Chapter 305
Executive Director Hata did not question Lotfiout’s choice.
Having watched from beside him all this time, he knew how extraordinary the Chairman was and believed that every action he took had a purpose.
Indeed, given enough time to reflect, one could understand why he made choices that others found puzzling.
The Chairman always had a plan.
However, this time, Hata did not think so.
“Weren’t you giving him a chance?”
“Executive Director Hata. What do you mean by that?”
“I mean Deputy Director Kang Yu-hyun.”
“Ah, right.”
Despite having made the decision himself, Lotfiout seemed to speak as if he had forgotten. This made it even harder for Hata to understand Lotfiout’s intentions.
“So, what is your question?”
“You said you were giving him a chance, but sending him to that notorious place seems incomprehensible. Isn’t that essentially sending him to his death rather than giving him an opportunity?”
“Was that your concern? Does my decision not seem fair to you?”
“To be honest, yes.”
“Hmm. I suppose it could appear that way to others.”
Even in response to Hata’s words, Lotfiout did not get angry. Instead, he admitted that it could indeed look that way.
Lotfiout stroked his long beard with his hand and then shrugged. Hata’s face, full of wrinkles, was filled with doubt.
At this moment, Chairman Lotfiout was smiling as if he could not contain his amusement.
“Chairman?”
“Heh heh. Ah, sorry. I couldn’t help but laugh, thinking about that time.”
“Laugh?”
“You asked why I sent Deputy Director Kang Yu-hyun there, didn’t you?”
Lotfiout waved his hand as if to say it was nothing.
“Because he wanted it.”
“What?”
“Deputy Director Kang Yu-hyun. His eyes were telling me. He wanted to go there. That’s all. The young man so eagerly wanted the chance; how could an old man like me deny him?”
“That’s just…”
Executive Director Hata had many more questions, but Lotfiout firmly signaled that he would not provide any further answers.
Knowing the Chairman’s personality better than anyone else, Hata could only nod, suppressing his curiosity.
‘The Chairman is expecting something.’
From whom?
Isn’t it obvious?
Lotfiout was waiting for Deputy Director Kang Yu-hyun, who had left for the exile, to succeed and return.
‘But, even for the Chairman, this might be a mistake.’
He didn’t know how many Tellers had gone to the exile. Were none of them talented?
Even those once regarded as promising talents could not return after being exiled.
That cursed world was a place where everything froze, including stories.
No matter how extraordinary Deputy Director Kang Yu-hyun was, Hata believed it was impossible to return once sent to exile.
* * *
“Well, this is something.”
Even someone like Yu-hyun, who rarely talked to himself, couldn’t help but speak out in this situation.
He knew about receiving a prosthetic and the accompanying stories.
But who would have guessed that it would be a woman?
Though he couldn’t see himself clearly in the snow-covered surroundings, he could tell just by the voice that she was a stunning beauty.
‘Something feels off.’
It might be because the prosthetic was a completely different gender and an unfamiliar face, but even breathing felt significantly different from usual.
Yu-hyun opened and closed his hand or bounced lightly on the spot to check his body’s condition.
First, he needed to adapt to his new body.
‘At least the physical specs don’t seem bad.’
Though the body was slender, it was strong. Even though there didn’t seem to be muscles, the strength was undeniable. The elasticity was impressive too, meaning the bones and muscles were naturally strong.
Yu-hyun checked his attire and belongings.
He was dressed in animal fur clothing that looked like something an ancient Scandinavian would wear. The belt at his waist held a sharp sword and some emergency rations.
‘At least I won’t starve, and I have a weapon for self-defense.’
The sword didn’t feel heavy. It wasn’t that the sword was light, but rather his body was strong.
‘The physical abilities are much stronger than an average person. No, this level might rival even mid-level Awakened Collectors.’
The fact that his natural physical ability was comparable to a mid-level Collector was astonishing. Though he didn’t know what race it was, he was sure it wasn’t ordinary.
‘The cold resistance is also very strong.’
Even though he was covered in thick fur, it couldn’t entirely block out the cold. In this snowstorm, exposed skin should have frozen instantly.
But his hands merely felt slightly chilly.
‘Strong physical abilities and cold resistance. Like a legendary Highlander or an ancient Viking.’
He realized that this prosthetic body was superior to humans despite resembling one.
Now, the next issue.
‘My body has adapted and my status is checked. The next problem is this endlessly frozen world.’
The sky was covered with dark, murky clouds, continuously pouring snow.
The fierce snowstorm made it impossible to see far, but it was clear the land was covered endlessly in snow and ice.
The scenery was blindingly blue and white.
It wasn’t just a white world covered in snow; it was a land where everything had frozen, turning the piled-up snow into bluish perpetual ice. A world of blue and white, without trees, rocks, or soil—only snow and ice.
Yu-hyun understood why they said stories froze here.
Moreover, Yu-hyun had a time limit.
‘Even if I got a prosthetic, I’m still a Teller. A Teller must consume text to survive, or else they’ll perish.’
Yu-hyun had no text. He used to have plenty, but he transferred ownership of all his texts when he came to the exile.
Though he didn’t know the exact amount, his senses told him he had about two weeks left.
Before that, he needed to succeed in his mission or obtain additional text.
‘For now, I need to move.’
Even though his body was resistant to cold, it wasn’t completely immune. Staying still would risk freezing to death despite his robust body.
‘But where should I go…?’
Determining direction was impossible. Without a compass and with the sky filled with clouds hiding the sun, he couldn’t tell where the sun rose or set. Moving aimlessly was dangerous.
Even in exile, survivors existed.
To find them, he needed to detect traces of them.
