Freezing Cold

Once Jeon Jaewoo’s departure for Brazil was finalized, the news spread like wildfire.

Naturally, public outcry erupted the moment the announcement dropped. Other South American nations were the first to voice intense dissatisfaction.

In short, their sentiment was simple: None of us want to die either, so save everyone.

Of course, none of them possessed the clout to stand against Brazil, the dominant powerhouse on the continent. Brazil merely fired back that if the others were so displeased, they should offer the highest possible reward and hire Jeon Jaewoo themselves.

Naturally, it was impossible for Jaewoo to conquer every ruin allocated across South America. No country on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the continent other than Brazil held an Extra Clear Ticket. Without an Extra Clear Ticket to replenish his entry quota, he could not afford to lend a hand, no matter how dire the situation was. South America had dozens of sovereign nations, while Jaewoo had only twelve lifetime clears at his disposal. Had it not been for that strict limit, he would have swept through every uncleared Legendary ruin across the globe long before such a crisis even materialized.

Public sentiment back home in South Korea was equally ferocious.

Despite the clamor roaring outside, Jeon Jaewoo wasted no time. Early the next morning, he set out to tackle the Legendary ruin assigned to Brazil. Half of the seven-day emergency countdown had already elapsed; dilly-dallying was out of the question.

The Legendary ruin assigned to Brazil was titled Freezing Cold. True to its moniker, the dungeon was reputed to harbor bone-shattering, relentless cold. Jaewoo had reviewed the sparse briefing provided by the Brazilian delegation beforehand.

"Well, I'm heading in," Jaewoo said.

"Please, I beg of you... save Brazil from ruin," Minister Lucas pleaded, clasping Jaewoo's hands and bowing repeatedly in profound gratitude.

Standing beside him with a sullen, conflicted scowl, Commissioner Yoo Jeongtae chimed in as well.

"Hunter Jeon, your safety is our top priority. Please, take utmost care of yourself."

You don't need to tell me that, Jaewoo thought dryly. Nobody prioritizes my life more than I do.

Surrounded by high-ranking government officials and cabinet members within the Korean Hunter Administration headquarters, Jaewoo stepped toward the designated gate. The moment his figure dissolved into the swirling spatial rift, the Brazilian delegation began conversing in rapid, hushed Portuguese, their brows furrowed with lingering dread.

Minister Lucas exhaled a shallow sigh and muttered under his breath.

"Will he truly be all right?"

"He is Hunter Jeon Jaewoo, Excellency. What could possibly go wrong? He will conquer the ruin without fail."

"That is precisely why I worry. This ruin is entirely different from the others. It isn't a problem that can be resolved simply by slaying monsters..."

Lucas's foreboding proved entirely warranted. The instant Jaewoo materialized within the dungeon, he felt as if his heart had stopped dead.

What kind of insane bullshit is this?

The interior of the ruin was a colossal, snow-capped mountain range battered by a ferocious blizzard. Snowy mountain environments were not particularly unheard of for ruins, and the whiteout was severe enough that visibility extended scarcely a few meters ahead. Yet having his vision obscured was the absolute least of his concerns right now.

The catastrophic, unearthly cold seized his body, freezing him down to his marrow.

Jaewoo could not even begin to fathom how to describe the sheer extremity of this chill. Even Earth's most punishing environments—the North Pole or Antarctica—paled in comparison. If he had to draw an analogy, it felt as though he had been dropped naked onto the surface of the Moon or Uranus, an airless expanse far too frigid for any biological life to exist.

In other words, this ruin required no beast hunts. Survive this cold for the requisite time limit, and the raid was complete. On paper, it sounded deceptively simple for a Legendary-grade ruin. There were no apex boss monsters demanding life-or-death battles. Since anyone entering a Legendary ruin was an awakened hunter of substantial caliber, one might assume they wouldn't freeze to death so easily—that all they had to do was hunker down and endure.

Yet humanity had failed to conquer this ancient Legendary ruin for decades. The reason was painfully obvious.

Dammit, being a hunter doesn't mean shit against this.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Even though Jaewoo had personally bloomed an S-rank trait, his entire frame rattled violently like a striking tuning fork. This was entirely decoupled from individual combat strength; human biology simply could not endure it. Mana-driven physical reinforcement? Fire-elemental magic traits? What good were high-tier traits in the face of this absolute zero? Fortifying one's muscles or cloaking oneself in a barrier did not regulate ambient temperature.

A mage hunter might have attempted a desperate stopgap, conjuring flames to stave off the chill, but even that had clear limitations. The moment fire manifested, the overwhelmingly subzero atmosphere would rob it of heat before it could maintain its ignition point, snuffing it out in an instant. This ruin had dumped every ounce of its Legendary difficulty rating into sheer, unadulterated cold rather than monsters.

Perhaps an S-rank hunter who specialized exclusively in the absolute manipulation of internal body heat and ambient temperature could have pulled it off. But no sane hunter invested their awakened growth solely in temperature regulation. It was readily apparent why countless decorated hunters had challenged this ruin over the years, only to retreat in utter failure. Even if it did not kill them outright, the sheer agony of this arctic torment was impossible to bear.

To make matters worse, there was another insidious element designed to plunge challengers into despair: though the objective stated that surviving the time limit would clear the dungeon, no timer was displayed. In the end, a hunter had to endure this hellish freezer without any clue when the torture would cease.

