chapter 53
Lee Hyun felt his overcharged magical circuits and body cooling at an unusually fast rate.
Then a message appeared.
Dding. Dding.
[Agility stat has exceeded 100 and entered triple digits.]
[Stamina stat has exceeded 100 and entered triple digits.]
[Additional functions have been added to Agility and Stamina stats. Connected to ‘Trait: Cryogenic Human’.]
[‘Additional Function: Cold Wind Clone (S)’ and ‘Extreme Cold Body (S)’ have been unlocked!]
[Cold Wind Clone (S)]
Your breath moves freely through the forest like the <Snow Queen>, attracting countless spirits.
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Effect: Movement speed increases. Evasion rate increases. If in stealth, detection causes delay.
[Extreme Cold Body (S)]
Your cold instinct awakens only when the heat in your blood becomes infinitely cold.
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Effect: Increases stamina recovery. Reduces abnormal status duration. Activates ‘Cold-Blooded’ state when health drops below 30%.
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Type: Stamina additional function.
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Origin: Fairy tale ‘The Snow Queen’.
Click. Click.
Lee Hyun felt something solid take root inside him.
The basic condition to become a ranker is unlocking additional functions for the six base stats. Now, only two remained.
‘This is fine. I just need to clear the three dungeons.’
The most critical part was nearly over.
[Connection with <The Snow Queen> has strengthened. The narrative has been rewritten, and the ‘Beginning’ in the plot structure has been restored.]
[All additional functions related to <The Snow Queen> have grown to SS rank!]
And now, even the growth of additional functions.
Lee Hyun realized this was the ‘gift’ the Snow Queen had mentioned.
“…You?”
“Did I not say? I always keep a promise, no matter what. So—”
Fwaak!
[Sudden event has ended.]
[The Imaginary World is beginning to close.]
A veil of light descended from the sky, just like when a dungeon closes.
The Snow Queen’s face was hidden like a veil, yet Lee Hyun felt as if she was smiling faintly.
“I hope you keep it too.”
Bang!
Lee Hyun forcibly swallowed, feeling his consciousness being ejected outward.
“…Huff, huff.”
Cold sweat poured from his forehead.
Drip. Drip.
“Senpai! Are you okay!? What on earth was that all of a sudden!?”
Kim Min-jung rushed over anxiously to check his condition.
Unlike the relatively long time in the Imaginary World, in reality, only a moment had passed.
At that moment—
“Huh? The dagger…!”
Fsssh!
Brutus’s dagger crumbled into dust, leaving only the hilt.
“Phew…”
Lee Hyun finally exhaled in relief. He could feel that Mo Jung-gun’s test had ended safely.
‘The body seems to have settled too.’
As his breathing returned to normal, he intended to thank Kim Min-jung for worrying.
However—
“…This is bad.”
Kim Min-jung’s face had turned pale.
“What do we do…? The item’s been damaged… And it’s SS rank…”
“There’s nothing we can do. We can explain and compensate…”
“This item is worth at least five billion!”
“…”
Lee Hyun was momentarily speechless.
The two left the company and headed straight to the meeting place.
Kim Min-jung was driving.
‘Wait a second. That means I just risked five billion for a single test?’
Lee Hyun let out a hollow laugh at Mo Jung-gun’s unimaginable scale. He had completely forgotten the value of an SS-ranked item.
For a hunter-grade item, this is the kind of gear a high-ranker would wield as their main weapon. Naturally, the value was enormous. Usually, such items easily exceed ten billion.
Brutus’s dagger, being cursed, was relatively cheap compared to others.
Of course, that was their story. Lee Hyun didn’t have that kind of money.
‘…I must have dulled my sense of money surrounded by relics like Hwa-an Geumjeong or Geumshin Nahan’s masks.’
During his Cheongrae days, if he needed something, he could borrow state-owned items or simply ask Elder Do-cheol.
“What did you do for money during your military days?”
‘I spent everything I earned on equipment.’
“But you should still have some left?”
‘I gave it all to the families of deceased comrades. I’m really poor.’
“No wonder your hands shake every time you ask for a snack. Tch.’”
‘And yet you kept making me do it knowing that?’
“Can’t offer even a small tribute to the gods?”
‘A god who preys on its followers isn’t really a god to begin with.’
“You’ve grown stubborn lately, huh?”
“Hahaha. Our Apostle’s words are always right, yet why are you so sensitive, Lord? Guilty conscience?”
“Both of you!?”
Lee Hyun calculated when his next paycheck would come. Of course, he couldn’t pay back five billion on a single office salary, but—
‘It’s not entirely impossible.’
He recalled the company’s incentive system: team bonuses from dungeon clears, team leader incentives, shares from mined resources—every factor worked in his favor.
Moreover,
‘The dagger didn’t completely disappear anyway.’
Thinking this, he felt much more at ease.
“My beloved colleague and junior, Min-jung.”
Kim Min-jung gripped the wheel and replied,
“I don’t have money.”
“…No, I’m not asking to borrow money—”
“No. Money.”
“….”
No matter what he said, the cold reply came back. Anyone might think he was asking for a loan.
Lee Hyun wanted to clear the misunderstanding, but—
“Spending company property, especially fifty billion at once… Even for a senior… Wow… Just different thinking.”
It seemed Kim Min-jung’s annoyance stemmed from another reason.
