CHAPTER 29
029 — The God of the Ice Valley

A lightless underground labyrinth. Relying on the beam of his lantern, Jinwoo walked slowly down the passage.
The lantern he brought was the type used for cave exploration or outdoor work, worn on the head. A handheld flashlight would be inconvenient if a fight broke out.
'They said securing a light source is the most important thing on the 2nd Floor.'
There was almost no light in the underground labyrinth. "Almost" meant there was a little; as he walked, he would occasionally see crystals that emitted light.
They were crystals that grew sporadically on the walls, ceiling, or floor. Their light resembled the starlight in the night sky, earning them the name "Starlight Crystals."
They were brighter than he expected, but still no match for a lantern made with modern science. However...
'I should mine some, just in case.'
It was possible that his lantern, even the spare, could break, or the batteries could run out. If that happened, Jinwoo would lose all of his light sources.
It was unlikely, but just in case, Jinwoo mined every Starlight Crystal he saw and stored them in his inventory.
As he mined them, he realized why the crystals were so rare and scattered.
'So everyone else mines them and carries them around too.'
That's why there were so few crystals. Maybe in the past, there were enough to brightly illuminate the passages. It was just a guess.
He proceeded like this for a couple of hours.
He hadn't encountered anyone yet. All he saw were insects, centipedes, and the like. There were no other living creatures.
'And no Blue Flames.'
Thanks to his ability to sense Blue Flames, Jinwoo could move around much more safely than others, but for the past two hours, the only Blue Flames he had detected belonged to insects.
With nothing around, it would be easy to let his guard down, but Jinwoo did not.
Even if nothing was detected, this was a world he was visiting for the first time. With the same mindset as when he first entered the Original Forest, Jinwoo had sharpened all his senses.
That was why he was able to react quickly when an arrow suddenly flew out of the darkness.
'Hup!'
An arrow flew from the distant darkness, beyond the reach of his light. Jinwoo immediately pressed himself against the wall to dodge it. Almost simultaneously, another arrow flew by, which he deflected with his sword.
'A trap?'
He thought so for a moment, but he was wrong.
Kiiik... Kadeudeuk...
The beings visible beyond the light were three skeletons. Two holding bows, and one with a large shield.
'Undead monsters! Undead monsters don't have a Blue Flame!'
Jinwoo was quite surprised by his first encounter with undead monsters.
When he thought about it, it made sense. "Undead" refers to monsters that don't die, but in truth, they are monsters that are already dead.
They were corpses moving under some kind of power. It was only natural that they wouldn't have a Blue Flame inside them.
'First, take them out.'
The skeletons' movements were extremely slow. It seemed to take the two skeleton archers that had just fired more than a minute to nock and fire another arrow.
In one minute, Jinwoo could swing his sword dozens of times.
Kwa-deudeudeuk!
After easily dispatching the three skeletons, Jinwoo frowned.
Skeletons were among the lowest-ranking undead, so they weren't difficult. But if stronger undead appeared, Jinwoo would have to be extremely careful.
'I thought I was being tense, but I must have let my guard down without realizing it. I was relying too much on my ability.'
Since he gained the ability to see the flames, there had been no living creature he couldn't detect.
He could sense not only threatening enemies but also blades of grass and even the flames of insects, so it was inevitable. In fact, the ability was so powerful that Jinwoo had to train to filter out the vast amount of information.
Because it was so exceptional, a side effect had now emerged. He had started to rely on it unconsciously.
'...Let's get back to basics. I didn't have this ability when I first entered the Gate.'
He was reminded of just how many abilities he had awakened and how much stronger he had become.
He was probably relying heavily on his other abilities too, not just the one to see Blue Flames.
It wasn't a bad thing, as they were his own abilities. But in the end, an ability is just an ability. He must not forget that he is the one who wields it.
No matter how strong your ability, if you get hit by a stray arrow...
The words of the Bureau staff member, which he had been forgetting lately, came back to him.
After steeling his resolve once more, Jinwoo picked up a few of the scattered bones from the floor. He also examined the equipment the skeletons had been carrying.

The bow and arrows were ordinary. The shield the shield bearer was holding was nothing special either. It was just a big, sturdy shield.
However, the helmet the archer had been wearing was a bit peculiar.

