Right after climbing up from the bottom of the hole, which stretched dozens of feet down, Walfred poked his head out and was greeted by a murderous blizzard.

Whoosh! Howl!

A ferocious wind on a completely different level from underground.

In a world where he couldn’t see an inch in front of him, Walfred crouched down as low as he could.

If it weren’t for his [Cold Resistance] skill, whose effect had been doubled, he definitely wouldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes before turning into a popsicle.

After climbing fully out of the hole, Walfred narrowed his eyes and scanned his surroundings warily.

’They’re gone.’

Thankfully, not a single one of the Snow Wolves that had been chasing him was in sight. Walfred let out a sigh of relief and sank into thought.

’What do I do now?’

The safest option was to head back to the shelter. If he announced he’d awakened as a hunter, all the humiliation he’d endured up until now would vanish in a single stroke.

But.

’...The Frost attribute.’

This cursed attribute was the problem.

On top of being treated as a trash attribute already, he was also saddled with a penalty skill called [Cold Emission] that chilled the surrounding area.

’I’d get kicked out the second I stepped into the shelter.’

If he was lucky, he’d just get kicked out normally.

Worst case, they’d strip him of every piece of clothing he owned and toss him out naked. In this insane world, cold-weather gear was as good as life itself.

’Better to move alone after all.’

In the end, Walfred decided not to go back to the shelter. Thanks to [Cold Resistance], he could withstand the cold to a certain degree now anyway.

Right then.

Howl!

The blizzard intensified.

The wind chill plummeted in an instant.

Even with the cold cutting through [Cold Resistance], Walfred snapped to his senses. Wandering around outside aimlessly in this kind of weather was a death sentence.

’I should head to the store and get out of the wind first.’

The food they’d been pillaging last time would still be there, so he could fill his empty stomach too. There might be Snow Wolves around, but it didn’t really matter.

He’d already steeled himself for combat.

Crunch, crunch!

Walfred pushed forward through the blizzard.

Thanks to his enhanced leg muscles, he was plowing through snow piled up to his thighs at an incredible speed.

After a fair amount of time had passed.

Through the violent blizzard, he could see the gap of a half-torn-off shutter.

Creak! Bang!

Walfred squeezed himself through the shutter gap.

The inside of the store was dark, but at least there was no biting wind cutting at his skin. Pulling off his goggles and catching his breath, Walfred’s eyes landed on a horrific sight.

"...!"

Clothes drenched in blood.

Frozen chunks of flesh and bits of organs.

And what looked like human bones, white and scattered everywhere.

"Ugh!"

He gagged involuntarily at the gruesome sight. Those had to be the remains of the search team that had come here with him.

But before he could even calm his churning stomach, a chilling sound came from behind him.

"Grrrrrr!"

"...!?"

His body froze reflexively.

With a sinking feeling, Walfred turned toward the source of the sound. Then, one by one, glowing blue eyes began to emerge from the darkness.

"...Damn it."

Walfred muttered a curse under his breath.

He’d been wondering where they went, and they were still hanging around here? Or maybe they’d been waiting for prey to come walking right back to them?

Either way, he had no choice but to fight.

’Five of them total.’

It was fewer than when he’d first encountered them, but he couldn’t help feeling tense. After all, this was his first real combat since awakening.

Right then.

"GROOOAR!"

The one in front roared and lunged.

Its massive body closed the distance in an instant.

For a normal person, it would have been at the throat before they could even react. But.

’I can see it!’

When he focused, the wolf’s movements became crystal clear. The contraction of its muscles, the timing of its push off the ground, even the angle at which it was opening its jaws toward him.

It almost felt like time was moving in slow motion.

Walfred adjusted his grip on the ice spear and took precise aim at the spot between the lunging wolf’s eyes.

Squelch!

The spearhead punched through its skull.

A heavy impact traveled through his fingertips.

"Yelp!"

The force was stronger than he’d expected.

Meanwhile, the other four wolves, seeing the ice spear lodged between their packmate’s eyes, lunged all at once as if this were their chance.

But there was something they’d overlooked.

"Frozen Weapon!"

The fact that as long as Walfred had snow and ice, he could create weapons anytime, anywhere.

Whoosh! Thwack!

The ice spear, formed in the blink of an eye, sliced clean through the side of the first wolf to lunge.

With a short yelp, the wolf spilled its guts and rolled across the floor. At the same time, Walfred ducked to dodge a claw swiping in from his left.

A cold wind grazed past his face.

’Now!’

Staying low, Walfred swung the spear straight upward. The blade pierced through the wolf’s jaw and drove all the way into its brain.

Two wolves left.

Walfred used Frozen Weapon again to create another ice spear. In the meantime, the remaining two Snow Wolves hesitated.

"Grrrrr..."

Watching their packmates get butchered in seconds, they probably sensed something had gone very wrong.

