Chapter 59

Chapter 59
Chapter: 59

Chapter Title: Marathon’s End

—

I caught a subtle noise, the sound of something snapping.

The floating thermometer above my crown splintered into pieces. Simultaneously, the suffocating warmth that had gripped my frame evaporated into nothingness.

“That likely signals my internal heat has leveled out.”

When hypothermia takes hold, a person often feels a delusional urge to shed their layers. Since that impulse had faded, I knew my vitals had finally reached an equilibrium.

I felt a surge of relief. Han Sang-ah’s gamble had struck home perfectly, validating the risky plan we had committed to.

“Excellent. Han Sang-ah executed her portion of the deal.”

I gave my spear a stylish twirl, offering a confident smirk to the figure suspended in the sky.

“The rest is up to me now.”

With Han Sang-ah’s success, we had managed to demolish that unsettling gauge that had been looming over me.

“I’m going to break you down, bit by bit.”

Han Sang-ah had fulfilled her duty. This meant I was no longer racing against a clock; I could spend days dismantling the creature if necessary. There was no longer a need to maintain a cautious gap between us, either.

The shackles that had previously hindered my combat style were gone.

“My physical state is far from perfect, though.”

Recovering from a bout of extreme cold leaves the muscles sluggish and uncooperative. I had accepted this physical toll as the necessary trade for Han Sang-ah’s victory. A jagged, deep wound in my flank served as a grim reminder of that cost.

Even so, this was a manageable burden. I leaned on my spear to hoist myself up and steadied my posture.

“Let’s find out how long you can keep up this rhythm.”

In a test of endurance, the first one to tire is the first one to fall. I extinguished the Paradox Flame I had used to cleanse the icy hex. For a war of attrition, I needed to fuel my fire with something else.

How much duration slipped away after that?

Eventually, the creature before me stared back with a look of pure shock. Its once-regal, queen-like dignity was now shredded by countless spear thrusts and gashes, its form a map of injuries.

“That makes it over a fortnight.”

To be exact, fourteen days, two days, and an additional three hours. Even this monster, which I assumed was incapable of showing vulnerability, now appeared utterly spent.

Neither of us had landed a single decisive, lethal strike. However, the accumulation of minor cuts had worn her down like a persistent storm.

“I’ve never encountered a lunatic who fights like you… Even if a vermin and a bloodsucker bred, I doubt they’d produce a creature as stubborn as you.”

Her initial aggression had been fierce, but now she lacked even the energy to stand firm.

“They describe life as a long-distance race.”

A sudden wave of lethargy threatened to pull me under. I flared the Paradox Flame across my skin to burn away the fatigue, then began a slow, deliberate march forward, leveling my weapon at the foe.

“Goodbye.”

With a sharp whistle of air, the spear lengthened and drove straight through the monster’s heart. Pinioned by the weapon, she gazed vacantly at the steel protruding from her chest, whispering in a daze.

“Dying of sheer fatigue? I had prepared for my end eventually, but to go out like this…”

She murmured in shock as a frost began to climb from her feet. It claimed her toes, her shins, her thighs, and moved upward through her torso. Slowly, she was entombed in a casing of solid ice.

Then, the structure gave way, shattering into fragments. The look captured on those falling shards was one of complete pointlessness.

“I apologize for not providing a more thrilling climax.”

That’s simply not how I operate. Those who face me in earnest usually depart this world with looks of profound disappointment. It’s rarely the grand finale they envisioned.

I retracted the spear to the size of a dagger and secured it to my side.

“Look at that, a prize.”

The ground groaned and shifted as the snow piled upward, manifesting into a large treasure chest.

“It appears we’ve finished.”

After two weeks of total radio silence, Han Sang-ah’s voice finally crackled through the comms.

“I was starting to think you’d passed away.”

I shot a comment back at her.

“My job was done. Reaching out would have only broken your focus during the struggle.”

So she just stayed quiet and waited for two whole weeks? She’s certainly unique.

“Check your loot.”

I wasn’t the only person clearing out an Erosion Core. She had to have her own reward waiting.

“After surviving this nightmare, it better be something better than a cheap gift set.”

I slowly unlatched the lid of the chest.

“A ring.”

It was a band of platinum set with deep blue sapphires. I tapped into my mental library to analyze it, letting out a soft breath.

“Unbelievable. Some sadist must have designed this.”

The moment you put it on, internal spikes deploy, boring into the flesh and anchoring themselves into the bone of the finger.

The pain would be excruciating, but it was a one-time price. The utility provided in return was elite.

“This is the Amulet of Dominion, isn’t it?”

In my past life, such an artifact existed. It was a magical tool capable of pinning enemies to the dirt, making it impossible for them to even glance upward if they couldn’t withstand its weight.

This ring functioned on the same principle. With a mere thought, it projected a freezing force onto a target.

Those without the means to defend themselves would be turned into frozen monuments in heartbeats.

Even those strong enough to survive the initial chill would be forced to divert energy to resisting the ring’s influence while trying to fight me.

It would freeze weaker foes instantly and act as a heavy shackle on the movements of the powerful.

The most vital aspect? It neutralized a specific brand of enemy tactics.

“No more getting swarmed by the masses.”

I could no longer be buried under sheer numbers. Any mob usually consists of weaker units, and now, they wouldn’t even be able to get close before becoming ice sculptures.

