…is nowhere to be found.
No matter how much I search, it doesn’t exist.
“Where on earth could you be…?”
I rummaged through every sea near the continent, and only when I returned to the starting point did I realize.
“The Spirit King isn’t in the sea.”
Then where could he have gone?
Has that light source done something tricky?
The Water Spirit Naiad, pulling her exhausted mind, turned her gaze inland this time.
If it’s not in the sea, it might be in a lake or by a river.
Of course, since the light source is a sea monster, it’s uncertain, but I can’t exclude even the slightest possibility right now.
Whoosh…
Riding the waves, I headed inland.
The deeper I went, the more human villages and kingdoms appeared.
Having lived only in the sea, these towns felt somewhat unfamiliar.
Kingdoms I hadn’t seen for hundreds of years.
“It seems to have developed a lot since long ago…”
But…
“Why do I feel so heavy in my chest?”
The deeper I got inland, the more ominous energy intensified.
The ‘light source’ of the sea was extremely unsettling, but this inland unease felt different.
“Source.”
Fundamentally, this energy is evil.
Even she, who was consumed by the Kraken since ancient times, slowed her steps.
“I have to find him quickly and return. If I keep going like this…?”
Thud, thud!
The Naiad’s waves broke as she hurriedly rushed downward.
To avoid the Wind Spirit King’s wrath, she deliberately tried to bypass the Spirit King’s forest.
There, at the entrance of the forest, the Spirit King of Earth was trembling.
“Spirit King? Are you alright?”
“…That can’t be. Why is that guy…”
“What?”
Creeeak…
“That guy has awakened… We must escape…”
“What…?”
KWAAM!!!
“Spirit King!”
The Spirit King of Earth suddenly kicked off the ground and burrowed deep into the earth.
As if sealing himself, the Spirit King layered himself and moved outside the inland.
Unable to stop him, the Naiad reeled her lost hand back and gazed towards the center of the continent.
“…What could be there?”
There’s no time.
I must find the Water Spirit King before the situation escalates further.
■
“Umm…”
“Are you okay?”
“…Lily?”
Yena, with a dazed expression, rose from her seat.
Being hit on the head with a hammer, Yena immediately completed her healing, but she was too engrossed in merging.
I was in a state.
Even if the body was healed from a strong shock, the soul and mind needed time for natural recovery.
“…How long have I been asleep?”
“Three hours? Don’t worry. I was planning to keep this going for a few more rounds anyway.”
The viewers were very disappointed about the stream ending, but it had already been over five hours since it started, and there was still a lot to see.
There was really no need to show everything from the beginning.
Yena scratched her head awkwardly and lowered her gaze.
“You thought I would cut you down in one hit? Huh.”
“Well, it was pretty good. At that level, there are only a few users who could take you on, let alone defeat you.”
“That’s true… but I felt confident when I was learning from my master. I thought if I learned all the moves, I could beat everyone except Lady Lily?”
“You’re not wrong.”
Myeosin is one of the ancient monsters I know, falling within the ‘Five Fingers’ category.
If she masters all of her techniques, even the Sword Saint would not dare to challenge Yena.
“The path to learning them might be a bit rocky, though.”
“…It does seem rocky. What’s with this kitty language?”
“I’m not talking about kitty language.”
“?”
“There are techniques that place a burden on the soul, like the Roar of the Spear. For other users, it would be nearly impossible to handle, but for Miss Yena, it’s different.”
Yena already has experience using the Roar of the Spear with her dagger.
Not only did she use it solo, but she also mixed it with the ‘Seven Cuts,’ which strikes seven times.
“Maybe not as extreme as the roar, but you’d better be prepared.”
“…Honestly, the more I do this, the less it feels like a game. Sometimes it feels like I’m dreaming?”
“It’s neither a dream nor a game, but it’s also hard to call it reality.”
As ‘users’ protected by the System, they will never die.
That’s why they can step into a higher realm that they could never reach in the past.
“Anyway, the second raid is in two days. Make sure to master Myeoseolnanhwa by then.”
“Okay? That’s super hard…”
“It’s hard, but you have to do it.”
Myeosin’s ninth technique, Myeoseolnanhwa (Cat Snow Chaos Flower).
Ordinary Beastmen would need to invest a hundred years, while Myeosin’s disciple would barely manage it in twenty years, but for Yena, it’s possible.
Because Yena has the solid shield of the System.
“Hey, aren’t you raising my expectations too much…?”
