A bone-chilling cold spread outward from the center of the island. As thick fog rolled in like a tidal wave, Yuhyun’s arms tightened around me. Almost simultaneously, Song Taewon darted forward and quickly located relatively intact iron plates and steel doors among the charred and shattered heliport debris. He hurled them toward us.

Seong Hyunjae and Noah caught the wide plates as they flew through the air. Then—THUD! CRUNCH!—as if they’d rehearsed it beforehand, they arranged the metal sheets around me as a protective barrier. Immediately after, the cold intensified. I could hear the crackle of moisture in the air freezing solid, while Yuhyun’s flames heated the iron plates surrounding us. Though weaker than usual and confined to a narrow range, the flames sputtered unpredictably as if difficult to control, but they didn’t reach me.

As soon as the advancing cold passed, the iron plates were pulled away. Through the darkness, I caught a glimpse of the lake beyond the heliport—frozen solid. The moment it came into view, I shouted.

“Run!”

The magical distortion remained. Escaping the domain was still our top priority.

Without needing lengthy explanations, Yuhyun readjusted his grip on me and kicked off from the ground. He cleared the half-broken heliport railing in a single bound and landed on the frozen surface. The others followed suit. Though he jumped last, Song Taewon naturally took point, positioning himself protectively in front of Yuhyun who was carrying me. Since he was the only one who could safely block enemy attacks by applying Plunder to his body, it made sense for him to lead.

Noah moved to the side to provide support, while Seong Hyunjae, with his combat foresight, took the rear position.

‘This feels… strange somehow.’

The S-Rank Hunters were moving in perfect synchronization without being told. These were people who would normally stand alone at the very front, even as part of a team. Even now, if it weren’t for me, there’d be no reason for them to group up like this. They’d be confident in protecting themselves no matter what happened.

I took a short breath. It wasn’t as cold as before, but the air still carried a chill. The thickly frozen lake emitted a faint blue glow.

‘This damn lake is massive.’

Though Nosan Island was located in a relatively narrow section, the distance to the mainland was said to be two or three times the width of the Han River. Even for an S-Rank Hunter, it was impossible to cross in a single sprint without related skills. And since we didn’t know how solid the ice was, we couldn’t run at full force.

RUMBLE!

Just then, the ground—no, the frozen lake—shook again. Song Taewon, who’d been running in the lead, stopped by digging his feet into the ice. Noah used his axe to brake his sprint, and Yuhyun also used the Sword of the Corrupting Sovereign as an anchor. Seong Hyunjae, at the very back, slid smoothly and stopped precisely beside me.

Immediately after, the ground shook again, and part of the lake began rising upward!

As the surface cracked like an earthquake, Yuhyun and the S-Rank Hunters quickly pulled back. It wasn’t just where we’d stopped. Chunks of ice were rising from all across the wide lake.

CRACK—With a groaning sound, the massive ice chunks formed into the shapes of giants. Not only around us, but far in the distance as well, ice giants that rose like small mountains emitted blue light. There had to be dozens, if not hundreds, of them.

“This has become quite troublesome.”

Seong Hyunjae remarked, lightly shaking the Seeker’s Chain that lay limp and unresponsive. As he said, facing super-large monsters without skills was difficult. The only good news was that the ice giants didn’t seem eager to attack first. If we dodged skillfully, getting out of the lake wouldn’t be too challenging.

Song Taewon cautiously stepped forward. The moment he approached within attack range, the giant began to move.

– Grrrrr.

A massive hand descended toward Song Taewon. It was incredibly fast for its size. But just as he thought he’d dodged without issue—

CRUNCH!

Ice spikes shot up from the ground. A long spear appeared in Song Taewon’s hand while he was still airborne, and the spear tip struck between the spike-covered ground. Using the rebound, he escaped the ice giant’s attack range as if pole-vaulting.

“It seems capable of controlling ice within its range.”

Song Taewon said calmly, sliding back toward us. We can’t use skills, but they can. That’s not fair.

“Is it still difficult to use skills?”

“The magic remains in a distorted state. It’s a situation where it’s hard to even attempt without exceptional control ability. If using skills normally is like flying a kite on a nice day with gentle breezes, then right now it’s like being in a hurricane.”

“So if you control it well enough, you can use them.”

