The Fragment of the West Ice Emperor
“Not some labyrinth after all.”
The slime worm cave had no traps or branching paths—just a straight shot forward.
“Wind Cutter!”
Boom!
The blade of wind slammed into the cave wall once more, shredding the worms into pieces.
—Just one more, you said?
“Nah, y’know, just talk.”
He said that, but staring at the worms clinging to the walls made his trigger finger itch.
“How am I supposed to hold back from those?”
A couple here and there? Fine. But a cluster of the bastards packed together? No way he wasn’t blasting them with a spell.
Carpe swept through the cave like that, picking up scraps of XP along the way.
Then, at some point, the slime worms just... vanished.
“Huh?”
The air had changed.
The hot, sticky humidity suddenly turned chilly.
“Atmosphere shifted outta nowhere...”
—Boss incoming. Stay sharp.
Cheonma was spot on.
Round the corner, and bam—a massive open space screamed boss room.
And weirdly...
“...Fog?”
The whole room was blanketed in thick mist, with a blurry silhouette squirming in the center.
That’s the boss, huh.
—Feels way off from the worms. That vibe’s straight-up menacing.
Yeah.
He got why thriller flicks loved heavy fog now. Limited vision bred pure unease on its own.
Gulp.
Tension sent a dry swallow down his throat.
The fog was too dense to make out the thing clearly.
But instead...
Crunch. Crunch.
Something chewing rang out crystal clear.
Looked like he’d crashed the boss monster’s dinner hour.
Whew. Lucky break.
Most creatures were defenseless mid-meal.
Perfect ambush timing.
The boss hadn’t clocked the intruder yet, still chowing down.
Carpe quietly extended his right hand toward the silhouette.
Silent cast here.
No shouting skill names during a sneak attack.
But Last Savior had this absurd system tied to skill names.
All active skills could be triggered mentally... but...
—You know silent casts cut skill effects by 50%, right?
Silent use halved the power. Not just damage.
Take Wind Cutter: 50% less damage, 50% lower bleed chance, and bleed DoT halved too.
Every effect from the skill? Sliced in half.
Basically forced you to chant or eat the penalty.
—Dunno why they added this crap. Kinda gets the logic, though.
Chanting vs. silent made a huge difference in fights.
Especially PvP—foes could guess your skill from the callout.
—Pick one or the other.
Players got forced choices mid-battle.
Silent for stealth, sacrifice damage.
Chant for full power.
Devs’ way of deepening strategy.
But most RaSe players? Chanting was meta.
One reason:
Skill names just look cooler shouted.
No wonder wuxia comics had fighters yelling technique names mid-deathmatch.
Even with life-or-death stakes, it was cooler.
Efficiency and tactics? Secondary.
Carpe fully agreed.
But silent’s gotta be silent sometimes.
Like right now.
Plus, he had an item to ignore the penalty.
Enigma. Magic Store. Wind Cutter.
◈ No silent cast penalty.
◈ MP cost reduced.
His first legendary from job-changing to Magical Fist Lord.
—Additional Option 3 (Hidden): Store one designated skill. Stored skills cost less MP and can be used silently.
* No silent cast penalty when using stored magic.
Ma-do Weapon - Enigma’s unique effect kicked in.
Wind Cutter!
A wind blade formed before his outstretched hand.
Magic additionally activates (30% proc).
That measly 30% proc triggered again.
Two crescent Wind Cutters crossed in an X and rocketed toward the silhouette.
Shrrk!
The moment the wind blades sliced through the fog and hit...
Bang!
Air exploded, blasting away the mist around the boss. The silhouette revealed itself.
Crunch. Crunch.
Triangular head, massive twin eyes.
Rock-hard carapace, huge twin scythes.
A mantis.
A blue one, around 2 meters tall, munching away.
“What?!”
Carpe swallowed hard.
Shockingly, it’d blocked both Wind Cutters without a scratch.
Ice crystals floated around it—cold aura? They collided with the blades, causing the massive air burst.
But that wasn’t why Carpe freaked.
“...What the hell is that?”
Fog cleared to reveal...
Centered on the blue mantis, a 5-meter radius littered with countless worm corpses.
Frost coated every one—frozen solid.
And smack in the middle, dwarfing the rest by five times: a giant worm corpse.
Crunch.
The blue mantis was devouring that.
—What’s the deal here?
Carpe and Cheonma clocked it instantly.
That giant worm? The cave’s real boss.
And it’d just been murdered by this unknown monster.
Event Monster Fragment of the Slayer detected!
The mantis’s head popped up with Fragment of the Slayer floating over it.
Blood-red name, deeper than fresh gore.
Proof of a 35+ level gap.
“Déjà vu much.”
He’d tangoed with a 35+ event monster before.
The mad priest in Ruana’s Pit.
Exact same vibe as Mainades the Fanatic.
Meaning...
“Magic King relic-related, right?”
Carpe ramped up his focus.
These event monsters? No joke.
One slip = death.
Dragon’s Eye activated.
Know thy enemy, win every time. Info first.
Carpe hit the mantis—Fragment of the Slayer—with Dragon’s Eye.
