“Rynel!”

  The door flew open.

  A young man, drenched in snow, burst into the room, gasping for breath.

  “The chief sent me!

  They say… a strong light burst out from the Dragon’s Tears!”

  Rynel slowly lifted his head.

  “A light… burst out?”

  “And that’s not all.

  The chief thought something might’ve happened, so he told me to check the statue at the foothills, but…”

  The young man swallowed and continued.

  “The statue… is gone.

  Without a trace. Like it vanished.”

  Monero frowned and muttered.

  “···I was just about to rest. What a nuisance.”

  Even as he complained, he was already tightening his belt.

  It was only his mouth that grumbled—his hands were already gathering gear.

  Rynel looked at the young man quietly.

  “···Why come to me?”

  The young man bowed deeply.

  “The chief said…

  the statue has been releasing mana continuously, even if it’s extremely faint.

  And if a mana user touched it, they might be able to track it by following the residual mana.”

  He spoke with desperate eyes.

  “If it’s you, Rynel, you can do it.

  There’s no mage in this village. Please… help us.”

  Rynel didn’t answer.

  He looked down at his bracelet.

  Inside the red gem, mana stirred quietly,

  and a faint pressure spread along his arm, as if the power was seeping into him.

  Like an invisible thread tugging at his wrist.

  “···It’s pulling.”

  At that, Monero raised an eyebrow.

  “For real?”

  “This bracelet… it’s resonating with the statue.

  It leads northeast. Thin as a thread, faint—barely there.”

  They quickly explained the situation and left the house.

  The snow was already up to their knees, and the sun had fully set. Darkness had dropped.

  ◇

  “Boss… something’s really off.”

  One of the grave robbers spoke carefully.

  He glanced at the cloth bundle.

  “···Was it like this before?”

  the leader asked low.

  “No. When we stole it, there was no reaction at all.”

  The blizzard grew harsher.

  Each time snow slapped their faces, the cold sank into the bone.

  “Could it be… signaling our location to someone?”

  the man in the back said, his voice uneasy.

  “Shut up. Don’t say that kind of thing.”

  The leader spoke firmly and picked up speed.

  “Move faster.

  If we stop now… we lose direction.”

  But then,

  another grave robber faltered to a stop.

  “Boss… haven’t we seen this tree before?”

  “Why are you saying that now.”

  “I’m serious.

  That knot, and that branch sticking up.

  We definitely already passed this spot.”

  There was certainty at the end of his words.

  The feeling of snow swallowing their feet,

  the shape of rocks that appeared and vanished in the distance.

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

  Everything was familiar.

  “···It’s trying to keep us here.”

  the third man muttered.

  The leader bit down hard.

  Inside the bundle, the statue kept blinking with a red glow.

  Blink. Pause.

  Blink. Pause.

  Like it was exchanging signals with something.

  ◇

  Rynel stopped.

  The bracelet pulled tight for an instant, then went quiet.

  “···It stopped.”

  he said low.

  “It feels like the statue’s circling the same area.”

  Monero narrowed his eyes.

  “Lost in the snow?”

  Rynel brushed the bracelet and answered quietly.

  “No.

  The flow keeps twisting. The direction keeps changing. Like…”

  He steadied his voice, fixing his gaze northeast.

  “Like someone… is deliberately keeping it bound to that spot.”

  Rynel inhaled.

  “They’re trapped somewhere in the snow.

  They haven’t gotten away yet.”

  This was the last chance to catch them.

  The snowfall thickened.

  Rynel raised a hand slightly and pointed ahead.

  “Wait.”

  Both of them stopped.

  A long shadow rippled across the snow.

  The leader stared at them blankly, then scoffed.

  “What… kids?”

  There was no caution in his eyes.

  “Lose your way in the snow?”

  He rubbed his chin.

  “Sorry, but we’re not in a position to escort anyone.

  The village is the other way. Go back before you freeze to death.”

  Monero snorted and stepped forward.

  “A thief worrying about someone else?”

  He charged straight at the group.

  One of the men flinched, turning toward the leader.

  “Boss, that guy… looks like the village sent him to catch us.”

  The leader let out a short sigh.

  “···Then he’s not someone we can talk with.”

  He spread his hands lightly.

  “Illusion.”

  In an instant, identical silhouettes split to either side.

