Chapter 4: The Hidden Path
“Haah…”
Zeke huddled in a makeshift hideout carved into the icy cliff, slowly chewing on a piece of frozen rations. It had been over a month since he first took refuge on this precipice.
Among the Northern Rangers, it was said that the Ice Dragon Valley in the Ice Mountains was formed ten thousand years ago during a fierce month-long battle between an ice dragon and a fire dragon. The legend lent an air of mystery to the seemingly bottomless chasm, instilling a primal fear in humans. Even the Rangers, who roamed the Ice Mountains as if they were their own backyard, avoided the valley.
Zeke had been clinging to the icy cliff of this very valley, carving out a hideout to evade his pursuers for over a month. Only someone as tenacious as he could manage such a feat. The hunting dogs scoured the valley for him, but none imagined he would be hanging off the cliff itself.
Every day, Zeke balanced himself with his innate sense of equilibrium, exploring the precipice. His goal was to find an entrance to the ancient ruins rumored to be hidden here.
“There must be a path around here somewhere,” he thought, trusting the Southern Continent’s adage: hide important things where no one wants to go. If there was a secret entrance to the ruins, it would be on this unapproachable icy cliff.
After finishing his rations, Zeke sipped melted ice water to stay hydrated, then used his healing ability to warm his frozen body. The healing energy coursed through him, staving off frostbite. Without proper winter gear, he couldn’t have survived a month in the harsh cold, even with his resilience. As an Irregular with healing powers, he had managed to endure by constantly mending his own body.
Blood returned to his frozen limbs, and his muscles relaxed. Zeke stood up, securing a rope to the ice wall and began tapping the surface as he moved sideways along the cliff.
Thud! Thud!
Reaching a particular spot, he tapped more carefully, using his sharp senses to detect any hollow spaces behind the ice. A week ago, he had sensed something here and had been focusing his search in this area.
As he concentrated, tapping the ice wall and moving slowly, he suddenly felt an unusual vibration.
Rumble!
The entire Ice Dragon Valley seemed to tremble.
“What the…?”
Startled, Zeke quickly tightened the rope around himself and tried to retreat to his hideout. But just then, a massive avalanche of snow cascaded down from above.
Crash!
The snow poured down the ice wall like a waterfall. Realizing he couldn’t rely on the rope alone, Zeke drew his dagger and cut the line, then drove the blade into the ice wall, using it to propel himself toward his hideout.
Whoosh!
Below lay a seemingly endless abyss, while above, the avalanche surged like a tidal wave. As he neared the hideout, Zeke felt himself slipping toward the chasm. In a desperate move, he drew Gram from his back and unleashed its explosive power.
The blast from Gram propelled him into the hideout carved into the ice wall.
Thud!
Zeke slammed into the icy wall, pain shooting through his back as if it were shattering. His spine was indeed fractured.
“Ugh!”
Dazed and in agony, he clung to Gram, embedded in the wall, to avoid being swept away by the avalanche. Slowly, he used his healing ability to mend his broken back.
Crash!
The avalanche continued to pour down the ice wall with relentless force. Zeke curled up, waiting for the storm of snow to pass.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Though he had faced countless dangers before, surviving this ordeal felt like a first. Once the avalanche subsided, Zeke, having barely healed his back, slowly stood up.
”…That was close.”
He cautiously approached the entrance of his hideout and peered down. Despite the massive snowfall, the valley was so deep that no trace of the avalanche remained. Falling here would mean disappearing without a trace.
Though he had survived, a new problem arose. With his lifeline cut, he was now trapped in the hideout. Checking for the rope, he found it had been swept away by the avalanche, lost to the depths below.
“Am I just going to freeze to death here?”
As despair began to creep in, something caught Zeke’s eye. The avalanche had caused a crack to form in the middle of the cliff. Sensing an opportunity, he checked his remaining daggers. With four left, he could potentially reach the crack if he placed them well.
“If that’s not the entrance… I’ll die here.”
Taking a deep breath, Zeke threw a dagger with all his might toward the opposite wall. The dagger, infused with his energy, veered sharply and embedded itself in the wall.
“Good.”
He followed with the remaining three daggers, creating a makeshift path to the crack. Steeling himself, Zeke leaped from the hideout.
Whoosh!
His agile form bounded from dagger to dagger, and at the last moment, he drove Gram into the cracked section of the cliff.
Thud!
