Moonlight Sculptor: Dad is a Legend (45)”:
Hellfire Level 6.
Withd rode quickly on a sled across the frozen land.
The faster he went, the colder it felt; but if he went slowly, the cold would last much longer.
Frostbite on the pinky finger is worsening. No sensation in the affected area.
You may lose part of your body.
Since frostbite was worsening on his fingers and toes, he took drastic measures.
He amputated his pinky finger with a carving knife.
Pinky finger was severed.
Vitality decreased by 21.
He cut off the frostbitten finger to recover from the frostbite.
The pain of cutting off body parts was something he had experienced before when using the Abyssal Mirror skill, but when the frostbite worsened, he felt no pain at all.
Physical regeneration trait activated. The pinky finger is regrowing.
Like losing a tooth and having a new one grow back, the finger rapidly regrew.
He cut off about three fingers or toes every hour.
The viewers watching this spectacle exploded with reactions.
―Wow… This is it. Even if Withd tells you how to clear Hellfire difficulty, you still couldn’t follow.
―No way, no way! I’d rather die than try this!
―Hellfire isn’t just about talent. It requires effort, patience, and talent all combined.
―Is that really an ice storm approaching from afar, shaking the ground?
―What kind of difficulty did Abyss create? Seriously, unbelievable.
―He’s exploring by cutting off fingers and toes? Why not use some of the legendary points you’ve collected? Instead of those ragged clothes, wouldn’t it be better to wear proper equipment?
―No way…
―Why? How come?
―Withd’s sensitivity.
―Withd wouldn’t indulge in luxuries if his body could endure it.
―Saving fingers and toes is a luxury.
Withd barely endured the cold without freezing to death.
When exploring, if he felt his body about to freeze, he dug deep into the ice to block the cold wind and rested while making sculptures.
‘I’ll have to drink this.’
He took small sips of goblin-made liquor to withstand the cold.
Body temperature rises slightly.
Body temperature remains very low.
Probability of illness increased by 900%.
Stamina consumption is abnormally rapid.
Withd had packed ample food in case of emergencies.
After eating well and recovering a bit, he forced himself to traverse the frozen land on his sled.
Cold resistance increased by 1.
Exploring in extreme environments gradually increased his related resistance.
(There is a person ahead.)
‘A person?’
After wandering the frozen land for three days, what he found was a frozen corpse.
Discovered the frozen adventurer Langponsel.
An amazing discovery locating missing Langponsel.
Adventure achievement unlocked!
Reporting to the nobles would earn him fame.
Adventurers in Roanoke’s history.
The adventurer who entered the rift was frozen, eyes closed, exactly as they were in life.
Acquired Langponsel’s diary.
He obtained the frozen diary.
Despite some stains, it was readable.
With the support of King Dorey IV, Langponsel ventured to explore the distorted rift.
Frozen land.
Though bleak and desolate, he vowed to explore everywhere and return.
Day 3: The dogs are freezing to death.
He buried the pitiful dogs in the snow and continued.
Day 5: All the sled dogs either died or ran away.
The expedition began carrying their own gear on foot.
Day 8: Should they have protected the dogs?
Some expedition members didn’t wake up. He buried them and hurried onward.
Day 10: A storm blew overnight.
Gear buried under snow; half the team lost.
Day 11: Fellow explorer Barton froze while walking and got frostbite.
Day 13: When he looked back, no one was there. Was he the one who fell behind? Or did everyone die? He didn’t know. He felt dizzy.
Day 13 again: This is the last record while alive. His fingers froze holding a pencil. We failed, but the adventure must continue.
Before the adventure began, he visited the Adventurer’s God Trinity’s temple to receive a revelation.
“Go to the distorted rift and you will die. Will you still go?”
The Adventurer’s God Trinity was cruel, but Withd, who had devoted his dreams and life to adventure, answered:
“I will go.”
Adventure was his reason for living; he couldn’t give up. If he didn’t go, he was already dead.
“I will show you the right path. Reaching the destination is your responsibility.”
He remembered meeting the goddess Trinity.
Though he failed, the adventure must not fail.
It is hope to surpass human limits and to understand the world.
To those who find me,
Walk straight toward the direction I face.
My body will become a milestone and the light of your adventure.
It was the corpse of a man obsessed with adventure.
‘People actually came this far. How much exploration of the rift has been done?’
(According to history, several kingdoms attempted large-scale explorations but kept most results secret.)
(However, some dimensional rifts have been fairly colonized; records exist of forced relocation and settlement.)
‘Is this a habitable environment?’
(These are harsh areas. Demonic species or large monsters attacked, and communication was lost.)
No living creatures were found in the frozen land.
Following the direction pointed by adventurer Langponsel, the cold grew more intense.
Withd proceeded with his exploration, carefully collecting his severed fingers and toes.
He was the first human approaching the extreme point of the frozen land.
Hero points gained: 3.
Since no one had explored this area, it counted as adventure points.
Withd felt the temptation to buy warm clothing but resolutely resisted.
To save and accumulate, one must resist the urge to spend.
‘When in doubt, not buying is the right choice.’
Wearing Langponsel’s cold-weather clothes helped him endure a bit longer.
Creak!
The ice on the ground cracked loudly and eerily.
Snow-covered plains had huge ice pillars and fragments stuck everywhere due to storms.
