Chapter 400 |
Deep in the night, the forest was dark.
Whoosh... Whoosh...
And it was bitterly cold.
"Hmph."
A biting wind blew, so sharp it felt like it could slice through my skin, and I hunched my shoulders slightly. I immediately shuffled closer to the lone, crackling campfire.
When I happened to look up at the night sky, I saw countless glittering stars embroidered across it. It seemed the night was still long.
"Zzz... Zzz..."
Just as I was thinking of having a bowl of leftover stew from dinner and pulling the blanket tighter around myself, I suddenly heard the faint sound of snoring. It was obvious who it was. I gave a faint smile and, with a sigh, scanned our surroundings.
Dense trees and overgrown bushes. The scene was the very picture of a forest, but there was one thing that set this landscape apart from a normal one.
No, it wasn't just the trees. Frost blanketed the entire forest, making it feel as if I was standing in the middle of Antarctica.
In any case.
To fulfill my duty on watch, I swept my gaze sharply across the area, and only after confirming that no one was there did I lower my eyes again.
How much time had passed like that?
Crackl! Crack, crackle!
The sound of popping embers made me glance up. I saw sparks scattering into the air, and beyond them, someone whose head was bobbing as they dozed off. It was Ahn Hyeon.
"Mm, mm... Yeoeju-nimim... you shouldn't..."
Well, well. Not only was he dozing off during his watch, but he was having some audacious dreams, too?
I had originally planned to wake him after about fifteen minutes, but Ahn Hyeon's sleep-talking changed my mind. Honestly, if it had been Yu-jeong or Han-gyeol, I might have let it slide, but Go Yeon-ju was an exception.
The moment I saw the sly smile on his face, I spoke without hesitation.
"Hey, Ahn Hyeon."
"Hup!"
Impressively, Ahn Hyeon reacted at once. His next move was also surprisingly agile. He snapped his head up, his eyes wide, and frantically looked around.
"Ahem. Ahem. Um... Hyung! I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Segg."
"...Is that so?"
"Cough, cough! Stiff."
He tried to play innocent for a moment, but he soon seemed to feel the trail of drool running down the corner of his mouth.
As I narrowed my eyes and stared at him, Hyeon met my gaze with an awkward expression.
"...I'm sorry."
I rummaged through the pile of firewood beside me and spoke quietly.
"We'll be arriving sometime this morning, so if you're sleepy, go on and get some rest. Don't make a mistake when it really counts."
"N-No! How could I possibly sleep while you're standing watch, Hyung-nim? I'm hurt, Hyung-nim."
"Wipe the sleep from your eyes before you say that. Or at least tell me before you nod off. Remember what I said back at Mulo?"
What I meant was that if he was sleepy, he should ask for permission to rest. It was a hundred times better to get a solid fifteen minutes of sleep and stand watch with a clear head than to half-asleep and barely alert. (Of course, that was assuming there was at least two people on watch.)
"Hehe."
Ahn Hyeon just let out an embarrassed laugh, as if admitting he was completely in the wrong.
I let out a short sigh at the sight and stopped pressing him. After all, this was the hardest time to stay awake during the night watch, and I had dozed off quite a bit myself back in the day.
Ahn Hyeon yawned widely for a while before finally, unable to fight off the drowsiness, he spoke cautiously.
"Um, Hyung-nim. There's still a lot of time left on our watch, right?"
"Yeah. It'll be a while before the next shift."
"Then I'm really sorry, but could I just sleep for one minute? I'm so sleepy."
"...I'll wake you in five minutes. I'll watch your sector."
As soon as permission was granted, Ahn Hyeon immediately bowed his head and started snoring within ten seconds.
Only then did I toss the firewood I had picked up into the campfire and stare at the flames fluttering in all directions.
A moment later.
As I watched the flickering flames, my mind naturally drifted into deep thought.
Two weeks had already passed since we accepted Istanfol Row's request.
Since we had taken the job.
And since the request involved a life-or-death situation that demanded urgency.
I had announced the request and the team selection that very day, and we departed for the 'Frozen Forest' the next.
