Luke opened his inventory and tapped on the newest addition. A brief shimmer flickered on the screen as the item's description appeared, glowing faintly in the air before him.

His eyes narrowed.

It's useful… but not for me.

[Yeti Fang (Uncommon) Description: A longsword forged from the fang of a furious Yeti. Requirement: Level 5+ in any Fighter class.]

So that was the catch. He couldn't use it. Not because of strength or skill, but because his class didn't qualify. Still, he tried equipping it. Nothing happened. The system rejected the action, and the weapon refused to materialize in his hand.

With a quiet sigh, he dragged the item into Princess Charlie's inventory slot.

Good to know I can equip her with class-restricted weapons like that…

Princess Charlie summoned the weapon—but without her arms, it dropped to the ground with a dull clatter. Luke walked over and picked it up. It was heavier than he expected. Solid. Powerful.

Still, at least now he'd confirmed something: he could interact with the weapon through her. That much worked.

But he knew better than to hope. The system wouldn't be fooled. The sword didn't recognize him. It didn't respond to his stats or his class. He wasn't a Fighter. And no matter how clever the workaround seemed, the system would never bend for him.

Which meant...

The weapon was useless to him.

Allison, leaning against a tree nearby, watched with folded arms. He gave a nod of approval.

"That's going to be real useful on the road."

Luke glanced toward the distant wall of the kingdom, just visible along the horizon. The wind stirred his cloak.

"Yeah," he replied. "Let's get moving."

***

The snowstorm hit harder than either of them had expected.

"Dig faster!" Allison shouted, his voice nearly swallowed by the wind.

They clawed at the ground with frantic urgency, hands tearing through the snow as it piled up around them. Allison's pace faltered quickly—his bare fingers turned red, then numb. The cold was merciless.

Luke, however, pressed on. His dungeon-forged gloves granted him precious resistance, and he kept digging with grim determination.

"That's deep enough!" Luke called out to Charlie over the howl of the storm.

He flung open his wolf pelt cloak and spread it across the base of the pit. Allison did the same, tossing his cloak to Charlie. Without hesitation, she moved to cover the entrance.

Both boys dropped into the narrow burrow, curling in on themselves against the cold. Charlie pulled the remaining pelt over the top and sat on it, anchoring it down with her own weight to keep the wind from ripping it away.

Outside, the blizzard screamed like a starving beast.

"Shit… it's freezing," Allison muttered through clenched teeth, shivering uncontrollably.

Darkness wrapped around them like another layer of ice—but then, with a soft flick, Luke summoned a flame from his ring. It flickered to life, casting dancing orange light across the tight space. Warmth crept into the air, slow but steady.

"If it weren't for your gear," Allison murmured, cradling his frozen hands near the flame, "we'd have frozen to death before the second storm even hit."

This wasn't their first time doing this.

Since leaving the Yeti-haunted forest, they'd been forced to dig makeshift burrows with every new storm. One after another. It had already been a full day of trekking across endless snowfields—and not a single sign of civilization.

In a standard tutorial, they might've expected checkpoints. Maybe even groups of survivors. But nothing about this place was standard.

Every single step forward made that more obvious.

Stolen story; please report.

Luke had already tested Charlie's new race skill: Basic Bone Regeneration. The process was slow but functional. It hadn't been enough to fully restore both her arms—barely enough for one, actually—so he returned her to his soul space. Twenty-four hours later, she came back whole.

The skill had clear value. It was far from perfect, but still better than waiting a full day without her. Luke suspected if he poured enough stat points into her Vitality and Intelligence, she could heal more and faster.

The HP and MP drain will be a problem long-term, though. But if she ever gets wiped out in battle, this could mean the difference between returning... or staying dead.

"We'll reach the wall by this time tomorrow, if we keep pace," Luke said.

Across from him, Allison huddled closer to the fire. His fingers were a pale purple, and Luke frowned as he noticed the early signs of frostbite.

"That's the hope," Allison replied through clenched teeth. "The tutorial mentioned the inside of the city isn't this cold. Just gotta survive until then…"

The fire crackled gently between them, a small, flickering flame pushing back against the chill. Its warmth was fragile—temporary—barely enough to fight the storm that howled just beyond the walls.

Outside, the blizzard raged on. Unforgiving. Unrelenting.

A force of nature that cared nothing for who lived or died beneath it.

But tomorrow, they'd reach the wall. The edge of the kingdom.

And beyond that?

Things wouldn't get easier. They'd only get more complicated.

***

The storm hadn't stopped.

