TRGBM 117

Episode 117

117: It’s Cold

golden hand sudden appearance. He arrived alone yet called himself a rescue team. At first, Baek Jinju thought it was just a player’s frivolous act. Players tended to view NPCs—no, everything in Lepyon—too lightly.

But golden hand was different.

The potions he casually offered. They were no ordinary “goods.” These potions were on a completely different level from the ones players chugged like water while hunting. They were items worthy of being auctioned. And he wasn’t offering just one or two, but dozens. Moreover, he was handing them out without hesitation, for the sake of NPCs.

Furthermore, the power he wielded wasn’t simple magic. It was a strange power containing purifying force and divine energy. It was a power of such purity that even she, a paladin, couldn’t handle it easily. That’s why she had asked about his identity. But his reply wasn’t the answer she expected.

“Is that important? Aren’t we going to save these people?”
“Ah, yes?”
“You know the situation outside. This isn’t the time to waste time leisurely, right?”

His words jolted Baek Jinju back to her senses. golden hand was right. Regardless of his identity, the important thing now was the people. Saving them.

“Everyone, listen to the outsider… no, to Mr. golden hand! He will save us!”

The NPCs, who had initially been wary of golden hand, changed their attitude at Baek Jinju’s single remark. It seemed the trust she had built here was considerable.

The NPCs hurriedly administered the potions to the wounded. The effect was immediate. Rotting wounds healed in an instant, and color returned to faces burning with high fever. Those who had been groaning began to open their eyes and sit up one by one.

“A miracle…”
“My body… doesn’t hurt.”
“Mister, thank you… Mom, my mom has come to! Waaah!”

From those praising God at golden hands treatment to children bursting into tears, the shelter became chaotic. Moreover, the live stream’s chat, witnessing all of this, also began to explode.

└ [HumanityWrecker]: Wow… I’m actually speechless. Look at the state of those kids. They’re just skin and bones. Is that something humans should do?
└ [WitchHunter]: There’s a reason they burn witches at the stake! Don’t let her die easily if she’s caught. She’s truly a demon.
└ [Immersionist]: I’m going crazy… I cried without realizing it watching the baby look for its mom. Crazy Lepione devs!!! This is so realistic I think I’m getting PTSD ㅠㅠ
└ [ㅇㅇ]: I mean, it’s a game, but this crosses a line. They turned a normal city into a living hell. Look at those people’s eyes… It’s too much.
└ [FaintOfHeart]: I can’t watch… Should I log into Frelia too? I wonder if I could help…

[JusticeRescue] has donated 3,000,000 won: Use this for medicine. I wish I could go, but I’m too far.
[HumanPaladin] has donated 5,000,000 won: Give this to the Paladin lady! This is a true Paladin! Got it!
.
.
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Donations poured in madly alongside the chat. Moreover, unlike usual, the amounts starting from the first digit were different. The viewers seemed even more emotionally shaken than golden hand. However, golden hand, experiencing it firsthand, remained somewhat detached. Having experienced the Age of Ruin, he had developed a habit of deliberately blocking emotional agitation.

“That should be enough for now. Let’s start moving. Follow closely. If you fall behind… you die.”

golden hand words seemed somewhat cold. But no one questioned him. Because golden hand was showing it through his actions. The people simply trusted and followed him. The same went for Baek Jinju.

“I’ll help too. I’ll take the rear. Let’s work together.”

Geumson took the lead, and Baek Jinhu took the rear. The group began to cautiously traverse the ruins. Strangely, however, they encountered no undead. It was as if they were choosing paths where undead were absent, as if reading a map. And the few they did encounter were instantly dealt with by golden hand hammer.

Crunch!

Thump!

The undead shattered without even making a sound. Watching this, Baek Jinju was astonished again. golden hand was clearly a blacksmith. Yet he was slaughtering undead with overwhelming force, greater than her own as a paladin. And the skills he used…

‘How… is he avoiding the undead? And that’s magic? No, is it divine power?’

The light and heat erupting from his hammer. And the cold emanating from his left hand. His ability to freely wield opposing attributes was nothing short of marvelous. Moreover, golden hand was rescuing people from other hidden shelters along the way. His familiar and natural movements seemed like the work of someone who had done this more than once or twice.

‘What’s his real job? A specially trained soldier… or something?’

His proficient rescue movements even stirred strange suspicions in Baek Jinju. She even began to wonder if Geumson’s real profession might be that of a professionally trained soldier.

Contrary to her thoughts, golden hand was simply someone whose movements were ingrained from experiencing the Age of Ruin. Unaware of this, Baek Jinju’s questions about him deepened. However, despite appearances, golden hand internal situation was far from comfortable.