The uneven ground forced him to abandon the sled and continue on foot.
“Wow…”
Withd climbed a massive ice mountain about 1,500 meters high.
His dry sensitivity seldom moved by scenery; he wouldn’t be impressed by ordinary sunrises or sunsets, preferring a monitor wallpaper instead.
Countless ice chunks sparkled across the frozen land.
From afar, three ice storms scattered shards across hundreds of meters radius as they raged.
His body was freezing.
Maximum vitality temporarily decreased by 20%.
Stamina and strength decreased.
He endured the worst cold with his body.
Cold resistance increased by 1.
The wind from the ice storms lowered Withd’s body temperature.
The low temperature caused parts of his ragged leather clothes to break.
His leather clothes froze and shattered, and his body felt stiff and immobile.
Breaking through the wind and taking a single step forward was difficult.
‘To reach the extreme point, I probably have to pass through three ice storms.’
(Approaching further is dangerous.)
‘That seems right.’
The wind pushed his back as he stepped back.
Withd rode the sled to a slightly warmer area and entered an ice pit.
‘If I don’t increase my cold resistance, passing through will be tough. I’ll probably need to gather over 100 fingers and toes.’
Cold resistance: 20
Experiencing near-limit cold raised his resistance well.
Passing through ice storms might require cutting off not only fingers and toes but also wrists and ankles.
Without the physical regeneration trait, it would be impossible.
‘This really feels like Hellfire difficulty.’
(Physical regeneration might be unrelated or only slightly helpful here. It may be more effective for the player to spend legendary and hero points on cold-weather gear.)
‘That’s true, but…’
Withd pondered briefly.
He could gather fingers and toes for days to increase cold resistance.
But time was passing even then.
He couldn’t hunt, couldn’t level up, stuck in the frozen land.
‘Cold resistance isn’t the same as ice magic resistance.’
(Ice magic resistance gives 31% help.)
(But ice magic’s attack power isn’t as strong as other magic. Also, you have decent magic resistance thanks to your “Dragon Embracer” trait.)
(If “Dragon Embracer” is completed when passing Hellfire difficulty, you can have powerful resistance to ice magic freezing states.)
‘Cold resistance alone isn’t that great a stat.’
Withd liked grinding but considered efficiency.
Meaningless grinding was pure time waste.
‘There’s only one way.’
(Would you like to purchase cold-weather gear with legendary points?)
‘No, rather, I need to create life for my sculptures.’
Bestowing life on sculptures!
He thought it would cost fewer legendary points than buying multiple warm gear items and would be the solution to break through the frozen land.
“This is absurd.”
“Team leader, Withd’s behavior is beyond belief.”
Developers at Abyss company checked the internal scenario for Hellfire level 6.
The strategy was to roam the frozen land widely, collect rift fragments or find other rift gaps to clear the stage.
Entering the extreme point of the frozen land was exceeding the goal for this Hellfire level.
Han Sung-hyuk tilted his head.
“Usually when starting in a cold place, you go to warmer outskirts. Why does he seek the coldest place?”
Rift gaps were scattered throughout the frozen land.
Though farther than the start point, gaps existed in the outskirts.
Kim Su-won answered.
“Because players wandered into unknown areas, they assumed the more dangerous place would have something important. Actually, it exists there.”
“Still, exploring the extreme point is a ridiculously hard goal.”
It’s the heart of the severe cold, where you must pierce ice storms.
While players might clear it before destruction, only those with much higher levels than Withd could manage it.
Of course, Withd had the advantage of starting near the center of the frozen land, so the distance to the extreme point was relatively short.
“Team leader, level 5 was so difficult that people expect level 6 to be even harder. Given the difficulty, it makes sense to believe you must reach the extreme point.”
They probably thought level 6 was much harder than 5, remembering the one-eyed, one-armed stage 5.
Even if there was another way, having come so far, turning back would waste too much time.
“Even if the body endures, the pain from the cold must be unbearable.”
“Even brief exposure would feel like flesh tearing pain.”
When Withd cleared Hellfire level 5, the developers were most baffled.
Viewers cheered purely at Withd’s skill, but developers couldn’t comprehend.
“Could a human without two eyes fight that well?”
“He mainly used his right arm but quickly adapted to using the left.”
Level 5 was not supposed to be conquerable that way.
Challengers had to endure injuries and illness during fights in the arena for a set time.
They had to survive 30 days in the arena and pass, but Withd eliminated all dangerous fights he didn’t have to face.
He fought in a 100-person battle and gained freedom, finally taking Duke Benhasmer’s life.
“If Withd succeeds in exploring the extreme point of the frozen land, he’ll get lots of adventure rewards.”
“It’s rated S-class in the reward list.”
Developers wondered how Withd would manage to clear it.
He could if he had enough time, but it would take far too long.
Spending lots of legendary points on warm gear would cause the cost to outweigh the rewards.
“He’s pulling out his carving knife. Looks like he’s about to do something.”
Withd left the igloo and walked toward an ice pillar.
A massive ice pillar towering 200 meters high.
A sight unseen outside the frozen land.
Withd began carving the ice pillar with his knife.
Even though he was only doing the rough work, as he shaped the legs and lower body, something immediately came to mind.
“An ice dragon?”
“It looks like a frost dragon.”
