novelraw Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Ch.45 Guess She Won’t Burn to Death Now
Leah’s eyes, swept by the fierce wind, were seared with a clear image: her master and Aria swallowed by the avalanche.
“No way!”
Tossed by the gale, Leah desperately tried to control her magic—but was helplessly flung away by an unknown force.
‘I have to cancel it!’
She managed to cancel the spell, but it was already too late.
As the weather brightened and the gale vanished…
Thud!
Leah slammed into the snow.
Scrambling up, she sprinted toward the dragon’s territory.
She ran hard through the dark snowfield—but couldn’t spot where her master had been.
No, ‘couldn’t find’ was more accurate.
‘Where are you? Where?!’
All the snow-capped peaks looked nearly identical, giving her no clue where her master might be buried.
‘I can’t give up. There’s still… still time.’
Being buried in snow didn’t kill you instantly.
Under the right conditions, survival in an avalanche was possible.
Clutching her pounding heart, Leah ran again and shouted:
“Haa… haa… Master!”
Her sweat-soaked clothes clung to her limbs, but she ignored it and kept running.
“Master, where are you?!”
How long had she run?
The sky darkened, and icy winds lashed her cheeks.
“Master?!”
Her master couldn’t cast high-tier magic.
Though Leah always boasted he was an Archmage, she knew better—she was an Archmage herself.
She knew full well her master could barely manage 4th- or 5th-circle spells.
She’d never seen Hans cast anything beyond that.
(‘Equality’ was an exception—its circle rank was unknown.)
Reaching 5th-circle at Hans’s age was impressive—but far from Archmage level.
Still, Leah deliberately called him ‘Archmage’ to protect his dignity.
She couldn’t bear seeing her master disrespected.
That’s why, whenever he asked for things like pocket dimension or Fly spells, she’d grumble but obey—
because she knew he couldn’t cast them himself.
At best, her master was only that level of mage.
And now he’d been caught in an avalanche.
It was terrifying—but likely…
Her master wouldn’t last long.
The thought made Leah’s mind go blank.
‘No!’
An avalanche dumped unimaginable weight onto its victims.
Knowing Hans lacked the magical strength to endure that pressure only made Leah more frantic.
‘I have to save him—fast!’
“Eternal Hunt!”
She activated the location-tracking spell she’d once placed on Hans—but…
“Ah… nooo!”
Due to magic distortion, the spell failed to cast properly.
Every second counted, yet…
Just then—
—Pii?!
Pipi popped out from her clothes, chirping urgently—but Leah couldn’t hear him.
She had no time.
If she didn’t find her master buried in the snow soon, he’d surely die.
“Master?!”
Frantically calling out, Leah climbed the snowy mountain.
“Master?! Where are you?! Please answer me!”
Her loud cries were swallowed by the snow— no reply came from anywhere.
‘Location-tracking spell!’
She kept running and shouting for her master for a long time.
But…
Thump!
Distracted and desperate, scanning wildly in every direction, Leah tripped hard.
Her sweat-drenched underclothes clung to her limbs; her breath came in gasps.
The panic that her master might die any moment had frozen her usually sharp mind.
She glared up at the darkening sky—her eyes blazing with fire.
“I won’t give up… Do I look like I’d give up?!”
Shouting this, Leah rose again and raced across the mountain.
How much time had passed? At least an hour, surely.
More than enough time for someone buried in snow to perish.
Rustle… rustle…
“Nooo! No! It can’t be true!”
Unable to accept reality, she began recklessly unleashing magic everywhere.
***
Pushing aside a massive bone, I emerged from the snow.
BOOM!
A distant explosion echoed.
“Whoa? That’s flashy.”
Flashes and booms came from far away.
“Brother? Isn’t that Leah-ssi looking for us? Shouldn’t we go?”
Aria and I had been caught in the avalanche too—but I’d used Levi’s Dagger to activate a shield and escaped.