‘Ugh, it’s cold. This… is dangerous.’

The Left Hand of the Moon. Each time he used that ability, he felt a chilling cold seeping into his very bones. With every undead he faced and every use of the ‘Land of the Moon’ skill, the cold emanating from his left hand grew stronger. The problem was that this cold wasn’t just affecting his enemies, but golden hand himself.

‘My hand… is freezing.’

golden hand clenched and unclenched his left hand. The sensation was dull. As if he had kept his hand in icy water for a long time, his finger joints were stiffening.

‘My cold resistance is insufficient.’

golden hand realized. His fire resistance was adequately secured thanks to the ‘Dragon Scale Cuirass’ and the ‘100-Year-Old Ember Wine.’ But cold resistance? The 20% from the ‘Desert Problem Solver’ achievement was all he had. That level couldn’t withstand the absolute cold emitted by the ‘Left Hand of the Moon.’

‘I could try to endure it with the Right Hand of the Sun’s heat… but it’ll be tight.’

The only reason he had managed so far was the heat emitted by the Right Hand of the Sun. He was circulating it through his body to hold on. But even that wouldn’t last much longer.

‘If this continues, my hand might freeze stiff during battle and I could drop my hammer.’

It was a serious problem. Being unable to properly wield his main weapon in the middle of a battlefield would be fatal. Moreover, this cold wasn’t just freezing his hand. The real issue was that it was lowering his body temperature and slowing his physical reaction speed.

The true enemy wasn’t the undead. It was the being commanding them. The Witch Elmari. For golden hand, who had to face her, this was a problem that needed to be resolved first.

‘I need to raise my cold resistance. Otherwise, I’ll freeze to death first.’

golden hand gritted his teeth. First, he had to move the people to safety, then devise a countermeasure.

“Just a little further!”

golden hand urged the people on, quickening his pace. Finally, in the distance, the massive ice wall began to come into view. Ma Jincheol’s impregnable fortress.

“Jincheol! Open up! People coming in!”

Rumble—

As if waiting for his call, the ice wall reacted. A part of it slid open like an automatic door.

“You’re here? Why so late… wha, what the! Why are there so many people?!”

Ma Jincheol, who had been waiting inside, tried to grumble at the tardy golden hand but couldn’t. The horde of refugees following behind Geumson. The moment he saw them, Ma Jincheol’s face stiffened.

“My god… there really were people?”

Ma Jincheol clicked his tongue at the nearly 1,000 survivors. When golden hand said they had to save people, he hadn’t expected much. He believed no one could have survived in this hellish undead den. But seeing the people Geumson actually brought, he had no choice but to admit his thinking was wrong.

“Ah… it’s warm.”
“Is it safe here?”
“The Witch… won’t she come here? This is still Prelia… I’m worried.”
“Everyone, rest for now! Separate and lay down the wounded!”

The number of people had increased, but the space was sufficient. He had requested the space inside the ice wall to be made wide, anticipating this. Moreover, thanks to the heat radiating from the Iron Worker, it was even cozy. People hugged each other, shedding tears of relief.

“We’re alive… alive.”
“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
“God, thank you!”

golden hand averted his gaze from them for a moment and approached the Iron Worker. The construct was glowing red-hot all over from continuously spewing flames without rest.

Sssss—

Steam rose from its joint areas. Moreover, its red-hot state looked precarious, as if it might melt at any moment.

‘You stubborn thing, Worker…’

No matter how excellent a golem was, it had its limits. The sustained flame emission was straining its mechanisms. If this continued, the Iron Worker might be destroyed, unable to withstand its own heat.

But even so. The Iron Worker, fearlessly pouring out heat solely on golden hand’s command. Its determination to block the passage at all costs was transmitted even to Geumson.

“Tiaa…”

Tia, who landed on golden hand shoulder upon his return. Seeming tired, Tia nodded off on his shoulder and fell asleep. It seemed both the Iron Worker and Tia had worked hard during the rescue. Geumson looked at the two with pitying eyes. He organized his thoughts briefly.

‘First… I need to solve my cold resistance problem, and also the Iron Worker’s overheating issue.’

golden hand’s eyes flashed. A method to solve both problems simultaneously. Without hesitation, golden hand summoned the ‘Giant’s Forge.’

Rumble—!

The sudden appearance of the forge caused the people to murmur in surprise. Baek Jinju’s eyes also went wide. She was startled by Golden Hand’s suddenly manifested phantom forge. Moreover, Ma Jincheol was the same.