“Heart of Winter.”
The absolute power that surpasses even the domain of the gods. The final aspiration of all mages.
The outer layer of the heart shimmered with a transparent brilliance, as if woven from frost crystals that would never melt. Within it, a familiar yet eerily foreign blue light swirled in endless motion.
The dazzling glow, born from the lives it had consumed, possessed a grotesqueness that could never be captured in mere words.
[The Heart of Winter was no miracle bestowing eternal life. It was simply a blue monster that devoured the lives of others.]
That was the undeniable truth. If one knew how many lives had been sacrificed to create it, they would never dare to call it a miracle.
“If only I could destroy this tragic abomination with my own hands.”
I wrapped my entire body around the blue heart. Pressed tightly against its bone-chilling surface, I focused on absorbing all the power contained within it.
As expected, my Luck stat began to rise.
[Current Balance ｜ ♣×1950]
[Current Balance ｜ ♣×2600]
But was it too much power at once? My vision blurred, and my mind teetered on the edge of unconsciousness.
“I can’t pass out here!”
Just a little longer. Gritting my teeth, I ignored the nauseating sensation twisting inside me and continued absorbing every last bit of luck.
[Current Balance ｜ ♣×3500]
[Current Balance ｜ ♣×4399]
Just a little more.
…Just a bit more.
The sharp clang of colliding swords rang out, followed by the sickening sound of fabric and flesh being slashed, the splatter of blood hitting the floor. I wanted to check on Kyle’s situation, but the coffin was deeper than I expected, and my view was completely obstructed by the enclosing walls.
As my nerves burned with urgency—finally.
“I did it!”
The blue glow was fully absorbed into me, and my Luck stat skyrocketed all at once.
[Current Balance ｜ ♣×5432]
I immediately pulled away and leapt onto the coffin lid.
The effect of Hurried Almond Financier hadn’t worn off yet, so even though I slipped a few times, I managed to climb up and check on Kyle.
He was injured, but he still seemed capable of moving.
Relieved, I shouted.
— Cheek! (“Now!”)
At my cry, Kyle quickly pulled out an item from his pocket—the one I had bought for him in advance before we entered this place, something he had used once before.
[Emergency Escape Pumpkin Seed Stick ｜ Miracle Cost: 8% ｜ Instantly teleport within a 10-meter radius.]
The moment my voice echoed not from Kyle’s side but from within the coffin, Nox muttered in a low, sinister voice.
“So, you fooled my eyes.”
His voice was thick with murderous intent, but I had no time to hesitate.
I jumped on the spot and shouted at the system.
— Cheek! Cheek-cheek! (“Release Reload! Cancel it!”)
[(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧]
A determined-looking emoticon popped up, and a bright light enveloped my body.
Just before my vision was completely swallowed by the light, my eyes met Kyle’s. He gave a small nod, and I did the same in return.
Now was when it truly began.
Our goal wasn’t to steal the Heart of Winter—it was for both of us to return safely.
***
“Hey, you! System! You should’ve adjusted this automatically, damn it!”
[┗( T﹏T )┛]
A series of apologetic emoticons appeared. I clicked my tongue, struggling to catch my breath.
Here’s what happened.
The moment Reload was canceled, I returned to my human form—mid-air. And now, I was running for my life, my feet barely touching the ground.
Why? Because the spot where I landed just happened to be crawling with Nox’s minions.
I hadn’t expected this when I first marked the location! I never thought my luck would be this terrible!
“Wait… Could it be that Nox interfered?”
That bastard was capable of the impossible.
He had attempted to interfere with my power—my Miracle—multiple times before. If he had tracked the direction in which my Reload was canceled and moved his subordinates accordingly, it was entirely plausible.
“What a pain in the ass!”
At that moment, the system hurriedly generated a new item.
[
Love-Love Corner~]
[Pepero Stick of Freedom ｜ ×777]
[Strike as lightly as a pepero! But getting hit feels like getting slammed by a boulder!]
When the hell did it make this?
Without hesitation, I purchased it.
It really did look like a pepero stick, but its glossy sheen was far from ordinary.
I started swinging the Pepero Stick with all my might, striking down Nox’s minions one after another. Fortunately, since the weapon was light, I could clear a path without expending too much strength.
However, the real problem lay elsewhere.
“Ah, it’s freezing to death!”
Because of the sudden Reload, I was still wearing the thin shirt and cotton pants Kyle had made for me.
The wind was so piercingly cold that my teeth chattered nonstop as I ran. My soles were rubbed raw, but instead of warming up, not a single drop of sweat formed on my body. My joints stiffened, making it harder and harder to move my legs.
Before I could even worry about being caught by the minions, I was going to freeze to death at this rate. Just as I was about to call up the system shop—
Swish!
A sharp sound sliced through the air, and the next moment, a dagger pierced straight through the bright blue system window, grazing past my ear.
“What, what, what the hell?!”
Startled, I twisted my body sharply, barely dodging the blade’s trajectory. The dagger embedded itself into the wall with a cold gleam, unmistakably aimed at me with deadly intent.
