The winter landscape stretched out before them, a serene and enchanting world blanketed in a pristine layer of snow. The air was crisp and tinged with the scent of frost, and the sky above a pale canvas of muted hues. The small town was nestled amidst this wintry wonderland.
The town appears frozen in time, with quaint houses adorned with icicles and frosted windows. The streets, perhaps once bustling with activity, now lie quiet and still, their pathways obscured by a soft carpet of snow and tall barriers of ice.
Beyond the frozen town, rising like a jewel against the backdrop of the snowy landscape, stood a majestic palace. Its grandeur was unparalleled, adorned with intricate architecture and towering spires that reach towards the heavens. The palace is a vision of ice and snow, shimmering in the soft winter light.
In the distance, beyond the frozen town and the majestic palace, the landscape stretches endlessly as if everything the three were seeing was still the outside world. Snow-covered mountains rise majestically against the horizon, their peaks crowned with icy caps that glimmer in the sunlight. The entire scene exudes a sense of tranquility, as if the world has been frozen in a moment of serene beauty.
'It doesn't even feel like we're inside some mountain. It's like we're still outside. Well, relic tombs are known as 'worlds within worlds' after all.'
The three of them—along with the two undead knights—entered the town while enjoying the view.
Arnold saw farming equipment and what used to be a water well. He assumed that this was a normal town since most of everything here was man-made.
A question arises when seeing the state of the small town: Was the palace here before? There was no reason to build something like that in the middle of nowhere unless the owners wanted to hide something from civilization.
Perhaps the town was built around it? He couldn't get a good look at the building materials of the houses since the ice was too thick to see through.
In any case, he has to be careful when he enters the palace.
The town also has a strange feeling to it.
Arnold walked up to one of the houses that was still standing.
Rafaela and Tanaera watched the surroundings for any ambushes.
Tanaera's rats aren't here to scout for them since half of them were sent deeper into the tomb while the other half went towards the palace.
Arnold knew that he wouldn't be able to find out anything just by going into some dead stranger's house. He was merely going out of curiosity.
Arnold opened the door with his magic sword in his right hand.
The door opened with slight difficulty due to the ice.
"….."
The interior was dim, probably because of the ice surrounding the back of the house. The only clear light that came into the room was the light entering through the front door.
Arnold could see a small figure kneeling over a much bigger figure. It was an adult and child.
The adult's guts could be seen through the gaping hole in their stomach. They seemed to have been preserved well in the ice but were still decaying. Their faces and other missing flesh was probably eaten by rats or other small creatures.
The child's hands were reaching out to the wound in the adult's stomach.
'Was the child a healer magician trying to heal the adult?'
A white light suddenly embraced the two figures when Arnold stood above them. Two very similar sized figures floated above the adult and child. Arnold could see their faces.
The adult seemed to have been a woman and the child her daughter. Their hair and faces were very similar.
-"Stop… no god will save us even if you pray." The woman said while shaking her head.
The daughter had her hands folded in prayer.
She couldn't even respond to the woman since her nose was stuffy with snot and her eyes red with tears.
-"Hic…. Hic…"
-"Hush now, child. We knew this day… would come… The day our god leaves us. We can't rely on his power to save us…" The woman's breathing sounded hoarse as if her throat was dry. Her lips were chapped and her eyes felt lifeless, "My child… In this endless frost that has almost completely taken over our world and robbed us of most resources… You must choose."
-"Hic… M-Mama…" the girl shook her head.
-"Yes, my child… It will be here soon… The endless frost that travels with the palace… It will reach us and bury us all in ice. If… If you can reach the portal that is prophesized to take one to a new world then you can survive."
-"M-Mama, won't come with me…?"
-"I cannot, my child… The last of our cattle was stolen from us… The last edible plants and vegetables are frozen in ice… We will all die from starvation before the palace even gets here… So you must go alone… Don't trust any survivors… okay? You saw what happened to your father when he tried saving the others… They ate him… But when that wasn't enough, they ate each other until the last one perished. I… I have kept you alive and well because I have stopped eating what we had left… It will be lonely but I'm sure you'll make new friends."
The woman smiled as she picked up a sharp knife. She positioned it above her stomach after she lifted her top.
-"No… No…!"
-"Eat up, dear."
The woman cut open her own stomach. The girl vomited in her hands seeing that horrendous sight.
The woman then held the knife to her throat. She spoke with difficulty:
-"P…lease…g…go….after… filling… your tummy…"
Then she slashed her own throat.
….
….
Arnold watched in silence as crunching noises rang out followed by frequent whimpering.
The girl's head was buried in her mother's stomach, eating whatever she could. Her small hand trembled as she held a piece of her mother over an open flame. No matter how many times she whimpered, she didn't stop eating.
