Chapter 18 : Thawing (4)
Chapter 18: Thawing (4)
He blended in with the landscape in a way that felt natural.
No, he fit so well that it paradoxically felt out of place.
Hindir quietly looked up at the old man and then closed his eyes, withdrawing his attention.
Perhaps startled by the indifference, the other spoke.
“Kid, you saw an old man in this harsh place and yet pretended not to see him?”
“Was it really necessary? Judging from climbing that high spot, you looked strong—I didn’t think there was anything to worry about.”
Startled momentarily by Hindir’s calm answer, the old man soon burst into silent laughter.
“You have guts, indeed. Then I’ll rephrase my question. Meeting an old man in a place like this—isn’t that too fearless?”
“Isn’t that the same for you?”
“Heh—”
He clicked his tongue and then leapt downwards in a single bound.
It was a height that would severely injure any ordinary person, yet he landed unharmed—without even a sound.
That instinctively conveyed how extraordinary his realm was.
Hindir opened his eyes and silently stared at the old man approaching.
This opponent was certainly stronger than he.
He felt several ranks ahead even compared to the First General.
“How did you end up coming all the way here?”
The old man’s question was peculiar, and Hindir immediately read the implication, and his suspicion toward the old man turned to certainty.
Ordinarily one spoke of entering Snow Dragon Valley, not coming out.
He knew that he was of the Charun tribe… which they referred to as Barbarians.
“You are Parno.”
This time surprise flickered across the old man’s face.
“How did you know?”
At first, it had been suspicion.
Although Hindir had skillfully contained his power, unlike Ubol, he barely felt the aura characteristic of the Parno bloodline.
But instead of explaining that, he said something else.
“You ask though you’re not really curious. Elder, your curiosity lies elsewhere.”
“Heh—go on and tell me. What is it you’re curious about?”
“You want the reason why, knowing I am Parno, I remained stiff-necked. Isn’t that it?”
The old man cackled and nodded.
“You know that and yet aren’t you afraid, young Barbarian?”
“Is there any reason I should be afraid?”
“Do you think I would leave a runaway alive?”
“I can’t know an elder’s whims. And anyway, I came here because of that one guy, right?”
Hindir gestured toward Ubol.
“Heh heh, you talk too much needlessly.”
From beneath the elder, a stream of ice burst forth and enveloped Hindir.
It froze his lower body solid in a seated posture, binding him, but it lasted only briefly.
With a “chirr” sound, the moisture melted rapidly and evaporated.
“Ho?”
The old man’s eyes widened, then he nodded.
“They said Hyeolyung was dead, and that turned out to be true. That hide really was Hyeolyung’s.”
“You must have known Hyeolyung well.”
“He was the only one who could melt the cold of Parno. He was interesting enough that I didn’t kill him on purpose, but in the end, a long history died at the hands of the Barbarians.”
The old man sighed as he spoke.
“But did you know? Hyeolyung was preserved to research the clan’s strength. And you killed that. What shall be done?”
“Shall I play the bear for you?”
“Would that not be fitting?”
“I refuse.”
“Heh heh heh. Well then. But it’s strange. Having devoured Hyeolyung’s core, how is your mana still so unimpressive? He had gathered enough strength to become an artifact soon enough.”
He looked perplexed as he spoke.
‘He doesn’t know the traits of the Charun tribe.’
What had been common sense five hundred years ago, he realized, was no longer so now.
“…You are truly peculiar.”
“If you’re that curious, shall we have a bout?”
When Hindir said that, the old man shook his head and muttered.
“There didn’t seem to be anything hidden…”
After silently observing Hindir for a moment, he turned his head.
“Fine. I don’t wish to see blood today.”
The old man probably believed he could easily dispose of Hindir if he wished.
Yet he refrained—that was the composure and dignity of a true strong.
“As you said, I came here because of that guy. After taking him, I will return again later.”
“I refuse.”
Just as the old man began to step forward, Hindir’s firm refusal caused his expression to sour.
“What did you say?”
“I said I would not permit you to take that fellow.”
“You should know his status, though?”
“I heard he was the Parno’s abandoned child.”
“Heh heh, you say it like that.”
“If there is another hidden story, share it. I’m curious too.”
At once the furrow between the old man’s brows twitched.
He tried to ignore it, but Hindir’s tone at this point began to grate irritably.
“You must be illiterate, for your rude impudence is over the top.”
A fierce snowstorm slowly formed around the old man.
The earlier ice discharge intended for Hindir seemed playful compared to this—it became a bitterly cold gale circling the valley as bitter as Snow Dragon Valley itself.
Yet Hindir remained seated, refusing to stand, and that demeanor displeased the old man even more.
“You must have thought that because of Hyeolyung’s aura I couldn’t handle you, but you will regret such complacency.”
Rrrrumble—
The snowstorm gradually compressed and transformed into sharp ice spears.
At a mere gesture from the elder, they fired toward Hindir as if able to pierce everything.
Crash—!
Only then did Hindir spring up.
But instead of dodging, he charged straight ahead, and the old man clicked his tongue.
Who would have thought a Barbarian would respond so recklessly…
The moment one of his tightly clenched fists shattered the ice, the old man’s thoughts paused.
And when the other fist suddenly reached just in front of the elder’s nose, he inwardly stirred in surprise.
But his response was calm and composed.
He rotated the extended hand and tipped off the punch, simultaneously tapping Hindir’s elbow and injecting cold energy.
Chii‑i—
Hindir’s red skin flushed even more deeply as he sought to dispel the chill.
But the frost that a Parno master had directly infused into him could not be removed at once.
