Ch.5118. Gear Adjustment (2)

At those words, Yuri, who was holding my hand, momentarily stopped. Then she turned around and said.

“Mount Seorak is dangerous.”

After saying that, she continued walking as if nothing had happened. Of course, she was still holding my hand.

‘A panic attack…’

Fortunately, it didn’t happen. To overcome PTSD, you eventually have to face its cause.

Perhaps because I’ve spent quite a bit of time alone with Yuri since coming to Flame, my aversion to her isn’t as strong now as when I first saw her.

And just now when Yuri reached out her hand, she spoke in a businesslike tone. I had taken my medication in advance, so I felt reassured. For now, I continued climbing the mountain with Yuri.

‘It really is rugged.’

The sky looked clear when we were in the parking lot, but as we climbed a bit, it quickly became overcast. The weather changed to the point where it seemed like it might snow at any moment.

‘Though not to the extent that I need Yuri’s help.’

I could feel the cold through our joined hands. Yuri’s hands were always this cold. Back when we were at Eins, I often held her hands tightly until they warmed up.

But the two of us then and the two of us now are different. I tried not to think too much about those feelings from back then.

‘Then what about Yuri…’

The thought occurred to me unconsciously. Yuri during our Eins days was as cold as her nickname “Snow Woman” suggested.

A perfect student council president with high pride as a noble lady. Even after we became close, she rarely expressed her emotions to me directly.

‘I never thought I’d become close to Yuri either.’

After possessing the Aka Hunter, I fell for Yuri at first sight.

So I actively expressed my feelings in my own way, but becoming friends with Yuri, who had distrust and hatred toward men, was absolutely not easy.

By the time graduation approached, she had opened her heart to me, but it took a lot of effort to get there.

But now, somehow, the situation seems reversed.

‘Yuri sent me messages every day.’

She’d been doing that since I regained consciousness. And after I joined the company, she sent even more messages.

Though she pretended to be conveying business-related content, anyone who wasn’t a fool could tell that Yuri’s messages had personal intentions.

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[Message from Yuri Tarkovskaya]

└ Did you eat well this evening? Ah, checking on guild members’ nutritional status… monitoring health is a guild leader’s duty…

└ How was the Association’s intern field program today? Did other guild members bother you? Checking on interns’ field program feedback is also a guild leader’s duty…

└ This movie is popular these days, have you seen it? A survey about guild members’ cultural activities…

└ If there’s anything you need these days, I could… Ah, this is purely as a guild leader…

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She always sent messages like this. So out of curiosity, I checked the messages Yuri sent to Uncle Donghyuk.

About once every two weeks. And those were just formal, short messages asking about intern program feedback.

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[Message from Yuri Tarkovskaya]

└ 4th Intern Program Manager Survey. 1. Satisfaction with selected location…

└ Equipment needs survey, please read and reply to Team Leader Seo Duho.

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They were extremely formal messages like this. To begin with, she as guild leader rarely had reason to message employees directly.

‘The temperature difference is huge.’

At least it was clear that Yuri had some feelings for me.

In fact, after the business trip I took alone with her, her limit line rose steeply. And when our time together decreased, her limit line went down.

It was a bit complicated emotionally, but objectively speaking, it wasn’t all bad. Among the characters replacing protagonist Siwoo’s role, Yuri had the most significant part.

And if this trip to Mount Seorak was related to an original episode, then Yuri was essentially holding the helm of the drifting Aka Hunter.

‘At least it will disrupt the plausibility less than if I intervened directly.’

Even my acquisition of the Wind Cutter that Dmitri should have gotten happened naturally through the process of receiving high-grade gear that Yuri provided to interns.

In that process, I was also able to naturally catch Jang Gyesin, who was related to the Red Lake. In conclusion, I needed Yuri.

And for her too… After climbing for a while with our hands tightly clasped, her hand was now warming up.

Though she hadn’t spoken for some time, I noticed her pale cheeks had turned red.

‘So this time too, it’s personal.’

Just like at Pyotr’s Bear Cafe, where she turned into a happy girl at the sight of the bear. These cute moments when the usually cold Yuri showed her softer side were something I wanted to keep just for myself.

Unconsciously, I gripped her hand even tighter.

***

“Let’s start here.”

The two quickly climbed to an altitude near the summit. Where they now stood was a ridge normally off-limits to the general public.

‘Was this ridge called Yongajangseong?’

It’s an extremely dangerous place lined with bizarre rocks that resemble dragon’s teeth. Fatal falls occur frequently here.

But this didn’t seem to be a problem for Yuri, an S-class hunter. No, rather, she seemed strangely excited.

‘Since it’s snowing heavily…’

Snow had started falling by the time they reached the summit.

Woooooong-

A blizzard that would terrify ordinary people, even hunters, was raging.

And on top of those strange rocks stood Yuri. Her fingers began to glow blue.

‘Nivis.’

Yuri’s S-class gear, Nivis. Like Hongok, Nivis is a legendary weapon passed down from the ancient imperial era of Ailetan.

A special ring made from the dragon heart of an ice dragon that inhabits the Arctic, where biting winds and cold snow persist year-round.

As Yuri began to actively move her mana, the atmosphere around changed.

‘The entire blizzard has transformed into ice magic.’

Each tiny snowflake carries mana. The already frozen snow drops to even more extreme temperatures through mana.

Just brushing against that small blizzard would likely cause immediate frostbite. No, that blizzard looked like it could tear a person to shreds.

‘So this is an S-class hunter.’

Even back at Eins, Yuri was far beyond student level, but now her presence was completely different.

