Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 212 - 284- The Return to a Frozen Home + 285

Ike spoke with quiet insistence.

"I've adjusted everyone's stats a little. If you crossed over to the server as-is, you'd trigger a bug."

And so, the players' stats had been nerfed slightly. A quick check showed their average level hovering around 190.

"Kyle, yours will be hit a little harder. But don't worry—I made sure you won't be at any real disadvantage."

Jhin nodded and watched as Ike's hand moved over his data. Like the others, his level was locked at 190.

But taking into account all the bonuses from the tutorial and stat boosts he'd earned along the way, his actual ability level was closer to 272.

He might not be on the level of Exodia 1's "Kyle" anymore, but he was undeniably far stronger than the version of Jhin that once lived in New Capital.

'So Earth's average level has already reached 190?'

That surprised him. He'd expected some time discrepancy between worlds, but perhaps even more time had passed than he realized.

How much exactly, he couldn't say.

'No use fretting about what can't be changed.'

He let out a long breath, shaking off the lingering thoughts.

"You move fast," Jhin remarked.

"Balancing patches are a basic skill for any admin," Ike replied smoothly, handing over a small USB.

"All the backup data is stored in here. Keep it safe."

"Understood. But where should I upload it…?"

"That'll come to you naturally, in time."

['Ike's Small USB' has been stored in 'Goblin King's Crown'.]

Their eyes met, and Jhin gave a small nod. Clearly, this wasn't information he was supposed to know yet.

'If the knowledge was obtained abnormally, maybe that alone would make the system restrict it.'

This was a world where even speaking prematurely could trigger filters and locks. No harm in playing it safe.

'I'll find out eventually.'

Ike was the kind of person who had hidden the kill switch from the system the moment a key figure had died. If he said Jhin would naturally discover the answer, then he would. No need to rush.

Besides, there were other problems to focus on.

"Then I'll be off."

"Take care."

Ike and the Emperor remained behind in Exodia 1. It made sense—Ike, being an admin, couldn't leave, and the Emperor, imbued with vaccine power, was in the same boat.

They were destined to disappear when the server shut down.

"May fortune grace your battles."

"…Thank you."

Jhin hadn't expected to part with them like this—gently, warmly.

'And may fortune find you, too.'

Without looking back again, Jhin stepped toward the portal.

The remaining 32 surviving players followed him, their faces weary, hopeful.

[Title 'One Who Crossed Worlds' activated.]

[All shock from world transfer has been negated.]

A new message popped up.

[Exodia: Where your dreams become reality!]

[Welcome. You have entered the Earth Area.]

[Player 'Jhin' has logged in.]

He felt the strange float of weightlessness—and then, all at once, reality slammed back into him.

Jhin opened his eyes, and the first thing he felt was the sting of cold biting into his skin.

'…Is this snow?'

Everything around him was white. Thick snow blanketed the land. The other players, struggling with the sudden change in climate, huddled and shivered.

"Wh-where did we land?"

"No idea… they didn't tell us the exact destination."

The world around them was a blur of snow and wind, a whiteout that made any point of orientation impossible.

Still, Jhin felt a quiet satisfaction.

'Earth. I'm back on Earth.'

Compared to where he'd first arrived in Exodia 1—the Moon—this was paradise.

"Let's start by bundling up," he said.

"Right."

Fortunately, most of the equipment obtained in Exodia 1 had transferred over without issue. They were treated like "server closure rewards."

There were some bindings in place, but Jhin was still able to put on a thick winter coat he'd brought from Exodia 1.

He pulled out his phone.

Now that he was back on Earth, communication should've been restored…

– Out-of-range area.

Disappointing, but not unexpected.

Jhin clucked his tongue and looked up.

[Skill 'Soft skills (S)' activated.]

'There's too much ambient power in the air. That's probably interfering with the signal…'

It felt like standing in a Black Ground—a space so thick with magic that even basic functions struggled to work.

Looking around, he noticed the snow itself pulsed faintly with magical energy. This wasn't natural.

Then Michael spoke up.

"This… isn't the South Pole, is it?"

"Can't be," someone muttered.

"Well… if it's a polar region, it would explain why phones don't work. Maybe we're not even in Corelands."

Jhin gave a dry laugh as he glanced around at the others. He understood why Michael had jumped to that conclusion.

They want to believe that.

Most of these players had only been pulled into Exodia 1 after Earth had already begun to transform. They hadn't seen the moment their world turned into a game.

They didn't want to believe this was Earth now.

It was easier to think they were in the Antarctic than face the truth.

But reality doesn't bend to your wishes.

Whoooooosh—

A gust of wind peeled back a thick layer of snow from a nearby hill.

As the snow scattered into the air, it revealed something buried beneath.

Faded letters emerged from the ice and frost.

Five of them.

Whitevalley Station.

This wasn't the South Pole.

It didn't take long for the group to discover the traces of a city beneath what looked like an endless polar wasteland.

"…Wait, is this really…?"

As they pressed on, they crested a snowy hill and looked down.

There it was—an unmistakable mark of civilization peeking through.

"…Ha."

A sigh escaped Jhin's lips, unbidden.

And with good reason—he could now clearly recognize what lay beneath the snow they had walked on for so long.

'The city… was buried under the snow?'

