*Tatata—*
Footprints were engraved in the snow-covered field as two sleek silver figures dashed powerfully up a hill.
“W-Whoa! This is way too fast! And I seriously don’t like this!”
“Calm down, junior. How about you relax a bit?”
“No, look over there! Three beautiful women are clinging together like that, and you’re telling me not to complain? There are three women and only two men in our group. How is that fair!?”
“Emotions only weigh down the body.”
Cherni's grumbling complaints and Deathmaster’s calm voice pierced through the wind.
I glanced over.
Cherni and Deathmaster were riding on the back of the massive silver-furred wolf, *Silverfang*. As it dashed through the wind, it looked like a gleaming silver flash.
It even matched the color of my hair.
I’d love to have it as a permanent pet.
“Heh!”
I let out a rare laugh.
I, too, was riding atop *Silverfang* as it charged through the cold wind. The biting chill of the snow stung my face, but thanks to the *Firestone*, it wasn’t too bad.
Rather than being cold, it actually felt refreshing.
*Cling!*
“Ah!?”
I flinched as two pairs of hands gripped my waist and abdomen tightly from behind. I leaned down and clutched Silverfang’s fur to steady myself.
With slightly puffed cheeks, I turned to look behind me.
“Unnies... You don’t need to hold onto me so tightly. Just grab Silverfang’s fur, and you won’t fall off.”
“I-I don’t care! I’m scared!”
“Ehehe!”
Beimerung had buried her face in my hair, clutching my waist tightly with her eyes shut. Chris, from the very back, stretched her long arms around me, grabbing my stomach with a silly grin on her face.
“Whew...”
“Eek!”
I jolted at the hot breath on the back of my neck. It was Beimerung’s.
“Hey, Beimerung!”
“Ow, ow. Hehe!”
Chris scolded Beimerung and jabbed her sides repeatedly.
“U-Unnies, we’re going to fall! We’re going to fall!”
*Swoosh!*
Despite the commotion from Beimerung and Chris clinging to me, the two Silverfangs plunged into a massive lake. They began swimming towards a structure at the lake’s center, carrying us on their backs. Fortunately, we didn’t get wet.
“The Unfrozen Lake.”
Ever since players had first entered the *Par Snowfield Zone*, that suspicious elite dungeon structure had been plainly visible.
The conspicuous *Unfrozen Lake*. And beyond it, the towering, distant figure of a giant ice fortress.
Some players had tried to build boats to cross the lake, but they had all been devoured by the giant fish monsters living within. Even if they had reached the ice island in the middle, they wouldn’t have been able to enter because of the magic barrier blocking the entrance.
The information that you could approach the ice fortress by taming Silverfangs with the life skill *Taming*, obtainable from a hidden quest at level 45 in the snowfield zone, had only been recently revealed.
And today, the magic barrier blocking the entrance was set to open.
Our party, riding Silverfangs, was now crossing the lake towards the massive ice fortress.
[Entry Level: 45]
[Elite Dungeon (4-Party Recommended)]
[Frozen Palace of the Wastelands]
---
“Goodbye, Silverfangs!”
I waved at the pair of Silverfangs as they swam back across the *Unfrozen Lake* after dropping us off in front of the frozen palace.
Then, I surveyed the other players gathered outside the dungeon entrance.
“Oh, you’ve arrived! Hahaha!”
“Hello, Hopkins.”
“We might cooperate for raids, but in elite dungeons, we’re all competitors, right?”
“Fufu, I see you’ve already arrived, Subsubi.”
Chris exchanged greetings with members of the *Red and White* guild.
In front of the palace stood parties from *Hopkins* and *Subsubi*. The elite members of the *Red and White* guild had already gathered.
Many other advanced parties were also present.
I noticed *UGG Guild Master*, Woogyeol, and *Plan B Guild Master*, Jo Hyunsoo. Woogyeol gave us a bright smile, while Jo Hyunsoo snorted and turned away.
Though *UGG* from the Alpharion Empire and *Plan B* from the Betarion Empire were rivals, they didn’t fight each other outside PvP fields to avoid penalties.
