Chapter 138: Snow is Falling (2)
The tree where snow falls. The fifth source.
The place where the Bird that Counts the Stars had taken Yuhyun’s body.
But there was no sign of the white-feathered bird. Instead, I saw my younger brother lying quietly in the snowy field.
Between the massive roots of the tree—roots as thick as a frozen mountain range—lay a human body that seemed impossibly small. Perhaps it was the dream that made everything appear so vivid.
‘…Won’t he be cold?’
That was my first thought. I knew dead people couldn’t feel cold. But this was a dream. In dreams, he might still be alive.
His face was only slightly pale, as if he were merely sleeping. There were no wounds visible. Pure white snowflakes dusted his body like a delicate blanket.
Maybe if I tried to wake him, he’d open his eyes.
‘Yuhyun.’
But I couldn’t move closer. Couldn’t even speak. This didn’t need to be like some cliché nightmare. I’d experienced enough moments in reality where I could do nothing but watch. So at least in a dream, let me move.
I never asked for much to begin with.
Standing frozen, blinking stupidly, made my chest ache. Snow continued to fall, drifting slowly through the air as if it would never end.
Among the snowflakes, one particularly large one floated toward me.
— Chirp!
…Huh?
— Chirp chirp!
It wasn’t a snowflake at all—it was Chirp. His tiny wings flapped earnestly as he floated toward me. Come to think of it, Chirp was a white bird too.
A white bird flying among white snowflakes.
— Chirp!
‘Chirp.’
He approached and chirped at me. I still couldn’t move to pick him up. What was wrong with my body? Was I just a formless observer, like in typical dreams?
Chirp circled in front of me before flying away again. His small body shuddered as he shook off the falling snow, then slowly descended. He plopped onto the snow-covered ground, got up, and waddled toward where Yuhyun lay.
— Chirp — chirp!
The chick hopped over the piled snow, breathing heavily with each jump. Why wasn’t he flying? Had he already depleted all the magic in his item?
Items with special effects either used the user’s mana or drew from mana embedded in a magic stone within the item. The latter was designed for users with no mana or very low mana levels. Flight skills required substantial mana, so Chirp’s item was of the latter type.
Given his ability to use spatial movement, Chirp’s mana capacity was higher than I’d thought. But then again, this was just a dream.
— Chirp, chirp!
Chirp finally reached Yuhyun. He climbed onto my brother’s limp arm, then onto his chest.
My heart sank as I watched his black hair sway when it brushed against Yuhyun’s pale forehead. But that was all. Just the wind, probably.
— Chirp!
Perched on Yuhyun’s chest, Chirp looked up at me. Yeah, Chirp, I know. He won’t wake up.
I closed my eyes. The sound of Chirp’s chirping echoed in my ears as I opened them again.
— Chirp chirp.
“Chirp.”
I lifted myself up and cupped Chirp, who sat beside my pillow. Why were his feathers wet? The light from the screen serving as a window was dim. Rain fell in the garden, its soft patter coming through the speakers.
“Did you use the spatial movement skill to go outside again?”
— Chirp.
Chirp’s tiny beak poked at my palm, suggesting hunger. Given how sluggish he seemed, he must have used the skill again. What if you got into trouble going out alone?
“You shouldn’t venture out by yourself. Someone bad might catch you.”
I fed him a magic stone while warning him, not that he’d understand. Even if someone caught him, as long as he had enough mana, he could return using spatial movement. That skill truly was invaluable.
‘Just how far can this little one travel with that skill?’
He’d made it all the way to Hong Kong, so the range must be significant. Of course, he might not have made the trip in one go. I used the blanket to dry Chirp for now. Don’t want you catching a cold… Wait, it’s summer.
The dream had momentarily convinced me it was winter. Why did it have to be a snowy place? It felt so lonely and cold. Just let me move once. Let me hug him at least once.
“Even if it’s summer, let’s get you completely dry just to be safe.”
— Chirp!
I picked up Chirp and grabbed a dry towel. After carefully wiping down his fluffy white feathers, I used a pet dryer to finish the job.
