The Polar Bear's corpse dissolved into motes of light, breaking apart into fragments that fell like snow across the cavern floor. My breath fogged in the chill, though the silence now felt almost reverent.
[System Notice]
Boss Defeated.
Calculating Rewards…
The glow condensed into a neat scatter of loot. I crouched down, heart still pounding, and sifted through what remained.
First came the monster cores:
Wolf Cores (x12) – faintly pulsing shards, low-grade, no stronger than firewood to me now, but worth credits in bulk.
Snow Fox Cores (x7) – brighter, sharper resonance. Hunters in town would pay well for these to reinforce agility.
Musk Ox Cores (x3) – each one the size of a clenched fist, heavy with earthy mana. Valuable to strength-builders.
Ice Bat Core (x1) – a rare drop, small but dense. Good for alchemists.
Polar Bear Core (x1) – the true prize. Larger than the rest, radiating frost energy that pricked against my skin when I held it.
I placed them carefully into the leather pouch at my side, the combined glow casting a shifting pattern of light across the cavern walls. Even the weakest of them would fetch enough credits to matter.
But one item didn't fit the rest.
A book hovered above the pile, bound in crystalline ice. The sigils on its cover pulsed faintly, releasing a chill into the air.
[System Notice]
Skill Book acquired: Arctic Armor [D]
My eyes widened. Another skill? I hadn't expected that. Carefully, I pressed my palm to the cover. A flash of light surged through me, and the knowledge imprinted itself directly into my mind.
Frost crept along my arms, layering into a faint crystalline sheen before fading. The cold no longer stung so deeply.
[Skill Acquired: Arctic Armor (D)]
I summoned it again deliberately. My skin shimmered faintly, a thin armor of frost that hugged my frame. It wasn't bulky, but I could feel the durability in it. A shield, not just for the dungeon's bitter cold—but against blades, claws, and spells.
For the first time, I felt… balanced. Not just firepower, but protection.
I exhaled slowly, dismissing the armor and tying the pouch of monster cores tight. The thought of walking into the city with this haul stirred something in me.
Wolf cores for credits. Musk ox and fox cores for barter. And the Polar Bear core—worth more than everything else combined. Enough to catch attention if I wasn't careful.
I rose to my feet and cast one last glance at the cavern. Steam still curled from where my fire had burned through the frozen stone. The dungeon had tested me, but it had also given me more than I expected.
Infinite mana was my secret. Fire gave me offense. Arctic Armor gave me defense. And these cores… they would fuel my rise.
"This is just the beginning," I whispered, then stepped into the portal's glow.