“It’s strange, though. This is the coldest place in the *Par Snowfield Zone*, yet the lake doesn’t freeze.”
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
“Well, it’s a game, right? Maybe there’s some magical explanation?”
“Hm, probably. Because it’s a game.”
As I listened to Chris and Beimerung chat, I drifted into thought.
This area had always been cold, even in the past. But considering that this world was shaped like Earth, it wasn’t located far enough north to justify the permanent frozen state.
So, what could be the cause of this permanent frost?
“It must be due to dark magic.”
The fact that this region was once again shrouded in freezing cold indicated the resurgence of demons.
The magic of demons controlling ice had lowered the temperature of this region.
In the past, when I defeated the demon commander stationed in the snowfield who had been attacking humans, the temperature in the snowfield gradually rose.
Some areas had even begun to thaw before I left this world.
There were elves living in those parts, if I recall correctly.
Lost in my thoughts, I felt a hand gently tug at mine. It was Chris.
Scratching her face, she spoke to me.
“Hey, you’re going to do it today, right?”
“Yes.”
I had already finished the broadcast test. It was just a streaming account, so I wouldn’t be interacting with viewers like a regular streamer, but anyone could come and watch.
Chris’s expression grew a little stern.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. You scared me last time.”
“I won’t.”
I lowered my head, fiddling with my fingers.
Of course, I didn’t plan to overdo it. Unless I faced an absurdly difficult opponent like the one waiting for me at the top of the tower, I was confident I wouldn’t get hurt in this world.
But if I wanted to establish myself as the protagonist, I needed to look cool. I didn’t want to run away at the first sign of difficulty.
To do that—
*Vrrrr, thud.*
At that moment, the magic barrier at the palace entrance released with a sound, and a bridge stretched across the moat, welcoming the warriors who had made it this far.
“Chris unnie, you should go ahead.”
“Okay. You said you’d join a little later?”
I nodded.
Chris approached the dungeon entrance. The rest of the advanced players followed behind her, gathering at the entrance.
“Alright, this time, we’ll be the first!”
“Who cares? It’s either the No-Name Party or Chris’s Party that’s going to win anyway. Guess I’ll just stream.”
The players murmured among themselves as they entered the palace, and finally, Chris and her party members disappeared into the dungeon.
The elite dungeon, *Frozen Palace of the Wastelands*.
The first elite dungeon of the new expansion.
The challenge had begun.
---
*Tap, tap, tap.*
I wandered around, opening browser windows and watching the streams of advanced players tackling the dungeon.
“As expected, the really fast ones don’t stream.”
None of the top *Red and White* guild parties were broadcasting their dungeon progress.
Chris’s party, Hopkins’s party, and Subsubi’s party.
From what I’d heard, all three were in the top ten in terms of clearing speed. It really showed how impressive the *Red and White* guild was.
Streaming during the early stages of a dungeon run came with significant risks.
Finding the mechanics for a named boss required countless attempts and sharp insight.
And sometimes, just plain luck.
There were times when a party that discovered a mechanic first had their progress overtaken by another party that used their discovery.
While individual skill mattered, leaks could still put you at a disadvantage.
Of course, this didn’t apply to me—someone whose playstyle couldn’t be easily copied.
I wasn’t diving in right away due to self-imposed penalties for using a legendary weapon.
“The first elite dungeon of the new expansion will definitely be much harder than anything before.”
There would be new mechanics, for sure.
Perhaps even ones that rendered invincibility skills useless, like the berserk phase of the *Ice Ogre King* on the 9th floor of the Ice Tower.
But for now, I was enjoying watching others tackle the dungeon.
“Oh?”
I quickly found the stream of the party making the fastest progress.
They had already cleared the trash mobs and reached the first named boss.
When I opened the stream, I heard a familiar laugh.
—*Kekeke!*
A swordsman in a blue robe, *Plan B’s* Guild Master.
It was none other than Jo Hyunsoo, also known as *Gyuam*.
I burst into laughter as I watched the stream from the entrance of the *Frozen Palace*.