45 – Unexpected variable (3)

The snow woman was nowhere to be seen.

There was nothing inside the cave. There was not even a trace or even a sign of presence.

It was literally an empty, abandoned cave.

‘Isn’t this the snow woman’s residence… ?’

There was a possibility. But no matter how much I thought about it, I was sure it was here.

No one could make the ice decorations and sculptures in the cave.

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It was clearly a work created by the snow woman’s magic.

But she wasn’t there. In the deepest part of the cave, only a huge block of ice remained.

‘I’m sure he should be sleeping here.’

I felt dejected at the thought that the reason I had come here after all my hard work had disappeared.

But it’s still too early to give up. Slowly, I started retelling the story.

Maybe something went wrong.

Could it be that there was an unexpected variable like in Kayla’s case?

We counted the number of cases.

Meanwhile, Erina slowly stepped forward.

“…Something is strange.”

“Huh? Why?”

Erina approached the huge block of ice located in the center of the cave.

The transparent sculpture was shining beautifully.

She slowly swept the ice cubes away and grimaced in thought.

When I looked at it, I didn’t see anything strange.

“Look here.”

At the tip of the pointing finger was the center of a block of ice.

Crystals settled inside the transparent block of ice.

However, traces of cracks were found here and there.

It was a subtle difference, but there was an unmistakable difference.

“This is…”

“It’s a trace of ice breaking and being rebuilt.”

I looked closely, and it was unmistakable.

After being fragmented here and there, it was put together again.

‘Does this mean that the snow woman came out of the ice… ?’

That also meant that the snow woman was wandering around somewhere.

I had an ominous feeling. It started to diverge from the knowledge I knew.

“Wait a minute.”

Thinking about it, we have killed countless monsters while climbing to the top.

It literally means to make a mess.

If Snow Woman, the ruler of Snow Mountain, had awakened, there was no way she would not know this fact.

I had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

If you think about it, the plan has been going very smoothly so far.

It’s not simply because we were strong.

Bitter cold and changeable weather.

A huge number of monster attacks and unpredictable natural disasters.

But when I got near the top, it became as quiet as a lie.

Of course, hiking was difficult. But it was true that we reached the top without incident.

It could have been simply luck.

But I was reminded that I am not a lucky person.

“Let’s go outside. It feels good…?!”

And the ominous prediction came true.

The interior of the cave began to shake.

The ground vibrated and the surrounding ice began to melt.

Icicles hanging from the ceiling flew to the floor.

They rushed at me like sharp arrows. He immediately blocked the shield.

“Kuh…?!”

It was too heavy to be just a block of ice.

It is not an ordinary icicle.

An ice spear made with magic.

“Seohyun! It’s dangerous!”

“Calm down! Let’s get out of the cave!”

I ran to the entrance without looking back.

But then I realized something was wrong.

“What…?!”

The floor started to freeze.

A slippery icy road over hard stones blocked us.

All of this is a trap. Grinding my teeth, I ran toward the entrance.

“Kayla!”

“Okay!”

Immediately, a fire broke out on the floor along with the magic circle.

The flames spread towards the floor and the frozen floor began to melt.

But it didn’t end with just ice.

“Watch out! It’s a golem!”

The ice sculptures I saw while coming up to the cave started to move.

Ice flowers grew and blocked the road.

The animal came alive and charged at us.

The statue stopped us, aiming the weapon it was holding.

“Erina! Take the left!”

“Yes!”

A huge ice ax flew in.

When I blocked it with my shield, my fingertips went numb with a heavy impact.

He drew his knife and aimed at his arm.

No matter how magical it is, it is still ice.

My body collapsed from a light slash.

In the meantime, a brilliant light arose from the side.

Brilliant sparks flew in all directions along with a huge sword strike.

Brilliant flames broke out between the scattered lightning bolts.

“I will take care of it…!”

Kayla vomited the flames in her mouth.

The flames of cowardice engulfed the golem.

The frost covering the inside of the cave melted in an instant.

The heat circulated and the ice magic lost its power.

But the threat did not disappear.

There are still countless golems blocking the way.

The frost, which melted for a while, began to freeze again.

“Hurry up!”

The inside of the cave was gradually collapsing.

A pile of stones was falling from the walls and cracks were forming in the ceiling.