The wolves instinctively backed away.

Looking like they were about to bolt any second, but Walfred had no intention of letting them leave alive.

’If they bring back more of their pack, things get complicated.’

So he had to take care of them all here.

With his mind made up, Walfred pushed off the ground with explosive force from his thighs and ankles.

A truly explosive burst of speed.

Walfred was right in front of the Snow Wolves in the blink of an eye. Before they had time to react in surprise, he swung the ice spear.

Crack! Thunk!

The fourth wolf’s head was severed from its body in an instant and rolled across the floor.

Just one left.

Right then.

[Passive: ’Cold Emission’ activated]

[The weapon created by Frozen Weapon is being enhanced by ’Passive: Cold Emission.’]

[Weapon power has been enhanced.]

The ice spear had been buffed at the perfect moment.

With the spearhead glowing blue at the front, Walfred charged toward the Snow Wolf as it tried to turn and flee.

"Hyah!"

He swung the spear horizontally with a battle cry.

The glowing spearhead carved through the air in a brilliant arc. Then, like cutting through butter, a smooth and chilling sensation traveled to his fingertips.

Slash! Crunch! Thump!

The fleeing Snow Wolf’s body was cleanly cut in half at the waist. Confirming that the last enemy was down, Walfred let out a short breath.

"Whew."

His condition was surprisingly calm.

Aside from his slightly racing heart, even his breathing was undisturbed.

He’d moved pretty intensely, but he wasn’t even sweating. He wasn’t out of breath, and his muscles weren’t sore either.

Compared to an unawakened person, his physical abilities were overwhelmingly powerful. The buff effect of [Frost Domain] was also impressive enough to draw out a sigh of admiration on its own.

But the joy of victory was short-lived.

Walfred’s brow furrowed.

"What the heck? Why’s the experience like this?"

After checking his status window, he couldn’t hide his disappointment. He’d taken down five Snow Wolves, but the experience bar had only filled up by about 5%.

That was way less than what he’d been getting earlier from eating snow and ice down in the hole.

"...The efficiency is total garbage."

So gobbling up ice in a corner was way more efficient than risking his life in combat.

As he was quietly sighing.

Growl!

Maybe because the rush of battle had worn off?

Or because the tension had drained away?

His stomach was making it clear it wanted food.

He’d had nothing but snow and ice, and he’d just put his body through a serious workout, so it made sense that he’d be starving.

"Time to eat something first."

Walfred headed straight for the food section.

There, he found a backpack stuffed full of various canned goods. Probably supplies one of the search team members had packed up to bring back to the shelter.

Walfred peered into the backpack.

Frozen cans of tuna and canned peaches. Plus canned ham on top of that.

It was a regular feast.

As he was deciding what to eat first.

Crunch!

He suddenly heard footsteps coming from the entrance.

It wasn’t just one or two people. Walfred reflexively moved to hide, then stopped himself. He’d thought they might be Snow Wolves, but they weren’t.

These were human footsteps.

’Who is it? The search team?’

Walfred lowered his stance and watched the entrance.

A moment later, a group of men stepped into the store from outside, where the blizzard was still raging.

People kitted out in cold-weather gear and weapons. The face of the man at the front was particularly familiar.

’Chaz!’

A brown-haired man in his mid-thirties.

The man was Chaz, a C-rank hunter and the manager in charge of the search team at the Newark Galleria Shelter, where Walfred had been living.

Judging by the bloodstains and animal fur clinging to his coat, it looked like he’d just finished tracking down and dispatching the Snow Wolves that had been roaming around outside.

Right then.

"You there! Who are you!"

A hunter standing with Chaz noticed Walfred and shouted at him.

At the same time, Chaz’s gaze also turned toward Walfred. With his calm, settled eyes glinting, he addressed him.

"Are you, by any chance, with the search team that went missing?"

"..."

Walfred didn’t answer.

While it was true that he’d been with the search team as Chaz suggested, he wasn’t just a regular search team member anymore. He was an awakened hunter.

As he hesitated over how to respond.

"Wait, that’s..."

Chaz, who had been approaching Walfred, came to a stop. He’d just spotted the Snow Wolf carcasses sprawled nearby.

The moment he saw the scene.

Surprise and wariness mingled in Chaz’s eyes. After a moment, he turned back to Walfred and asked again, calmly.

"...You took these down?"

His voice was low. Walfred thought it over for a moment, then gave a brief nod. There was no point in lying since Chaz wouldn’t believe him anyway, and there was no real reason to hide it.

Chaz looked Walfred up and down.

A sharp gaze, as if analyzing him.

"I haven’t seen your face around here..."

At those words, Walfred smiled bitterly to himself.

He’d lived in the same shelter for almost half a year, getting roll call every single day, and the guy didn’t even remember him.

Well, he understood.

