Lag Spike? The Millennia Ice Crystal Ordeal
"Is it lagging?"
"Is this really okay...."
"It's fine, I told you."
Baek Ye-hwa, the blood relative of the palace lord—or so she claimed. Our countermeasure against her was ridiculously simple.
I'd claim to be the hidden daughter of the previous palace lord, too.
It was a plan to undermine her claim as the sole surviving child of the former lord by pitting the legitimacy of palace lord bloodlines against each other.
Logically speaking, isn't this basically a national scam?
And it was a plan made without any input from me, the person involved.
All I wanted was some easy side role where I could just chill and enjoy the perks....
"Alright, let's head into the palace now."
"I'm still not mentally prepared...."
"Come on!"
Getting dragged along by her hand, I thought to myself,
This ain't gonna be easy.
The North Sea Ice Palace was currently in a precarious state, with both the palace lord and sub-lord positions vacant.
Thus, the elder council had decided to select a new palace lord by testing candidates with the minimum qualifications required. And today was the day of that trial.
Resentment toward the previous lord pierced the heavens, and with no predetermined heir to the throne, they aimed to establish a new dynasty through pure skill and legitimacy.
Of course, I was just Han Yu-wol's supporter, so aiming for a middling performance would suffice.
"We shall now commence the palace lord selection ceremony."
I was trying to shake off the pressure in my mind when the grand elder spoke up.
The place I was in was the North Sea Ice Palace's main hall, originally the residence of the palace lord. It was packed with members of the elder council, protectors, and the three great families. This was also the venue for the trial to decide the next palace lord.
"The trial will proceed in three stages. The candidate receiving the highest overall score from all three will become the master of the North Sea."
"Who will be doing the evaluations?"
"I, the grand elder, along with the grand protector, will assess the candidates' qualities. We both stake our honor as warriors on a fair judgment."
The grand protector and grand elder—both transcendent masters whose age and power commanded respect. No one raised any objections.
Symbolically and practically, no better examiners existed.
"All candidates, step forward!"
At the grand elder's shout, the palace lord candidates emerged from the crowd.
There were five candidates in total: me and Baek Ye-hwa, both claiming to be blood of the previous lord, plus the heirs of the three great families.
Honestly, I had no idea how I made the cut when I looked nothing like the lord aside from vague resemblance—probably Han Yu-wol's influence. Among the three families, hers had the least power, but it was still enough to vouch for one person's identity.
"Fancy seeing you two again."
"...Were you sisters too? To think the blood of the palace lord would cling to a wench from Han family—Father must be lamenting in the afterlife!"
"Heard you've thrown your support behind one of the other three families anyway."
Moreover, both me and Baek Ye-hwa—who had the strongest claim as the lord's daughters—had declared support for different families among the three great houses, effectively forfeiting our own bids for the throne.
It was a bizarre situation where the two most fitting heirs had stepped aside. Total chaos.
"You'll regret this. This lady has never forgotten a grudge in her life...."
"Yeah, yeah, good luck."
I brushed off Baek Ye-hwa's shrill yapping and listened to the grand elder explain the first trial.
"I shall now reveal the content of the first trial: enduring the trial of the Millennia Ice Crystal."
"The Millennia Ice Crystal?"
"Indeed! Perfect for gauging palace lord potential."
Members of the three families and Ice Palace warriors murmured in admiration.
As an outsider, I could've thought, What's a Millennia Ice Crystal, you fanboy? But luckily, Han Yu-wol had explained it to me last night.
Apparently, it was a sacred treasure representing the North Sea Ice Palace, like Shaolin's Emerald Jade Flame Formation or Huashan Sect's Purple Divine Sword.
"Behold, this is the Millennia Ice Crystal."
"Whoa... such vivid color."
"Touch it carelessly, and you'll face punishment—everyone, stand back!"
Ice Palace warriors hauled it in on a cart secured with ropes, eliciting intense reactions from the crowd.