Recognizing that fact, the old man attempted to bind Hindir’s body using the same method.
However, the essence of Hindir’s power—and that of the Charun Clan—was fundamentally unrelated to that.
The only discomfort felt from the frost was the aura of Hyeolyung, and regardless it was still mana.
The immunity to mana that had directly infiltrated the body was something Charun Clan excelled at above any lifeform.
“Hmm?”
When Hindir’s movements showed almost no change, the old man displayed a look of consternation for the first time.
Of course, that didn’t change anything.
He released the remaining hand that had been clasped behind his back.
Then he began to wildly wave both hands inside the blizzard.
An extreme frost that froze everything in its path.
The “Cold‑wave Apex.”
A violent vortex swallowed Hindir.
The old man believed it would freeze him solid, smother him, or end him in one way or another.
Kwaang—!
At that moment, Hindir slammed both fists into the ground with all his might.
Dust and stones of various sizes shot upward, whipped into a whirlwind.
The old man narrowed his eyes, uncertain what Hindir planned.
Once inside its influence, he thought, there was no way out.
But as Hindir rose and advanced again, the old man’s eyes widened.
He immediately recognized how Hindir was moving.
It was a technique that froze the target with pure frost, but it contained impurities like dust and stones.
The flying rocks struck Hindir’s body and shattered the freezing effect repeatedly.
Kuung—!
Having escaped the vortex, Hindir charged straight at the old man, who created an ice wall to block him.
The wall cracked with a single charge, and shattered under a second strike.
As if anticipated, the old man launched a pre‑prepared ice spear.
Swoosh—
He barely twisted his head to narrowly avoid it, and a red line appeared along his cheek.
Hindir threw a punch, and the old man again created an ice wall with a single hand.
This time Hindir did not break it—instead, he opened his hand and pushed it aside, advancing forward.
The old man clicked his tongue and sprung into the air.
Whether he wore bear skin or was an actual bear, his charge was relentless and destructive.
He had to admit that Hindir could not be stopped easily.
“That one is truly brave.”
Hindir stopped amidst the shattered ice wall and quietly stared at the old man.
Pushing forward with his body had left him quite battered, whereas the old man’s white robes remained spotless.
Yet Hindir plainly saw what he was thinking.
“I see you’re conflicted, Elder.”
“What do you claim I’m conflicted about?”
“Your hands must be itching. You want to draw your sword. But breaking your own rule would bruise your pride.”
“…Are you truly Barbarian?”
“I’m of the Charun Clan.”
“Charun?”
The old man seemed to hear the name for the first time.
He shrugged it off, treating it as the name of a small secluded tribe.
Even without a clan‑owned Barbarian village, such a people might exist secretly across this wide land.
“Truthfully I want to draw my sword now, but I don’t intend to. After all, you may be a better subject to test Parno’s strength than Hyeolyung was.”
In the end the old man took a step back—not in defeat, Hindir knew well.
“As I said earlier, after taking that fellow I will return again. That time, I won’t deal with you so gently—you should prepare yourself.”
“Elder.”
“Yes.”
“It may be belated, but I thank you for bearing with patience these past few days.”
“…!”
The old man’s face revealed undisguised astonishment at Hindir’s words.
“The respect I showed you was because…”
“Respect?”
“I didn’t call you ‘old man,’ after all.”
“Heh! How insolent. Fine—go on and chatter away.”
“To continue from before, you apparently still saw Ubol as a person, so I remained silent. If you had come to seize him, you would not have waited until now—and I would not have stayed silent either.”
“You claim you would not have stayed silent? I know you’re more capable than I thought, but misjudging level only accelerates death.”
Finally, the old man indirectly acknowledged that he had been watching this place for several days.
“No. If it came to life or death here, the story would differ. Even if I couldn’t kill you, I’d have made you an invalid.”
It wasn’t mere bluff—Hindir sensed that clearly.
The direct confrontation confirmed it, as did his unwavering gaze full of confidence.
“Heh… then why the sudden change of heart?”
“Today, just return.”
“Impossible. As a member of the clan, Ubol must fulfill his duty. And if he’s left like that, he will die. Before that happens…”
“Hahaha!”
“What are you doing?”
“At this point, you should know what this is about. Do you think I wouldn’t understand why you’re stepping in now?”
“……”
“Elder realized that Ubol began breaking his own barrier, so you intervened. I don’t know what motive lies at its root, but I can clearly see your impatience. Why is that? It doesn’t seem only the clan matter that brought you here—there must be other reasons, but I don’t know them. Do you intend to tell me?”
The old man said nothing.
He just clasped his hands behind him, staring at Hindir expressionless.
“…You seem troubled.”
“Should I kill you here and now?”
“Yes.”
“That wouldn’t be unreasonable, would it?”
“This is strange… really strange. That a Barbarian would…”
The old man turned his head again toward Ubol, staring in silence for a long while.
“Your awareness is impressive, but delaying until now wasn’t for that reason alone. I cannot afford to linger here—just happened to have a good opportunity.”
“Fair enough.”
“…I don’t lie lightly. Once I return, another will come. And then there will be blood.”
“Ice flowers bloom by drinking blood in the wild, not in a greenhouse.”
“…!”
The old man’s eyes nearly popped out.
Soon his expression softened and he began to laugh heartily.
“You are truly arrogant and reckless. Fine. I will see whether you can bear the responsibility and weight of those words.”
With that, the old man left without hesitation, walking toward the valley’s entrance.
“Elder.”
“You may know him as ‘Parno’s wolf.’”
The old man answered the question Hindir had been about to ask.
A gust of snow blew once, and then the old man’s figure vanished.