There was an oddly high number of monsters on the path leading into the cave, following the frozen stream.
If they didn't fight their way through, they wouldn't be able to move an inch.
"Why are there so many monsters!"
Jin Seoyeon shouted in exasperation.
Monsters were literally swarming like waves. The variety was horrifying as well.
Was there a gate nearby? That thought naturally came to mind.
"There's no gate!"
Yoo Baekjun responded, almost as if he had read her mind.
"Then what is it!"
"The monsters nearby are gathering here!"
"Gathering?"
"Yeah! Because of mana!"
"........"
At those words, Jin Seoyeon's expression changed. From annoyed to intrigued.
Monsters are instinctively drawn to mana. They grow stronger by absorbing it.
'For this many monsters to gather… that must mean a huge amount of pure mana is concentrated here.'
She now understood why Yoo Baekjun had suggested coming here. A place with that level of mana was exactly what she wanted.
"Shhh...!"
Yoo Baekjun charged forward.
An Ice Troll blocked his way. He slipped into the troll's range and launched a barrage of attacks.
Papapapak! A relentless flurry of punches tore into the troll's flesh and shattered its bones.
–Kraaaagh!
He finished with an uppercut to the jaw.
Then, Yoo Baekjun stomped hard on the ground.
The earth he kicked up ignited into flames, engulfing the surrounding enemies.
Fwoooosh!
Immediately, he leapt forward, following up with a gale-like attack with his legs.
His Gale Steps swept through the surrounding enemies.
"Hmph."
Jin Seoyeon closely watched Yoo Baekjun's movements—especially when he fought monsters.
Fwoosh!
She didn't know exactly what trick he was using, but his fists were wrapped in flames.
She was clueless about martial arts, but she could tell his skills were impressive.
'Didn't they say he had no talent?'
Jin Seoyeon tilted her head.
That was the reason the engagement had been broken off. Yoo Moohak had come in person and told her father, Jin Baekcheon.
—"He's my son, but he has no talent whatsoever. I believe it's best to annul the engagement to avoid hindering your daughter's future."
She still remembered those words.
She'd heard similar things plenty of times. Her father also placed extreme value on talent.
He'd cut off many people because of that.
'Yoo Moohak is a sword master. If he said Baekjun had no talent, then he probably didn't.'
Jin Baekcheon had abandoned people he deemed talentless, and they really had no talent.
Yoo Moohak, who was similar, wasn't the type to make mistakes.
"......."
"What are you staring at?"
"Nothing, I just got curious. I don't understand why our engagement was canceled."
"You know my dad's personality, right?"
"I do. That's exactly why I'm wondering."
Jin Seoyeon gave a bitter smile.
"Didn't you cry in front of me once, saying you could never meet your father's expectations?"
"D-Did I?"
"You did. Back then, I was in a similar situation too. We used to confide in each other about that kind of pressure."
Hearing that, Baekjun finally understood why Jin Seoyeon treated him kindly.
The Magic Tower was much like the Sword Saint Clan.
If one didn't meet expectations, they were discarded, and the last one standing inherited the tower.
'Jin Seoyeon overcame that burden and became successor. In the original story, she overcame it alone.'
But in this iteration, if she had shared that burden with Yoo Baekjun, whom she was close with in childhood?
It wouldn't be strange for them to have grown close.
"I overcame the pressure. I thought you wouldn't, but I guess I was wrong."
"Y-Yeah."
Since he didn't remember exactly what they'd talked about, that was the only way he could respond.
Jin Seoyeon looked lost in nostalgic thought.
Seizing the moment, Yoo Baekjun pushed forward.
"Back then..."
"We're here."
"We are? I don't see anything."
Jin Seoyeon looked around.
The snowfield was full of monsters. The only difference was a tall cliff not far off.
And a massive wall of ice blocking the front.
"There's supposed to be something here..."
Right, there was nothing. "At least to the eye."
But Jin Seoyeon possessed extraordinary magic talent. That's why she could sense it.
"...No, there's something here."
It looked like there was nothing, but something—not a monster—was nearby.
But before identifying it, they had to deal with the monsters in the snowfield.
BOOOOM!
Yoo Baekjun and Jin Seoyeon quickly cleared out the monsters.
Then, Yoo Baekjun approached the pile of monster corpses. Something was gathered there.
"It's an ice spirit."
Jin Seoyeon couldn't see it, but Yoo Baekjun could.
It looked like blue ice carved into a ball, with spikes all over it.
With round eyes that gave it charm, these were ice spirits that dwelled in Seorak Mountain.
–Shiver shiver...
–Tremble tremble...
The ice spirits were huddled together, trembling.
They looked kind of cute, evoking sympathy—but they weren't beings to be sympathized with.
They were extremely dangerous.
'They're like fairies, but a little different.'
These beings collected the souls of dead creatures in Seorak Mountain and sent them to the spirit world.
The problem was, they didn't like humans much—sometimes sending living ones too.
–A-Are we alive...?