“You don’t need to worry about compensating.”
At that moment, Kim Min-jung’s eyes went icy.
“…I’m not saying I’m going to refuse.”
“Really?”
“The company won’t search for Brutus’s dagger either.”
“That seems to be what you mean.”
Her gaze seemed harsher with every word.
“It’s better to show you than explain… Do you want to see this?”
Lee Hyun pulled out Do-cheol’s tooth from his inventory.
Kim Min-jung looked at the passenger seat with suspicion—then gasped.
Fssssh!
A milky-white glow coated the tooth like a blade.
Then—
Gooooh!
A terrifying whirlwind centered around Lee Hyun. It felt like a raging white tiger snarling.
“…!!”
[White Tiger’s Kill revealed!]
[The curse on Brutus’s dagger is completely ignored due to curse immunity (SS), leaving only its amplification effect.]
[White Tiger’s Kill is absorbed by Duokshini’s Deep Breath (A+). Skill rank increased to S.]
[Sub-skill ‘Duokshini’s Wrath’ evolves into ‘Duokshini’s Fury’.]
Crackle!
The milky-white form turned cyan-white and even generated lightning.
Not wrath, but fury.
Lee Hyun enjoyed the lesson Mo Jung-gun had given him to the fullest.
‘Now I even have an S-rank skill. It’s like I’m back to my Jet days.’
Additionally, the two additional functions gained from the Snow Queen were also impressive: Cold Wind Clone and Extreme Cold Body. They offered noticeable boosts to agility and stamina.
‘Especially the newly added [Cold-Blooded] can be a reversal in a crisis.’
[Cold-Blooded]
Activates when health drops below 30%. All magic attributes switch to ice, and you can use the Snow Queen’s skills and powers regardless of previously learned narratives.
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Type: Trait, Amplifier
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Origin: Fairy tale ‘The Snow Queen’
‘The Snow Queen’s skills and powers… This must be the gift she mentioned.’
The ice attribute was completely different from his usual lightning one. No one would expect Lee Hyun to have this. It was perfect as a secret trump card.
However,
‘The more I use this, the stronger her influence grows. One or two times is fine, but more would be dangerous.’
-
I hope you keep it too.
The words of the Snow Queen echoed in his mind as the event ended.
Lee Hyun shook his head and calmed the surge of ki that had swept through him.
“How’s that?”
“…What was that just now? And what’s this?”
Though it was only a brief moment, Kim Min-jung’s forehead was covered in cold sweat.
“Doesn’t it look exactly like Brutus’s dagger?”
“Now that you mention it…”
“The curse inside has fully transferred to me.”
“Is that possible?”
“Possible, isn’t it?”
“Your body… Are you okay?”
“Surprisingly, it’s compatible with Duokshini’s Breath. No need to worry.”
Kim Min-jung inspected him and sighed.
“Okay, I understand. But next time, give me a heads-up if you’re going to do something like this. Do you know how shocked I was?”
“Sorry.”
“You couldn’t even warn me…”
“I think as long as I keep renewing the usage permission, there won’t be a problem. If needed, I can discuss with Team Leader Lim.”
Kim Min-jung nodded. It wasn’t as if the SS-ranked item was sought after; no one would search for it anyway. Allowing Lee Hyun semi-permanent access was beneficial for the company.
‘In that case, only Executive Director Jung looks foolish.’
Thinking this, Lee Hyun felt much more at ease.
Kim Min-jung’s car soon arrived at the destination.
“You’re here? I was about to fall asleep waiting.”
Not far from Seoul, in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.
Along a low plain, multiple police lines and fences marked the dungeon gate. Even personnel were stationed for management.
After identification, they entered to find Supervisors Seo Aeri and Eom Giseon waiting, armed with various items.
“What about the other team members?”
“As instructed, we left them all behind. They panicked seeing the攻略 plan without being included, so they even left the group chat. Ta-da.”
Eom Giseon chuckled as if amused to death. Lee Hyun smiled lightly.
“Hmm. But can you really clear this in fifteen days? Seems tough.”
Eom Giseon’s words were met with a curious gaze from Seo Aeri.
This dungeon had a difficulty comparable to <The Pied Piper>, if not higher.
It was the <Golden Axe, Silver Axe> dungeon.
Much older than <The Pied Piper>, with more casualties. Even with Lee Hyun’s puzzle-solving skills, could just four people clear it in fifteen days? Doubtful.
“Fifteen days? Why fifteen days?”
Lee Hyun tilted his head, puzzled.
“Excuse me? You said we’d be on a business trip for about fifteen days, so we prepared accordingly.”
Was the plan suddenly changing? Eom Giseon’s face stiffened with disappointment.
However—
“We plan to clear it in just one day.”
“…!?”
“…?!”
“Ha… I knew it.”
Eom Giseon and Seo Aeri’s eyes widened.
Kim Min-jung, having already heard Lee Hyun’s plan, sighed.
“Wait, wait! Team Leader! Then what about the remaining days…?”
“The dungeons we need to clear are fifteen in total. One per day should suffice, right?”
“…!”
“…!!”
Team Z currently had over thirty unsolved dungeons. He declared they would clear half in just fifteen days.
Eom Giseon wanted to shout how impossible that was, but—
“Then let’s go in.”
Lee Hyun stepped toward the gate, as if refusing to hear any objections.
