The White Wyvern's Trial
“Ugh, shit!”
The department head's eyes widened as he scrambled backward like a bug. A massive white wyvern, easily four meters long, loomed before them. A name tag floated above its head.
[Elite: Guardian White Wyvern (Lv.138)]
-Insane;
-Elite Lv.138?
-Why the hell is something like that here?
-Who’s gonna take it down ;
-Help us, advance team.
The viewers who saw the info freaked out. The snowfield teemed with monsters of all levels, but this wyvern was beyond comprehension. The “Elite” prefix marked it as even stronger than usual.
“What the hell is that?”
“Oh……!”
Kim Jaeha looked flustered, while Avant-garde's eyes sparkled. Then, an alarm blared, and a message popped up in front of everyone.
[Quest]
The domain of the watchman guarding the master of the snowfield. It imposes trials on challengers who enter.
Objective: Defeat the White Wyvern to earn qualification.
Reward: White Wyvern's Heart
(Entry and exit from the generated combat field is prohibited. Death revokes challenger status.)
[Field Effect: Freezing Debuff applied.]
[Attack speed and movement speed reduced by 30 percent.]
Whoosh—a translucent orange field materialized with the message. The trial had begun.
“Huh?”
“Challenger?”
“What debuff is this……!”
Everyone who saw the same message reacted with shock. But there was no time to process it.
Shing!
Kang Hanbit drew his sword from its sheath. “Let’s kill that thing first.”
***
Clang!
Kaboom!
The battle kicked off with Hanbit's strike, descending into chaos. Avant-garde and Kim Jaeha jumped in right after. Taeyul's rattled party snapped out of it and grabbed their weapons.
Thud!
Whoosh!
A few players around level 100 put up a decent fight. But the White Wyvern only thrashed harder under the onslaught.
“Can we even take this down?”
“It's insanely tough!”
Even their combined attacks showed no end in sight.
Slash!
“Gah!”
One of Taeyul's party members got shredded by its claws. The longer the fight dragged on, the more casualties mounted.
Whoosh!
Then the wyvern flapping its wings opened its maw.
“Breath attack! Dodge!”
Hanbit shouted the warning, spotting it first. The cold breath—its main nuke—was coming.
Thud!
He dove behind a massive boulder. The wyvern unleashed at the same instant.
Kaboom!
A eerie roar accompanied the blast of pure white breath, sweeping the players' position in one go.
-Insane.
lmao
-Fucking brutal;
-Can we even beat it?
-Just toss one of Taeyul's guys to plug its mouth?
-O.
“Isn't this too brutal?”
“With the debuff, it feels so heavy—total nightmare.”
The field effect's speed reduction hit hard. The gap between perception and movement threw even players into disarray.
Kaboom!
The White Wyvern kept spewing breath, as if determined to freeze everything. Hanbit was the only one unaffected.
'Made this just right.'
The Frozen Fire Armor he'd crafted from gathered materials. Its 60% cold resistance was pulling its weight—no debuff to speak of.
'Now, how to hunt it……'
Hanbit hadn't used any skills yet. Saving them for whatever awaited in the Snow Drake's citadel, just in case.
'Mana should be fine, right?'
Attribute Manifestation drained overall physical stats hard, taxing his endurance. But the new Element Amplification? It only burned mana—no extra risks.
The issue was—
Whoosh!
The wind surging from his sword was spirit power. Would Element Amplification even work on it?
'Let’s find out.'
Gripping the hilt with both hands, Hanbit focused. The skill forced amplification, burning mana to supercharge elements in range.
Swoosh!
It activated with his intent, twisting the wind's flow into something erratic. If the sylphs rejected the magic……
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a massive gust erupted from the blade—too fierce to even stand against.
Swoosh.
The wyvern's breath cut off abruptly.
“Ngh!”
The mana drain hit like a truck, dizzying him. No falling now. He lunged forward.
Thud!
The raging wind barely contained along the blade's edge hindered his run. Hanbit charged, suppressing it, then leaped high.
Scree!
Full-power overhead slash. A colossal wind blade followed its arc—sharper, fiercer than ever, devouring air as it flew.
The moment it touched the White Wyvern's neck—
Slash!
A sharp sound, and its head hit the ground.
Ding!
[Quest completed.]
[Obtained White Wyvern's Heart.]
[Combat field released.]
