Chapter 22
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Snow Mountain (1)
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Snow crunched softly underfoot, sinking deep with every step.
The cadets, unprepared for the cold, shivered uncontrollably.
Hunter suits were designed to withstand any weather.
Freezing cold or scorching heat.
They even had waterproofing and basic bullet resistance.
But they couldn't block out every chill.
I slipped on the combat ski parka I'd packed ahead of time.
"Whoa...! It's freaking cold... S-s-so c-cold...!"
"Shut up. It's getting colder because of you."
"Mages, light a fire or something."
The cadets stomped their feet, struggling against the biting cold.
It was time for the leader to step up.
Lee Jae-yeol followed protocol and ordered the base camp set up.
Dungeons required establishing a base camp upon entry.
The cadets prepared tents as they'd trained.
They chopped down barren frozen trees for firewood.
Fire
Yoon Ah-young breathed life into the flames, and the firewood crackled to life.
A few cadets who couldn't take the cold anymore crowded around the fire.
"V Class? The ones we're competing with this time?"
"Yeah. They've probably already headed out."
Lucy handed Jae-yeol the map.
He scanned it, then looked around.
"Hmm... This dungeon feels like the Snow Mountain Dungeon from twelve years ago. Half the expedition team froze to death back then. They solved it by burning the whole area. As a backup, we could consider that too..."
"Hold on. The clear condition includes escaping the dungeon, not just killing the boss, right?"
"...But taking out the boss is still the best option. Escaping means finding the magic circle, and unfortunately, our class has no detection specialists. If we hunt for it, it'd have to be a small elite team."
"...Who's gonna do that?"
Lucy grumbled at Jae-yeol.
Then both turned to look at me at the same time.
"Someone fast, precise, and great in a crisis."
"Right? Vice Class President."
I let out a short sigh.
"Sigh. Fine, I'll go."
It was the expected outcome.
And honestly, it aligned with what I wanted.
Programming monsters might look simple, but it was costly.
This was the perfect spot to test my new technique.
I finished gearing up and approached Jae-yeol.
He pointed at the snow mountain with his hand.
"See that snow mountain over there?"
"Yeah."
A towering peak loomed ahead.
It was insanely high at a glance.
"The boss is probably inside that peak. C Class will gear up and head to the base of the mountain."
"Got it."
"You scout around the mountain for the magic circle. Clearing the boss first would be ideal. If you find the circle first, fire a signal flare. We'll use the flare site as the rendezvous point. And don't push yourself. Like last time. You're strong, so I'm not too worried, but..."
"Got it."
Jae-yeol's words felt like the nagging I'd never heard from my parents.
He handed me a signal flare.
With Mitsuda and Yoon Ah-young on our side, the boss would be no issue.
These monsters weren't scaled to real levels—they'd be low-tier at best.
Of course, I'd be hunting something even stronger than the boss.
Ironically, the guardian of this dungeon's magic circle was that thing.
Hidden boss. Master of the snow mountain.
Yeti.
"Good luck, then."
"You too."
I shouldered my bag and stepped into the blizzard-swept snowfield.
The extreme cold was brutal.
In reality, blizzards had buried and frozen countless hunters alive.
Pushing through knee-deep snow, I stumbled upon a hunter's corpse by chance.
Up close, it was a man and woman, frozen solid in each other's arms.
No one knew if they were lovers or just clinging for warmth.
The academy's dungeon replicated real ones perfectly, down to the tragedies.
That's why scenes like this couldn't be hidden.
The actual bodies would have been recovered and buried in the cemetery.
I clasped my hands before their remains.
"Your sacrifices allow us to stand here. We honor your noble deaths."
A tribute to fallen heroes.
Young or old, everyone respected a hunter's honorable end.
Even fellow hunters.
I pulled my parka hood back up and headed for the mountain.
The snow mountain revealed its majestic form before me.
The magic circle was in an ice cave midway up.
Usually buried in snow, it was hard to spot.
Reaching mid-mountain would take at least three or four hours—I had to hustle.
But calling it a hike didn't capture the snow mountain's fickle wrath.
Avalanches had toppled trees at the base, and snow ape corpses littered the debris.
Just looking at it sent chills down my spine.
'Start moving first, think later.'
Hesitation often led to giving up.
I trudged through the snowfield.
Some drifts reached my chest—I had to plow through.
Using fire risked interfering with the main team's ops.
How much time passed?
A eerie cry echoed from somewhere.
"Urrrrk!"
"Urk!"
Snow apes glared at me fiercely from barren treetops.
They seemed thrilled at fresh meat after so long.
"..."
I dropped my bag and readied for battle.
Hunt Begins
The snow apes scampered down the trees and charged.
Their speed caught me off guard—I couldn't counter right away.
Thwack!
I took a hit, but it was nothing serious.
Like a cotton swab tickling me.
"Uk?"
Switch
Bracelet → Knuckles
I shifted my bracelet to knuckle form.
Their main attacks were punches and claws.
Counter with equivalent weapons.
Weapons were great, but I was confident barehanded too.
Years shadowing Lee Jung-tae had taught me plenty.
I couldn't mimic perfectly, but I'd picked up his fighting style bit by bit.
"Uk!!!"
One swung its right fist at my face.
Dodging wasted stamina.
I just twisted my head aside.
Crack.
Counterpunch smashed its face.
"Kyaaak!!!"
