The Summit of Aeolos
p>The summit of Aeolos.
p>A lone figure wandered across the snow-covered slopes.
p>‘I must have been close.’
p>Fafnir searched through his memories for the location he knew.
p>-Body temperature is gradually dropping.
p>-Stamina is being consumed.
p>Even with solid equipment—including high-level stats and cold-resistant gear—shivering cold seeped into the bones.
p>Yet Fafnir refused to give up the search.
p>‘There must be a hidden spot near here that Flush found.’
p>In the novel it was written as “Somehow I found it,” but reality was different.
p>A secret location hidden on the vast summit of Aeolos.
p>With such enormous gains waiting, asking for help from others was difficult.
p>‘Ha… Damn it, I should just give up.’
p>As despair set in.
p>A massive structure suddenly appeared in Fafnir’s vision.
p>A grand building that stood out against the blizzard and strong sunlight.
p>It was almost unbelievable that he had missed it until now.
p>-Temple of Aeolos discovered.
p>-First discoverer of the Temple of Aeolos.
p>Information can be registered with the Explorer Guild.
p>Exploration experience has increased.
p>First Discoverer Buff applied.
p>Favorability with the Five Gods has risen.
p>A forgotten temple.
p>This was no ordinary place.
p>A mythical cultural heritage built before the Great War, when the various gods of the game world split into separate sects as they are now.
p>A temple that honored all of Ru, Thor, Horus, Ion, and Freya at once.
p>Inside, enormous treasures that could not be solved in-game had piled up like loot.
p>‘But entering it now is out of the question.’
p>At the entrance of the temple, something sparkling could be seen beyond the giant pillars.
p>He recalled the novel’s description.
p>It was bone.
p>A mountain of bones that had lain dormant for a long time without rotting in the blizzard.
p>It meant that something had sent the grave robbers who invaded the temple in search of its secrets to the afterlife.
p>‘I can’t defeat the temple’s guardians right now. Especially me, a necromancer.’
p>Light and darkness were the ultimate counters in the ultimate counter.
p>They dealt strong blows to each other, but the stronger one always had the advantage.
p>If it was the summons of Fafnir, merely facing them could mean instant annihilation.
p>“Hehe… But that’s not the real goal.”
p>Fafnir did not enter the temple but explored the surroundings.
p>Pitter-patter!
p>Abominable Snowmen occasionally appeared, but they were nothing special.
p>“Take them out!”
p>Faf! Skeleton soldiers erupted from the snow and attacked the Snowmen.
p>Pitter! The Snowmen were monsters with levels in the 150s.
p>It was not enough to bring them down with a surprise attack.
p>But Fafnir’s summons were not ordinary skeletons.
p>-Click… Use formation tactics.
p>Under the command of the Skeleton Knights, the skeletons moved with perfect precision.
p>They evaded the Snowmen’s slow attacks in an instant and kept pressing the assault.
p>The result was so decisive that Fafnir did not even need to intervene.
p>Boom.
p>-Experience has risen.
p>The enormous body of the Snowman finally met its end.
p>‘As expected, the Summoner class is a honey farm for mobs.’
p>Fafnir grinned with delight as he obtained the loot from the Snowman’s body.
p>‘Maybe because they’re around the temple, the monsters that drop are weaker.’
p>Normally mountain monsters were at least level 250.
p>But because they were near the temple, monsters of lower levels appeared.
p>‘But the real search starts now.’
p>It was too early to feel relieved after an easy hunt.
p>There was still another place he needed to go.
p>Fortunately, the narrative from this point onward was exactly what he remembered.
p>‘There is definitely another temple hidden right next to the Aeolos Temple.’
p>As Fafnir searched around, one massive crevasse caught his eye.
p>‘That’s it.’
p>Fafnir headed toward the crevasse.
p>-Entered the underground of the crevasse.
p>-Hidden location discovered.
p>-First Discoverer achievement obtained.
p>From the outside, it looked like a crevasse scattered across the snowy mountain.
p>But its interior was one of the “real” hidden temples.
p>Fafnir searched through the icy cliffs, looking for the temple.
p>As expected of the most dangerous spot in the Aeolos Mountains, the search was not easy.
p>But the blessing was that he had his skeletons.
p>Into the narrow gaps that looked dangerous, he sent the Skeleton Soldiers first!
p>“Click… click…”
p>Hesitant Skeleton Soldier 1.
p>“What do I do? Go.”