“You’re awake?”
As soon as the dryer noise stopped, my brother’s voice rang out. Yesterday’s events came flooding back. I had completely forgotten. I unplugged the dryer, returned it to the drawer, and turned to face my brother, holding Chirp. I also reactivated my poison resistance skill.
“Did Seong Hyunjae tell you?”
“Yeah.”
He still seemed somewhat wary of me. You shouldn’t give someone sleeping pills without their permission. But…
“Why do you even carry sleeping pills? Having trouble sleeping?”
“They’re not for me. My sleep is just light, not nonexistent.”
“You slept well in Hong Kong though. Even an S-rank needs proper sleep.”
Yuhyun fell silent at my words.
“…You’re not angry?”
“Well, just tell me before you do it next time. It seemed effective.”
Despite the troubling dream, I had slept deeply. It had relieved much of my accumulated fatigue.
“Hyung.”
“So what exactly did he say? He wouldn’t know much detail anyway.”
“Why do you keep avoiding eye contact?”
Was I? I hadn’t really been looking at Yuhyun’s face.
“You are angry, aren’t you?”
“I’m not angry. Not about that.”
“Then?”
I lifted my head to meet my brother’s gaze. He looked so young. Twenty-five wasn’t old, but he appeared even younger. I smiled at his expression, simultaneously sulky and concerned.
“I just feel a bit sorry. I said I’d tell you everything, but I ended up keeping quiet again. Come here, Yuhyun.”
I pulled my brother into a light hug before releasing him.
“What time is it? Let’s talk over breakfast.”
Breakfast was a simple affair. When Yuhyun offered to help, I waved him off. Years of managing the household had made these tasks second nature to me. All I really needed to do was transfer side dishes from the refrigerator to plates. The only actual cooking involved was frying eggs, and rice was merely a matter of rinsing and pressing a button on the cooker.
“Sharp as ever, that one. Noticing the magic stone’s involvement.”
I clicked my tongue after hearing Yuhyun’s account of Seong Hyunjae’s observations.
“It’s a combination—the cracked magic stone from Diarma and an SS-rank Dragonkin’s stone.”
“…Is that safe? Having something like that inside you?”
“It’s a specific skill application. Fusing magic stones to create a new Dragonkin. If the skill works as intended, it should produce an S-rank creature loyal to me.”
The lack of any response so far was troubling, though. While fusion times varied by rank, this was taking longer than expected without showing any signs of progress.
“There’s also this unexpected side effect of drawing monsters to me.”
“Will the wound heal once the Dragonkin emerges?”
“No. That stays permanent.”
“Stop using that skill. Now.”
Yuhyun’s tone left no room for argument.
“But wasting this opportunity… A scar’s hardly going to impact my quality of life.”
“Right now, all I want to do is extract that thing from you.”
He continued grumbling about my self-care habits while picking up a steamed shishito pepper with his chopsticks. I watched expectantly as he took a bite, noting his slight flinch.
“Good, isn’t it?”
“…Yeah.”
“Myungwoo made these.”
“…Oh.”
His reluctant response was telling. He’d previously refused Myungwoo’s side dishes, insisting it wasn’t necessary. Perhaps his stance was softening.
“Try the other dishes too. If you like them, I’ll pack some for you to take home.”
“…No, that won’t be necessary.”
A hint of petulance colored his voice. After the pepper, he touched nothing but the fried egg. Why won’t you eat properly?!
“You need a balanced meal.”
I pushed my portion of egg toward him. An egg alone wasn’t sufficient as a side dish. Maybe I should bring out some seaweed?
“By the way, my fear resistance is currently at C-rank.”
“…What?”
“Chief Song Taewon possesses a skill that can downgrade other people’s abilities.”
As much as I regretted involving Song Taewon, Yuhyun needed to know. I couldn’t risk him accidentally falling victim to it and having his skills compromised. If an A-rank effect lasted half a day, an S-rank would likely persist for at least an hour, possibly longer.
