Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Snow Yeti (2)
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2.
One of the biggest reasons Mystic Gates had captured the spotlight was the appearance of rare monsters.
“Beyond the Mystic Gate, rare breeds that are next to impossible to spot—ones that show up only once every few decades—appear left and right.”
Adventurers went crazy over that fact.
But the moment they faced it head-on, things changed.
“That’s what makes it hell.”
Rare. Hard to see. It meant all the experience adventurers had piled up over the years was worthless.
The Snow Yeti was exactly that.
“You can’t even tell when that massive thing is moving.”
A nightmare you could only encounter in a frozen hell where moving was a struggle, where even breathing and holding on took everything you had.
Kraaaah!
Right now, that Snow Yeti was unleashing a guttural roar.
The reason for the roar was a trap.
Human corpses the Snow Yeti loved, spears and blades hidden in the snow around the pile. The roar came from stepping on them.
Kraaaah!
That made the Snow Yeti’s roar all the more enormous.
No monster could hold back its fury after tasting blood when it was just about to chow down on something delicious.
Kraaaah!
Spewing rage, the Snow Yeti yanked out the spear and blade piercing through its sole.
“My God.”
Dibo, watching the scene from a safe distance, stuck out his tongue in disbelief.
He’d seen it.
“No, a spear went clean through its foot, and it heals that fast? How does that even make sense?”
The Snow Yeti dismissed a wound that would’ve been fatal to any normal monster as a mere scratch. Its terrifying regenerative power.
“It feels the pain just fine. That makes it even more of a headache.”
Kiri didn’t miss the fact that the Snow Yeti wasn’t numb to pain.
It was a crucial detail.
Monsters numb to pain—like slimes or mushrooms—were actually easier to handle.
They didn’t change no matter how much damage they took.
But monsters that felt pain? They flew into a rage every time, going berserk.
If a beast like the Snow Yeti started rampaging, nothing could be worse.
The problem was that berserking usually came at the cost of wounds, but this thing was different.
Clumsy attacks would just pile up its fury.
“Hold that thing off for three minutes, huh.”
And it was Dibo, Kiri, and Ralph who had to deliver those clumsy attacks.
It was insane.
Just thinking about it was enough to make their minds blank.
Yet none of them backed down.
It wasn’t because they lacked fear. No adventurer in the world was free from it.
“Well, we’ve just gotta trust the boss.”
They simply had the faith to push through the fear.
“The second the boss lands his first strike, we move.”
3.
El Pam’s plan was simple.
“Poison.”
Against a Snow Yeti impervious to physical and magical attacks, he’d prepared poison as his trump card.
“But Poison Breath or Poison Mist won’t faze it easily.”
Using them straight-up would be pointless.
“So we turn it into venom, coat Cold Beam shards, and drive them into the Snow Yeti’s body.”
Like injecting it straight into the bloodstream with a syringe.
That was why El Pam had pulled out his Cold Beam spell.
Of course, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
The biggest hurdle was making the venom.
Poison Breath and Poison Mist created toxic gas, as the names implied.
Liquid form?
But El Pam wasn’t worried. Surprisingly.
‘Shape an ice jar and trap Poison Breath gas inside.’
Impossible in a normal field, but in this freezing wasteland blanketed in snow? He had a way.
‘Then mix in Cold Eye blood.’
Combine the gas with the cold, sticky blood of a Cold Eye in that frozen container.
Normally, the resulting poison wouldn’t amount to much.
‘But I’ve done this over a hundred times.’
Which was why it took all day to brew the venom.
El Pam had come prepared with it before.
This time was different, though.
‘Hydra’s fang changes everything.’
The unique-grade item from Nir the venom snake: Hydra’s fang.
It would double—no, more than double—the power of his poison magic.
“Poison Breath.”
That didn’t mean El Pam half-assed it.
“Poison Breath.”
Every time the cooldown ended, he cast Poison Breath again, brewing stronger venom.
After countless repetitions, he peered into the ice jar he’d crafted.
There it was.
‘Plenty.’
Sticky liquid gleaming dark green.
Now he just had to slather it on the Cold Beams and jam them into the Snow Yeti.
Of course, El Pam knew better.
‘Stabbing them in like this won’t cut it.’
4.
“Just slathering poison on a Cold Beam and stabbing it in won’t do the trick.”
Dibo and Kiri didn’t argue with Ralph’s words.
Instead, they nodded.
They knew it too.
“Its hide and flesh are insanely thick. Even if we stab, it’ll just smear the surface.”
No matter how potent the poison, scratching the surface wouldn’t deliver the punch they needed.
“And its regen is off the charts.”
Piercing the skin in the first place was no joke.
“Even exploiting a wound won’t be easy.”
Any wound would heal in no time.
Zeroing in on one spot wasn’t a winning strategy either.
That was when it happened.
Piiik!
A single whistle blast.
The signal.
“It’s coming.”
Their boss, El Pam, firing the first shot.
At the signal, the three snapped into combat stance and charged the Snow Yeti, who was gorging itself on the corpses in a frenzy.
‘Huh?’
And they saw it.
“One shot?”
A single shard of razor-sharp ice hurtling toward the Snow Yeti.
Everyone had their doubts.
Like they’d discussed, a single hit wouldn’t accomplish squat.
‘What the hell is this?’
It was only natural to wonder.
“Whatever it is, we move when the attack lands.”
But they couldn’t afford to dwell on it.
“As ordered.”
Their leader, El Pam, had made it clear.
