TGMC 13

Chapter – 13

The Only Spirit Mage of This Era

It was a day when wind and rain were raging.

At the summit of Mount Cook, covered in perpetual snow, he suddenly appeared.

He did not know how he came to exist.

The only thing he knew was this:

He must not leave this land recklessly.

His entire body shone transparently like ice crystals, and for a while, he wandered around Mount Cook, searching for others like himself.

But he could not find anyone like him anywhere.

Then one day.

A loud noise came from the sky, and a helicopter landed at the summit of Mount Cook.

Three people got out of the helicopter.

Seeing them, he noticed that their forms were somewhat similar to his, and he flew up, shouting loudly:

[Hey! Can you hear my voice?]

But there was no answer.

They didn’t recognize him at all.

Even if he shouted loudly into their ears, or brought his face right up close, they showed no reaction.

They weren’t deaf.

They were talking among themselves.

“Until yesterday, the wind was so strong that I thought we’d have to give up the challenge.”

“But seeing the weather clear up today, I guess it’s fate.”

“Right. Let’s be the first three to conquer this mountain today.”

“Then shall we try skiing?”

Boldly shouting, they were skiers planning to ski down New Zealand’s highest mountain, Mount Cook, from the summit.

A helicopter sent by CNN was already filming their every move.

“Shall we go?”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

The three of them began skiing down the summit of Mount Cook.

Before long, they were using the over-3,000-meter Mount Cook as a giant ski slope.

[So that’s what skiing is. Maybe I’ll try it too.]

At that moment, he made up his mind.

He was able to ride a plate made of ice.

Since then, whenever he had a chance, he skied on Mount Cook, and each time, an avalanche would begin.

But today.

Something unexpected happened.

Across the lake, among hikers trekking, he saw someone like himself.

[No way. There’s someone like me.]

After twenty years of wandering alone on Mount Cook, discovering someone like himself was an immense joy.

It meant he was no longer alone.

If he had a heart, it might have burst from excitement.

[Does that being know who I am?]

After a brief hesitation, he decided to meet them in person.

He hurriedly ran along the mountain ridge on his ice plate.

At the same time, a massive avalanche began along the path he was taking.

Grrrrrrrr

A strange sound came from Mount Cook.

Susan, a veteran guide of the Happy Tour, immediately sensed that something unusual was about to happen.

“Oh my God.”

Mount Cook was collapsing.

The perpetual snow piled on the mountain suddenly collapsed, sending a huge avalanche toward Hooker Lake.

The avalanche was massive, almost enough to swallow the lake itself.

Although avalanches occurred frequently, an avalanche of this scale was rare.

As she stopped trekking and watched, the people following her also watched in awe, their jaws dropping.

“I’ve seen documentaries on YouTube, but seeing it in person is terrifying.”

“If we were down there, we’d have been buried immediately, and no one would have found our bodies.”

“Yes. Avalanches can descend at up to 130 km/h, carrying thousands of tons of snow. When climbing snowy mountains, you must always be aware of potential avalanches. Fortunately, it didn’t reach this far.”

She was right.

The avalanche that almost swallowed Hooker Lake diminished and finally disappeared.

But the one who caused the avalanche had already achieved their purpose.

[You can hear my voice, right?]

The ice spirit, sparkling like a diamond all over, was staring at Minwoo.

The avalanche turned toward this side.

Moreover, riding atop the moving snow was the ice spirit he had seen earlier.

“I could have been swept away if I wasn’t careful.”

The opposite side of the lake was already covered in snow.

Large trees had been uprooted by the avalanche, showing just how powerful it had been.

“Earlier, that…”

Before he could finish,

[You can hear my voice, right?]

A beautiful voice spoke.

The being appeared before him.

The ice spirit, sparkling all over like a diamond.

Seeing the ice spirit staring straight at him, he hesitated whether to respond or pretend not to know.

Considering the avalanche it had caused, it seemed dangerous.

It was likely a troublemaker.

If it was an uncontrollable spirit, it was best to ignore it.

[Where is he? Show me him. I’ve been alone here for twenty years. I want to meet him.]

The ice spirit spoke in a long, earnest voice.

Hearing its story tugged at his heart.

He thought he might have gone crazy if he had been alone for so long.

