The Immortal's Deception
As they stepped into the ruins, a biting chill poured down on them.
Sally immediately began to shiver.
“C-cold!”
Spirits were heavily affected by their environment.
A ruins filled with freezing air was a difficult place for a salamander to operate.
“Stay close to Shanette.”
Sally trotted over and clung tightly to Shanette’s thigh.
Having changed class to Ignus Warrior, Shanette radiated warmth even when standing still.
Shanette smiled gently.
“It’s cold, so you have to stick right next to me. Got it, Sally?”
“Yeah! Mama is warm and nice. This way I can use my fire too!”
Sally absorbed heat while staying by Shanette’s side.
They advanced deeper into the ruins.
On the frost-covered floor, ice stone skeletons began rising one by one.
Roughly counting, there were over eight hundred of them.
Normally the standard approach would be to fire flaming arrows from the rear or bring a fire mage, but we’ll have to do this differently now.
Kang Yoonsoo raised his voice.
“Sally and Shanette, block the ice stone skeletons from advancing.”
Shanette, at the front line, slammed her great scythe hard into the icy floor.
“Flame Art!”
Flame Art
A single layer of fire barrier spread across the floor.
At the same time, Sally in the back row thrust both hands into the air.
“Fury of the Flames!”
Fury of the Flames
Fierce flames wrapped around the fire barrier in several layers.
The barrier, heated to its absolute limit, met the ice and produced thick white steam.
The ice stone skeletons shook their skulls in confusion at a phenomenon they had never encountered before.
With the monsters’ charge blocked, Kang Yoonsoo raised his sword high.
“Strike while they’re confused. For ice stone skeletons, it’s better to aim for the joint between the shoulder blades rather than piercing the skull.”
At Kang Yoonsoo’s command, the clan members and their undead subordinates charged forward at terrifying speed.
“Uraaaah—!”
“Kurrrrk—!”
Kang Yoonsoo charged straight ahead as well.
Thanks to the spirit medicine he had secretly drunk earlier, he was able to fight quickly and decisively.
Every time he thrust his sword, cracks formed in the ice stone skeletons’ joints.
He slammed his left-hand staff into the ground and shouted.
“Lightning Discharge.”
Lightning Discharge
Several ice stone skeletons exploded violently.
The clan members fought the monsters with savage ferocity.
Every time a powerful battle cry rang out, the clash of weapons against icy bones echoed chillingly.
Clang—! Clang—!
However, the ice stone skeletons did not fall easily. They counterattacked by biting at arms and legs.
“Ugh—! M-my arm!”
A clan member bitten by an ice stone skeleton screamed, his face turning blue.
The wound where the monster had bitten rapidly developed into severe frostbite.
Kang Yoonsoo shouted calmly.
“If you get bitten by an ice stone skeleton, treat it immediately with the frostbite remedy you were given. The same applies if you see a comrade get bitten. Spray the remedy on them right away.”
Most of the clan members carried out the battle smoothly.
However, a few could not adapt to the slippery ice floor and slipped while swinging their blades.
“D-damn it! The floor is way too slippery!”
The ice stone skeletons did not miss the opportunity and rushed toward the fallen men.
At that moment, a relaxed voice came from behind.
“You brainless boneheads! Is it right to charge at kids who are still learning to walk?”
Wooden puppets swarmed forward and blocked the path in front of the fallen people.
Henrik did not step forward himself.
From the rear, he extended mana threads to their maximum length and controlled a full twenty-four puppets.
In the end, the last remaining ice stone skeleton was smashed to pieces by a member of the Blood Martial Clan.
“We won!”
“Not a single death on our side!”
The clan members shouted with joy.
Kang Yoonsoo’s level had risen by six as well.
Yet he only wore a cold expression.
Still not enough. We need to move even faster.
Through his repeated regressions, Kang Yoonsoo had memorized the strategy for clearing the Winterkill Ruins.
Even though he had come with an elite force whose levels were lower than before, he was confident he could reach the heart of the ruins.
Everyone rested and recovered their injuries with healing potions.
“Let’s proceed to the next floor now. No one walk ahead of me.”
Kang Yoonsoo walked at the very front.
After walking for quite some time, stairs leading to the floor below came into view.
“It seems the ruins continue underground. The heart where the treasure is hidden should be on the lowest floor.”
Jang Inwi added an explanation.
They were descending to the lower floor.
On a massive rock frozen white, faintly written characters could be seen.
Shanette frowned.
“It looks like something is written, but… I can’t read it clearly. It seems to have been written a very long time ago.”
“Hmm, step aside.”
Henrik took out a chisel and began scraping away the faint letters on the rock.
The thin layer of frost on the rock’s surface shattered, and the writing became clearly visible.
I am the adventurer Lekimond, who has been to every corner of the continent.
From a young age I was filled with wanderlust, and I traveled to every forbidden zone on the continent.
I have visited mage towers teeming with giants and the nests of insane dragons.
Yet here I am, trapped in this pathetic ruin, meeting my end!
I deeply regret touching that hallucination-enchanted plaque so carelessly.
It was so unfair that I could not even die properly.
Clutching my freezing body, I began my final exploration of the ruins.
Just before the flame of life faded, I finally found it.
Who would have guessed?
That the secret of immortality was hidden right here in this ruin!
The writing carved into the rock ended there.
Everyone looked astonished.
“The secret of immortality? What does that mean?”
“Isn’t it related to the treasure in the heart of the ruins?”
At that moment, the travelers’ terminals vibrated.
The Hidden Request of the Ancient Adventurer
📍 Objective: Follow Lekimond’s mana golem and explore the ruins. Find the five rocks scattered throughout the ruins that bear Lekimond’s records. Once all records are found, you can reach the secret chamber.
