Chapter 188: Everything Froze (2)

Chapter 188: Everything Froze (2)

Night fell.

The evening on the Levian coast was chilly and endless, but Hong Bi-Yeon, who generally enjoyed cold weather, went for a night walk without putting on her coat.

Every time the sharp, blade-like wind brushed past her cheeks, stray thoughts faded away.

Standing on the outer edge of the sharply descending castle walls, she gazed into the distance where the sea sparkled in the moonlight.

It was a beautiful sight.

So beautiful that one might wonder if there could be a more beautiful scenery in the world.

Hong Bi-Yeon captured the sea's scenery in her ruby-colored eyes.

As she looked at it like that, the frozen sea appeared as if it could melt away.

*'Your role is very simple.’*

The words Queen Hong Se-ryu had told her came to mind.

'Assimilate the Hwarang Flower within your body and resonate with the Heart of Eternal Ice. That's the only thing you can do for this country.’

Easier said than done.

There was no need to elaborate.

She was simply telling her to go and sacrifice herself for the country's sake.

That was the duty of the royal family to protect the people.

It was truly ridiculous.

Knowing full well that her true intentions were clear, she still acted like that, believing that Hong Bi-Yeon would never refuse.

Whooosh...!

Her hair fluttered in the frosty wind.

The chilly temperature seemed to numb her ears and nose.

"Oh my, little sister~ What are you doing here at this hour~?"

Annoyingly, she 'coincidentally' ran into Hong Si-hwa who was passing by.

Hong Bi-Yeon silently gazed at her.

Something made her very cheerful. Even Hong Si-hwa's footsteps were as lively as a child's.

"Aren't you cold? What if you catch a cold~!"

The Adolveit Royal Family didn’t catch colds.

Not feeling the need to respond, Hong Bi-Yeon turned her gaze away, but Hong Si-hwa pushed her face in that direction.

"Even if big sis advises you like this~?"

"Enough. Let’s go inside."

"So cold~"

Feeling it would be bothersome to stay here any longer, Hong Bi-Yeon completely changed her direction.

Even her enjoyable walk was interrupted, so she thought it might be better to just sleep peacefully.

"Younger sister."

However, Hong Si-hwa's lowered voice stopped Hong Bi-Yeon in her tracks.

"........ What is it?"

"Why didn't you refuse~?"

"That's a strange question."

She was really going to die.

Everything she had desperately worked for in her life up until now... All would be gone in an instant.

Yes. If it had been the Hong Bi-Yeon before entering Stella, she might have refused.

She couldn't bear to let go of everything she’d enjoyed and could continue to enjoy.

But before that...

She was too afraid to die.

But not anymore.

Hong Bi-Yeon stared straight into her eyes.

"I'm different from you, sister."

Receiving that gaze which seemed to say it didn't matter what plans or thoughts she had, Hong Si-hwa tightly sealed her lips.

"It's cold. Let’s go now."

Even as she watched her sister walk away with slow but leisurely steps, Hong Si-hwa ultimately didn't stop her.

"Hmm... you've grown a lot, huh?"

Why did the thought of the late Hong Eulin suddenly come to her mind at that moment?

"Ugh! Useless thoughts again."

Hong Si-hwa shook her head vigorously and hurried her steps.

Regardless of what was to come, the choice had been made, and she couldn't prevent what was going to happen next.........

It was time to leave everything to fate.

If she died here then it was her destiny from the beginning.

Hong Bi-Yeon would die before turning twenty.

Just like her eldest sister did.

So even if she died now, it was just her fate being moved up by about three years.

He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists.

He had no intention of running away.

If it was meant to be like that...

*‘I'll watch everything unfold in the midst of disaster.’*

That was the only courtesy the last descendant of Black Belize could afford.

———

"This is...!"

Baek Yu-Seol trembled as he held the fork.

"Isn't the price higher than Stella's...?"

There was a city where tea was more expensive than Stella, and where the average food prices were high.

*‘Is this a city of nobles?’*

*‘Or is there a serious problem with the value of currency?’*

When playing Aether World Online, Baek Yu-Seol didn't pay attention to such trivial details because characters didn't necessarily need to eat, so he had no idea why this was happening.

"... How expensive is it to have such expensive food, kid?"

"It's 500 credits more expensive than Stella. Does that make sense?"

"Just 500 credits more... What's the big deal..."

The passing mercenary chuckled incredulously and disappeared.

Lisbond Port Branch, Mercenary Office.

A thousand years ago, Lisbond, which once served as the heart of the world's trade, had long lost its function.

But since the sea froze, unusual demons and dungeons began to appear, turning this place into a sanctuary for adventurers and mercenaries.

As a result, the Mercenary Office had developed considerably, and the buildings looked quite elegant.

The palace attendants were entitled to stay in a small palace attached to the Heavenly Ice Palace, but he had his own reasons for coming all the way here to eat.

While the royal family carried out their duties, Baek Yu-Seol had his own to fulfill.

The moment Hong Bi-Yeon assimilates the Hwarang Flower in her body, the commotion would reach all the way to the heart of the maelstrom, and the spirit of Black Belize, which had slumbered in legend, would awaken.

There was another absurd aspect to this.

If things progress smoothly here, players would suddenly face a [Bad Ending] while enjoying the summer vacation event at the academy.

It was a truly absurd turn of events.

In the past, Baek Yu-Seol’s relationship with Mayuseong and Haewonryang was starting to progress smoothly when the world was suddenly covered in ice.

It wasn't a common occurrence, and it didn't become a major incident because it only affected one out of tens of thousands of players...

And of course, he happened to be that one player out of tens of thousands.

*‘It was fun back then.’*

At that time, he really tried every means possible to solve this situation.

The endless summer vacation.

He infinitely tried to save a world where everyone was destined to die...

But in the end, thanks to Hong Bi-Yeon, he was able to prevent the world from freezing over.

Back then, he wasn't trying to save her but rather to protect his game data...

However, now it didn't matter.

Thanks to that, he knew a hidden piece that no one else knew about.

"Phew..."

But honestly, this was a bit scary.

One wrong move and he could really die.

There were two 'bad ending flags' in this episode.

Either the Hwarang Flower’s Flame Spirit goes berserk, engulfing the Adolveit Kingdom in flames, or the Ice Spirit slumbering on the pirate ship goes berserk, covering the world in ice.

It might seem hopeless, but as long as he stuck to the plan, everything would be fine.

"Sigh... Am I just going to die?"

It was a bit scary, but if it wasn’t him, no one else could do it.

So, it was something he must do.

With that determination, he could move forward without hesitation.

After finishing the meal, he stomped on the table and stood up.

"Huh? Who's that little kid?"

"Oh. It’s a Stella student, right?"

"First time seeing him."

After attracting the attention of the mercenaries, Baek Yu-Seol shouted.

"Hidden dungeon discovered in the Swirling Ice Valley! Recruiting the first 20 people! Mercenaries wanted! Those with good legs and healthy organs welcome!"

Of course, that didn't mean Baek Yu-Seol intended to solve everything on his own.

Sometimes, it was okay to deceive and take advantage of people to take the easy way out, right?

Sometimes in novels or comics, protagonists had a habit of trying to solve everything on their own...

*‘I'm not a protagonist, so I can't be bothered with that kind of trouble.’*",