It sounded absurd, but the horizon-stretching flatness they'd mistaken for the South Pole made sense now. Snow had covered everything—mountaintops, buildings, entire skylines.

The "hills" they'd been walking over were actually the rooftops of a snow-entombed city.

"This is… Whitevalley."

"You recognize it?"

"Yes. I've been here a few times, near the military base."

Nodding at Michael's reply, Jhin decided to descend the slope and investigate further.

The day was already fading. They needed shelter before nightfall.

Camping on the open frost-bitten plains wasn't an option.

Down below, on what was once a four-lane street—now a frozen ice track— Michael pointed ahead.

"There should be a large shopping center in that direction. Might be enough to hold us for a night."

Thankfully, the city beneath the slope, though frozen solid, had retained its structural integrity.

Jhin quickly deduced why.

'This must be where the dungeon's influence starts to weaken.'

In this world, nothing but dungeons could unleash a catastrophe capable of burying an entire city in snow.

At minimum… a B-rank dungeon.

Most likely, the terrain they had just crossed was shaped by the aftershock of such an event.

'And considering we've seen no monsters so far… the dungeon that caused this must've been… that one.'

A chill crept down Jhin's spine. He quickened his pace.

The streets were riddled with strange signs—curious remnants that made his suspicions all but certain.

"There was no time to resist. They all fell in an instant."

Frozen people.

Humans, mid-stride, mid-sentence, forever locked in icy moments.

They checked inside a nearby shopping complex. More of the same—frozen corpses, everywhere.

Even some monsters were caught in the freeze.

Jhin spotted an ogre, frozen solid in the very pose of lunging to devour a human.

"…Didn't even realize it was freezing while it froze," he murmured, brow furrowed.

This wasn't a place they could linger. It was far too dangerous.

From behind, Hyden's voice came low and hollow.

"Do you think… New Capital's like this too?"

The boy had been thrown into Exodia 1 right from the opening phase. Jhin could guess exactly what he was imagining now.

'He said he lived near Glaceuial, didn't he?'

Jhin silently reached out and placed a hand on Hyden's shoulder. He had no interest in offering false comfort.

"You need to get used to it. This is reality now."

"…Right. Yeah…"

From what Jhin remembered, New Capital hadn't frozen over like this.

But that didn't make it any less horrifying.

The population difference alone made the situation in New Capital far worse.

More people meant more dungeons—especially exponential ones. Of all cities, New Capital had the highest number of dungeons… and the greatest damage.

Glaceuial wouldn't have been safe.

'Everyday life? It's all gone. That's the state of this world now.'

The world had already fallen into full-blown apocalypse.

Monsters roaming the streets was no longer a rare sight.

And who knew how much time had passed since he'd left?

There could've been more B-rank dungeons. New Capital could be in shambles.

'Glaceuial is at least on the outskirts. Maybe there were fewer dungeons there than in the center…'

Maybe.

But Jhin didn't believe in giving people hope that might kill them. Better to have one faint glimmer of light in the dark than fake daylight.

That one glimmer remained, though.

"If they're alive, they've probably made it to Ark. It's one of the few places that might still be safe."

There had been a time when Ark's fate was up in the air, a city on the brink of abandonment.

But they'd pushed through. Defeated the Lizardman's Well. Cleared the Moon Dungeon.

They had built something strong.

Players and civilians had once banded together to survive. That unity wouldn't disappear so easily.

"And Ark has strong players."

Smart, quick-thinking Bellatris. Reliable veterans like Millie, Luke, Adonis, Lutz…

It wasn't the kind of place that would fall just because he'd been gone.

'Even Tempah

The only other man to clear Hell difficulty alongside him. A gym-rat monster-slayer who'd punch out a wyvern if it challenged him.

That guy alone was worth five cities.

Jhin let out a breath, quietly reassuring himself.

Yeah. Ark won't have fallen like Whitevalley.

"Wait—Jhin… over there. Look."

It was Aurora. She tugged his sleeve, pointing toward a strange pulse of power.

[Skill 'Soft skills (S)' activated.]

Jhin's eyes widened.

It's coming.

"—Everyone! Get back! It's a blizzard!"

A sudden gust roared between the buildings. The air itself carried biting frost that could freeze someone to the marrow.

[C-Rank Disaster 'Snowstorm' is approaching.]

It wasn't just snow—it was a crashing, howling wave of cold that pressed down with increasing strength.

Snow began to fall again over the already-frozen city.

"We need shelter—fast!"

"Should we take cover inside a building?"

"There's no guarantee we'll be safe in there."

Even if they dodged the snowstorm, the cold was a different matter entirely.

He had seen it already: people who hid inside shops only to become frozen statues.

Walls didn't mean safety.

"Just run!"

The blizzard chased them, a howling white monster devouring space itself.

The city, already blanketed in snow, offered fewer and fewer places to hide.

CRRRRRUUUUMBLE!

This was what had done it.

This storm.

The C-rank disaster that could end a city—Snowstorm.

Enough to seriously endanger players even at level 200.

"Jhin—over there! People!"

How long had they been running?

Just as Michael shouted, they spotted a group barricading a massive shopping center.

Metal doors were being slammed shut, bolted tight.

Even when they saw Jhin's group sprinting toward them—they didn't stop.

They didn't hesitate.

[Skill 'Power Focus (E)' activated.]