Jinhyuk and Momo dashed through the forest, weaving between trees without pause.
It was such a peaceful place that nothing posed any real danger.
Before long, the two of them regrouped at their meeting spot, each carrying armfuls of something.
"Wow, Momo, you gathered a ton."
She really was diligent. Judging by the sheer amount in her arms, it looked like she'd picked every last dandelion in the forest.
"I left a few behind! They have to grow back!"
They sat down and piled everything in the middle.
Jinhyuk pulled out the Yodel Compass.
Elia had insisted the required materials were ridiculous and suggested they just go find the blacksmith Svenson and hammer something out instead—but it was still too early to give up.
Sitting beside him, Momo carefully fed the gathered dandelion seeds into the Yodel Compass.
Jinhyuk clasped his hands together and focused with all his might.
'Helios meteor fragment. Helios meteor fragment.'
They waited.
The dandelion seeds suddenly floated upward into the air.
They began forming shapes—sketching out an image in midair. Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes, studying it closely.
"It disappeared!"
After a moment, both the shape and the seeds used to create it vanished.
That was fine.
They had plenty more.
He repeated the process.
Once again, seeds scattered and formed a different image.
"This one's different!"
"Yeah… looks like there's more than one location."
It wasn't like the compass would ask them to find something that didn't exist.
Helios must have been one of many meteors that had fallen at some point.
They continued feeding in dandelion seeds, waiting for something—anything—that looked promising.
Just one was enough. And if not a whole piece, even a fragment would do.
Once they got their hands on something, the Yodel Compass could track the rest.
"Stop!"
Momo suddenly jumped to her feet, shouting.
"W-What?"
Startled, Jinhyuk looked up at her.
"I've seen this before! It's the 63rd floor!"
"The 63rd? We cleared that yesterday."
"Yeah! I remember this rock and that mountain shape!"
Coming from Momo, that carried weight.
She covered the widest area whenever they cleared a floor, busy butchering and collecting monster drops.
"But it's weird! If it was nearby, I would've smelled it!"
Momo touched her nose.
After reaching Epic rank, she'd gained a unique trait specialized for treasure hunting.
"Maybe the blizzard was too strong?" Jinhyuk suggested. "It could've scattered the scent."
"That's possible! The treasure smell would've blown away!"
"And this…"
He gathered more seeds and released them again.
The image that formed had looked so different earlier that he'd assumed it was another location entirely.
But now that Momo mentioned the 63rd floor, it seemed similar after all.
"Could it be under a crevasse?"
"A crayon?"
"No, a crevasse. Remember all those cracks in the ice?"
"Oh! Momo knows that place! I fell in once and had to re-manifest!"
"There were some really deep ones. If it's far down and trapped inside ice, it makes sense you couldn't smell it."
"Yeah! Master's smart!"
The 63rd floor…
Jinhyuk rubbed his chin.
They'd already cleared it, but with a ticket, they could re-enter as many times as they wanted.
'What a hassle.'
It was annoying to go through the whole process again.
Still, since Momo recognized the location from the image, they at least had a rough idea of where to look.
The problem was how deep the crevasse might be.
They couldn't afford to get kicked out of the floor, so they'd have to keep the yetis alive and drag them around until they found the meteor.
Then a thought crossed his mind.
'How far has the Transcendence progressed?'
The last Transcendence he'd cleared was the 62nd floor.
Since the Tower site hadn't updated yet, the 63rd floor's Transcendence probably hadn't occurred.
A smile tugged at his lips.
If luck was on his side, he might not even need to waste a ticket.
"Forget Helios for now. Let's look for the others too."
"Okay!"
They planned to keep going until every last dandelion seed was used up.
After finishing their camping trip, they returned home.
As soon as they stepped inside and manifested, everyone wore refreshed expressions.
"That was a proper break. I feel ten years younger."
"You'd still be 3,261 years old."
"I feel like beating you up first thing in the morning."
Maybe it was the hangover ramen loaded with green onions and chili peppers they'd had for breakfast, but no one looked tired.
"Momo's skin looks better!"
"Our chubby one has always had good skin."
Jinhyuk nodded, looking at their bright faces.
It really drove home how important rest was.
He made a mental note: whenever things started feeling too grueling, they'd go camping or flower-viewing again.
"What are these scribbles? Trash?"
Dark flipped casually through the sketchbook on the table.
Nearby, Momo instantly turned into a stone statue.
It practically echoed with a boom.
"She's become a moai statue again," someone muttered.
"That's what Momo drew while using the Yodel Compass with dandelion seeds. They're important clues."
"Oh."
Dark glanced at the petrified Momo.
"Your drawing skills are atrocious, but that's fine. You're good at other things."
Not comforting in the slightest.
He bolted before retaliation could come.
Jinhyuk gathered the sketchbook carefully.
The Yodel Compass had sketched clues about the Black Dragon Drakan and some flint.
Nothing immediately useful, but there was no need to rush.
