Nic checked the man's condition one more time, and he was truly dead—his body covered in neat, clean slash wounds.
"Hm… was this the work of wild beasts? Or the faction Fino mentioned?" Nic muttered.
[ Master Nic, there is an entity a few meters from here. It is standing on top of the highest snow mountain ahead. ]
Nic stood up and narrowed his eyes, but he couldn't see the tall snow mountain because the falling snow blocked his vision.
"Leave it, Zeta. I won't make any heavy decisions at the beginning… I'll gather more information first," Nic said as he buried the corpse deeper into the snow.
Nic continued his journey and found another small town that looked similar to Fino's previous town.
However, something was heading toward him. It seemed like Nic really couldn't relax in a place like this.
Nic saw what looked like a rabbit-like figure running like a human. As it got closer, he realized it was just a jacket with rabbit ears on the hood. The figure stumbled and fell, panting heavily.
Nic approached. "What's wrong?"
The girl in the rabbit outfit grabbed Nic's leg tightly. Her face, which had been hidden before, was now clearly visible—she was crying and looked panicked as she pointed behind her.
"Please take me away! I beg you!!" she pleaded desperately.
"Take you away? Explain why first," Nic asked calmly.
The rabbit girl explained that she had just become a high-caste fugitive because she stole a heater from there.
"N-now the Predator Faction is chasing me! Please!" she cried while still clutching Nic's leg tightly.
Nic stared at her sharply, then smiled and nodded. "Sure. Come on, follow me."
Nic casually turned and walked back the way he came. The rabbit girl slowly stood up and followed behind him.
But when Nic suddenly glanced back, the rabbit girl was already pointing a knife at him and nearly struck him.
Nic had been ready. He immediately grabbed her hand. He had already realized something was wrong earlier because his Anti-Lie passive had activated.
"Is attempted murder something normal around here?" Nic asked with a smile.
The rabbit girl slapped Nic's hand away and jumped backward, taking a stance to attack again.
"I'M SERIOUS, HAND OVER EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!" she shouted.
Nic looked confused. "What do you want from me? Do I look like I'm carrying luxury goods and a big bag? I'm not carrying anything—just this crow. Want it?" Nic said, pointing at his crow.
The rabbit girl grew irritated. "UGH, YOU'RE SO USELESS, JUST DIE ALREADY!!" She leaped forward, attempting to slash Nic with her knife.
Her movements were brutal and reckless. Nic easily dodged all her attacks.
Then a violent wind began to blow, signaling the arrival of the snowstorm that usually appeared in the low-caste territory.
"DAMN IT, WHY NOW?!" the rabbit girl panicked, staring in horror as she failed to find shelter. The snowstorm was already only a few meters away from them.
"Haha… I'm going to die," she muttered hopelessly.
The rabbit girl looked at Nic, who was standing calmly while staring at the approaching storm.
"Ah… that soft snow is coming to embrace me…" Nic said, spreading his arms.
"What is that idiot even doing?" The rabbit girl didn't care and immediately ran, desperately trying to find the nearest hiding place.
A few seconds later, the snowstorm hit them directly. The rabbit girl failed to hide in time—the storm was too fast.
Nic activated all of his God-type defense and survival skills, then stepped forward, forcing his way through the blizzard.
"This is insane!!" Nic shouted as the thick snowstorm struck him so hard that he could no longer see anything.
Even though he endured it, Nic was eventually buried under a massive pile of snow.
Inside the snow, Nic created a small space so he could breathe. Then he heard what sounded like several people passing by, their voices loud and crowded.
"…"
Nic stayed completely still. If he moved even slightly, the snow above him would shift, and he would be exposed.
Then he heard the rabbit girl's voice screaming for help. It sounded like she had been captured and was being dragged away.
After the surroundings became quiet again, Nic dug upward.
"Hm… so many footprints."
There were numerous footprints in the snow, and some even resembled dog tracks.
"This shouldn't be a dog… a wolf?" Nic thought.
The footprints headed in a different direction—not toward the town Nic had intended to visit.
Curious, Nic decided to follow the tracks while continuously hiding his aura.
There was one long, straight trail in the snow—the rabbit girl's body being dragged.
"This is strange… my Anti-Lie passive activated, which means her story was a lie… but why was she actually captured?" Nic thought.
Nic asked Zeta.
[ It could be that her story was indeed false, but her being a fugitive might still be true, Master Nic. Your Anti-Lie passive condenses everything into one judgment—if even one part is false, it activates and marks the entire statement as a lie. ]
"I see… So she probably desperately needed money earlier. Her survival instincts kicked in, and she couldn't ask properly," Nic muttered.
After walking for some time, Nic noticed that the footprints suddenly disappeared—completely clean. There were no traces left at all. He arrived at a vast open field with no clear direction.
"What the hell… am I lost? Noctis, go and scout the area."
Noctis immediately flew off to gather information.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense.
"Perfect timing. I was just looking for some material to have fun with… Looks like there's new prey," a faint female voice echoed from behind the snow.
Nic searched for the source of the voice, scanning the entire snowy area, but there was nothing.
"This can't be a hallucination…" Nic thought.
