MTLNOVEL 87
Nox seemed intent on taking me to his lair. He held onto my arm as he led me deeper into the snow-covered mountains. With each leisurely yet brisk step he took, snow and dirt crumbled beneath his pristine white shoes.
His shoes were spotless. In stark contrast, mine and the other knights’ boots were filthy from the journey up here.
‘Does he know some kind of teleportation magic?’
Well, that would make sense. Their stronghold was said to be far from here, in a place called “the End of the World.” There was no way he had simply walked all the way down here.
Then why was he walking now?
I quickly lowered my gaze to avoid looking too suspicious and asked the system, ‘Can mages use teleportation magic?’
The system hesitated briefly before responding.
[Teleportation magic is high-level magic and consumes an immense amount of mana. Typically, it requires a magic circle to establish a connection.]
A magic circle! I hadn’t considered that.
If they had set up magic circles in various hidden locations throughout the north, then they could travel freely between them. That would explain a lot.
‘So all I have to do is destroy the circles.’
I just needed to play along for now, locate their magic circles, memorize their positions, and return later to destroy them. As soon as that realization dawned on me, my expression brightened.
‘It’d be nice if I could learn more about this guy…’
I stared up at Nox.
How old was he? Probably around Kyle’s age? His sharp, unblemished features suggested he wasn’t past forty, but the people in this world looked quite different from those in Korea, so I couldn’t be sure.
“You poisoned the frost wolves, didn’t you?”
Nox didn’t answer immediately. I planted my feet firmly and resisted his pull, pressing him for an answer. He gazed down at me with his piercing blue eyes before letting out a quiet chuckle.
“So that’s what you’ve been thinking about. You’re quite interested in me, aren’t you?”
“Cut the bullshit.”
“Yeah, it was me. That’s my specialty. So, you should be careful too.”
He pulled me along as he continued walking. I squeezed into a narrow canyon where barely any light reached and mulled over my thoughts.
The ruler of the lawless zone.
The man who conquered the Frost Tower.
That meant he was a Tower Master and likely one of the strongest mages in the northern magic corps. But how many of them were there? Could they be defeated? If we neutralized that dagger, could Kyle stand a chance against Nox in a fight?
Lost in thought, I suddenly realized we had moved quite far from Kyle and the others.
And sure enough—
[Kyle Jane Meinhardt. Estimated time of death: Approximately 1 day remaining.]
[Kyle Jane Meinhardt. Estimated time of death: Approximately 3 days remaining.]
[Kyle Jane Meinhardt. Estimated time of death: Approximately 5 days remaining.]
Kyle’s estimated time of death was slowly being pushed back.
As expected, his death had been caused by Nox.
The remaining time eventually reached 15 days before it stopped increasing. It was still cutting it close, but this was good enough. It meant nothing major would happen before I returned to the territory.
“What are you thinking about now?”
Nox asked as he led me into a small cave.
I shrugged.
“Oh, just thinking about my lover. What about you? I doubt someone like you even has one.”
“I have plenty of subordinates. There are so many of them, I don’t have time to be lonely.”
“Do those goblin-like creatures from earlier count as your subordinates?”
“Of course not.”
A small laugh escaped him. I didn’t find it amusing. The thought of him having a large number of mages under his command was not good news for me.
“Does he treat you well?”
The hell kind of ex-boyfriend talk was this?
I frowned and replied, “Of course he does.”
Kyle, who had initially seemed cold and stern, was actually incredibly gentle. The way he offered kindness as if it were the most natural thing in the world, his quiet but meticulous consideration—it was enough to make my heart flutter.
The novel only revealed fragments of Kyle’s long and lonely struggle for survival, but in the short time I had spent with him, I had learned one undeniable truth.
Unlike the cold, merciless land where he had fought to survive for so many years—Kyle’s embrace was warm and vast.
[‘Reload’ will be lifted in approximately 3 minutes.]
“It’s about time for me to go.”
At the end of the narrow passageway, a faint blue light was visible. A teleportation magic circle was inscribed on the ground.
I wanted to see what lay beyond that portal, but with only a few minutes left before ‘Reload’ was lifted, I had a bad feeling it would be dangerous.
Yeah, safety first. Especially since I need to return in one piece for my ever-worried fiancé, His Grace the Grand Duke.
“Hey.”
I took a step back and questioned Nox. Instead of answering, he tightened his grip on my arm. A dull pain spread from the pressure.
