The Heart of Frost
The surroundings were deathly silent. A heavy, sunken hush that made the name Death Forest feel entirely fitting. Seo Seyeong felt goosebumps rise at the unnaturally quiet atmosphere compared to other areas and unconsciously rubbed her arms.
“Unnie… these look like footprints, right?”
That didn’t mean there were no people here. As if to prove they weren’t the only ones who had obtained the map, heavy boot prints stood out clearly along the dark forest path. The impressions were sunk deep. Even without close inspection, it was obvious that dozens of people had passed through. Han Gamin’s face twisted into a frown.
“It seems the map ends here.”
At Cheongrin’s words as he scanned the area, the two women nodded. The map only showed an illustration of a forest wrapped in dark, thorny underbrush at its center. No detailed internal geography had been drawn, so its usefulness was now exhausted.
“We’ll have to search carefully from here on.”
“If it’s a treasure… it should be at the center, right?”
To the two women’s remarks, Cheongrin gazed into the darkness beyond the forest and spoke.
“It may not be a treasure. There could be something else.”
Everyone understood that “something else” meant a monster. The highest-level monster they had encountered so far was Level 4. It was entirely possible that something far beyond that—an overwhelming horror—could emerge.
“For now, let’s follow the footprints.”
The existence of footprints meant competitors, but it could also mean the path had already been safely cleared ahead of them. Anyone who had reached the Death Forest in the individual competition could reasonably be assumed to have hunted Level 4 monsters.
‘Of course, we can’t completely rule out the possibility that they stole the map or obtained it through another route…’
Regardless, staying on guard was the correct choice. While death in the individual competition didn’t mean actual death, losing stats by dying pointlessly here could lead to crushing regret later.
“I’ll take the lead. Watch our backs.”
Cheongrin drew the spear that had been slung across his back and gripped it with both hands. Seo Seyeong and Han Gamin followed, drawing the swords they carried at their sides. None of them could have imagined what was about to unfold.
The Saintess, accompanied by the Holy Kingdom’s knights and priests, had entered the Death Forest and discovered a highly suspicious cave.
“It definitely feels like something is going to come out.”
“It’s damp… an unpleasant place.”
At the knight’s casual remark, the others nodded in shared discomfort. Though they had been inside the Death Forest for quite some time, this was the first time they had encountered a cave so grotesquely formed.
You have discovered the Dungeon: Cave of Eternal Echoes.
Appropriate rewards will be granted upon clearing.
The cave’s name was as eerily fitting as the forest itself. Still, an ominous name was not enough to stop them from entering.
“Landon.”
At the Saintess’s call, the knight in crimson armor stepped forward and took position at the head of the group. A golden aura rose from his body and slowly coiled around the sword he drew. It was the bearing of the Holy Kingdom’s undisputed strongest swordsman. Several knights who witnessed the sword energy formed by holy power and mana drew the sign of the cross, eyes shining with reverence.
“We are entering.”
“Priests, prepare Light Magic.”
Following Landon’s instructions, the group carefully trailed behind him. The cave interior, illuminated by the priests’ spells, was far darker and more desolate than they had imagined. The floor was covered in slippery moss, and the walls were slick with moisture that seemed to seep from both inside and outside.
“There’s something ahead.”
After the lights were cast, one of the knights in the vanguard spoke. Everyone except those watching the rear turned their gazes at once. There, resting neatly atop a stone pedestal, was a single fist-sized orb. It practically screamed ‘This is a treasure’ in its blatant presentation. Its too-perfect, natural placement instead made it feel deeply unnatural. The group immediately heightened their vigilance.
You have discovered the S-rank treasure ‘Heart of Frost.’
Most of the knights drew in sharp breaths.
“This is our first S-rank, isn’t it?”
“I believe the highest rank we’ve seen until now was B+…”
“And these effects… what in the world?”
◈ A condensed orb of frost energy drawn from a snow-capped mountain. Simply possessing it allows the use of basic ice magic.
◈ Effects:
— Increases holder’s mana level by 3
— Enables use of Chilling Shield (B)
— Enables use of Ice Spear (B+)
— Increases affinity with cold-attribute entities
— Increases hostility from fire-attribute entities
Players who had begun surpassing Level 20 knew exactly how many coins were required to raise a single stat by one level. Even a B+ treasure was a priceless item capable of raising vital stats by two or even three levels. The object now before them boasted performance so overwhelmingly broken that it crushed every item they had seen since entering the tower.
“With this, the other competitions won’t be a problem.”
“It seems the Lord is watching over us.”
