The cold wind continued to blow through the endless snowy forest.
White snow covered the ground.
Tall frozen trees stretched far into the distance.
The sky remained gray and lifeless.
Everything felt cold.
Very cold.
Do-Yoon continued walking through the forest while his black cape moved behind him.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
His footsteps echoed softly in the snow.
For now, nothing dangerous appeared.
No monsters.
No traps.
No bosses.
Nothing.
Which honestly made Do-Yoon feel suspicious.
"...This place is too peaceful."
A few seconds later he shrugged.
"Well, not my problem."
He continued walking.
Then suddenly—
He remembered something.
His cape.
The magical cape.
The one that cost seventy gold.
Seventy.
Gold.
Do-Yoon stopped walking.
"...Wait."
A serious expression appeared on his face.
"What does this cape even do?"
He stared at the cape.
The cape stared back.
Nothing happened.
He scratched his head.
Now that he thought about it—
He had never asked.
Not once.
He just bought it because it looked cool.
The shopkeeper said it was magical.
But magical in what way?
Could it fly?
Could it make him invisible?
Could it shoot lightning?
Could it make food?
Could it do literally anything useful?
Do-Yoon thought about it for a moment.
Then sighed.
"...Whatever."
As always—
He didn't care.
The cape looked cool.
That was enough.
He continued walking.
A few minutes passed.
Then a few more.
Then even more.
The deeper he went into the forest—
The colder it became.
The wind grew stronger.
His fingers started feeling numb.
His ears felt frozen.
His nose became red.
Soon he started shivering.
"A-Are you serious..."
The cold was becoming unbearable.
His black clothes were not made for snowy forests.
Not even close.
Do-Yoon crossed his arms.
"I need warmer clothes..."
Unfortunately—
He had none.
The forest remained silent.
The cold continued attacking him.
Then suddenly—
Something moved between the trees.
Do-Yoon immediately became alert.
His eyes narrowed.
"...Monster?"
A figure slowly stepped out from behind a tree.
The creature looked strange.
Very strange.
Its skin was blue.
Its ears were long.
Almost like an elf's ears.
But it definitely wasn't an elf.
Its face looked much rougher.
Much uglier.
Much more dangerous.
The creature was almost the same height as Do-Yoon.
It wore thick winter clothing made from animal fur.
A sharp dagger rested at its waist.
The moment Do-Yoon saw it—
A system window appeared.
For once—
The system wasn't glitching.
[Ice Goblin Warrior]
[Danger Level: Unknown]
[Uses Cold-Type Skills]
[Recommended Caution]
Do-Yoon blinked.
"...Wait."
"No glitches?"
That immediately confused him.
His system glitched every day.
Every single day.
But now—
Nothing.
Everything looked normal.
He remembered when his Disk Dash reached Level 2.
The message hadn't glitched then either.
"...Weird."
He thought about it.
Then stopped.
"Future me can think about it."
Priorities.
There was a monster standing in front of him.
The goblin noticed him too.
Its cold blue eyes stared directly at him.
Neither side moved.
Snow fell quietly around them.
Then Do-Yoon smiled.
"...Sorry."
"I need your coat."
The goblin looked confused.
The next second—
Do-Yoon activated Blood Rush.
A strange red energy appeared around his right arm.
The blood-like substance twisted and moved.
Slowly forming a blade.
A short sword.
Longer than a dagger.
Shorter than a normal sword.
Bright crimson.
Sharp enough to cut steel.
Do-Yoon looked impressed.
"...That's cool."
Then—
He rushed forward.
"DISK DASH!"
His body exploded forward.
The snow behind him scattered.
Within a second—
He reached the goblin.
Then swung his blood blade.
The attack was fast.
Very fast.
Unfortunately—
The goblin was faster.
CLANG.
The goblin casually blocked the attack using its dagger.
Do-Yoon's eyes widened.
"...Huh?"
The goblin immediately kicked him.
The force was unbelievable.
Do-Yoon felt his body fly backward.
The world spun around him.
Then—
Crash.
He landed on the snow.
The impact hurt.
A lot.
"Ow..."
Do-Yoon slowly stood up.
The goblin calmly walked toward him.
Not even slightly worried.
Not even slightly injured.
Do-Yoon stared at it.
Then sighed.
"...You're stronger than the Hobgoblin King."
That realization wasn't pleasant.
The Kaizu-ranked boss felt much weaker than this thing.
And this wasn't even the boss.
Probably.
Hopefully.
Please let this not be the boss.
Do-Yoon activated Blood Rush again.
This time—
Both hands transformed.
Two crimson blades appeared.
One on each arm.
The red glow reflected across the snow.
The goblin finally became serious.
Its eyes narrowed.
Then both rushed forward.
"DISK DASH!"
Do-Yoon disappeared.
The goblin swung.
Missed.
Do-Yoon appeared behind it.
Then attacked.
The goblin dodged.
Do-Yoon attacked again.
The goblin blocked.
Snow exploded everywhere.
The battle became faster.
More intense.
Neither side wanted to lose.
Do-Yoon knew he couldn't win through strength alone.
The goblin was physically stronger.
Much stronger.
So he needed to fight smart.
For once.
Which was difficult.
Very difficult.
Then—
An idea appeared.
Manipulator's Hand.
Do-Yoon activated the skill.
The goblin suddenly froze.
Its body started floating.
"...Got you."
The goblin immediately struggled.
But Do-Yoon used more concentration.
More force.
The creature remained trapped.
