Meanwhile, at that moment.

Having felled the E-rank Elite Monster Blood Wing, Walfred let out a deep breath that had been trapped in his lungs and steadied his ragged breathing.

His entire body ached from the exhaustion of battle, but the pain faded before long.

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

Two levels gained in an instant.

A wave of refreshing energy washed over him, sweeping away every trace of fatigue. Now at Level 24, Walfred gazed quietly at Blood Wing’s corpse.

’Never thought I’d end up taking it down solo.’

Strictly speaking, it hadn’t been his strength alone.

He’d benefited from Ferd’s physical enhancement skill and Rosa’s Wind Walker as well. Still, this was the first time he’d fought something from start to finish on his own, and the sense of accomplishment was considerable.

’On top of that...’

The loot wasn’t bad either.

Walfred checked it right away.

First, the skill book.

The moment he opened it, a dazzling light accompanied the reveal of a new skill, just like before.

-----

[Support: Snow Walker (Lv.1)]

[Movement and action speed significantly increase while on snow or ice. After remaining on snow or ice for a set duration, ’Instant Burst’ becomes available.]

▷Mana cost: 30 per minute

▷Action speed: +200% (400%)

▷Charge time: 15 seconds

▶Instant Burst distance: 80 ft (160 ft)

[Maximum held stacks: 3]

-----

A buff skill that boosted not just movement speed, but attack and reaction speed as well. And in the current ice age, it was practically available at all times.

On top of that, Instant Burst, which activated after staying on ice for more than fifteen seconds, looked perfect for emergency escapes or surprise attacks.

’Not bad.’

Walfred smiled with satisfaction.

Now to examine the other piece of loot that had appeared alongside the skill book, something he’d never seen before.

A Recovery Stone.

Walfred picked up the small red stone fragment, about the size of a pinky nail, that had dropped beside the skill book. Detailed information immediately appeared before his eyes.

-----

[Name]: Recovery Stone

[Rank]: Unique

[A mysterious stone imbued with a rune of healing.]

[When swallowed, one of the user’s existing skills gains the power of healing. Drops at an extremely low rate from Elite-rank or higher vampiric species.]

-----

’It grants a healing ability to a skill?’

Walfred’s eyes went wide.

As far as he knew, the only way to rapidly heal wounds was through expensive healing potions.

But if a healing ability could be added to a skill, his survivability and sustain in the close-quarters combat he specialized in would skyrocket.

’But...’

Swallowing a rock didn’t exactly appeal to him.

His hesitation lasted only a moment, though. With a look of resolve, he tossed the Recovery Stone into his mouth.

Gulp!

He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed the Recovery Stone.

The stone crumbled like sand before it even reached his stomach.

And then.

"Gakh!"

Walfred’s eyes went bloodshot.

A crushing pain, as if his heart were being wrung out. Every blood vessel in his body felt like it had been set on fire.

Walfred clutched his chest and dropped to his knees.

A sensation of his blood boiling, accompanied by cold sweat pouring off him like rain.

"Hrgk! Haahh...!"

Thankfully, the pain didn’t last long.

After about twenty seconds, his body returned to normal. As he gradually regained his composure, a system message appeared.

[Recovery Stone: Absorption complete]

[Healing ability added to Frost Domain.]

"...What?"

Walfred blinked his wide-open eyes.

Frost Domain? But that was a passive skill.

What would happen if a healing ability was attached to a passive? After a moment of stunned silence, Walfred hurriedly checked the skill details for Frost Domain.

-----

[Passive: Frost Domain (Lv.2)]

[Added: Rune of Healing (Lv.1)]

[When the average ambient temperature surrounding the caster is below freezing, all physical abilities and the effects of all acquired skills are significantly enhanced.]

[When activation conditions are met, the caster’s healing power and regeneration are significantly enhanced.]

▷Activation condition: Ambient temperature at or below 32°F

▷Active duration: Constant while condition is met

▶Physical ability enhancement: +300%

▶Skill effect boost: +100%

▶Healing/Regeneration: +500%

-----

"Whoa..."

Walfred’s jaw dropped.

He never would have guessed that the activation conditions for healing and regeneration would be the same as Frost Domain’s own activation conditions.

And currently, everywhere outside the shelter and the gate interior was below freezing. In other words, it was always active as long as he was outdoors.

"This is insane."

And as if to prove it.

The minor scrapes and cuts he’d picked up fighting Blood Wing were healing at a visible pace. He could actually watch his skin tissue regenerating before his eyes.

With regeneration like this, he could afford to ignore minor wounds entirely and keep fighting.

As he kept marveling at his gains.

"Walfred!"

A voice called out to him from the distance.

It was Bauer, the leader of the Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter, who’d fought Blood Wing alongside him. He was headed this way.

Having rushed over, Bauer looked Walfred up and down with concern in his voice.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere..."

"Surprisingly, I’m fine."

Walfred shrugged.

When he’d first been hit by Blood Wing’s charge and sent flying, Frost Shield had helped absorb a good amount of the damage.

On top of that, all the minor wounds from the fight had already healed. When Bauer realized Walfred was completely unscathed, he clicked his tongue in disbelief.

"Incredible. You fell from that height and didn’t break a single bone."

"I got lucky and landed in a snowbank."

If he’d hit bare ground, he wouldn’t have gotten off this easy. When Walfred brushed it off casually, Bauer fell silent.

Then his face hardened like stone, and he bowed his head to Walfred.

"...I’m sorry."

"For what?"

"For not telling you there was an Elite Monster among the targets."

"..."

Walfred looked at Bauer without a word.

He was right to apologize for that. Walfred had come in expecting nothing worse than E-rank monsters.

That said, he hadn’t been all that shocked.

Probably because he’d already had the experience of fighting a D-rank Elite Monster, the Frozen Weaver.

’But...’

That didn’t mean he was going to let it slide like nothing happened. Looking at Bauer’s remorseful expression, Walfred said matter-of-factly,

"Consider it a debt you owe me."

"What? Th-that’s enough for you?"

"Yeah. I plan to cash it in when I really need it someday, so no backing out later."

"...Thank you. I’ll make sure to repay this debt."

Bauer bowed his head once more.

His face considerably brighter than before.

After things were sorted out, Rosa supported the injured Ferd and headed back to the shelter. That left just Walfred and Bauer at the scene.

"I’m going to check inside the precinct now. Can you come along?"

"Sure. Better to make sure things are properly taken care of."

There might still be stragglers.

Walfred loosened up with a few stretches, then slung his faintly glowing blue ice axe over his shoulder. Together with Bauer, he entered the Lower Manhattan Tech Precinct.