If we’d relied on a barrier spell, the snow’s weight would’ve crushed it instantly—but this shield held firm.
“Aria, we’re playing hide-and-seek. Leah’s ‘it,’ so we quietly escape to the lair. Got it?”
Aria’s eyes widened.
“Sister’s ‘it’?”
“Yeah. So we stay quiet and go. Understand?”
I could enter the lair with Aria—but Leah couldn’t without her.
In the game, the lair only opened if you were with Aria.
Reassured, I quietly climbed the mountain with Aria.
After a while, a huge cave appeared.
“This is home.”
Aria pointed to a rough, massive, unrefined tunnel—clearly dug deep.
Outside it looked crude, but inside? Absolutely opulent—like an underground palace.
“Hiiing… Will Mom be really mad?”
Near the entrance, Aria grew fearful. I patted her shoulder.
“She won’t kill you. Don’t worry.”
Just in case she tried to run, I gripped her hand tightly.
“Brother… can you let go?”
“Nope.”
Holding the hesitant Aria, I entered the huge cave.
Thud… thud…
Our footsteps echoed.
After about five minutes…
ROOOAR!
A deafening roar shook the cavern.
My ears rang.
This was nothing like the dragon roars I’d heard in the game—this was primal, beastly, terrifying. Goosebumps covered my body.
“Huh? Did Mom wake up?”
Thump… thump…
Heavy footsteps made the ground tremble.
Breathing… became difficult.
An indescribable fear made my legs shake.
[Where’s my baby? Did you go out again?]
The cavern amplified the huge voice into a thunderous echo.
That a creature could produce such a sound felt unreal—whether this was another world or just a game.
“Mom! I’m here!”
Aria answered Icira.
From the cave’s end, a stunning woman with long white hair appeared—and immediately glared at me.
“Who are you?”
“I rescued Aria from humans and brought her here.”
Icira frowned and turned to Aria.
“Is what this human says true?”
Her voice was cold, dry—sharp enough to slice a heart.
No wonder her kid ran away.
Aria was only about 600 years old—roughly six in human terms.
A child that young running off? Clearly a parenting issue.
But I saw no point in saying that aloud and causing trouble.
“Th-that’s… Mom?”
Aria trembled.
I remembered Icira as a character whose first instinct was violence, not words.
In the blink of an eye, Icira grabbed Aria by the waist, hoisted her onto her knee—and smacked her bottom.
Smack!
“Didn’t I tell you never to approach humans?!”
“Yaaah! I’m sorry! Don’t hit me—yaaah!”
She spanked Aria relentlessly with her palm.
The strikes were so fast they were invisible—I was impressed.
She’d probably scold her for a while. Should I just watch?
Aria’s eyes were already brimming with tears.
Smack!
“Brother Hans?! Help me! Mom’s trying to kill me! Hans Oppaaaa?!”
She cried out to me pitifully.
SMACK!
They say a dragon’s life is all combat—but how was I supposed to win against a dragon?
Thinking this, I subtly turned my head to examine the lair’s interior.
Smack-smack!
“Mooom! Help me! Hiiing! Yaaah?!”
Wow, this lair is huge. Those bright lights up there—magic bulbs?
Even from far away, they looked enormous.
Must be dragon-made. Absolutely dazzling.
I marveled at the magic bulbs hanging from the high ceiling.
A single small magic bulb sold for a fortune—these? Priceless.
How much could I get if I sold one?
“Hwaaa! I’m sorry! I messed uuuup!”
THWACK!
When I turned back, Icira was hugging Aria tightly.
She must’ve been worried sick.
After all, Icira loved Aria so fiercely she’d gladly give her life for her.
No wonder she reacted so harshly to the runaway.
Just as I was about to be moved by this touching mother-daughter moment…
“If you run off once more, I’ll chain you by the neck.”
Icira whispered sweetly—then pinched Aria’s tear-soaked, chubby cheeks with all her might.
“Waaah… I’m sowwy.”
Only then did Icira turn to me.