‘Tsk. I understand why previous Tellers never returned.’
Facing such difficulties from the start, previous Tellers who had been blessed with protection and safely observed from secure places would have felt as if their world was crumbling.
Yu-hyun grabbed a handful of snow and crumbled it to check the wind direction.
‘The blizzard and wind direction have been constant.’
In a snowstorm like this, the wind direction should constantly change. But here, it seemed fixed as if predetermined.
Yu-hyun wondered if waiting would change the wind direction, but after 30 minutes to an hour, it remained the same.
‘This isn’t a natural phenomenon. It seems more artificial. Is there something in that direction?’
Yu-hyun noted the direction of the wind.
Usually, one would move in the opposite direction in such cases, but Yu-hyun was different.
‘To present a tale in this world, I need to understand the root of what’s happening here. Moving towards the source of the wind is better.’
Though it would be dangerous, it was in such perilous places that the story he had to reveal lay.
Yu-hyun headed towards the direction of the wind. He didn’t know if it was north, south, east, or west.
As he moved towards the wind, he felt the temperature dropping.
‘No, it’s not just a feeling. It’s actually getting colder.’
Every breath he exhaled turned into white mist, shredded by the blizzard.
Yu-hyun stopped and looked back at the path he had taken.
The world behind him was also white.
Every step he took was quickly erased by the snow, making it hard to estimate how far he had come.
‘The weather is getting harsher.’
The previously fierce snowstorm became even stronger, making it difficult to see ahead.
On top of that, the surroundings were getting darker. Nighttime was approaching.
‘Is there a place nearby to stay for the night?’
Yu-hyun looked around through the blizzard.
Whoo-oo.
Amid the howling storm, Yu-hyun heard a faint sound.
‘What’s that?’
Focusing his senses on his hearing, he detected the sound of footsteps crunching snow not far away.
‘An animal? No, the footsteps are regular. A survivor.’
Yu-hyun immediately headed toward the sound. The storm was so strong that he had to stop occasionally to follow the sound accurately, but his enhanced body eventually found it even in the storm.
How long had he walked?
Yu-hyun saw a faint but human-like shadow ahead.
‘Is it alone? It might be a wanderer, but at least I found someone.’
Sweeping back his long hair blown by the snowstorm, Yu-hyun walked cautiously.
Having stayed in this harsh environment for a while, even his cold-resistant skin started to ache.
Finding a survivor was a stroke of luck.
‘But…’
As he continued walking, Yu-hyun frowned.
‘Something’s strange.’
Despite walking close enough, he didn’t seem to get any nearer to the shadow.
Everything was covered in white snow, and with the blizzard, his sense of distance could be off, but he couldn’t have misjudged the distance by that much.
What seemed a human-sized figure from afar…
Had grown to a size he had to look up at.
‘That’s… not a person.’
At the same time, the dark silhouette in the snow storm seemed to turn its head towards him.
In that moment, Yu-hyun felt a chill run down his spine as he met the piercing blue eyes glowing through the storm.
Yu-hyun threw himself behind a sloped snow hill.
‘That thing… wasn’t normal in size.’
His current body wasn’t small, but the creature he saw appeared to be at least 7 meters tall.
Despite the distorted sense of distance, it had looked like an average human size from afar.
Close up, it exceeded expectations.
‘If it looked human in this warped sense of distance, it’s practically a giant.’
Yu-hyun clenched and unclenched his fist.
He had fought giants in the world of Don Quixote, but that was when he had the power of Kang Yu-hyun. Now, he was stripped of most of his stories.
And though this body was powerful, it felt insufficient to fight such a monster.
‘No need to fight to know. That monster is dangerous.’
Thinking he had found a survivor, he instead encountered a human-shaped giant. Moreover, the eyes he glimpsed were not those of a rational being.
Meeting it meant death.
Yu-hyun realized this and lowered himself, observing its movements.
‘Damn. It felt like we made eye contact. I hope I was wrong.’
Yu-hyun silently wished, but reality was harsh.
Crunch.
The slightly hardened snow beneath him crunched audibly. The sound was so loud because of the creature’s immense size.
Yu-hyun watched the unidentified giant approaching him and bit his lip.
Though its form was blurry, the pressure it exerted was palpable.
‘I need to run.’
Though the creature didn’t know his exact location, it was approaching. Staying put meant getting caught.
Yu-hyun immediately stood up and dashed away.
ROOOAR!!
The giant, seeing Yu-hyun flee, let out a roar. Hearing that sound, Yu-hyun knew he was right not to try communicating.
That monster had no reason. It was ferocious.
Being caught meant death.
‘I can’t die here.’
Hearing the footsteps behind him, Yu-hyun ran desperately through the snowstorm, thinking hard.
An open plain was dangerous. Though visibility was low, he couldn’t assume the same for the creature. It might have better night vision.
Yu-hyun aimed for a large mound visible in the distance, running non-stop.
Thanks to the body’s power, he could sprint over the snow without sinking deeply.
Despite this, the pursuing presence did not seem to distance itself.
‘It’s getting closer!’
He didn’t dare look back.
The thumping sounds behind him grew louder.
Yu-hyun picked up speed. The cold air seeping into his lungs was far from pleasant.
Finally, he reached a tall, smooth ice mountain.
Scanning the area, he spotted a gap just big enough for a person and dove in.
‘Did it stop chasing me?’
Though the entrance was narrow, the inside was more spacious than expected.
Yu-hyun quickly scanned the smooth, semi-transparent ice cave and watched the entrance.
The giant seemed to have lost his trail.
‘Phew. That was close.’
As he sighed in relief, a rough hand covered his mouth from behind.
“……!”