“...Huh?”
The info window blew his mind.
• 8-star Mental Domination (Boss Exclusive)
• 8-star Ultimate Camouflage (Boss Exclusive)
• 8-star Blizzard Nova (Boss Exclusive)
• 6-star Mantis Fist
“Whoa.”
Carpe let out an exclamation too wild for words.
The mantis’s window was insane.
West Ice Emperor? HP/MP at 33%? Shocking, but three 8-star skills? That was the kicker.
Field elite bosses topped at one 7-star...
Myth-class quest difficulty, alright.
—Hey.
“Got it. No slacking, full focus—”
—Run. We can’t win.
“...Pardon?”
Carpe whipped around to Cheonma.
Seriousness like he’d never seen.
—Figured ‘Slayer’ was a stretch, but damn it! West Ice Emperor spawn?
“What’s that?”
—I’ll explain later. Just run—
Then.
Fragment of the Slayer detects you.
“Kieek? Kieeek?”
The giant mantis finally turned from its meal toward Carpe.
—Shit. Busted.
“Invincible boss again? Feels winnable to me.”
Not baseless bravado.
Proof hit right away.
Fragment of the Slayer uses Mental Domination on you.
All mental interference magic and status effects Release!
Clang!
Something shattered. The 8-star skill crumbled pathetically.
Carpe grinned.
“One of three 8-stars fully sealed.”
Two left.
Attack skills? Blizzard Nova and Mantis Fist.
Dodge those, easier than Mainades...
—Not just the 8-stars.
“Huh?”
—If that was all, I wouldn’t freak. Remember Dragon’s Eye option exactly?
“Exactly?”
Legendary necklace from slaying the event boss priest.
Simple but OP option.
“Duh. Shows target’s current HP/MP, equipped items, skills... Huh?”
Carpe paled.
Yeah. There was that.
An overlooked exception clause!
After the Dragon’s Eye description: [However, 9-star+ skills and Epic+ items cannot be detected.]
“Kieeek!”
Mad at its skill getting crushed?
Rage dripped from its screech.
“...”
Carpe grasped the gravity.
Suddenly, a cold wind howled.
Started as chill breeze, turned flesh-cutting blizzard in seconds.
Blue mantis at the eye.
“Guh?!”
Blizzard hammered him, HP ticking down.
Weird part? Not a skill.
Just the prelude.
—...It’s coming!
Blizzard peaked. Mantis’s red eyes flashed blue.
Crack!
Ground froze around it.
Then, a grating, metal-scraping voice echoed in his skull.
Strongest ice 9-star.
Permafrost!
CrackcraCK!
Ice erupted like a tidal wave from the mantis.
Shattering worm corpses in its path, gunning for Carpe.
“Damn it!”
First time witnessing a 9-star active. Thrilling, but worst timing.
Gut said: Un-dodgeable.
Dump every stat into agility? Still swept in 3 seconds.
And obliterated.
“Inventory!”
Pure reflex.
Inventory flew open, scroll in hand—but
Crack!
Ice hit his feet first.
Exposed to 9-star skill Permafrost.
100% chance: Frostbite inflicted.
All movement slowed. Skill cooldowns +100%.
Permafrost wasn’t damage-heavy—hit weaker than some 8-stars.
But everything else? God-tier.
Insane cast speed, AoE debuff field, follow-up DoT. Ultimate combo skill!
Unless you had max magic defense, frostbite = instant death.
But exceptions exist.
Status effect FrostbiteRelease!
Clang!
Unlock fired. Binding ice shattered.
“Guh!”
Carpe ripped the scroll without missing a beat.
Whoosh!
Next thing he knew, back in the Elf Village.
HP below 60%: Recover 1% HP per second for 10 seconds.
Just grazed, not full hit—and HP was scraping zero.
Carpe flopped down, exhaling deeply.
“Ugh. Lived.”
—You good?
Worry laced Cheonma’s voice.
Not body—game over dodged on return.
Mind, though.
Carpe, who’d rampaged through every foe till now? First retreat.
Worried he’d lose game hype...
—Shocked? Take a breather?
“Huh? Why?”
—...For real?
But Cheonma’s concern? Totally needless.
“Course I’m good. That was epic.”
Carpe beamed brighter than ever.
Tightest tension of his life.
Indescribable high coursed through him, challenge fire roaring.
“We’re killing it! No matter what!”
—Can’t keep up with your brain, man.
Simple as Mukhyang-level.
Cheonma muttered inwardly.
“Oh, hyung. What was that thing? Not Magic King-related?”
Cheonma seemed to know the mantis.
Weird—Magic King quests, he should be clueless too?
—Oh, that? It’s...
But no answer came.
Alteer Woodgard, Elf Queen.
She appeared, pinching her brow like a headache, eyeing ice shards on Carpe’s clothes. Sighed.
“Hoo. Why are Magic King heirs all so recklessly bold? Carpe. You alright?”
“Yeah. See? Fine.”
“Good. If you can move, follow. I’ll answer what you’re wondering.”
The 10-Star Player's Lucky Draw