Chapter 88 – The Great Crossing (3)

The off-roader standing at the front of the group to clear the snow path like an icebreaker—my seat was on its roof.

Although it might look comfortable because I did not have to walk, as the expedition commander I had to manage the personnel, while also having to eliminate any risk factors with my mana gun if I discovered them.

It was the most exhausting position, playing the role of a kind of commander and watchman.

“Phew…”

Facing the blowing snowstorm directly without any shield, the tip of my nose stung with cold every time I breathed.

Yet, breathing through my mouth only made it harder to breathe because frost would form around my mask.

At that moment, the mutant attack incident suddenly came to mind.

‘Could I resolve something like this if I use mana?’

Previously, I had collapsed due to the excessive use of mana.

Natasha said when I woke up from the sickbed that my body was hot like a fireball, as if I were suffering from a fever.

She said she remembered it clearly because she thought it was a very strange phenomenon in this world where the sun was hidden by snow clouds and only coldness was filled.

‘It must surely be some kind of side effect of excessively using mana.’

A universal phenomenon in fantasy world settings called mana exhaustion or mana poisoning.

I was certain that the phenomenon Natasha spoke of originated from that.

Although I did not know the principle well since it differed by world setting, here the side effect seemed to manifest as fever boiling throughout the body.

Therefore, it meant that the body heated up the more I used mana.

Perhaps I could even adjust my body temperature as I pleased using mana.

‘I will know if I try. Let us start from the heart.’

After checking that the surroundings were safe and closing my eyes briefly, I focused on the flow of mana circulating inside my body.

The source of that flow was the heart.

It was a natural fact, recalling that the transformation of the snowfield beasts into magic beasts was due to the magic stones embedded near their hearts.

Although I did not know for sure, either a magic stone would be embedded in my heart, or a mana core would be settled there.

‘Judging by the waves, I would have to say it is the latter.’

It was so, seeing that the surging waves of mana and the heartbeat matched exactly.

Furthermore, unlike a magic stone, the mana core was a semi-permanent organ that semi-permanently produced a certain amount of mana according to the user’s magic power.

Just like the Eternal Magic created by Icing Techwind, the disaster of all this.

In the first place, it was also made of Icing Techwind’s mana core, which was also the reason it could become a perpetual motion engine.

From the perspective of magic engineering, this was certain as it was content recorded in the setting book of .

‘Then if I adjust this delicately…’

The reason I collapsed previously was because I had exceeded the amount of mana that the mana core could produce within a limited time.

A massive overload had visited my body, such as my muscles stiffening and the capillaries in my eyes bursting.

But it was not the case this time.

Because what I wanted to do was merely heat my body to maintain temperature.

There seemed to be no problem as long as I used a certain amount whenever needed.

“Hmm…!”

Opening my eyes, I began to pierce through the snowstorm with eyes of deep blue mana, or widely spread my mana sense to detect mutants.

Let alone magic, since I did not even know the way to properly utilize mana, it was the best and most ignorant method I could do right now.

It was a whopping thirty minutes later that the chill of my body completely vanished.

‘Has my magic power… become stronger?’

The duration and output were different from before.

Back when I was dealing with mutants in the ember, just using mana intermittently caused severe fatigue.

But now, even though I used it for thirty minutes straight and was still maintaining it, I only felt a slight fatigue and there was no burden at all.

I had no choice but to view it as my magic power, my mana core, being strengthened starting from that point.

And it must have been because I pushed myself until my life hung in the balance.

‘I cannot risk such danger every time just to increase my magic power. I must devise a way to safely increase magic power.’

Of course, it was an encouraging achievement.

Since I became able to constantly guard against the approach of mutants as the duration and output increased.

Since an active skill had become a passive skill, simply put, it felt like my combat power had doubled.

There was no reason not to strengthen this in the future.

However, no matter how good something is, one cannot weigh it against one’s life.

I had to prepare a proper training method.

Above all, I was convinced that just knowing the way to use mana properly would increase efficiency several-fold.

‘Roughly five months until visiting the Magic Ember… I might have to advance the timing.’

There would be no need to use such an ignorant method as overloading my body to generate heat.

Since there must be a way to convert mana into attributes, just as elemental categories of magic like fire magic and ice magic are divided.

Herman Melville’s command for me to head to the Magic Ember must have also meant to go find that method.

‘It would be nice to have a master at a time like this.’

It was a futile wish.

There was no way there would be another mage, who was now regarded like a legend.

It was even more so, seeing that Herman Melville had visited me secretly.

There was a sufficient reason for him to personally make an appearance and forge a connection just because I possessed the qualities of a mage.

‘Five months… it is still a very distant story.’

However, I had no choice but to stop my thoughts.