“…So that’s how you want to play it.”
If it was a throwing match, I wasn’t about to lose.
A crooked smirk tugged at my lips as I pulled a bow and arrows from my inventory.
I had practiced shooting while riding a horse before, but I had never tried shooting while running.
“Well, they say desperate times bring out hidden talents, or something like that.”
I pulled the bowstring taut and fired an arrow at the wave of minions descending upon me from afar.
Thud!
A dull sound rang out as the arrow struck—
…Right into the opposite wall.
“W-Whoaahhh!”
[(((φ(◎ロ◎;)φ)))]
Panic surged through me as I hastily swung the bow, smacking an approaching minion square in the head. As he collapsed sideways, I leapt off his body to propel myself forward, only for another minion to slash at me with a sword from behind.
“Sending fully armed bastards after me now? Seriously?!”
Dodging the collapsing bodies and avoiding the oncoming rush was becoming impossible.
In the end, I couldn’t avoid it—one of the fallen minions grabbed my ankle and yanked me down. I staggered violently, and at the same moment, I saw a dagger slicing through the air straight toward me.
Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Is this how I die?
Thunk!
A sickening sound rang out, followed by a sudden wet, icy sensation spilling onto my shirt. An unpleasant chill spread over my skin.
The minion holding the dagger wavered before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
“Shu.”
“…Your Highness!”
Kyle kicked the corpse aside and grabbed my arm, yanking me upright. His eyes quickly scanned my face, then my shirt, as if trying to determine whether the blood staining the fabric was mine or someone else’s.
“I’m not hurt.”
I leaned in close and whispered quickly. Thankfully, we had landed close enough to regroup.
“We don’t have time for this. We need to get to the reception room.”
“Right.”
Nox and his minions would be right on our heels. Now that they knew we had stolen the power contained in the Heart of Winter, they wouldn’t just let us go.
“If we get caught, we’re dead.”
That horrifying certainty burned itself into my mind. I grabbed Kyle’s hand and sprinted up the stairs.
Taking them two at a time, my breath grew ragged, my throat burning from the cold. My body faltered—somewhere during the fight, I must have twisted my ankle. My leg felt heavy, my balance tipping forward dangerously.
“Wait.”
Kyle noticed immediately.
Without hesitation, he wrapped an arm around my waist and lifted me effortlessly, increasing his speed.
The sudden movement made my stomach churn, but I clamped a hand over my mouth and held on.
Through my jostling vision, I could see the minions giving chase. Their faces were devoid of color, their expressions eerily blank. They weren’t even panting, moving with a terrifying, unnatural speed.
This is straight out of a horror movie.
At that moment, a dagger came flying from below.
A flawlessly honed white blade.
There was no room to dodge. The momentum from our ascent made it impossible to shift direction.
The dagger was aimed straight at Kyle’s thigh.
Grinding my teeth, I burned my Luck to deflect it.
Clang!
The blade quivered violently against an invisible force.
I glared at the faint blue barrier that had formed. Hold. Hold, damn it. You have to hold.
“Your Highness, hurry!”
“I’m trying!”
Kyle sharply altered his course, and the moment our pursuers vanished from view, the dagger lost momentum and lodged itself into the wall instead.
“Hey! Nox! You heartless bastard! A dagger?! Seriously?!”
I shouted furiously down the stairs before checking my status.
[Current Balance ｜ ♣×4848]
Was it because I had blocked such a powerful attack? My Luck stat had dropped below the target threshold.
At this rate, even if we made it to the reception room, I wouldn’t be able to buy the compass.
What should I do?
My eyes darted around anxiously, scanning the surroundings. That’s when I noticed a faint smile appearing on Kyle’s dimly illuminated face.
“Shu. I’m going to let go for a moment. Run up as fast as you can, but don’t put too much strain on your foot.”
“Alone?”
“Yes. Just for a moment. Can you do it?”
Suddenly?
He must have a plan. There was no time to ask for an explanation now—I could get the details later.
I nodded. “Yes.”
The moment Kyle set me down, I grabbed the railing and sprinted up as fast as I could.
My head spun—whether from the sudden surge in my Luck stat, the interference rate of the anomaly, or just from running like hell, I had no idea.
Meanwhile, Kyle descended slightly, swiftly eliminating the nearest minions and soldiers before extracting the mana stones from their hearts.
Just as I neared the top, Kyle scooped me up again and shoved something into my hands.
It was drenched in blood, but there was no mistaking it—a Beast Core.
Without hesitation, I absorbed the pulsing blue energy.
“I was just short… How did you know?”
“I can tell just by looking at your face.”
“You’ve really become a Hamster Scholar now, huh?”
“More like a Shu Scholar.”
Suppressing a gag, I forced a smile. Even in this situation, it was bizarre that we could still exchange lame jokes.
Somehow, we had shaken them off and arrived at our destination.
Without hesitation, Kyle kicked open the reception room door. I dashed inside, immediately lifting the carpet.
And there it was—the glowing blue magic circle that would take us home.