Normally, a hunter could convert mana into a semblance of warmth, but the ambient chill overwhelmed that meager barrier in seconds. As Jaewoo's vision blurred, the tempting urge to forfeit flashed across his mind. Gritting his teeth, he shook his head violently to dispel the haze.

No, get a grip. How pathetic would I look if I tucked my tail and ran right after taking the job?

Having accepted the contract, he had to clear it on his very first attempt. He immediately summoned his companions. Since he could not reveal his full hand before the crowd back at headquarters, he had waited until he entered the dungeon to call them out.

If I'd known it was this kind of ruin from the start, I wouldn't have even stepped inside myself. I could've just dumped the whole thing on my summons...

Then he wouldn't have had to suffer through this miserable cold.

The moment the Lich King materialized, he scanned the surroundings and let out a mild murmur of intrigue.

"Oh? A truly formidable chill."

[......]

"Master, your complexion looks terrible," Novum chirped softly.

Naturally, Myeolgeop, the Lich King, and Novum were entirely unfazed by the ferocious blizzard. A skeleton, a golem, and an elemental spirit had no concept of biological pain caused by low temperatures. Myeolgeop, being ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mechanical, might have suffered structural freezing from prolonged exposure to such extremes, but even that possibility was utterly nullified by his Transcendent trait, Absolute Defense, which warded off any and all harm directed at his body.

Jaewoo managed to wheeze out a trembling plea through chattering teeth.

"If you guys... don't want to watch your master die... save me, please."

The ever-loyal Myeolgeop moved instantly to take appropriate countermeasures.

[Creator, please wear me at once.]

...Wear him? What did that even mean?

Before Jaewoo could process the bizarre phrasing, his eyes widened. With a series of sharp mechanical whirs, portions of Myeolgeop’s torso and limbs unfolded, shifting outward to create a hollow cavity perfectly fitted for a grown man.

Holy crap. He's an actual Iron Man suit?

He could do that? Then again, considering Myeolgeop was a combat golem equipped with two Transcendent traits, perhaps nothing was truly out of the question.

[Make haste. Enter and entrust your body to my frame.]

Convinced that remaining exposed for even another minute would reduce him to a popsicle, Jaewoo dove straight into Myeolgeop’s open embrace. The moment he slipped inside, the displaced plates snapped shut with heavy, resounding metallic clanks.

You can actually equip a golem like power armor?

It was downright fascinating. The title of Ultimate Combat Weapon was certainly not for show; he felt like an actual comic-book superhero. Of course, Jaewoo had no intention of regularly donning Myeolgeop to fight monsters like Robert Downey Jr. Myeolgeop fighting independently was hundreds of times more effective than serving as a suit of armor for his master. Regardless, as Myeolgeop sealed the interior and channeled his internal mana circuit, gentle, radiant warmth blossomed throughout the cockpit, pulling Jaewoo back from the brink.

"Haaah..." Jaewoo let out a long, shuddering breath, savoring the heat. "A few more seconds and I really would've kicked the bucket."

"Such dramatics," the Lich King chided smoothly. "A common mortal might succumb, but the chill here is hardly sufficient to snuff out the life of an awakened hunter."

"If you forged a flesh-and-blood body and felt this cold firsthand, you wouldn't be running your mouth like that, old man."

"I would gladly endure frostbite bordering on death if it meant regaining my tactile senses, even for a fleeting moment."

...Right. Probably shouldn't have brought that up to an undead.

Even though Myeolgeop had insulated him, the lingering chill was still formidable. He had escaped the airless void of Uranus, but it still felt like being stranded in Antarctica with nothing but a windbreaker.

"Hey, Lich," Jaewoo called out. "Is there any way we can light a fire out there?"

Yet lighting a campfire in a blizzard like this would only see it snuffed out in seconds.

"Creator. Why fret over mundane kindling when you possess Novum, who can assimilate with the ruin itself?"

Ah. Right.

Had the subzero air frozen his brain? Jaewoo immediately issued a command to Novum, telling the spirit to merge with the surrounding dungeon using the Transcendent trait Natural Realm.

The instant Novum complied and synchronized its essence with the fabric of the ruin, a miracle occurred.

The roaring blizzard gradually subsided into a gentle breeze. The thick, oppressive storm clouds parted across the horizon, and brilliant, golden sunlight cascaded over the snowy landscape. As the radiant warmth baked the earth and temperatures soared, Jaewoo stepped out from Myeolgeop’s mechanical chassis.

Standing outside, he found himself bathed in warm, pleasant weather. The sprawling blanket of frost and ice melted into clear, trickling streams at an astonishing pace. Perched atop the mountain summit, Jaewoo gazed down at a picturesque, tranquil vista that looked utterly unbefitting of a Legendary-grade ruin.

"My summons really are the best."

Bathed in the artificial springtime created by his companions, Jaewoo lounged in leisure until the raid concluded without another hitch.

The total time required to conquer the ruin was precisely twenty-four hours.

With the conquest concluded and the promised Extra Clear Ticket safely secured in his inventory, Jaewoo stepped back through the dimensional gateway. The moment his figure emerged into the hall, the Brazilian dignitaries burst into unified, ecstatic cheers of relief.