[A curse from the Sky God dwells within. You shall see the farthest places, but not the nearest.]

'It's a magic item?'

It was a magic item—rare, uncommon, and therefore expensive, the main source of income on the 2nd Floor.
The 2nd Floor's Underground Temple had no fruit, mushrooms, beasts, or fish like the 1st Floor's Primitive Forest. So why did Hunters explore this place?
It was because they could obtain magic items like this helmet, blessed with a god's favor or curse.
Magic items imbued with abilities were extremely rare and expensive. For that reason, obtaining just one could yield more profit than several days of exploration in the Primitive Forest.
In other words, it was a place with a chance to strike it rich.
The lack of food was a bit disappointing for Jinwoo personally, but in terms of profit, magic items were far superior.
If he managed to find an item with a truly incredible ability, he could become a millionaire in an instant.

'See the farthest places, huh.'

Jinwoo scanned his surroundings to ensure it was safe, then put on the helmet.
Just as the description said, he could see the distant passages. He could even see them clearly despite the lack of light.
But, as the curse foretold, he couldn't see what was close. He tried to look at his own feet, but couldn't see them. He tried to look at the wall right next to him, but couldn't see that either.
Jinwoo instantly grasped the helmet's true nature.

'Wait, these are just binoculars...'

It had no lenses, but its function was a perfect match. Although the viewing angle was quite different, the core function was identical.
Naturally, for Jinwoo, who already had binoculars, a telescope, and even a periscope in his inventory, it was a completely useless item. Besides, there was no way he could fight while wearing a helmet like this.

'Tsk. A bit disappointing, but I guess it might sell to a collector.'

He had been excited about his first self-obtained magic item, but the result was incredibly underwhelming.
Still, it was much better than the other spoils, which were little more than scrap metal, so he decided to be satisfied with that.
He took off the helmet, tossed it into his inventory, and continued his exploration.

After that, he encountered and defeated a few more skeletons. They were still opponents whose Blue Flames he couldn't sense, but they couldn't hide the sound of their footsteps or the clattering of their bones.
Relying on his hearing, Jinwoo was able to detect them first and shattered them all with a single strike. Unfortunately, there were no more magic items.

'Huh?'

Just then, Jinwoo spotted what looked like the entrance to a chamber.
A fairly bright light was emanating from it, making it noticeable even from a distance. Along with the light, a cool chill was also seeping out.
When he went to investigate, he found a strange scene.
In a chilly stone chamber, there was an altar, cold as a block of ice.
Next to the altar, a flame—the source of the light—was burning. Yet, he couldn't feel any heat from it at all.
If anything, it was cold. When he put his hand in, it felt less like fire and more like he was touching the cold smoke of dry ice.

[The God of the Ice Valley welcomes you. Offer a sacrifice to receive a greater welcome.]

This had to be the buff-granting altar he'd only heard about.
He had heard that the 2nd Floor, the 13 Gods' Underground Temple, was dotted with altars like this. If you offered a tribute to the altar, you would receive a temporary ability enhancement.
The key to exploring the 2nd Floor was to find these altars and obtain their buffs, their blessings.

'Would something like this work as a sacrifice?'

Jinwoo placed a few bone fragments, which he had picked up after defeating the skeletons just in case, onto the altar.
The altar glowed for a moment, and the bone fragments slowly seeped into its surface.
Then.

[The God of the Ice Valley is enraged. Do not jest.]

The flames on either side of the altar flared up as if in anger. Fwoosh! It was a good thing they were cold; if they had been ordinary hot flames, the whole chamber might have gone up in smoke.

'Oops. Guess I tried to get away with being too cheap.'

Jinwoo hurriedly rummaged through his inventory to appease the god's anger. In truth, he had prepared something in advance for just such an occasion.

'There was a guide on Hunter Net Blind.'

A database existed, compiled and verified by the countless Hunters who had explored the 2nd Floor before him.
「Essential 2nd Floor Info! 13 Gods' Affinity Tribute List」
It was such important information that the site administrator had pinned it as a notice. He had used it to prepare tributes for each god in advance.
This was the advantage of coming later. He could easily obtain information that the vanguard teams had figured out through trial and error.

'What the God of the Ice Valley likes is the freshly killed and frozen carcass of a bear or a deer. Or an item enchanted with powerful ice magic.'

