Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World

Sacred Peak, Generosus (4)

Along the ridge, Han-bin and his party pushed forward.

The color of white dominated the scene no matter where they looked.

The snow had covered the entire landscape.

Strong winds blew frequently, and blizzards fell to block their sights.

Looking around, Ryu Han-bin mumbled leisurely.

“I thought it would be freezing, but it’s bearable.”

Artis, Effir, and Kibie glared at him angrily.

“Only for you!”

“We’re freezing to death!”

“So am I.”

Although he remained silent, Leon Hart also had a similar expression.

“…”

It was hard to stand the cold even though he was wearing clothes and even was surrounded by Artis’s cold weather spell.

Indeed, there it wasn’t an exaggeration to say they were biting the cold.

Ryu Han-bin had such a high defense capability that even the current situation was a breeze. He could ignore it out, but the others weren’t the same as Han-bin.

‘But this defense is due to passive Aura, isn’t it?’

After mastering Aura, he quickly realized the identity of ‘defense,’ which he had been so curious about.

It was a skill called passive Aura in Latna, a type of Aura defense that an Aura user unconsciously operated in the body.

Aura was a lifespan.

Every living thing had a weak Aura.

It was just that it didn’t come to the surface unless it reached a certain point.

Aura didn’t just appear out of nowhere when people reached level 50.

As a person’s skills increased, Aura built up. If it exceeded a certain level, it could be operated externally like the other four powers.

‘Then isn’t it normal that Kibie, an Aura user, to be strong in the cold?’

It turned out that Han-bin’s guess wasn’t wrong.

Kibie shook her head.

“I am already using the passive Aura. You’re just a monster.”

In addition to the cold weather spell, Artis and Effir resisted the cold with Mana and Force.

The temperature was low enough for them to still tremble even with all the resistances applied.

Leon Hart was the same.

“Oh, it’s cold…”

With the collar of his coat popped up, he continued to cast the basic cold weather spell.

Since the precious ‘key’ shouldn’t freeze to death, they released two Prana seals that had shackled Leon Hart.

Thanks to that, he was able to use Prana at around level 20.

Of course, such little Prana wouldn’t allow him to escape.

It was so cold that he couldn’t stand not using it to cast the cold weather spell.

“Hey, can you release a few more seals? I’m going to freeze to death.”

Artis shook his head firmly.

“No, I can’t. What do you think you’ll do if I let you go further?”

Leon Hart didn’t ask anymore.

Well, if he were in their position, he would have said the same thing.

Except for one person, everyone jumped up the mountain.

Instead of going through the snowstorm, Kibie suddenly expressed regret.

“Oh, it’s freezing. Damn it, why would I store the holy item in a place like this?”

Effir and Artis scolded her.

“That’s true, sister! Why the hell did you hide your sacred stuff in such a remote place?”

“I mean, why didn’t you hide it in a nice place where people could live?”

She deserved to be a Goddess.

“I can’t do that! People shouldn’t be able to access the item easily.”

People naturally lived in places where the climate was mild and where the plants and animals thrived.

If Kibie wanted to keep her item secure, she had to avoid such crowded locations.

Of course, with the power of the Goddess, even such a place could block human access…

“I didn’t want to drive people away from their homes.”

Ryu Han-bin looked at Kibie with admiration.

‘After hearing that, I’m convinced that the Goddesses of this world are benevolent beings.’

It seemed certain that Omphalos or something was evil.

Well, if they listened to what she had been saying, they didn’t think the Goddess cared for her people.

“This is part of the process of testing the intruder’s qualifications.”

If someone chosen by the Goddess were to take the sacred object, they needed to prove themselves by going through hardships and adversity!

“So, how does it feel to be tested by yourself?”

Ryu Han-bin asked while laughing.

Kibie sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry, humans. I’m sorry.”

Considering that the Goddesses descended as incarnations to understand humans, it was still upholding its original purpose.

“Next time, I’m going to lower the eligibility test for acquiring sacred items.”

“That’s not a hero’s journey anymore, then. That would be more like taking a driver’s licensure test.”

“… What’s that?”

“You don’t know that? The Goddesses don’t know everything about Earth, huh.”

* * *

In the meantime, monsters frequently appeared and attacked the group.

What was unusual was that they normal creatures but rather were magical monsters.

Ice Golems, Glacial Spirits, and Beast forms seemed to have been summoned through magic.

Artis wondered, smashing the Glacial Spirit in front of him.

“Isn’t there any living creatures?”

Since Kybriel was the creator of the Dragon race, he thought that if she were to place a Guardian to protect the sacred item, she would have stationed one or two ice-based Dragon races such as Ice Drakes and Prison Hydras.

But all of them were more of a magic trap.

Kibie waved her hand.

“Even if I’m their creator, I can’t do such a nasty deed. What if we put the living kids in a place like this? What about their lives?”

The creatures before them weren’t natives of Latna.

Until recently, Kybriel had artificially arranged them for a special purpose.

But what if she put a living object there?

Shouldn’t they wait for the apostle of Goddess who might come at any time in their life and die by their hands?

“It’s not what a Goddess should do!”

“Well, if you put it like that, it’s not a humane thing to do, much less godlike.”

Having an unsightly conversation, Han-bin and his companions continued to climb the mountain.

Ice monsters continued to appear.

