like you never existed || TSCTIR

snowy plains

We gathered and prepared to step into the dungeon. It reminded me of the times in the army.

It was a strange experience stepping into the portal, and when I opened my eyes, a chilling desolate land filled with blizzards was displayed in front of me. I could vividly hear the howling winds rushing against the land, the snowflakes hitting my face and melting.

"Chaewon, you've been acting strange for a while now. Let's get moving! It's so cold, I wanna get it over with." The annoying puppy-like kid pulled me along. Thinking about it now, I don't know his name yet.

"Hey, you..." I was about to speak but was interrupted by howls that appeared from behind the trees.

The team immediately got in position, and wolves leapt out of the snow-covered trees. Their fur was covered with ice shards, their face vicious for blood. If you look closely beneath their pelt, you'd realise that they're nothing but skin and bones—perhaps another reason why they were so aggressive. They were desperate. It was a pack of about 8. Immediately surrounded, we were forced to wrap around in a circle.

Now. How to use my skills? Sorry that I'm just an old man from another world. I have no idea what it is like to have mana flowing through me. There isn't much I could use around here, and I've only got three daggers stashed away, most likely for emergencies. It wasn't good to use your final aces so soon.

"Ah, they're coming! Chaewon!! Use the snow to block them or something!" The puppy called, defending me who was still deep in thought.

Right, snow. There's plenty of snow. I tried to wave the snow on the floor to create a distraction. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard. Perhaps... I was a genius?

The wolves noticed the floating snow and ran around it; it wasn't the perfect material for a distraction. I realised the crowd control ability this could have. Like a shepherd herding sheep, I focused and slowly narrowed the wolves in one direction. The snow wasn't perfect... No, it was terrible. It immediately crumbled upon impact, as expected of snow. But the team members were quick on their feet; they immediately lashed out the moment the wolves were focused on something else, so that there was only about 3 left.

I tried to improve the snow. I started visualising compressing it; an ice ball big enough to smash their icy armour. It gradually got larger as I lifted it to the air, and the team members understood what I was trying to achieve. They rallied the wolves right below it and shouted ready. The others dodged out of the way as I let go of it.

I was surprised at the teamwork, and apparently, so were they. The team started patting me on the back. Damn. These brats all looked younger than me, except for a few.

The puppy tried to pat me on the back as well, but I shifted away quickly. He looked a little hurt, but he was still happy nonetheless. "Way to go, Chaewon! I didn't know you could do that!"

Me neither. It felt natural, so I'm guessing some parts of the original body owner's talents flowed into me.

"It was a shame that they were crushed completely, though. I think their fangs and claws are sold a good amount of money on the market." An older member of the group looked at the ice in contemplation, scratching his chin.

I perked up. "How much?"

"Hm, about 500 thousand to a million won?"

I slowly raised the ice and looked at their corpses. Surely there had to be some remaining goods, right? Sorry. I'll control it better next time. Sorry for damaging the goods.

"No, but that was amazing! I never knew your psychokinesis could... do all that! I thought you could only control those 3 daggers you had! Did you experience some breakthrough?"

So, I was completely wrong about those aces. This brat? How many things is he even hiding? Let me guess, the only thing he's shown is psychokinesis, and even then, it's a downgraded version. How do you live holding back so much, hm? I'll tell you this, he was bound to go crazy one day.

I replied half-heartedly. "I guess it must be."

"What's with that answer? You never tell me anything honestly." He huffed at me. "But it's whatever! I'm sure you have your reasons, Chae... ah, hack-choo!"

I stared at him as he tried to clean up the mess on his face. I swiped some snow under his nose. "Let's get going. It's getting colder." I looked towards the group who were waiting for us.

"Huh? Okay! Thanks, Chaewon!"

What a puppy. Chaewon, you should cherish this guy.

Our group continuously walked forward, defeating any monsters that appeared and occasionally stopping for short breaks. But we could never stay for long, since we'd freeze to death. I used these breaks to practice psychokinesis. The puppy took that chance to talk with me.

"Chaewon, I noticed you've been practising your skill a lot."

Huh? What, so what? Even skilled pianists need to practice every day...

"You must not have much mana left." He smiled, taking out a spherical vial filled with blue liquid from his pouch. "Here, take my mana potion. I'm sure you know this, but it's hard to tell when you don't have much mana left, as opposed to your HP. Save some mana for the boss, alright?"

Wow... And you dared to treat this angel of a kid so poorly? Wow, Chaewon. Some people might think you're just taking advantage of his good-hearted nature.

"...Yes. I'll use it well."

Having his gift received positively, he immediately warmed up and slung his arm around me. "Haha! I mean, don't worry about the boss since I'll take care of it! This Hyung will protect you!"

Hey. Did you forget who wiped away your snot earlier?

I pushed his arm off me and continued practising.

"Hey, has anyone seen Dohyun?"
I looked up at this. It's true— our group has been getting smaller. We had 20 people originally, and yet I can only see 14 on-site.

"Damn... It seems like more people are going missing. Let's stick close, everyone!"

We'd already been travelling for a while, and I had a feeling that the Boss would appear sometime soon. I looked at the compacted snow I created, in the poor shape of a knife. I was lacking in time. If I could just master this before the boss appears...

As if Satan heard my call, the earth rumbled, cracking the ground below and shaking the snow off nearby trees.

Hey... Is my luck really that bad...?? I was joking! Do you know what a joke is, Satan?!