LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 120
It reacts sensitively to environmental changes, this Nightmare. There’s no way this clever creature would charge mindlessly toward an avalanche without reason if I were to be in danger.
Gugugugugugu-!
A massive force of nature descends. The whole mountain shakes, and the misty waves begin to sweep everything away. Trees towering into the sky disappear into the snow.
It’s a thrilling setup for a tense situation. The Nightmare rushes forward, seemingly waiting for some signal right beneath the avalanche.
“Krhh!”
The pure white snow surges like a tide. I tightly embraced the Nightmare’s nape and closed my eyes. In that moment, the Nightmare leaped into the white wave.
All surrounding sounds were swallowed by the white snow tide. The harsh breathing of the Nightmare and my own heartbeat disappeared. The only thing I could feel was the movements of the Nightmare. The muscles’ movements vibrated clearly through my arms as I gripped its nape. The Nightmare dashed through the avalanche.
The heavy pressure of the avalanche lasted only a fleeting moment. The Nightmare broke free from the swirling white tide.
Surrounding sounds began to gradually return. Though my vision was unclear due to the billowing snow, I could see the white wave covering the city below the mountain.
Plurh-
I turned my head at the sound of the Nightmare’s hoofbeats. It had already come to a halt.
“What is this…?”
“Stairs…?”
Where the Nightmare stopped, a transparent ice staircase led into the pitch-black darkness. It was clear that the remnants of ancient architecture, lost to the avalanche, had been revealed.
“Shall we go?”
“Isn’t it too dangerous…? A wizard always prioritizes their own safety…”
“Then shall I go alone?”
“Ah, no…!”
I chuckled lightly at Wendy’s words. In truth, I had no intention of asking for her permission. Even if she refused, I would descend below.
Before being a wizard, I am an adventurer. And an adventurer does not turn away from opportunities that come their way. It’s time to move toward another unknown. I tugged on the Nightmare’s bridle.
“Let’s go.”
“Y-yes…”
Clack, clack-
The thick darkness within felt quite deep as the hoofbeats of the Nightmare echoed softly. I couldn’t afford to waste mana in an uncertain situation. I pulled a small lamp from my bag and lit it.
Fwoosh-
“Oh…”
As I descended the stairs, hidden features began to emerge slowly. The ice sculptures decorated along the way invoked the illusion that they might come to life at any moment. When I held the lamp near a transparent wolf sculpture, the inside was clearly visible.
“This isn’t ordinary ice.”
“Could this be Ice Stone…?”
“Who knows…”
It probably wasn’t Ice Stone. Although the mana of the Taebaek Mountain had settled here over time, I didn’t feel anything special otherwise.
“Let’s go a bit faster.”
The Nightmare accepted my intent and started to trot down the stairs. Clack, clack- The cheerful sound of hoofbeats echoed down the staircase.
How long had we been going? Just when I thought we had descended quite a bit, the stairs ended. A flat floor stretched out before us.
“Hmm… it’s too dark.”
As Wendy said, a small lamp alone wasn’t enough to illuminate the surroundings. We had ventured too deep for sunlight to reach.
There was no helping it. I spun the circle and released mana into the area. When the mana spread out, I lightly snapped my fingers.
Thud-!
At the signal of the small impact, ten bright flames sprang up around me.
Fwoosh-
The flames illuminated the area. As I shifted my gaze along the long shadows, I couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.
“Wow…”
“A Dragon…!”
Filling my vision was the massive head of a dragon. Its sharp eyes and transparent ice scales were adorned with blue horns. It was not a living entity. There was no vitality in its eyes, nor could I feel the unique mana of a dragon. It was merely an ice sculpture shaped like a dragon.
Shifting my gaze from the dragon’s head, I followed the long neck and discovered huge ice wings stretched out wide, covering the sky. Shifting my gaze again, I looked around the area, and the overall outline became clearer.
Tall pillars supporting a transparent roof. Underneath the eaves, something that resembled frozen golden threads caught my eye. Below it spread a wide road made of ice and primitive totems lined alongside.
It was a deeply religious structure. It resembled the shrine seen in the sanctuary of Dragon’s Blood, but its scale was vastly greater.
“What do you think, Wendy?”
“Uh… yeah?”
“Isn’t it good that we came in?”
Wendy nodded blankly at my question. I pulled on the Nightmare’s reins and headed towards the grand shrine. As I got closer, the dragon sculpture grew larger. Despite being an ordinary sculpture, it exuded a considerable presence.
“Th-That thing… it wouldn’t suddenly come to life, would it?”
“Don’t say ominous things…”
I frowned at Wendy’s words, recalling what happened in the sanctuary of Dragon’s Blood. Thankfully, the enormous ice dragon sculpture did not come to life. As I passed by numerous totems along the way, an unexpected sound came from Nightmare.
Plurh-
Suddenly, the Nightmare turned its head back, and I too frowned, glaring at the entrance we had come through. Countless presences were detected in the open space, descending through the stairs.
“What? What’s happening?”
“Others are coming down!”
“Isn’t that a big deal? What if we lose the Ice Stone?”
“Well, I’m not sure if there even is any Ice Stone here.”
I shook my head at Wendy’s words and urged the Nightmare. Despite coming down this far, I didn’t feel the special energy that could be called Ice Stone.
Wendy and I dismounted from the Nightmare and began rummaging through the large shrine.
“Let me know the moment you find something.”
“Okay!”
