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117
“…What?”
The unexpected warning made the section chief’s eyes go wide.
His expression went stupidly blank, as though he had actually been struck.
Meanwhile, Liwei turned away and moved on.
‘What was that?’
The section chief was bewildered.
Far from accepting the proposal — telling him not to cross the line.
Even thinking back to what had been written in the message, it had been quite a reasonable proposal.
‘Did Black Dragon already talk to him?’
The two seemed to be acquainted.
If there was any possibility, it would be that they had shared information about the assault threat.
But from the atmosphere, they didn’t seem particularly close.
There was no way that person could be close with a well-known vanguard in the first place.
Those guys too — a purely transactional relationship. Nothing but business.
‘Vanguards are vanguards, I suppose.’
He had heard Liwei was not a normal person.
It seemed he had touched a nerve, so a bit more testing would do it.
In the end, when the crucial moment of choice came, he would reach for his hand rather than Black Dragon’s.
Until then, it was best not to provoke him.
“That’s enough, let’s go!”
Having revised his plan, the section chief picked the sphere back up and stood.
As everyone began moving again, Liwei, who had been moving to take the lead, came alongside Hanbit.
“The plan? Are we sticking to the same one?”
“The broad strokes won’t change. The heirloom is the objective either way.”
He had sent Liwei a brief outline of the plan through messages.
The focus of the content was a single goal.
Until that was achieved, there was absolutely no room to look anywhere else.
“Then watch out for Blood. She’s out of her mind.”
“Out of her mind?”
“Competition doesn’t work on her. Or rather, conversation doesn’t work — that might be closer.”
-Was that the problem?
-Out of her mind = won’t accept my challenge.
-Maybe she’s just sulking.
-But out of her mind is accurate.
-Info) She has one red line.
-A criminal record.
-She just kills anyone who pisses her off. Lol.
The viewers’ assessment matched Liwei’s.
Not even a PK guild member, and yet she had a red line beside her name.
Absolutely not a normal player.
“What’s her style? From the vibe, she looks like the type to throw herself at the Snow Drake.”
“Not sure. Her thing is locking onto one target and killing everything that gets in the way.”
“Is that so?”
Blood’s disposition proving more troublesome than expected.
He had hoped she would charge at the Snow Drake — but it seemed like things wouldn’t flow that easily.
Not that the heirloom could ever be taken from him, of course.
Grrk—!
Another group of monsters emerging in the path was lightly dealt with by Liwei.
And after advancing a few more minutes, the destination finally appeared.
“There it is!”
“I knew this was it!”
“Just shut up for a second.”
The wide space was packed with players.
Their murmuring voices were a constant presence.
‘Why are they just standing there?’
Hanbit, watching the scene, felt a question forming.
A massive ice gate blocking the way.
It was unmistakably the fortress entrance.
And yet not a single person was trying to touch the gate.
“That over there is Blood.”
Just then, Avantgarde pointed a finger at the person standing right before the gate.
A young human woman with red hair.
The black flickering bracelet on her wrist was conspicuous.
“There are quite a lot of vanguards who made it here.”
Kim Jaeha scanned the other faces as well.
The number of vanguards visible right now was exactly twenty.
Slightly fewer than the number of White Wyverns that gave entry passes.
‘Some of them have formed parties, I see.’
Vanguards were not all people consumed by individualism.
Those of the same affiliation, as well as those who had joined hands for a shared purpose.
“Let’s approach for now.”
Hanbit moved toward the gate with his party.
Shhk—
A chill more intense than the White Wyvern’s Heart radiating outward.
Even without opening the gate, the pressure it exuded was immense.
“Hey.”
Just then, Blood, who had been standing nearby, spoke.
When he turned to look, she kicked the gate hard and said:
“You know how to open this.”
A question delivered without even meeting his eyes.
Hanbit, quietly studying the gate, shrugged.
“Couldn’t you, a vanguard, open it either? What’s the point of asking an ordinary user?”
“Talk some ordinary nonsense. Stop making things complicated and open it.”
-Tch……
-That confidence is infuriating;
-Did someone put her in charge?
-Let’s just lie down and refuse.
-Info) Blood genuinely does lie down and refuse.
-Help us, Liwei-hyung.
There was no complex ulterior intent to be felt in Blood’s words.
They were words spoken purely as they felt.
“Then we could settle it with a competition between us.”
Just then, Liwei, who had followed a few steps behind, inserted himself into the conversation.
Blood, casting a brief glance his way, immediately scowled.
“You, get lost. Before I kill you.”
“Duel mode competition? That could also work——”
Whoosh—!
Blood’s fist flying in, cutting off Liwei’s words.
The black light flickering from the bracelet on her wrist seemed to intensify.
“I said you’d die.”
“It wouldn’t be easy.”
The two vanguards faced off with locked eyes.
The sparks about to fly between those gazes—
“Enough. Stop this commotion.”
A man of solid build rumbled in a measured voice.
“Hold on, Uncle Mars. I’m going to kill this guy first and then make him open the door.”
“Do you think Black Dragon will comply easily?”
Whomp—!
In an instant, the man called Mars drove his shield between the two of them.
Then, with an expressionless face, he spoke.
“Both of you uphold the dignity of vanguards. We are the face representing RP.”
-Mars was here too;
-The shield wielder.
-The wall itself.
-Mars’s vanguard pride is absolutely something.