I wouldn’t even dare try right now. I took out the bead Myungwoo had given me. The bead glowed faintly before melting in my palm. Immediately after, the air, which had only felt slightly stuffy, began pricking my skin sharply.

“Ugh…”

“Hyung?”

This was a real mess. It was still bearable, so I pushed a little sharper. Enough for me to use my skills. Slowly increasing the sensitivity, I first tried contacting Grace. Just to test, I attempted using the Teacher skill, and it worked—perhaps because it was an item with its own consciousness.

Up to S-Rank damage nullification was a bit difficult, so I helped her apply up to A-Rank protection on me. With just this, I wouldn’t get hurt from battle aftereffects. And for the others…

“Hoo…”

“Hyung, what’s wrong? What are you trying to do?”

Yuhyun’s voice grew sharp. Noah also called out worriedly. I think I can manage it, just a little more. But it was slowly becoming overwhelming.

I had no choice but to take the cigarette case from my inventory. As I held the cigarette, Yuhyun’s eyebrows furrowed. Song Taewon, who’d been guarding our surroundings, also frowned at me.

“Is that by any chance the one made by the Chinese mafia?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Stop. It’s an item that has effects even on S-Rank Awakened. Poison resistance doesn’t work—”

“Hyung!”

Yuhyun shouted. There was no time for lengthy arguments.

“Just once. I swear.”

I didn’t want to do this in front of you either. I held out the cigarette, avoiding Yuhyun’s gaze.

“Someone light it for me.”

My brother ground his teeth and created a small flame at his fingertip.

“No, if you do that…”

“Not a second time.”

A low voice echoed with warning. I was really glad Yerim wasn’t here again. She must have gotten out of the water safely. She had cold resistance too.

As I put the cigarette in my mouth and inhaled the smoke, disapproving stares pierced me from all directions. Hey, I don’t have fear resistance, so let’s tone down the intimidation. I slowly tried moving my mana and glanced at Seong Hyunjae.

“Why are you so quiet?”

“I’m trying to respect my partner. But Chief Song Taewon’s advice keeps coming to mind.”

Chief Song’s advice. Was he telling me to cause less trouble in the future? The things I’d already done were piling up. He’d even kept my house’s spatula.

First, I used the Promising Talent skill on the ice giant.

[Grade 2 Giant Summoned Demonkin – Frozen Guardian

Current Stat Grade S

Potential Stat Grade A~S

Optimized Initial Skills

Cold Garden (S) Acquired

Ten Arms (S) Acquired

Instant Acceleration (A) Acquired

Cold Resistance (S) Acquired

Flame Resistance (B) Acquisition Failed]

Just as expected, it was S-Rank. Flame resistance as an initial skill would be too much. But the acquisition failed. It would be nice if the others failed too.

“As you saw earlier, it can control ice in a certain area around itself. That seems to be the Cold Garden skill. It’s S-Rank. Its stats are also S-Rank, and it appears capable of growing up to ten arms. It can also use Instant Acceleration, so please be careful. Cold resistance doesn’t matter for us. It didn’t get flame resistance. Since it needs flame resistance, it’s probably weak to heat.”

Though it looked like it would melt easily just from appearance.

“And summoned demons usually have a core, which nine times out of ten is in the head or chest, so let’s smash the head first. Mr. Seong Hyunjae, Chief Song Taewon—don’t refuse my skill. Yuhyun, you can use Grace, so you can put me down.”

“If you can use skills, then I should rather—”

“Up to A-Rank only.”

Battle aftermath was fine, but I couldn’t handle his fire. Though my brother was reluctant, when he was about to set me down, he handed me to Noah instead.

“I’ll leave him to you.”

“Yes.”

After Yuhyun, I used the Teacher skill on Noah, Seong Hyunjae, and Song Taewon. I wanted to convey the sense of Mana Engraving as well, but that was too much. Song Taewon didn’t really need it, and since Yuhyun and Seong Hyunjae weren’t completely unable to use skills, they’d be fine just matching their timing with the Teacher skill. Instead, I helped Noah, who was right beside me, with his magic control.

“Support skills and healing skills, please.”

“Don’t worry.”

Song Taewon stepped forward again. A black shadow materialized over his hand. Yuhyun imbued the Sword of the Corrupting Sovereign with fire, and Seong Hyunjae swung the Seeker’s Chain like a whip.