“Let’s at least make it possible to talk.”

The secret was already revealed.

He could no longer pretend not to know.

But there were too many people around.

If he spoke out loud here, people might think he was insane.

Luckily, he had about an hour of free time, so he decided to move to a less crowded spot to talk.

“Mom, I’m going to the restroom.”

“Okay. I’ll look around the lake a bit.”

Hooker Lake looked even more beautiful with the snow piled by the avalanche.

Most people were busy taking photos.

Pretending to go to the restroom, he moved behind, out of sight, and finally spoke to the spirit.

“Hello.”

[Oh my God. You really can hear my voice.]

“Yeah. Somehow it turned out that way. First, who are you?”

[I am the ice spirit trapped here.]

“Your name?”

[I don’t have a name.]

A nameless ice spirit.

First, he called Hoya.

Hoya looked at the ice spirit and spoke.

[You look very young. When did you realize your existence?]

[About twenty years ago.]

[Here’s some advice. Persuade this one and form a contract. Once the contract is made, you will be able to leave here. Chasing this one may also let you meet other spirits, so it’s two birds with one stone.]

Hoya disappeared after giving his advice.

As the nameless ice spirit tilted its head, Bangul appeared.

At that moment, the ice spirit’s eyes widened.

[Ah, you’re beautiful.]

Meanwhile, Bangul glanced at the ice spirit and telepathically conveyed his opinion.

[He looks okay, but seems kind of slippery.]

Apparently, Bangul’s first impression wasn’t great.

Which made sense—the ice spirit had just caused an avalanche while moving across the mountain peaks.

[I’m not sure if my uncle needs this one.]

Thinking about where the ice spirit could be useful, he considered that it had no use for farming.

Then, after remodeling the pension, maybe the ice spirit could help.

‘Since it’s an ice spirit, maybe it could lower the room temperature like air conditioning.’

With the increasingly hot summers due to abnormal weather, keeping the room cool would be valuable.

However, Bangul didn’t seem pleased.

[Tch, I can do that better!]

Ah, that’s true.

Bangul was a water spirit, the ice spirit was, well, an ice spirit.

In a way, Bangul was the superior version.

Wait. Could Bangul be annoyed because it might intrude on his territory?

Anyway, as he debated whether to bring the spirit back, it kept hovering around Bangul.

It seemed captivated by him.

[If you take me, I’ll do anything you ask!]

As soon as it realized the situation, it clung eagerly.

But to bring it along, he had to form a contract.

The most important point: both must know each other’s name.

Bangul and Hoya knew the names before the contract.

But this one had no name.

‘Hoya, what do we do if it has no name?’

[One way. You give it a name yourself.]

‘Me? Can I really name a spirit?’

[You’re the only one who can see and talk to us, so you’re qualified. Though your naming sense might be questionable.]

What?

This guy!

The ice spirit, listening silently, looked at him expectantly.

[Are you going to give me a name?]

“Uh… yeah, I guess I have to…”

Even Bangul, who had been annoyed by the ice spirit, suddenly looked at it with pity.

Then he spoke telepathically:

[Sorry about this. My uncle’s naming sense is terrible.]

[No, no. You’ll give a great name.]

Hah, really.

Unbelievable.

Wait. I’ll give it an awesome name.

Many names popped into his mind and disappeared.

‘Since it’s an ice spirit, the name should relate to ice. Hmm… Kkongkkong? Ddaengddaeng? What should I do?’

He thought hard but couldn’t find a fitting name.

Asking Hoya and Bangul didn’t help either.

“From now on, your name is Ice.”

The answer was simple: straightforward.

Since it was an ice spirit, he decided to call it Ice.

[It’s such a pretty name! Thank you!]

“Ice.”

A very ordinary name.

But for one who had been nameless for twenty years, it was enough to make it extremely happy.

He spoke to Ice:

“If you want to make a contract with me, just ask me.”

[Understood. Will you make a contract with me?]

“Sure. Let’s get along from now on.”

At that moment, as with Bangul and Hoya, he felt their souls intertwining.

[Wow.]

Ice was surprised.

It looked at him and asked:

[Who exactly are you?]

Hoya proudly answered instead:

[He is the only spirit mage of this era.]