Because currently, to the point where five months felt like a distant future, I was on a perilous crossing road with a large crowd of about five hundred people.

The present was too unstable to imagine the future.

“Stop! We will rest here for today. Please prepare the camp as guided beforehand!”

A dark and white night where one could not see even an inch ahead unless they were a mage.

“We… can arrive alive, right?”

“Elder, you are speaking of something obvious. No one will die, so don’t worry about it.”

“Is that because of me? It’s all because of the children.”

“We will protect the children no matter what, so you just take care of your own body, elder. Since there will be no one to protect a talkative old man.”

“Haha, I have lived long. I was destined to have died in our ember long ago. So please do so. I entrust my grandchild to you.”

The first day of the great crossing of those who had lost hope seemed to foreshadow tragedy in such conversations, but

“Lord Aylen, they are following better than expected.”

“Are there any anomalies?”

“No. Perhaps because everyone has good physical strength, there are no patients except for Lord Randolph. Of course, only for now.”

“…”

Fortunately, it was passing without a single casualty.

* * *

The second day, when a harsh march of sixteen hours a day continued.

It was that night that Jeremy, who was performing the same role as me on the rear off-roader, came to find me.

“Is there something visible ahead? What are you staring at so intently?”

Leaping lightly onto the off-roader without a single run-up, he asked playfully.

“There is nothing. I was merely guarding, thinking something might appear.”

Should it be called beginner’s luck or God’s grace?

Entering the third day since setting foot on the snowfield, we had not encountered a mutant even once.

Since mutants were more terrifying than the cold for us whose defenses were lax, it was truly a blessing in disguise.

“By the way, what about keeping guard that you came here? It would be common for beasts to target the rear…”

In that sense, Jeremy leaving his post did not make sense, so I asked.

Since he possessed the most outstanding combat power among the group and was in charge of the rear.

Jeremy spoke with a displeased face.

“It sounds like you are rebuking me, is that right?”

“It is not meant that way…”

“I swapped shifts with Natasha, so no need to worry. I just came down to warm my body briefly because it was cold. I also have something to discuss separately.”

“I am sorry. I should have arranged replacement personnel; it is my fault.”

Jeremy spoke jokingly, but it was clearly my mistake.

Since this could also be viewed as a kind of troop management that a leader must learn.

And it could also be seen as a blunder toward Jeremy Scott, who was practically a benefactor.

“It is fine. One learns from failure. If you do not forget this moment, that is enough.”

However, he passed it off lightly.

It seemed he considered that while my boldness, unsuitable for my age, was boldness, the immaturity coming from short experience was natural.

“By the way, aren’t you cold? I haven’t seen you come down from up here.”

“Ah, well… I am fine. It is more bearable than expected.”

“Is that so? Youth is indeed good. I too once stayed up for days and nights bare-bodied in the snowfields.”

Since I could not say that I was actually heating my body using mana, I spoke that way.

“So what did you want to discuss that you came all the way here? It doesn’t seem like light conversation.”

When I turned the subject to avoid any potential suspicion, Jeremy spoke.

“It is about the crossing. Furthermore, it is also a matter of life and death for those people.”

“If you are referring to the marching speed, it is sufficient even now. According to calculations, roughly four days before the snowstorm arrives…”

“Are you pretending not to know that is not what I am referring to, or do you wish not to know?”

“Pardon?”

“I am talking about the disposal of the injured who will emerge in the future, although there have been none so far.”

“…”

I had no choice but to shut my mouth.

Because the problem Jeremy mentioned was a problem I had been feeling not from today, the second day, but immediately from yesterday, the very first day.

However, it was merely a problem I felt ‘vaguely’; when those words came out of Jeremy’s mouth, I reached the thought that I could no longer ignore the severity of the issue.

‘The choices are two. Abandon them, or embrace them…’

If we abandon the injured, the marching speed will be maintained, but we lose the most important thing, humanity.

If we embrace the injured, the marching speed will slow down several-fold, and we might meet a snowstorm in the snowfield and lose our lives.

Yes, this was not a matter of abandoning or embracing.

It was a matter of discarding humanity and preserving life, or throwing away life and not losing humanity.

Perhaps I had wanted to turn away until that cruel reality arrived.

However, because a single choice of mine in this world, which had become reality, influenced the lives of numerous people, I ended up crushed by that burden.

Whether I was a bloodless and tearless iron-blooded dictator in or whatever, that was merely a game.

‘But now it is reality. Get a grip, you are Aylen Vale…!’

Yet it was a problem that must be faced.

Because I have the responsibility to make all decisions.

Only then can I return home.

“I…”

In that manner, I made a choice.

Unlike a game where one merely clicked a mouse once, just how difficult a decision was… I learned that day.

Also the fact that the position of a leader would be even heavier than this.

However, this was the destiny I had to bear.