Chapter 10

[It was truly horrifying. I’ve never felt such pain before. Yeah, I think I’ve always been afraid of my master.]

[That’s right. Honestly, there are some evaluations that the person has some personality issues…]

[Wait.]

[Huh?]

[You should die too.]

*

A red world is seen through blurry eyes.

Blood seemed to be flowing from every hole in my body, and something like red ice crumbled in my hand.

And my clothes were too sticky.

After throwing off the damp armor, I wiped it clean with my eyes.

Then, the pain surged again.

How badly am I hurt?

Thinking one bottle wouldn’t be enough, I bought three and poured them all down my throat.

Only then did my insides start to recover.

The silently spreading force field affected all living things.

When I came to my senses, the fox was also lying down, vomiting blood.

Even after pouring a whole bottle into it earlier, it was still like this.

I bought more potions and poured them all out.

Ugh. This seems excessively dangerous.

I almost crossed the Samdo River in an unexpected way.

In terms of danger, it’s dozens of times more than the Ice Queen.

Since it doesn’t affect inanimate objects, it seemed like nothing had happened from the outside, making it even more dangerous.

If the enemy had such a technique, I would have been caught off guard.

Still, although it was painfully close to death, I have no intention of burying this discovery.

Let’s give it a try.

Can I really control this power?

But first, I should consult Belva.

If someone before me has tried this experiment, it might help.

[Absolutely not. Originally, Dimension Power isn’t something just anyone can handle.]

Is that so? It’s disappointing, but I can’t help but think that might be the case.

The reason I can use Dimension Power so freely is because I woke up in the primitive era.

It feels like gathering and using all the world’s oil.

This is a world destined for an apocalypse.

Without this level of advantage, it would be troublesome.

[That’s not it…]

“No, rather, Belva. How’s my body condition now?”

I had a rough idea, but I needed Belva’s ability to know for sure.

With a momentary feeling of basking in the sun, Belva finished the measurement.

[It’s frustrating… but not bad. Your recovery speed is strangely fast. But! Never overdo it again. Seriously.]

After telling her I understood, I slowly stretched.

Except for a slightly reduced lung capacity and a nagging feeling, there seems to be no problem.

Surprisingly, it might be a useful technique.

If it can be controlled, it wouldn’t be bad for a last resort.

But it’s a shame.

I moved stealthily to where I had fought the Ice Queen, wondering if the effect had reached here.

But the Queen was nowhere to be seen.

Not even debris remained.

It was strangely clean.

As if she had intentionally erased her traces.

A sense of unease suddenly swept over me.

My premonition wasn’t good.

And when I feel like this, the back of my head always feels heavy.

Trusting my instincts, I flung my body forward.

Kwaaaang!

[Behind you! It’s the Ice Queen!]

Just as I suspected, she was really lying in ambush?

An ice chunk barely grazed past my head.

This time, it was even slightly pointed at the end.

Even if I raised my shield, it would pierce through and hit me.

I couldn’t understand how such a change occurred.

The doubts that piled up while meeting the Golems.

What are they learning from?

Now, even suspicions are starting to arise.

The speed of civilization’s development and the improvement of intellectual abilities are far beyond the assumed range.

They’ve learned parts that I couldn’t figure out.

The Golems making bows out of ice.

The Ice Queen attempting to ambush stealthily.

Are they secretly doing a think tank?

Even with good creativity, there’s a limit, and now it’s beyond belief.

Humans couldn’t show such growth in just a week.

No, humanity spent over 90% of its time swinging stones.

The Stone Age was too long.

Only after countless developments did they finally hold bronze in their hands.

In contrast, this world was excessively fast.

It felt like someone was leading it.

For now, let’s stop thinking and start focusing.

I need to find a place to escape.

Paaak─

Then, an ice spike suddenly shot up from under my feet.

It was as big as a utility pole.

This is the kind of technique you only see in cartoons.

Although the speed of rising was fast, there was a slight tremor beforehand, so it wasn’t hard to dodge.

But it was fascinating.

Maybe it’s because my level is still low, but such techniques always feel new to me.

And observing the fluctuating flow of magic power was also a good study.

“So that’s how it was.”

Firing ice cannonballs required too much magic power,

but this level is something I can mimic.

I designated the ground around it with magic power and injected a few keywords.

