The Second Wave - Glacier's Wrath
Kkieak-! Kwaang-! The scene in Ifrit resembled hell itself. Collapsed walls everywhere, monsters swarming toward them. Even from afar, the ogres hurling rocks numbered in the dozens. Some had already breached into the city.
"Ugh!"
"Block them somehow!"
The soldiers, who had been lax until now, finally panicked and scrambled into action. But without the main adventurers present, they were defenseless.
Ding-
Kang Hanbit, racing toward the wall, checked the floating message.
[Sub Quest #3 completed.]
[Sub Quest settlement complete.]
[Received 1,500,000 gold.]
[30 stat points granted.]
[Experience increased by 400,000.]
[Level up by 4.]
[4 stat points granted.]
[Main Quest branch point reset.]
[Main Quest progress greatly increased.]
[Main Quest total rewards greatly increased.]
[Main Quest #7: Second Wave]
A second monster wave has struck Ifrit. Help the adventurers and soldiers repel the assault.
Objective: Protect the city from the second wave.
Rewards: 300,000 gold, 100,000 experience, 8 stat points
*Current progress: 60%
-Whoa.
-Rewards are insane lol
-30 stat points??
-Why does this guy always get x10?
-Jealous? Get reborn as Black Dragon then lol
-Fucking birth lottery bs.
Kang Hanbit quickly skimmed the lengthy messages. The monster horde was drawing ever closer. He immediately allocated his stat points.
[Black Dragon-Lv.64]
[Title: None]
Strength: 80 Agility: 80 Intelligence: 80 Vitality: 63
Remaining stat points: 0
Stats invested heavily into power. This was to amplify the Attribute Manifestation effect that had activated after his class change.
Shwaaak-!
Zenon, leading the charge, cut down monsters as he headed for the wall. He wanted to check on his daughter first, but he wasn't the type to ignore the city's peril.
Whoosh-!
A gale whipped from Kang Hanbit's blade. The chill carried by the wind grew ever more intense. Thanks to the skill's rank-up, the pre-activation for Attribute Manifestation was faster. It wasn't just a difference between fire and ice—the density of the elemental convergence felt entirely different.
Just focus on area coverage.
The ice spirit's trait was freezing. Riding it on Wind Swordsmanship would yield even better results.
Kruk-!
Kkieak-!
As Kang Hanbit closed in on the monster legion, they bared their teeth and turned their gazes toward him. An overwhelming number, with no gaps in sight. One small mistake, and it would lead straight to death.
Even so, Kang Hanbit didn't hesitate for a second.
Thud-!
Lowering his stance, he gripped the hilt with both hands and twisted his body. Fixing his direction, he swung the sword horizontally in a wide arc.
Whoosh-!
Wind born along the jagged trajectory. The intense cold surging within it triggered a transformation.
Kwa-dud-!
The power of Glacier, carried by the wind, froze the air in an instant. It spread along the path at explosive speed.
Kwa-gugugwa-!
Vast cold filled his vision in a heartbeat. The force engulfed the horde, freezing everything in its path.
Thud-!
His body felt drained, but he still had margin. Kicking off immediately, Kang Hanbit shifted to a nearby spot—the path where the remaining monsters would charge.
Whoosh-!
Plunging into the pack, he swung his sword in a wide circle. The cold scattered along the trajectory instantly froze the surroundings.
Kwa-dudud-!
Even without the wind boost, the range exceeded the blade's arc. Satisfied with the performance, Kang Hanbit lowered his sword.
"Hoo."
His exhaled breath formed a white mist. A brief, silent hush followed.
Then the viewers shattered it.
-Insane lololol
-That's not Snow Drake??
-Black Dragon (Snow-flavored)
-Spirit King class whoa
-If the real body shows up instead of traces, RP's done for?
-Earth too lmao;
Reactions poured in, stunned by the Glacier power that dominated a wide area.
"Th-they're all frozen!"
"What the...?"
The soldiers and adventurers battling on the wall froze in place. All the monsters they'd been fighting were encased in ice. The survivors had frozen limbs too—no one was unscathed.
"Black Dragon!"
Then Avant-garde's voice rang out from behind. He was sprinting over, eyes gleaming wildly.
"Unbelievable power! So this is the trace of Glacier!"
"Whoa, freezing that many with just two swings?"
Kim Jaeha's eyes widened in shock. Two swings for that output. It really drove home how extraordinary a spirit king's trace was. And wielding it put Black Dragon far beyond common sense.
"A blade that withstands such power..."
Gorik focused on the sword in Kang Hanbit's hand. A weapon he'd never used before—maybe it was time to show it off.
"Hold the breached path!"
Zenon's voice echoed from the wall. He'd joined the defense the moment he saw Kang Hanbit move.
"I'll clean up a bit more."
Kang Hanbit summoned wind to his blade again. With Ifrit's current forces, even finishing off the frozen ones would be a stretch.
Whoosh-!
Activating Element Amplification, a fierce gale surged. In stance, he swung at the frozen monsters.
Slash-!
