"Magnificent."
Frey sat on a large boulder and looked down from his position on the largest mountain in the vicinity.
He could see the other mountains, the buildings in Ispaniola City which looked like nails sticking into the sky, a large flowing river and a vast meadow, all at once.
The process that he had needed to see such an amazing sight was incredibly difficult.
He looked down at his armor.
The armor was ragged and his overall appearance was rather messed up.
He did not have any healing spells so he was covered in wounds.
If before he had looked like a beggar to Sonia, now he looked like he had been on a battlefield for a week.
The strength of the monsters which lived on Drake Mountain was much higher than he had expected.
The Drakes which he'd met after he entered the mid-levels of the mountains were strong enough to make his blood run cold.
'Especially that guy…'
An enormous Drake that he had only managed to see once.
It had the body of a Dragon, completely with scales that looked harder than steel and a roar that shook the entire mountain range.
Frey was able to roughly tell how strong an opponent is just by looking at them. It was a skill developed with age.
And that skill told him one thing.
He couldn't beat it.
'It's the King.'
Perhaps the entire mountain range was his territory.
It was a Monster Lord.
Frey made sure to avoid that guy.
This was because this was not an enemy he could defeat, even if he tried to resort to tricks.
At the same time, Frey diligently practiced mastering his senses and control. Thanks to that, he finally gained an achievement.
'I finally made Frey's body mine.'
Such an adjustment was only possible through real-world experience where the pressure could push him over his limit.
He was now convinced that he had fully gained control over Frey's body, without the slightest error.
However, it had taken him two weeks and three days to reach the summit, which had exceeded his expectation.
It was the result of him being too focused on his practice.
"Hoo."
Frey realized that his mana was once again full.
At the top of the mountain, the air was thin, but the mana concentration was incredibly dense.
Thanks to that he was able to refill his mana capacity before he had even realized.
He turned around and looked at the volcanic lake behind him.
As the size of the mountain was beyond imagination, the volcanic lake at its peak was not a joke.
What Frey truly paid attention to, was the island in the middle of the lake.
"Fly."
Woowoong.
He flew overusing the flight spell.
However, he still remained wary of the lake. It would not be weird if that freak had raised a monster in the lake.
Tat.
Fortunately, nothing happened and Frey was able to land without any trouble.
He looked around. The island was small but it was very beautiful.
Frey recalled Schweiser's words from the past.
"The peak of a towering mountain that pierced into the clouds. Where there would be a beautiful lake…with a small island in the center."
It was consistent with what the guy dreamed about every day.
Frey looked at the ground.
Then he closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment.
"…I knew it."
His lips stretched into a smile.
No matter what that guy did, he liked to make it big, so there was absolutely no way that such a small island would be able to fit his dungeon.
And just as he had expected, there was an enormous space below the island.
'The only entrance is this island. If someone tried to force their way in from any other direction…the entire mountain would collapse.'
That tricky guy.
Frey thought it was troublesome, but he was glad to have found a trace from one of his best friends after such a long time.
Frey looked around.
The entrance to the dungeon wasn't that hard to find.
It was the largest tree on the island. Literally a giant tree.
There was a large hole in the tree that served as an entrance.
Frey went into the hole without hesitation.
The fact that he had been nice enough to build stairs showed that he intended for the dungeon to be found.
It wasn't too dark as there were soft lights in the stairwell.
After walking for a while, Frey stopped and looked ahead of him.
In front of him was a gigantic door that was covered in magical runes.
With a quick glance, Frey had already noticed a few things.
'I can't open it by force.'
It was a magic technique that Schweiser himself had created.
Maybe if he was in Lucas' body, but at the present, Frey's body would explode like a firecracker the second he tried.
That meant that he had to follow the rules.
Frey's gaze was drawn to a small marble that was on the front of the door.
After dusting it off a bit, he realized that it seemed to be a jewel of some sort.
Placing his hand on it, Frey began to send his mana into the gem.
Woowoong.
After a moment, white smoke began pouring out of the marble.
Soon the smoke began to take shape.
It became a grey-haired, golden-eyed boy.
Tadah.
There was a mischievous smile on his face and he was wearing a funny white robe that was free of any dust.
He looked like an immature child who was pretending to be a wizard.
"Ahem! Can you hear me? Can you hear-?"
"…"
Frey felt like crying for a moment. It was a voice that he had missed more than he himself had realized.
The smoke figure had a face that he had not forgotten even after all those years that he had been stuck in the abyss.
Schweiser Straw.
Frey knew that it was only a simple illusion, but he could not prevent the flutter in his heart.
"…long time no see."
"First of all, congratulations on finding my dungeon! Though I don't know what you're here for."
"You old man without a conscience, did you feel good making yourself look that young?"
"If you've come all this way, that must mean that you have a great interest in the study of magic! Congratulations! No matter what it is that you want, you will get it here! Because this is none other than the dungeon of the Great Sage Schweiser Straw! Muahahaha!"
"You…how did you die?"
They were standing in front of each other.
Nevertheless, Frey felt empty because the figure of Schweiser just kept saying what it was meant to say.
It could not respond to Frey's voice at all.
Schweiser giggled and kept talking.
"Of course I can't just let you into such a place so easily. I will give you a question. If you get it right, you can get into the dungeon."
"…"
Frey clenched his teeth as he felt like tears might roll down his cheeks.
4000 years.
It was so long.
It was a long time filled with only loneliness and pain. But he had made it through.
It was an accident, but in the end, he still got a body.
Frey had believed that after he had made it through it all, he could withstand anything.
But it wasn't true.
The moment he saw Schweiser's face, the moment he heard his voice, he felt lonely like he was once again stuck in that huge ocean filled with nothing.
All those that he had known were now dead.
"…no."
Not everyone was dead.
There was still one left.
Sparks seemed to fly from Frey's eyes.
It was ironic.
All his family, friends, and everyone he'd had a close relationship with in the past were all dead, and the only one who was still alive was the enemy that he hated more than anything else in the world.
"I hate dragging my feet so I'll ask right away!"
At that moment, Frey felt like Schweiser had truly made eye contact with him.
"What does Schweiser Straw hate the most?"
Though he was still smiling, there seemed to be a light in his eyes that was different from before.
Of course, Frey knew the answer to that question.
How could he not?
The thing that Schweiser hated the most was the same thing that he himself hated.
Frey's face became ice cold.
He then spoke a word as if he wished he could destroy what it meant.
It was his lifelong enemy.
The one who had sealed him into the abyss.
The one that killed all his friends.
"Demigod."