‘Back then, it felt like her overflowing ice-attribute mana was running wild.’

But now, with even more mana than before, she seemed to be controlling it with extreme precision.

It felt like she was controlling all her immense power without being overwhelmed by it.

So any awakened person with mana would instinctively sense how dangerous it would be to approach Yuri. There was a reason she came to this rugged place to adjust Nivis.

“I’ve opened up all the power that Nivis can currently release. The weather happens to be good, so Nivis seems to like it.”

Though her standard for “good weather” is the opposite of normal. Yuri stood in the blizzard with her snow-white hair fluttering.

‘She really is the Snow Woman incarnate.’

But this isn’t the time to be calmly appreciating the view. We didn’t come to Mount Seorak to enjoy a romantic atmosphere.

With Nivis’s power fully released like this, Yuri intends to test a new ice spell.

And like most awakened ones, mana sensitivity is honed most sharply in actual combat.

‘I could get seriously hurt if I’m not careful.’

My job today as Flame’s priest is to counter her ice spells with fire spells.

“Then would you please come into my range?”

So I need to penetrate that blizzard, which is practically a barrier, and land my spell on Yuri. In that crisis situation, Yuri’s ice spell will be optimized.

While I was tense from the mana pressure Yuri was emitting, she suddenly blushed.

“Um… what I just said! Don’t take it the wrong way!”

I don’t understand what she means. What she said must have meant to unleash an attack strong enough to break through that barrier.

“I’m coming in!”

Unlike Yuri, an S-class hunter, I don’t have the luxury of composure. This mountain terrain is already treacherous. One small mistake and I could fall down a thousand-foot cliff.

‘Don’t worry?’

In that moment, Wind Cutter conveyed its will to me. When I wondered about falling, it suggested I try falling down there, which I ignored.

‘Anyway. It’s time to focus.’

Above all, this is also my chance to fully test Wind Cutter’s potential. I held the dagger, Wind Cutter, in my hand.

The wind created from that dagger began to push back Yuri’s blizzard.

***

We exchanged spells for quite some time. It was around noon when we reached the summit, but now even the hazy sky was already growing dark.

‘Phew… I guess we can stop here for today.’

Yuri withdrew the mana flowing to Nivis. It had been a while since she fully released all of Nivis’s power.

S-class gear Nivis. Such top-tier gear needed periodic adjustment.

Nivis, like Yuri’s personality, was cold and rational, but regardless of the gear’s will, its overflowing power would inevitably backflow if not used periodically.

So even Yuri, with her naturally abundant mana, had nearly depleted all of it adjusting Nivis.

‘No, it wasn’t just adjusting Nivis that consumed so much mana. It was Minsu…’

And the reason Nivis released even more power during a simple adjustment was obviously because the opponent was Lee Minsu.

‘Wind Cutter. To use it so well when he’s only had it for a short time.’

Indeed, he wasn’t the lowest-ranked cadet at Eins who defeated her, the top-ranked cadet. Though he can’t use as much mana as in his prime due to his mana heart issue.

Instead, he perfectly covered his lack of firepower with Wind Cutter’s wind-attribute mana.

Though Nivis’s mana pressure was strong enough to push back even wind spells through Wind Cutter, it wasn’t a major problem for Minsu.

‘His combat sense and spell application are just too excellent.’

Minsu didn’t use Wind Cutter’s wind in an ordinary way. The moment the blizzard wrapped around Wind Cutter’s wind in reverse,

Minsu loaded that wind with blue flame and detonated it.

‘That wind probably accelerated the RPM of the blue flame.’

In other words, Wind Cutter’s wind greatly amplified the blue flame. And the fire meeting high-pressure oxygen seemed to create a powerful synergy.

The resulting firestorm from the exploding blue flame.

Its momentary firepower was almost equal to the blizzard created by Nivis.

Of course, in terms of sustainability, he couldn’t compare to Yuri, an S-class hunter. Eventually, after some adjustment, Minsu declared his retirement.

“I’m sorry, Guild Leader. With my current awakening grade limitations, I can’t go any further.”

“It’s… fine. The day is already getting dark. Whether it’s my new spell or your spell, let’s continue adjusting next time.”

“Phew… Yes… Understood. Thank you for your hard work, Guild Leader.”

As he said, Minsu’s current awakening grade is C. Though he spoke with regret, Yuri felt a chill run down her spine.

‘He can produce firepower matching fully released Nivis with just a C-grade awakening?’

No matter how good the compatibility between wind and fire attribute spells, there’s a fundamental difference in mana quantity between him and Yuri, an A-grade awakened.

He overcame that gap with extremely precise mana circuit construction and control.

Though she had felt guilt and sympathy toward Minsu without realizing it, her current impression was completely different.

‘I might have been underestimating Minsu.’

After all, at graduation, Minsu had surpassed both her and Siwoo to become the school’s top-ranked student. Even now, his skills temporarily match those of an A-class hunter or higher.

‘He really is amazing…’

But Yuri quickly composed herself. Minsu’s mana heart still isn’t normal. Minsu must have pushed himself considerably to adjust an A+ grade gear.

If his mana load was going haywire like last time, it could be serious. Worried about Minsu, Yuri hurried toward him.

“Minsu! Are you alright?”

“Haah… Yes, Guild Leader. I’m fine.”

His breathing was rough. And the movement of mana around him was uneven. Though not enough to make him faint, there was clearly some recoil after adjusting the gear.

And like last time, she could feel fire-attribute mana boiling hotly from his body.

‘I need to calm him down quickly.’

No other thoughts came to mind. Yuri quickly embraced Minsu.