  As if shadows were rising out of the snow, two more ‘leaders’ stood there.

  “I’m leaving this baggage to you.”

  The leader spoke calmly.

  “You two, go down now.

  I’ll buy time.”

  “Yes!”

  The men moved fast.

  With bundles in both hands, they threw themselves into the snow.

  In one of those bundles,

  inside a tightly bound cloth,

  the shrunken dragon statue lay curled in silence.

  The leader watched until he was sure the load was secure in their hands, then nodded.

  “Monero.”

  Rynel called, short.

  “The two carrying it—take them.”

  “Yeah.”

  Monero answered with a single word and changed direction at once.

  He tore across the snow, charging at the two grave robbers like an arrow.

  In that moment,

  the leader murmured low.

  “Not a chance.”

  He reached out, and one of the illusions on his side lunged forward.

  A fake copy with only shape, clutching a dagger, sprinted diagonally for Monero’s back.

  But Rynel’s eyes flashed.

  Blue light leaked from the corners of his eyes and wrapped around the snowfall.

  “Rise.”

  A short command.

  Snow clumps shot up, then poured down in succession,

  stacking in an instant.

  A pure white wall rose higher than a waist.

  The illusion slammed into the snowbank, lost its line,

  its form warping as it was shoved back.

  “···He can pile snow up like that?”

  The leader narrowed his eyes.

  “···So he controls snow.”

  As the illusion broke, the leader took half a step back.

  A silent movement, like a shadow.

  Rynel didn’t answer.

  Instead, the blue haze spread further,

  and the snow underfoot began to swell, slowly.

  “Then…”

  The leader’s body blurred for a heartbeat.

  “I’ll show you a little more.”

  Six, in an instant.

  His silhouettes spread out and claimed the snowfield.

  Multiple illusions.

  From different directions, dagger-bearing figures rushed in at once.

  Rynel didn’t lower his gaze.

  He only moved his fingertips slightly.

  “Bind.”

  The snow whipped into a spiral.

  The piled snow surged without losing its direction.

  The illusions were shoved in as if swallowed, buried in the snow.

  One step behind.

  The real leader slid in at Rynel’s back.

  Shhk.

  A dagger reached for the base of his neck.

  But—

  “I won’t fall for it twice.”

  With Rynel’s voice,

  his body rotated half a turn as he thrust an arm out.

  Crack!

  Snowbanks surged up from both sides.

  The leader was flung back as if struck by the pressure.

  “···Not bad reflexes.”

  The leader stabilized midair.

  He landed lightly on the slick snow and regripped his dagger.

  His breathing had quickened, but his eyes were still relaxed.

  A flick of the hand.

  Another illusion burst from his side—this one straight in.

  Rynel raised his palm to the sky.

  “Press.”

  The snow piled high on the branches above

  compressed into a dull, heavy mass, as if it gained weight.

  Thud!

  One illusion was crushed under it and shattered.

  And in that instant,

  the leader appeared again.

  Front, underfoot, side.

  “Where do you think the real one is?”

  Rynel closed his eyes for a moment.

  Then—

  “Right here.”

  As his finger pointed, the snow under the leader’s feet surged up.

  Whoosh!

  A ribbon of snow snapped around his leg and twisted his stance.

  The leader barely kept his balance, but he dropped the dagger.

  Clink.

  Metal rang against snow.

  The leader breathed hard.

  Yet the corner of his mouth still lifted.

  “Looks like this won’t end easily.”

  He retreated.

  At the same time, more shadows of illusions spread across the snow.

  One, two, three, four.

  More this time.

  Faster, sharper.

  Their outlines blurred in the snowfall, real and fake mixing together.

  Rynel gathered mana into one hand.

  Snow swirled around his body like a vortex, carving deep tracks into the ground.

  “Useless numbers get erased.”

  Thud. Thud. Thud.

  Force poured through the snow.

  Three illusions shattered instantly.

  But—

  “The real one…”

  Someone whispered behind him.

  “…is here.”

  Shhk!

  The dagger drove in again.

  This time it was too close. There was no presence at all.

  Slice.

  His side was cut deep.

  Rynel inhaled sharply.

  Blood splashed.

  He immediately shoved himself back with telekinesis.

  A red trace stamped across the snow.

