!"
We exchanged words of encouragement.
"Sun-woo, good work."
Lee Seo-jun approached me. I chuckled.
"You too."
"Worked hard at the end, but not a bad vacation. Memories like these are the best."
Choi Seo-yoon chimed in.
"Yeah, I'll never forget this."
"Me too."
Yoon Ha-young nodded with a smile.
Then Shin Young-jun looked around and said.
"Hmm. But where's the tower clear reward...?"
That was when.
Clap clap clap!
Applause came from behind.
[Wah! Congratulations, everyone!]
We whipped around at the familiar voice.
"Black?"
Black, who'd vanished after we entered winter, grinned crescent-eyed, clapping.
Long time no see, but the mood wasn't exactly welcoming.
"Hey. Where've you been till now?"
[Sorry~ Like I said before, I had business~]
Black circled us gleefully. Shin Young-jun crossed his arms.
"So, when do we get the final reward?"
[Ah, about that. My main body was so moved by your exploits that they want to give it to you in person~ Okay? ]