Helios came first.
"Oh."
Dark, halfway through fleeing, turned back.
"That one colored in black… is it a dragon?"
"Yeah. That's roughly what the seeds formed when we looked for Drakan."
"I don't know if it's Drakan, but I have seen a dragon before. Blue or black—I don't remember."
"What?!"
Come to think of it, Dark had never properly examined the blueprint.
When they'd reviewed it together, he'd just stretched and stared at the sky.
Jinhyuk quickly took out the Yodel Compass and fed in more seeds.
They floated and recreated the earlier image of Drakan.
Dark studied it up close and nodded.
"Similar enough. There should be traces left in Frostheim."
Jinhyuk clenched his fist.
Tomorrow, they'd use a ticket to go.
They needed to clear the Tower of Despair's 65th floor before ascending to the 13th floor of the Mythical Tower anyway.
"Where there are flowering trees, it's quite far north. Dress warmly. You'll be fine, but the others won't."
Jinhyuk gave a thumbs-up.
The cold-sensitive ones could stay by a bonfire. He'd just summon them when needed.
"Dish duty—Elia and Camilla."
"Oooh…"
The two who'd just been about to lie down raised their hands weakly.
Caught red-handed.
With all the camping utensils, today's dishwashing wouldn't be easy.
"I'll supervise," Kancho declared, already holding a fly swatter. "Grandma left red marks last time."
"Excellent."
Where had he even gotten that thing?
Elia and Camilla began washing dishes under Kancho's merciless supervision.
Jinhyuk sank into the sofa and pulled a horn from his inventory.
No reaction from the Yodel Compass.
It probably required going up to the 13th floor of the Mythical Tower.
The key to the strange land likely worked the same way.
His phone rang.
He shot upright and grabbed it.
He'd sent a message on the way home, asking to be notified immediately if a 63rd floor Transcendence occurred.
"Yes, Team Leader."
The 63rd floor Transcendence just occurred. Incheon, West Sea. It's some distance offshore—shall we provide a boat?
"That won't be necessary. I'll handle it. Thank you!"
We appreciate it. We're short-handed as it is. Please be careful—the cold is no joke. And… that Cheongsan liquor was incredible. Truly. Thank you.
"I didn't make it myself, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll head out right away."
He hung up and locked eyes with Elia and Camilla.
They looked at him pitifully.
They'd do anything—anything but dishes.
Red marks were already forming on their arms from the fly swatter.
"Kancho."
"Yodel Ranger Vice-Captain Kancho reporting!"
"Supervise until the dishes are done."
"Sir, yes sir!"
With heavy sighs, the two continued washing.
Jinhyuk slipped on his shoes.
Destination: Incheon, West Sea.
At a quiet dock along the West Sea in Incheon, Jinhyuk carefully checked his surroundings before summoning Dark.
"Just draw a straight line. Keep the cold to a minimum."
"Understood."
Dark swung the Eternal Winter Blade across the sea.
A solid ice path formed along its arc.
He'd replaced the engine oil with one resistant to freezing and prepared a backup battery to prevent discharge.
With the chill suppressed, it should hold up fine.
Jinhyuk floored the accelerator of Duram No.1.
The vehicle shot forward, boasting a ridiculous zero-to-hundred acceleration.
There were no speed limits out here. No obstacles either.
He pushed it harder.
'Whoa. That's fast.'
The speed climbed rapidly—nearing 300.
Racing over ice felt almost like flying.
Was this how eyebrows got ripped off?
"Captain—!"
"Kanchoooooo!"
The moment Kancho manifested, he was flung backward by the speed.
He quickly re-manifested in front of Jinhyuk and wiped his sweat.
"For a second, I thought I'd turned into an airplane."
As Kancho reported that the dishes were done, the Transcendence zone of the 63rd floor came into view.
'It's definitely getting faster.'
The rate of Transcendences was increasing worldwide, and the curve was steepening.
Scholars were already predicting that two Transcendences a day wouldn't be far off.
Screeeech.
After a long slide, Duram No.1 finally stopped.
Jinhyuk carefully covered it with a thermal sheet.
He'd barely bought it—no way he'd let it freeze solid.
"Camilla."
Rustle.
Camilla manifested and scattered talismans.
With hands clasped, she chanted softly.
A transparent barrier formed around the Transcendence zone.
From inside, you could see out. From outside, nothing.
A one-way mirror barrier.
"Can't see anything!" Kancho confirmed after checking outside.
"Of course you can't," Camilla snapped, still irritated from earlier swats.
"Who do you think I am?"
"Alright, alright."
Jinhyuk rubbed his hands together and handed pickaxes to Seira and Dark.
The strong ones would mine with him.
"Kancho, keep watch."
"Understood! Mission ongoing!"
"Momo takes the lead!"
Acting as guide, Momo stepped forward.
Now it was time.
To search for the first material needed to forge the transcendent blade—Soul Reaper.
The Helios meteor.
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T/N:
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