Yoo Jungyeon left the rest of the matters to Yoo Baekjun and returned first.
Instead, Yoo Baekjun would guide Jin Seoyeon and the other visitors to their lodgings.
"Nothing's changed since I came here as a kid."
"It's my first time. A hanok, hmm. In a way, it feels a bit like our magic tower."
The magic tower was built using the World Tree.
It was made with all sorts of rare materials and looked incredibly fancy, but since the branches of the World Tree entwined around it, the building gave off a very eco-friendly vibe.
Hanok were also, well, eco-friendly.
"Is this where we'll be staying?"
"Yeah. There are servants inside, so if you need anything, just tell them."
"Not bad."
Jin Seoyeon nodded with satisfaction.
'She's got a rather peculiar taste.'
Her favorite foods too—Jin Seoyeon had a strong preference for hanok and traditional dishes.
As far as he knew, she was probably of mixed heritage.
"So, should we unpack and head out right away?"
"Young lady, are you saying you want to leave immediately?"
"Yeah, there's no need to drag it out. I want to start accumulating mana now."
"Well…"
The mages beside Jin Seoyeon were flustered. It seemed they thought they'd be leaving tomorrow.
Yoo Baekjun had thought the same.
"There's not much difference between leaving today or tomorrow, young lady. How about resting today and leaving tomorrow morning?"
"I don't want to waste even a few hours. We leave now."
"Young lady…"
The mage looked troubled.
In this state, Jin Seoyeon wouldn't listen to anyone. What should they do? As they fretted, they spotted Yoo Baekjun.
"..."
"..."
Yoo Baekjun felt a silent pressure.
It was like they were pleading with him—say something, anything, to convince our lady.
He let out a long sigh.
'Tsk, guess I have no choice.'
Yoo Baekjun stepped forward. Jin Seoyeon's eyes turned to him.
"Seoyeon, the monsters on Seorak Mountain at night are annoying—I mean, dangerous. Wouldn't it be better to leave in the morning?"
"How dangerous is it?"
"Dangerous enough that we'll arrive around the same time whether we leave now or tomorrow morning."
"..."
Jin Seoyeon thought for a moment.
"Fine. I'll trust the words of someone who lives on Seorak Mountain. We'll leave tomorrow."
"Huh? Tomorrow? Really? Ah, yes! Understood."
The mages were stunned.
Jin Seoyeon was quite stubborn. Once she set her mind to something, she never backed down.
They'd expected it would be hard to convince her.
'And she gave in with just one sentence?'
They couldn't help but be surprised.
Yoo Baekjun felt the same.
'She's not the type to listen to others so easily.'
Jin Seoyeon was proud and headstrong.
For someone like that to yield so quickly—was it true, then, that they had a good relationship in their childhood, like Choi Seungmin or Han Seonga had said?
"Can I ask you to guide them, Master Han Seonga?"
"Yes, Young Master. I'll guide them."
"Good. Everyone, take a good rest today. We'll depart around 10 a.m. tomorrow. Oh, and…"
Yoo Baekjun handed a gift box to Jin Seoyeon. She opened it, puzzled.
Inside was a box of premium red bean jelly.
"Hmm."
A slight flush appeared on Jin Seoyeon's otherwise blank face. It seemed she liked it.
"See you tomorrow."
Yoo Baekjun turned and headed for his own residence. Jin Seoyeon stared intently at his back.
***
Yoo Baekjun prepared what he needed through the night.
The place he would take Jin Seoyeon was a cave on Seorak Mountain, where ice spirits dwelled.
There was a mythical beast guarding that cave—none other than the snow tiger he'd recently acquired.
"By now, it should be in chaos."
To deal with it, he'd need quite a few things.
He rummaged through the family warehouse, gathering supplies, and called for Choi Seungmin.
"Seungmin, go to Busan and check if this person still lives there."
"Should I use the clan members?"
"That's fine too."
Choi Seungmin bowed and left.
Then came morning.
"Did you sleep well?"
"…It's cold."
Jin Seoyeon shivered.
The magic around the family house blocked the snow, but not the cold.
She stared blankly at the sky before casting a spell to ward off the chill.
"Phew. Are we heading out right now?"
"No reason to delay, let's go. Are you bringing those people too?"
Yoo Baekjun pointed at the mages behind Jin Seoyeon. She shook her head.
"No, they're here to repair the magic circle. They're unrelated. If you really want to bring them, I won't stop you."
She stared intently.
Yoo Baekjun hesitated. Would taking the other mages be helpful?
No—climbing Seorak Mountain gets more annoying the more people you have.
'Just Jin Seoyeon is enough.'
Yoo Baekjun nodded.
"Let's go, just the two of us."
"Young lady, that's too dangerous—"
"Okay."
"..."
The mages who were about to protest were left speechless.
'Why is she acting like this since yesterday?'
'She's not usually this agreeable…'
Sure, they'd been close as children, but that was another matter.
She seemed like a different person now—it gave the mages chills.
"Young Master. Here are the items you asked for."
"Mm."
Yoo Baekjun took a small pouch from Han Seonga and slung a large backpack over his shoulders.
Jin Seoyeon looked puzzled.
"What's with the backpack?"
"You'll find out once we get up there."
Yoo Baekjun opened the front gate. Jin Seoyeon followed, leaving the worried mages behind.
Fwoosh! Snow from outside engulfed them.
'I'll clear the event by tomorrow and get everything I can.'
Using Jin Seoyeon.
Strangely, the thought of catching a ride made him feel a little giddy.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
Yoo Baekjun and Jin Seoyeon began walking.