There were over a hundred unawakened people staying at the shelter, and there was no way Chaz would remember the face of a mere unawakened.

"What shelter are you from?"

Chaz asked again.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Walfred answered as nonchalantly as possible.

"I was just passing through and stopped by for a bit."

"Here? Why on earth..."

"I needed a bathroom. And I was hungry."

It was a fairly plausible excuse.

If you dropped your pants in negative 76-degree weather, you could lose some very precious body parts. And the hunger excuse was convincing enough too.

Chaz didn’t press the matter further.

Instead, he glanced at the Snow Wolf carcasses one more time and spoke.

"You’re pretty skilled. If you’ve got nowhere else to go, would you consider joining our shelter?"

A recruitment offer. Just the playbook he’d expected.

Bringing in a strong hunter meant strengthening the shelter’s overall power. But Walfred shook his head without even pausing to consider.

"Thanks for the offer, but I’m good."

"I can make sure you’re well taken care of." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I prefer being on my own."

Walfred adjusted the straps on his backpack.

It was a silent way of saying he didn’t want to keep talking.

"In that case, from here..."

"I’m planning on leaving anyway, you don’t have to say it."

Walfred cut Chaz off.

He was about to tell him to clear out.

The unspoken rule was that all supplies within a 1.86-mile radius of the shelter belonged to the shelter. Even so, Walfred had no intention of leaving empty-handed.

"In exchange, I took care of these for you, so taking this much should be fine, right?"

Walfred nudged the bloody Snow Wolf carcasses with the toe of his boot, then slung the backpack full of canned goods over his left shoulder.

Chaz nodded silently as if to say go ahead, and Walfred walked away without a hint of hesitation.

Howl!

The blizzard was still raging viciously.

Honestly, he wanted to stay in the store a bit longer, but wandering around looking for a different shelter beat sticking around with Chaz.

Walfred kept walking, ignoring the gazes of Chaz and the hunters drilling into his back.

---

After Walfred left the store.

Chaz quietly watched Walfred’s retreating figure as he walked out into the storm. Until he was completely swallowed up by the blizzard and disappeared from view.

Right then.

"Um, boss."

His subordinate Rickey spoke up.

His tone was somewhat cautious.

"Was it really okay to just let that guy go?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... the chief told us that if we found other hunters, we should bring them back to the shelter no matter what. Regardless of their rank, even by force if necessary."

The leader of the Newark Galleria Shelter.

Hector, a B-rank hunter with the water attribute.

He was a manpower hoarder. His philosophy was that the more hunters you had, the better.

Chaz, however, shook his head.

"As you saw, persuasion through conversation wasn’t going to work. More importantly, if we’d jumped him recklessly, our side would’ve taken way heavier losses."

"Huh? But we outnumber him by a lot."

"You idiots. Take a look at that."

In response to Rickey’s question, Chaz jerked his chin toward the Snow Wolf carcasses.

The one he was pointing at specifically was the body that had been split clean in half.

"That guy from earlier, he cut it down in a single stroke."

"Uh, couldn’t that have been done with a wind attribute skill? Like the Wind Cutter you use all the time, boss..."

"No."

As Rickey’s speculation continued.

Chaz shook his head. Then he spoke with strong conviction in his voice.

"This was sliced clean through with a melee weapon."

The reason he could say so with certainty was that Chaz himself was a wind attribute hunter.

More importantly, cuts made by wind attribute attack skills like Wind Cutter don’t leave traces of torn or burst flesh like this.

"Plus, there’s not even a hint of wind attribute skills having been used. Meaning he sliced it with pure raw strength, in one swing."

"Th-then that means...!"

Rickey’s eyes went wide.

The other hunters around them started murmuring too.

"To split a beast that size in half without skills, you’d have to be at least B-rank, right?"

"No, looking purely at physical ability, it could even be higher than that..."

"Right. That’s why I let him go."

Chaz nodded.

As if his analysis matched everyone else’s.

"Picking a fight with someone of that caliber for no good reason would have only hurt us."

"I, I see."

"You’re amazing as always, boss!"

At Chaz’s smooth answer, Rickey and the other hunters threw out flattering exclamations. Chaz let out a small smirk and turned around.

While his subordinates secured the supplies inside the store, he glanced one more time in the direction Walfred had disappeared.

’Just passing through, huh...’

It had to be a lie.

In a blizzard this fierce, only a lunatic would be wandering around without a destination.

There was definitely some kind of objective.

He didn’t know what it was, but he had no intention of digging into it. As long as the unspoken rules weren’t broken, there was no need to make enemies unnecessarily.

"Boss, we’ve gathered all the supplies."

"And we’ve got proof the search team was attacked."

"Good. We’re heading back."

"Yes, sir!"

Along with the hunters’ booming reply.

Chaz fastened the buttons on his thick coat tightly, ready to push back through the blizzard to the shelter.