Swoosh—the orange field vanished with the messages. Trial cleared.
-Whoa.
-That Element Amplification?
-Straight broken. lmao
-Info: 4-rank narrative hidden skill.
-That wind is massive. lol
-Level gap like that, shouldn't it just eat him?
-You see his stats?
-Around level 100+ equivalent.
-Skill buffs probably push higher?
-Shut up and take my guide notes……
The overleveled power lit up the chat.
“Guess we didn't need to step in after all.”
A voice came from above. A hooded man with a spear over his shoulder grinned down. Advance team Riwei.
Thud!
He landed lightly, scanning the crowd.
“What's with all these tagalongs?”
Riwei's gaze locked on Taeyul's players. He hadn't been watching the stream, so he was out of the loop.
“Why's the advance team here? You call him?”
The department head, still prone, staggered up warily, eyes screaming suspicion.
Hanbit downed a mana potion. “Used the Wish Ticket to call for help. Can't reach the citadel without advance-team firepower.”
“……Hmph.”
-Look at that gross face;
-Every time he 'hmphs,' I wanna flick his forehead.
-Just hate the guy.
-Fr, get lost.
The chat filled with hate as the department head's face soured like he might complain.
Ding!
[AllKnowers donated 1,000 won.]
[Taeyul boss homepage bug: Free board always open.]
-Huh?
-Time to flex.
-Keyboard… was gonna leave it away……
Viewers stirred at the bad news. Hanbit swallowed a laugh. “Ease up, guys. It's just a deal.”
“A deal?”
Riwei glanced over, curious.
Hanbit gave the short version he'd told viewers.
“Oh?”
That was it. Unreadable expression, but calling Riwei meant backup—and with stakes on the line, he'd go all out.
“Let’s sort this out first.”
Hanbit drew everyone's eyes, then pulled a snowy-white orb from his inventory and set it down.
“This is the White Wyvern's Heart. Like I said, your ticket to the citadel.”
“That's the ticket? You didn't swap it for something else?”
The department head, skimming chat, stomped over, face red with impending rage.
“Doubt it? Check it yourself.”
“Outta the way!”
He crouched low to inspect it.
Hiss—intense cold poured out. He couldn't get close, stumbling awkwardly.
“Just look at the info?”
“……I know!”
Prodded, he snapped, standing with a huff, then sheepishly checked.
[White Wyvern's Heart]
Rank: ?
Grade: ?
Description: A crystal of the White Wyvern's cold condensed to its limit. The dense chill it emits hinders trial challengers while protecting them. Seems useful for something else too.
“What the hell does this mean?”
The department head looked baffled. Nothing made sense.
“Don't get it? Step aside.”
Hanbit pulled out blue gloves from inventory. Non-freezing cooking gloves, prize from the cooking contest. Comically oversized, they stood out.
Slip—gloved up, he crouched to grab the orb.
Then the department head seized his arm.
“I should hold this.”
“What?”
“It's the key, right? Can't trust what you'll do with it. Gimme.”
-Sigh……
-Tolerated enough.
-You started it.
-1st squad, launch.
-Homepage emergency.
Another sleazy move. Hanbit asked flatly, “You wanna hold it? I could do it better.”
“Tch! I said I'm holding it! Gimme the gloves!”
He snatched them, crouching clumsily to grab the orb.
Crunch—cold still billowed out, frosting everything.
“Ngh!”
Arm extended, he winced. The biting chill felt all too real. Debuff alerts probably spamming his vision.
“Want me to take it?”
“I said no!”
Same answer. His wobbling was comical.
“So, we heading to the citadel now?”
Riwei asked, eyeing the department head dryly.
Hanbit nodded. “Find another crevasse and drop in.”
“Ticket good for one?”
“Field-wide, so yeah. The crowd outside is the issue.”
A swarm of players lingered at a distance, stuck watching due to the field lockout.
Hanbit turned to them. “Quick heads-up: Better hurry. Not many wyverns left.”
“Huh?”
“Not many?”
Murmurs rose. He'd pegged maybe five remaining. Dawdle, and they'd miss out entirely.
Screeech!
A wyvern cry echoed from afar.
Hanbit eyed the players. “Not going? Sounds like one's down.”
“Damn it……!”
“Move!”
“Spread out and scout spots!”
They bolted in panic.
Hanbit watched, then turned. “Let’s go too.”