Wendy zipped around here and there, wrapped in the wind, but even after quite some time, she couldn’t find anything special.
Looking at me with a sulky expression, Wendy finally spoke.
“Maybe someone else already took it?”
“That could be possible.”
“That’s been a story passed down from long ago about Taebaek, right? Perhaps someone left long ago in search of the Ice Stone.”
Wendy had a point. Just as I nodded in agreement, a wind blew from the direction of the stairs, brushing lightly past the flames illuminating the area. At the same time, a shadow moved to the opposite side, creating a strange pattern.
“This is…”
“Perhaps the Ice Stone was never really a thing. Suddenly, all the inn employees were asking about the ice stone…”
I looked up and examined the insides of the enormous dragon sculpture. Inside the transparent ice, there was something vague but present. It was not visible from afar; I could only faintly recognize its existence by looking up from right below.
Why hadn’t I noticed something so close? I dashed toward the dragon sculpture.
“So… Seris?”
“Wait a moment.”
“Aren’t you climbing too high…?”
Ignoring Wendy’s words, I began to climb the cold ice. The surface was quite smooth, but by wedging my feet between the large scales, I could create enough space to step.
“Huah!”
With each leap, I ascended by several meters. Just when I was about to attach myself to the underbelly of the dragon.
Fwoooosh-!
A massive blaze erupted suddenly from the direction of the staircase. A familiar energy. It was the flames of the Red Wind. The moment I recognized the energy of the Red Wind, icy blue energy surged from beside the blazing red fire.
Chaaan-!
This time, it was the energy of Ch’eong-bin. With a frown, I concentrated on the staircase’s direction and detected other energies clashing with the two dragons’ energies.
“W-What’s happening?”
There’s no time. The fact that others had come here meant they were also after the Ice Stone like us. I hurriedly dashed toward the dragon sculpture’s heart.
“Huah!”
Just as I expected, a large box was situated in the dragon’s heart. Its color matched the ice so closely that it would have been hard to notice had I not looked closely.
I concentrated mana at the tip of my sword and pierced the ice dragon’s chest without hesitation.
Pwoook-!
With no significant resistance, I rummaged around inside with the blade, causing the inner ice to break apart and spill out bit by bit. I burrowed deeper into the ice dragon’s chest.
There was a little space inside the ice dragon’s heart. I reached inside and pulled out a box the size of my torso. Made from some special metal, the white box radiated a cold chill.
Just as I was about to take the box and head outside.
“There it is!”
“Ice Stone!”
“The sorcerers found the Ice Stone!”
Shouts erupted from a considerable distance away. Many gazes began to focus on me. No, specifically, they were fixated on the white box I held. Not just one or two, but dozens of people.
I narrowed my eyes. I had underestimated. It seemed the magic I used to illuminate the surroundings had caught their attention.
“Nightmare!”
Without hesitation, I jumped down while calling out to the Nightmare, and it swiftly allowed Wendy, who had been hesitating at my side, to hop on its back.
The moment I landed, I extinguished all the flames that had been illuminating our surroundings. The light from the lamp I held also flickered out.
Fwhoosh-!
A profound darkness descended.
“It disappeared!”
“W-What spell was that? Grab them!”
“Light a fire!”
The frantic voices of the beastmen echoed. Some hurriedly lit torches and lamps, but it was impossible to illuminate this entire area.
The light I needed to recognize my surroundings was enough with this. I twirled the mana circle and climbed onto the Nightmare’s back. It snorted as if ready to run at any moment.
“Let’s go—”
At the moment the small voice brushed against the Nightmare’s ear, it became a streak of light, racing through the darkness.
As we passed by countless beastmen, something in the black darkness began to writhe, and suddenly, a chilling attack was launched at me. I immediately drew my sword and swung it.
Kaan-!
I didn’t lose my reflexes thanks to my focus, but the strong impact forced me down from the Nightmare. As I leapt from the Nightmare’s back, I grabbed my bow.
Thwock-!
As if we understood without words, five Crystal Stone Arrows were in my hand. I spotted a dark form moving through the darkness and drew the bowstring back.
Phaaat-!
The hastily shot Crystal Stone Arrow veered sharply and pursued the target that had disappeared into the darkness. Once I locked on to a target, I would never miss. I followed the arrow as it flew and swung my sword.
Kaan-! Phew-!
The shadow, hidden in the darkness, blocked my sword, but it couldn’t deflect the Crystal Stone Arrow that followed right after. A short groan escaped its lips as I met its astonished eyes in the air.
Thwack-!
The moment the body of the shadow was engulfed in Crystal Stone, I quickly withdrew from that place. At the same time, a sinister slash aimed at the spot where I had been standing poured down.
Sliiish!
From within the darkness, the sound of a snake hissing resonated. A formless aura flowed silently around us. I took a deep breath and drew up more mana.
The Nightmare dashed through the pitch-black darkness, piercing the surrounding beastmen with its horns. In moments of danger, Wendy cast spells from behind me to provide assistance, so it didn’t seem overly dangerous.
In that instant, as if the price paid for becoming distracted, a dark slash flew toward me. Time was running out. I reached out toward the incoming slash. As the sharp blade was about to touch my hand, red scales emerged, snatching the blade away.
Kaan-!
After the red scales, horns symbolizing a dragon sprouted. At the moment the dragon’s tail emerged, I flicked the blade in my hand.
The tremors that began from that light gesture erupted into the roar of a dragon.
Krrrr-!
Every living being in this place froze in their tracks.