The conquest team carefully stepped forward. Everyone drew up mana and slowly searched the village, but there were no monsters in the village.
It was as the detection team said.
Like that, everyone was able to reach the ice palace in an instant.
The palace made of ice was beautiful. The ice castle glittering in the sunlight boasted a brilliance like a diamond itself.
A beautifully sculpted goddess, which could be believed to have been created by Michelangelo or Bernini, the sculptors of the century, greeted them first. The stairs lined up on both sides of that beautiful statue were also all made of ice.
Everything visible was ice.
The vase on top of the luxurious table, even the flowers in it. And the torches above them were also made of ice.
The castle was so quiet and beautiful that it was hard to believe this was inside a Gate.
But this was absolutely not a good sign.
“The quieter it is, the more suspicious.”
Nodding at Kim Dae-gwon’s words, Lee Hye-won immediately turned her gaze to the detection team. Lee Jae-eun from the support team, receiving her gaze, quickly scattered her mana around.
“300 meters around. No monsters.”
Despite her clear words, Kim Dae-gwon’s suspicious gaze didn’t clear.
“Are you sure there’s really nothing?”
“Y-yes? To be precise, there’s no notable mana reaction, but if you insist, there is some mana reaction…”
The timid Lee Jae-eun was weak to intimidation.
“Let’s stop bullying team members unnecessarily and move forward.”
Lee Hye-won, frowning, cut off the conversation between the two (strictly speaking, Lee Jae-eun’s rambling). Meanwhile, Yoo Seon-je remained quiet.
He looked calm on the outside, but he was in a state of concentration to be able to draw up mana to pull out lightning at any time. Seeing the white pupil shining between his blue eyes, Lee Hye-won quietly ordered to advance with a hand gesture.
Certainly, unlike its S-rank grade, both the village and this castle were too quiet.
So far, they had only encountered a few monsters they met in the snow mountains. Even those seemed to have occurred naturally rather than being related to this ice palace.
Serena’s Ice Palace.
The system specified who the owner of this ice palace was, which meant this ice palace was Serena’s domain.
Perhaps the ice palace itself might come alive and engulf them.
That’s why they couldn’t relax despite being told there were no monsters.
Lee Hye-won opened her mouth looking at Yoo Seon-je.
“Not having encountered a single monster so far is a bad sign. It could mean the boss of this Gate is that much stronger.”
The Gate grade is proportional to the total mana contained in the monsters inside the Gate.
It’s a theory that the more monsters appear in swarms, the weaker the boss. Typical examples include the Swamp of Undead where you can clear by just blocking zombie swarms pouring out in defense style, or Belphinos’ Lair.
Gates of this type were not difficult to clear if you managed your health well. Especially with such a large-scale attack force like this.
But sometimes there were Gates like this where ‘no monsters’ appeared at all.
It means it’s either a special Gate with tricky clear conditions, or as Lee Hye-won said, a raid-type Gate that concentrated all the power inside the Gate into the boss.
It’s a bit better if there are mid-bosses even in raid-type Gates. But if it’s the boss of a Gate where no monsters appear to this extent…
It was bound to be a difficult boss battle.
Kim Dae-gwon shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, we don’t know yet. Look at the size of this palace. We’ve barely skimmed the entrance so far.”
Yoo Seon-je said looking at the hunters standing behind him:
“Even if it’s raid-type, I’m confident.”
The hunters Jin Yeon-hwa selected for this job were all ability users who could perfectly support Yoo Seon-je’s lightning. Right away, two hunters with water-related talents. One hunter with metal-related talent, and the rest were all hunters with talents not incompatible with lightning.
With these people, Yoo Seon-je’s combat power increases by 1.5 times, and up to 2 times if all conditions align.
It’s not for nothing that they brought only two S-rank hunters to conquer an S-rank Gate.
“Alright, let’s move forward for now.”
Kim Dae-gwon, who laughed heartily, moved his steps forward.
“It really is pretty. So pretty I want to take a chunk and take it with me.”
Even Kim Dae-gwon, who seemed to have no aesthetic sense no matter how you looked at him, admired it to that extent.
However, this beautiful castle was empty.
There were no servants or attendants that should usually be in a castle. Normally when you come to a palace like this, the first thing you have to pass through is trash mobs like ‘maids’ or such.
The castle that had lost its master was beautiful, but it also looked just as empty.
Those who at first only admired the beauty of this castle gradually began to realize its emptiness.
There were no traps in the castle either. All rooms were wide open, and there was nothing threatening.
The rooms were also filled with beautiful furniture and works of art. Everything visible was made of ice, but it didn’t melt even when touched by hand.
It must be because it’s receiving mana from whoever built this castle.
Serena.
The system informed everyone who the owner of this castle was.
The corridor led to a huge banquet hall.
And in that banquet hall, the group finally discovered something that seemed important.
They encountered a huge ice rose. An enormous amount of mana could be felt from inside the flower bud that had not yet fully bloomed.
Looking at the flower, Kim Dae-gwon raised the corner of his mouth.
“Yeah, that’s more like it.”
“Everyone, change to battle formation.”
Lee Hye-won calmly issued orders. Yoo Seon-je also flicked lightning at his fingertips.