Her vomit stained her clothes and legs but she forced down every gag reflex with great difficulty. She did what her mother told her to do—to fill her tummy.
The figures vanished, replaced by the already dead and frozen mother and daughter pair. The outstretched hands—which he had mistaken for a gesture of healing—had a much darker truth behind it.
"….." Arnold walked out of the house and closed the door.
The unpleasant sight of snow and ice, followed by the cold air, greeted him.
He walked down the stairs to meet up with the other two.
"What did you find?" Rafaela asked when he approached them.
"Nothing… Let's keep moving."
◇◇◇
The three searched every other remaining house left in this town. Human remains were the only sign of people ever being in those houses.
It was pretty easy to come to a conclusion as to what happened.
Going by what the dead mother said, the palace seems to be the reason why the world—and the tomb itself—was enshrouded in an ice age. Perhaps the artifact causing the beacon of light was the cause behind the ice or the palace itself exuded the icy aura?
The three didn't find anything special in the town, only unidentifiable corpses and remains. The mother was able to protect her daughter from becoming a victim of cannibalism in the end. The same can't be said for the other townsfolk.
"We should go to the palace now," Arnold said after they came to a stop at the house out of the few that remained standing, "Did your summons find anything we should look out for, Tanaera?"
"The palace's front entrance is locked so I can't go check inside. My summons can't phase through walls like I can so I'll need to find an alternate route inside."
"Did you detect or see any magic in the entrance?"
"My summons aren't mages so it's obviously impossible to see magic circles if I'm not there."
"Then we have no further use for the summons that went to the palace. But keep an eye on the summons that went deeper into the tomb."
"Got it."
They left the town and walked the pathway that led to the palace. The majestic palace stood alone at the end of this path.
Tanaera suddenly came to a stop when the three were walking past some trees.
"We're being watched."
"Yeah. They were probably waiting for us to leave the town to ambush us."
Tanaera and Arnold spoke respectively.
Arnold suddenly felt a gust of wind pass by his face when he moved his head.
'An arrow?' he unsheathed his sword and deflected another arrow that came from different direction.
The arrow was too fast to use his magic item that can create a defensive barrier so he had no choice but to dodge and deflect. The arrows were definitely shot by a skilled bowman.
Tanaera chanted. A few moments later a spell ward surrounded her and Rafaela. The dead knights held up their shields to offer stronger defense.
"I'm going in the direction the first arrow came from. Hold out on your own for a while." Arnold didn't wait for Tanaera to give an affirmative.
He shot in the first arrow's direction with incredible speed. As expected, it came from a bunch of trees, which was rare in this icy wasteland. It stood out like a sore thumb. Still, the ice acted as cover as well.
Arnold spotted a silhouette quickly jump down and run deeper into the snowy forest. Whatever it was it had long limbs and was very agile.
"You're not getting away." He moved even faster, zipping through several layers of ice.
"!!?" the scream coming from the running silhouette sounded like a human's scream.
Arnold jumped onto the figure and cut off its head.
Its severed head flew into a tree and fell down. The figure's body fell down as well.
"A Winter Elf. Why am I not surprised." He recognized the blueish skin and white hair, not to mention the droopy long ears that resembled the Mountain Elves.
He picked up the head and opened one of its eyes. Its pupil was completely red and its eyeball black.
"It's being controlled by a form of magic."
'If there's two Winter Elves out here then there should be an entire tribe of them somewhere.'
Winter Elves follow the trails of winter. Wherever there's cold, there's a Winter Elf tribe. They rarely come out when it's not snowing or when temperatures are extremely high.
The fact that they gathered up like this made them easy to enslave.
'Whoever enslaved them must be really powerful.'
Arnold smirked.
'My first boss.'
Who would've expected it to take 20 floors for him to be forced to fight a boss.
Arnold looked at the palace.
'I have a feeling that the one who controlled this Winter Elf is in there.'
He could be wrong though since a Master must always be near their slaves so that the link isn't severed.
He threw the head aside and looked around.
'They must think I can't sense them. I have to admit, their camouflage is good.'
He picked up the arrows of the Winter Elf he killed. He secretly coated them in Sword Intent.
Arnold jumped above the trees of the forest and span in a full 360. The arrows in his hands shot towards the trees.
He could hear multiple explosions rang out, followed by agonizing screams. Multiple arrows suddenly shot towards him which he managed to deflect before landing. He ran up one of the trees.
"!?" the Winter Elf in the tree tried to shoot him with an arrow but he quickly punched it. Its head turned into mush. Its brain matter fell everywhere.
Arnold jumped onto another tree and killed another Elf.
He then jumped to another and another, killing every survivor that wasn't struck by his earlier attack.
He could feel the XP enter his body.
Arnold swept back his hair and tied it behind his head. He took out a piece of cloth and wiped the blood off his face.
