The tenth floor of the tower wasn’t all that different from the ninth. Well, the view was quite different, but the wide-open space without any barriers was similar.
“Sis, it feels especially cold here,” Hanna murmured, hugging her ample chest tightly against the sudden chill.
Instinctively, I glanced at Hanna, my eyes momentarily drawn to her slightly squished bosom. Even with her arms wrapped around them, her breasts exuded a warm abundance.
‘It’d be so warm to bury my face in there.’
Lost in such trivial thoughts, I suddenly felt someone staring at me. I turned my gaze instinctively and cleared my throat a couple of times.
”…”
After a brief silence, Hayeon’s cool voice cut through the air.
“She’s got plenty of flesh, yet she complains…”
“It’s not all that great. Just makes my shoulders ache… Haha, you’re lucky, sis.”
“Hanna? I was just joking. And I’m not exactly small, you know?”
“Sis, I was joking too. And yes, of course.”
“Hahaha.”
“Hehehe.”
The two women exchanged bright laughter, but the atmosphere around them was anything but cheerful.
“Hyung, it feels like it’s getting colder,” Ahn Hyun said, approaching me with a face full of grievance.
I sighed, shook my head, and simply stared ahead.
The Ice Tower didn’t end at the ninth floor.
After dealing with the vengeful spirits on the ninth floor, I used my third eye to find a secret passage to the tenth floor. I asked Hayeon to use a Scan spell, and that’s how we found the passage and ascended to the tenth floor.
The tenth floor was as spacious as the ninth, but it didn’t feel empty.
There were several structures visible at the far end, and large blocks of ice neatly arranged in the room. There must have been at least hundreds of them.
Moreover, the block of ice in the center was at least three to four times larger than the others. This was likely the source of the intense cold on the tenth floor.
‘This must be the heart of the place.’
After ensuring there was no immediate danger with my third eye, I slowly walked toward the central ice block. As I examined the surroundings, I discovered something intriguing.
Inside the countless blocks of ice were ‘people.’
Not just people, but also fairies, beastmen, and various other humanoid races were encased in some of the ice blocks.
“Oh, this looks like quite an interesting study,” Vivian exclaimed, her alchemist’s curiosity clearly piqued.
“What do you think? What kind of research do you think was conducted here?” I asked.
“Hmm,” Vivian mused, surveying the area with a thoughtful expression. “It’s hard to say without a closer look, but the research seems quite deep.”
“I see.”
“But…”
Vivian’s gaze fell on one of the ice blocks, her eyes narrowing.
I followed her gaze and saw a beastman trapped inside, his eyes wide open in a look of eternal grievance, staring back at us from within the ice.
As we moved past, Vivian’s voice carried a note of bitterness.
“It seems the person in charge here has ventured into forbidden territory.”
Forbidden territory.
I felt a surge of curiosity and wanted to ask more, but I swallowed my words. We had reached the massive ice block in the center. I stopped in front of it and activated my third eye.
『Resident (A Native), Ianor La Erahel (Deceased).』
“Wow, she’s stunning,” Ahn Hyun remarked.
Indeed, inside the largest block of ice was a woman of breathtaking beauty, worthy of being called a national treasure.
Her snow-white cheeks were framed by sky-blue hair, and her long, delicate eyelashes rested above soft, pink lips. It was a shame her eyes were closed, as her beauty was captivating.
“A princess,” Vivian commented offhandedly.
I turned to her, curious about her meaning, and she continued with a smug nod.
“She’s wearing a priestess’s robe, one reserved for very special individuals.”
“Then she might not be a princess. She could be a queen or a noble,” I countered.
Vivian shook her head calmly.
“There’s a royal emblem on her necklace. And the white she’s wearing signifies an unmarried, pure woman. So, she’s most likely a princess. But if not, oh well.”
Vivian shrugged, and I returned my gaze to the ice. A princess, huh.
‘Not that it matters.’
They were already dead. If they were alive, it might be different, but they were trapped with their belongings. A princess would likely have some valuable items.
As I pondered how to deal with the ice, considering the potential treasures scattered around, I thought about breaking them one by one.
That’s when I noticed something peculiar.
Embedded in the lower part of the ice was a crystal-like gem. I hadn’t noticed it before, as I was focused on the central area, and it blended with the ice.
I stepped closer, bent down, and heightened my senses.
’…Hmm.’
