Chapter 97
Song Hwa-rin's expression turned merciless.
A cold killing intent rose from her entire body, as if she intended to tear apart the very blizzard that had swallowed the man she loved.
"Move."
She spoke quietly.
"I'm on my way to meet my man."
[Shing.]
The S-rank artifact, White Lotus Sword, slid free from behind her.
Its pure white blade shone brightly.
The mana spilling from it was powerful enough to push away the surrounding snowstorm.
The instant the sword touched the open air, moisture froze around its surface.
White frost flowers bloomed along the blade.
"Anything that gets in my way..."
Song Hwa-rin tightened her grip.
"I'll cut every last one of you down."
Mana gathered at the tip of the sword.
S-rank Skill.
White Lotus Full Bloom.
[BOOOOOM!]
The image of a massive white lotus flower bloomed across the snowfield.
It was beautiful.
But what scattered from it were not petals.
They were razor-sharp blades.
[Slash! Crack! Thud!]
The giant Ice Golems standing at the front had their rock-hard bodies sliced apart like tofu.
The agile Snowfield Wolves had no chance to dodge.
They were swallowed by the storm of sword energy and turned into clouds of bloody mist.
The Frost Gargoyles that tried to cover the sky had their wings torn apart and crashed into the snow.
Red blood and blue monster fluids splashed over the white field, painting a bizarre ink painting across the snow.
One strike.
That was all it took.
The hundreds of monsters crowding the dungeon entrance fell silent in an instant.
"Whoa..."
"Holy shit..."
Lee Yu-han could not close his mouth.
Kang Jae-min clicked his tongue in disbelief.
"As expected of an S-rank... no, she's a monster even among S-ranks. Love really is terrifying."
Song Hwa-rin lowered her sword.
She stood atop the pile of corpses she had created.
White breath left her lips.
Her eyes never wavered from the depths of the dungeon.
Her back almost seemed to say,
'I'm here.'
Hong Man-gi's voice snapped the stunned group back to reality.
"Don't just stand there. Move while we have the chance."
They pushed deeper into the dungeon.
But after only a short distance, Hong Man-gi stopped.
Lee Yu-han was already shivering violently.
"Yu-han, set up the tent."
"What?"
"Jae-min, gather firewood. No, anything around here that can burn."
Kang Jae-min blinked.
"Here? Shouldn't we head deeper right away?"
Hong Man-gi shook his head.
"At this rate, Yu-han won't last an hour."
He looked toward Song Hwa-rin.
"And the Master burned through a lot of mana with that attack. If she keeps going like this, she'll collapse before reaching the boss."
Song Hwa-rin frowned.
"I don't need..."
"You need to eat."
Hong Man-gi cut her off.
"We came here to bring Kang Min-hyuk back. We're not going to reach him if everyone freezes to death first."
Song Hwa-rin clicked her tongue but did not argue further.
A temporary cooking area was quickly set up in the snow.
Hong Man-gi looked over the monster remains scattered nearby.
To an ordinary Hunter, they were corpses.
To a Gourmet Alchemist, they were ingredients.
[Ice Golem Core]
[Cold Attribute / Inedible / Alchemy Material]
[Snowfield Wolf Liver]
[High Protein / Raises Body Temperature / Mild Toxicity]
Hong Man-gi's eyes gleamed.
"I thought it was all trash, but there are tonics lying everywhere."
He drew Full Moon in its kitchen knife form.
Then he began collecting the best materials.
"Jae-min, bring me more Snowfield Wolf livers."
"Livers?"
"Yu-han, choose the cleanest Ice Golem cores."
"Y-yes!"
"Poming."
[Pop!]
Poming appeared and immediately started trembling.
"C-c-c-chef! Why did you summon Poming into a freezer?!"
"Work first. Complain later."
Hong Man-gi placed the Snowfield Wolf liver on his cutting board.
With Material Reconstruction, he separated the mild toxins from the nutritious parts.
The Ice Golem core was also broken down, leaving only the pure essence of cold mana that could strengthen the body instead of freezing it.
Hot and cold.
Opposing properties.
But that was exactly why they could create balance.
The wolf's liver would heat the body.
The golem essence would help the body adapt to the surrounding cold.
Hong Man-gi added the prepared ingredients to the fish cake broth he had brought from Seoul.
[Bubble, bubble.]
A spicy and sharp aroma pierced through the freezing snowstorm.
It was the kind of smell that made sweat gather on the forehead just from breathing it in.
Hong Man-gi placed one well-cooked fish cake skewer into a bowl and poured broth over it.
The heat from the wolf liver had turned the broth a deep red.
The dissolved golem essence gave it a faint blue glow.
The strange mixture made the soup look almost mystical.
"All right, everyone, come get a bowl!"
Hong Man-gi raised his voice.
"Snowfield Wolf Fish Cake Soup! It'll help recovery and boost your mana too!"
Lee Yu-han and Kang Jae-min, who had been shaking from the cold, rushed over as if hypnotized.
They immediately drank.
"Whoa... warm! I'm melting! I can feel my whole body thawing!"
"This broth is insane! You said there's wolf liver in it, right? The moment it went down my throat, I felt strength surging through me!"
Color returned to their blue faces.