“Human, thank you for saving my daughter.”
“No need. If the hatchling had been hurt, I’d have faced a dragon’s wrath. This was cheap.”
She snorted.
“Hmph. Fair enough. What do you want?”
Her blunt tone was rude—but I was used to it from the game.
“I’d like to see the Lord’s Chamber.”
Normally, that room only opened after defeating the Dragon Lord boss in the ‘Dragon War’ DLC.
It contained foreshadowing for the next DLC, ‘King of the Dead’—but that meant nothing to me.
I already knew the whole story.
But I had to go there—for the hidden room: the Test Room, where you could summon any weapon or monster in Destiny.
If this were real life, such a room couldn’t exist.
But in a game? It definitely would.
“The Lord’s Chamber?”
Icira’s eyes widened—she hadn’t expected this request.
“Why do you want to go there?”
“I know that room holds the world’s secrets.”
“Hmph. So you want to see that stone tablet.”
“Yes.”
Icira shook her head, then gave me a pitying look.
“To seek such a worthless tablet… Why not ask for wealth instead?”
I was certain the money I’d earned from Pisa Trading Company far exceeded her entire fortune.
Yet she dared lecture me about wealth? Ridiculous.
“I have enough already.”
“Sigh… How foolish. That story isn’t even important to humans.”
She was right.
Honestly, the tablet’s contents didn’t matter to me—I already knew the lore.
Gods created the world. War happened. Etcetera.
Of the long inscription, only two points mattered:
First, an evil god existed—even unknown to other gods.
Second, that evil god created death and gave it to all living things, and planned to use the dead to seal the gods.
That was the core of the ‘King of the Dead’ storyline.
“Since you chose this, I won’t argue further. I’ll inform the Lord.
But what about that human outside?”
Ah—Leah?
Icira waved her hand, and a vision of Leah and her surroundings appeared in midair.
Flare! Fire Wall! Meteor!
Leah’s wild spells melted the surrounding snow at an incredible rate.
If she got caught… she’d really burn to death.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
Icira, however, watched Leah with clear interest.
“But you’ll just leave that girl out there? She seems to be looking for you.”
“Haha… sorry. There are… circumstances.”
But Icira ignored my excuse, studying Leah and the melting snow intently.
She smiled faintly, amused.
“Interesting. And that destructive power… She’s a Gift-bearer.”
“Gift?”
‘Strange. As a Destiny veteran, I knew everything—but I’d never heard of a ‘Gift’.’
“Yes. A special power granted by the gods. She possesses it.”
Seeing the nostalgia and regret in Icira’s eyes, I wondered:
Could ‘Gift’ mean ‘Trait’?
Characters like Leah or Nekhuf—the ones the devs pushed—had special Traits.
Given the context, that’s likely what she meant.
While I pondered this, Icira asked:
“So, what should I do with her?”
I had my answer ready.
“She’s my disciple. I separated from her temporarily as part of her training…”
Before I could finish—
“Brother Hans said we’re playing hide-and-seek with Sister Leah! So we can’t get caught!”
Aria spoke up—and Icira’s eyes turned icy cold.
She looked at me like I was trash abandoning a lover.
Her gaze dripped with disgust.
Panicked, I made an innocent face.
“It’s not like that! Actually, Leah will become an Archmage in the future…”
“Yes, everyone has their reasons. But can you really leave her out there like that?”
Seeing her already convinced I was scum, I knew arguing was useless.
What now? Leaving Leah out there was dangerous.
She might survive the cold—but if she kept blasting magic, she might fight Icira.
I needed to send her somewhere safe.
Lost in thought, I didn’t notice Icira’s impatience.
“Your answer?”
(She was clearly annoyed by Leah wrecking her home.)
“Could you teleport her to the middle of the continent?”
Icira nodded.
“That’s easy.”
Her pale hand glowed blue—
—and Leah vanished from the floating vision.
Phew… Guess she won’t burn to death now.
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