Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Frost-Chasing Hunter
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There was this thing called a three-line summary.
The busy, pretentious 21st century.
It was a great way to communicate by condensing boring explanations.
I decided to take a page from that book.
"It went by too fast for me to really get it."
After getting possessed, I'd glimpsed the past,
but it had zipped by so quickly that I hadn't fully processed it.
Still, I got the gist now.
Astromeria's teacher wasn't the type to execute her senior brother like I'd thought.
On the contrary, she'd been holding down the fort at the 0th layer all along.
"Aa! Aaaaaa!"
"Hey now, tsk. Behave yourself."
I grabbed the struggling cold spirit and pondered.
So what was it, exactly?
Astromeria's teacher,
exhausted from single-handedly stopping the tower's disaster,
had reached an agreement with our senior brother and done a final fusion?
"Nah, more like a sealing."
Fusing would defeat the purpose of finding a vessel.
She'd sealed herself inside senior brother.
When he got startled by my Belty and dad's arrow and let his guard down for a split second, she fully awakened.
"Found a new possession target and latched onto me."
A disaster sealed into a climber's body.
The lingering will of the great sorceress guarding the tower.
That was the true identity of the [Fossilized Knight].
"Pretty straightforward."
Before and after the teacher's soul emerged.
The reason the fossil's voice and combat patterns had changed?
Because there were literally two of them.
Senior brother, the fossil (possessed body), and her.
Two separate entities.
"And now she's possessing my body instead of senior brother's."
"Aaaaaaaaaa!!"
"Quiet! Behave. You can't use magic anymore anyway."
And that was the reason.
Why I'd handed over my body even after suspecting possession.
"My body can't learn ice magic or anything like that."
I couldn't copy the fossil's magic.
Why?
Because [Deficiency] made it impossible to learn that skill.
"So that's why I gave you my body."
To weaken you by sealing you inside me.
This body must've looked like prime fossil material,
but anyone peeking closer would see it's the lamest possession vessel out there.
"[Frost Forge Smeltri]!"
"Nope~ Can't use that anymore~."
The magic that drew on the fossil's power,
and the ice magic left behind to bind the disaster—
none of it was usable anymore.
"Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice!"
It chomped down on the arm I was holding with a crunch.
The disaster flailed like an idiot in rage and confusion.
And it got even more confused by the fact that it could rage and panic.
Emotions were transmitting.
Emotions it had learned from me—ones the disaster had long forgotten.
I half-closed my eyes and muttered.
"You're kind, senior brother."
"No... he was cold. Cold-bloodedness is a hunter's virtue..."
The [Fossilized Knight] the climbers had called him.
Senior brother answered in a raspy voice.
"You know it too... that there are emotions in this world... it's better not to feel."
"So that's why you hid your memories, senior brother."
When senior brother was the fossil.
The disaster didn't know emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.
Though it had learned archery from him.
"Teaching forgotten pain... to a hero who chose eternal solitude... is cruel."
The ice armor had fully melted.
Senior brother, now in hunter's garb, coughed dryly.
And with great effort, he spoke clearly.
"That's why I never taught you. That you, blocking the disaster alone here... never meeting anyone... were lonely."
"Regaining emotions would just make it worse?"
"Thanks to that, dad's arrow broke the seal's control. Pathetic."
The arrow had revived his memories.
Senior brother had been lonely and missed us too.
But he couldn't let the disaster know those feelings.
So the disaster surfaced.
Because senior brother suppressed his own self at that moment.
"Cough, cough...!"
I knew from the memories I'd seen.
Senior brother couldn't leave the tower anymore.
He'd been the vessel sealing the disaster for years.
Unlike me, he couldn't use [Deficiency] to dodge injuries.
His body was already in tatters.
Having the strength to even talk was a miracle.
"Just one thing... let me ask..."
So senior brother asked.
Not about what I'd do next.
Or if I could handle keeping the disaster sealed in me.
He knew I'd already decided to shoulder it all.
Asking would be tactless.
So his question was purely personal.
"Is your father... and wife... healthy?"
"Yeah."
I answered right away.
I'd known it was coming.
"They're doing fine. Didn't even mind having a shameless climber like me as family."
No need to mention that my sister-in-law had passed.
As I'd said,
some emotions are better left unknown.
Senior brother chuckled.
"You've got the makings of a hunter too."
I shut my mouth.
Of course. Masters and seniors alike.
They just had to be hunters through and through.
They could read a junior's mind like an open book.
"Thanks. Guess I'm not there yet."
"More than enough. Dad'll be pleased."
"Rest now. Gotta apologize to sis when you get back."
"Mm... hearing that... suddenly makes leaving the tower feel wrong..."
Senior brother rummaged in his pocket and pulled something out.
A pendant.
"Cliché?"
"Nah. Heroes gotta do hero things."
"Thanks. I'll rest now. See my wife when I wake."
"I'll head out first. See ya."
"Yeah. See you. Take your time enjoying it."
He closed his eyes
and exhaled.
