The Forest's Frozen Fury
The sound of steel piercing flesh echoed sharply through the cave.
You have defeated the Witch of Frost Lv.4.
The player who sent the witch into eternal slumber absorbs a portion of her stats.
As Park Jocheol drove his blade into the witch’s heart, a brilliant light erupted from the wound. I wasn’t sure if it was because her base form had once been a saintess, but her raw defensive power hadn’t been particularly high. If the Red Knight named Landon had become the witch instead, things would have been far more troublesome…
Right now, Landon was sealed inside a barrier of magical ice created by the combination of my technique and the witch’s frost energy. It wouldn’t hold him forever, but breaking through that mass of power would clearly demand a tremendous amount of stamina.
You have made a significant contribution to the hunt of the Witch of Frost.
You have obtained the Ring of Summoning.
◈ An item once possessed by the witch. It can summon a specific monster for a limited time.
◈ A medium related to the summoned creature is required.
◈ Effect: Monster Summoning Possible
◈ Must possess a fragment of the monster
A reward window for the witch hunt appeared before my eyes. But I had no time to examine the item in detail. The moment the witch was destroyed, the magical ice that had been holding Landon began melting at an alarming rate.
“Khaaaa… Haa…!”
Landon glared at me with murderous intent, his rage boiling over. His head slowly turned within the ice. When his gaze passed over Namgung Cheonho and Geumrin and finally landed on Park Jocheol, bloody tears began streaming from his eyes.
“Siin-ssi… that friend of yours looks really pissed off.”
Namgung Cheonho, seeing this, began forming hand seals. A massive surge of scorching yang energy gathered in his palms—his ultimate technique that he had mentioned before. But just before the flame cannon he had named could be unleashed, a piercing message slammed into our ears.
The Frost Knight (Landon) Lv.5 has entered a berserk state due to the witch’s death.
“Kha… aaaah…!!!”
Landon’s scream from within the ice grew louder and louder. His eyes gradually lost focus.
Frost Knight (Berserk) Lv.6: A knight cursed by the Witch of Frost. He has entered an awakened state driven by rage at the witch’s death.
— No further information available.
“Jocheol-ssi, over here…!”
I urgently called out to Park Jocheol at the sudden change in Landon. The situation had become troublesome. Even at Lv.5, I couldn’t guarantee victory in a one-on-one fight. At Lv.6…
“Cheonho-ssi! Save your mana! We’re running for now!”
A monster whose dropped treasures we knew nothing about. Charging at a creature we clearly couldn’t handle in our current state wouldn’t be bravery—it would be stupidity. That said, I had no intention of giving up completely. I already knew that the higher the level, the better the rewards. Hunting a fully awakened monster like this would surely yield something of equal value.
In other words, a strategic retreat.
I hoisted the nearly unconscious Geumrin onto my back and leaped out of the cave without looking back, ignoring the deafening roars echoing behind us.
Crack!
Kwaaaaang!
East of the Death Forest. Just as the western side held the artifact known as the Heart of Frost, a treasure was hidden in the east as well. The difference was that the Breath of Fire, an S-rank treasure like the Heart of Frost, had been placed blatantly on an altar in the middle of an open plain. Even though it was concealed by the forest, it was inevitably more noticeable than the Heart of Frost.
Clang!
Clang-clang!
It was only natural that players would flock to the location of a treasure. Among them were Seo Seyeong’s group. Fortunately, because they had discovered the treasure relatively late, they were able to observe the chaotic battlefield from a safe distance.
“…Fishman ahjussi. I just had a sudden idea. Want to hear it?”
“It’s suicidal.”
“You haven’t even heard it yet.”
“Weren’t you thinking of secretly stealing it just now?”
At Cheongrin’s indifferent reply, Han Gamin widened her eyes in genuine surprise.
“How did you know? Do merfolk have mind-reading powers too?”
“…Ask your colleague.”
At Han Gamin’s question, Cheongrin gave an odd answer. She tilted her head and looked at Seo Seyeong.
“Um… Gamin, I think you need a bit more practice lying.”
“……?”
The two—no, the one woman and one merfolk—turned their heads back toward the direction where the fighting was taking place. Figures in dark robes hurled daggers and various hidden weapons, while a single burning figure confronted them.
You have discovered the S-rank treasure ‘Breath of Fire.’
You have discovered the ‘Guardian (Death)’ protecting the treasure.
Flame Knight (Death) Lv.5: A knight cursed by the ‘Breath of Fire.’ The curse awakened his hidden potential, granting him greater magical power than before. His extremely amplified yang energy is burning away his life force. Unless he dies and revives, there is no way to escape the curse.
— Successful hunt will drop jewels or badges.
Judging by the monster’s description and the attire of both sides, they had likely once been allies. Yet there was no hesitation in their attacks. If anything, the group in black robes and the Flame Knight fought with such ferocity that it seemed they had been itching to kill each other all along. There was no trace of camaraderie between them.
“Doesn’t look like there’s any room for us to intervene.”
At Cheongrin’s words, the two women nodded. Since the so-called allies were busy tearing into each other, there was no need to jump in and take unnecessary losses. The conclusion was simple.
“Let’s head back for now.”
