The Beginning of Knife King's

When we entered the gate, I found that the area inside was entirely covered in a snowy forest. The temperature was extremely low, as if we were in the Arctic.

"Why does it have to be such a freezing place?" Alice said, shivering.

"Yeah, really. By the way, aren't you cold? You don't seem to be bothered at all," Lena asked me.

"I'm used to it. Oh, right, I've got something for everyone."

I took out white winter coats made from the fur of ice bears I had obtained in a dungeon.

"Here, winter coats. They're free."

"Thank you so much, Ren," the three of them said in unison before quickly putting them on.

"It's so warm," Seri said with a deeply satisfied look.

"So, what's our next move?" Lena asked me.

"We'll need to find a temporary shelter."

As soon as I finished speaking, we began searching for a cave where we could stay. However, while we were searching, I sensed a killing intent directed at us.

Thud! Thud! Grrrr!

An ice bear charged at us with an unmistakable look of hunger.

"An ice bear is here! I'll provide support," Seri said, but I immediately interrupted.

"No need to cast spells. It's just one ice bear."

Right after I spoke, I dashed toward the ice bear at a speed no ordinary human could follow and delivered an uppercut straight to its chest.

Thud! Thud! Crack!

I had held back a lot of my strength to capture it alive for food, but it seemed I used too much power. The ice bear's body ended up with a massive hole. Feeling guilty, I turned to apologize to everyone.

"Sorry, I was planning to catch it alive so we could eat it, but I guess I overdid it, and its body ended up exploding."

"It's okay, Ren, but it seems like you've gotten way stronger than before. What happened?" Lena asked, still stunned by what she had just witnessed.

"Ren, you've become way too powerful! What exactly have you been doing for the past five years?" Alice said, equally astonished.

While everyone was still in shock, I sensed another killing intent. This time, though, there were more of them—around twelve in total.

"Everyone! Get ready. They're coming. There are 12 of them this time," Alice said, sensing their mana.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Roar!!!

A pack of ice bears approached us from the front. I immediately drew my two signature daggers, crafted from the fangs of an iron-scaled serpent.

"I'll cast support magic for you, Ren," Seri said as she began chanting something.

"Perfect Attack! Agility Up!"

I felt my body grow incredibly light, as if I were weightless. However, there was no time to marvel at this sensation because the ice bears were already charging toward us.

Slash!

In the blink of an eye, I had slain the entire pack of ice bears. It was as if a violent storm had swept through, their demise happening so quickly that the sound barely kept up with my movements.

"That's amazing! My body feels so light. With Seri's speed buff, walking felt as fast as my usual running," I said, amazed.

"But, Ren, where did you get those daggers? I saw you pull them out of thin air," Alice asked, her face filled with shock.

"Oh, I took them out from my storage skill that I learned," I replied casually.

Then suddenly...

"Ren, we need to talk," Lena said to me in a tone that made me feel as if I were being hit by a raging snowstorm.

"Since you disappeared, you've improved so much—it's almost unreal."

"Eh! What do you mean by 'Rein disappeared,' Lena?" Alice immediately questioned Lena after hearing that statement.

"I'll explain later, but for now, let's focus on finding a cave."

We continued searching for a cave as the snowfall grew heavier. After walking for a while, we finally found a cave that was so dark inside that we couldn't see anything.

"This cave is big enough; it should be fine to stay here for the night," I said as I prepared to step inside. But then Seri suddenly spoke up.

"Wait, Rein! What if we encounter a group of bears, even more than the last time? What would you do?" Seri sounded genuinely worried about me.

"Don't worry about it. I have far more experience than you think. Alice, Lena, please take care of Seri. I'll go in and check alone."

After finishing my sentence, I ventured into the pitch-black cave. As I walked inside, I sensed no killing intent whatsoever, as if this cave had been abandoned for years. When I reached the end of the cave, not far from the entrance, the atmosphere inside was warm—warm enough for humans like us to sleep comfortably. I quickly returned to Lena, Alice, and Seri.

"The inside is safe, and it's quite warm too."

"Then let's go in," Lena said, and with that, we all entered the cave.

On our way in, I asked Alice to use fire magic to illuminate the path. When we reached the cave's end, I took out some firewood from my storage and asked Alice to ignite it with her fire magic to prepare for cooking. I then retrieved the ice bear meat from my storage and began roasting it. While I was cooking, Lena asked me a question.

"Rein, where have you been for the past five years?"

"I was likely teleported to a dungeon by a magic teleportation circle." As soon as I said that, Lena looked completely shocked. I decided to tell them the story of my five years spent surviving in the dungeon.

"So that means for the past five years, Ren has fought against thousands of monsters almost every day?" Seri asked me.

"Yeah, sometimes even tens of thousands."

"Tens of thousands! How did you manage to survive that?" Alice looked incredibly shocked.

"At first, it was really exhausting, but I just kept killing them until, at some point, I got used to it," I said. After I finished speaking, Lena hugged me.

"It must have been so hard for you, right?" Lena said in a soothing voice, like a goddess descending to comfort a human lost in darkness.

"Hey, you two, could you give some space?!" It looked like Alice was a little flushed.

"I'm sorry, Ren, for suddenly hugging you," Lena said, sitting back down and apologizing.

"It's fine. The meat is ready, so be careful not to let it get cold if you don't eat it now."

We all started eating the meat. As we ate, we casually talked about our individual journeys over the past five years. It was a moment I wanted to remember the most. We kept talking until the three of them eventually fell asleep, leaving only me still awake.

"Alright, now that they're all asleep, I guess I'll practice using this."

