I secured the Tiger Bind Rifle, enhanced with the Midas Touch, against my back, slid a revolver into its holster, and loaded each chamber and cylinder with the carefully crafted bullets.0

Click—!0

I carried two rifle rounds and three revolver bullets inscribed with mana, along with a single mana grenade crafted using the latest techniques—highly concentrated and highly compressed. In the chaos of battle, there would be no time for reloading; therefore, that was all I needed.0

I glanced at the clock; dawn had still to break, the hour still shy of four. Outside, a howling blizzard raged, the windowpane cloaked in darkness. A frown crept across my brow, drawn by an unnatural shadow from the curtain, and with a flick of Telekinesis, I swept the fabric aside.0

Swish—!0

I stood still and gazed beyond the window frame.0

“Ha,” I muttered, a faint laugh slipping out of me as it was almost ridiculous to find out what was there.0

“Snore... Snore.”0

There, leaning against the window and buried almost entirely in snow, was a child, sound asleep. I moved slowly toward her.0

The child's small face, resembling a snowman, caught my eye—hair frozen with frost, her eyes, nose, and lips sealed by the cold. I looked into her features, an unknown from some distant part of the Archipelago, her name slipping away into the past.0

"... They do look similar," I murmured.0

I could tell that the child’s creation was likely one of her Easter eggs that she had probably left behind. Adding an NPC in one’s own image—whether as an original character or simply for self-satisfaction—was a common practice in this field. Of course, if taken too far, it could quickly invite criticism.0

Just then, the child stirred, and...0