Walfred replied immediately.

[FrozenMan]: That’s right.

[FrozenMan]: Do you happen to know why?

[GoldKumquat]: No clue lol

[GoldKumquat]: But isn’t no snow a good thing? As long as the wind isn’t blowing, it’s pretty bearable, right?

He wasn’t wrong.

Without snow, it was easier to maintain body heat and visibility was relatively better.

The problem was that not knowing the reason left a nagging feeling. Just as there’s no kindness without a reason, there’s no natural phenomenon without a cause.

Especially in a situation like this.

Then, just at that moment.

"Mister! Come eat."

He heard Lauren calling.

Lauren handed him a cup brimming with broth made from the dried fish she’d brought along.

It was a plain, thin soup.

The milky broth gave off a rich, savory aroma. Walfred turned to Lauren with a soft smile.

"Nice work. I’ll dig in."

Walfred took a sip of the broth.

As the warm liquid slid down his throat, the chills he’d been feeling seemed to melt away. The dried fish itself made for a fine meal, too.

"How is it?"

"Delicious. I can feel the warmth spreading through me."

"Hehe, glad to hear it."

A short while later, after the meal was over.

Lauren started cleaning up.

Meanwhile, Walfred walked over to the window. The salty broth had made him thirsty. He scooped up a generous handful of snow from the windowsill and popped it into his mouth.

Crunch crunch!

A refreshing chill spread through his mouth.

Then, a familiar notification appeared.

[Experience gained.]

[Experience: +0.98%]

Less than one percent now.

Still better than hunting monsters, at least.

When he’d been taking down vampire bats, he’d only gotten 0.2% per kill. Even so, the underwhelming return was hard to swallow, and he smacked his lips.

’Current experience is 94.28%.’

Just a bit more eating and he’d level up.

He had yesterday’s extermination of the F-rank Elite Monster, Abyss Worm, to thank for the big chunk of experience he’d gained.

Some time passed.

[Level up!]

[You’ve reached Level 25.]

He’d finally leveled up.

The fatigue built up in his body seemed to dissolve away, and Walfred allowed himself a faint smile.

Then, right at that moment.

An unexpected notification appeared.

Ding!

[Skill proficiency has reached its maximum.]

[Skill level has increased.]

[Frost Feast: (Lv.1) → (Lv.2)]

His unique skill had leveled up.

Well, it was about time. He’d eaten a considerable amount of snow by now. Nodding to himself, Walfred opened the skill’s detailed information.

-----

[Unique: Frost Feast (Lv.2)]

[Gain experience by consuming ice or snow.]

[Special Ability]

▶Unlock condition: Skill Level 3

▶Unlock condition: Skill Level 5

▶Unlock condition: Skill Level 7

-----

"Hmm...?"

Other than the skill level going up, nothing seemed to have changed. Walfred tilted his head and looked at the snow piled on the windowsill.

Maybe if he ate some, he’d be able to feel whatever was different. He scooped up a large handful of snow, shoved it in his mouth, and swallowed.

And at that moment.

[Experience gained.]

[Experience: +8.92%]

"...!"

The change was unmistakable.

The amount of experience gained had jumped nearly tenfold from before. At this rate, reaching Level 30 wouldn’t take long at all.

A more satisfying result than he’d expected.

Walfred grinned. He was busy scraping the snow off the neighboring windowsills and eating that too when.

"Yaaawn, mister. I’m done cleaning up."

Lauren let out a tired yawn.

And who could blame her?

Today hadn’t just been a walk through snow; they’d climbed a frozen mountain trail. Walfred watched her yawn repeatedly and pointed to the mat.

"Go ahead and sleep first. I’m going to stay up a little longer."

"...Okay. Good night."

Was she really that exhausted?

Lauren lay down on the mat and was asleep almost instantly. Now alone, Walfred finished eating the remaining snow and gazed out the window once more.

It was a pitch-dark night, but the White Dome glowed in proud solitude. As he stood watching it, a sudden thought crossed his mind.

’Wait, could it be...?’

Snow that wasn’t falling only in the Silicon Alley District.

And the White Dome, which existed nowhere else, only in the Silicon Alley District.

’Is that thing the reason it’s not snowing?’

He couldn’t say for certain how or why, but the possibility was strong. Walfred narrowed his eyes and stared silently at the White Dome.

But staring at it wasn’t going to solve the mystery, so he gave up quickly. Instead, he leaned back against the wall and logged into the Hunter Community.

[System: Hunter Community]

[Accessing the New America Republic channel.]

Walfred browsed the local board.

To see if there was any information about the White Dome. That was when a post that had just gone up seized his attention.

[Title]: Warning! To all hunters within the Silicon Alley District. The moment you see this post, get out of the Silicon Alley District. Right now!

The kind of content that demanded attention.

A sudden warning to evacuate the Silicon Alley District; Walfred tilted his head in puzzlement.

But only for a moment.

[Author]: StoneFist

The instant he saw the author’s nickname, Walfred’s face turned to stone.

’If it’s StoneFist, then that’s definitely...!’

The leader of Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter, Bauer.

That was the nickname he used.

A man that serious using a title this inflammatory? Something dire must have happened. Walfred tapped the post immediately.

-----

To all hunters in the Silicon Alley District.

Leave the Silicon Alley District right now!

The White Dome that appeared at Tech Row Station is expanding at an abnormal rate. We’ve abandoned our shelter at Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall and are currently moving toward Newark.

So the moment you see this, get up and run as far as you can. Not a single person who’s been swallowed by the White Dome has ever come back alive.

-----

The White Dome was expanding.

The instant he read that, Walfred immediately closed the community and rushed to the window. And the moment he looked outside, his breath caught in his throat.

"What the...!"

A curse escaped him before he could stop it.

He couldn’t help it.

Because he was witnessing the White Dome expanding, exactly as Bauer had warned. And it was expanding so fast that he could see it growing in real time.