Senior brother fell into a deep sleep like that.
Probably off to meet sis.
Get an earful from her for stabbing his junior.
"Alright, our turn to chat? Disaster teacher."
And while we said our goodbyes,
the disaster hadn't been smart enough to stay quiet.
I'd shut it up.
Shwaaa...!
By erasing the cold leaking from the tower and beyond.
Well, not by my will exactly.
It just vanished.
'[Noble Body, Baseborn Role]. You're MVP number two today.'
Me as number one? Do I look like a psycho?
MVP number one is obviously this lady.
"...Ah."
"See? Let me make it even clearer."
Her, staring blankly at the cold dissipating.
I let go of her hand and grabbed the World Tree.
A mana clump invisible and intangible.
The tree of ether.
Couldn't it send items too?
Then light should flow freely.
'Which means I can do this.'
I scattered the stuffy walls of the 10th floor,
and overlaid the 0th layer's scenery onto this place.
"Nice view."
From the tower's 10th floor, the horizon stretched out.
I breathed on the air and put a hand to my forehead.
It was just an image, so no wind, but even if there was, it wouldn't feel cold anymore.
The disaster was over.
I'm Baek Jeong-uk, not the disaster's master.
"Ah. Uh, ah."
As she collapsed, the thick snow piled on the 0th layer began melting like a lie.
Wow, magic really is magic.
Still, once that's all melted, cleanup's gonna suck.
But whatever.
Not our problem.
For now, just soak in this beautiful scenery.
"Ahh, ah... Aaaah, hwaaaaaang...!"
Cry your heart out.
Joy, tears, freedom.
Of those, what had she truly longed to reclaim?
At least, it wasn't this scenery.
She'd never forgotten it, never abandoned it, always protected it.
Even as a disaster, even without being a sorceress anymore.
Always.
I placed a hand on the hero's head.
"Good work."
The disaster was done,
and the sorceress who'd fulfilled her duty wept as she melted away.
Like eyes recalling warm memories.
Irregulars vanish once you leave the tower.
"Carried him all the way out, and poof."
Would need to make a separate grave for senior brother.
Family stuff, though.
Not even time to properly check the rewards.
'Two from the 10th floor alone, plus a ton more piled on.'
Got a massive haul, just like I'd hoped.
Items galore.
No inventory, would've been instant death.
But what good are rewards
without the stamina to look?
Squeezed out enough energy to peek at two.
Disaster resolution reward.
Grade unknown.
An ice crystal left where the fossil departed.
And one more.
Whoa!
Why'd you pop up here?
"Senior brother... you really gave me that UR as requested..."
This Blizzard Disaster.
Couldn't be the one I knew, right?
The text was grayed out with a strikethrough.
Means I can't use it now.
Come to think of it, this came from the fossil?
Senior brother only gave cat skills or whatever.
Suddenly feeling salty about it.
"Jeong-uk!"
"Ah, master."
Still, duty calls.
William, my master, had run all the way to the tower entrance.
Given the situation, it made sense.
And not just him—a ton of people had gathered.
"Th-the snow's really melting!"
"Galju! Galju did it!"
"Galju?"
"What's that? Magic?"
"You climbers don't even check the climbing gallery?"
Ah.
The gallery's probably a dopamine party right now.
Sucks that I'm too wiped to check.
Master swallowed hard.
"...Jeong-uk. They say the tower's disaster is over."
"Seems like it."
"Your doing?"
"No."
No one was paying us any mind anyway.
I pulled the pendant from my pocket.
"Your son did it."
Master didn't reply.
He just read the note inside the pendant.
First time in my life.
Waiting for someone didn't feel boring.
Master closed his eyes and asked in a trembling voice.
A voice suppressing so much.
"Did my boy... go peacefully?"
"Nope?"
I chuckled.
"Said he was scared of getting chewed out by sis."
"...That damn kid."
"Don't be too harsh. He's a hero who stopped the disaster."
"Talking about you."
"I knew that when I said it."
Oof! Right in the solar plexus!
"This is master disciplining you. Come to think, my brilliant disciple's too good to scold."
"Thanks..."
Truth be told, without William, it'd been dicey.
No [Swift Arrow], blocking that Frost whatever?
Ice arrows, how?
But the solar plexus was overkill.
I was about to complain when I had to shut up.
"Ang! Ang ang!"
Suddenly?
I mean, great news and all, but this was way too exposed.
People need shame.
Here, the shadowy expert Baek Jeong-uk would teach proper bedroom arts...
"Ang!"
"Gyaaa! My leg!"
Some rabid mutt suddenly bit my thigh.
Didn't really hurt, though.
My stats were sky-high.
And what was this?
Fluffy white fur—wait, not a dog?
"...Bear cub?"
"Ang ang!"
Hmm.
We know each other or something?
"Oh dear. This one's followed me again."
"Ung ang ang!"
Master scooped up the startled cub.
Eye level closer, clearer view.
Yep, that guy.
The first monster I met in the tower.