“Since you’ve learned the Roar of the Spear, there’s no way that’s going to be too hard. Whatever you do will probably be easier than that.”
“Could it really be that way? Whatever it is, it should be easier than that.”
“I have no idea what it is…”
Eyna looked worried, but it’s a technique that is absolutely necessary for this raid.
“You don’t have to achieve great success; just learn the basics of the technique.”
“And all the rankers or users with freezing-related skills will participate.”
“Are we going to freeze it?”
“Yes.”
The subtitle of the second raid is Frozen Octopus.
■
Two days later.
I gathered users related to freezing through a broadcast, and many users who owned various freezing skills, items, and equipment gathered at the raid location.
Since it was okay even if the skills were trivial, we had a crowd filling the place to capacity.
[So many!]
[Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow]
[I have the first-tier icicle skill, is that okay?]
[Wait, there are this many freezing-type users? Haha]
[Can the Kraken even be frozen?]
[So many!]
[Look at all the mages ;;]
[Mage nerf incoming!]
[This is wild]
[Is it possible that I’ll freeze?]
[Can we use freezing shields too?]
[Amazing, seriously]
“Anything related to freezing is fine. As long as you can ‘cast’ it somehow, it’s all good.”
Even if the purpose isn’t attacking but rather evasive or defensive support, it doesn’t matter.
After all, freezing is more specialized for defense than offense.
“If you can just release it, that’s enough.”
“Really? Hmm…”
And beside me was one of the key figures of this operation.
Leo, with the Blue Ice Fox wrapped around his neck, was staring at the monster beyond.
“Isn’t it going to end with everyone dying like last time…?”
“This time, we’ll just freeze it and get out. Even if we don’t attack, we’ve contributed to the raid, so we’ll get contribution points, and if someone gets greedy and dies trying, it’s not a problem.”
Whatever happens, it’s not a particularly concerning issue.
Leo nodded as if he understood.
Looking around, the most noticeable ones were the mages casting magic.
Next were the rankers who had gained freezing-related skills through some routes.
Most users had really trivial freezing skills, and there was hardly any profession specialized solely in freezing.
Of those rare individuals, the only one more specialized in ice than Leo was this person.
[Oh]
[If it’s freezing, it’s definitely this person]
[Long time no see haha]
“Don’t we have one?”
The runner-up of DCK and 9th ranked, Baekseol, who wore a robe as white as snow, approached me.
“One?”
“Choco. I haven’t seen them in a while. I’m pretty sure they have a freezing skill.”
“I know for sure that she has a freezing skill!”
“Hmm…”
Choco.
Now that I think about it, Lasty was teaching Candy Star, but I haven’t heard anything recently.
Lasty just sealed her and went back, so I didn’t ask.
I went straight to Lasty.
“Lasty.”
─“Yes, sister?”
“Where is Candy Star?”
─“Ah, I might have messed up a bit.”
“Excuse me?”
What does that even mean?
Through the mental connection, I hear Lasty’s somewhat awkward response.
─“It progressed too much in the fusion, so it got a bit excessive. I’m adjusting it again, so don’t worry.”
“…Doing something weird again?”
─“No way. It’s just a little mistake because I haven’t touched it in a long time. Sister, you don’t trust me?”
“You’ve sure become talkative.”
─“…No, but it’s going well enough…”
“Let’s talk again later.”
─“Sister?”
Thud.
Looks like something has happened.
For some reason, the person who should have stepped up first hasn’t come forward.
I’m a bit worried, but the System is here, and above all, Lasty is a Progenitor.
Even though her personality is a bit skewed, she’s not the type to abandon her responsibilities.
“I can’t ask everyone for help. Those who can should assist as much as possible.”
“But does that really work?”
“Of course.”
This time, the perfect seals amounted to four.
The Heavenly Horse visited the Sword Saint, but he didn’t show up in the end, probably because something went wrong.
I heard he’s dealing with the Demon Race… but then why isn’t he even helping with the seals? That part is incomprehensible.
In the end, once again, Lasty and I have to handle the sealing, so I decided to enlarge the seal itself for the use of power.
The giant magic circle stretches out long in the sea, glowing a vivid blue.
“Freezing will be the subject of the seal.”
“…But does Lady Lily have freezing-type skills? Will she substitute with magic?”
“I don’t have any.”
As Baekseol said, while it might be possible to use magic, there’s no skill specialized in freezing.
Holy power is more specialized in heat than coldness.
But.
Flutter.
“Wow.”
“Sre has it.”
I have the freezing storm.
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