Chapter 38: Irregular’s Ascension Selene stared at the massive corpse, then at Moon, her face pale and her hands still trembling from channelling so much magic in rapid succession. "Moon..." she started, then seemed unable to find words. Moon slowly got to his feet, his legs shaking from exhaustion and adrenaline. His mana was nearly depleted. His body ached from the electrical current he’d channelled through himself. Every muscle felt like it was on fire. But they were alive. Against all odds, despite everything this cursed realm had thrown at them, they were alive. The hidden realm completion notification hung in his vision, but Moon barely registered it. He was too busy trying to process what had just happened, trying to understand how they’d actually survived. Selene took a shaky step toward him, then another, until she was close enough to grab his arm—perhaps to steady him, perhaps to steady herself. "We did it," she whispered, disbelief evident in her voice. "We actually did it." Moon nodded slowly, still staring at the fallen Winter Beast. "Yeah," he said quietly. "We did." Then another notification appeared, different from the others. The text seemed to burn itself into Moon’s vision with weight and permanence, as if being etched into reality itself. [An Irregular ascended the frozen mountain, leaving behind the corpses of heroes and monsters alike. He entered the ancient temple, where a powerful king sat enthroned before his altar, demanding the blood tribute that was his due. The Irregular refused. Instead, he offered the blood of the king himself.] [You have defeated six powerful beasts: Arctic Wolves, Level 15.] [You have defeated an awakened human: Gareth, Level 13.] [You have defeated a hidden realm king: Winter Beast, Level 20.] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [You have achieved the impossible!] [Final appraisal: Extraordinary. Your power defies comprehension. You stand where none should stand, victorious where all others have fallen. The realms themselves take notice of your unexplainable existence.] The words hung in the air, shimmering with an otherworldly light that had nothing to do with the torches lining the chamber walls. Each phrase seemed to pulse with significance, as if the system itself was struggling to quantify what Moon had accomplished. Moon stared at the notification, his breath catching in his throat. This wasn’t a simple completion message. Irregular. The word carried weight. Implications. It suggested that the system had categorised him as something outside its standard framework. An anomaly, just as the Winter Beast had said with its dying breath. [Awakener, receive your boon!] [Tenacity] [Rank: Epic] [Level: MAX] [Details: Your will cannot be broken, no matter the circumstances. Illusions do not affect you, and your courage makes those with you feel stronger. +5 to Strength, Agility, and Constitution] Moon’s breath caught. He had gained another Epic skill. Not just any skill, but one that affected his core attributes directly, permanently boosting three of his most vital stats. And the effects went beyond numbers—mental fortitude, immunity to illusions, and an aura that strengthened allies. He glanced at Selene, who was still reading her own notification. Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted in shock. Whatever she’d received, it had clearly exceeded her expectations as well. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The weight of what they’d accomplished, what they’d received, hung between them like a physical presence. Moon didn’t ask what she’d gotten and Selene didn’t ask him. Some things were meant to be kept private. In a world where power meant survival, where knowledge of someone’s capabilities could be used against them, discretion was wisdom. They’d fought together. Survived together. But that didn’t mean they needed to know every detail of each other’s strength. Selene seemed to understand this instinctively. She simply nodded at him, a small smile on her exhausted face. "Congratulations," she said softly. "You too," Moon replied. Then a crack in the air rippled before them. A portal materialised in the centre of the chamber, just a few meters from where the Winter Beast’s corpse lay. It appeared suddenly, without warning—a vertical tear in space that revealed swirling colours beyond, blues and whites that seemed to shift and move. Unlike the violent summoning that had brought them here, this portal felt stable. It hummed with energy that suggested passage rather than imprisonment. [Exit portal available. Duration: 10 minutes.] Moon stared at it, almost unable to believe what he was seeing. After everything they’d endured—the blizzards, the beasts, the cave, Gareth’s betrayal, the trial itself—here was their way home. Their escape from this frozen hell. Selene took a step toward it, then stopped and looked back at Moon. "We should go. Before something else happens." Moon nodded, but his eyes swept the chamber one last time. The bodies of Derek’s team were scattered across the floor. The charred remains of the six Arctic wolves. The massive corpse of the Winter Beast itself. So much death. So much sacrifice, willing and unwilling. He’d killed awakeners today. Humans. People he’d shared shelter with, however briefly. The weight of that would stay with him. He knew it would. But he also knew he’d do it again if survival demanded it. That’s what this realm had taught him. What this trial had burned into his core. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞 Survival wasn’t pretty, nor was it noble. It was just necessary. "Wait, let’s take the body of the winter beast with us," Moon said as he began to walk towards the winter beast. Its body would sell for a large amount. Moon then stopped in his tracks, and turned towards Selene with a soft smile. "So, uhm. I don’t have a storage ring with me. Can you, hold it for us? We can split the shares." Selene smiled before nodding her head. "There is no need, also. Here, you can have this." She said, as she gave him one of the storage rings she had on her hand. Moon accepted the gift graciously, then stored the body of the winter beast. He tried to store the bodies of the arctic wolves, but unfortunately, he was only able to store the body of one as the storage ring became full. They walked toward it together, side by side, two survivors of an ordeal that should have killed them both. The portal’s swirling surface beckoned, promising warmth and safety and an escape from this endless winter. Moon took one final breath of the frigid air, then stepped through. The world dissolved into light and color, and the hidden realm released its grip on him at last.