Those were said to grant the highest level of blessing. But they were incredibly hard to acquire.
An item was too expensive to offer as a one-time sacrifice, and he had no idea how to get his hands on a freshly killed, frozen bear.
Instead, there was an item that was a bit less effective but much cheaper and more cost-efficient.
Jinwoo took out three bowls of shaved ice and placed them on the altar.
There was a snow-flower bingsu topped with luscious mango, a classic patbingsu covered in red beans, and a melon bingsu served in a melon bowl.

'It said the god really likes cold sweets like shaved ice and ice cream!'

So he had made sure to buy expensive ones. Before his Awakening, it was a dessert he would have hesitated to buy even one bowl of, his hands trembling.
But now he had the means, and he'd even tried one for himself. He had never eaten such a delicious dessert in his life.
He didn't know what was in the finely shaved ice, but it wasn't tasteless like plain water; it was sweet, and the toppings were generous. Among them were small, chewy rice cakes that he particularly liked.
In any case, after ordering one bowl at the shop, he had several more packed to-go and stored them in his inventory. Since time didn't pass in the inventory, the shaved ice he just took out was in the exact same freshly-made state as it was in the shop.
The altar glowed as it had before, and the bowls of shaved ice vanished.

[The God of the Ice Valley is satisfied. You have been acknowledged as worthy of receiving a blessing.]

The three bowls of shaved ice had cost him about 150,000 won.
And with that 150,000 won, he had earned a god's blessing.

[You shall no longer tremble from the cold, and your mind shall become as solid as ice. If you possess a cold aura, it will grow even colder.]

The blessing was just as generous, a testament to how much affinity he had built up.
The knowledge of the vanguard teams was not to be underestimated. For Jinwoo, it was a very satisfying result.

'A cold aura... I guess that means something like ice magic. A shame I don't have any.'

The effects that applied to Jinwoo were no longer feeling the cold and his mind becoming solid.
Those two effects alone were more than excellent.

Since he had found a chamber, Jinwoo decided to use it as a base camp.
A room where he only had to guard the entrance was much more comfortable than a passage that was open on both ends.
He hung a blackout curtain over the entrance to prevent light from leaking out and laid a foldable 3-panel mattress on the floor.
Although there was a flame next to the altar, it was an unheard-of cold flame, so he built a separate campfire next to his mattress.
Once finished, it looked like a pretty decent hideout, and Jinwoo finished his meal with satisfaction. Tonight's menu was doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) packed with beef brisket, served with white rice.
He hadn't cooked the stew or the rice here; he had prepared the full meal at home and put the entire thing into his inventory.

'This way, I can cut down on meal times significantly.'

Inside a Gate, even mealtimes had to be handled with caution. That's why in the Primitive Forest, he had mostly subsisted on Block food, which he hated.
His solution, born from wracking his brain to reduce his consumption of Blocks, was to store entire meals, table and all, in his inventory.

'I only ate half a bowl, so I'm still a little hungry, but this is better.'

He had deliberately eaten only half a bowl of rice. If he was too full, his mind would slacken and his guard would drop.
He ate just enough to sate his hunger and enjoy the taste, then cleaned up. He took out his sword to perform some weapon maintenance, when...

'...! Someone's coming.'

He felt a Blue Flame. A flame had appeared at the very edge of his detection range.
In a straight line, it wasn't that far, but this was a subterranean labyrinth full of winding passages. The actual distance was likely quite far.
Still, just in case, Jinwoo stomped out the campfire. Then he took out another blackout curtain and covered the flame next to the altar.
Because it was a cold flame, the curtain merely billowed like a hot air balloon instead of catching fire.

'Just pass by without noticing.'

No light was leaking out. At this point, it was plausible they would pass by unknowingly.
In fact, they might not even come down this particular passage where the altar was. The labyrinth's passages were a complex, tangled mess. Thinking about it that way, his precautions were perhaps a bit excessive.
But then.

'...It's getting closer.'

The Blue Flame was steadily approaching. It navigated the various passages, tracing a winding path, yet it was unerringly heading this way.
There was no hint of hesitation in its steps. The underground labyrinth was split into countless branches and interwoven paths; one would normally have to pause and think at some point.

But the flame approached without stopping at all. It was as if it already knew his location and was coming straight for him.