It looked like just a massive hunk of blue ice, but a sacred treasure wouldn't be ordinary.
It condensed an immense amount of the purest chill, granting effects like an elixir to ice arts practitioners just by cultivating nearby.
And it was essential for the Ice Palace's unique traditions.
"Wrap your hand in chill and place it upon the Millennia Ice Crystal!"
The Millennia Ice Crystal was the pure essence of over ten thousand years of chill.
To the talented, it was an elixir; to the mediocre, deadly poison.
"I'll go first."
The first candidate to step up was Bang Seo-jeong of the Gucheonbang family. Her tanned, muscular frame—looking like it hid rock-hard abs—strode forward confidently.
"Place your hand on it."
"Understood."
True to her three-family pedigree, Bang Seo-jeong lasted about 20 seconds before...
"Gahk...!"
"The lady has collapsed!"
"Get her to a physician, quick!"
Frost crept up her arm, and she lost consciousness. With luck, they'd amputate the arm and call it a day; otherwise, death.
"Who will go next?"
Silence fell at the grand elder's question.
No one feels motivated after witnessing such a disaster.
And honestly, I was scared shitless too. Infinite regressor or not, I'm not immune to death.
"...This lady will try."
As I debated internally forfeiting, Baek Ye-hwa approached the crystal.
She delicately placed her small hand on it, her face paling as she staggered. She withdrew voluntarily, but it was a decent result.
"One minute, and she didn't succumb to the crystal's chill. Quite impressive for a woman untrained in martial arts."
"The crystal's chill judges only talent."
The invading chill evaluated pure talent, ignoring skill level.
With superior aptitude, one could control it; otherwise, the body froze solid.
Thus, enduring a full minute untrained and withdrawing on her own marked Baek Ye-hwa as exceptionally gifted.
"I'll go next."
The remaining candidates followed. The ponytail girl from Nam Young Yu family lasted 40 seconds; Han Yu-wol nearly two minutes. No further dangers arose.
Now, just me left. Scary as hell, but no backing out now—I stepped toward the crystal.
"Hey."
"Huh, Teacher?"
Right then, I-hwa—raid leader of Cheonam Guild—grabbed me.
Was she worried I'd get hurt?
"This Ice Crystal thing judges only talent, regardless of martial realm, right?"
"Uh... yeah, something like that."
"Hmm... Alright. Do your best."
Worried my ass—she heard the answer and casually returned to her seat.
My teacher, and she couldn't even fake concern?
"Place your hand on the crystal."
"Um... does this hurt a lot?"
"I said place it."
"Y-Yes...!"
I pulled the "how bad does it hurt?" kid-at-the-dentist bit, but got only a menacing glare.
Sheepish, I placed my hand on the Millennia Ice Crystal.
Pull away if it gets bad.
Ready to activate Pain Ignore anytime, I tried controlling the incoming chill.
It flowed in through my right hand—route it left, smoothly along meridians without damaging the body. Suppress bursting energy with controlled chill, absorb into dantian, exhale excess through mouth and nose.
How much time passed...?
What the hell? Why doesn't it hurt?
Had I unconsciously activated Pain Ignore? No pain at all.
Instead, the energy absorbed gradually, forging a stronger body. Was it supposed to feel like this?
9:34 PM in South Korea—prime time for office workers wrapping up their wage-slave grind and kicking back.
Those who'd diligently looted their salaries today fired up their PCs to watch record broadcasts.
"Jeong Sion, right? Gotta check her stream."
The top-rated record broadcast right now was Jeong Sion tackling a dungeon.
Men tuned in without hesitation.
"...What the hell? Is it lagging?"
But today's stream was off.
Her hand on the massive ice block, frozen like a paused video.
Sensing something weird, he opened the gallery and posted.
"What bullshit is this?"
Four hours in that pose? Baffled, the guy scrolled back the timeline to four hours prior.
"...Time for bed."
It had been exactly 4 hours and 50 minutes since she froze.