The investigation team consisted of six clan members—not a large group. There was me and Ahn Hyeon, along with Vivian, Shin Jae-ryung, Im Han-na, and Jung Ha-yeon. Including Go Yeon-ju, who joined as our guide, the total came to seven.
One might have thought the number was smaller than expected, but the client said nothing. He only urged us to depart, as if he wanted to leave as soon as possible.
The 'Frozen Forest' wasn't a ruin we had planned to explore, but it was definitely a place I remembered.
By my standards, it wasn't a particularly difficult area, so I had boldly excluded everyone except those in essential positions. (In terms of efficiency, it would have been better to bring Go Yeon-ju, but Necessary needed an acting Clan Lord, so I had her stay behind.)
After moving to the west, the investigation team immediately marched toward our destination and arrived at the 'Frozen Forest' just three days ago.
And now, we were one day away from reaching our final destination, the 'Ice Tower'.
Objectively speaking, everything had gone smoothly so far. We hadn't seen many monsters (this was because we had already caused a huge stir by forming a containment net), and aside from the intense cold, no clan members had been injured.
However, if there was one variable, it was the client...
"Hm?"
"Shaaaaa..."
"Hyaaaaa..."
It was then.
Sensing a sudden anomaly nearby, I snapped out of my thoughts and heightened my senses.
Keeping my head still, I darted my eyes left and right and saw hazy white figures appearing one by one between the trees. I quietly counted them; there seemed to be several hundred. At a glance, they looked like white steam or heat haze, but...
There's no way such suspicious vapors would appear at all once like this.
It seemed they were formless, which was why I hadn't heard any footsteps.
"Heeeeeee..."
"Hhaoooooo..."
A chilling, otherworldly wail that no human throat could produce. I tightened my grip on the 'Mugeon' tucked inside my blanket, then looked forward, intending to wake Ahn Hyeon first.
"Ahn..."
"Hyung."
But to my surprise, Ahn Hyeon was already awake. He blinked three or four times, still groggy, but his eyes were endlessly calm. His hand was already inching toward the 'Spear of Raven.'
Ahn Hyeon asked in a low voice.
"Hyung... what are these things?"
"...Specters."
"Specters?"
Ahn Hyeon flexed his hand on the spear's shaft while his eyes darted left and right. Just as he was about to run toward the tents, I signaled for him to wait and began to carefully assess the presences around us.
"Shaaaaa..."
"Hyaaaaa..."
"I don't sense any hostility."
"...Go..."
"...trke..."
No, wait a minute.
This is...
They were trying to say something.
Still keeping my hand on my sword, I listened more intently to the ghostly wails of the hazy figures.
"I... le... me... thi... pl... ce..."
"Se... re... us. Please... save... us."
Yes. I was sure of it. The noise that had initially sounded like the wind now sounded like someone speaking. It seemed I wasn't the only one who heard it; Ahn Hyeon's face was tense as his eyes darted around.
"H-Hyung... I hear... a strange mumbling sound. I can't make it out exactly, but..."
Mumbling, he said. It made sense. Even with my senses fully heightened, I couldn't hear them perfectly, so to Ahn Hyeon, it must have been faint.
I nodded to show I understood and raised my index finger to my lips. Ahn Hyeon immediately fell silent.
"Run... I'm telling you to run! Deeper in the forest is far more... dan... gerous..."
"You... are being deceived... The one... in the tent right now... is..."
I see. So that's how it is.
From the last words I heard, I understood what the specters were trying to say, and at the same time, I slowly released my tight grip on my sword.
I glanced back at the tents once, then slowly turned my head back, my eyes brushing past the specters.
Finally, when my gaze met Ahn Hyeon's, I spoke softly.
"Don't worry too much. Get some rest."
"What? Rest?"
I gave a slow nod. As I glanced to the side, I could feel a wave of agitation.
"Don't worry...?"
"Ee... rgone... be qu... iet!"
At least one of them was quick on the uptake. The specters fell silent in an instant. After confirming their silence, I spoke again.
Of course, my eyes remained fixed on Ahn Hyeon.
"I know. These are let specters who have nowhere to go."
"What?"
"Endure the cold. Once they move on... they'll be at peace soon. So don't react rashly. Just wait quietly."