I had witnessed the power of the Amulet of Dominion once before.

I scrutinized the jewelry one last time and sighed.

“Well, sorry about this, finger.”

I slid the band onto my index finger. The spikes tore through skin and crunched into the bone. A sharp, stinging sensation flared.

When the world stopped spinning and the ring was set, I found myself back at the starting point of the Erosion Core. Han Sang-ah was standing there, idly messing with her tangled hair and clearing sleep from her eyes.

“I spend a week in a literal frozen hell, and you’re just napping?”

“What’s the point of being awake? It’s not like I could have pitched in,” Han Sang-ah retorted. “By the way, what happened to your hair?”

Her hair had turned a patchy, bleached white.

“No clue. I see you picked up a ring.”

Her own prize for conquering the Erosion Core was a heavy longcoat. It wasn’t just clothing; it possessed absurd levels of magical nullification.

An attacker would need incredible power to bypass that defense. It also featured kinetic dampening.

Any physical strike would lose half its momentum the moment it touched the fabric.

“What’s this for?”

Han Sang-ah held up a hand toward me.

“A high-five.”

I gave her a skeptical look but met her palm with mine anyway. A solid clap echoed.

“We earned these rewards.”

“True. We certainly did.”

The accolades waiting for us back home would be significant. We had dismantled a Rank-1 Erosion Core without any intervention from Lee Se-eun.

…

A phone began to vibrate. Han Sang-ah retrieved her device. Receiving a signal out in this wasteland required a satellite connection.

“Hello, Grandfather. Yes. We’ve just emerged from the Erosion Core.”

Grandfather? I shifted my gaze to her. Her grandfather was the head of the Geumyang Group, a man with enough financial power to collapse entire nations on a whim.

“Word travels fast. No, I’m not criticizing you for checking in on me.”

He had already received the news? Han Sang-ah maintained a very professional, almost detached tone with her elder.

“Shouldn’t we consult his schedule first? Just a moment.”

She muted the line and turned to me.

“My grandfather wants to host a dinner.”

“For me?”

She gave a small nod.

“He wants to set it up the moment we touch down in Korea.”

“…I’d be honored to attend.”

She nodded and went back to the call.

“He says he’d be pleased to join us. Yes, we’ll wait for the details.”

Once the call ended, a crowd began to gather around us.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The team of hunters assigned to the Bratsk Refrigerator Erosion Core approached Lee Se-eun with exhausted expressions.

“Hunter Lee Se-eun. There’s still no update.”

Lee Se-eun, reclining in a portable chair while drifting in a cloud of pipe smoke, answered lazily.

“That just means he’s still breathing.”

“It’s been over two weeks now.”

She nodded, her hand dangling over the side of the chair.

“I can count the days. You guys should try having a little faith.”

Two weeks could feel like an eternity or a blink of an eye, depending on who you asked.

“This is a Rank-1 Core we’re talking about.”

“When you first cleared a Rank-1, Hunter Lee Se-eun, it only took you five days.”

Lee Se-eun finally stood up, her eyes locking onto the hunter who had spoken.

“Correct, it took me five days the first time. So a week or so seems perfectly reasonable, wouldn’t you say?”

The reason these people were losing their cool was simple: fear.

“We’ve had zero information for over fourteen days.”

“Maybe they’ve found a way to communicate inside Cores that I don’t know about yet.”

She knew communication was impossible, and they knew it too, but they were grasping at straws.

“The Operator Galmaegi is also waiting as patiently as possible.”

The hunter tightened his grip at her comment. He knew the truth. Galmaegi wasn’t being patient at all.

Inside the Galmaegi, tensions were high. Most of the hunters involved were stuck in endless loops of debating what to do next.

“We are worried about your reputation, Hunter Lee Se-eun.”

She looked at him. It was true. Everyone was here because they trusted her authority. If this ended in disaster, her name would be dragged through the mud.

In reality, she should have been the most anxious person on site.

“It’s fine.”

But she remained composed. She had spent a lot of time with Yoo Chan-seok and Han Sang-ah during their stint in England, overseeing their progress.

She understood his combat philosophy. If he were going to fail, he would have been ejected or killed long ago.

The lack of news for two weeks simply meant he was locked in a battle using his specific, grueling method. There was no cause for alarm.

The others just didn’t understand his rhythm.

“Who could have predicted this, honestly?”

“I’m sorry?”

Instead of explaining, Lee Se-eun took out a flask, poured some liquid into the cap, and stirred in a generous amount of honey.

Yoo Chan-seok didn’t go into a fight thinking about minutes. He viewed combat through a different lens of time.

“It’s nothing.”

It might not be two weeks—it might take a month. But the longer the clock ran, the higher his chances of winning became.

“Transmission: Transmission. As of this moment, the Bratsk Refrigerator Erosion Core is confirmed as eliminated. I repeat: As of this moment, the Bratsk…”

Hearing the confirmation through her headset, Lee Se-eun smirked. She finished her sweet tea, stood up, and knocked the ash from her pipe.

See? He wore it down in the end.

“This is going to cause quite a stir.”

A successful Rank-1 clear. And the two people inside—Yoo Chan-seok and Han Sang-ah—were technically still novices.

And the man who just conquered the Refrigerator wasn’t the type to stop at just one.