I decided to try controlling the armor made of my energy. I kept experimenting until, after what seemed like a whole day, I finally managed to control it—though for now, I could only control the arm part.

"Everyone, wake up! It's been a full day already."

"Yawn~ By the way, how did you know it's been a full day?" Seri asked me, just waking up.

"I counted the time. We've been in this gate for 86,400 seconds now."

"Wait a second, so that means you didn't sleep at all to be able to count the time?" Alice asked me.

"Yeah, I've given up on sleep for now. But now, we need to prepare to head out," I replied.

The three of them took some time to prepare, and then we set off. As we traveled, the snow fell even heavier than yesterday, and the snowstorm was much more intense. We had to push through it. When we finally reached the exit, I saw the exam proctor coming toward us to greet us.

"Congratulations! You're the only group to pass the exam. The other groups couldn't withstand the cold and had to give up. We're currently considering whether we should hold another exam," the proctor said, congratulating us.

While we were all celebrating, I suddenly felt an overwhelming killing intent targeting us, as if something bore a grudge against us.

"Excuse me, proctor, is this gate the Rank C gate?" I quickly turned to ask.

"Yes, it is. Why do you ask?" the proctor replied. As soon as he spoke, I began to feel an enormous aura leaking out, like water spilling over the edge of a cup.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The snowstorm grew fiercer, and the temperature dropped sharply. Then, I saw something—a creature with two horns, red eyes, and a body resembling a giant covered in blue fur. Its height seemed slightly taller than an ice bear.

"That's it! The Rank S monster, Yeti! You all need to get out of the gate, now!" The proctor immediately warned us.

Roar!!!

It roared, summoning a massive number of ice bears, and it also controlled the snowstorm, making it so intense that we could barely see them.

"Wait, does that mean you didn't sleep at all, and that's how you could count the time?" Alice asked me.

"Yeah, I've given up on sleeping for now. But we need to prepare to leave," I replied.

The three of them took some time to prepare, and then we set off. As we traveled, the snowstorm got heavier than yesterday, and we had to push through it. When we reached the exit, I saw the proctor coming to greet us.

"Congratulations! You're the only group that passed. The others couldn't withstand the cold and had to quit. We're currently deciding whether to hold the exam again," the proctor congratulated us.

While we were celebrating, I suddenly felt a strong killing intent approaching us, as if something was holding a grudge.

"Excuse me, is this the Rank C gate?" I quickly asked.

"Yes, why?" the proctor replied. As soon as he answered, I began to sense a huge aura building up, like water spilling over a cup.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The snowstorm intensified, and the temperature dropped sharply. Then I saw something—a creature with two horns, red eyes, and a body like a giant covered in blue fur. It seemed slightly taller than an ice bear.

"That's it! A Rank S monster, Yeti! Get out of the gate now!" The proctor immediately shouted.

Roar!!!

It roared and summoned a large number of ice bears, and it controlled the snowstorm so fiercely that we couldn't even see them anymore.

"I'll hold them off, you guys get out," the proctor said to us, but I immediately responded.

"It's too late. We're surrounded now."

When the snowstorm calmed down, we were surrounded by ice bears. While everyone was afraid of the approaching death, I had already faced such experiences many times before.

"Alright, anyone brave enough can come at me. I'll show you how it's done."

As soon as I said that, I created armor on both my arms, resembling dragon claws, in black and purple. The ice bears then charged at me.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I began to punch them with the power of a raging storm. Each punch of mine was so powerful that it shook the snow-covered ground around us. In just 30 seconds, I had killed all the ice bears, leaving only the Yeti.

Grrr! Thud! Thud! Thud! Boom!

The Yeti rushed toward me with an overhead punch. I returned the punch with my own overhead strike. As soon as my punch collided with its, a huge explosion occurred, shaking the entire snow-covered ground. The force was so strong that it even caused cracks to appear in the sky. We both continued exchanging punches at a speed as fast as the heaviest rain, but my speed and strength far surpassed the Yeti's, so it took most of my punches. After a while, it stepped back to regroup.

It gathered all its power into its right hand and charged at me.

"So, this is the final showdown," I said.

I then engaged in one last fist fight with it. Both of us unleashed our most powerful punches. When my fist collided with its, the sky didn't just crack; the combined overwhelming energy from both of us caused the sky to shatter into pieces, revealing a rift between dimensions. The snow-covered ground, which had only been shaking earlier, now exploded with such force that it turned the snowy area into a barren desert.

"Well, it's over. Looks like I put in a bit too much power and it disintegrated. I was planning to take its magical core and sell it," I said regretfully.

The final battle ended with my victory, and I quickly exited the gate without removing the armor on my arms. As I stepped out, I saw many adults entering the gate.

"Kid! How was it inside? Is the Yeti still there?" The director asked.

"Uh… I already killed it," I replied.

"Huh! Really?" The director looked shocked.

"Yeah."

The director walked into the gate and came out immediately, addressing everyone who had come to kill the Yeti.

"The Yeti's been slain. As for the payment, we'll pay as promised."

After saying that, the director patted my shoulder and looked at me with a stunned expression.

"Kid, I think we should talk about this later. Your friends are waiting for you at the school entrance."

The director then walked back to his office. I quickly ran to the school entrance, and when I arrived, Lena, Alice, and Seri were waiting for me.

"I'm back."

As soon as I spoke, Lena ran up and hugged me.

"Are you alright, Ren?" Lena asked with a happy expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You two need to stop being so sweet with each other," Seri said, pulling Lena away from me.

After that, we each went home to prepare for the next day's surrender.

End of Chapter 13

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