All of them were powerful, ranging from level 70 to 80, but they couldn’t prevent the group from advancing.

No, they couldn’t even hold their ankle.

The Ice Golems were dealt with a single blow.

“It’s too easy.”

The Glacial Spirits were dealt with a single blow as well.

“It’s too easy.”

When Beast Spirits appeared in a group, Han-bin stepped back.

“That’s a bunch of junk. Effir, kill them and eat their energy.”

“Yes!”

With Ryu Han-bin at the forefront, everything proceeded smoothly.

He passed all the tests that Kybriel had set up.

As Han-bin didn’t understand, he asked.

“Isn’t this too easy as to be a Goddess’s test? I think it’s even easier than the Four Prohibited Areas.”

In fact, except for the intense cold, it was indeed easier than the Four Prohibited Areas.

No, such a cold place was common in high-ranking dungeons of the Ice-Flame Forest.

Kibie protested as if she were falsely accused.

“Of course, it’s stronger there! That’s the most powerful invasion base of Omphalos!”

The difficulty wasn’t the same since one was created with the intention to kill, and the other was made to test the intruder’s qualifications.

“And when I made this, the average Latnain level wasn’t as high as it is now.”

The average level of heroes who saved Latna’s crisis by acquiring the Goddess’s sacred items in the past was around 80 to 90.

It was also the reason why Kybriel’s incarnation, Kibie, was only at that level.

On the other hand, in the current era, there were people with much higher levels.

It was because of the existence of Dungeons and Aliens.

People didn’t become stronger purposelessly.

There had to be a reason to become stronger, a chance to be stronger, and a way to be stronger.

The invasion of the Demon Omphalos gave the Latnains a reason to become stronger.

They also got a chance to be stronger through the continuous appearance of Dungeons.

They also learned how to be stronger by dealing with the existence of the world.

They continued to create new martial arts, study the Magic Tools of Dungeons, and developed magic day by day.

And that was gradually accelerating over time.

More than 30 years ago, the head of Great Earth, the strongest Alien, was level 100.

No one dared confront their leader until the four strongest individuals came forward.

It was enough to spill blood all over Latna.

However, at that moment, the situation was different.

People over level 100 often appeared among the prisoners of Akhtarun.

In the Continental Top Three or the Four Prohibited Areas, there were sometimes superhumans over level 100 among the Latnains.

Even Leon Hart was a level 112 Spiritist.

‘And yet, the strongest three are recognized as unparalleled absolutes. How strong are they?’

Even while Ryu Han-bin was immersed in his own thoughts, the group moved nonstop.

They went around the corner of the summit.

Surveying their surroundings, Kibie muttered.

“It’s about time the last Guardian came out.”

Indeed, a part of the ice wall cracked, and a presence appeared.

Grrr!

It was a huge Dragon made of ice.

Han-bin blinked.

“That’s a little strong, isn’t it?”

[Race: Frost Dragon Golem. Lv. 85

A kind of weapon created using magic. Like the Silver Dragon, it uses ice magic below level 80.]

“But it doesn’t matter.”

Ryu Han-bin pushed forward, unsheathing Gigant.

“I’ll smash you!”

* * *

Beautiful ice particles were scattered in all directions as they glinted.

Pssst!

It was the sad end of the strongest Guardian of Sacred Peak Generosus.

Although it was monstrous, he failed to withstand Ryu Han-bin’s blow.

Han-bin and his party moved to the ice wall where the Dragon Golem appeared.

The middle of the ice wall collapsed, opening a path upwards.

The remaining ice of the golem naturally took the form of stairs.

Kibie shrugged as she climbed on it.

“I handled both the Guardian and path creation at the same time. What do you think about the functional design?”

The top of the ice wall was a hollow basin.

The peak of Generosus was visible above them, and the ice caps were piled up along the ridge.

Suddenly, Artis muttered, raising his head.

“The wind has stopped.”

The snowstorm had ended.

The intense cold that was bothering the party so much had disappeared.

Kibie explained the reason.

“We’ve reached our destination.”

A large cave could be seen in the middle of the white snow mountain.

It was the entrance of the Seal, where the Heart of Darkness was located.

With a big smile, Kibie walked quickly.

“Relax. There’s no Guardian from here.”

If they went underground through that cave, they would see the temple of Kybriel.

There were other forms of tests waiting from there, so there was no need to add monsters.

At that time, Effir frowned.

“… No Guardian?”

“What’s wrong, Effir?”

Frustrated, Kibie looked at her.

“Then who’s that?”

Effir pulled out her double swords and triggered a technique.

-Magic Swordsmanship: Breaking Gusts!

Two gusts of stone wind hit the snowy ridge in front of the cave.

At that moment, space was distorted, and the sound of collapse rang with the haze.

Boom!

A group of humans appeared as the landscape broke.

They were hiding using magic.

The middle-aged Spiritist at the back of the group laughed in vain.

“You managed to catch us. I thought we hid pretty well.”

There were nine men and women in their 20s and 30s.

All of them were fully armed and had high levels.

It wasn’t hard at all to find out who they were.

Some of them had already met.

Among them was Almara, the human form of the Silver Dragon.

Saltus, the human form of the Green Dragon, was with them as well.

Kibie grabbed her long spear.

“Hollien’s pursuit team!”