The stench of blood had always been unpleasant before but it doesn't bother him now.
He headed back to the other two after he finished up looting the corpses.
◇◇◇
Arnold arrived back where he left Rafaela and Tanaera.
There were some dead elves on the ground. Their skin looked purplish as if they suffocated to death.
'Did Tanaera poison them?'
"These things are being controlled by magic. I could feel mana in their bodies. But this mana feels different from ordinary mana. I can't even tell what spell was used." Tanaera spoke when Arnold arrived.
"I see."
"We might be dealing with a strong magic caster or someone skilled with magic artifacts."
"I know. How else can they control an entire tribe of Winter Elves? Let's get out of here before more elves check up on the group they sent earlier. I don't want to be surrounded by hundreds of elves."
Elves often travel in groups. It's rare to find them alone out in the wild. The group should signify that there's a much larger group nearby, waiting for them.
'Considering how none of them have slashed ears, it's safe to say that they aren't nomads or exiles.'
Arnold looked at the knights.
"Let these undead knights spread out and act as decoys. The helmets should cover their faces so the elves will think they're alive and human."
"Ah, that sounds like a good idea. What about these bodies?"
"Burn them." Arnold sheathed his sword and began walking in the direction of the palace.
Rafaela followed after him while Tanaera stayed to burn the bodies. The elves will be drawn to the smoke, sensing that something is wrong. The knights will then act as decoys allowing the three of them to escape safely.
"Look. The gate's closed," Rafaela said from beside Arnold. The two of them inched closer to the palace. "There's also a seal on the frames of the gate. I can't tell what spell it is but it looks like the spell was cast with runic letters."
"Well, that's not surprising…."
'The walls look too high to simply jump over. If only I had the right class then I could've cast [Broken Seal].'
It's a 6th rank arcane spell that was created to bypass most seals. Even seals of up to 14th rank can be broken using the spell. Most players who choose thief class end up regretting their class choice since only peak level thieves can unlock any kind of seal and door. That just shows how valuable being a magician is in the game.
Most places that have high rank seals usually have treasure behind their sealed doors.
Tanaera caught up to the two after she was done burning the bodies in black fire. The fire can't be put out with ordinary water. Holy water is the only method of putting out black fire since it possesses properties of dark magic and holy water has its opposite properties.
Which means that the Elves won't be coming after them for a while.
"Tanaera, do you possess a spell that can break seals?"
"What kind of seal?"
"A mid-tier seal. It's on that palace's gate."
He assumed that Tanaera doesn't know what ranks in magic are so he decided to call it mid-tier. Low-tier would be 1st to 5th. Mid-tier is 6th to 9th rank. And high-tier is 10th to 17th.
He could be wrong. He was only assuming based on all the spells he learned in the game.
"Hmm…" Tanaera narrowed her eyes while looking at the gate.
Arnold waited for her to respond.
"I can tell what formula it is and what form of arcane it's from but I don't know any spells capable of breaking it."
"Are you saying you'll be able to do it if you know the spell, regardless of what form of arcane it is?"
"Yup."
"Are you confident in casting any sealing spell using only its chant?"
"That's a dumb question. The spell will be severely impacted if I don't learn it on my own. Magic isn't as simple as reading from a piece of paper. But of course you wouldn't know that, Mister swordsman."
'I know far more than you do.'
"But it's possible for you, right?"
"I think so."
"That's good enough." Arnold came to a stop when the three of them arrived near the gate.
The [Broken Seal] spell is part of the sealing category which was a category every mage can learn spells from. It has nothing to do with what class magician you are. Even clerics and priests can learn sealing spells.
Arnold took out his notebook from his magic bag and a pen. He began writing down a chant for [Broken Seal]. Given the fact that it can unlock seals far above its own rank, it had a very long chant that shouldn't be shortened since the effect will be severely impacted.
The other two curiously looked at Arnold who was focusing on writing down the chant. He was now almost half a page done.
'Damn, why can I remember something I learned a decade ago? Is it because I'm now completely Arnold von Berkley, a genius academic?'
Arnold had one of the greatest minds in the DLC so it was obvious that he'd have such a good memory. He could remember nearly every spell Liam learned as a player. The reason he can't remember everything is because Liam never reads every chant.
Broken Seal was a useful spell to have in relic tombs and dungeons which was why he learned it. He used it often when breaking magic locks and barriers on doors.
He knew the spell's effects and its entire chant but can't use it as he is now. In fact, he wouldn't be able to cast it even if he had the minimum required MP. The game's classes aren't so flexible that he'll be able to use a spell like that without practicing it first. Unlike him, Tanaera was a full-fledged mage so she should have no trouble with the spell.
Arnold took out his hologram card.
"What are you doing…?" Tanaera asked when Arnold placed the card on her forehead.