Most blizzards came and went—brief, brutal flashes of nature's wrath that faded within minutes, maybe an hour at most. But this one… it had been raging for over four hours, and it showed no signs of slowing. The wind screamed like a chorus of dying spirits, hurling itself against the frozen earth with a fury that felt anything but natural.

Inside the cramped burrow, the world was still, quiet—except for the muted howling beyond the furs that covered the opening.

Luke had dimmed the flame of his ring. Instead of letting it burn openly, he focused on something else: mana control.

By channeling just enough energy into the artifact, he could maintain a steady warmth without producing visible fire. It required patience and precision—something he'd been practicing since their descent began.

It wasn't much. But it was enough.

Enough to keep the walls from icing over. Enough to keep their breath from turning to frost. Enough to keep the cold from becoming death.

Their shelter, for now, was not a tomb.

Allison was sleeping—or at least pretending to. Luke didn't mind. The guy was always alert, even in rest. But Luke was the same way. Even when his eyes drifted shut, his instincts remained razor-sharp.

With the storm refusing to die and no point in wasting time, Luke pulled up his system interface and opened his skill options.

Five choices appeared.

One immediately unsettled him.

A demonic skill.

He stared at it for a moment, heart pacing just a little faster. The idea of leaning deeper into his demonic side always left him with a pit in his stomach. With each new choice, it felt like he was drifting further away from being human.

But he also knew something else.

Right now, power mattered more than pride.

He needed every edge he could get.

The first skill was:

[Advanced Survival Instinct (Human)]: Gain deep knowledge in wilderness survival, including hunting, fishing, foraging, and finding shelter. Invaluable for long journeys or resource-scarce regions. However, its usefulness is limited in urban areas or highly technological environments.

This was an excellent skill, one that gave him knowledge he didn't have. Even with the basics of survival, there were things he didn't know, and that skill would cover all of his needs.

The problem was that his concern wasn't unfounded. Instead of rarity, the skills were showing him the race they belonged to.

The second skill had a sharper edge to it.

[Enhanced Five Senses (Human)]: Sharpen your senses beyond human norms. Detect faint sounds, hidden movements, and scents with pinpoint precision. Surprise attacks become far less effective.

That was closer to what he'd call a "superhuman" skill. It wasn't just practical—it had real battlefield applications. A heightened awareness of everything around him, down to the breath of an ambusher or the vibration of footsteps across snow.

But the third skill…

Luke's hand froze over the interface.

[Poisonous Blood (Demon)]: Your blood contains a mild toxin. Any enemy who makes direct contact with it will suffer its effects. With further upgrades, the venom can become significantly stronger—and eventually lethal.

He stared at the words.

My own blood... as a weapon.

A twisted part of him saw the potential immediately. With his throwing knife mastery, it wasn't hard to imagine what he could do—coat a blade with his blood, let it fly, and watch the toxin do the rest. Silent. Unseen. Deadly.

The perfect tool for an assassin. But it came at a cost. Not just mana or health. It was a choice. A step deeper into the abyss.

Luke took a slow breath, eyes narrowing as the storm howled louder outside.

One skill granted survival. One granted awareness. The third offered something else entirely.

Power. Real power.

Would he give in to his human side, or his demonic one?

As a Half-Demon, Luke understood now—his racial skills would always come with a choice. Human instincts versus demonic power.

The fourth option appeared on his screen:

[Mental Focus (Human)]: Sharpen your concentration to an extreme degree. Greatly enhances your ability to perform tasks requiring precision, such as deciphering ancient texts, solving intricate puzzles, or executing meticulous actions. However, this skill has no direct impact on combat.

It looked unimpressive on the surface. But Luke saw what many might miss. In battle, focus could be a deadlier weapon than strength. He thought back to the moments when his mind slipped into that eerie stillness—the pure clarity of an assassin about to strike. This skill… it felt like a way to harness that state permanently.

Had the Poisonous Blood skill not appeared, he might have chosen this one without hesitation—but now, he hesitated. It wasn't just a decision about utility. It was about identity.

Poisonous Blood was lethal. Silent. It turned his own body into a weapon—a perfect complement to his style, his mindset. It was efficient, elegant, and merciless. It was everything a demon would choose.

And yet, it wasn't the last choice.

The final skill appeared, and in a single breath, all the other options vanished from his mind. His pulse slowed. His instincts, sharpened through countless near-deaths, screamed not in warning but in awe.

This wasn't a skill. It was temptation incarnate—a demonic power that eclipsed the rest, not just in danger, but in sheer potential.

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