“Why are you making the ‘Heart of Winter’?”
“You sure know a lot for someone with no clear source of information.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Nox studied me, as if gauging something.
“Well, there isn’t much worth telling to someone who’s just here to scavenge whatever they can as spoils.”
[‘Reload’ will be lifted in 10 seconds.]
A white light swirled around me, turning my body translucent. The sensation of his grip slowly faded.
“At the very least…”
Nox narrowed his eyes and whispered,
“Everything in this world is nothing more than a process to me.”
I grinned.
“You really took the time to say that? What a damn ghostly bastard.”
“…….”
“You’ll never catch me.”
Just before I vanished, a chilling sensation—whether it was raw killing intent or something even more sinister—seemed to creep up my arm.
***
Wak! Cold!
I jolted awake and leapt up in shock. A sharp chill crawled up my arm.
—Chik!? (Nox, that bastard did something!?)
Panicked, I frantically checked my body. From my right shoulder down to my fingertips—the very arm Nox had been holding—was completely frozen.
The culprit? Ice-cold water.
‘Who the hell left a bowl of water here?!’
Kyle had set out a dish of water with ice floating in it, considering the natural habitat of the northern wild mice. And, of all places, I had to land right in it when ‘Reload’ was lifted.
I shook myself violently, trying to rid my fur of the freezing water. My tiny front paws twitched from the numbing cold.
I was so sick of ice. Just remembering how Nox’s hand had felt—cold as a corpse—sent a shiver down my spine.
‘Since I returned first, that means Kyle…’
[Kyle Jane Meinhardt. Estimated time of death: Approximately 15 days remaining.]
Thank god. He was still safe.
Half-buried in sawdust, I let out a relieved sigh. As long as he didn’t do anything reckless, he’d return without any major injuries. Now that he knew I had gone back first, he’d probably hurry.
‘He should be back in about three days.’
What should I do until then? Officially, I was still in the north, so it was best to stay a hamster at least until Kyle returned.
I didn’t feel anxious or frustrated. There was still plenty to investigate, and besides, I was exhausted. Yeah, I might as well take this as a chance to laze around in peace.
‘Hey, system. Can you tell me more about Nox?’
Nox wasn’t someone I could trust or even try to sway. He was bound to move against the Blake territory and, if necessary, align himself with Lorenz. He had already done so before.
But I wasn’t going to just sit back and take it. I would do whatever it took to protect Kyle.
A small system window popped up over the water bowl.
[Nox. Age unknown. Origin unknown. Tower Master of Frost. His specialties include ‘Frost Poisoning,’ ‘Frost Blade,’ and ‘White Specter.’]
White Specter? That was one of his abilities? I thought it was just a nickname.
Nothing particularly groundbreaking. ‘Frost Poisoning’ was what had afflicted the explorers in Shin Gwangsan, and ‘Frost Blade’ was probably the weapon he used when he fought Kyle.
As for the last one, I wouldn’t get an answer now anyway. Even if the system tried to explain, all I’d get was a screen full of unreadable ‘□’ symbols.
Still, I kept pressing the system for as much information as I could. Most of it was locked or just background lore, but I did manage to get something.
Nox traveled across the north using teleportation magic. His main base was in the lawless zone, and surprisingly, it contained a long-range teleportation magic circle that led somewhere outside the north.
‘Ancient magic, huh… Makes sense. He has an entire corps of mages, and he’s even been in contact with Lorenz.’
There was no guarantee they only traveled through the north. Magic turned out to be a lot more useful than I had initially thought.
From what I gathered, Nox had established himself in the north even before Kyle. So why was he trying to take it over now? If he had settled here from the start, why not claim it back then…?
But I didn’t have time to dwell on the thought.
[(⊙ˍ⊙)]
Someone had entered the room.
Not only did they fail to knock, but they also unlocked the door without any difficulty.
Crammed inside my little burrow, I stiffened at the sound of heavy footsteps. The intruder let out a sigh and walked right up to my hamster cage.
They stood there in silence, as if contemplating something. Holding my breath, I peered through a small hole in my hideout to get a glimpse of their face.
It wasn’t Kyle.
‘Then who…? And why?’
I didn’t have time to process it.
A moment later, everything shook violently as my tiny body was jostled around.
“…Shit.”
A man’s troubled voice echoed in the darkness.
“Looks like it’s dead. How should I get rid of it?”