Footprints in the Snow

The supporter's fireball flickered softly. Baek Seol, nestled in my arms, swiveled her head and scanned the surroundings. There really didn't seem to be anyone around. The brief glimpse I'd caught of Bong Sang-hoon made him look like he had a screw loose, but even he wouldn't abandon a bunch of freshmen this irresponsibly.

"Footprints!" Baek Seol pointed with her forepaw.

"You're right." Unless they could fly, no one could erase their tracks completely from a field of pristine white snow.

"Everyone, come out." The noisy trio tumbled out of the tent. They all looked drowsy, probably because it was so warm inside.

"What's going on?"

"The Silver Wing kids are gone."

"Hmm."

"Baek Seol found footprints on the ground. Looks like they moved somewhere."

The trio's mood sank instantly. Their eyes said they understood something had gone wrong without needing it spelled out.

"We can't contact the outside until we clear the dungeon."

"Right." Once a gate closes after hunters enter, it stays shut for a set time. No amount of effort can reopen it. The only ways to open it again are if everyone inside dies or the dungeon is cleared.

"Get ready to move." At Shin Yong's words, everyone started bustling around, packing up. Storing the tent and generator wholesale into the pocket dimension didn't take long. From now on, we'd only pull them out when we needed to rest.

—Chik, chik.

"Hoo—" Cigarette smoke mixed with the cold air and drifted upward.

"Everyone bundled up tight?" The trio nodded as they gathered around.

"Good. Baek Seol, can you follow the footprints for us?"

"Eung!" Baek Seol leapt from my arms onto the snowfield and began sniffing around.

"Over there!"

"Let's go." We followed Baek Seol as she led from the front. Snow kept falling without pause. We had no idea when the tracks would vanish completely.

I snapped my fingers and the trio charged forward in an instant. Snapping had become our party's unspoken signal.

—Grraaagh! A muscle-bound monster with blue skin staggered forward, drooling. While it was distracted, the trio happily carved into it.

"Cross Slash!" At Shin Yong's shout, the other two stepped back in perfect sync, creating space. Shin Yong's sword traced a beautiful arc, swinging so fast it was nearly invisible. Blood sprayed as a cross-shaped wound opened across the orc's chest.

—Graaaagh!!

"Noah, Chan-yong!" While Shin Yong withdrew after his strike, Kim Chan-yong and Noah slashed at the orc's neck from behind. With a heavy thud, the orc collapsed, still spurting blood from its throat.

"Good work, everyone. Anyone hurt?" The trio shook their heads. An Ice Orc was barely a challenge for them now.

"Was that the Cross Slash that evolved after hitting level 10?"

"Yeah. It should become an even stronger skill once it grows more."

My level was still stuck at 9 while Shin Yong had already reached 10 first. Since I'd started at level 8, that meant Shin Yong had come in already leveled up.

"Still, don't push yourselves. You all know this isn't a place for freshmen, right?"

"True." So far we'd only encountered orcs one at a time, and even then the trio had to coordinate to take them down. This place was simply above our level.

"Let's store the orc corpse first." While I tucked the orc into my pocket dimension, Baek Seol scampered across the snowfield. The footprints that had been visible to the naked eye were already completely erased by the ceaseless snowfall. Without Baek Seol, we'd never find them now.

"The guild sent us dead weight instead of guardians."

"Indeed. They're below standard."

Even though it wasn't directed at me, it still pissed me off.

"We don't have a choice. If the gate closes like this, they'll become dungeon strays."

While I chatted with the trio, Baek Seol, who had been hopping around the snow like a puppy seeing snow for the first time, suddenly stood up on her hind legs like a meerkat. After listening intently for a while with her ears perked, she seemed to find something and came running back to me.

"Ah, cold. Baek Seol, shake it off first."

"Shake shake!"

—Fwoosh! Snow that had piled on her white fur flew everywhere.

"Puh! You little rascal."

"Fun!" She rubbed against me happily, having turned me into a snowman.

"Baek Seol, did you find it?"

"Eung!" Baek Seol stretched out her short forepaws while still in my arms. When I went where she pointed, I saw faint, elongated drag marks.

"These aren't footprints."

"It looks like they were subdued."

"So these are drag marks?"

Shin Yong examined the marks for a long time before nodding.

"No signs of combat nearby. They must have been taken down instantly by an overwhelming opponent."

Bora Top had mentioned something about B-rank elites, but I had no idea what was going on now.

"Hoo—!" Noah blew away the snow covering the marks, revealing them more clearly.

"When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you step on snow it should harden and form layers. There's none of that here—just deep, straight grooves."

If layers had formed, the fresh light snow would've blown away and left visible footprints, but there was nothing like that. Instead, it looked like a child had been dragged along, kicking up dirt.

"There's no other option in an extermination battle besides killing every monster. Let's move." Shin Yong checked the sword at his waist once, then took the lead.

We walked through the blizzard-swept snowy mountain for nearly an hour, yet not a single orc appeared.

"There!" Baek Seol, who had found the trail, came running back. Maybe because of the cold, her body heat felt especially pleasant.

"Good job."

"Eung!"

The one silver lining was that Baek Seol's guidance let us keep moving along the trail. The problem was that even that was taking longer as the snow piled thicker and thicker.

"The forest is getting denser. Visibility ahead is poor. Everyone stay alert." The area that had been nothing but bare trees was now filled with dense conifers. It felt like we were entering a deep forest. The trees had grown so tall that the surroundings were gradually darkening.

—Crack! Shin Yong, who had been clearing branches with his sword at the front, suddenly gave a hand signal. He carefully scanned the area ahead before advancing. When we followed, a wide clearing appeared. It was clearly an artificially shaped patch of land.