p>“Cli, click… clirick…”
p>Crack! Ice shattered and Soldier 1 fell to the bottom.
p>But Fafnir still had more Skeleton Soldiers.
p>“Hey, 2.”
p>“Click?”
p>“Go.”
p>“Cli… click…”
p>-Loyalty of 2 has decreased by 1.
p>There were plenty of Skeleton Soldiers.
p>Whether icicles fell from above or icy tentacles reached out from the walls on either side, he could keep sending them!
p>After all, they would revive and be summoned again even if they died.
p>‘The skeletons aren’t completely heartless, but… I called them here to do this kind of work.’
p>In his real life, Kim Ganghan had always played for maximum efficiency.
p>If he could win even by abandoning his teammates, that was it!
p>Even if he himself died, it was the same.
p>So even the Skeleton Soldiers had not escaped that.
p>‘Found it.’
p>At some point, an ice cave opened above his head.
p>The ceiling was blue ice, and below and around it was a mysterious passage of ice and rock.
p>A little further on, a stair and a black metal door at its end appeared.
p>In front of the door, a humanoid Ice Golem was guarding.
p>It wore ice armor and weapons.
p>[Ice Guardian]
p>Guardian of the hidden Temple of Tyche.
p>Physical attacks barely worked, so he needed to use magic or fire magic.
p>The problem was the terrain where the Golem was!
p>Because it was under the crevasse, even a small explosion would quickly collapse the ceiling.
p>‘Once it collapses, I won’t be able to come back twice.’
p>If it was buried in the glacier, no matter how high the level, it would be difficult to excavate.
p>The terrain and characteristics overlapped, making it a very difficult monster.
p>The Ice Golem pointed its spear.
p>-Step back, intruder. No one can enter here.
p>Fafnir answered confidently.
p>“Good. If you answer my question correctly, I won’t step back.”
p>-Question…?
p>“Yes, cleanly.”
p>-…
p>The Ice Golem fell into thought.
p>If he cleanly stepped back, he could avoid troublesome work.
p>If it turned into a big fight, the temple would be affected, but there was no such worry.
p>-Good. If you’re right, I’ll step back willingly.
p>“Okay.”
p>Fafnir immediately asked.
p>“What monster walks on one leg in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?”
p>-…
p>The Ice Golem stepped back and bowed its head.
p>-Iblai… No, Hellhound… Wrong. Arcdemon… No.
p>While muttering for a long time and thinking.
p>As a guardian of a temple built in ancient times, it knew a lot about all kinds of monsters.
p>Fafnir quietly watched the scene.
p>How much time had passed?
p>The Ice Golem that made its conclusion looked up.
p>-That… is… a human… a human’s lifespan… It is speaking of.
p>A perfect answer!
p>The Ice Golem said.
p>-Is the answer… wrong?
p>“No, it’s right.”
p>-As expected… I see… Then I will keep the promise…
p>“Good. For now, I won’t step back.”
p>Fafnir stepped back.
p>A large piece of ice fell in front of him.
p>-…I… understand…
p>The Ice Golem said with difficulty.
p>Water dripped from its whole body, and its limbs slowly fell off.
p>-I… did not… wrong…
p>Kwoong! Bang!
p>The head that fell from the neck as the last words.
p>Soon the remaining body shattered, and what remained in the place was only a blue gem and metal accessories.
p>-Epic Ice Guardian’s power core acquired.
p>-You successfully overcharged the Ice Guardian’s core and defeated it through its own overheating.
p>-Through exceptional wisdom, you defeated a powerful guardian with an unexpected method.
p>-Intelligence stat increased by +3.
p>-Wisdom stat increased by +1.
p>-Linguistics stat increased by +3.
p>-Charisma stat increased by +1.
p>Ding!
p>Fafnir who picked up the Ice Guardian’s power core shrugged his shoulders.
p>‘Exactly as in the novel’s development.’
p>In the novel, even Flush had solved the same riddle.
p>Of course, he had not expected it to melt like this.
p>“Good. Anyway, let’s go in?”
p>Fafnir placed his hand on the temple door and pushed.
p>-Entered the hidden Temple of Tyche.
p>-First discoverer of the hidden Temple of Tyche.
p>Information can be registered with the Explorer Guild.
p>Exploration experience has increased.
p>First Discoverer Buff applied.
p>The Temple of Tyche was incredibly large.
p>It was never inferior to the surface Aeolos Temple in size.
