Into the Frozen Frontier
The carriage had been in an uproar over the issue of the hunters who appeared at the entrance, so he simply slipped away quietly.
He already knew the nearby geography and the location of the gate leading to the next floor, so he made his way straight there without getting lost.
Just as he arrived at the gate and was about to cross to the next floor, the sound of wings beat the air, and a massive wyvern descended.
A familiar presence he could sense without even checking.
It was the Red Wyvern.
[Are you leaving?]
[I've taken everything I can, so it's only natural to move on.]
[The boss must have said that.]
[He did.]
A short exchange ended in silence.
An awkward air settled in, uncharacteristic for them.
He had told only Arde and slipped away quietly because he hated this kind of atmosphere...
His chest felt strangely tight.
After a long silence, the Red Wyvern spoke first.
[...Running away after winning the last fight? As cowardly as you look.]
Was he referring to their final sparring match?
He chuckled at the wyvern's voice, laced with unusual irritation.
[Even if we fight next time, I'll win anyway.]
[Hmph. Hilarious. You've grown a lot from crawling pathetically under me.]
[Our sizes were about even from the start, weren't they?]
[You always had a way with words. Your tongue really is snake-like.]
[Because I'm a snake.]
The Red Wyvern shut his mouth and stared intently for a moment.
His nostrils flared repeatedly, wings twitching—he looked ready to pounce any second.
He grinned at the wyvern.
[...Yeah, this won't do. Put off leaving. I need to teach you some manners.]
[Shouldn't you be the one learning manners? Since when could a loser hold his head so high against the winner?]
[...That winner and loser will switch today.]
[I don't have time to waste on losers.]
The Red Wyvern's nostrils flared three times faster than before.
Time to stop teasing.
It had been fun.
[I'll come back stronger.]
His calm words lightened the mood. The Red Wyvern furrowed his brow briefly before letting out a heavy sigh.
[You'd better come back plenty strong. Otherwise, next time I meet you, I'll really beat you senseless.]
The words carried 10% jest and 200% sincerity. He fell silent.
He had truly sensed killing intent just now.
[...I'll keep that in mind.]
His cautious voice lacked its earlier strength.
[...That should do for farewells. See you next time.]
As if his business was done, the Red Wyvern flapped his wings without lingering.
Through the fierce wind, he watched the wyvern soar high into the sky.
[Yeah. See you.]
And that was it.
The Red Wyvern gave one last glance before departing without hesitation.
Watching the figure shrink to a dot in the distance, he muttered absently.
[...He kicks up every speck of dust on his way out.]
The wyvern's powerful wingbeats had blown away all the surrounding ash and dirt.
Gray volcanic ash clung to his scales in gritty specks.
What an unpleasant guy to the end.
He grumbled at the spot where the Red Wyvern had vanished, then turned away.
The warp gate to the next floor loomed ahead.
Beyond it lay the 70th floor.
A world of pristine white snow awaited him.
Like every labyrinth zone before, it wouldn't be a walk in the park.
He'd be lying if he said he felt no fear, but alongside it came excitement and passion.
A strange thrill welled up.
I can do this.
70th floor, Snow Mountain Zone.
The highest floor reached in the current Seoul Great Labyrinth.
About ten years ago, Korea's sole SS-rank hunter, Seong Jae-myeong, had made it this far.
Through survivors who lagged behind and returned from that expedition, they barely learned it was a world of white snow and ice—hence the name Snow Mountain Zone.
Since Seong Jae-myeong vanished during that expedition, no one knew what lay beyond.
Truly an unknown floor.
And now, he had arrived there.
Two and a half years.
A short time if short, long if long—and finally, he had reached this place.
An unknown world untouched since Seong Jae-myeong.
He could truly feel how much he had grown.
Who could have foreseen it?
That a mere porter would come this far.
Not even he himself, nor anyone else.
A swell of emotion surged from deep in his chest.
...No, too soon for sentiment.
Even he was amazed at his own growth, but he couldn't forget.
He was still weak.
He had accomplished nothing yet.
He still had things to do.
This was just the beginning.
He couldn't forget that.
He steadied his emotions.
This was an unknown world with nothing known.
Getting careless amid the hype could bring disaster anytime.
No need for excessive caution, but basic tension was essential.