The wind blades spread wide, cleanly slicing through the iced horde. Not all killed, but the rest were for them.
-So satisfying.
-Freeze? Sylphs just kill outright.
-Hidden skills started with wind.
-The roots whoa
"We'll link up over there."
Finishing cleanup, Kang Hanbit headed to the wall with the others. Wounded crying out everywhere, comrades treating them. Fallout from the wall's collapse.
"Black Dragon!"
Zenon approached amid the bustle. Kang Hanbit scanned around and asked,
"How's the situation?"
"Thanks to your help, we kept the citizens safe. Only a few monsters got inside."
"Good. The wall's the problem."
Kang Hanbit turned to survey the shattered sections. Still holding shape, but multiple breaches made it precarious.
"Yes. Another attack in this state, and we won't hold. If we'd swapped materials sooner..."
Zenon had called the glass walls absurd from the start. But citizens, feeling no threat, backed the mayor for aesthetics and economy.
"Repair's possible now, but you really plan to use this?"
Gorik, standing back, eyed the wall skeptically. With their legacy reclaimed, full tech restoration was feasible. Fixing that was trivial.
But patching it as-is made no sense.
"Obviously."
A woman approached from the city interior. Ifrit's mayor, Firnen de Artua.
"Didn't expect you back too."
Firnen narrowed her eyes at Gorik, then sighed.
"Came to check repairs, and it's more broken? Pathetic, leaving it to dwarves."
"...Still the same. Blinded by money, can't protect citizens?"
"Says the one who abandoned his people and fled?"
-Stare-down whoa
-But facts tho
-Grazing hits fatal
-Nah Firnen's face +20 toughness
The two, clashing often in the past, traded barbs. Arms crossed, Firnen scanned proudly.
"It's decided. To keep dwarves out of the city, just quietly fix it."
"...Tch."
Mentioning dwarf treatment silenced Gorik. Obvious outcome, but he had no choice. Perfect flow for Kang Hanbit.
"Your Highness, how long for wall repairs?"
"...Less than a day. Heard you have the slabs."
The massive glass for repairs was already stored. Just lacked processing tech.
"Good. Proceed. Bill us later."
Firnen explained flatly, then met Kang Hanbit's gaze. He dropped a bombshell.
"Oh, by the way, found a Snow Drake in the snowfields."
"...Pardon?"
The out-of-nowhere claim flustered Firnen. The snowfields' owner, now legend—appearing now? Unbelievable.
"Too grave to lie about. You know what that means?"
"Brought materials as proof. I'll stop by the guild; report later."
"......"
With evidence, she couldn't dismiss it. If true, major issue. Closing and opening her eyes, Firnen bowed formally.
"Need the report, but if real, another huge achievement. We'll pay rewards with the rest once sorted."
She spun and headed to the wounded, voice laced with irritation.
"What incompetence is this? How did you let it get this bad?"
"Ma'am, monsters were—"
"You station soldiers to act. Turret operation was late too. We'll hold you accountable."
Soldiers panicked under the one-sided reprimand.
"Mayor, this wall can't protect the city."
A soldier stood. Firnen furrowed her brow.
"Blaming the wall for your failures?"
"Punish us, fine. But leave this damn wall, and it'll collapse eventually."
-Whoa
-She's really going for it;
-Loyal retainer, she'll do something?
-Yes, we isolated the dude~
Firnen narrowed her eyes at the blunt warning.
Pointing to the city, she said,
"Change the wall, lose tourists, tarnish our art city rep—who takes blame? You?"
"I'll do anything I can."
"No, you can't. Not even with hundreds of lives."
Crushing his resolve, Firnen shook her head pityingly. Turning from the wounded,
"No objections. Recover and prep. I'll get wall repair updates."
Issuing final orders, Firnen strode back into the city.
"Wait..."
Zenon, listening quietly, tried to call her back. Kang Hanbit stopped him, voice low.
"It's fine. Let her go."
"But this is really dangerous."
"That's why we retrieved the dwarves' legacy. Mess with it, things go wrong. Trust me."
"......"
Zenon watched Firnen's retreating back. He'd raised the wall issue countless times.
But if Black Dragon had a plan, that changed everything. His actions today built massive trust.
"Understood."
Nodding, Zenon approached the soldier who'd confronted her.
"It'll be okay. Focus on recovery and prep."
Offering comfort, he talked more. The soldier's eyes flicked to Kang Hanbit, who nodded.
"Got it."
Ending the chat, Zenon returned. Then an alarm rang.
Ding-
[Main Quest #7 completed.]
[Rewards enhanced by achievements.]
[Received 500,000 gold.]
[12 stat points granted.]
[Experience increased by 230,000.]
[Level up by 2.]
[2 stat points granted.]
[Progress greatly increased.]
[Main Quest #8: Report]
Repelled the second monster wave safely. Wall's in bad shape—prepare for next invasion.
Objective: Return to Adventurer's Guild and report.
Rewards: None
*Current progress: 71%
Minimal damage boosted rewards big-time. Scanning the details, Kang Hanbit turned toward the wall's interior.
"Head to the guild first."