Any reduction in resistance skills could prove fatal.
“He has that kind of ability? And the reduction is that severe?”
“That’s because I shared my double attack skill effect with him. Usually, it only drops about three ranks. But even that’s enough to turn an S-rank into a C-rank. Be careful. It needs prolonged contact to take effect, so it won’t happen in combat, but still…”
“No more skill sharing. You know how dangerous that is.”
“Next time, I’ll draft a proper contract first.”
Though it’ll need some revisions.
After our meal, Yuhyun cleared the table. Such a considerate kid. How is he still single? Maybe he’s too perfect?
[Breaking news: Last night, a dungeon break occurred near ** Mountain in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.]
The TV was dominated by coverage of last night’s dungeon break. Every news channel, save for the regular programming stations, focused exclusively on the incident. All previous broadcasts about me had vanished.
Understandable, given this was the first dungeon break in quite some time.
‘I shouldn’t assume this development automatically resolves everything.’
The dungeon break was intentional. If that fact came to light, we’d be voluntarily jumping into an inferno. Why throw away this chance at a quiet retirement by hanging yourself with your own lifeline?
‘Need to trace the honey’s market presence and identify who ignored my warning.’
The clever ones might have feigned compliance with my retirement suggestion. While tracking the honey’s distribution network remained the priority, my thoughts kept drifting to Seong Hyunjae.
‘Sesung must have hunters capable of extracting information from both the living and the dead.’
Their retrieval of a corpse from Hong Kong confirmed as much. Asking Yerim wasn’t an option—it would take her at least seven to ten days to exit the dungeon, far too long to wait.
What bait should I use? Perhaps revealing details about the magic stone fusion. Hint at the possibility of custom monster mounts, and he’d surely take interest.
‘High-rank electric-resistant monsters must be hard to come by.’
For Sesung’s Guild Leader, nothing less than S-rank would suffice. Of course, I wouldn’t actually offer to create one just to track down some honey dealers. Just plant the seed that such a thing might be possible. The skill’s success isn’t even guaranteed yet, and I’m unclear on how much control I’d have over monster customization.
It feels somewhat underhanded, but well… Someone of his means can afford a little disappointment.
Yuhyun emerged from the kitchen, glanced at the television, and settled onto the sofa.
“Shouldn’t you check in with the guild? The first dungeon break in ages must have everyone scrambling.”
“Officially, I’m still in the dungeon. Word getting out about my use of the gate stone would cause problems, so I’m maintaining radio silence until the raid concludes. You’re staying home until your fear resistance recovers, right?”
I avoided his gaze, which radiated absolute certainty that I would, of course, remain at home.
“No, I need to keep moving. They orchestrated this dungeon break specifically to cover my tracks from last night—how can I just sit idle? Besides, C-rank fear resistance is perfectly adequate for daily life. Most people function without any fear resistance at all.”
C-rank still qualified as exceptional bravery by normal standards. My brother’s face darkened at my words. Though I felt guilty about confining him to the house, he should use this opportunity to rest.
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“Wasn’t the Haeyeon Guild Leader supposed to be mid-raid?”
Instead of answering, Yuhyun made a phone call. Moments later, Seok Gimyeong appeared, dragging along a man in his early twenties.
“Wait, shouldn’t the Guild Leader be in the dungeon right now?”
Kim Minui, the B-rank Haeyeon hunter who’d once recommended a bar to Kim Seonghan, stared at Yuhyun in confusion. Yuhyun offered him a gentle smile.
“Lend me your identity for a week.”
“What?”
“It’s vacation season, and you’re already taking time off.”
“But… I was planning to travel to Europe…”
As Kim Minui backed away, Yuhyun produced a pair of glasses. Seok Gimyeong handed over a pill.
“Just take a quick nap.”
“I’ve already booked everything—flights, hotels…”
“Triple compensation and extended vacation time.”
Grumbling, Kim Minui accepted the pill. Sorry about this, Minui. I’ll do my best to keep my brother’s antics to a minimum, so try not to worry too much.
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt