Chapter 24: Frozen Tears

[The ‘Corrupted Hall’s Master’ is watching you.]

This is!

Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.

No doubt about it.

It was an indirect message from a boss monster.

“Look, did you see this? It’s now on the status window…”

Teresa exclaimed in surprise as well.

“Yes. I saw it too.”

But there was no need to worry about being attacked right away.

Indirect messages from intelligent boss monsters were merely expressions of mood or will.

They couldn’t pose a physical threat.

However.

‘This guy has never shown interest in players before…?’

The master of the hall always stayed cooped up in his room.

Of course, he dealt with intruders, but otherwise, he cut off all contact with the outside world.

And now he was showing interest like this.

…Interesting.

The reason and intent behind it.

“What does it mean for a boss monster to be watching us?”

“If I put it nicely, he sees us as interesting enemies, if I put it badly, he means to never let us out alive. Well, I guess you could interpret it like that.”

“Does this mean he acknowledges us?”

“It means he acknowledged me. Not you.”

Trying to lump us together so subtly.

It’s clear the indirect message popped up because of me.

“……”

Teresa looked at Jinhyuk with an incredulous face.

A renowned ranker from Europe and a player who joined as a porter.

If you asked 100 people, all 100 would back Teresa.

But still.

Where does this man’s confidence come from?

By now, it was almost admirable in multiple senses.

She had a lot to say, but Teresa just shook her head gently, as if she resigned herself.

“When you first spoke to me, you said you knew all the traps, right?”

“Yes. It’s been a while, but my body remembers.”

It had been a while since he had been to the first floor.

Especially since it had been well over six years since he last entered the ruins.

Still, there should be no problem.

There’s a saying that while the form may wane, the class is eternal.

“So, what should I do?”

“Just draw the attention of the undead monsters. I’ll handle the rest.”

Dividing up the roles like this allowed them to level up and obtain the desired items without much effort.

Jinhyuk gripped his dagger upside down as he prepared to descend into the pit.

“I’m ready.”

“Then, let’s begin.”

Teresa gathered her mana.

Then.

Woo-wooo-woooom!

[Teresa has activated Lv5 ‘Song of Battle’!]

A dazzling light with warmth seeped into every fibre of their being.

[All stats will increase by +3 for 10 minutes!]

An area-wide buff skill.

And it was an overpowered skill that affected all stats.

‘Ho-ho. That’s quite usable.’

Jinhyuk muttered in admiration.

If it weren’t for Teresa’s unique ability ‘Blessing of the Stars’, which allowed her to resurrect upon death, he would’ve wanted to copy that skill.

Kwoong!

Meanwhile, Teresa leaped into the midst of the undead monsters.

“Krurrr…”

“Kieeee!”

Ghouls and skeletons reacted immediately.

Exhaling miasma, they brandished their crude blades and axes.

But…

Kakakkakak!

Such weapons would not even scratch Teresa’s armor.

After all, they were dealing with one out of 100 players.

Among them, Teresa was the ranker known for having the most stable offense and defense.

Plus, she was equipped with a replica version of ‘Joan of Arc’s Armor’.

Mass-produced monsters couldn’t possibly stand against her, no matter their number.

“Kek!”

“Kekek!”

Her shield moved with precision.

Bang! Kwaaang!

Ghouls’ heads shattered in a single blow.

That might as well be the power of a siege hammer.

Swish!

With every swipe of her sword, skeletons were cut in half.

Fast and precise attacks.

As if a walled fortress was crumbling down.

A path was opening.

…Now’s the time!

Tap!

Jinhyuk kicked off the ground.

Lightly.

And swiftly.

Maintaining his speed, he darted through the monsters with minimal movements.

Although most of the aggro was on Teresa, given the sheer number, some monsters targeted Jinhyuk.

A ghoul lunged at Jinhyuk’s neck with its claws outstretched.

“Kieeeee!”

It would be endless if he faced each one individually.

Thud!

He targeted the joints to throw off the ghoul’s center of gravity.

“Kek?”

The ghoul stumbled badly.