Do-Yoon rushed forward.
One strike.
Then another.
Then another.
The blood blades cut across the goblin's body repeatedly.
The goblin screamed angrily.
But Do-Yoon didn't stop.
He knew if it escaped—
He would probably lose.
Then—
He aimed for the eyes.
The blades moved.
The goblin couldn't dodge.
Both eyes were struck.
The creature screamed so loudly that birds flew away from distant trees.
Blood covered the snow.
The goblin stumbled backward.
Then suddenly—
Dark energy erupted around it.
Do-Yoon immediately recognized it.
His eyes widened.
"No way..."
A black circle spread beneath the goblin.
The surrounding area darkened.
The temperature dropped even further.
Then a familiar name appeared.
[Skill Activated: Demon's Domain]
Do-Yoon froze.
He remembered reading about it.
Inside one of the academy books.
A powerful skill.
A dangerous skill.
It weakened enemies significantly.
For five minutes.
The moment the domain covered him—
Do-Yoon felt it.
His body became heavier.
His muscles weakened.
Even breathing became harder.
"...This is bad."
The goblin laughed.
Or at least—
Its version of laughing.
Then it charged forward.
Do-Yoon immediately dodged.
But he was slower.
Much slower.
The skill was affecting him badly.
The goblin attacked again.
And again.
And again.
Do-Yoon barely survived.
Every second felt dangerous.
One mistake.
One small mistake.
And he would die.
The realization finally hit him.
This dungeon wasn't normal.
Not even close.
The monsters here were absurdly strong.
Much stronger than they should be.
Then—
Do-Yoon clenched his teeth.
"I don't want to die."
The goblin attacked.
Do-Yoon activated everything he had.
Disk Dash.
Manipulator's Hand.
Blood Rush.
All at once.
The goblin was briefly restrained.
Just enough.
One second.
That was all he needed.
Do-Yoon rushed forward.
Then drove his blood blade directly into the goblin's heart.
Silence.
The goblin froze.
Its body trembled.
Then slowly collapsed.
Dead.
The black domain disappeared.
The pressure vanished.
The forest became quiet once again.
Do-Yoon immediately sat down in the snow.
"...I won."
His breathing was heavy.
His body hurt.
Several injuries covered him.
The battle had been far harder than expected.
Then—
A notification appeared.
[Enemy Defeated]
[Loot Added To Inventory]
Do-Yoon blinked.
"...Inventory?"
The system wasn't glitching again.
Which confused him.
A lot.
Still—
He opened it.
Inside were several items.
The goblin's winter coat.
A few materials.
And—
A skill stone.
Do-Yoon immediately became interested.
The broken dagger wasn't there.
Probably because he destroyed it during the battle.
But he didn't care.
The coat was more important.
He quickly equipped it.
Warmth immediately spread through his body.
"...Amazing."
He almost cried.
The coat felt wonderful.
Then he focused on the skill stone.
His eyes widened.
[Skill Stone: Demon's Domain]
[Rarity: Extremely Rare]
Silence.
Then—
"WHAT?!"
Do-Yoon nearly dropped it.
This was the same skill.
The same skill that nearly killed him.
An extremely rare skill.
His hands started shaking.
"Mine."
He immediately tried breaking the stone.
Nothing happened.
Again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
"...Why are stones always my final boss?"
Several minutes passed.
Then many more.
Eventually—
CRACK.
The stone finally broke.
A bright light entered his body.
The skill was now his.
Do-Yoon smiled.
Then immediately became worried.
"If a normal monster was this strong..."
His smile disappeared.
"...How strong is the boss?"
That thought wasn't comforting.
At all.
Then he opened his status.
For the first time—
He properly checked everything.
Level: 20
Do-Yoon blinked.
"...Twenty?"
That was much higher than expected.
Then he looked lower.
Available Points: 35
Silence.
Complete silence.
Do-Yoon stared at the number.
Then stared harder.
Then slapped his forehead.
"THIRTY-FIVE?!"
He had forgotten.
Completely forgotten.
All this time.
He could've used those points.
He could've become stronger.
But he never checked.
Do-Yoon wanted to cry.
"...I'm an idiot."
Without hesitation—
He spent every single point on Strength.
Immediately.
His muscles felt heavier.
Stronger.
Better.
A smile appeared on his face.
"...Much better."
Meanwhile—
Far away.
Outside the dungeon.
Inside the city.
The emergency gathering had already begun.
Many high-ranking Mirrors arrived.
Experienced warriors.
Powerful mages.
Veteran hunters.
Everyone had answered Drain's call.
Even Saphiens stood among them.
Her silver hair moved slightly in the wind.
Her calm expression never changed.
Drain showed everyone the crimson fragments.
The atmosphere became serious immediately.
Several scientists and mage researchers examined the pieces.
After many minutes—
One of them sighed.
"The dungeon information is corrupted."
Another nodded.
"The stone can be restored."
"But it will take time."
Drain frowned.
"How much time?"
The scientist hesitated.
"Too much."
Silence.
Everyone understood.
The Player inside didn't have much time.
If the dungeon truly exceeded Zentornt rank—
Then survival was nearly impossible.
One of the Mirrors shook his head.
"A Player can't survive there."
Another nodded.
"Not even for long."
Saphiens remained silent.
Listening.
Watching.
Thinking.
Meanwhile—
Deep inside the frozen forest—
Do-Yoon happily admired his new winter coat.
Completely unaware that half the city believed he was already dead.