***
Ever since the gate appeared, Seorak Mountain's weather had grown terribly erratic.
And today, of all days, a blizzard was raging. So much for leaving in the morning.
'Worse yet, on blizzard days, more monsters come out to hunt…'
Among the monsters that lived on Seorak Mountain, some weren't affected by blizzards.
For them, days like this were perfect for hunting.
'That's why I brought what I did.'
Yoo Baekjun looked out at the storm. He couldn't see an inch ahead, and beastly howls echoed from afar.
It must have been freezing cold.
'Good thing I have the black demon coat.'
Without it, he'd be suffering.
He glanced at Jin Seoyeon. She was using magic to ward off the cold.
"If you can't see, where are we even going?"
"Up. As for vision…"
Yoo Baekjun took out a scroll.
As he channeled mana into it, the scroll began to glow blue, then caught fire.
Fwoosh! The scroll burned away, and suddenly, their vision cleared.
"Vision magic?"
"Yeah."
A vision spell. It allowed one to see clearly in any environment.
Yoo Baekjun looked at Jin Seoyeon.
"You can handle the monsters, right?"
"There's no magic I can't use. The monsters here are frost-type. Easy."
Jin Seoyeon conjured fire.
Well, no need to worry. In another route, she was an all-powerful magic prodigy.
That's why she'd be terrifying as an enemy.
"..."
"..."
The two climbed Seorak Mountain in silence.
Of course, things didn't stay quiet.
–Graaargh!
–Human flesh! Tear them apart!
Monsters attacked.
The monsters of Seorak Mountain were varied—and cunning. They loved hiding in the blizzard and ambushing prey.
'Iceo, Small Wendigo.'
A massive, ice-spiked dog—Iceo. And a human-sized yeti covered in snow-white fur—Small Wendigo.
Both were perfectly adapted to the blizzard.
–Today's a feast!
A horde of monsters rushed in.
Yoo Baekjun put on the C-rank gloves he'd brought from his clan and got into position.
Iceo reached him first.
–Graaargh...
Yoo Baekjun landed a savage soccer kick on Iceo's face.
Then he dashed at the Small Wendigo, closing the gap in an instant.
Crunch!
He slammed the beast's skull.
His fist tore through flesh and shattered bone. He immediately twisted its neck.
He darted around, cutting off monsters trying to approach Jin Seoyeon.
"There's a lot of them."
Having finished her chant, Jin Seoyeon cast magic like brushing off bugs.
Chik! The sound of flint striking. Then—
Kaboom!
Pillars of flame erupted beneath the charging monsters.
Not one, but several.
The monsters were engulfed and burned instantly. The smell of charred meat filled the air.
'Flame Pillar. Was that a B+ rank skill?'
Up to B-rank, skills and stats promoted without subgrades.
But starting at B-rank, they split into B+, A, A+, and so on.
'That's nearly A-rank. She must've maxed the skill proficiency.'
To be that strong already, this early in the game—
He couldn't imagine how powerful she'd become with time. Better to stay on good terms.
"Hm."
Yoo Baekjun looked down at the fallen monsters and glanced beyond the snowstorm.
There were more monsters.
"Are those beasts controlled by the yeti?"
"Yeah. They catch the roaming ones around Seorak Mountain and train them to follow commands."
"Then those guys…"
Jin Seoyeon looked into the blizzard.
Large, birdlike creatures walked on the ground, crystalline eyes staring this way.
"Crystal Birds. Hyena-like bastards. If someone dies in a fight, they swoop in and take the corpse."
"What if you don't give them the corpse?"
"They'll attack."
Not like the fallen monsters dropped any items.
It might be worthwhile to harvest materials, but now wasn't the time.
Yoo Baekjun tossed the corpse.
The Crystal Birds swarmed and happily tore into it.
"Definitely, the monsters have built their own ecosystem. Fascinating…"
"You find the weirdest things fascinating. Let's go."
Yoo Baekjun quickened his pace.
Everything looked like a white snowfield to Jin Seoyeon, but he moved like he knew the terrain well.
"..."
Jin Seoyeon stared at him.
He'd built up quite a bit of muscle. He used to be so thin he looked sickly—so timid.
Now, he looked confident.
"You've changed."
"Changed?"
"Yeah. You used to follow me around calling me 'noona,' but now you're all cocky."
So he really did call her 'noona' back then.
The old Yoo Baekjun would've done that. Though not this current version.
"When did we last see each other?"
"Middle school? After the engagement was broken off, we never met again. No reason to."
"Why? You never thought of visiting me?"
"Visit? We weren't engaged anymore, so what would be the point?"
Yoo Baekjun quickly processed that.
'Even when we were engaged, it didn't seem romantic. More like friends?'
It had been a typical political engagement. Personally, they'd had a normal friendship.
Not a bad relationship.
"And… I was busy."
Jin Seoyeon absentmindedly twirled her snow-white hair. That reminded him of her backstory.
She'd trained under her father, Jin Baekcheon, and the side effect had turned her hair white.
She hated it intensely.
"How far are we going? Don't tell me we're climbing all the way to the top of Seorak Mountain."
"We're almost there."
Yoo Baekjun exhaled a cloud of frosty breath.
He looked at the ground—there was a frozen stream. Following it would lead them to the cave.
The problem was that this area had a high monster density.
"Be careful. From here on out, it's a monster field."
Keeee! A monster's cry rang out nearby, along with countless presences.
Yoo Baekjun pulled up his slipping gloves.