Instead of answering, Sang-hyeok lightly shrugged one shoulder.
It was impossible to tell whether that meant yes or no.
Red Lotus quickly swept her gaze over the equipment visible beneath Sang-hyeok’s black mask.
A silver bracelet circled his left wrist, and dark-red metal pieces were attached to his boots.
Those were the only pieces of equipment that stood out.
He did not even appear to be carrying a weapon.
“Probably not.”
Baren also checked Sang-hyeok’s empty hands and shook his head.
“Even if he were the Impossible One, there’s no way he’d enter his first Cooperative Battlefield barehanded.”
“Right?”
Red Lotus stepped back with a disappointed expression.
Blessings Cost Money looked over Sang-hyeok’s hands one more time before asking.
“Are you a martial-arts type?”
“Something like that.”
This time, Baren asked.
“Is this your first Cooperative Battlefield?”
“Yeah.”
Baren raised his round shield.
“Then move behind me. As long as you don’t leave the <Warmth Core>’s range, the basic clear isn’t difficult.”
Sang-hyeok simply nodded at Baren, who clearly regarded him as a beginner.
It was not exactly wrong.
This really was his first time entering a Cooperative Battlefield.
‘I am a beginner, technically.’
What Baren did not know was that the beginner in front of him had never missed an SSS evaluation from the 1st through the 9th Floor and had overturned the Tower’s judgment of “impossible” several times on the way up.
At that moment, the transfer formation engraved beneath the four of them shone blue.
「4-person matching complete.」
「Moving to the Lv.10 Limited Cooperative Battlefield <Frozen Gorge>.」
FLASH!
A cold wind brushed their cheeks even before the light faded.
When Sang-hyeok’s vision returned, a snow-covered gorge stretched far into the distance.
The ice walls rising on both sides were so high that their ends could not be seen.
Beyond the raging blizzard between them, an enormous blue crystal was faintly visible.
When Sang-hyeok turned around, a red crystal behind the four of them was radiating warm light.
No snow accumulated where the light reached, and the biting wind was noticeably weaker.
As Sang-hyeok’s gaze touched the red crystal, information appeared above it.
[<Warmth Core>]
[Current Durability: 100%]
[Warmth Range: 15-meter radius]
The objective of the battlefield followed.
[Basic Clear Objective]
- Protect the <Warmth Core> for 10 minutes.
[Complete Clear Condition]
- Destroy the <Eternal Freeze Core> at the end of the gorge.
Red Lotus gestured with her chin toward the blue crystal visible through the blizzard.
“That’s the <Eternal Freeze Core> I mentioned earlier.”
It did not look particularly far away.
But the moment a player left the <Warmth Core>’s range, <Freeze> began accumulating rapidly.
Only a handful of players had ever managed to push through the violent blizzard and reach the core.
Baren planted his shield in front of the <Warmth Core>.
“Let’s do it the usual way. I’ll hold the front. Red Lotus, focus your firepower from behind. Blessings, please take care of the <Warmth Core>.”
His gaze moved to Sang-hyeok.
“Private, just handle anything that slips past my shield.”
The moment Sang-hyeok gave a short nod, the red light of the <Warmth Core> brightened.
「Lv.10 Limited Cooperative Battlefield <Frozen Gorge> begins.」
[Time Remaining: 10:00]
Grrrrr!
Magical beasts covered in ice emerged from the blizzard.
Wolf-like creatures led the charge, and behind them a gigantic boar-shaped beast plowed through the snow as it rushed forward.
[Frozen Magical Beast]
[Lv.10]
“They’re coming!”
Blessings Cost Money raised his staff and cast a protective blessing on Baren.
FLASH!
White light stretched from the tip of the staff and wrapped around Baren’s armor and shield, forming a thin barrier.
Baren immediately advanced to the edge of the Warmth Range and thrust his shield forward.
BOOM!
The leading boar crashed into the shield.
Baren’s body slid backward, but his stance did not collapse.
While he stopped the beast’s charge, Red Lotus swung her staff.
FWOOOOSH!
Red flames spread past both sides of the shield.
The wolves racing over the snow were swallowed by the flames and fell one after another.
The three of them had repeatedly cleared this battlefield before, so each was accustomed to their role.
Baren blocked the path.
Red Lotus burned down the enemies he gathered.
Blessings Cost Money healed the two of them while adding another protective barrier to the <Warmth Core>.
Then one wolf that had leaped aside to avoid Red Lotus’s flames slipped past Baren’s shield.
It charged straight at Sang-hyeok.
GRAAAH!
Before Baren could even turn around, Sang-hyeok stepped forward.
Instead of avoiding the charging wolf, he reached out with his right hand and touched its forehead.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
HISSSS!
The instant Sang-hyeok’s hand touched it, the wolf’s head crumbled into black sand.
The black energy spread through its neck and torso in an instant.
Fssss.
The charging magical beast could not even scream before collapsing into a pile of black sand at Sang-hyeok’s feet.
Baren’s eyes widened as he watched from behind his shield.
Red Lotus stood frozen with her staff raised, unable to close her mouth.