The instant the first attack hit, they were to swarm the Snow Yeti.
Taunt it.
Get it raging and thrashing so the poison coursed through its veins with the rampage.
“Keep it from bolting.”
Most importantly, they had to stop it from running. If it decided to book it for real, the fight could spiral into total chaos beyond prediction.
Dibo was ready to obey.
‘Boss’s orders are absolute.’
Kiri felt the same.
‘El Pam. Following him is the way to avenge my comrades.’
She was prepared to do whatever it took to sever the black hand hanging over the Cygnus Knights.
Truth be told, that was why they were worried.
“Ralph.”
Ralph didn’t share their conviction.
“You good?”
At Dibo’s doubtful question, Ralph tilted his head.
“Don’t we have to? We won’t get paid unless we get out.”
Those ridiculous words convinced Dibo and Kiri instead.
‘A money-grubber like him saying that? He’s solid.’
No need to doubt Ralph.
With their resolve confirmed, the three focused every sense on the Snow Yeti.
And they saw it.
Puk!
The Cold Beam shard slamming straight into the Snow Yeti’s left chest—right between the ribs.
‘Not deep...’
Exactly as expected.
Puk!
‘Huh?’
But the second sound that followed left them all dumbfounded.
They’d clearly seen one shard.
So how was there a second impact?
It defied explanation.
Except El Pam had fired two Cold Beam shards, linked as one by his telekinesis technique: tail bite.
A technique crafted to force poison deep into a monster that regenerated beyond reason.
A technique born to survive a world where adventurers became the hunted.
Something Dibo, Kiri, and Ralph—who’d never seen that world—couldn’t even fathom.
No need to, anyway.
Their job was simple.
“Hey, you Yeti bastard!”
“Here comes Polearm Hero Dibo!”
Hold out against the Snow Yeti for three minutes.
Kraaaah!
The battle was on.
Or it barely qualified as one.
Kraaaah!
The Snow Yeti towered over a normal Yeti at five meters tall. Its size defied logic.
Its strength was even more absurd.
Kwaduk!
A single arm swing snapped a massive fir tree like kindling.
Kraaaah!
Above all, the Snow Yeti was drunk on rage.
Its mind filled only with smashing and shredding any foe in sight. It didn’t give a damn about its own body.
“Screw it!”
Against that, all Dibo could do was scamper like a rat.
“Everyone, fall back!”
And Dibo gladly played the part.
“Slash Blaster!”
Kwajik!
Like chopping a tree with an axe, he swung his polearm at full power into the Snow Yeti’s leg.
Kraaaah!
The already enraged Snow Yeti locked eyes on Dibo and gave chase—solely after him.
“That’s right, come get me!”
Far from fleeing, Dibo charged straight at the Snow Yeti.
He let go of his polearm mid-stride.
Shiiik!
Slipping right between its legs.
Even after emerging on the other side, he didn’t run.
“Over here! Right here!”
He gave it time—waited until the Snow Yeti turned to him.
Kraaaah!
The Snow Yeti grew even more furious.
Dibo flashed a grin.
‘Why bother attacking if it’s pointless?’
The ability to smile in a do-or-die moment—that was Dibo’s greatest strength.
He unleashed it in full against the Snow Yeti.
Kraaaah!
He dodged its frenzied assaults with perfect precision.
All while staying within five meters.
“Over here!”
He circled it, whittling away its time.
Puk!
While Dibo kept it pinned, another of El Pam’s poisoned Cold Beam shards buried itself in the Snow Yeti’s flesh.
Kiri and Ralph, waiting in the wings, couldn’t help but be impressed.
Truth be told, they’d rated Dibo’s skills the lowest.
Couldn’t be helped. Right before entering this Mystic Gate, Kiri was at 2nd Circle, Ralph at 3rd, while Dibo was barely 1st.
Dibo had the shortest adventuring career too.
Even after unlocking 2nd Circle, a newbie couldn’t wield its power properly.
That’s how it should’ve been.
‘His talent’s on another level.’
‘Stick with Dibo, and we’ll rake in the cash from here on out.’
But what Dibo was pulling off against the Snow Yeti was beyond Kiri or Ralph.
Of course, he had limits.
‘Stamina won’t hold.’
He was burning every ounce of ability, but his stamina couldn’t keep pace.
Naturally, it drained at a ridiculous rate compared to normal.
Especially against a Yeti—a monster even veteran adventurers had never heard of.
Just facing it sapped stamina, focus, and mental strength at breakneck speed.
“Huu, huu.”
Sure enough, Dibo tired fast.
After barely a minute, he was already on the verge of collapse.
‘Damn, gotta last three minutes.’
What made it worse? They were just getting started.
Dibo knew something else too.
‘Could drag on even longer.’
Battles were full of wild cards.
That was when it happened.
“Dibo!”
‘Boss?’
El Pam’s voice rang out from afar.
“Plan’s changing.”
Dibo’s earlier worries had come true.
They’d need more time—or scrap the plan altogether.
“Boss!”
So he shouted back.
“Just give the order!”
His resolve.
“Fall back.”
“Boss! I can hold!”
That’s why he didn’t retreat at El Pam’s command.
He bared his unbreakable iron will.
“Fall back. No need for three minutes.”
“I can hold.”
El Pam shattered Dibo’s resolve in an instant.
“It’ll die in thirty seconds.”
“What?”
“Sorry. I miscalculated.”
“Huh?”
“Looks like it’ll end quicker than I thought.”