"Just be still."
He ignored her other stats and looked at her [Intelligence] stat.
· 72
'Hmm, the only mages from the game I know who have an intelligence stat as high or higher than this is Lauran, Elizabeth and Freya.'
Elora might be in the same threshold or perhaps higher.
The intelligence stat—along with your training in arcane, the knowledge you possess and growth you've gone through—determines what kind of spells you can cast. Generally, players with 70+ INTL are capable of casting 10th rank and above spells.
This places Tanaera in the same category as the strongest mages in the story of the DLC.
'It's crazy how the strongest magicians are females. There's not one guy who can compare to them in the story.'
Besides, Lufulur of course. Still, the character wasn't part of the story so it's unnecessary to mention him.
"Okay, I think you'll do fine." Arnold put the card away.
Tanaera looked at him weirdly, probably wondering what the heck he was looking at.
Arnold tore out the page and gave it to Tanaera.
Tanaera skimmed through it and frowned instantly.
"...Are you one of those weirdo wizard nerds who read magic spell books when bored?"
"Just cast the damn spell."
"This will take a while." Tanaera walked up the stairs. Arnold and Rafaela followed.
Tanaera muttered the chant as she walked up the steps. She repeated every line three times before moving onto the next line. That's probably how she tries to remember things.
'I can't expect her to memorize everything after just reading it once so I should be patient.'
Arnold looked up at the gate. It seems to have been crafted by dwarves given the precise details on every pattern. The gold was finely patterned along the frame of the gate. Human hands don't have this natural dexterity, even after years of perfecting their craftsmanship skills.
There's a reason why dwarves are known as the best blacksmiths in the game. They are born with the ability to forge weapons and armor skillfully.
Misteltein also had some skilled human blacksmiths but none of them could come close to their Master Blacksmith, Ertias. He was able to repair and build anything so long as he had the right materials.
Ertias chose a dwarf as his starting race. His class underwent a class evolution after a few years and became Legendary.
The one who made Elora's dagger was possibly on the same level as Ertias.
Arnold snapped out of his deep thoughts when he saw Tanaera draw a magic circle by hand. Her hand was coated in her own mana.
If someone wants to cast a particular spell but they aren't proficient in it or haven't used it before then they have to draw the magic circle for it on their own until they get the hang of it. Magic was all about imagination. That's why intelligence was a stat in the game. It allows you to remember more complex magic formula and learn spells quicker. Increasing your intelligence makes it easier for your character to learn complex formulas faster.
Lufulur was the only magic caster who reached the level cap of the Intelligence stat. That's how he was able to learn over a thousand spells.
"Did it work? Can you get it open?" Rafaela spoke to Tanaera.
She finished drawing the magic circle but was still gazing at the notebook page while muttering to herself.
"She needs to focus. Let's wait."
Rafaela nodded after what Arnold said.
Arnold looked up at the magic circle. His hands felt like they were itching for something.
'If this were Lufulur then this gate would've been child's play. There are a lot of times when I wish I was reborn as a villager or something. At least I'll start at level 1 and work my way up to become a mage.'
Class changes are only possible until level 10. Which means that he could've changed his class to magician had he been reborn as someone weaker. But still, he was uncertain if he can actually put his knowledge of magic to use if he was reborn as someone with limited potential.
Arnold had a very high ceiling but only as a warrior.
'If I had some SP then I could've unlocked the system and use the store to downgrade my levels.'
There was an item in the store that could downgrade levels once per day.
If he could get it then it will allow him to become a mage without sacrificing his potential as Arnold. However, he'll also need to increase his Magic Power stat. He had no clue what can raise his MP permanently.
Even if he had the SP, what'll be the point if he can't increase his mana? It's extremely rare for an extra stat to increase when the player levels up.
The magic circle suddenly moved. Clicking sounds resounded when each gear rune was turned in the magic circle. At the same time the seal on the gate slowly faded with each click.
"I got it!" Tanaera jumped in the air with a "Yaay!"
"Good work." Arnold patted her shoulder and moved in front of the gate.
The gate's seal was finally broken. The gate opened with a loud screech.
A blinding light came through the gate when it opened. Arnold suddenly felt a wave of killing intent.
That wasn't just from any normal monster.
On instinct, he activated took out his Aura Sword and the magic sword. He held the two blades over his head.
It wasn't a second later that he felt a crushing pressure weigh down on him.
It was a gigantic sword that aimed right for Tanaera, who was behind him.
The blinding light beyond the gate disappeared and Arnold could finally see what was the thing that swung that sword.
It wasn't a knight.
It wasn't a swordsman.
It wasn't even a humanoid.
It was a giant blue wolf with a sword in its mouth.
◇◇
Great Moon Wolf, Fridulf
Species - Divine Beast