At that moment, another surviving wolf lunged toward Red Lotus’s side.
“Red Lotus!”
At Blessings Cost Money’s shout, Red Lotus snapped back to herself.
Just as the sharp claws reached her face, she hurriedly swung her staff.
FWOOOSH!
A burst of flame swallowed the wolf.
Baren shoved away the final magical beast with his shield, and Red Lotus immediately redirected the remaining flames toward it.
THUD!
The beast collapsed while engulfed in fire, bringing the first wave to an end.
「First wave ended.」
[<Warmth Core> Durability: 100%]
[Time Remaining: 08:47]
Once the wave ended, all three of them looked toward the black sand piled at Sang-hyeok’s feet.
Blessings Cost Money looked back and forth between the sand and Sang-hyeok’s right hand.
“You only touched it once, and the entire magical beast disappeared. What kind of Authority is that?”
Red Lotus seemed to have already forgotten the claws that had nearly reached her face.
She could not take her eyes off Sang-hyeok’s right hand.
“I’ve never seen a power like that.”
All three gazes gathered on Sang-hyeok.
Sang-hyeok did not answer.
Instead, he checked his party members’ status windows first.
Even after stopping the first wave, all three still had plenty of health and mana remaining.
“You three can protect the <Warmth Core> to the end, right?”
“That much is possible.”
Baren asked back with a wary expression.
“But why are you asking?”
“I’m leaving this side to you. I’m going to the <Eternal Freeze Core>.”
All three expressions stiffened at once.
“Wait. Once you leave the Warmth Range, you’ll freeze before you even get halfway to the core.”
“And reaching it isn’t the end of the problem. Even two fire mages pouring flames into it couldn’t leave a single scratch.”
None of the three looked pleased with the idea.
Sang-hyeok did not bother explaining his power to them.
Instead, he looked toward the blue crystal at the end of the gorge and asked.
“Don’t you want the complete-clear reward?”
No one answered immediately.
Red Lotus in particular looked several times between the black sand at Sang-hyeok’s feet and the <Eternal Freeze Core>.
After a moment, she asked the same question as before.
This time, unmistakable expectation colored her voice.
“Are you… really the Impossible One?”
The corner of Sang-hyeok’s mouth rose slightly beneath the black mask.
“Who knows.”
Rather than being discouraged by the answer, Red Lotus seemed to make up her mind.
She readjusted her grip on her staff.
“Let’s trust him. The three of us can protect the <Warmth Core>, can’t we?”
Baren thought for a moment before giving a heavy nod.
“Fine. We’ll handle this side. But if your body starts freezing, come back immediately.”
“I’ll give you a blessing.”
Blessings Cost Money extended his staff.
Warm light wrapped around Sang-hyeok’s body.
[<Blessing of Warmth> has been granted.]
[Accumulation speed of status effect <Freeze> decreases.]
Leaving the three behind, Sang-hyeok crossed the red boundary of the <Warmth Core>.
WHOOOOOSH!
The blizzard crashed into his entire body as though it had been waiting.
The warm air disappeared at once, replaced by cold that seemed to seep into his bones.
[You have left the <Warmth Core>’s protection range.]
[Status effect <Freeze> accumulates.]
[Current Freeze: 7%]
<Freeze> began accumulating, but Sang-hyeok did not slow down.
As he ran over the ice, the percentage climbed at a visibly rapid pace.
[Current Freeze: 19%]
[Current Freeze: 34%]
White frost settled over his boots and trouser legs.
Even so, thanks to the <Collapse Walker’s Boots>, his stride did not break even on the frozen ground.
Before he had even reached the halfway point of the gorge, new magical beasts burst out of the blizzard.
Sang-hyeok spread <Extinction Devouring> widely over his right hand and ran straight through them.
HISSSS!
Every beast that touched the black energy vanished at once.
Sang-hyeok continued forward without stopping, breaking through the black sand left behind by the disappearing monsters.
Watching him from afar, Red Lotus muttered in disbelief.
“He really is fighting barehanded.”
Blessings Cost Money’s gaze was fixed on the party status window.
“But his Freeze is already over fifty percent.”
The frost covering Sang-hyeok’s legs was turning into thick ice.
His steps gradually slowed, and sensation was rapidly disappearing from his left arm.
[Current Freeze: 58%]
The <Blessing of Warmth> was also approaching its limit.
Even so, Sang-hyeok did not turn back.
Vmmmm.
At that moment, the <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> around his left wrist emitted blue light.
Cold mana filling the gorge gathered toward his wrist and flowed all the way into the Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon.
THUD.
The heart beat deeply as it accepted the mana.
Dark-red energy spread from Sang-hyeok’s right shoulder, down his arm, and into his fingertips.
His right side, which had already undergone Bloodstream Adaptation, continued to move even under <Freeze>.
But his left arm and both legs were different.
Every step stiffened his knees, and the ice around his ankles grew thicker and thicker.
[Current Freeze: 71%]
At last, his left foot stopped as though it had been glued to the snow.
Sang-hyeok’s body pitched forward.