Slowly the petals began to open. A moment of tension. What appeared from that flower was a beautiful woman.
[Guests have arrived.]
The girl greeted everyone in their minds in the language they knew. The language that touched their minds was engraved so clearly it was amazing to everyone.
A welcome greeting.
And at the same time, the ice began to break.
The word ‘ice palace’ was a lie.
Everything that had been trapped in ice began to wake up simultaneously.
The moment a pink tinge began to appear on the fingertips of the woman who had been frozen pure white, Yoo Seon-je reached out his hand towards that woman.
Thousands of lightning bolts flowed through her body.
Boooom!
Mana tore apart the world and ripped space.
The lightning spread out destructively as if it would burn and shatter everything it touched. The scene that appeared after dozens of lightning bolts sparked like that was shocking.
Serena was standing there unharmed, looking at Yoo Seon-je.
“Huh.”
Kim Dae-gwon inadvertently let out an empty breath.
A monster.
Indeed, the boss of an S-rank Gate. Kim Dae-gwon raised his fist. Condensation, a massive amount of mana began to gather in his fist.
“Please take care of the vanguard.”
At Lee Hye-won’s order, Kim Dae-gwon shot forward like an arrow. The support team’s buffs began to stick to Kim Dae-gwon’s body. His skin became a little tougher, his speed increased, and the mana gathered in his fist became a little stronger.
Kim Dae-gwon planted his fist in Serena’s face.
Release.
The mana that had gathered in his fist burst out and Serena’s body trembled. But it’s ‘solid’.
Kim Dae-gwon, realizing the impact was minimal, immediately pulled his body back.
Following Lee Hye-won’s orders, the conquest team drew up mana to support Yoo Seon-je’s lightning. Water began to gush up near Serena. The water clung to Serena. And another baptism of lightning.
Although the damage should have been twice as strong as before, Serena didn’t mind.
Serena, whose revival had been interrupted, looked quite displeased. At Serena’s gesture, the mansion awoke and space began to distort.
The floor split, and the formation was disrupted.
“Ugh! Stay calm.”
But Sirius’ elites wouldn’t fall to this level. Lee Hye-won stepped on the stone floor and gestured to the support team.
In an instant, the floor began to stabilize.
Mana control, a supporter with talent for disrupting others’ magic.
And one supporter loaded buffs onto Kim Dae-gwon’s body once again.
“Hah! That’s the stuff.”
His body became lighter, and his muscles twitched as if about to burst. Kim Dae-gwon, who kicked off the crumbling ground and advanced, gathered strength in his fist.
Condensation.
Mana was sucked in around his fist.
And release.
Pung!
Once again the air burst out, creating a momentary vacuum.
Serena’s body staggered. But only for a moment.
With another wave of her hand, all the wounds that had appeared on Serena’s body disappeared instantly.
A truly magical recovery.
“Huh.”
Not an easy opponent. The moment he thought that, lightning poured down in front of Kim Dae-gwon.
If she recovers, I’ll pound her until she can’t recover anymore.
Yoo Seon-je, who had half-lifted his body with electromagnetic force, reached out his hand once again.
Could she withstand even if he poured out all his mana? Yoo Seon-je drew up mana from his whole body once again.
At that moment, someone’s voice rang out.
[It’s an illusion! You idiots, it’s all an illusion!]
Who on earth is making such a noise? There’s no way the monster in front of them could be an illusion.
With such clear mana movement being felt.
At that moment, a rose that bloomed from Serena’s fingertips flew towards Yoo Seon-je.
Yoo Seon-je, who simply avoided the rose petal by swapping places with his lightning, glared at Serena.
No matter how many times they hit her, it was still a noble-looking face without even a bit of damage.
No matter how many times he struck with lightning, there’s no wavering at all. If it were another monster, it would have shown at least some signs of wavering.
The problem is that now his own mana is gradually running out too. Yoo Seon-je looked to the side. Kim Dae-gwon and the faces of the other conquest team members looked similar.
He needs to decide the match.
Yoo Seon-je drew up all the mana remaining in his body.
One Point. He aimed for one shot, drawing up all his concentration.
“Please gather your strength.”
Yoo Seon-je sent a signal to Lee Hye-won. The conquest team members who received Lee Hye-won’s signal also prepared their own one shots.
Massive mana swirled around them.
Everyone thought.
If they don’t land this one shot properly now, this conquest might end in failure.
As if sensing their determination, Serena, who had a calm expression, also rose into the air. Rose petals scattered here and there gathered into one, and finally rushed towards them.
At that moment, Yoo Seon-je reached out his hand forward.
Disregarding defense, he concentrated all his power solely on Serena’s body.
Thousands of lightning bolts began to fall simultaneously, aiming at Serena.
Zzzzzt, zzzzzt.
Unable to withstand Yoo Seon-je’s mana, space tore. Seeing the illusion wavering beyond that space, Yoo Seon-je frowned.
He saw someone rushing towards him.
At a speed as fast as his own lightning.
And that shadow grabbed his collar.
“I told you it’s an illusion, you idiot.”
At that voice, Yoo Seon-je blinked.