p>“Oh, amazing…”
p>A smile appeared on Fafnir’s lips as he circled the area.
p>Statues of the Goddess Tyche carved from enchanted ice.
p>Below them, on the altar and around, countless gems, gold bars, and offerings were piled up.
p>‘Are these the treasures that appeared in the novel?’
p>Smaller than the upper temple’s scale, but not much different from the treasury in grade.
p>The Goddess of Luck.
p>Unlike other gods who controlled order or the sky, the Goddess of Luck brought great help to her believers.
p>‘I should offer my own offerings here too.’
p>Effects that make the weather nice and that win lottery tickets.
p>Honestly, if choosing, she would pick the latter a hundred times out of a hundred.
p>Because of this, the offerings in the Temple of Tyche were different from other places.
p>In the original novel, Flush had taken them or sold them, and had gained enormous profits by offering them occasionally.
p>‘I wonder if I should leave them!’
p>Fafnir took out his pickaxe and swung it.
p>The altar including the goddess statue and interior facilities shattered and scattered.
p>“It’s a good goddess statue and a work of art!”
p>Crack.
p>“But it’s only an obstacle to me!”
p>Swoosh!
p>-Destroyed Tyche Goddess Statue.
p>-Karma decreased by -500.
p>-Reputation increased by +170.
p>-Destroyed despite recognizing the greatness of a great work of art.
p>-Reputation increased further by +50.
p>After breaking the goddess statue, it was the turn of the surrounding statues.
p>-Destroyed Guardian Knight Statue.
p>-Karma decreased by -400.
p>-Reputation increased by +135.
p>-Destroyed without knowing the greatness of a great work of art.
p>-Through destruction, a subtle new field of art was felt.
p>-Art stat increased by +1.
p>Whoa! Fafnir hit the facilities while keeping the rhythm.
p>At that moment, a message appeared.
p>-The Goddess of Luck Tyche is angry.
p>-The Goddess of Luck Tyche has recognized you.
p>Because of the previous destruction, this time Tyche knew the face.
p>-The Goddess of Luck Tyche grits her teeth.
p>-The Goddess of Luck Tyche is aggrieved that she broke the guardian.
p>-The Goddess of Luck Tyche bursts into tears sadly.
p>Even with the messages continuing to pour, Fafnir’s expression did not change as he continued working.
p>“Now then…”
p>With the interior work finished, it was time to gather the reward.
p>Fafnir tried to put the remaining offerings in the temple into his inventory.
p>At that moment, more messages appeared.
p>-The Goddess of Luck Tyche’s eyes are bloodshot.
p>-The Goddess of Luck Tyche howls that she will never allow offerings to be taken away.
p>-The Goddess of Luck Tyche curses the great misfortune.
p>The curse of the Goddess of Luck Tyche!
p>-The God of Death Hades attempts to nullify the curse.
p>-Due to insufficient causality, the curse could not be completely nullified.
p>-You are under the bad luck curse.
p>-Success probability of all gambling, strengthening, enchanting, and crafting decreased by 10%.
p>-The probability of the hand slipping during work increased by 2%.
p>-Luck stat decreased by -10.
p>-The God of Death Hades can no longer block the curse.
p>‘It seems he can’t keep blocking it forever.’
p>In the world of Horizon, the gods could not arbitrarily interfere with the world.
p>If he used power without reason, he would be caught by causality, a rule that no matter how powerful a god was could not avoid.
p>‘This is pretty strong…’
p>A decrease in the Luck stat was bearable.
p>But an increase in the failure rate for item strengthening or crafting was a bigger problem than expected.
p>‘In the novel, when the curse was mentioned, I just watched without much thought, but actually receiving it, it’s a bigger penalty than I thought.’
p>Fafnir bit his lip.
p>After all, he had to be hostile to the Goddess of Luck.
p>He had been prepared to be cursed, but it stung his heart.
p>‘But this much is enough to bear.’
p>Fafnir, smiling, looked at the message window.
p>-Unique Hexagonal Sapphire acquired.
p>-Normal Icarus Empire Gold Coin acquired.
p>-Rare Elnas’s Bow of High Elf acquired.
p>‘There’s a lot of dust piled up here. I should wipe it properly and sell it.’
p>Treasures almost filling the inventory.
p>All were at least Rare or high-value gold coins to merchants.
p>Countless gems, equipment and armor that the heroes who had once shone had offered in the temple while praying for luck.