Chapter 189: The Taste of a Legendary Elixir
’So that man really was...’
The SSS-rankProfessor.
No wonder he talked the same way.
He was nodding in understanding when Elma added more.
"Before the Antarctic Gate was released, he was also famous as an unregistered S-rank hunter."
"An unregistered S-rank hunter?"
What was that supposed to mean?
Wasn’t every hunter required to register with the association or the Hunter Administration Bureau as soon as they Awakened? Standard practice was to register before you hit D-rank at the latest.
Walfred asked back, drawing on what had been common sense before the world froze, and the answer came quickly.
"Leon was a gate disappearance case."
"A gate disappearance..."
"It refers to people who get swept up in the rift phenomenon when a gate forms, when the dimension itself warps, and end up transferred to another space."
Elma explained calmly.
"In the vast majority of cases, the missing never come back. If they’re lucky, hunters find them and rescue them, but that’s rare."
Average survival rate: under 0.00001 percent.
Which was why people classified as gate disappearances were generally written off as dead.
But.
"There was exactly one case of someone coming back on his own instead of being rescued."
"Don’t tell me..."
"Yes. Leon."
A returner who came back seven years after vanishing.
And though he’d been an ordinary civilian when he disappeared, he came back an Awakened, plain as day.
An S-rank hunter, no less.
"Huh..."
When Elma finished explaining.
Walfred was honestly impressed.
He’d known the man was no ordinary hunter, but he hadn’t expected anything like this.
"So what’s Leon’s attribute?"
"Ah, that’s..."
His follow-up question was barely finished before Elma trailed off. A complete change from how smoothly she’d been answering until now.
And after a moment.
She smiled awkwardly and said:
"Well, it’s still unknown."
"...What?"
What was that supposed to mean?
He frowned and pressed her, and Elma explained why Leon’s attribute had never been identified.
"His rank assessment test was done, and his interview to officially register as a hunter was scheduled. That was the day the Antarctic Gate was released."
"Ah..."
Then there wasn’t much anyone could do.
Walfred’s face said he understood.
Meanwhile, Elma wrapped up her explanation of Leon, the SSS-rankProfessor.
"Anyway, I’m not on especially good terms with him, or bad terms either. We’re the kind of acquaintances who just ask how the other’s doing when we run into each other."
"I see."
Walfred nodded quietly.
For now, simply uncovering the identity of the SSS-rankProfessor, who’d been shrouded in mystery, was a solid haul.
Around the time he was thinking that.
Elma changed the subject.
"More importantly, did you find anything useful?"
"I did. Only two things, though."
Walfred fished out the items he’d won at the auction house. A Legendary-grade elixir, the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal, and a universal skill book, Titan Attack.
Elma’s eyes lit up.
"Those both look pretty good."
She seemed particularly taken with [Titan Attack], the universal skill book that unleashed devastating power against enormous enemies.
Once they’d finished going over the auction items.
This time Walfred changed the subject, to the most important issue at hand. The White Whale.
"How long until the White Whale arrives?"
"Exactly ten hours, measured from the operation zone. I’ll let you know if anything changes, so until then, please stay in top condition."
"Understood. I’ll do that."
He had things to take care of anyway.
Walfred nodded.
"Then I’ll excuse myself."
With the conversation over.
Elma left, saying she was going to help direct the evacuees.
Alone now, Walfred moved to a quiet corner of the shelter and sat down. Then he pulled out the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal he’d shown Elma earlier.
Thunk!
The instant it settled onto his palm.
A tremendous wave of cold burst off it, dropping the temperature around him fast. Walfred promptly tossed the crystal into his mouth.
Like popping a piece of candy.
And then.
Crunch!
The moment he bit down hard.
Pain shot through him like his jawbone and teeth were about to shatter. It felt like chewing on a lump of iron, and his face twisted up.
"...Hard as hell."
He’d figured it would be tough ice at worst.
This hard, chewing it up with his teeth was physically impossible. That much was obvious.
So he changed tactics.
He’d hold the crystal in his mouth and let it melt slowly instead. Sure enough, it began to dissolve little by little.
And at the same time.
Shhhhhhh!
Cold beyond anything he could have imagined slid down his throat and coiled through his body. For a moment the sensation was chilling enough to raise goosebumps everywhere.
’Cold.’
Since Awakening as a frost attribute hunter.
Since his Cold Resistance had hit 100 percent, it had been a very long time since he’d actually felt cold.
No, this wasn’t simple cold.
It felt like every drop of blood in his veins was freezing solid, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
’I need to focus.’
If he just sat there, his whole body would freeze, so on instinct he settled into a cross-legged yoga pose and began breathing in a steady rhythm.
He kept sending that wildly churning cold out through every part of his body, over and over.
Until at last the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal was fully absorbed.
And then.
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Level...]
His level suddenly shot up like crazy.
More than twenty levels’ worth.
Walfred didn’t bother hiding his shock at something he hadn’t seen coming at all.
"Wh-what?"
There’d been nothing about leveling up in the Thousand-Year Ice Crystal’s item description. He tilted his head, puzzled.
And in that moment.
A thought struck him out of nowhere.
’Ah! Maybe this is also...’
Maybe it was treated the same as the pure mana snow, which granted an enormous amount of experience.
If so, the sudden level gain made a certain amount of sense. Feeling like he’d received an unexpected gift, Walfred broke into a pleased smile.
Ding!
[Elixir absorption complete.]
[Elixir: Thousand-Year Ice Crystal]
Along with the familiar chime.
The results of the elixir absorption unfolded in front of him.
-----
[Elixir Absorption Results]
▷Frost attribute skill enhancement: +200%
▷Mana recovery: 1.5% per 10 seconds
▷Base mana increase: x500%
-----
Just looking at it was enough to bring a satisfied smile to his face. Walfred clenched his fist, looked up at the empty air, and moved his lips.
"Status."
-----
[Name]: Walfred
[Level]: 158
[Attribute]: Frost
[Mana]: 84,000
[Cold]: 68.4%
[Rank]: B
[Experience]: 04.76%
-----
The biggest change from before.
It was his mana pool.
The elixir had multiplied his base mana fivefold, and all the mana he’d gained through leveling up had exploded along with it.
’At this rate I’ll never run dry.’
And he’d gained mana recovery on top of it.
Aside from skills that drained a percentage of his mana per second, he’d basically never find himself short again.
Walfred smiled, satisfied.
’Next up...’
The universal skill book he’d won at auction.
It was time to look at [Titan Attack] and the [Skill Book - Random] he’d bought at the Dimensional Exchange. He opened the [Titan Attack] skill book first.
Flash!
Bright light wrapped around his body.
And a moment later.
[A new skill has been acquired.]
[Universal - Titan Attack]
The new skill was added right away.
Nothing random about it. With this kind of book, you simply learned the skill it contained.
Then Walfred reached for the random skill book he’d bought at the Dimensional Exchange.
And hoping for something that would help against the White Whale, he opened it.