Ch.85 : A Reckless Decision

A few days had passed since the new room for Nova was finally completed. Everything in the UNITY base was going well, and there had been no further movements from Red Dragon. This gave Nic a brief sense of peace.

That night, the snow was falling heavier than usual. Nic climbed the usual hill where he always met Nova—but she wasn't there.

The area was silent. Nic waited in the cold, glancing around and muttering, "She's usually here by now... what's going on?"

The snow grew thicker, obscuring his vision, and the freezing wind began to seep into his body. Still, Nic held his ground despite the cold that made him tremble uncontrollably.

"Nova! Are you here? Answer me if you are!" he shouted.

No reply. Just silence.

With a heavy sigh, Nic decided to head back down. Luckily, thanks to his passive skill God of Survival, his body could somewhat adapt to the harsh weather.

"Damn… it's freezing. I can't see a thing."

As he descended, he misstepped and slipped—tumbling down the slope.

"Ugh! Great… just great…"

As he tried to get up and walk home, something caught his eye—his old scarf. The one he gave to Nova.

"Huh? This is... Why is it here?"

He looked around but saw nothing suspicious. Still holding the scarf, he immediately activated his God of Tracker skill to trace it.

Images flashed in his mind—it had fallen from Nova's neck.

Nic's heart dropped.

Without hesitation, he began checking every corner of the hillside, worried that Nova might have fallen as well. But there were no visible tracks—the snow had buried everything.

Eventually, he reached the cliff between the two hills, and there, in the snow below, was a strange indentation—like something had landed hard.

Nic stared at it silently.

"Zeta… don't tell me she's down there…"

[ Correct. It seems she had an accident while climbing up. Mr. Nic, going down there is extremely dangerous. ]

"Danger? You're still talking about danger when someone's lying down there? I don't care, Zeta! Activate God of Inmunity!"

With this skill active, Nic's body became immune—though he wasn't sure exactly how. It wasn't just pain resistance; he already had that as a passive.

Without delay, he slowly began sliding down the steep cliff, using his grip to steady himself. But halfway through, he lost control and fell.

THUD!

Nic landed in a heap of snow. Luckily, God of Immunity protected his body, and the snow cushioned the impact. Only his fingers were bleeding—but he didn't care.

He got up and started searching frantically through the snow.

"NOVA! NOVA!"

Zeta appeared beside him.

[ Mr. Nic, why don't you call for help instead of hurting yourself like this? ]

"There's no time, Zeta…"

Eventually, he spotted a hand buried in the snow. He rushed over and dug through it—finding Nova, unconscious, her body ice-cold and pale.

Nic activated God of Health and started pumping her heart manually.

But suddenly, a sharp pain exploded in his chest. He staggered back, clutching his chest.

"AGH! Zeta... why is this happening?!"

[ Mr. Nic, Nova is on the brink of death. Using God of Health directly on a near-death living being has severe risks. It's not as simple as healing a pet or an object. ]

"But when I made medicine for Violet's grandma, there were no side effects!"

[ Because you transferred your power into an object, not a living being. When you healed Mira, it was direct—and you felt drained. With the cat, it was minor enough not to affect you. ]

Nic gritted his teeth and slammed the snow in frustration.

"Then… I have no choice. Activate Cupid Arsenal – Pistol!"

He fired the shot at Nova.

[ Ding! Nova's affection for Mr. Nic has reached 100%! ]

[ Heart Claim activated! Nova is now your girlfriend! ]

[ Skill transferred: God of Astronomy (Locked in this world) ]

"Ugh… hurry! WHERE'S LOVE SENTINEL?!"

[ Ding! Your girlfriend Nova is in danger! Love Sentinel activated! ]

A portal opened next to Nova, and Nic had Zeta move another one to the top of the cliff. He carried Nova into the portal, and they emerged safely on top of the hill.

Nic coughed, breathless, his body pale and stiff from the cold.

With the hospital too far away, he laid Nova gently by a nearby tree.

One last time, he activated God of Health.

[ Mr. Nic! WARNING! This is extremely dangerous! ]

"Screw it… Activate!"

He hugged Nova tightly, pouring all the healing energy into her. Her body jerked as warmth and life returned.

Nova slowly opened her eyes. Her body was weak, her vision blurry, but she saw Nic lying still beside her, motionless.

Her mind raced as memories returned—she had seen a shooting star fall near the cliff and tried to chase it. That's when she slipped and fell unconscious.

"Nic!"

She shook his body desperately. But Nic was cold. Unmoving.

Panicking, Nova carried him down the slope—thankfully her house was nearby.

She pounded on the door.

"MOM! OPEN UP!"

Her mother opened the door and was shocked to see Nova holding a boy. Without questions, Nova rushed in and laid Nic on her bed.

"Nova?! Who is this? Why did you bring a boy home?"

Without wasting time, Nova brought Nic's body into the room and put it on the bed then tried to check it but he didn't know what to do.

"Mom… please, check him! Is he just unconscious?"

Her mom leaned down, checking his pulse and breathing.

She looked up, her face pale. "Nova… he's not breathing. Who is he? Tell me what happened."

Nova's heart sank. Guilt overwhelmed her as she told her mother everything—the fall, waking up, seeing Nic unconscious beside her.

"Nic must've come to help me… he knew I always go to that hill. It's my fault… I'm sorry… Nic…"

Her mother gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's stay calm. We need to take him to the hospital immediately. I'll contact his family too. Don't worry, I'll take full responsibility."

Nova could only nod as her tears fell silently.

To be continued...