The world froze.
Maxwell.
Snowy.
Even the falling snow hung motionless in the air, as if time itself had been seized.
Terror gripped Maxwell's heart.
Nova's power—
It far surpassed even his wildest imagination.
The raging white bull, its fury boiling moments ago, was reduced to a frozen sculpture in the blink of an eye.
So this… this was the true power of a Challenger.
Cold sweat formed on Maxwell's skin—
Only to freeze before it could fall.
Still wearing that crazed smile, Nova moved.
She appeared in front of him in an instant, seized both Maxwell and Snowy, and vanished.
The world blurred past Maxwell's eyes.
Then—
It stopped.
With no warning.
Time resumed.
Snow fell once more.
Even the air seemed to exhale in relief.
They stood before another cave.
Old.
Ancient.
The air around it carried the weight of countless years.
"What gives?" Maxwell turned to Nova, irritation clear in his voice.
"What gives?" Nova snapped back.
"You tell me. What exactly did you do to provoke something like that?"
"What do you mean?" Maxwell frowned. "You could've killed it. Instead, you froze it and ran."
Nova let out a long breath, rubbing her temples.
"If we had stayed," she said calmly, "we wouldn't even know how we died."
She sank to the ground, clearly exhausted.
"Listen, Maxwell. An existence like the white bull isn't something you just fight. Even three of me wouldn't have been enough to kill it."
That wasn't an excuse.
It was the truth.
A sad one...
But a truth nonetheless.
Only then did Maxwell understand—
She hadn't fled because it was convenient.
She fled because there was no chance of victory.
Still, confusion lingered.
"But if you're this terrifying… how is it stronger than you?"
Nova didn't answer immediately.
That single move—freezing the white bull—had drained nearly all her strength. Right now, she was barely stronger than an ordinary beast.
The only saving grace was this:
The white bull had lost their scent.
"If I explain," Nova said at last, "will you leave me alone afterward?"
"Of course," Maxwell replied immediately, pulling out his book and pen.
She sighed. "You don't need to—never mind. Do whatever you want."
Nova began explaining.
"In this place—this training ground for Challengers—creatures are divided into three ranks: Dormant, Diamond, and Epic."
Maxwell nodded eagerly, scribbling everything down.
"Within those ranks," Nova continued, "there are five classes: Beast, Demon, Terror, Titan, and Primordial."
"Primordial?" Maxwell froze. "Aren't those myths?"
"In the real world," Nova said with a faint smile. "Here? They exist—if they want you to find them."
She shot him a sharp glare. "Don't interrupt."
Scary. Just like Uncle Kim, Maxwell thought.
"You," Nova continued, "are Dormant. Beast-class. Snowy and I are Diamond—but Snowy is still an infant. Intelligent, yes. Dangerous? Not yet."
"And you?"
"Diamond Demon. Almost Terror," she added smugly.
"So that's how it is…"
"But the white bull?" Nova's expression darkened. "That thing is different."
She told him of a time she'd seen it battle three diamond-ranked demon serpents—scaled like dragons, tails bristling with spikes.
It fought all three.
Killed two.
Drove the third away.
And survived.
"Is that even possible?" Maxwell whispered, gripping his pen tightly.
Compared to that monster, he was less than an ant.
"The white bull, the white bull apparently think otherwise," Nova said flatly.
Silence fell.
Then—
They both laughed.
Maxwell sank to the cave floor, exhaustion finally catching up to him.
He pulled two pieces of bread and two sodas from his bag, offering one of each.
Nova didn't hesitate. She took them.
He handed her an unopened soda, keeping the one he'd already used.he had already eaten two burgers and with this four gone. He was down to just two days of food without nova and one with her.
One day left, Maxwell sighed inwardly.
This was bad.
…He's not as bad as I thought, Nova mused.
If people were like him… maybe I wouldn't have been sealed back then.
"Thanks," she said quietly.
No response.
She turned—
Maxwell was already asleep.
The freezing had taken its toll.
A cold in this place was a death sentence.
And he had come very close to to caching one.
Nova carefully placed his remaining food back into his bag and dragged him deeper into the cave, setting him down in a corner.
She sat opposite him, watching for a moment—
Then slowly drifted off herself.
Maxwell woke with a start.
He looked around.
"Holy hell—she's gone!"