Its confusion was palpable as suddenly its body refused to obey.

Jinhyuk continued to dispose of ghouls and skeletons in the same manner, pushing deeper inward.

Then, as the fog grew denser.

Patsustsuts.

Black sparks flew towards him like lightning.

“……!”

Dangerous.

Instinctively, Jinhyuk veered off course.

Boom!

A massive crater formed where he stood just a second ago.

Indeed.

A chilling destructive power.

‘If this isn’t part of the ruins, what is?’

Jinhyuk’s eyes moved rapidly.

To the left.

Precisely, between the rocks on the left.

There, a lich casting a spell came into view.

A fleshless skeletal mage.

Yet, the blue glow in its eyes seemed to pierce through everything.

“This is not a place for humans.”

A voice as grating as metal scraping came forth.

Of course, it always comes to their one-liners.

Then, is this the perfect spot for corpses to take midnight walks?

Jinhyuk discarded the threat filled with numerous assumptions and just let it pass by his ears.

‘Five Dullahans as guards…’

He wanted to avoid a head-on fight if possible, but he had no choice.

He had to deal with all of them.

If he ignored them like the ghouls and skeletons, there was a risk of being caught from behind.

“Go back. If you take even one more step, I will reduce you to ashes.”

The lich created black lightning in his palm.

It looked to be at least a 5th-circle magic spell.

Casually.

Jinhyuk stepped forward.

“Oops. My mistake.”

“Utterly……”

With a nod from the lich, the Dullahans moved forward.

“Krooooh!”

“Kraaaaah!”

The five Dullahans roared fiercely.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

As the ground trembled with thunderous sounds, they closed the gap instantly.

Not typical of low-intelligence beings, they managed to form an encirclement.

And at the same time.

The black lightning in the lich’s hand disappeared.

“Regret and die, human!”

It was fast.

But the moment the black streak aimed straight for Jinhyuk’s heart.

Harururuk!

Intense flames surged up.

The lightning shattered against the fiery membrane.

“How could a mere human!”

It had been a full-power attack.

Yet it was so easily blocked.

The lich had been confident that he would not be outdone by any human in magic.

However, that pride had been utterly shattered.

Right at this moment.

Kukukukuku!

The flames scattered into thousands of fragments.

Among them…

“There’s no time, so I’ll make it quick.”

After a brief comment, Jinhyuk targeted the closest Dullahan.

Thump.

He stepped on its thigh.

Tuk!

Next, he stepped on its shoulder and leaped high.

Was he nearly 5 meters into the air?

Jinhyuk pulled his shoulder back significantly.

“My strike may not be as fast as lightning…”

I assure you of one thing, though.

“Your shield definitely won’t stop it.”

Mana-charged 10-tempered dagger, with combined stats and adaptive stat boosts.

A 5th-circle shield wouldn’t stand a chance.

At least a shield two tiers higher might have a shot.

Suddenly.

The dagger in Jinhyuk’s hand disappeared.

Red flash.

A single beam of light shot straight towards the lich.

“……Keup!?”

[5th-circle ‘Energy Shield’ activated!]

Reflexively raised mana.

A transparent barrier unfolded, enveloping the lich entirely.

However…

Kract!

The shield shattered like a glass wall.

Naturally, the lich behind the shield also acquired a new breathing hole.

“Ker… Argghh…”

Disbelief-ridden, the lich alternated between looking at his wound and at Jinhyuk.

But it was only for a brief moment.

The blue light that had burned so fiercely in its eyes slowly faded.

The devastating hit had blasted away the accumulated mana.

Of course, a lich with a life-force vessel wouldn’t vanish, but it was unable to move for a while.

‘That wraps up the clean-up.’

Jinhyuk retrieved his stabbed dagger from the ground.

“Krurr…”

“Krrr.”

The Dullahans, previously under the lich’s command, were gradually stepping back.

Presumably, they had lost their will to fight.

Jinhyuk did not pursue them.

After all, his purpose for coming here was not to level up but to secure items.

“Huff.”