The air was frigid, so I crouched to get a better feel.
After a moment, I realized something. The crystal was about the size of a fingernail and was connected to the flow of cold air around it. This flow enveloped the entire ice block.
Without hesitation, I reached for the gem, feeling something hard and cold at my fingertip.
Sss… Sss…
As expected, it didn’t come out easily. A chilling sensation spread through my fingers. I quickly summoned the power of fire and regained my senses.
With a bit more force, the crystal came halfway out. It had been embedded for so long that it didn’t come out easily.
Then it happened.
Crack!
As I applied more force, a sharp noise pierced my ears. I glanced up to see a large crack running vertically through the ice block. This gem seemed to be the key maintaining the surrounding ice.
“Be careful,” I warned my clan members behind me, then pulled harder.
Crack! Crackle!
The resistance was still there. I applied more force, and finally, the gem came free.
And at that moment.
Crack! Crackle!
With the crystal in hand, I straightened up to see the ice block, now cracked in all directions, on the verge of shattering.
Thud!
Crash! Crash!
With a thud, the ice blocks shattered into countless pieces.
I calmly surveyed the scene. The sight of hundreds of ice blocks shattering at once was breathtakingly beautiful.
As the ice dust settled and the bodies were fully revealed, I turned to my clan members.
“I’m sure everyone wants to get out of this tower as soon as possible… So let’s wrap this up quickly.”
“Huh…?”
“What?”
Hanna and Shin Jaeryong, who had joined more recently and weren’t fully aware of the situation, looked puzzled.
But Hayeon was already setting down her bag. Vivian was rushing toward the bookshelves with a fierce determination.
And Ahn Hyun, after grimacing at the sight of a burly beastman, gulped at the sight of a beautiful fairy… That guy, seriously?
I clicked my tongue and lowered my gaze to the princess lying peacefully.
A tiara studded with jewels, a priestess’s robe reserved for special individuals, white silk gloves, a ring on her left ring finger, and a necklace around her neck.
‘Great. Five items.’
Out of respect, I decided to leave her undergarments intact. I accepted the baby Chaos Mimic that Hayeon handed me. When I tapped it to open its mouth, it stubbornly clamped shut.
With a sigh, I grabbed its jaws and pried them open, speaking as I did.
“Squeak!”
“Let’s strip them.”
My words were drowned out by the baby Chaos Mimic’s screech, leaving the two newcomers tilting their heads in confusion.
“Squeak… Squeak…”
I dropped the crystal into the mimic’s mouth and gestured to Hayeon. She was already offering a magical backpack to the others.
I spoke again.
“There are plenty of items scattered around. So strip them and gather what you can.”
At my words, Hayeon gave a wry smile.
“And so, we gathered the equipment and… returned safely.”
My throat was quite dry from the lengthy explanation. As I sipped water from the cup on the table, I felt the eager gazes of two people fixed on me.
One was “The Vagrant Slayer” Kim Deok-pil, and the other was “The Tarot Card Magician” Seon-yul.
“Wow, that’s great. You must have gotten a lot of ancient equipment, right?”
“Mercenary Lord, do you have anything that might interest the Magic Tower? I’ll give you a good deal.”
Kim Deok-pil and Seon-yul looked at me with pleading eyes, but I was in no mood to entertain them. With a dismissive snort, I turned my head away.
I was currently in the central city of Barbara, at the Golden Lion Clan House.
After returning from the “Frozen Forest,” a meeting led by Lee Hyo-eul was scheduled, quite coincidentally, a few days later.
The meeting was dragging on, so we were given a break. I had planned to quietly enjoy a smoke, but these two nuisances kept me from stepping outside.
Reporting to the temple upon our return had been a mistake. Word spread quickly about our discovery of a new ruin, and during my precious break, these two pestered me for tales of our adventure.
As Seon-yul’s grumbling served as background noise, Kim Deok-pil’s excited voice cut through.
“Mercenary Lord, you said you took on a commission, but the client double-crossed you, right?”
“That’s right. So?”
“Shouldn’t Istantel Row show some goodwill? Even if they didn’t know… there’s a moral responsibility.”
“Goodwill, huh… I accepted the commission, so I’m not too concerned.”
I replied nonchalantly.
Having reported to the temple, it was almost certain that Han So-young had heard about it.
However, she wasn’t attending today’s meeting. She must be extremely busy these days.