The snow ape's face caved in; it collapsed, vomiting blood into the snow.
While the others hesitated, I closed in fast.
Two more down with punches, stomped dead.
"Uuk! Ugk!"
The enraged snow apes bared claws.
I pulled my fist back, ready to counter.
Leaping snow apes met my fists one by one.
They flew at me; I timed my swings perfectly.
'One, two!'
Thud!
Jung-tae's punches were faster.
No—his single blow could reshape mountains.
I was just a fledgling by comparison.
'One, two!'
Thud! Thud!
Still, one punch dropped each snow ape.
The more I hunted, the faster I got.
Hunt Begins was incredible.
My blood boiled with every swing.
Fists stayed short, fast, minimal stamina drain.
"Uk! Uk!"
They switched tactics, swarming as a group.
Grabbing legs, clawing my back.
'Damn. Annoying.'
I shook them off, reset my stance.
Time to end it.
'Focus mana in my palm... gather all power there... punch!'
Flames wrapped my knuckles; I swung with everything.
A massive fireball erupted forward like an explosion.
"Kyaaaak!!!"
"Gyaak!"
Struck snow apes writhed in agony before collapsing.
"Hoo..."
White breath clouded the air.
The fireball incinerated everything, vanishing into the atmosphere.
Mana Manual's focus was unreal.
Dozens of snow apes reduced to ash in one shot.
Survivors fled for their lives.
I rolled my shoulders, loosening up.
'Perfect warm-up.'
Compared to the yeti ahead, these were just trash mobs.
I re-shouldered my bag and headed for the ice cave.
Lee Jae-yeol's C Class advanced in formation.
Mitsuda blocked charging snow apes; new tanks held the line.
Archers and gunners unleashed volleys.
Snow apes shredded by arrows and bullets, dropping everywhere.
"...Haa... haa... Class Prez. I'm out of mana."
"Got it. Rotate out."
Mana-drained troops fell back for Lucy's recovery team's healing.
Injured pulled rearward, never blocking the advance.
Mitsuda's tanks anchored the front, absorbing monster hits.
The deep snow hid who-knows-what.
Elites handled surprises flawlessly.
That was the elite way.
"Ssssk!"
Splurt!!
A massive snow mountain serpent burst from a drift, ambushing.
The unguarded rear was exposed.
"...Mitsuda!"
"Leave it to me."
Mitsuda leaped, seizing the serpent's head.
"Raaah!!!"
Boom!!!
He slammed it into the ground.
Loud impact, but not fatal.
Finish needed.
"Ranged! Fire!"
Jae-yeol called; archers drew strings.
Arrows and bullets rained, but the scales held.
"Damn... not penetrating."
"...Ah-young."
"I know."
Ah-young shot forward at Jae-yeol's shout.
No hesitation in her movements.
She released mana.
Explosio (5★ Magic)
A giant fireball shot from her hand.
Whoosh!
It engulfed the serpent instantly.
The beast thrashed in pain.
"Finish it!"
"Wait."
Ah-young blocked Mitsuda as he charged.
He glanced at her, confused.
But he soon understood why.
"Gruruk! Gruk!"
The serpent shed its skin, revealing fresh scales underneath.
Molting.
Mitsuda would've been serpent chow if he'd rushed in.
Ah-young pondered briefly, then asked Mitsuda.
"Hey. Can you launch me?"
"...Huh? Why?"
She asked again, voice intense.
"Can you launch me?"
"...I can launch, sure."
"Then launch me at that monster."
"What? You crazy?"
"I'm not. Do it. Or I'll run in myself."
Running in was suicide.
Mitsuda trusted her determined eyes.
"Fine. No regrets later."
"Shut up and hurry."
Mitsuda grabbed her legs.
His power: body enhancement.
He could hurl a 50kg shot put 100m; Ah-young was easy.
"Tuck your legs. Make it smooth."
"..."
Mitsuda flung Yoon Ah-young at the serpent with full power.
Perfect hit.
Maybe overshot.
'Oops. Too much force.'
Ah-young soared right to the serpent's snout.
All eyes on her.
But she did nothing.
"...What the hell's she doing?"
"Mitsuda! What did you do?!"
Jae-yeol rushed with his gun, but the serpent snapped her up.
Silence fell.
"You bastard!!! What the fuck did you do?!"
Lucy lunged at Mitsuda.
As everyone panicked, only Mitsuda held his breath, watching.
"Damn! No choice—kill it fast. All troops, charge prep."
Under Jae-yeol's command, cadets readied weapons.
As they surged—
A massive explosion roared.
The serpent's body ignited red.
Flames erupted from its mouth.
Boom boom boom!!!
The serpent exploded, torn apart.
"Whoa!!!"
"Down!"
Blast wave swept the snowfield.
Inside the carcass, slime-soaked Yoon Ah-young emerged.
"Haa... haa... cough! Cough!"
Explosio
Internal detonation
Explosio.
A 5-star explosion spell.
Ah-young let it swallow her to cast inside.
...She caught her breath.
'...Why am I like this...'
Normally, she'd never risk it.
It was just training.
But since Tae-hyun shattered that rock, something shifted.
A burning desire ignited within.
'This isn't enough.'
Ah-young gazed at the opposite ridge.
V Class there held her half-sister.
The Yoon Family's seventh child.
'...I won't lose to you.'
She clenched her fist.
(To be continued in the next chapter)