–Too many monsters... I'm scared…
–That human helped us?
The ice spirits, now regaining their senses, floated around Baekjun.
The air became noticeably colder.
–Friend? Friend...?
–No, he's human, you idiot!
–But he feels like a friend.
The ice spirits tilted their heads, buzzing among themselves like mosquitoes.
–Is he a friend? No? Friend?
–If not, chase him out.
–He's human, we have to get rid of him! Bad guy!
–If he's not a friend, we must kill him. Send him to the spirit world.
Things were getting tense.
They looked ready to attack. Baekjun sighed and raised his hand.
–Hmm?
On the back of his hand, an icy sigil began to glow.
The ice spirits immediately calmed down.
–He is a friend!
–Friend... human friend?
Still noisy, but calmer.
"Why are you all here?"
–Ah!
When Baekjun suddenly asked, one of the spirits snapped up like it just remembered something.
–Our home! It was taken from us!
–Weird things came and killed our friend! Big, dark, scary things!
Even without asking, Baekjun had a good idea who it was.
They were connected to the first major event—a group working as an organization.
"Our friend died. So what?"
–Sob... He died, but his soul's still alive. Only resentment remains, and it lingers in the cave, always angry.
–That's why monsters gathered too.
–It comes out periodically, massacres nearby monsters, and collects their souls.
Baekjun organized the information.
Some humans killed the snow tiger, and its soul couldn't pass on.
Worse, it became a vengeful spirit due to the unjust death.
–It was dangerous to stay home, so we ran away.
–If we had our friend's body... we could guide him to the spirit world.
Baekjun's eyes sparkled.
That was why he had bought the snow tiger's corpse at the auction. He opened his backpack.
Out came the massive corpse of the snow tiger.
–Our friend!
The ice spirits clung to the snow tiger and began crying.
But as they cried, a blizzard mixed with cutting wind began to blow.
WHOOOOOOOSH!
"Cold! What did you do!"
"What do you mean, just... Aah! Hey!"
Even wearing the black demon coat, the cold was unbearable. Jin Seoyeon shivered.
"What are you even saying? I can't see or hear anything!"
"Let me ask them to show themselves to you."
Yoo Baekjun tried persuading the spirits.
They didn't seem thrilled, but eventually agreed.
"...They look weird."
FWOOOOOSH!
Most of the spirits were crying, but a few glared at Jin Seoyeon with anger.
The snowstorm grew fiercer.
"Hey! Don't provoke them!"
"They look weird. Like bouncy balls."
"Don't make them mad!"
Yoo Baekjun calmed the spirits.
The calmer ones circled the snow tiger's body, weeping sorrowfully.
"They're really sad. What's going on?"
"If a friend you spent over a hundred years with died, you'd be sad too. Let's just wait."
They waited patiently.
After a long bout of crying, the spirits finally calmed down. The raging blizzard faded.
"So, the snow tiger became a vengeful spirit, right?"
–Yes, it drove us out. And we can't go back because of that wall.
"You said if you have the corpse, you can do something."
–Yeah, vengeful spirits cling to their former bodies. With this, we can let him in.
Jin Seoyeon frowned.
"You think he'll just let us? We'll have to fight him, won't we?"
"Exactly. You catch on quick."
"......"
Her gaze turned icy.
"You..."
"You brought me here to use me... Ahem, well, you'll see once we go in. It's exactly the place you've been looking for."
'It better be.'
Yoo Baekjun hoisted the snow tiger's body.
It was worth 30 billion won. If sold at full price, it could've fetched over 50 billion.
It would vanish once the event ended—
'But that's fine. The event rewards are far more valuable.'
The ice spirits hovered around him.
–You're going?
–You'll help us?
–To do that, you need to subdue the vengeful snow tiger. Then we can take care of the rest.
Yoo Baekjun nodded.
He'd brought items prepared by the clan just for this. With them, he had a shot.
The two stood before the wall of ice.
–KRRRRAAAAAARGH!
A deafening roar echoed out.
It came from the cave beyond the wall. The mana was so intense it made the ground quake.
Jin Seoyeon sighed.
"This is going to be a pain."
She was annoyed, but she understood why Baekjun brought her here.
'Mana that makes your skin tingle.'
It radiated from beyond the cave.
Mana laced with harsh cold. A massive amount of attribute mana could be absorbed here.
'It's a pain, but it's worth it.'
Yoo Baekjun took a step forward.
RUMBLE!
The wall of ice blocking the cave entrance collapsed with a thunderous crash. The cave revealed itself.
"Beautiful."
Jin Seoyeon whispered in awe.
The interior sparkled with ice-blue minerals, radiating a mysterious blue light.
But there was no time to admire it.
"Beautiful, but it reeks."
"Yeah. Smells like rotting corpses."
–He's inside.
The cave wasn't complex.
At most, it would take ten minutes to reach the snow tiger's vengeful spirit.
Yoo Baekjun opened his pouch.
"Let's prepare with some doping first."
"...Doping?"
There was a lot they had to do.