A world of snow and ice.
Upon arriving on the 70th floor, endless white plains greeted him, along with bone-chilling cold piercing his scales.
Even the gentle breeze felt like a razor wind in the frigid air.
If it were him just entering the Desert Zone, he'd have frozen solid in moments.
Thank goodness for the resistance skills from the upper zones.
Lava followed by snow mountains... Brutal.
The complete opposite of the previous 69th floor Lava Zone.
No wonder most hunters from the expedition ten years ago retreated without a fight.
Even those who endured the cold vanished with SS-rank leader Seong Jae-myeong, missing for a decade.
The labyrinth's greatest enemy is the climate, not monsters.
He felt his stamina draining in real time.
His flicked-out tongue felt frozen stiff.
Detection range had dropped several times below normal.
Knowing he couldn't just sit, he acted quickly.
He channeled mana to conjure a fireball.
Thanks to diligent fire magic training, it came easily.
Worth the effort.
Whoosh—
The flame flickered in the fierce blizzard but didn't go out.
It was born of his mana, after all.
Mana drain was heavy, but not burdensome.
His mana stat had grown tremendously, plus all his efforts to use it efficiently.
Mana was now his highest stat.
Second highest? Durability, naturally.
With the fire, he might survive a bit.
First, thaw his frozen tongue.
Even thawed, the blizzard kept detection range narrow—pitiful compared to normal.
Mana-based sensing struggled too, thanks to the blizzard thick with labyrinth mana.
Still better than nothing, so he'd keep at it.
Meeting Arde hadn't changed him drastically, but it brought realizations.
Monster life wasn't just endless struggle.
Monsters could communicate, share emotions.
That hit hard amid his weary battles, prompting new actions.
The Snow Mountain Zone was pure unknown.
Unlike prior zones with basic info, only known as a white world of snow and ice.
No geography, no monster types known.
He had to proceed more cautiously than ever.
But with tongue and mana detection crippled, options were limited.
S-rank Instinct and Magic Eye's clairvoyance, mainly.
Even vision limited by blizzard, so Instinct was key—and he trusted it fully after all their time together.
Sometimes more than anything else.
This time too.
A sudden sharp tingle from Instinct—he dodged before thinking.
Something lunged from the blizzard.
"Grrrraaah—."
Pure white fur. Massive build. More ape-like than human.
Classic monster debut.
Yeti. Ape-type monster often found in polar labyrinths.
C-rank.
To him now, barely worth more than food.
I deliberately made noise to draw them out and check local types, but this fool charges in?]
He'd done it to identify locals, but this one was clueless.
Lava Zone monsters who feared him would faint in shock.
A mere C-rank daring him?
Or maybe they'd praise its bravery.
Though that bravery had tipped into recklessness.
"Grrraaah—!!!"
He pondered as it roared and charged.
Pre-Arde, he'd smash it without thought—but now was different.
Not hesitation to kill a fellow monster...
[Hey—can you talk?]
No reaction to the telepathic probe—instead, it grew more frenzied at the voice in its head.
No real intelligence, then.
No need to hold back.
If it could talk, maybe—but not this.
It would pay for its arrogance.
He didn't even move as it charged.
Just watch.
That sufficed.
He quietly opened the third eye in the center of his forehead.
"Gr... grrr—?"
The moment it met his third eye, the yeti froze mid-lunge.
Like gazing on Medusa from Greek myth—turned to stone.
Magic Eye's petrification power.
The fight ended anticlimactically.
Less stone, more boulder now—he whipped his tail lightly as he passed.
No need for skills.
Crack—the rock shattered, fragments burying in the snow.
He pressed on without pause.
The blizzard raged fiercely still.
Soul Separation SS [Unavailable], Unyielding S, Limit Break S, Shadow Stealth S, Ambush S, Constrict A, Instinct S, Super Regeneration S, Fierce Charge S, Extreme Poison A, Overwhelm S, Counter A, Poison Resistance S, Tail Strike A, Gluttony S, Tough Scales A, Mana Manipulation S, Thought Acceleration A, Body Reinforcement S, Magic Eye B, Heat Resistance A, Cold Resistance A, Mana Resistance A, Poison Magic A, Fire Magic B, Water Magic C