The polar bear boss's cub.
"Who’s this?"
"Found it injured alone, no parents, so I treated it. Been tailing me since. Remember, the day we met downtown?"
"Ah. That blood smell back then?"
"This little guy's."
Unbelievable identity!
When I'd gone to the forge.
The blood smell from master was this thing!
Not that shocked by the identity per se.
"That's a Cave Bear cub, I bet."
"Now teaching me about animals?"
"Ang!"
You know it.
"You okay with that?"
"What? Weird to save the kid of the beast that ate my daughter-in-law?"
I shut my mouth again.
Figured as much.
Master had said before.
Picked me up on the way back from visiting his daughter-in-law's grave.
She'd been killed by an animal.
Strange story.
This was the safe zone 0th layer.
How dangerous could wild animals be?
'Climbers' starting point nearby too.'
The snowy plain where I'd gotten lost.
A carnivore that'd eat people there?
If one existed, they'd chase it off.
No outside climbers, disaster'd hit again.
Residents aren't idiots.
In other words.
The beast that killed sis couldn't be chased away.
A Cave Bear.
"Life and death are nature's law. What can't be overcome alone, we help each other with."
Master said, cradling the Cave Bear.
"I didn't help you knowing you'd avenged Sae-a. Vice versa."
No reason not to help the enemy's kid.
Justice?
Then sis's death becomes "just" too.
That's too cold, too cruel a law.
Even for hunters.
"Ang!"
The Cave Bear cub nuzzled into master's chest.
Shoved its snout in and pulled out food.
Jerky.
Easy to see how they met.
What could I do?
Master's grand intentions—unworthy disciple's gotta follow.
"Heading out?"
"Yeah. Long road ahead."
"How far?"
"As far as my feet take me."
Handed jerky to the cub.
You take care.
Uncle's got miles to go, like he said.
"Oh, right."
Something I'd forgotten popped up.
Ask the disciple about that side,
but this? Only chance forever.
"What was your son's name?"
"Theodore."
Caught the tossed pendant.
Note delivered, no point letting the relic rot.
Pull the photo, it's just a necklace.
Master waved, handing over a farewell gift.
"Theodore Middleton. My proud son."
The pendant around my neck fused with the Disaster Fragment.
As if it had always been that way.
This tale would soon be known to all.
The great sorceress and the fossilized hunter.
Their heroic saga.
I ascended the tower, wearing senior brother's pendant.
Next stage: 1st layer.
The supposedly most peaceful safe zone.
The tower still called to me.
Not just the 0th layer noticed the change.
"Boss. Posts don't go up just 'cause you're not sleeping."
"But! Jezzani's comments suddenly stopped!"
"Idiot. Go read the popular posts instead."
"What? Why?"
"The 0th layer's snow melted. That guy's win."
6th layer.
The girl excited that her disciple actually liked her signature move let out a cheer.
"Galju really won?"
"How do you know? No proof post yet?"
7th layer.
The Pseudo-Dragon Raid Team leader nodded.
"The blizzard... has stopped..."
"...You can see that far down from here~? How~?"
"Lord Jutak... showed me the way..."
Harpies aghast at how close they'd gotten, or the bleary-eyed sleepy teammate.
The Pseudo-Dragon didn't explain to them.
She'd only realized it herself recently.
The World Tree's roots stretching below the 8th layer.
Through them, you could see other layers.
The farthest root warmed.
The cold ceased, the disaster halted.
Before it could torment her homeland with greater chills.
Pseudo-Dragon Raid Team leader.
Yo-ryong Yo-wol smiled softly.
"Hurry... come to us..."
Yo-wol was always ready to welcome him.
Whether as Galju,
or as Jutak.
Thus, the tower's monsters all sensed it at once.
Far below.
The emergence of the monster that would shatter the unidentified tower.
The walking sun,
the vicious abomination,
the phoenix traversing dimensions,
the beast gnawing the World Tree,
the progenitor of asuras dreaming of immortality—
All turned their heads first.
Sensing the harsh cold at the lowest level had stopped.
"Hey, kid! Careful with that statue!"
"I'm a blacksmith now too, y'know? Trust me a bit!"
But to those welcoming their first spring, it didn't matter.
To those fleeing the snowy city like exiles,
reclaiming what they'd lost long ago.
"Good, there! Well done! Next, a statue of the sorceress in the capital."
"But I don't know her name yet."
"Aisella, I hear. Great Sorceress Aisella."
The reclaimed land of the restored nation.
Heroes' hometowns each raised memorials.
And visitors to the hero's grave speak of it.
The forest behind the tombstone.
The silhouettes of the old man who raised the hero and the white hunting bear.
And now, the Red Tower standing tall in verdant plains.
Beyond its 10th floor.
1st layer.
"Hey, Baek. Carry some bricks."
"Yep."
Baek Jeong-uk, shadowy hero.
Hiring for part-time amid killer prices!
"Aigoo~."
1st layer rent is──!!
Insanely high──!!