-Isn’t this guy inside the top 5,000?
-4,300th place, I think?
-Pride overflow and it’s still justified.
The viewers’ commentary poured out through the chat.
The atmosphere readable from just a brief exchange.
An impression that fit descriptors like shield and wall.
“So — why can’t anyone get through?”
“Pushed with force and there’s no response. Can’t even make a scratch.”
“Hmm.”
Even listening to Blood’s explanation, no good reason came to mind.
Because anyone who reached this point should have been able to open the gate.
A situation that had never occurred in the past.
If something had changed from then, it must have been……
“…Ah.”
In that instant, something surfaced in Hanbit’s mind.
He stepped one pace forward and slowly extended his hand.
And the moment his palm touched the cold gate—
Ding—
An alert appeared before his eyes.
[Moving to a cutscene.]
Shhk—
A darkening vision accompanied by a blackout.
When the scenery began to become clear again, the players around him had disappeared.
“The day has finally come.”
Before him, dwarf Gorik was staring at the ice gate with a hardened face.
The small iron plate-shaped token in his hand.
A great many emotions flowed from the tightly gripped fist.
“To think the Snow Drake’s dwelling was in a place like this…….”
Zenon, who had arrived alongside him, studied the gate with astonished eyes.
The master of the snowy mountains who had existed only in legend.
The fact that it lay beyond this door was a considerable shock.
“First, it would be wise to return to the guild. We need to form a raid party led by the guild master and the other capable fighters.”
Zenon, the veteran adventurer, suggested they withdraw first.
Between himself, a B-rank, and the Snow Drake — the difference in dimension was obvious.
Even from legendary records alone, that much was knowable.
After all, the pressure emanating from this closed gate was tremendous.
“No. We cannot go back.”
But Gorik was firm.
With the dwarves’ heirloom so close at hand, the option of retreat did not exist.
“It is too reckless. I understand the desire to recover the heirloom, but this way we will only be annihilated…….”
“What would you know!”
Gorik erupted at Zenon’s attempt at persuasion, his voice rising like a burst of pent-up emotion.
His grip on the token trembling, he spoke:
“If not now, the opportunity may never come again. If we return to the city and come back to find we cannot locate this place — what then? Who could take responsibility?”
“We would simply conduct a more thorough search. I will not be walking into a situation where death is plainly inevitable.”
“Then you alone can go back! I will enter by myself if I must.”
The two would not come to agreement.
Their gazes met, and at some point both had gone quiet.
Then they turned simultaneously and asked:
“Black Dragon, what is your intention?”
“Black Dragon-nim, what do you think?”
Ding—
[An ongoing sub-quest has been confirmed.]
[A choice is presented to advance the story.]
1. Return to Ifrit’s guild.
2. Enter the fortress.
Choices given without any supplementary explanation.
Both were reasonable opinions, but the one to be chosen here was only one.
Click—
Moving his finger, Hanbit pressed option 2.
Crunch—
At the same moment, the viewpoint shifted to before the gate.
Before anyone noticed, Hanbit had his hand extended and was pushing the massive ice gate open.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The gate sliding open with a cold sensation.
The interior was revealed quickly.
Shhk—
With another blackout, the scenery before him changed.
“Wow, insane.”
“This is the fortress?”
“To think it was this scale…….”
The players each expressed their awe at the sight visible beyond the open gate.
The immense pressure of the massive ice cliffs enclosing the outer perimeter.
An atmosphere befitting the name of the Snow Drake’s fortress.
-Wow, incredible;
-A map poured with developer soul.
-One of the two making it might have died and wouldn’t even know……
-True story, moving.
-Isn’t this photorealistic quality?
“Son of a——, the debuff is awful.”
The section chief, following from a little behind, furrowed his brow.
It was because of the message that appeared the moment they entered.
[Field Effect: Enhanced Frost Debuff applied.]
[Attack speed and movement speed reduced by 50%.]
[Cold attribute resistance reduced by 100.]
The debuff worse than the White Wyvern’s combat field.
The addition of cold attribute resistance reduction made it particularly nasty.
‘Same as always here too.’
Hanbit remained calm even seeing the contents.
Because this was something he had gone through every time he subjugated the Snow Drake in the past.
Even giving an explanation through a message — very considerate.
“So where is it? Where’s the heirloom?”
The section chief approached and asked in a low voice.
Hanbit shifted his gaze to Gorik standing beside him.
“The heirloom’s location — you can check it now, right?”
“…Yes. Let me confirm it right away.”
Gorik carefully handled the token.
At that moment.
Flash—!
A silver light burst from the iron plate in his hand.
“That direction.”
The light stretched out straight toward the center of the fortress.
The structure was such that the light grew stronger the closer one got to the heirloom.
“You’re watching the stream, aren’t you? Just follow that.”
“Hey! You should’ve told me secretly! Everyone watching can see it!”
The section chief panicked and raised his voice.
The light of Gorik and the token only visible to Hanbit’s party.
That information had been equally conveyed to other players who were monitoring the stream at the same time.
“Got the location?”
“Just move. Whoever gets there first wins.”
“Let’s loop around the back.”
Players who quickly completed their discussion spread rapidly through the fortress interior.
“Son of a——!”
The section chief, watching players disappear ahead of him, urgently reached out a hand.
Then, face scrunching up, he turned his eyes to his subordinates.
“Move, quickly!”