"?"
Perhaps because my answer was slightly off-topic, Ahn Hyeon tilted his head in confusion. The specters, however, seemed to have understood my words perfectly and did as I said.
"...we... We under... stand..."
"Thank... you."
The hazy figures vanished in an instant. They had appeared as suddenly as I first saw them, and they disappeared just as quickly.
A short time passed, and a quiet silence fell once more.
"Hyung. Were you talking to me just now?"
"I was talking to you, too."
"No, but what does that..."
"Come on. Even if I explain it poorly, you should be smart enough to get it."
After tossing out that one line, I stood up and tended to the campfire. Near the pile of firewood was the pot of meat stew left over from dinner.
I picked up the pot with a light touch and glanced at Ahn Hyeon. I saw him still staring blankly, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"Want a bowl?"
Despite his daze, he must have been hungry, because Ahn Hyeon nodded his head up and down.
I immediately found the other bowl and handed it to him, then happened to look up at the night sky.
The night was still long.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Morning came.
Morning in the 'Frozen Forest' was hardly different from dawn. A bright sun had risen in the sky, but its rays were blocked by the forest's ice, unable to illuminate the ground.
Moreover, the cold grew more intense the closer we got to the center, forcing us to constantly rub our clothes for warmth as we marched.
I didn't take the lead on this march. Our guide, Song Seung-gyu, and our archer, Im Han-na, were at the front. I was in the middle with Ahn Hyeon, protecting the other ranged classes.
Crunch, rustle!
Crunch, crack!
Every time we stepped on the frozen ground, the sound of frozen undergrowth shattering could be heard.
"Ugh. It's freezing to death, seriously."
As we were making our way through the forest, Vivian grumbled, hugging herself tightly. Even wearing two layers of robes enchanted with cold protection magic didn't seem to be enough to ward off the chill of the 'Frozen Forest'.
"I know, right? I was so cold last night I couldn't sleep a wink. It was warmer by the campfire."
"Ugh. Right?"
Ha-yeon also agreed with Vivian's complaint, blowing warm air into her clasped hands. Then she turned to Shin Jae-ryung, who was walking quietly beside her, and continued.
"Jae-ryung-ssi, aren't you cold dressed like that? I think I saw you wearing just your priest robes yesterday."
As if surprised to be spoken to, Shin Jae-ryung's eyes widened for a moment before he answered with a bitter smile.
"...It's quite cold."
"Then why are you dressed so..."
"Dressing like this helps me concentrate during expeditions. Especially in combat. To be honest, I'm regretting it now since nothing has happened... but at any rate, I'm certainly feeling the full effect of the Frozen Forest's reputation."
"Me too. I'd rather have some monsters show up so I can at least move my body. I feel like my joints are going to freeze over at this rate."
Ahn Hyeon also grumbled, making what sounded like a spoiled complaint. He had been incredibly excited about going on an expedition after so long, but the journey had been so uneventful that he was probably quite bored.
"The sun is up that... but it doesn't even work."
At that moment, an idea seemed to flash across Ahn Hyeon's face, and he approached me.
"Come to think of it, Hyung. I was suddenly curious. Why is this place called the Frozen Forest? And why doesn't the ice melt?"
"...I don't know everything, you know."
"Ah... you always stop by the library before an expedition, Hyung. So I thought maybe you'd know."
"I didn't have enough time to research this time..."
I said that, but I could guess what Ahn Hyeon wanted. I had explained a few related legends when we went to the research lab and the magic city of Magia, and it seemed his curiosity was piqued again.
I suddenly felt the expectant gazes of the other clan members, who must have been bored as well. Even Im Han-na, who was walking ahead, glanced back and gave a slight smile.
Regarding the legends... I don't remember them in detail... Ah."
I cleared my throat once or twice and briefly stared at Song Seung-gyu's back. Then, I slowly began to speak.
"Anyway, I don't know for sure, but... you saw the specters yesterday, right?"
"Huh? Yes."
"Then listen. When you go to a grave or a haunted house, you sometimes get an inexplicably eerie feeling, right? What do you call that... right. It's called yin energy. If we define that feeling as a type of energy, then you could see the ice in this forest not as simple ice, but as a crystallization formed from the deep-seated resentment of specters—of vengeful spirits."
