Chapter 38. A snowy day

The snow, riding on a fierce wind, painted the world in its own color. People and beasts alike hid themselves tightly in their nests to avoid being eaten by the snow. Such a day lasted for one, two, three, four days……. Snow piled up to the height of an adult’s waist, and the once-tall trees bowed their heads to the ground, the weight of the snow too heavy. The ground had turned completely white, as if not allowing anyone’s footprints. In a corner of such a world, a rattling sound was heard.

“Ahoo! Damn it! The weather is such a mess, do we really have to move this.”

A man was complaining, leaning against a cart full of luggage. A large yellow clover emblem was emblazoned on the cart.

“Hey! How much longer will it take?”

The man who was complaining said, looking ahead. There were three men there, enthusiastically shoveling to clear the snow.

“We won’t be able to get out of here today even if we dig all day.”

“Digging isn’t even the problem. If it starts snowing again, we’re going to freeze to death here.”

“How about we turn back before it gets too late?”

The three shovelers sighed and spoke of the difficulty of the work.

The man who was complaining frowned and looked around. Everything that met his eyes was snow.

“Ah, damn. We have to cross over by today…….”

He scratched his head and pondered a way to clear the snow quickly.

“Fire! Someone bring some fire.”

And he looked for fire, wrapping a cloth around a wooden stick. He thought that if he used fire to melt the snow, it would be faster than clearing it with a shovel.

“Huh? What’s that?”

One of the men who had stopped shoveling and was looking for fire looked into the distance.

Black smoke was rising.

The complaining man’s expression darkened.

“We’ve been exposed. To your positions!”

The three shovelers threw down their shovels and surrounded the cart.

“Guards, keep an eye on the enemy’s position!”

Following the complaining man’s shout, half a dozen guards who had been hiding near the cart moved quickly.

Chiik.

There was a sound of the frozen ground melting from the heat. Then, the snow they had been digging began to melt.

“Keuk!”

The man who was complaining gripped the sword at his waist. A brilliant blue energy seeped into the sword through his hand.

Paak!

The melted snow formed a stream, and it became a raging current, about to engulf the cart.

The man with the sword swung his sword towards the surging water. The blue light that had formed at the tip of the sword was shot at the mouth of the water.

Those who were watching the advance of the water held their breath. With trembling hands, they stuck their swords into the ground and prepared for the worst. But such a thing did not happen.

“I-it stopped. As expected of the captain!”

The three shovelers cheered, seeing the water that had stopped its advance. But it was a premature cheer.

Kwagwagwak!

More streams of water were rushing towards the cart.

The captain, reading that the situation was not favorable, held his sword in a reverse grip.

Then, he spun his Mana Circle even more strongly. The brilliant blue mana that had only been twinkling around his hand now shone from his entire body.

“I will block the water, so ascertain the enemy’s position!”

The guards moved according to the captain’s words.

The three shovelers moved closer to the cart, wary of the enemy who could attack from anywhere.

Chaeng!

A sharp sound of clashing metal rang out from within the still-unmelted snow.

The nerves of those who were wary of the enemy sharpened. They scanned their surroundings with murderous gazes and tried hard to steady their ragged breaths.

“Kkeuak!”

A scream of someone writhing in pain shot up.

The captain, his face contorted, looked at the three shovelers and the cart. He decided that he couldn’t stay like this.

“Block the cart with the large shield! Clear the water and engage in battle!”

As soon as the order was given, the three shovelers moved in a flurry.

“Hold on!”

The captain, having confirmed the position of the three shovelers, sheathed his sword and released the mana that had been binding the water. The water lurched, about to move again.

But it couldn’t come forward. Instead, it began to boil.

“N-no!”

The captain, sensing a crisis, readjusted his grip on the sword and drew up his mana.

The water that had been boiling with a bubbling sound evaporated as it was. Hot and cold air began to tangle. Soon, a thick fog covered the surroundings.

“Is he about a 2nd Circle?”

A rough voice flowed through the fog.

The captain sheathed his sword and glared beyond the fog.

Shuk!

A dagger flew fiercely, aiming for the captain’s eye.

Kang!