🎁 Reward: Encounter with the Immortal Lekimond
“It’s a hidden quest!”
Hiding a quest somewhere was something only veteran adventurers could do.
Hidden quests usually offered rare rewards with high probability.
Whether that was in a good way or not remained uncertain.
Jang Inwi looked around the underground ruins with doubtful eyes.
“Lekimond’s mana golem? Where is something like that?”
The moment he finished speaking, the massive rock on which the writing was carved began to move.
Frost fell away as thick, rocky limbs stirred.
The blue rock infused with mana began to move.
Shanette cried out in surprise.
“It’s a golem!”
A golem made of mana stones.
The mana golem looked down at them with eyes set high in its lofty position.
A deep, loyal voice rang out.
“I shall guide you according to the command of the great adventurer, Lekimond Aurel.”
The mana golem did not attack and simply stood in place.
The clan members, who had been afraid to approach at first, cautiously drew nearer.
“Whoa!”
“You mean this huge golem is on our side?”
“Amazing. It’s much larger and stronger than the golems alchemists create on their own.”
Sally hopped up and down and sat on the golem’s shoulder.
“Wow! This rock is super huge!”
The mana golem remained as silent as it appeared.
It began walking slowly.
At that moment, Kang Yoonsoo walked ahead of the golem with steady steps.
The mana golem spoke in an offended tone.
“You. Do not walk in front of me.”
“No.”
“You. Why do you refuse to walk behind me.”
“Because you’re slow.”
“You. I dislike you very much.”
Then Sally spoke innocently from atop the golem’s shoulder.
“Rocky! Rocky! Our dad is always like that!”
“You. Why are you riding on my shoulder. Get down.”
“Hng. Sally likes this spot! The view is great too!”
“You too. I dislike you very much.”
Henrik let out a snort of laughter.
“What a ridiculous bunch.”
The first underground floor of the Winterkill Ruins was extremely vast.
New monsters appeared wherever the mana golem and Kang Yoonsoo’s party went.
Hundreds of ice landworms burst out by piercing through the icy floor.
While everyone else drew their weapons with wary expressions, only Iris wore a satisfied smile.
“Unlike the skeletons, these ones have hearts. They must taste good.”
“…Please save the tasting review for later!”
Shanette shouted as she swung her flaming great scythe with force.
The ice landworms attacked with teeth like regular landworms, but they frequently burrowed through the floor and suddenly thrust their heads out.
The mana golem stomped around with heavy thuds and used its massive hands to rip the landworms out alive.
The golem squeezed the ice landworms in its fist and crushed them on the spot.
Crunch—!
“Enemy. Kill.”
The mana golem’s presence was overwhelming.
Not only was it huge, but its body was made of mana-infused rock.
Unlike ordinary golems, its strength and physique were far superior.
Jang Inwi said, “It’s fortunate such a powerful golem is our ally.”
“Be careful. It will turn into an enemy later.”
“Pardon?”
Jang Inwi looked at Kang Yoonsoo, but he had already walked off somewhere else.
Thanks to the mana golem slaughtering countless monsters, exploring the interior of the ruins proceeded smoothly.
They also found all the rocks bearing Lekimond’s records.
When the sentences carved on the rocks were connected, they formed a unique story.
After a long investigation, I realized that the secret of immortality exists in the heart of the ruins.
On the lowest floor lives a colossal ice giant.
I used the light of a campfire to blur the giant’s eyes, and in that moment I entered the heart of the ruins.
There, I finally found the secret of immortality.
It was the greatest treasure hidden in this ruin!
The excitement still lingers in my body.
I stored that treasure in the heart of the ruins.
And after leaving this record, I shall become immortal.
At that moment, the floor shook violently.
The wall they had thought was simply a wall opened up.
The mana golem stomped heavily toward it, and the party followed behind.
It was a massive chamber.
In the vast space stood an altar made of ice.
Its tall, ancient style suggested it was meant for some important purpose.
“What exactly is this place?”
“Look over there! Someone is sitting at the top of the altar!”
At the top of the altar sat a middle-aged man wearing thin, shabby clothes.
Like someone who had traveled for a long time, he carried many packs on his back.
The middle-aged man spoke in a thin voice.
“Impressive. You are the first adventurers to reach this place.”
“Who are you?”
“Lekimond Aurel. Three hundred years ago, I entered this ruin just like you and lost my way—an adventurer.”
The clan members stared at Lekimond in shock.
He looked far too young to have lived for three hundred years.
On the other hand, Lekimond spoke with a gentle face.
“If you have deciphered my records and reached this place, you must surely be excellent adventurers. I am happy to have such fine juniors. You have all accepted the request I hid, yes? Those who wish to receive the reward, come up here.”
The first to climb the altar was none other than Kang Yoonsoo.
After all, he was the representative of the party, so it was not particularly strange for him to receive the reward first.
Kang Yoonsoo slowly ascended the altar and stood before Lekimond.
Lekimond smiled faintly and extended his hand.
“Thanks to brave adventurers like you, wonderful tales of heroism shape the world. Would a handshake be alright?”
Kang Yoonsoo stared intently at Lekimond.
He did not extend his hand.
Instead, he moved his hand to the hilt of the sword at his waist.
“What are you doing?”
“I was quite surprised when I first met you. Who would have expected that the reward for the quest would be becoming a sacrifice on the altar?”
“I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
Lekimond frowned.
Kang Yoonsoo gripped the holy cross sword hanging at his waist.
“I’ve tried many things over the years. From experience, it’s best to strike when you’re pretending to be human.”
The moment Lekimond tried to say something—
Slash—!
Kang Yoonsoo’s cross sword pierced his heart.