NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1047
<1047 – Weak and Pathetic Mode (5)>
Cough cough.
Oknodie woke up, coughing.
Peeking outside the cave, he was shocked to see the blue grasslands had turned into a white snowfield overnight.
As expected of the Cheonryeong Mountain Range, known for its brutal survival difficulty, the temperature differences were extreme.
“Looks like the peak’s bug-free!”
“How do you know that?”
“Usually, the more extreme the temperature difference, the fewer bugs and smaller monsters!”
“Wow, you’ve learned a lot.”
“Want to know which professor’s lecture that came from?”
“Absolutely not.”
Jiang didn’t have the slightest intention of repeating the experience of shaking uncontrollably for survival during lecture time.
“Hey, dummy. Get back inside the cave. You’ll catch a cold!”
“Achoo.”
“See? You’re even getting a runny nose.”
Oknodie naturally fetched some tissues from his backpack and blew his nose.
Jiang paused as he offered a warm cup of tea from his pocket to Oknodie.
“Disease? Oknodie caught a cold?”
“When you’re sick, your resistance drops!”
“That’s becoming a bigger problem. If Oknodie ends up sick while struggling in the Cheonryeong Mountain Range…”
The aftereffects could worsen.
According to Oknodie’s self-diagnosis, healing in 100 hours would increase to 110 hours, but in Jiang’s imagination, it felt like it could stretch from 100 years to 110 years—a real emergency!
“Is the Senior Instructor still not here?”
“Looks like they’re coming.”
Clearing the towering snowdrifts higher than both Oknodie and Jiang, a figure that resembled a person emerged from the snowy path down below.
Even Jiang, who was obsessively concerned about Oknodie’s safety despite the freezing cold, felt a sense of solemnity while waiting for the Senior Instructor to arrive.
“I can’t move for 30 minutes.”
After dumping all the snow piled onto their clothes and throwing off a wet coat, the Senior Instructor collapsed by the campfire, circulating mana with the Mana Flow Technique.
Watching the fingers and toes that had suffered frostbite begin to heal quickly left Jiang astonished.
It was the precious effect of healing magic.
“It’s no use.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Are you planning to ask the Senior Instructor if they can help Oknodie?”
“…Isn’t it no good?”
“That person has piled on restrictions. They got healing magic under the condition of never using it on anyone but themselves. It’s meant for quick recovery from injuries due to high-intensity training and resistance training.”
As expected from Professor Red Mountain’s Senior Instructor, they had built a solid foundation.
But the restrictions they had to impose to fill the gap of lacking talent were too great.
“Could I learn it if I take on restrictions?”
“Not a chance.”
“Just one person. Can I use magic to heal Oknodie instead?”
“Your shadow magic is for aiding assassination activities, right? There’s no way you can build something contrary to healing.”
Jiang didn’t give up.
“If I can’t do it, what about Senior Sadi?”
“I don’t want to increase restrictions.”
“You’ve learned a ton of techniques from those who implanted terminals. There must be healing magic among them.”
That was a sharp insight.
Sadi smirked, looking rather impressed for a junior.
“Caught on, huh?”
“…I won’t blame you for not helping earlier. Just help Oknodie now.”
“Me? Heal Oknodie?”
Sadi tilted her head and chuckled.
“Why should I?”
“…Don’t you feel sorry for Oknodie? You said it yourself. The future of Oknodie, who inherited the desire to hunt the principal from the papas, is looking bleak. Don’t you want to help even a little?”
Sadi Chocolate, a master of gaslighting, who had honed the skill of using others’ weaknesses to make them submit, was now pondering how to play with this audacious junior.
Looking deep into Jiang’s jet-black eyes, Sadi sighed with mixed emotions.
‘This is tough.’
Sadi raised her hands in a mock surrender.
“Just kidding. Honestly, even if I wanted to help, it wouldn’t mean anything. Oknodie’s body will reject healing magic.”
“Why?”
“Because healing is also a transformation. Crude-level magic can’t change Oknodie’s body. This kid boosted their magic resistance to the max.”
Oknodie, unable to fight off fatigue, fell asleep again and didn’t wake even as the Senior Instructor’s color returned after melting their own frost.
“Senior, how’s the way?”
“Worst-case scenario. The Spirit Vein of the Eastern Empire is sinking, and negative energy is disappearing, giving rise to a new Spirit Vein and Holy Mountain around the Cheonryeong Mountain Range. Thanks to that, new hotspots are opening up, leading to territory disputes among Boss Monsters and showcasing enhanced monsters in their domains.”
“Could this snowdrift be part of that?”
“Exactly. When a filthy-looking humanoid monster blows its breath, a blizzard rolls in. Almost froze to death there.”
Due to variables, passing through the mountain range had become significantly more difficult than expected.
There was no guarantee that taking time would improve the situation, and concerns loomed that the conditions set by victorious Boss Monsters in their territories could lead to a more extreme environment.
“Senior, I think now is the best time to move.”
“I agree. That Snow Woman won’t be getting weaker, only stronger.”