"A crystallization? So all this ice is made of the yin energy emitted by vengeful spirits?"
Ahn Hyeon understood, and I nodded deeply.
"You could say that. This whole forest is frozen, enough to be called the 'Frozen Forest.'"
"In that case..."
I nodded at Ahn Hyeon's unspoken question.
"It's one of two things. Either there's a single vengeful spirit with enough yin energy to cover the entire forest, or there's an innumerable number of them."
Or it could be both. I chose not to say the last part and concluded my explanation. As I slowly observed their reactions, I could see the female clan members, especially Jung Ha-yeon, shivering slightly.
It was then.
Crunch, crackle! Thud!
A loud noise came from the ground, and our march came to a halt. Song Seung-gyu, who was leading the way, had suddenly stopped walking.
Without turning around, Song Seung-gyu spoke.
"We've arrived."
As I immediately approached, Song Seung-gyu slowly raised a finger and pointed ahead. There was still some distance, but a towering structure peeking over the trees came into view.
"That is our final destination."
"I can see it clearly. Confirmed."
"...What would you like to do? Rest first, or proceed immediately?"
"Let's go right away."
I answered immediately, and the clan members, their faces tense, rearranged their formation.
Soon, with Im Han-na giving Song Seung-gyu a quick glance, we began to march again.
Crunch, crunch!
Crunch, crunch!
A short time passed, and we were able to reach the front of the tower without any interference.
"Wow. Kim Soohyun. This place is really tall."
Vivian let out a cheerful exclamation as she looked up at the tower.
Aside from the gloomy atmosphere, the exterior was reasonably beautiful. The tower stood in the very center of a solidly frozen lake. Thick ice had formed around its base, making it look as if it were sprouting up from below.
And as Vivian said, the tower was quite massive. Not only was it wide, but it looked to be nearly fifty meters tall. The material appeared to be simple brick, but the ice caked onto the exterior seemed to be holding its shape together.
After a moment of observation, I spoke quietly.
"We will prepare to enter."
A moment later, we began to slowly close the distance to the tower.
The closer we got, the more detailed the exterior became. The cracks and stains visible here and there gave it an inexplicably eerie feeling.
"Im Han-na?"
Suddenly, Im Han-na, who was at the front, stopped dead in her tracks and let her head hang down in a daze.
"Im Han-na?"
In that instant, Song Seung-gyu quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"It's dangerous. It's a specter."
I immediately shouted.
"What's wrong?"
As if snapping back to her senses, Im Han-na pointed below with a trembling hand.
"I felt something strange and looked down... and something just zipped past underneath."
Im Han-na's voice was slightly tinged with fear. I immediately looked down with my Third Eye and tilted my head. There was nothing but the frozen lake on the path to the tower.
Then, Song Seung-gyu's voice followed.
"...It's best not to look down."
"W-What?"
"As the Mercenary Lord said earlier... this place is filled with countless vengeful spirits. It would be best to at least avoid making eye contact. They will try to bewitch people any way they can."
"Phew... I see. I'll be careful."
Im Han-na placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath, as if to calm her startled heart.
"Mercenary Lord, I think it would be best to enter the tower quickly."
I stared at Song Seung-gyu for a brief moment before nodding calmly.
"Let's do that. We'll enter right now. Everyone, prepare yourselves... Song Seung-gyu-ssi. Please lead the way."
"Understood. I will take the lead."
Song Seung-gyu answered at once and strode into the wide-open entrance. My party and I exchanged glances before cautiously following behind him.
The moment we stepped inside the tower, an intense chill washed over our bodies.
And I don't know when he got there.
But I saw Song Seung-gyu standing alone in the center of an empty void, surrounded by bricks that emitted a cold, icy light. He was still facing forward, so I couldn't see his face.
In that state, he quietly pointed upward.
"We should be able to go straight up to the 8th floor."
And the voice that followed, like scraping metal, was...
"Let's go. Heeheeheehee..."
Unlike the voice I had heard outside, its tone was utterly horrifying.