Chapter 69

‘Someday… there will come a day when I know everything.’

I organized my thoughts. In fact, it didn’t matter if that day never came. Unlike someone who would cut open a goose to see how it laid golden eggs out of sheer curiosity…

“Humanity won’t be destroyed by monsters.”

“Why?”

“Because…” I got up from the bed and started equipping myself while speaking. “I will eliminate all those guys and conquer the continent.”

”…”

When I ate the starting point, they became a type of domain within me, assisting my chakra.

In that case…what about my flower shop? The value of veins and dragon’s veins were vastly different on the continent of Ardenia as well, weren’t they?

‘Maybe…my boundary might rise.’

Despite becoming completely proficient with chakra manipulation, my current level was only one. If training couldn’t improve me further, I needed to find another method.

”…Han. No, Jae-yeon.”

“What?”

However, Haze said something unexpected.

“I’m craving sex.”

”…”

I stared at Haze, feeling incredulous before smiling.

“Later.”

Now fully equipped, I headed towards the balcony. Then I manipulated the interface to summon Kasim.

Thud!

A white giant descended with a heavy thud. The soldiers were now quite accustomed to this sight, and no screams erupted among them.

“Krrrung!”

After dismounting from the saddle on Kasim’s back, Kasim lightly snorted. Then Haze jumped down, hugged me tightly from behind, and whispered into my ear:

“I’ll get you later.”

She already had her equipment equipped, and there was a threatening tone in her voice.

“You won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

“Huff, all talk,” I replied nonchalantly as I commanded Kasim. He crouched deeply, preparing for takeoff. And then…

Whoosh!

With a powerful leap, we soared into the air.

‘I need to hurry.’

I must reach the destination before my army and establish a stronghold.

The army of thirty thousand swiftly moved southward. The food was divided among ten thousand Players’ inventories, while any items that couldn’t fit were carried on the backs of humans and animals alike.

Good. My pets are fulfilling their roles.

Not only did the lone rideable pet, Donkey (Rank: General), carry supplies, but also some of the buff pets with larger frames like Dongdal (Rank: General), a large dog breed, hauled goods using leather bags strapped to their backs. Despite being general-rank pets, their prices varied greatly at the Central Exchange due to their differing utility. After all, cats or mice wouldn’t be able to transport cargo.

“Wow, they’re marching incredibly fast,” Haze remarked.

jae-yeon nodded in agreement.

“Stamina is most important. The scouts should arrive at the orc fortress by tomorrow afternoon.”

Fluttering…

As Kasim flapped his wings hard, the sight of my army below instantly receded. After flying for some time, I saw a pillar of light stretching from the ground to the sky—the dungeon, Vulcan’s Orc Fortress.

“There are so many.”

Thousands of ice elementals surrounded the pillar of light, along with hundreds of elite monsters like yetis, ice golems, and goddesses interspersed among them. I looked down while keeping Kasim steady. We were high enough that the monsters appeared smaller than ants, but my transcendent physical abilities allowed me to assess the situation without issue.

Pak! Pak!

Ice elementals leaped into the pillar of light.

The orcs seem to be completely overwhelmed.

Despite this, it appeared as though they were still holding their own inside the dungeon fortress.

Once we enter, our army will scatter and defeat them one by one.

However, if monsters continued pouring in at this rate, there would soon be more ice elementals than orcs within the dungeon.

“I’m actually surprised that the orcs have managed to hold out so far.”

Not only did the ice elementals have elemental advantage over the orcs, but they also outnumbered them significantly. From above, jae-yeon could see lines of icy creatures marching toward the Vulcan Orc Fortress from both the west and south sides. The paths they had taken were clearly visible due to the sheer number of monsters trudging along, leaving behind white trails covered with frost.

“Brrr… It’s freezing. I hate these guys. Can’t believe it’s like winter even in summer…”

Haze’s words made jae-yeon ponder internally:

This is another difference from video games.

In RPGs, environmental changes due to ice monsters were purely conceptual, even though certain areas tended to spawn creatures based on elemental attributes. However, it was only logical that if thousands of frost-emitting monsters inhabited an area, its temperature would plummet accordingly. And what if an Ice Elemental, composed entirely of cold energy, died? The icy aura it had been containing would be released and spread throughout the vicinity.

At least here, there’s enough space for the cold air to dissipate, but elsewhere…the interior of this dungeon might become as frigid as the Arctic.

As he considered this…

Shunk!

An orc emerged from a pillar of light and immediately swung his sword with incredible force, as if he’d been readying himself beforehand.

The sword wielder seemed prepared for this moment as his strikes were unmatched in intensity.

Shwack!

In one circular swing, the sword swept away all the ice elemental monsters entering the dungeon. Most of them succumbed helplessly to the attack, but some persevered.

“Aaaargh!” The yeti roared, bleeding profusely. Despite its severe wounds, it grew more enraged and energized.

It wasn’t alone.

“Dieeeeee—!”

As other monsters toppled around her, the goddess leaped forward, charging at the enemy with lightning-fast speed, as if she had been waiting for this opportunity.

However, Khan Slasher, the sword-master orc, shook off the frost from his blade with a loud clunk, showing no hesitation before retreating back into the dungeon.

The goddess’s strike missed, leaving only the yeti to belatedly arrive and bellow in frustration.

“…He fights efficiently.”

“It’s Khan Slasher.”

Hearing Haze’s cool voice, he turned to hear his low explanation:

“Khan, the Sword Ghost and King of Orcs, was slain by the ambitious Asmodai. Despite reaching the level of Sword Master…he never once defeated him.”

“Well, it is a boss monster after all.”