  The leader, dagger in hand, wiped at the blood once and twisted his lips.

  “You thought we were just thieves who’d grab a statue and run?”

  “Looks like you’re a little surprised.”

  Rynel pressed a hand to the wound without speaking.

  His momentum didn’t break. If anything, it sharpened.

  The leader lifted his hand again.

  Multiple illusions.

  Eight.

  They moved like shadows, swarming in at once.

  Rynel lowered his hand.

  And said one line.

  “No need to block them one by one.”

  He planted his hand on the ground.

  In an instant, the snow underfoot coiled tight, then erupted in every direction.

  Rumble—!

  Massive snowbanks spun, whipping up a blizzard.

  Vision vanished. Sound died.

  “If you don’t know who’s real…”

  Rynel’s eyes glowed blue.

  “Then you just sweep them all away.”

  The blizzard swallowed everything.

  White masses spun, cutting off even footsteps.

  The leader lowered his stance.

  He shot forward and slipped behind a snowbank in one breath.

  Step.

  He slid in from the side, killing even the sound—like a shadow.

  Fshhk!

  A dagger stabbed through the air.

  But this time—

  Thud!

  His wrist was caught.

  Cold, hard snow wrapped around it like a thread.

  “···Now I can see you.”

  Rynel muttered low.

  The leader’s expression twisted for an instant.

  “Ghk…!”

  Snow tightened around his wrist.

  At the same time, pillars of snow surged up around him.

  Crack!

  The leader slammed into the snow, then barely tore one foot free and endured.

  But his movement slowed.

  In that moment—

  Bam!

  Monero burst through the snow.

  With a crooked grin, he brushed off the powder.

  “Thought it was over,

  but this is exactly when it gets fun.”

  He stepped in beside Rynel naturally.

  “I caught the two carrying the bundle.

  The statue… it was in there, shrunken inside that magic cloth.”

  The leader sucked in air, forcing shaky legs to hold.

  “···Damn it. So it turns out like this.”

  But even in the snow, he was smiling.

  Not a tired smile—one that measured.

  “This is why I hate messy jobs.”

  Rynel lifted his hand.

  Pressure rose again with mana.

  Snow heaved and quietly tightened around the leader.

  Then the leader raised his head.

  “Wait.”

  Through the snowfall, his eyes stabbed straight into Rynel.

  “After all this… I’ve earned the right to talk, haven’t I?”

  Rynel and Monero met eyes.

  A short, hard silence.

  Rynel asked low.

  “Besides the statue, you took something else.”

  The leader shrugged.

  “Some credential? A rusty brooch? That kind of thing is just decoration.”

  “We were starving, and we needed money. That’s all.”

  “Liar.”

  Monero cut it off in one word.

  The leader swallowed a laugh.

  “Sure. Maybe I am.”

  “But you know it too. The world always works like that.”

  Rynel clenched the bracelet once.

  The red gem trembled, very faintly.

  “That cloth.”

  “Something in there… is waking up.”

  The leader’s eyebrow twitched—just slightly.

  Only for a moment.

  “Waking up?”

  He echoed, then lifted his chin as if nothing happened.

  “Then all the more reason to hand it off fast and be done with it.”

  Rynel stepped closer.

  “From the moment you touched that statue,

  this isn’t something that ends as theft.”

  Inside the cloth bundle, something pulsed once—faintly.

  Tap.

  As if, inside, a tiny crack opened a little wider.

  Monero swallowed, short.

  “···Hey. The bundle just moved.”

  The leader’s smile stiffened.

  Rynel didn’t look away.

  “Talk.”

  “What did you do to the statue?”

  The leader slowly licked his lips.

  Then he said low,

  “We just… covered it, shrank it, and carried it.”

  “That’s really all. We didn’t do anything else.”

  “Then that’s worse.”

  Rynel said quietly.

  “It means you picked up something you shouldn’t have… and walked off with it.”

  Rynel raised his hand.

  The snow began to move again.

  “Conversation’s over.”

  Monero stepped in front.

  “Now we bind him, and take him back to the village.”

  The leader gave a small laugh.

  “Fine. Then…”

  His gaze flicked toward the bundle.

  “The moment you’re holding that,

  let’s see who ends first.”

  And with those words—

  From inside the bundle,

  a red light flashed once, sharply.