There was no telling how long this fight would last. Moreover, the flaming monster seemed to level up every time it killed someone, visibly growing stronger. If they caught its attention…
“Dying here would be a dog’s death for real.”
They would drop every treasure they held and suffer a partial reduction in stats as the penalty for failing their mission. At Seo Seyeong’s words, the other two turned around as if they had been waiting for the signal. Considering the vast size of the Death Forest, there were bound to be similar locations elsewhere. Increasing their chances of obtaining treasures while exploring the forest didn’t seem like a bad idea.
They walked toward the opposite side of the forest, nerves stretched taut. The heat gradually faded, and the surroundings grew cold and desolate once more. But the moment they moved a short distance away from the treasure known as the Breath of Fire, Cheongrin tilted his head and muttered.
“Doesn’t the temperature feel much lower than before?”
“Isn’t it just because we moved away from that flame monster?”
Han Gamin countered as if it were obvious. Yet even her casual remark failed to ease the serious expression on Cheongrin’s face.
“No… merfolk are extremely sensitive to atmospheric temperature. How could a species that might enter hibernation from even a slight temperature change be mistaken about something like this? There must be some change occurring in this place……”
Crack…
Then it happened. An unfamiliar sound that no one expected to hear in the forest reached their ears.
“Human, did you hear that noise just now?”
The three who had stopped at the sudden cracking sound strained their ears, wondering if another would follow. A sound like something breaking in the middle of the forest… It wasn’t the ground splitting, nor was it a tree snapping. And since this place was neither the Arctic nor Antarctic, there was no reason for the sound of ice cracking. That was what they had thought.
But then—
Craaaaaash!!!
“W-what the hell is that!!!”
“What on earth…?”
In the center of the forest they had been heading toward, an enormous wall of ice had risen, towering high enough to crush the trees around it. It had happened in the blink of an eye. Yet what truly shocked them was the unexpected appearance of certain people.
“Uwaaaaaah!!!”
“Siin-ssi! Just drop that kid already! He’s sleeping like a log!”
Namgung Cheonho and Park Jocheol were sprinting at the front, screaming at the top of their lungs. Behind them came Kim Siin. And finally, the person carried on Kim Siin’s back, fast asleep…
“Your Majesty!”
At the sight of Geumrin, Cheongrin’s eyes sharpened fiercely. He suspected the humans had dared to harm the merfolk king. But that suspicion shattered instantly at Kim Siin’s desperate shout.
“Turn around and ruuuun!!!”
It was the first time since facing the tutorial monster back at Sky Games that his face had looked this grave. The man who had grown stronger, always acted calmly, and made near-perfect judgments. Precisely because it was Kim Siin, his words carried an inexplicable weight.
“Gamin! Run! You too, Cheongrin-ssi!”
“Yes!”
“What…?”
When Seo Seyeong immediately spun around and began sprinting in the opposite direction, Han Gamin followed without a shred of hesitation. The only one still clueless was Cheongrin. But even he realized something was terribly wrong when all five humans ignored him and started running.
“What is that……”
But only for a moment. Beyond the dark forest, something came into his view. A colossal iceberg rising endlessly. And in front of it, the Red Knight with his eyes rolled back, running like a madman.
“G-go… Let’s go together!”
Merfolk dignity? A warrior’s courage? None of that mattered anymore. For the first time since climbing the tower, Cheongrin felt true fear. He had even forgotten that death did not occur in the competition.
“Ahjussi! What the hell is that thing?!”
“That’s the boss!”
In response to Han Gamin’s question, I stated my thoughts as plainly as possible. That thing was definitely the boss. When it had been Lv.5, I had thought, ‘Well, we might be able to put up a fight.’ But after it leveled up, I was certain our current forces couldn’t handle it.
‘Only if the sword can even hit it can we talk about hunting!’
At that level, it could no longer be called human. It wasn’t even touching the ground—floating through the air like some martial technique straight out of Dragon Ball. How could that possibly be human?
“Anyone who’s collected all the treasures should return now!”
This time it was Namgung Cheonho. But the reply came from an unexpected source—Cheongrin.
“I just tried! It doesn’t work!”
You are currently in combat! Please complete your mission after the battle ends!
“You traitor!”
Han Gamin grumbled briefly at Cheongrin’s words. Thanks to him, we learned that even after collecting all five treasures, returning to the lobby was impossible during combat. But I wasn’t grateful. After all, death meant losing every treasure and suffering a partial stat loss. What was there to be happy about in this hopeless situation?
Yet the moment I thought everything was completely ruined—
“Ahjussi! Will you trust me just this once?!”
At Han Gamin’s sharp cry, everyone’s heads turned.
“I don’t know what it is, but do it!”
I immediately nodded. If we didn’t find a solution now, we would all die. The distance was closing rapidly, and our stamina was steadily dropping.
“Follow me!”
As Han Gamin took the lead, faint hope began to bloom on the faces of Seo Seyeong and Cheongrin. Not long after their expressions changed, I noticed something strange.
‘My face is hot…?’
My back was cold, yet my face felt warm. It was like sitting in front of a campfire during outdoor camping. Eventually we arrived at a wide clearing. There, we found a burning monster incinerating players dressed in black robes.