The moment Noah’s support skill activated, Song Taewon shot forward like an arrow. The ice beneath his feet crumbled. CRUNCH, CRUNCH! Ice spikes shot up from the ground, taller than a person.

“Use this.”

Seong Hyunjae threw a shield toward Song Taewon. The partially dented thing didn’t seem to be his—where had he picked it up? He didn’t seem like the type, but my partner was surprisingly good at scavenging.

Song Taewon caught the shield and transferred Plunder to it. The black shadow weakened and wavered, but since it was armor directly on his body, it seemed usable. Song Taewon charged straight ahead and collided with the ice spikes.

CRUNCH—!

The dense spikes broke like twigs. The giant didn’t just watch his relentless charge. Song Taewon caught the descending palm with his arm, bending his knees to redirect the impact.

BOOM!

– Grrr.

CLANG—a crack spread through the icy hand and arm, and the impact reverberated. While the giant staggered, Yuhyun, who’d been following closely behind Song Taewon, leaped up. He lightly stepped on the back of the hand that had struck the shield and climbed the arm as if flying.

In an instant, seeing Yuhyun reach its shoulder, the giant created additional arms.

“When the number increases, they get weaker! Usually!”

The power was bound to be dispersed compared to when there was just one. Just as the ten arms moved to catch Yuhyun, a golden chain was thrown. It wrapped around all five arms on one side in one go and discharged a vicious electrical current.

A rattling sound echoed, but the five arms couldn’t escape the Seeker’s Chain. The remaining four moved freely, but my brother wasn’t someone who couldn’t dodge that much. And now he even had combat foresight. Yuhyun, who’d easily reached near the giant’s head without any trouble, swung the Sword of the Corrupting Sovereign.

The blade, imbued with searing heat, carved into the ice. The giant’s head caved in as if cutting through soft sponge cake, and dark blue flames began rampaging like a beast just released from its cage.

– Kruk!

In the blink of an eye, something small and shiny became visible inside the melted giant’s head. The Sword of the Corrupting Sovereign immediately split the core in half. At the same time, the ice giant’s movements stopped, then it collapsed.

That took only about 3 minutes? No, it seemed to have taken less than 2 minutes.

“The others will follow a similar pattern! If they don’t have learning capabilities.”

“Undead summoned demons usually don’t have learning capabilities. Unless they’re magician types.”

Noah continued.

“But they’ve definitely recognized us as enemies now.”

RUMBLE—the ice floor trembled, and the giants that had been quiet until now began moving toward us. Wow, there were so many.

“Always be careful of Instant Acceleration, and if there’s one with flame resistance, please help Mr. Seong Hyunjae take off its head.”

Other than that, it was a race against time. Noah cautiously spread his wings. It seemed he could fly, even if he couldn’t fully transform into a dragon.

Song Taewon ran toward the nearest ice giant, and Yuhyun followed behind him. In a similar fashion, another ice chunk collapsed instantly.

‘There are too many.’

If Yuhyun could use his skills properly, he could melt them all, and Seong Hyunjae could handle the ones with flame resistance. But both of them couldn’t control wide-area attacks unless they were right up close.

Still, as they dealt with them one by one at high speed—

RUMBLE—!

Suddenly, the far side of the lake rose up. A wall of enormous size, incomparable to the ice giants, appeared as if flipping the lake bottom over. I thought the boss who’d caused all this chaos had finally appeared.

– Krrk!

– Kruk!

The ice wall that loomed like a mountain range sharpened its edges and began plunging down. Onto the ice giants.

CRUNCH! BOOM! CRACK!

They were all monsters with cold resistance. But they couldn’t withstand thousands of ice spears raining down. They only blocked the cold—the physical force of the spears remained. A familiar voice echoed among the giants whose cores were pierced and collapsed, and those whose bodies were shattered but whose cores remained, still flailing.

“Mister!”

Yerim? You’re safe! But how can you use skills?

While Yuhyun, Seong Hyunjae, and Song Taewon were cleaning up the ice giants with remaining cores, Yerim flew quickly toward us. Peace was also visible beside her. And Peace had his wings out too, using a flight skill.

“Yerim, you—!”

BOOM—!

Before I could even ask what had happened, an explosion erupted from the island that had been frozen white.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep