The next day passed without incident. The dormitories had a few supplies and the party gathered what they could. Jinyoung found new winter coats to replace the ones they’d worn in. The coats had held up well against the weather, but doing battle with the wraith had shredded them. Willow’s in particular was burned up to the elbows.

Seunghyo made himself scarce while Hana took some time to investigate the structure itself. The only humans they’d come across up north aside from Seunghyo were the Frostbitten. But that didn’t explain why everything had been left untouched and where the Frostbitten had come from.

For Willow’s part, her fever had gone down to manageable levels, but her body ached like she had been put through the ringer. Every muscle in her body burned, but worse still, she had lost access to the System. It wasn’t common with mana-sickness, but it happened.

“How are you feeling?” Jinyoung asked.

Willow smiled weakly in response, but even that was exhausting.

It was a consequence of pushing past your own mana limits and drawing off your own health. Thanks to the Fire Stone, she hadn’t caused any irreparable harm to herself, but those limits were there for a reason. Until her natural mana reserves replenished naturally, she wouldn’t have access to any spells or skills that required mana.

Physically, her body felt like it needed another two days of rest. But mentally, she wanted to get out of the underground dormitory more than anything. A day and a half in an underground bunker had been hell and she wanted to be outside more than anything else.

The plan was simple. The capital city of the north was Pyong-gang, located another 7 kilometers north of their current location. At a steady rate, that was a 4 hour journey assuming no major complications. Complications like a roving horde of Frostbitten players or other monsters like the wraith they had faced just yesterday.

“Every day we wait here means we run lower on supplies,” Hana reminded them. “And we don’t have the Fire Stones anymore so we have to move quickly.”

Willow winced at the thought of moving above ground without the Fire Stones to keep them warm. It had been just bearable with their thick winter padding and the contained fire-magic before. Now, it would be ten times worse.

But now they were outside, the cold air on her face felt like a boon. The fever that had weakened and sapped her energy for so long was completely nullified. Without a fever to fight against, her body started to focus on other essential functions. The others, on the other hand, were struggling. Without the Fire Stones, Jinyoung’s movements were stiff and he kept his arms wrapped around his body. Hana didn’t give any outward signs that the cold was affecting her, but she was stumbling more than she normally did.

Seunghyo, as it turned out, never had a Fire Stone in his possession. While he was clearly not enjoying the cold, he didn’t have as much trouble adjusting to its effects as the others.

For hours, they trudged in silence. The terrain was much easier to navigate here. Instead of icy rock and frozen gravel, the ground mostly level and the few rocky outcroppings could be easily avoided.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

It was an hour before Willow broke the silence.

Status update.

Willow had noticed the icy silence after she woke up. Sunbae had been warm and attentive towards her, but she grew cold when Jinyoung or Seunghyo entered the room.

Jinyoung’s eyes went wide for a moment. He looked like he might respond, but Willow didn’t see one in the precious minute that followed. For a moment, she regretted her decision. The air felt colder in the purposeful silence.

Eventually, she realized that no one was going to respond.

Level 19, scholar. I’m still pushing into wisdom and luck. I still can’t access the system, she continued. But the burns on my hands and arms have healed. Physically, I’m at 80% but I should be back at full strength in a day or two.

Level 53, shield knight.

Willow didn’t think, she just reacted. Shit.

This entire time that they had traveled together, Hana had yet to level up. From their lessons at the Academy, Willow knew that Hana had been level 52 for at least two years. Increasing your level became extremely difficult and often time consuming after 40. It was common knowledge the highest level on record was 59.

I’m sorry, sunbae, Willow stuttered out. I didn’t…

Willow’s voice faded out. She expected Hana to say something. Perhaps even chide her, but no response was forthcoming.

Level 22, onion knight, Jinyoung said shakily. I received an item after the battle with the wraith. It’s called the Wraith’s Shroud. But, uh… we have a problem.

If Jinyoung sounded uncertain, it was with good reason. Thus far, the Onion Knight class had unlocked skills that were useful, but also painted a target on his back if they were ever to become public. More than any other skill [scan] had become a tool that any clan would want in their arsenal, but it could also be used against players.

When we beat the wraith, I unlocked a new aspect to my Scan skill, he said carefully. It allows me to learn more information about players and monsters.

So? Willow asked. It’s nothing new. You’ve been able to scan players and monsters this entire time, right?

This is different, Jinyoung responded. When we first arrived at the dormitories… Willow, you asked Seunghyo whether there was any way to communicate with the outside world. And he said no. And, the thing is… My scan skill doesn’t work the, uh… I saw something.

Hana grit her teeth. Jinyoung, there are only two options here. Either the recording Seah gave us to listen to was fake or Seunghyo was lying.

The cold air cut at his eyes and Jinyoung blinked in an effort to keep his eye dry. Completing the Hidden Quest unlocked the Third Eye aspect for Scan which had the vague description of revealing “additional information about players and monsters.”

I was curious about how it worked, so I tested it.

He could still remember the strange notification that appeared in his eyeline when they were talking. It was faint, but easily visible. A small red dot, visible just above Seunghyo’s head. Hana clocked it before he finished his explanation.

It’s a lie detector, she said in awe. You can tell when people are lying.