And then, behind Nic, someone appeared holding a loudspeaker before tossing it aside. She walked slowly, dragging her weapon across the snow toward him.
Her appearance was very similar to Snow Sniper, but on her head she wore a hood shaped like an Orca's head.
"HEY, SWEETHEART… WANNA PLAY WITH ORCA??" she grinned widely.
Nic instantly knew—this was the Predator Faction that Fino had mentioned. But why did he encounter them so quickly?
Unlike the silent Snow Sniper, Codename Cold Orca was completely insane and seemed to enjoy playing with her prey.
"I have no business with you," Nic said calmly.
"I have business with you," Cold Orca replied as she immediately threw her sharp weapon toward Nic and rushed after it, preparing to attack with her other weapon.
Nic had no intention of dealing with this faction yet, but it seemed they insisted on approaching him first.
"What a hassle."
Nic tried to evade, but Cold Orca's attacks were incredibly precise and deadly serious. Every time Nic blocked, she instantly chained into another relentless attack, forcing his hands to be slashed multiple times.
Nic was still hesitant to strike back because he would definitely win instantly. So he chose to endure instead.
"…" Cold Orca noticed that Nic wasn't fighting back, and she grew bored.
She threw her weapon in front of Nic. "Pick it up, come on—fight me!!" she grinned again.
The moment Nic picked up the weapon, she suddenly dashed forward and tore apart Nic's thick winter outfit, ripping it to shreds and leaving him with only his regular clothes that couldn't withstand the snow.
"Oops~ sorry, looks like you're going to freeze to death~" Cold Orca laughed.
At that moment, the rabbit girl's voice was heard again. She was running while crying for help, her hands covered in scratches.
Cold Orca looked at her. "Huh? She actually tried to escape?"
Just as Cold Orca was about to capture her, a sniper shot rang out. The rabbit girl collapsed—her leg had been shot precisely.
It was Snow Sniper.
Nic was surprised. Wasn't Snow Sniper not supposed to descend to the low caste? Why was she here?
Snow Sniper walked toward the fallen rabbit girl, followed by the other members.
"This stupid rabbit already knew she couldn't escape, yet she still tried to act tough," said the woman wearing a Bear hood.
They looked toward Cold Orca. "What are you doing over there?" White Bear asked.
Cold Orca told them there was a new toy who wasn't from here. Orca immediately brought them to where Nic had been.
But Nic was no longer there.
They turned back toward where the rabbit girl had fallen. There was only blood left—no trail leading anywhere. She had vanished.
Snow Sniper looked irritated. "Why… was no one guarding her?" she asked coldly.
They began blaming each other, while Orca just laughed.
Suddenly, Snow Sniper aimed her sniper rifle at Cold Orca's forehead. Her eyes were cold and sharp—she was nearly pulling the trigger.
"This is your fault. If my target truly disappears, my bullet will go through your head."
Orca's cheerful expression vanished, replaced by irritation. She knocked the rifle aside.
"Don't act so high and mighty, damn it. It was your fault for letting her go. Because she escaped, my toy escaped too!"
Orca raised her weapon and pointed it at Snow Sniper.
White Bear suddenly shouted excitedly, "HAHAH, COME ON, FIGHT YOU TWO!!"
The tense atmosphere was interrupted by their leader, White Wolf, who arrived accompanied by two white wolves.
The wolves let out a deep, echoing growl, signaling that they were angry.
"Don't make me even more irritated with your behavior. Finish your own tasks so things don't get messy."
White Wolf ordered them to disperse, as another storm would arrive soon.
White Bear looked disappointed. "Ahh, there goes my rare show…"
Snow Leopard kicked her from behind. "You're so noisy, crazy bear."
"Huh?! How dare you, damn it!!" White Bear roared and chased after Snow Leopard.
But the leopard was too fast to catch. They gradually scattered in different directions.
When White Wolf was about to leave as well, his two wolves sniffed something and approached the rabbit girl's blood, barking as if they sensed something.
White Wolf looked at it and felt the same suspicion. But since nothing was visible, he ignored it and left—he was busy.
---
After everything was safe, Nic revealed himself.
Nic had used God of Illusion to make himself invisible.
He had also covered the rabbit girl so she wouldn't be seen, keeping the illusion active for so long that his body had grown slightly stiff.
"Good thing we weren't discovered. This is insane—why were they all gathered here? Are they on a mission? Most importantly, this rabbit girl must be an important target… even Snow Sniper was here and shot her…"
Nic asked Zeta if they were all high-caste.
[ They are all high-caste. ]
"Then wasn't Snow Sniper not supposed to descend to the low caste? Why is she here?"
[ It is possible she did not descend directly from the high caste, Master Nic. She may have descended to the mid-tier area, which is close to the low caste, and she is likely accustomed to operating there. ]
"Oh, that makes sense… They're that mysterious Predator Faction that can appear anywhere. For now, I need to bring this girl to the nearest low-caste town and treat her. It would be cruel to pretend I don't care."
Nic healed her leg first to stop the bleeding, then bandaged it using the torn fabric from his outfit that Orca had ripped apart.
After that, Nic carried her toward the nearest low-caste city, hoping he wouldn't encounter the Predator Faction again.
To be continued…