Condensation, solidification, eruption.

Slowly, ice fragments gathered around my magic power, and when they formed a mass, I activated the technique.

Then, with a whoosh,

a small icicle-like spike shot up.

The thorns stretched out and pierced right through the guy’s shin.

…Huh?

“Ahhhhh!”

Why didn’t that work?

[What was that just now? Did you just copy it after seeing it once?!]

That’s not really important.

It wasn’t a particularly difficult technique anyway.

What I’m concerned about is that his armor was pierced by such a trivial attack.

Because of that, I ended up panicking too.

Originally, I planned to distract him with that attack, throw a spear at the right moment to buy some time, and then run away…

I guess I need to adjust my plan.

Seeing him screaming and going berserk gives me hope.

It could be an act, but if it is, then I’ll just have to die.

I don’t have the confidence to survive in the midst of monsters who can act.

“I-I’m human…?”

Oh?

Now he’s even talking?

He knows I’m human too?

Belva, what the hell is going on? Even if I give him the benefit of the doubt, this isn’t normal.

[…I think it’s strange too. Maybe the embedded Dimensional Stone caused some kind of change.]

The Ice Queen, filled with rage, contorted her expression and glared at me.

I easily dodged the cannonball aimed at my torso.

After seeing it a few times, reading the timing is simple.

He shot it so honestly too.

More importantly, compared to before, the power and speed of his attacks had significantly decreased.

There’s only one thing I can guess.

He must have been affected by the barrier I exploded too.

I grinned and gripped my spear.

This monster is as debuffed as it gets.

Unlike before, his attacks were visible to me, and my attacks could deal meaningful damage.

An enemy that seemed impossible had now dropped to a manageable level.

Then, right on cue, the fox shot a fireball.

It seemed like it had grown a bit while recovering with a potion, and now it was shooting fireballs.

The flickering flames in this cold icy land were so out of place.

Especially for him, it must have been the first time he’d ever seen ‘fire.’

As expected, the panicked Queen reached out toward the fireball.

A chilling blue coldness rose from her entire body.

And then.

Crackle!

For a moment, the entire space trembled, and the fireball froze mid-air.

I was sure of it. That’s his ultimate move.

And after using such an attack, there’s always an opening.

I kicked off the ground, gathered all my magic power,

and braced for the impact as I charged into him with my entire body.

A full-on body slam.

“Ah, ahhh…!”

He floated up into the air.

As expected, his basic physical abilities had significantly weakened.

A small blizzard swirled around the fallen guy’s arm.

Upon closer inspection, it was an effect of creating an ice blade.

What kind of trick are you trying to pull?

I gripped the steel spear tightly with both hands and swung it horizontally.

Like swinging a baseball bat.

The guy, who was trying to get up awkwardly, took my attack at an awkward angle.

The ice blade he awkwardly raised was shattered cleanly by that one hit.

It’s over now.

Seeing his diminished momentum, it seems he has nothing left to show.

Even if he did, it was time to finish this.

When facing a stronger enemy, no variables can be allowed.

Thud.

I thrust the spear into the chest of the guy desperately squeezing out his magic power.

Surprisingly, the spear pierced through easily, and I felt something shatter through it.

“…I’m, dying.”

The kneeling guy’s eye level was roughly the same as mine.

So we looked into each other’s eyes.

Melted ice dripped down the spear and wet my hand.

Death. Death.

“Do you know what it means to die?”

“My friends… the light went out, I lost my words… I felt sorrow…”

I looked at my hand.

It was wet with transparent water, but it felt like red blood.

It was the same when I killed the golems.

I’ve never killed anything with a light heart.

“Great… Mother…”

My eyes froze for a moment.

“We… saw you… and longed for life.”

With those words, the collapsed guy turned into a shallow puddle and then froze solid.

Is this their death?

I watched for a moment, then turned away.

I didn’t feel particularly sorry or sad.

But I didn’t feel relieved either.

I was just scared.

The fact that it could have been me lying there, disappearing.

All living things die someday.

No matter how much the dead beg to be brought back, there’s no sign of them returning.

Like my mother, like my father.

They don’t come back.

It’s an irrational thought,

but death feels much closer than life.

When I feel like I’m not so much alive as I am not dead yet,

I often think like that.