Jinhyuk steadied his breath.

Now he needed to be a bit more alert.

He still had to pass through an immense number of traps.

＊＊＊

“What kind of porter is that?”

Teresa muttered weakly.

Her heart had been racing when she joined back after dealing with the undead swarm.

She could finally confront the person who kept ignoring her and say it proudly.

That she was this strong.

However, the moment she witnessed Jinhyuk’s battle, her high spirits plummeted to the ground.

‘It really was true.’

The story of how he single-handedly dealt with four Dullahans wasn’t just a tall tale.

And he hadn’t even given his all.

He had totally toyed with a lich, a much higher adversary.

‘No wonder he’s so full of confidence.’

Of course, he’d be nonchalant with that kind of strength.

But.

The astonishment didn’t end there.

The moment she stepped into the trap zone.

Teresa lost all her words.

“Ah…”

Her tiny lips parted in disbelief.

＊＊＊

Thump!

Jinhyuk evaded spikes that sprung from the ground.

Almost simultaneously, fifteen arrows came flying at him.

They were menacing, but a feint.

The real one was the transparently coated wire.

‘The fog makes me have to be even more careful.’

Clang clang clang clang!

As Jinhyuk parried the arrows with his dagger, he constantly checked for a safe place to step.

Then.

[Your vision is distorted.]

An uncomfortable tingling sensation crossed the retina.

‘Now the spacing will be off by about 32 centimeters.’

Whatever attack followed, it would be much faster than what he could feel.

This was the biggest reason for the difficulty of this trap segment.

He adjusted the timing he had memorized up a notch.

…Time to move.

Jinhyuk moved forward again.

Whish.

Something skimmed the ground.

This time it’s behind.

The moment a rope, like a snake, went to snatch his ankle.

Jinhyuk lunged forward.

Click! Click!

As he moved, traps were triggered one after another.

Of course, everything served as a trigger for the traps here.

‘Three steps here… Then two to the right.’

He kept moving.

The only option was to choose a path that was slightly less dangerous.

The relatively easier ones were the physical traps.

The tricky ones were traps that affected the mental realm.

He absolutely had to avoid the latter.

As triggering those meant instant death.

Just a bit more.

A little more…

Only about 100 meters left to the goal.

[Your hearing dulls.]

[Your sensation numbs.]

As he approached the target, the senses began to dull.

Even his superior reflexes became insignificant in this environment.

Studying rules.

Attempting to discern patterns was pointless.

Henceforth.

Everything beyond this point loses meaning.

One could only learn the order of everything by dying thousands, tens of thousands of times—that was the only solution to overcome these traps.

Boom!

Jinhyuk deflected the couched lance.

Despite his senses acting wildly, he did not lose consciousness to the very end.

Bang!

He deflected.

Boom!

Once more.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

And one more time.

‘This is… the end!’

Vroom!

Jinhyuk caught a lance rushing towards his heart barehanded.

Then, he threw it mercilessly to the ground.

[All senses are restored.]

[The fog covering the pit dissipates.]

[The undead find their rest.]

As the flood of system messages poured in, Jinhyuk let out a groan.

“Doing this after so long makes my muscles sore.”

He wasn’t even joking.

His right wrist and shoulder were sore. He would have managed easily if he was just three years younger, what a shame.

‘But seeing this makes it all better…’

Jinhyuk looked at the items placed on a boulder.

The first thing that caught his eye was the ancient Latin inscription on the long parchment.

It was the ‘Pact of Peter’ that Teresa had been seeking.

And then.

‘Yeah. Seeing it again is indeed a relief.’

A crystal radiating a blinding blue light.

‘The Frozen Tear’.

He finally obtained it.

‘First, I’ll collect the Spatial Inventory Script and the Magical Soul Stones, then I’ll call Teresa to neutralize the poison and cold from the Frozen Tear.’

If he touched it with his bare hands, they would suffer serious frostbite.

However, at that very moment, when he was about to call Teresa.

“Put that down. Slowly.”

A low, subdued voice came from behind Jinhyuk.