The captain’s sword moved and sparks flew. Blue mana flickered in his eyes.

“Come out without hiding.”

“What a funny guy. I wonder who’s hiding.”

With the opponent’s retort, a person popped out. The guy, holding an axe in both hands, pulled his arms back with all his might, aiming for the captain’s head.

“I shall cut with water.”

A low-pitched mumble.

Indigo moisture gathered at the tip of the captain’s sword, forming a single point. The captain gripped the sword with both hands and swung it with all his might towards the axe guy.

A spray of water splashed. Water droplets and bubbles formed a wide, sharp surface at regular intervals.

The falling light passed through the surface of the water and created a rainbow. Blood spattered over that rainbow.

“He seems to be a 2nd Circle.”

The fog that had been floating in place swayed.

“They’re coming!”

The captain, sensing something, shouted. Then, more than ten shadows popped out from all directions.

“Defend with your lives!”

At the captain’s words, the three shovelers gripped their swords.

The number of approaching shadows was eight, and those guarding the cart were four. The captain felt the uncomfortable feeling of being outnumbered and bit his lip. He hesitated.

Whether to trust the three shovelers and move to strike the one who seemed to be the enemy’s leader, or to turn back to protect the cart.

“No matter what you choose, nothing will change.”

The enemy said, as if mocking the hesitating captain.

The captain ground his teeth. And he chose to go to the cart.

“This son of a bitch!”

“Where do you think you’re going! Get lost!”

“Die! You dog-like thing!”

The three shovelers fought the enemy with all their might. But they didn’t have the skill to overturn the numerical disadvantage.

“Damn it! Keoheok!”

The face of the shoveler who had said they should go back was cut off.

“Damn it!”

A shout mixed with anger came from the captain.

The hand of the shadow that had cut off the man’s face stopped. A sword protruded from its chest. The captain’s sword had ripped the shadow’s throat.

“Captain!”

The surviving shoveler shouted. The captain reacted to that sound. He circulated his mana and gathered the pooled water on the ground in one place. The water, which had become a huge puddle, froze into a hard pillar, obstructing the shadow’s movement.

“Don’t miss!”

When the flinching opponent exposed a small opening, the captain accurately stabbed into it. The shadows’ bellies were pierced, their necks were cut, and their hearts were split.

“Not bad.”

The man’s voice from the fog rang out again.

The captain caught his ragged breath and glared at the place where the voice was. Bright red blood was dripping from his sword.

“They say warmth remains in the blood.”

The fog lifted and the owner of the voice revealed himself.

“Damn it……”

The captain, upon seeing the man in the fog, swallowed a curse. All of his guards were dead around him. But that wasn’t why he swallowed the curse. The man’s attire…….

“Aren’t you cold?”

The shoveler said.

It was because the fog man was wearing only a single pair of leather panties and what appeared to be a human face skin as a hat.

“Only the weak feel the cold.”

The fog man gave the shoveler a sly smile. He slung a butcher’s knife over his shoulder and let out a short breath. Then he raised his empty hand and snapped his fingers.

“I’ll stop your shivering.”

“You crazy ol—!”

Small sparks flew erratically around the shoveler. The startled shoveler ducked to avoid them. At that moment, a strong flame engulfed him.

“Kkeuaak! Captain! Save me!”

The man trapped in the fire threw himself into the snow. But the fire was not easily extinguished.

The captain gripped his sword and tried to draw out his mana. He was thinking of dousing the man with cold water to put out the fire.

“It’s just a waste of mana.”

The fog man sneered at the captain’s thought.

The captain also accepted his words. If it was a fire that could be easily extinguished, it should have been extinguished when he threw himself into the snow.

“Thanks for the advice.”

The captain turned his sword and aimed it at the fog man. Seeing this, the fog man clicked his tongue with a ‘tsk tsk tsk.’.

“I recommend you die gracefully without being stubborn. You need a corpse to make a grave, don’t you?”

“The one who dies won’t be me!”

Icicles like awls formed around the fog man.

“You’re acting like a 2nd Circle. So insignificant.”

The fog man gave his own assessment as he watched the awl-like icicles flying towards him.