Gram lodged deep into the ice. Clinging to it, Zeke examined the crack. To his surprise, there was a hollow space beyond.
“Haah…”
Gripping Gram with both hands, he swung his body and kicked at the crack with both feet.
Thud!
The crack held firm, but Zeke knew he couldn’t afford to lose strength. He swung harder, channeling energy into his legs.
“Haah!”
With a shout, his kick shattered the ice wall.
Crack!
As the wall crumbled, the section holding Gram collapsed, and Zeke quickly dove into the opening.
Crash!
Rolling into the cave, Zeke gasped for breath.
“Huff, huff…”
Leaning on Gram, he surveyed his surroundings. What he had thought was a natural cave was actually man-made. The floor was paved with smooth stone, and the walls were lined with ancient tiles.
“Could this be an ancient ruin?”
Whether it was the Elder Dragon’s ruin the mad emperor sought, Zeke couldn’t be sure, but it was clear this place held secrets. He retrieved a magical lamp from his pack and illuminated the area, feeling warmth seep into his bones as he ventured deeper.
After a month in the freezing cold, the warmth was a welcome relief. As he moved forward, something caught his eye.
“A shrine?”
In the center of a modest room stood a staircase leading to a shrine. Cautiously, Zeke approached, noting the closed door on the far side. It seemed he had entered directly into the shrine room through the collapsed cliff, bypassing any traps that might have awaited him.
“Guess I got lucky after all.”
Climbing the steps, he found nothing but a plain black box atop the stone altar. Zeke approached the box cautiously.
“Is this the artifact the emperor was after?”
He tapped the box with Gram, finding no traps. Slowly, he lifted the box, checking if it was locked. To his surprise, it wasn’t. For something hidden in such an extreme location, it lacked any security measures.
Curious, he opened the box, revealing something entirely unexpected: a dark, dragon-shaped statue. Zeke picked it up, examining it closely.
”…Is there something here I don’t understand?”
Whether it was an artifact of the Elder Dragon or not, the fact that it was hidden in such a place meant it was no ordinary item.
However, Zeke wasn’t a swordsman-mage who could use healing magic, so he had no way of knowing what powers it might possess.
Still, he decided to take it, suspecting that the mad emperor might be after it. If the emperor made a move to retrieve it himself, it could present an opportunity for an assassination.
Zeke briefly thought of Alicia and the knights of Himonas, a bitter expression crossing his face as he pocketed the dragon statue.
He searched the room, hoping to find something else, but the dragon statue was the only thing there.
Confirming there were no other relics, Zeke turned his attention to finding a way out.
The stone door he had entered through was sealed with magic, refusing to budge no matter how hard he pushed.
In the end, Zeke had no choice but to look for another exit.
“Climbing back up the cliff is impossible… I can only hope this cave connects to somewhere else.”
Zeke retraced his steps to the cave he had entered from, cautiously moving in the opposite direction.
The cave stretched on longer than he had anticipated.
He took breaks along the way, eating rations and drinking melted snow.
“A map would be handy right about now. Or maybe a teleportation ability to instantly move to marked coordinates.”
Indulging in such fanciful thoughts, Zeke rested briefly before resuming his search for a way out.
After wandering for who knows how long, the artificially carved path ended, giving way to a cave made of ice.
As he examined the ice cave, he felt a faint breeze and followed its direction.
“The wind is escaping this way.”
Relying on his keen survival instincts, he pursued the path the wind took.
As he advanced through the ice cave, Zeke sensed something unusual ahead.
“What is this…?”
He had stumbled upon a group of ice trolls.
These creatures were rare in the central continent but more common in the northern regions.
Unlike regular trolls, they were covered in thick fur that made them resistant to blades, and their regenerative abilities made them formidable opponents.
Zeke gripped his sword, Gram, and observed the ice trolls’ movements.
Then, something strange caught his attention.
“They’re afraid of something?”
Ice trolls were territorial creatures, yet this place didn’t seem like their domain. It was as if they had been driven out and were now on edge, wary of intruders.
“If there’s something that even ice trolls fear…”
Just then, something flew in from the opposite direction.
Swoosh—
A sharp aura blade sliced through the air, severing the neck of an ice troll in an instant.
Thud!
As blood gushed from their fallen comrade, the other ice trolls bared their sharp teeth and let out a furious roar.
“Graaaah!”
The intruders revealed themselves as the ice trolls charged with claws bared.
They were none other than the execution squad of the Hound Unit.