I ran forward and continued to attack.

He sprinted at full speed, knocking down the golems blocking his path one after another.

Gradually, the vibrations of the cave began to force it.

The plan was to completely destroy the cave.

It’s the end if it gets crushed by rocks like this.

“We’re almost there!”

Fortunately, it wasn’t far to the entrance.

After the last golem fell, nothing stood in our way anymore.

Finally, even the ice disappeared and the bright sunlight came right in front of us.

But we still shouldn’t relax.

“The Snow Woman will be nearby! Watch out everyone!”

It must be waiting for us.

Another trap could have been prepared.

As soon as we reached the entrance of the cave, a huge rock fell from the ceiling.

My body tilted with a heavy impact behind my back.

“Seohyun!”

Fortunately, before I fell, Erina caught me.

The situation of being crushed by a pile of stones was avoided.

Fortunately, even Kayla was able to escape safely.

In the meantime, the inside of the cave collapsed in an instant.

If it had been a little late, everyone would have been trapped in a cave.

But the unexpected happened.

“Kuh…?!”

A cold frost covered her whole body.

Before we knew it, countless monsters were surrounding us.

And we were driven to a cliff.

Even after getting out of the cave, the vibration on the floor only got stronger.

The ground itself was collapsing.

This is the far end of the summit. Directly below was a precipice.

It was too late when I figured out the situation.

The floor collapsed. The ground they were stepping on along with the cave was collapsing.

“Don’t worry!”

Erina calmly hugged my body.

Just before the ground collapsed, he jumped up and leaped.

But Kayla couldn’t cope.

“Wow…?!”

Her body floated in the air along with the collapsing ground.

I hurriedly reached out my hand, but I couldn’t reach it.

Just like that, she fell down the cliff.

“Kayla!”

Not even an echo came back, let alone an answer.

I couldn’t even guess how high it was.

By the time I looked down at the cliff, it was already too late.

Suddenly, she disappeared into the distance and fell out of sight.

I couldn’t lose her like this. She had to be saved somehow.

However, our situation was not easy either.

“Seohyun! Be careful!”

A huge bat flew in. It rang on the floor with a thump and vibration.

Fortunately, with Erina’s help, I was able to avoid the attack.

But the frost giant wasn’t the only thing in front of me.

Wolves. Frost Ent. Yeti and Ice Golem.

All the monsters I’ve encountered while climbing the snowy mountain have been gathered.

And there was a woman among the crowd.

Everything in her was frozen from head to toe.

She was walking barefoot with only a dress like a string.

It was more eerie than beautiful.

There was no life in the frozen white skin because it was pale.

With eyes like a sharp wind and unfocused pupils, they couldn’t be called human.

“…The snow woman.”

“Do you know me…?”

The cold eyes touched my eyes.

It was such a sharp gaze that my heart flinched and trembled.

“I never thought there would be anyone who knew me.”

“Because it’s famous for its legend.”

Her face contorted as if in a bad mood.

A crooked gaze approached her with her arms crossed.

Appearing with numerous monsters, it was like the lord of the snowy mountains.

“What rumors were circulating while I was asleep?”

“I don’t need to know that.”

It’s not even a big deal anyway.

There was a witch who lived in a snowy mountain. It’s just such a legend.

The important thing was the situation we were in now.

There is a cliff in the back. A bunch of monsters from now on.

It is literally a dilemma.

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Even Kayla fell off a cliff.

Me and Erina had to deal with a group of monsters alone.

‘I wouldn’t have died.’

She was not weak enough to fall off a cliff and die.

Now I had to focus on the snow woman in front of me.

Erina was strong. I have also grown to some extent.

But can we defeat this many monsters and snow women?

It was not easily predicted.

Contrary to my anxiety, Erina didn’t even waver in the slightest.

He was infinitely calm even in confrontation.

I’m just slowly looking around and keeping a close eye on the situation.

Then, his gaze stopped at one place.

“You…”

I wasn’t talking to the snow woman. Among the monsters, there was an unusual human figure.

Pink hair, slender body, and round face.

The mischievous eyes had the appearance of a little girl.

However, the spirit she felt from her was clearly different from that of other monsters.

Also, the two horns protruding from her head caught the eye.

‘Yongin… ?’

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