He barely righted himself by putting strength into his right leg.
His gaze turned to his right arm, which still moved freely inside the ice.
Dark-red energy still flowed vividly through his right shoulder and arm.
Sang-hyeok focused on that power.
‘Spread it to my left arm and both legs.’
THUD!
As though responding to Sang-hyeok’s will, the Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon beat powerfully.
The dark-red energy that had remained in his right shoulder and arm crossed his chest and stretched into his left shoulder.
Then it passed his waist and rapidly spread through both thighs and calves.
The dark-red energy flowing beneath his skin finally reached all the way to his toes.
「<Bloodstream Adaptation> reacts to strong status effect <Freeze>.」
「Opening Condition 2 fulfilled.」
「Lv.10 Growth Authority <Demon Dragon’s Bloodstream> opens.」
[<Demon Dragon’s Bloodstream> Stage 1]
- Mana converted by the heart is supplied throughout the body along the bloodstream.
- Status-effect effects are reduced by 30%.
- Demon Dragon-class black arts can now be learned.
CRACK!
Thick fissures spread across the ice covering his left arm and both legs.
Sang-hyeok clenched and opened his left hand, then lifted his left foot.
The cracked ice fragments fell onto the snow.
<Freeze> had not disappeared completely.
Even so, his left arm and both legs could move again.
After checking the changes in his body, Sang-hyeok’s gaze stopped on the final line of the notification still floating before him.
‘Black arts.’
A new path for wielding the Demon Dragon’s power had opened.
He did not yet know how to learn those black arts, but he would eventually find clues while climbing the Tower.
That could wait until after this clear.
Sang-hyeok closed the notification and ran toward the end of the gorge again.
The blizzard battered him even more fiercely than before, but his feet no longer stopped.
“He started moving again!”
Blessings Cost Money’s voice trembled as he checked the party status window.
“My blessing already ended, and his Freeze is over seventy percent. But he’s still running.”
Red Lotus’s gaze shifted repeatedly between the displayed percentage and Sang-hyeok moving through the snowstorm.
On her previous attempt, even with another fire mage beside her, Red Lotus had barely managed to reach the core.
Sang-hyeok was crossing the same route alone.
She could not take her eyes off the figure disappearing farther into the blizzard.
GRAAAAH!
Then a roar even louder than the first erupted from inside the gorge.
The three people who had been watching Sang-hyeok immediately turned back toward the <Warmth Core>.
More Frozen Magical Beasts were rushing in through the snowstorm.
Baren raised his shield first.
“Leave that side to Private. We have to keep our promise and hold this place.”
BOOM!
Baren’s shield caught the leading beast’s charge.
Red Lotus bit her lip and lifted her staff.
“Right. The three of us will protect the <Warmth Core> to the end.”
FWOOOOSH!
Red flames spread wide in front of the Warmth Core.
Behind the other two, Blessings Cost Money continued maintaining barriers and healing.
While the three stopped the magical beasts’ assault, Sang-hyeok finally reached the end of the gorge.
The blue crystal that had looked distant through the blizzard was, up close, several times taller than Sang-hyeok.
Cold continuously poured from the crystal buried deep in the ground.
[<Eternal Freeze Core>]
[Current Destruction Record: 0]
[Regeneration: Highest]
Even after being reduced by <Demon Dragon’s Bloodstream>, the cold radiating from the core was vicious.
Frost again covered Sang-hyeok’s arms and shoulders, and his Freeze percentage continued rising.
[Current Freeze: 86%]
Sang-hyeok placed his right hand on the core without hesitation.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
HISSSS!
The blue crystal beneath his palm immediately crumbled into black sand.
It did not melt into water.
The part touched by <Extinction Devouring> simply ceased to exist.
Fssss.
A palm-sized hole appeared in the surface of the core.
The surrounding cold immediately rushed into the opening.
According to Red Lotus, any part melted by flame should have frozen over again at this point.
But the hole remained.
No matter how much cold poured into it, the crystal erased by <Extinction Devouring> did not regenerate.
「First damage inflicted on <Eternal Freeze Core>.」
[<Eternal Freeze Core> Damage: 3%]
The same notification appeared before his three party members.
Red Lotus’s eyes widened as she continued pouring flames toward the magical beasts.
“The damage… went up.”
On her previous attempt, Red Lotus and another fire mage had poured their flames into the core together.
They had managed to melt the blue crystal’s surface for a moment, but as soon as the flames weakened, the melted section froze again.
The damage value had not risen even by one percent.
The public records did not display the core’s damage percentage.
Nor had any player ever publicly claimed to have raised it.
There were rumors that several current members of the Sixteen Heavenly Seats had damaged the core when they first challenged it as rookies, but those were only unverified stories.
Inflicting damage on the core itself was regarded as something close to impossible.
And now.
The private player wearing a black mask was breaking that impossibility.
The black energy continued pushing deeper into the blue crystal without stopping.
Red Lotus could not tear her gaze away from Sang-hyeok beyond the blizzard.
The last of her doubt disappeared.
“The Impossible One….”