In any case, I considered it an unavoidable situation and had no intention of accepting any goodwill. I hadn’t lost anything and had gained plenty in return.
“Think about it. Maybe…”
“Alright, let’s end the break and resume the meeting. Is that okay, User Kim Deok-pil?”
Just then, Lee Hyo-eul returned, standing at the podium and looking in my direction. Kim Deok-pil immediately fell silent, and for the first time, I felt grateful.
Lee Hyo-eul gave me a quick smile and spoke in a bright voice.
“As I mentioned earlier, thanks to all of you, the Northern Continent is gradually returning to its former state. I’m deeply grateful for that… and don’t worry, I’m not just offering words of thanks.”
She seemed in a particularly good mood today, smiling as she looked around the meeting room.
“Normally, I wouldn’t share this, but just this once, I’ll give you some good news.”
At the mention of good news, I glanced at Lee Hyo-eul.
Her lips parted.
“In three weeks, new users will be joining us. And it’s going to be a large-scale influx, unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years.”
The straightforward announcement came without any preamble.
The room erupted into a buzz of excitement.
The arrival of new users wasn’t surprising. Everyone had been expecting it around this time.
However, the mention of a large-scale influx was certainly thrilling for the existing users, especially given the current circumstances.
“Personally, I’d like to give opportunities to clans that have suffered significant losses or have made outstanding contributions…”
Lee Hyo-eul paused, meeting my gaze.
Then, still smiling, she continued.
“Shall we hear your thoughts?”
On the way back to the Mercenary House after the meeting.
After moving to Monica, I strolled through the bustling streets, lost in thought.
“Of course, once the priority clans have recovered to some extent, opportunities will be distributed fairly.”
“Like in FA, giving priority negotiation rights to clans participating as instructors and allowing them to trade those rights? That’s a good idea.”
“We still have three weeks, right? Instead of deciding now, let’s take our time to think it over.”
The User Academy and new users.
These were topics that raised many questions about the current state of the Mercenary.
In short, we needed “talent.”
This was a pressing issue I had felt keenly, especially after returning from the “Frozen Forest.”
The Mercenary had discovered many ruins and played a significant role in wars. Our storage was so full of equipment that we had no space left.
But the important thing was, I wasn’t interested in just collecting.
No matter how many secret or rare classes and good equipment we gathered, they were useless if left unused. They needed to be actively employed to show their true value.
However.
“Equipment aside…”
When it came to secret and rare classes, we had to be cautious. These were difficult to retrieve once distributed, so it was best to allocate them to truly trustworthy users.
“Complicated.”
As I stretched and looked up, I saw the Mercenary House coming into view. I quickly organized my thoughts and quickened my pace.
While we had to be careful about class inheritance, there was no disagreement about gathering talent to strengthen the clan.
“We can’t rely solely on new users.”
There must be promising individuals among the current users. We shouldn’t wait for them to come to us; we need to actively seek them out.
There are many ways. We could promote ourselves, scout around, or even persuade them like Han So-young does.
I decided that we should soon make an official announcement about expanding our clan members, and with that thought, I approached the front gate.
Just as I was about to push the door open, I heard a click and saw the right door swing open.
The person who emerged was none other than Han-byeol. I called out to her immediately.
“Han-byeol.”
She turned with her usual aloof gaze, then her eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh, oppa. You’re back?”
“Yeah, the meeting’s over. What about you?”
“I got a call from the temple. I need to go for a bit… Oh, oppa.”
Thinking it was nothing special, I nodded. But just as I was about to pass by, Han-byeol’s voice stopped me.
“What is it?”
“About 30 minutes ago, some people came looking for you.”
“Came looking for me? Who were they?”
Han-byeol seemed to ponder for a moment before shaking her head.
“I’m not sure. They just said they came on your recommendation.”
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
I’m sorry. I intended to keep it brief, but I got carried away because it was so much fun… >///<
Oh, and I apologize to those who were unintentionally affected by my writing.
It wasn’t meant to be a horror story, but it seems it came across that way. ㅜ.ㅠ I felt guilty after reading comments about people losing sleep over it.
Also, dear readers, it’s Friday today. I’ll be taking a break from updating on Saturday… Hehe. ☞☜
PS. I’ve read all your comments. I’m always grateful to those who give recommendations, comments, coupons, and growth index (items). Thank you so much. (__)