Then, as if to show the captain, he brandished his knife. Hot air created a wall. The awl-like icicles were caught in that wall and melted in an instant.

Kwaak!

It was a fleeting moment. The captain, who had been aiming for an opening, raised his sword and stabbed the fog man’s chest.

“It’s time for the insignificant one to live and the pervert to die.”

The captain drew a victorious smile. But that smile did not last long. The fog man was looking at the captain with a bored face, as if he felt no pain at all.

“Warmth remains in the blood. I told you beforehand.”

Fire erupted from the captain’s sword. The fire melted the sword and also burned the captain’s hand.

“Eu, euak!”

The captain, surprised by his melting hand, rolled on the floor, trying to put out the fire. But the fire was not easily extinguished.

Tuk, tuduk.

Droplets of blood fell onto the struggling captain’s face. It was the blood that had fallen from the fog man’s knife.

Hwareureuk.

The blood ignited a fire, engulfing the captain’s face. Then, flames shot up from the captain’s body.

“You should have at least saved the corpse. Tsk tsk.”

The fog man burned off all the blood on his body. Then he pulled the cart and leisurely walked along the path he had melted. After turning his dead comrades to ash.

***

The weather is excessively foul.

“What kind of exam is this in this cold.”

After the snow that had been falling for a while stopped, a cold that seemed to want to freeze everything in the world arrived. The piled-up snow was also feeling the cold and preserving its form completely. Because of that, we had to walk with difficulty through the snow that came up to our knees.

To tell us to go to a place called Twi something in this weather and secure a box with a yellow clover drawn on it, they should have told us to go when the weather warmed up a bit.

“W-we can’t help it.”

Odekerkh said with a warm smile that matched his appearance. But while he said we couldn’t help it, he was the one feeling the cold the most among us. His lip color seemed to be turning blue. It would be troublesome if he got sick and became a burden, so it would be better to take care of him for now.

“Let’s rest for a bit. If we keep going like this, someone might freeze to death.”

Odekerkh looked at me with expectant eyes, as if he had heard welcome news.

Michelle, too, whether she was tired of the cold or hungry, stretched her hunched body wide and relaxed her stiff expression.

On the other hand, the two humans walking ahead showed a different atmosphere.

“We only have 3 days, what are you thinking, resting here?”

First, Piontek showed a negative reaction. He was the one who had participated in this exam following Adellian. His grades weren’t bad, but I’m not sure why he’s taking it.

“We can just warm up and go diligently.”

“Do you not know where Tuergen is?”

Piontek asked with force in his eyes. It felt like he was criticizing me for being carefree when I couldn’t even do anything properly. That aside, it’s true that I don’t know where Tuergen is.

The borderlines are different from when I was Leonhardt, and the place names have changed, so just by hearing the name, I don’t know where is where…….

“You really don’t know?”

When I just scratched my cheek instead of answering, Michelle asked with wide eyes.

“That’s why I brought the class president. The class president said he knows the way well.

Right?”

I said confidently, placing my hand on Odekerkh’s shoulder. I don’t need to know everything.

It’s enough to follow someone who knows well. Since he’s the son of a merchant guild, he probably knows the geography a bit.

“Uh, uh. I-I know, I know.”

He said, stuttering, whether he was nervous because all eyes were on him, or shivering from the cold.

“See? There you have it. We have a friend who knows.”

“Just knowing the location isn’t everything.”

This time, Adellian spoke.

“We also need to check how far it is, and whether we can come and go on time by calculating the travel speed according to the weather. In this weather, at this speed, even two days is tight. We also have to find the item after we arrive.”

Ah, yes. The top student is different. Geez, so rigid.

“Keep this in your pocket. It will get a little better.”

She took out a heating stone from her pocket and handed it to Odekerkh.

How absurd.

I looked at Adellian and Piontek with a displeased face. They must have been less cold because they were wearing things like that, but I’m going to freeze to death. Damn them.

“If you move quickly, your body will generate heat, so cheer up.”

Adellian lightly ignored my gaze and cheered Odekerkh on.

And so, we continued to walk without resting.

“Huh? A snow-free path.”

Michelle, who had been staring somewhere with dazed eyes, said.