Even among monsters with similar rare ranks, elite monsters were stronger than regular ones, and bosses were much more powerful than elites. Bosses required party-level attacks while raid bosses necessitated full-scale assaults from strike squads, resulting in significant bonuses to their skills, health, mana levels, etc.

And there existed one type that received the highest bonuses:

Special Monsters.

If the Ice Queen had appeared here, this battle would have already been over for them.

In Revenge, though…

‘This Ice Queen is ours from the Iron Blood Guild.’

‘No way? I’m going to kill her?’

‘Don’t whine. She’s ours!’

‘Then it’s war!’

This was how guilds fought over prey… However, things were different here. In the first place, most of the users here were free-to-play players like me.

“It seems that the Ice Queen won’t be coming out anytime soon. From her perspective, the monsters inside are more problematic than those outside.”

Perhaps she was also being harassed by high-level monsters emerging from the central area. Special bosses possessed truly great power, but it wouldn’t be easy if numerous higher-ranked monsters gathered against them.

Kung!

I landed Kasim at an appropriate distance away.

“I’m going to raid the dungeon. Wait here until the castle appears and then run towards the north gate.”

“Are you okay alone?”

“Don’t worry unnecessarily.” I smiled before changing my class.

★☆Job Change Completed☆★

Sword King => Variant Ranger

I calmly walked through the forest, feeling the temperature gradually dropping around me.

“It’s good that we arrived in summer. It would’ve been tough for regular soldiers if it was winter, though the elite soldiers might have managed.”

[Middle Stealth (Passive) has been activated!]

At some point, my body turned translucent. Then, I summoned a new pet:

<Shadow Cat Remi (Hero) is summoned!>

<Remi’s shadow expands its domain! Stealth is strengthened, and the effect of Strong Attack will apply once per target.>

My body gradually became translucent. I slowly moved towards the pillar of light, pushing through the crowded monsters and entering the dungeon. It would’ve been impossible if the monsters were densely packed as before, but there was now space after Khan Slasher swept through them.

Pop!

[Vulcan Orc Fortress]

As soon as I entered the pillar of light, I felt a chilling coldness. Roughly estimating, it seemed to be below -15 degrees Celsius. However, this didn’t pose any problem for me thanks to my Frost Protection Ring (Rare) +9. After numerous failures, I had managed to strengthen it to level 9 specifically for battling the Ice Queen. This minor chill wouldn’t affect me significantly.

‘But it might not be so easy for the orcs.’

The dungeon, which was originally dense forest, now had clear lines of sight everywhere due to all the trees being cut down. As I scanned the fortress, I noticed numerous bonfires burning throughout it. The cold must have been unbearable for them to burn parts of their wooden palisade as firewood.

Swish.

I maintained Stealth mode and entered through gaps in the weakened palisade. In the middle of the fortress, I glimpsed a pillar of light.

“Ugh! It’s freezing! Too cold! Time! Is time up yet?!”

“Almost there. Three hundred twenty-one, three hundred twenty, three hundred nineteen…”

The orcs were whispering among themselves, seemingly waiting for something. There was no need to ask what they anticipated.

Are they waiting for regeneration?

Contrary to my expectations, they were counting something. I hid near them and waited for a while. Once their count was finished…

Pop!

An orc holding a staff appeared nearby.

Vulcan Orc Mage (Rare)

Zeck.

He stood there blankly for a moment before shaking his head.

“Damn, did I die again? What day is it?”

The orcs replied, having awaited his resurrection.

“The Crimson Moon’s Blue Day.”

The mage frowned at this answer.

“I died after only three days… We should’ve somehow endured. By any chance, did anyone see me dying?”

“Just the grand general! Forget that, mage! It’s cold! Warm us up!”

“What a waste of magic power.” The mage grumbled but cast a spell nonetheless.

I observed all this from the side.

‘Indeed, it seems like you lose your memories when you die. However, if you are inside a dungeon, you can retain them. Perhaps every time I return to the dungeon, my memories are refreshed like save points.’

I passed by them and entered deeper into the fortress. Nobody noticed me. It wasn’t because they were dull… rather, their condition seemed to be the worst.

“It’s cold…”

“Why is there coldness in this mysterious space where we don’t feel hungry?”

“Freezing… Why can’t we leave the hill?”

The atmosphere of the fortress was dark; the initial cheerfulness had vanished. The endless battles and freezing temperatures appeared to have drained their morale completely.

In the middle of the fortress, I spotted Khan Slasher meditating.

He’s exhausted.

Despite being in meditation, he wasn’t in good condition. His gaunt face and hunched posture indicated that he hadn’t been able to rest properly while continuing the battle.

Even in this state, they can’t retreat. Indeed…they feel that they must not lose this dungeon.

If one monster drove out another group from a dungeon and took control, it wouldn’t just dominate the existing monsters; instead, the type of monsters regenerating within the dungeon would change to match those of the conqueror. In other words, losing a dungeon meant not only losing their territory but also facing potential extinction as a species. This explained why, despite such dire circumstances, neither retreat nor escape was considered an option for them.

I would prefer to defeat them myself, but…this isn’t the time or place for that. It wouldn’t serve any purpose anyway. I guess I’ll have to wait until we meet again in a dungeon.

With this thought, I sent back Shadow Cat Remi and summoned Kasim the Roaring Drake instead. Naturally, my Stealth skill deactivated, revealing me to the orcs.

“What?!”

“Enemy! Enemy!”

“Everyone up! A drake!”

Terrified, they struggled to their feet, but their movements were sluggish. Even Khan Slasher hesitated before attacking, likely due to his fatigue and feeling Kasim’s power.

And then…

“Roar, Kasim.”

It was over just like that.

[Kasim has roared!]