The priests’ eyes sparkled as they gazed at the Heart of Frost. However, the Saintess felt only discomfort at the sight of the impossible treasure. This was the first object among all the treasures they had encountered that so strongly evoked the desire to possess it. Having risen to the position of Saintess through countless mental trials and divine revelations, she clearly recognized the emotion she now felt as the ugly darkness of human greed.
“……”
Yet when she took no action, several priests reached slowly toward the orb as if entranced. The other knights’ eyes gradually began to change as well, the atmosphere growing feverish. The Saintess could no longer stay silent.
“Everyone, stop!”
At her shout, the people flinched and shook their heads, as if realizing they had lost their senses. But even then, one knight failed to regain his composure.
“Landon! Stop Bernard—!”
Her words were cut short.
Shwaaaack!
A piercing sound came from the cave entrance. It was too heavy to be an arrow, yet too sharp to be a person leaping forward. A clean slice.
“Huh?”
All eyes turned toward the long arc traced through the air by the Holy Knight Bernard’s severed arm. In that instant, the one who grasped the situation fastest was Landon, who had already pulled the Saintess into his embrace.
“Enemy attack!”
At Landon’s roar, the Holy Kingdom’s knights and priests seized their weapons and scanned their surroundings. Something flew through the air. They couldn’t tell what it was, but every time the sound rang out the area grew darker. The enemy seemed to be throwing objects specifically to extinguish the Light Magic.
Thud!
Without hesitation, Landon snatched up the nearby Heart of Frost. The Light Magic was being shattered one by one. Their vision was darkening, yet the enemy continued snuffing out the lights without concern. The best option was to focus entirely on defense until they could locate the enemy—or for the strongest among them to overextend and quickly eliminate the threats. That was Landon’s judgment.
Chilling Shield
The moment Landon, now holding the Heart of Frost, shouted, mana surged from his body and formed a cold barrier centered on the Saintess. Shwaaack! Clang! A thin wall of ice blocked the unidentified attacks. But nothing was over yet. He thrust the Heart of Frost toward the Saintess.
“Saintess! Take this!”
Her holy protective barrier had limits against physical force. To block the incoming attacks and allow Landon to engage the enemy, she needed to use the treasure. Understanding his intent, the Saintess took the Heart of Frost and maintained the barrier.
Tang!
Landon kicked off the ground and charged into the darkness. The priests cast Light Magic toward his path. As if sensing his movement, the same attacks from before began flying toward him once more.
Shwaaaack!
Thanks to the light, Landon saw sharply polished black arrows hurtling toward him.
“Haaap!”
He twisted his sword briefly, deflecting the arrows. They bounced off lightly and embedded in the wall with a loud crash. The distance had closed in an instant. Drawing up his mana, he swung his blade with all his strength at the shadowy figure now faintly visible.
Squelch!
The shadow’s head flew off. Landon’s sword immediately moved toward the next target. The figures hiding in the darkness seemed startled by his sudden assault and hurriedly tried to move, but they were too slow to evade him. A fierce battle unfolded within the shadows.
Yet moments later, Landon sensed something was wrong—the instant the creatures abandoned their counterattack and began fleeing the cave.
‘It’s dark…’
The entire area was pitch black. In the heat of battle, he hadn’t noticed that all the Light Magic cast to support him had been extinguished.
“Saintess…!”
He spun toward where she had been. What he saw was the wall of ice around her slowly expanding. Her once-brilliant golden hair had turned pure white at some point, and the warm holy power that had radiated from her had become nothing but biting cold.
The unease both the Saintess and Landon had felt when they first encountered the S-rank treasure had now crossed a river that could never be uncrossed.
The forest had grown as dark as if night had suddenly fallen. After discovering traces of Seo Seyeong and Han Gamin, a considerable amount of time had passed since we entered the Death Forest, yet we had found nothing.
“This reminds me vividly of night patrols in the military. I almost feel like we might run into a roe deer.”
Namgung Cheonho, who had been quietly looking around, spoke carefully, clearly uncomfortable with the dark space.
“A roe deer… Honestly, I’d welcome anything at this point. The sooner the better.”
When we first entered, we had moved with extreme tension, not knowing what might appear. But there were no monsters—not even their shadows. We simply continued walking aimlessly, gripped by a hollow feeling.
“Hoo… Once we meet Seo Seyeong and Gamin, let’s head back out and hunt some Level 4 monsters at least… Hm? Jocheol?”
Just as I was wondering if we were simply wasting time, Park Jocheol, who had been at the front, raised a hand to stop us and lowered his stance.
“Something… the surrounding temperature has changed.”
Park Jocheol’s ability was Super Sensory.
“Which direction?”
“That way.”
If he sensed something, there was undoubtedly a significant change occurring in this forest. We began moving quickly with Park Jocheol in the lead and soon discovered a cave entrance from which cold air was slowly seeping out.