"An orc village?"

"Seems like it." Crude huts were scattered around.

"No orcs in sight." Even though there were no monsters, Kim Chan-yong and Noah drew their swords. It was an eerily quiet place. No orcs could be seen anywhere.

—Chik, chik.

"Hoo—"

"Gaeul, the cigarette... kuh!" Shin Yong, who I'd expected to scold me for smoking again, suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed forward.

"What the—why?!"

It wasn't just Shin Yong. The other two were the same.

"Kugh! R-run, Gaeul..." Their faces were twisted in agony.

"No, why all of a sudden? Heal!" Light burst from my hand and soaked into the trio, but their pained expressions didn't change. The healing spell that boosted regeneration wasn't working. That meant it wasn't physical trauma.

—Kiiiiiik. While I was checking on the trio as they lay gasping, a noise that grated on my ears rang out. Thud. Thud. Along with the sound, a creature that looked almost human approached.

"Human beauty is truly exquisite. Thanks to you, I'll have fine spoils."

—Kkik. Kkik. Kiiik! When the creature wiggled its fingers, its long black nails clacked together, creating the noise. That was the source of the unpleasant sound, like nails on a chalkboard.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Heh heh. By the standards of lowly humans, I suppose I qualify as a high-ranking demon."

Aside from the long nails and pitch-black irises, it looked almost exactly like a human.

"What the fuck is that, you damn otaku?"

"Hmm. To withstand demonic energy... I see. From the way you used Heal earlier, you're a priest? My luck is good today. If you can endure my demonic energy, you must be a high-ranking priest, heh heh."

It ignored my question and kept muttering to itself.

"Lightning Ball."

—Pajijik! The electric sphere I shot forward evaporated as if it had never existed.

"A priest who uses magic? How unusual. Still, I'll commend you for casting magic in front of a demon."

"Magic doesn't work on you guys?"

"Kuhuhuh. Demonic energy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is a higher form of power than the mana humans use..."

—Thwack!

"Kuh!?" The self-proclaimed demon, who had been stroking its chin while observing me, suddenly froze.

"Huu... A vortex of violently negative emotions. Are you really a priest?"

"Whoa, it really doesn't work."

"Kuhuhuh, how dare you..."

"Rotation."

—Crack! A snapping sound echoed as the creature's eyeballs began spinning wildly. Being able to forcibly manipulate torque meant I could control angular velocity and moment of inertia. In other words, I could manipulate the vector quantity that caused rotation and angular acceleration.

"Like this. Rotation."

—Crack! —Spin spin spin!

"Kuaaaagh!" When its remaining eyeball started spinning too, the creature stomped its feet in panic.

"Dizzy? Or does it not matter because your optic nerves are already severed?"

The sight of both eyeballs spinning while tears of blood streamed down was grotesque beyond words.

"Baek Seol, close your eyes tight."

"Ball!"

Come to think of it, the plush ball Baek Seol always played with by rolling it around wasn't here.

"That's not for playing ball with. I'll get you one later."

"Eung!"

Once rotation began, if there was a contradictory force that could forcibly manipulate the moment of inertia, the object would accelerate infinitely regardless of its mass.

—Thwack!

"Gueeeek!!"

"Isn't that right, Sir Newton?"

『Correct. However, you omitted a constant in the formula. The rotating eyeballs have a fixed axis formed by the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyelids. In that case, the moment of inertia for the rigid body becomes a constant...』

"Ugh... My head! Sensei, I'm a quantum mechanics person. I graduated from engineering school ages ago."

—Puhak! The so-called demon suddenly gouged out both its eyeballs with its own nails.

"Kuuugh... I'll rip off your limbs and mount them as eternal trophies! Regret this for the rest of your life in agony!"

"New-teacher, the world really is vast. That crazy bastard just removed the rotating body."

『The path is always close at hand.』

"M-Meng-teacher!"

Since ancient times, when there's no tooth, use the gums. Master Meng's words were also correct. The path is close, so don't search far away in the dark.

"Rotation."

—Crack crack crack!!

"Guaaaaagh!!!"

The creature's crotch bulged grotesquely.

"S-stop!! Guaaaagh!! Stop!!"

"How does it feel to have your balls spinning like crazy, you demon spawn?"

"Gueeeek!!!"

"As expected, the basic attack magic Fireball is the way to go. Performance is reliable, as always."

The demon, who had been thrashing in place, suddenly reached its nails toward its own groin.

—Rip!! The mad creature tore off its own balls. With the ball it could roll now gone, my head spun. All four takoyaki were gone. I couldn't understand what kind of creature a demon was that it could do something like this to itself.

"Kuuugh...! I'll kill you, mage."

"Mage? I'm not a mage."

—Squish! Squish! The creature's body undulated, then its size began rapidly expanding. Its changing skin was utterly repulsive. Thick, pitch-black skin swelled up with countless spikes, and sharp horns pierced through the skin on its forehead. After grotesque wings sprouted from its back, the creature turned its hollow eye sockets toward me.

"Kid, your face is straight-up apocalyptic. You done transforming?"

"Kuhuhuh. Praise this body, called Magic Eater for devouring mana, for succeeding in using magic."

"Your nickname is Magic Eater?"

—Kwaaaang!! I gently placed the overweight axe I'd pulled from my pocket dimension onto the ground, and the earth burst open.

"Say hello. This one's nickname is Ppongppong-i."

"A mage... with an axe?"

"I told you I'm not a mage. And it's not an axe—it's a magic staff I'm about to shove into your skull."

I looked around. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The trio had already passed out.

"Crazy bitch."

"Yeah, our kids were playing nicely until you put them to sleep. Now I don't even have a reason to use magic."

"Right?"