If they became more accustomed to Domain Expansion, and the cold grew more severe with a wider radius, escaping would become significantly harder.
Unless they planned to stay in the cave for a while, they needed to move as fast as possible.
Crunch crunch.
Even while carrying Oknodie on his back, Jiang didn’t let out a single complaint.
Oknodie had likely stuffed everything into the backpack, making it surprisingly light.
Jiang thought that the worries of those suffering because of Oknodie were probably heavier than this.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Of course, this wasn’t the time to be leisurely thinking about others’ troubles.
Jiang was spooked by the sound of snow cascading from somewhere in the mountains.
Screeech!
Moo…
The mournful cries of Boss Monsters, presumed to be from another territory on the opposite ridge, echoed ominously.
“Let’s hurry past while the Snow Woman is distracted with her territory disputes among Boss Monsters.”
Despite the Senior Instructor’s encouragement, a dreadful sight unfolded as they quickly crested the next ridge.
The foliage stretching to the other side of the ridge froze instantaneously, being swallowed by the snow pouring from the sky.
The once-clear view was obscured by fierce winds, rendered completely blinded in the snowfield that lay ahead.
‘I’ve definitely hit the jackpot on the Spirit Veins.’
The Snow Woman had defeated the nearby Boss Monsters and grown stronger, expanding her territory.
The worsening weather conditions in the area confirmed this.
<Spirit of Snow>
<Ice Doll>
<Ice Hawk>
New monsters began to invade from another dimension, flooding the extremely cold environment.
From the Snow Spirit that carried blizzards and froze people to death, to the Ice Doll that lured passersby off cliffs or into crevasses, to the Ice Hawk that swooped down while piercing through the snowfall.
Many monsters started to swarm, casting unfriendly gazes at Oknodie’s party.
━━
<Waves of Growth Technique>
<Designated Target: Mini Hydra>
━━
The Senior Instructor used their trump card to cast a growth spell on Oknodie’s pet monster.
━━
[The purity of Mana is low.]
[The environment is not suitable for spellcasting.]
[Mini Hydra resists the spell of growth.]
━━
Even the Senior Instructor, who had shown their skills in the Hwanggung, felt like a candle in front of the wind faced with such extreme conditions.
━━
<Shadow Technique>
<High-Speed Precision Throw>
━━
In the midst of the chaos, Jiang caught the faint sense of malice and monster presence filtering through the Nature Mana and threw the memorized spell.
Monsters pierced through by the energy collapsed one after another or were unsummoned back to their original dimension, but they couldn’t keep pace with the ever-increasing number of monsters.
━━
<Sadi Chocolate’s Spirit Technique>
<Harmless Spirit Sorcery Certification Spell>
━━
Using their experience, Sadi Chocolate activated a friendly spell that could work in this special snowfield environment.
With curiosity taking the place of hostility, the spirits responded with excitement as Sadi elegantly implanted a terminal.
“Become my limbs, and I’ll treat you well.”
The spirits, thrilled, began to confront the other monsters venturing forth.
Suddenly, a strong wind arose in front of everyone, sweeping away the spirits in an instant.
“They’re here. The one has arrived…!”
The terrified Senior Instructor pointed, a pale figure dressed in white appeared at the edge of their vision.
The Snow Woman.
The master of the snowy field and the one who received the blessing of the Spirit Vein, continuously growing in real-time.
Just a mere glance from her icy gaze inflicted pain, freezing Jiang and causing Oknodie to squirm in the wrap.
“Brr, cold.”
With the gestures of a half-asleep child, an immense black flame materialized from Oknodie’s fingertips and shot out like a laser.
━━
<Enhanced Version of Hellfire 3>
<Hell Laser>
━━
Only those who have experienced the inferno of hell could wield the searing heat of Hellfire.
While the snowfield could freeze even ordinary Hellfire, the path where Oknodie’s Hell Laser passed was left with a clean white mark, as if the snow had been swept away.
“Where did the Snow Woman go…?”
“Dead.”
Not a trace left.
“This is the might of the Dark Princess that even the Heavenly Sovereign buried…! Truly terrifying. Huh? Huh? Junior, why are you crying?”
The typically stoic assassin Jiang was suddenly weeping, startling the Senior Instructor.
“Oknodie has gotten so weak.”
“What? Weak? The Snow Woman made us struggle and vanished in a single blow?”
“If Oknodie had been fine, the ridge would’ve crumbled, making a direct tunnel through the mountain range. He’s weak to barely a thousandth of his strength now. It’s just sad.”
“…If that’s sad, then what am I, terminally ill?”
“Why do you feel sorry for them? You’ve always been weak!”
With a factual yet kind approach to Oknodie, Jiang dealt them a blow!
The Senior Instructor pouted a bit.
“I’ve struggled a lot trying to navigate….”
Realizing belatedly, Jiang cautiously retrieved a sharp item from his pocket.
“Sorry, Senior. Want some memorized stuff?”
“No, thanks.”
That was a peace offering; a declaration that he’d take them down if they didn’t make up soon.
The Senior Instructor recoiled in horror and busily moved their feet.